Parents' Guide to American Conspiracy: The Octopus Files

AMERICAN CONSPIRACY: THE OCTOPUS FILES is a four-part docuseries about the death of a journalist and an alleged 20th-century government conspiracy. On August 10, 1991, Danny Casolaro was found dead in a hotel bathroom in Martinsburg, West Virginia while writing a story involving the theft of PROMIS, a software program developed by the INSLAW company to serve as a national criminal-case tracking system for the Department of Justice. Despite suspicions of foul play, Casolaro's death was ruled a suicide. Over 30 years later, photojournalist Christian Hansen became fascinated by the story of Casolaro's death and his unfinished investigation into what he called "The Octopus." What follows is Hensen's efforts to find the truth behind Casolaro's death, and to uncover what the reporter believed was a massive conspiracy involving powerful government agencies and individuals associated with then-U.S. President Reagan, organized crime, and folks associated with the drug and arms trade. Archive pictures and video, along with interviews with people associated with the case, help explain what the Department of Justice did after PROMIS was created, and how these actions seem to be linked to espionage and other international plots. But as Hansen's efforts continue, some odd twists lead to surprising revelations.