Small Traces of Legal Drugs Found in Reporter’s Body

A reporter who said he was investigating a possible government plot had traces of a painkiller and an antidepressant in his blood when he died with his wrists slashed, authorities said Tuesday.

A blood sample from Joseph D. Casolaro, 44, of Fairfax, Va., contained tiny amounts of Tylenol No. 3, which contains codeine, a narcotic, said Dr. James Frost, an assistant state medical examiner.

Also, his blood contained traces of an antidepressant, but in an amount too small to determine the specific drug taken, Frost said.

“The tests so far indicate that he was not incapacitated by any drug they have found,” the medical examiner said.

Frost had said earlier that Casolaro’s death was consistent with a suicide. He said he saw no evidence of foul play but did not rule it out. Frost said he found nothing in the tests to change his mind.

Combining codeine with an anti-depressant may increase the effect of either drug, according to the Physician’s Desk Reference, a standard reference book.

Casolaro’s body was found on Aug. 10 by employees of a hotel in Martinsburg, in the eastern Panhandle. He was lying in a bathtub with both wrists slashed several times. A single-edged razor blade was found in the tub.

The reporter had been working for a year on a book on allegations made in 1983 that the Justice Department stole computer programs developed by INSLAW Inc., a Washington company.

The company has alleged in court that the Justice Department, which gave INSLAW a $10-million contract, stole software designed to help law enforcement officials track cases. Government officials have denied the allegations.

The software, which is useful in tracking dissidents, may have been traded to foreign intelligence agencies, INSLAW owner Bill Hamilton has charged. A House Judiciary subcommittee is investigating the allegations.