---
born: 1939-01-18
category: Other
died: 2026-02-27
location: Enid, Oklahoma
summary: Gritz was indicted in May 1987 for using a false passport in the name of
  Patrick Richard Clark from Vancouver, Canada.
tags:
- Person
---

[Bo Gritz](/people/bo-gritz/) was a highly decorated Special Forces Green Beret soldier in [Vietnam](/places/vietnam/). He became known for his expeditions to [Laos](/places/laos/) in search of missing POWs, during which he reportedly uncovered a "massive drug network in Southeast Asia" intertwined with American POWs.[^1]

[Danny Casolaro](/people/danny-casolaro/) was investigating Gritz's expose of [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) drug trafficking in the [Golden Triangle](/places/golden-triangle/). Casolaro had requested to meet with a former police officer who had information on Laotian warlord [Kuhn Sa](/people/kuhn-sa/)'s Golden Triangle drug trade proposal to the [United States](/places/united-states/).[^1]

Gritz was indicted in May 1987 for using a false passport in the name of Patrick Richard Clark from Vancouver, [Canada](/places/canada/). However, at his arraignment in Las Vegas, he claimed to have "proper authorization" for his travels and was subsequently acquitted of the charges.[^1]

[Patrick Moriarty](/people/patrick-moriarty/), the Red Devil fireworks magnate, was subpoenaed to testify on behalf of Gritz at his trial. Moriarty's lawyer, [Jan Lawrence Handzlik](/people/jan-lawrence-handzlik/), stated that Moriarty had paid Gritz to make business trips to [China](/places/china/), [Singapore](/places/singapore/), and other parts of Asia. Gritz claimed his July 1989 trip to Asia was to negotiate an oil interest he and Moriarty had set up between the People's Republic of China and Indonesia.[^1]

---

[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.