Joseph A. Cafasso

Joseph Anthony Cafasso, Jr. (born August 2, 1956) is a former Fox News consultant on military and counterterrorism issues who left the network after allegations surfaced that he misrepresented his military record.

Early life

Born in 1956, Cafasso was raised Carteret, New Jersey by parents Joseph A. Cafasso, Sr. and Giovanna "Jenny" Cafasso (née Mosca). He graduated from Carteret High School before enlisting in the Army in 1976. [Rutenberg, Jim. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F06EFD81E3EF93AA15757C0A9649C8B63 "At Fox News, the Colonel Who Wasn't"] , "The New York Times", April 29, 2002. Accessed November 29, 2007. " Born in 1956, he graduated from Carteret High School in Carteret, N.J., military records show."] cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=Obituary: Giovanna Cafasso, Carteret, 82 |url= |format= |work=ID: bru60116151 |publisher=Home News Tribune |pages= |page= |date=August 14, 2006 |accessdate= |language= |quote=]

TWA Flight 800 investigation

In the late 1990s, Cafasso became involved with events following the crash of TWA Flight 800 through his association with the Associated Retired Aviation Professionals, an organization that was conducting its own independent investigation into the cause of the crash Fact|date=April 2007. (The group had been spearheading a campaign to prove that the airplane was shot down by a missile; it submitted its findings in July 1998 in a document known informally as the "Donaldson Report", named after ARAP founder Cmdr. William S. Donaldson.)cite web |url=http://www.twa800.com/index.htm |title=Associated Retired Aviation Professionals |accessdate= |format= |work=] In November of that year, shortly after Cafasso appeared with Donaldson at a conference sponsored by Reed Irvine's think tank, Accuracy in Media,cite web | last =Cafasso | first =Joseph | authorlink = | coauthors = | title =What happened to TWA Flight 800? | work = | publisher =WorldNetDaily.com | date =November 23, 1998 | url =http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=16814 | format = | doi = | accessdate =] Some time thereafter, members of the group began questioning Cafasso's military background and according Donaldson, Cafasso would not produce his official record when requested to do so. As a result, Donaldson disassociated his organization from Cafasso.

Political activities

Previous to his employment with Fox News, Cafasso had worked for the Pat Buchanan 2000 presidential campaign, fundraising and running petition drives.cite news |first=Todd J. |last=Gilliam |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=Buchanan secures Texas spot for Reform in presidential bid |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/archive |format= |work= |publisher=The Dallas Morning News |pages= |page= |date=May 9, 2000 |accessdate= |language= |quote=Joe Cafasso, the campaign worker who coordinated the statewide effort from an Irving hotel room, said he had expected to need 'body armor' when he arrived in Bush territory but found the Texans highly receptive.] Official campaign finance records show that Cafasso was being reimbursed by the Buchanan campaign committee for travel and other expenses.cite web |url=http://herndon2.sdrdc.com/cgi-bin/dcdev/forms/C00343400/50655/sb/23 |title=Itemized Disbursements, Committee: Buchanan Reform, Inc. |accessdate=2007-04-05 |format= |work=Federal Election Commission]

He also became involved with a humanitarian organization led by Serbian-American activist David Vuich that was seeking to help people in Yugoslavia in the aftermath of the 1999 NATO bombing campaign.

Departure from Fox News

Cafasso had claimed to have been a retired lieutenant colonel in the Special Forces, a veteran of the Vietnam War, a recipient of the Silver Star, and a participant in Operation Eagle Claw. However, his official military record indicated that he served only 44 days in the U.S. Army from May to June 1976, being honorably discharged at the rank of private first class.cite news |first=Jim |last=Rutenberg |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=At Fox News, The Colonel Who Wasn't |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/29/business/media/29HOAX.html |format= |work= |publisher=The New York Times |pages= |page= |date=April 29, 2002 |accessdate= |language= |quote=]

Around the time the "New York Times" was developing a story about Cafasso he sent the newspaper an email claiming that his leaving Fox News was tantamount to "political assassination by a group of self-centered individuals with their own political agendas."cite web |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/05/01/1019441389321.html |title=Fake war hero who outfoxed TV network terminated |date = May 2, 2002 | accessdate=2007-04-04 |format= |work=The Age Online]

Cafasso appeared briefly in "", the 2004 documentary film that made the argument that Fox News had a right-wing bias. In it he delivers a short comment on decision-making at the network, comparing it to what he calls the "Christian fundamentalist movement."cite web |url=http://www.outfoxed.org/docs/outfoxed_transcript.pdf |title="Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism" FULL TRANSCRIPT |accessdate= |format=PDF |work=Carolina Productions] In an interview published in a companion book to the film, Cafasso hinted at seeing evidence of "right-wing religious extremism" at the network, and claimed that Fox vice president and Washington, D.C. bureau chief Kim Hume once asked him whether he was "an angel."cite book | last =Kitty | first =Alexandra | authorlink = | coauthors =Robert Greenwald | title =Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War On Journalism | publisher =The Disinformation Company |date=April 1, 2005 | location = | pages =251 | url = | doi = | id =]

Religious activities

According to a 2007 article published in the "Simpson County News", Cafasso was referenced as Director of Development for Mendenhall Ministries in Mendenhall, Mississippi, and was investigated by the local authorities who discovered that he had a long history of using many pseudonyms, claiming credentials he did not have, and claiming illness. In that article, Mendenhall Mayor Neely is quoted as saying that the last time he had seen him, Cafasso said he was going to St. Dominic's to have his gall bladder removed. The article concludes "It is suspected warrants exist for him under other names" and urges "anyone with information regarding this man" to contact the Simpson County Sheriff or a Mendenhall Police investigator. [Clara Aucoin, "Con Man Blows Mendenhall", "Simpson County News", Thursday, April 19, 2007, Section A, page 14.]

References

External links

* [http://sec-global.com/services/ctp/vsg/news/020429.html Cafasso's email communication with VeriSEAL] , an organization that verifies special operations backgrounds, and had questioned his military record claims; also includes republished text of the NYT article cited above.
* [http://www.sftt.us/dw05012002.html#1 Editorial discussing the phenomenon of false military claims] , from "Defense Watch", May 1, 2002, mentions Cafasso.
* [http://www.laweekly.com/general/features/storming-fort-brag/1238/ Article from October 24, 2004 issue of "LA Weekly"] examining military imposters and efforts to discredit them cites Cafasso as an example.
* [http://www.publicpolicy.umd.edu/IPPP/reports/vol23winspr03/Winter-Spring_Vol23_2003.pdf Verna V. Gehring, "Phonies, Fakes, and Frauds—and the Social Harms They Cause" (PDF)] , "Philosophy & Public Policy Quarterly", Volume 23, Numbers 1/2 (Winter/Spring 2003). Discusses Cafasso's engagement to the author's friend in the context of the policy implictions of lying.
* [http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind9907&L=FLIGHT-800&D=1&T=0&P=11084 Email communication from Joseph Cafasso] as publisher of "The Broken Arrow", believed to be one-time online newsletter of the Association of Retired Aviation Professionals.