@fartyshorts Ok, this is a little freaky. I have established that you must be correct about General Scientific Corporation, which is stated exactly as being founded by John J. Cox in the following, very interesting, Justia write-up on a 1987 Federal lawsuit:

http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/842/343/295728/ -- http://archive.is/SRoj4

... Perholtz contacted John Cox of General Scientific Corporation, a manufacturer's representative for Essex Engineering, to propose a consulting agreement with Essex, in which Essex would provide the hardware and Perholtz the software for a bid on ATAP [Automated Payroll System for the U.S., Postal Service]. At a meeting with Essex representatives, Perholtz stated that he had "contacts" at the Postal Service whom he referred to as "my people." ...

... The second subcontract involved cathode ray tube terminals ("CRTs") and printers joined to the terminals. To obtain these items, Perholtz again turned to John Cox of General Scientific Corporation. Perholtz told Cox that he and Conley Dillon, a long-time acquaintance, were forming a marketing corporation, and that General Scientific should pay Dillon any commissions from printer sales to IBS. Thereafter, Perholtz asked Dillon, a full-time employee of the Department of Labor, to sign a marketing agreement and receive commission payments from General Scientific, in return for which Dillon would retain six percent of the commissions and Perholtz would receive the rest. (Perholtz said that a conflict of interest prevented him from taking the commissions directly.) Dillon then signed a marketing agreement with General Scientific, backdated before General Scientific's first contact with the SBA; Cox signed this agreement without ever meeting Dillon. ...

... Computer Consultants International, Inc. ("Computer Consultants") was the conduit through which bogus commissions arising from the SBA's data communications project reached Jackson and Fletcher via Dillon.7 According to Dillon, Perholtz told him to turn Computer Consultants over to Fletcher and Jackson to pay them for their roles in the SBA project.8 At a subsequent meeting, Fletcher told Dillon to convert Computer Consultants' funds into cash or gold. Dillon complied and gave Fletcher and Jackson about $83,000.9

In September 1980, Jackson left IBS and returned to the Postal Service, where he resumed management of the Payroll Redesign Project, now in a phase called "STARS." Fletcher subsequently left IBS as well and formed a corporation called Computer Contemporaries, Inc. ("Compucon"), which entered into a consulting arrangement with Stanford Research Institute, a bidder on the STARS project. Perholtz had a contractual relationship with Honeywell, a competing bidder on the project. The STARS project was ultimately cancelled without award.

Fletcher also participated in a bid by Booz, Allen and Hamilton for a Postal Service contract in a project called "PRISM," of which Jackson was co-director. Fletcher persuaded Dillon to execute a backdated "service agreement" between Compucon and Computer Consultants.[#10] Dillon again did nothing pursuant to the agreement, but received $135,000 from Compucon.

[#10.] Perholtz originally obtained the incorporation papers for Computer Consultants from Fletcher, and the contents of those papers were substantially identical to Compucon's later-filed articles of incorporation. Perholtz in 1983 persuaded an acquaintance to acquire Compucon from Fletcher with funds loaned by Computer Consultants, which eventually itself acquired Compucon.

I just got goose bumps man ... PRISM ... Booze Allen ... Postal Service spook affiliated with the NSA? ... IN FREAKING 1980's!!! Well before Snowden who had only worked at Booz Allen -- the NSA contractor -- for 3 months, blew the whistle on this program which apparently was launched in 2007:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booz_Allen_Hamilton#PRISM_media_disclosures

In June 2013, Edward Snowden — at the time a Booz Allen employee contracted to projects of the National Security Agency (NSA) — publicly disclosed details of classified mass surveillance and data collection programs, including PRISM. The alleged leaks are said to rank among the most significant breaches in the history of the NSA and led to considerable concern worldwide. Booz Allen condemned Snowden's leak of the existence of PRISM as "shocking" and "a grave violation of the code of conduct and core values of our firm". The company fired Snowden in absentia shortly after and stated he had been an employee for less than three months at the time. Market analysts considered the incident "embarrassing" but unlikely to cause enduring commercial damage. Booz Allen stated that it would work with authorities and clients to investigate the leak. Charles Riley of CNN/Money said that Booz Allen was "scrambling to distance itself from Snowden."

It would seem that the claim that PRISM began in 2007 was a 'limited fallout' / damage control disinformation campaign. Snowden only had access to some powerpoint slides outlining the capabilities of PRISM, not the history of the project. Thus, Snowden would have had no idea of the provenance of the program, and the NSA made out as if this was an internet dragnet program only, though it looks as if it was launched as early as the 1980's involving the Postal Service, which makes a lot of sense.

So, this Justia write-up is a little complex, but the gist of this seems to be that 3 guys:

• Ronald J. Perholtz (sentenced to 10 years prison)

• Franklin W. Jackson (sentenced to 7 years prison)

• Gregory W. Fletcher (sentenced to 4 years prison)

... were involved in a complex racketeering, fraud, and mail fraud enterprise, setting up sweetheart Government contracts, originating with their links within the U.S., Postal Service (an obvious CIA and NSA area of communications concern). They had private corporations setup to milk funds, but also to cover-up secret affiliations. Snowden revealed that the FiveEyes PRISM was actually run between NSA and GCHQ in England, and that GCHQ may very well be the senior partner in the enterprise. Jackson and Fletcher were the main PRISM dudes. Perholtz, however, was seemingly affiliated with John J. Cox, who wasn't directly involved/implicated in the racketeering, but was perhaps affiliated with their computer companies Computer Consultants and Computer Contemporaries (Compucon). Were the Finders and The Community (and perhaps Community Computers), simply a CIA/MI6 circle parallel (shadowing) the NSA launch of PRISM in the 1980's using spooky internationalist cults? The initial police reports on Finders in 1987 stated that in the Warehouse at 1307 4th St, North East Washington D.C., systems to pass 'high tech' info/products onto London were found ... GCHQ/MI6 connection?

I'll do more digging, but PRISM spooks me out big time.