A maddening account of this man at Northeast Intelligence Network by Doug Hagmann is here.

And by The New York Times here.

Joe Cafasso:

Phony Colonel
Phony Green Beret
Phony three-time Silver Star Recipient for Heroism
Phony Delta Force Commando
the Phony Rescuer at DESERT ONE in Iran during Operation Eagle Claw
Phony CIA Agent at FOX News

People at Fox thought they’d found an asset to their reporting when they hired Joseph A. Cafasso, a self-proclaimed “former military man” as a consultant to help cover the fighting in Afghanistan. He claimed to have won the Silver Star for bravery, served in Vietnam and was part of the secret, failed mission to rescue hostages in Iran in 1980 and more.

Fox News people took his credentials at face value. He was an organizer for the Patrick J. Buchanan presidential campaign and apparently they fell for the story, too. And so did representatives, military officials and activists to whom he sold himself for years.

But records indicate that his total military experience was 44 days of boot camp at Fort Dix, N.J., in May and June 1976, and his honorable discharge as a private, first class.

The horrible thing about all of this is one of the senior analysts at the NE Intelligence network is on the receiving end of what I consider to be a malicious act-this man filed a frivolous complaint with the U.S. Department of Defense against one of their analysts which could potentially put at risk the security clearance he needs for his job.

What’s even worse is the part this man and another fraud have taken in the Jack’s case–website here.

This kind of behavior is despicable and I can’t believe the guy is still running around free.

Cafasso uses other names - particularly on the Internet, joined a number of restricted Internet groups that offer a lot of information about our nation’s security and the security of our nation’s nuclear power plants. Despite this possible breach of our national security by someone who has misrepresented himself and his military service record, he continues to remain free, assailing the efforts of those who have dared to identify him for what he really is - a phony and a fraud.

What I’m seeing–after a very cursory look around–is that frauds like this are doing some serious damage to guys who are doing some important counter terrorism work. If you do this kind of work, be aware of Cafasso and another guy who’s equally as deceptive; “Sir” Edward Artis.