---
category: PROMIS Scandal
summary: Cohen believed that the PROMIS software was stolen because it could be modified
  to track money laundering and could function as an active information-gathering
  and money-moving program within the international banking system, specifically mentioning
  CHIPS and SWIFT systems.
tags:
- Person
- PROMIS
- CIA
---

[John Cohen](/people/john-cohen/) was a House Judiciary Committee investigator involved in the [PROMIS Software Scandal](/events/promis-software-scandal/) investigation. Prior to this role, he served as a Los Angeles police officer, where he worked on international narcotics conspiracies with the [DEA](/organizations/dea/) and [FBI](/organizations/federal-bureau-of-investigation/), gaining knowledge of Southeast Asian heroin and the rise of Latin American cartels.[1]

Cohen believed that the [PROMIS](/programs/promis/) software was stolen because it could be modified to track money laundering and could function as an active information-gathering and money-moving program within the international banking system, specifically mentioning CHIPS and SWIFT systems. He suspected a narcotics connection to this capability, noting the irritation among law enforcement professionals regarding the intelligence agency-drug dealer connection.[1]

In early 1992, Cohen began communicating closely with [FBI](/organizations/federal-bureau-of-investigation/) agent [Thomas Gates](/people/thomas-gates/), who had been in contact with [Danny Casolaro](/people/danny-casolaro/) before Casolaro's death. In October 1992, Cohen and Gates learned about [Michael Riconosciuto](/people/michael-riconosciuto/)'s statement to the [FBI](/organizations/federal-bureau-of-investigation/), which corroborated Cohen's suspicions about money laundering and the theft of PROMIS. Riconosciuto's statement implicated [Robert Booth Nichols](/people/robert-booth-nichols/), Glenn Shockley, [Jose Londono](/people/jose-santacruz-londono/), [Gilberto Rodriguez](/people/gilberto-rodriguez-orejuela/), and [Michael Abbell](/people/michael-abbell/) in a network of illicit financial activities.[1]

Cohen's investigation, like others into the [PROMIS Software Scandal](/events/promis-software-scandal/), was reportedly shut down when it began to uncover high-level organized crime, drug, and money laundering connections.[1]

---

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