Joseph Cafasso Former Fox News military consultant turned fraudster Date of Birth: 02.08.1956 Country: USA

1. Biography of Joseph Cafasso
2. Investigating TWA Flight 800
3. Political Campaign and Fox News
4. Fraudulent Activities and Multiple Identities
5. Arrest and Further Revelations

Biography of Joseph Cafasso

Joseph Anthony Cafasso Jr. was born on August 2, 1956, in Carteret, New Jersey, to a large family. He has four sisters and one brother. His father worked as a chemist in a company in New Jersey. After graduating from school in 1976, Cafasso enlisted in the army.

Investigating TWA Flight 800

In the late 1990s, Cafasso was involved in an independent investigation, along with the ARRP organization, to uncover the true causes of the TWA Flight 800 crash. However, in November 1998, shortly after a conference with Commander William S. Donaldson, Cafasso became suspicious to the ARRP leadership when he refused to provide official military service documents. As a result, Donaldson dismissed Cafasso from his work at ARRP.

Political Campaign and Fox News

Prior to joining Fox News, Cafasso was responsible for running Patrick Buchanan's presidential campaign in 2000. Reports on campaign financing later revealed that Cafasso had used part of the funds collected to pay for his own travels.

Fraudulent Activities and Multiple Identities

Cafasso claimed to be a retired Special Forces colonel, a Vietnam War veteran, a participant in the "Eagle Claw" operation, and a recipient of the Silver Star award. However, his military records indicated that he served in the US Army for only 44 days from May to June 1976.

When the truth came to light, Cafasso disappeared, leaving Fox News and sending a letter to the 'New York Times' in which he compared his departure to a "political assassination by a group of egocentric individuals" who had realized their secret political plans.

According to an article in the 'Simpson County News' in 2007, Cafasso, using the name Jay, was the director of development at Mendenhall Ministries in Mississippi. Local authorities discovered that he had operated under different names, falsely claimed certain authorities, and frequently used health issues as an excuse for his disappearances.

The mayor of Mendenhall last saw Cafasso when he announced his intention to go to the hospital to have his gallbladder removed.

Arrest and Further Revelations

Finally, on January 21, 2009, Cafasso was arrested in Porter County, Indiana. It was revealed that he had previously been detained in Porter County in the fall of 2008 for speeding, driving with a suspended license, and providing false information. In Indiana, the fraudster was hiding under the name Robert Stormer.

It is believed that Cafasso also operated under the names Jay Mosca, Gerry Blackwood, and the username 'Shipdude' on the internet. At the time of his arrest in 2009, Cafasso was living with a 63-year-old woman whom he had befriended on a dating site. According to her son, Cafasso, pretending to be another person, deceitfully obtained all of the woman's savings. After Cafasso's arrest, convicted criminal Jack Idema, who had once been invited as a consultant to the local branch of Fox News, tried to obtain the laptop Cafasso had been using from the fraudster's live-in partner, but she handed it over to the police.

Additionally, it was discovered that during his arrest in the fall of 2008, Cafasso provided the police with a social security number that actually belonged to a 13-year-old girl from Rhode Island. Cafasso also claimed to the arresting officers that he was hiding from the CIA and FBI.