Riconosciuto backdoor claim (1992)
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 8
| Date | 13 May 1992 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Beings & bodies (topic), Secrecy & cover-up (topic), Government programs (topic) |
| People | Michael Riconosciuto |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 114 |
| Year | 1992 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1992 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 6 |
Michael Riconosciuto, a technician and self-described weapons engineer, became a key witness in the Inslaw affair when he said he had modified the PROMIS case-management software to include a secret "back door" for tracking people.[1]
The Inslaw affair
Inslaw, a software company, accused the U.S. Justice Department of stealing its PROMIS software. In early 1991 Riconosciuto filed an affidavit with the House Judiciary Committee's investigation, saying he had reprogrammed PROMIS with a back door. He also claimed businessman Earl Brian was part of a secret arrangement with Iran linked to the 1980 hostage release.[1]
Arrest and conviction
Within eight days of the affidavit he was arrested on drug charges. He was tried in 1992 and convicted of methamphetamine offences; he said the charges were manufactured. Federal prison records show he was released in 2017.[1][2]
Other claims
A 1991 article in TC Technical Consultant, later reposted online, reported Riconosciuto's claims that PROMIS had been sold to 88 countries as a kind of Trojan horse, that he had worked on fuel-air explosives tested in Nevada, and that he had learned of Thomas Townsend Brown's suppressed research. The article tied these to "flying disc" technology in its own framing, but did not attribute explicit UFO claims to Riconosciuto.[2]
Assessment
Special Counsel Nicholas Bua's review of the Inslaw allegations criticised his inconsistent accounts and likened his PROMIS story to fiction woven around real historical facts. Riconosciuto was also a source for journalist Danny Casolaro, found dead in 1991. There is no support for any UFO-related claims attached to him.[1][3]
People and topics
- Michael Riconosciuto — Witness in the Inslaw affair who made claims about secret technology.
- Unidentified flying object — An object in the sky that can't be identified; the older term for UAP.
- Disinformation — False information spread deliberately to mislead.
On the Timeline
- Greer meets Albert Stubblebine (1992) (9 March 1992) — Steven Greer says he met Gen. Stubblebine and people tied to covert programs at a 1992 conference.
- Vallée meets D'Amato on secret programs (1992) (22 May 1992) — Vallée writes he met Senate counsel Dick D'Amato about secret programs.
See every 1992 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- Michael Riconosciuto — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- "Reptilian Conspiracies 4/4" (reprint of TC Technical Consultant, Nov–Dec 1991), CTRL list (1999) · mail-archive.com · archived copy
- Danny Casolaro — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Justice Department statement on the Inslaw investigation (1994) · justice.gov · archived copy
- mail-archive.com · mail-archive.com · archived copy
- archive.org · archive.org · archived copy
Further reading
- Majestic 12 — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Majestic 12 file — FBI Vault · vault.fbi.gov · archived copy
- Dulce Base — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- UFO documents — CIA Reading Room · cia.gov · archived copy
- Thomas Townsend Brown — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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