Ted Gunderson

Ted Gunderson was a former FBI agent who transitioned into private investigation after his retirement from the Bureau. His distinguished career with the FBI included serving as a Senior Special Agent in Charge (SAC) at headquarters in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Dallas, Texas. Following his tenure with the FBI, he worked for F. Lee Bailey, Esq., before establishing his own investigative agency in Los Angeles County.¹

The Octopus Investigation

Gunderson became deeply involved in the investigation of corruption and drug rings within Mariposa County, California, after being approached by the D.I.G. (Decency in Government) group. His prior work included compiling a comprehensive 700-page report for the Tulare City Council, which meticulously detailed instances of deputies receiving payoffs and distributing drugs in Tulare. His engagement in the Mariposa investigation marked a significant expansion of his efforts into the broader "The Octopus" inquiry.¹

His professional network and investigative pursuits were intricately linked with several key figures and clandestine operations. He served as a crucial contact for Michael Riconosciuto, particularly following Riconosciuto's arrest. Riconosciuto initiated contact with Gunderson from jail, and Gunderson subsequently informed Cheri Seymour about Riconosciuto's ongoing investigation into the Mariposa County corruption and drug ring. Furthermore, Gunderson provided an affidavit and testimony during Riconosciuto's trial, aiming to corroborate Riconosciuto's covert government-sanctioned activities. At one point, Gunderson, Riconosciuto, and Robert Booth Nichols were colloquially described as being "inseparable, like the three musketeers," highlighting their close association.¹

His involvement extended to discussions with Ralph Olberg and Tim Osman concerning a global support network for the Mujahideen in Afghanistan. These discussions encompassed the field testing of novel weaponry and the exchange of arms for drugs, an operation connected to "The Company," a drug and arms organization comprising former military, law enforcement, and intelligence personnel. Gunderson's affidavit detailed conversations about the modification of Chinese 107 MM rockets and the strategic sanitization of Stinger missiles to prevent the leakage of sensitive information if they were to be captured by Soviet forces.¹

Despite their past collaboration, Gunderson faced limitations in disclosing numerous activities involving Robert Booth Nichols during Riconosciuto's trial, as Nichols was concurrently under FBI investigation for alleged involvement in organized crime. Interestingly, Gunderson had previously conducted an FBI background check on Nichols, which, to his surprise, indicated Nichols was "squeaky clean," a finding that later contrasted sharply with information suggesting Nichols' deep entanglement in drug trafficking and organized crime.¹

Danny Casolaro, the investigative journalist, maintained contact with Gunderson during his "The Octopus" investigation. Casolaro confirmed that Ralph Olberg's project to provide arms assistance to the Afghan rebels was legally sanctioned and operated through the State Department and Senator Humphrey's office.¹

Throughout his career, Gunderson encountered significant challenges and obstruction in his efforts to expose corruption. He observed a "turf battle problem" between Ralph Olberg's group and certain factions within the CIA and their group, MSH (Management Science For Health), concerning the legitimate representation of the Afghan rebel leadership. His attempts to facilitate Michael Riconosciuto's entry into the Witness Protection Program ultimately proved unsuccessful, as federal agencies, including the FBI, demonstrated reluctance to fully cooperate or acknowledge Riconosciuto's claims.¹

Child Abuse Network Investigations

Gunderson later became involved in investigating organized child abuse networks and related conspiracy cases. His work intersected with the release of government documents concerning The Finders case. In 2019 the Federal Bureau of Investigation began dumping heavily redacted case files from their investigation into The Finders, including a follow-up inquiry into a suspected coverup in 1993. Buried among these releases, sprinkled with red herrings such as Gunderson's diagrams of the McMartin pre-school tunnels near the beginning of the first batch, were three documents of instantaneous interest. It turned out a list of names and addresses had been found on The Finders men caught transporting children through Florida.²

Gunderson's diagrams of the McMartin pre-school tunnels were included among the Federal Bureau of Investigation release materials, though their placement near the beginning of the document batch raised questions about whether they functioned as deliberate distractions from more substantive evidence. The McMartin pre-school case had become a focal point for debates about satanic ritual abuse and recovered memories, with tunnel allegations becoming a controversial element that was used to discredit survivor testimony. Gunderson's involvement in documenting these claims placed him within a network of investigators who pursued connections between institutional child abuse and intelligence operations.²

The release of The Finders files in 2019 revealed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had maintained extensive documentation on the group's activities, including surveillance reports and internal communications. Gunderson's materials, while included in the release, appeared alongside documents of more direct relevance to the case, such as the U.S. Customs memo compiled by Ramon J. Martinez and Metropolitan Police reports on Central Intelligence Agency involvement. The juxtaposition of his tunnel diagrams with these substantive documents raised questions about the Federal Bureau of Investigation's organizational strategy in releasing the files.²

Gunderson's career trajectory exemplified a pattern among law enforcement personnel who moved from official agency work to independent investigation of organized abuse networks. His Federal Bureau of Investigation background provided him with access to sources and documents unavailable to civilian researchers, while his independence from institutional constraints allowed him to pursue lines of inquiry that official investigations had abandoned or suppressed. The inclusion of his materials in the 2019 release suggested that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had tracked his activities and considered his findings relevant to their own investigations.²