Peter Videnieks

Peter Videnieks was a contract specialist whose employment history encompassed the Internal Revenue Service, NASA, and U.S. Customs, before and after a period detailed to the DOJ's Executive Office for United States Attorneys in the early 1980s. At EOUSA, he served as the contracting officer responsible for administering the PROMIS software implementation contract with INSLAW. He became a central figure in the PROMIS Software Scandal.¹

Role in PROMIS Software Scandal

Videnieks administered the INSLAW contract with the government, which involved conducting competitive procurement, negotiating and awarding contracts, and administering them to ensure proper performance. His employment history included work with the Internal Revenue Service, NASA, and Customs, before and after his tenure at the Department of Justice.¹

Michael Riconosciuto claimed that Earl Brian made a copy of the PROMIS software available to him through Wackenhut Corporation after acquiring it from Videnieks, who was then a Department of Justice contracting official with responsibility for the PROMIS software. Riconosciuto performed modifications to PROMIS in Indio, California; Silver Spring, Maryland; and Miami, Florida, with the purpose of supporting a plan for its worldwide implementation in law enforcement and intelligence agencies.¹

In February 1991, Videnieks, still employed by the U.S. Department of Justice, allegedly attempted to persuade Michael Riconosciuto not to cooperate with an independent investigation of the government's piracy of INSLAW's proprietary PROMIS software, being conducted by the House Judiciary Committee. Videnieks reportedly offered rewards for non-cooperation and threatened specific punishments, including future inclusion of Riconosciuto and his father in a criminal prosecution related to a savings and loan institution, and prosecution for perjury if he testified.¹

During Michael Riconosciuto's trial in Tacoma, Washington, Videnieks testified about his contact with the PROMIS software but denied ever hearing of the Wackenhut Corporation-Cabazon Indian Reservation joint venture or meeting Earl Brian. He was evasive when questioned about his involvement with Hadron Company, which was owned by Earl Brian at the time of the court proceedings. Videnieks also refused to discuss "Modification No. 12" of the PROMIS software until the original INSLAW contract was produced, and acknowledged that a bankruptcy court had ruled that the DOJ had "stolen" PROMIS from INSLAW through his handling of Modification No. 12, though he noted this record was later erased.¹

Connections to Danny Casolaro's Investigation

Danny Casolaro was intent on interviewing Videnieks. A week before Casolaro's death, a man named Joseph Cuellar approached Casolaro, claiming to be a Special Forces operative, and offered to arrange a meeting between Videnieks and Casolaro. Cuellar's connection to Videnieks allegedly came through Videnieks' wife, Barbara, who was the executive assistant to Senator Robert Byrd.¹

Despite the allegations and his central role in the PROMIS Software Scandal, Videnieks was never charged with any wrongdoing. Scott Lawrence’s investigation into corruption within U.S. Customs, which involved Videnieks, was abruptly shut down when Lawrence and his supervisor requested to impanel grand juries to depose CIA officials.¹

Bua Report Findings

The Special Counsel’s investigation found the allegations against Videnieks unsupported by credible evidence. Videnieks and Earl Brian both categorically denied ever meeting one another or meeting Michael Riconosciuto, and denied having visited Indio, California. The Bua Report found both men to be credible witnesses. Regarding the claim that Videnieks delivered PROMIS to Brian for distribution through the Wackenhut-Cabazon venture, investigators found no physical corroboration: witnesses including Cabazon Tribal Chairman Art Welmas and Indio Police Chief Sam Cross stated they had never observed large computers or computing facilities at the reservation during the period Riconosciuto claimed the software modifications were performed.²