# Robert Booth Nichols Robert Booth Nichols (1943-2009) was an American businessman and self-styled arms and security dealer who cultivated an aura of intelligence and organized-crime connections. He was in contact with [[Danny Casolaro]] in the weeks before Casolaro's 1991 death, which makes him a recurring figure in [[The Octopus]] story. ## Background Nichols founded Meridian International Logistics (MIL), a company involved in weapons and security dealing and entertainment-industry ventures, including ties to MCA. In 1987 the FBI suspected him of involvement in an alleged MCA-related stock fraud and of links to the Gambino crime family; the Los Angeles FBI also investigated MIL over the alleged transfer of classified material to overseas affiliates in Japan and Australia. He was never convicted on any of these allegations. He claimed to enjoy protection or immunity from people representing themselves as U.S. intelligence -- a claim central to his mystique but never independently verified. ## Epistemic status Almost everything that makes Nichols interesting to the Octopus narrative -- intelligence ties, immunity, alleged roles in Iran-Contra, the [[Inslaw]] affair, CIA drug trafficking, the [[October Surprise]], or Casolaro's death -- rests on allegation and self-representation rather than proof. The FBI suspicions were investigative, not convictions. Even the date of his death (reported 2009) is described as uncertain in some accounts. ## See also - [[The Octopus]] - [[Danny Casolaro]] - [[Michael Riconosciuto]] - [[Iran-Contra Affair]]