[[Michael T. Hurley]] was a [[Drug Enforcement Administration|DEA]] Country Attache in Nicosia, [[Cyprus]]. He had overall responsibility for [[Euramae Trading Company]], Ltd., and its initiative to sell [[PROMIS]] software to Middle Eastern countries for drug abuse control. [[Michael Riconosciuto]] initially believed Hurley worked for the State Department, but later identified him as the in-country attache for the [[Drug Enforcement Administration|DEA]] in Nicosia, [[Cyprus]].[^1] Hurley was involved in a [[National Security Council|NSC]]-sanctioned drug/sting operation in [[Lebanon]] through Euramae Trading Company. This operation involved the flow of heroin to maintain the credibility of intelligence operations. [[Michael Riconosciuto]] claimed that the operation became "perverted" at the U.S. end, with controlled heroin shipments being doubled or tripled, and only a third of the heroin being returned to the [[Drug Enforcement Administration|DEA]].[^1] [[Werner Tony Asmar]], a [[Defense Intelligence Agency|DIA]] intelligence agent, became aware of what was happening with Hurley and the "non-controlled" loads of heroin being shipped back to the [[United States]]. Asmar was later killed in a bomb blast, with his cover reportedly "deliberately blown."[^1] In 1990, the [[Drug Enforcement Administration|DEA]] reassigned Hurley to a [[Drug Enforcement Administration|DEA]] intelligence position in Washington State. [[Lester Coleman]] found this reassignment suspicious, believing it was done to "manufacture a case" against [[Michael Riconosciuto]] and prevent Riconosciuto from becoming a credible witness about the [[United States Government|U.S. government]]'s covert sale of the [[PROMIS]] software to foreign governments.[^1] --- ### Footnotes [^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.