Chicago Tribune picked up on Cafasso's fraud

Laptop may hold key to high-level scam

February 7, 2009
Post-Tribune staff report

A traffic stop at Indiana Dunes State Park has led to an ongoing investigation involving a man whose past includes swindling Fox News and national political figures, local law enforcement agents say.

Joseph Cafasso, being held at Porter County Jail, was the subject of a 2002 New York Times article and has a Wikipedia page detailing his exploits.

Officials declined to talk about the ongoing case, which involves several federal agencies.

I wonder if this might involve the open FBI investigation in White Plains, New York.

"There are a lot of things involved here that I can't get into at this point," said Officer Bob Kauffmann of the Department of Natural Resources, who initiated the investigation.

It's believed that Cafasso impersonated rescue personnel in a drowning at Lake Michigan last year.

"Impersonated" is a rather odd description when you consider that he attempted to take over the rescue operations and began barking orders. And what they neglect to mention is - this article at the Tribune which mentions the drowning quotes Robert Stormer - out of all the rescue personnel who were there conducting search and recovery operations. Inadvertently journalists seem to use Cafasso as a source, even when he's using an alias! Moths to a flame!

In October, Kauffmann stopped Cafasso for speeding and driving with a suspended license.

Cafasso also provided Kauffmann with false information, including the alias "Robert Stormer."

There it is; Cafasso provided false information - a false ID to authorities.  I am told by a reliable source that he produced a military-type id that looked amateur-ish; with the name "Robert Stormer" on it. I don't know specifically, at this point in time, however, what that ID was supposed to be; but he didn't have a driver's license on him and was driving on a suspended license. It was his real identification he was supposed to show in court, which was why he didn't appear in court - as it says here:

And when Cafasso failed to appear in court last month, Kauffmann obtained a warrant for his arrest.

The curious case of Cafasso came to light Monday when a Chesterton resident turned over Cafasso's Apple laptop to Chesterton police. Kauffmann is waiting for a search warrant to access the laptop.

I hope they are able to get into it and find what's on it; that in itself would implicate him in a number of crimes including forging government documents.

The mother of the Chesterton resident had been in a relationship with "Robert Stormer."

She has been living with him for about a year.

She was also in the car when "Stormer" was stopped for speeding, Kauffmann said.

The woman, who resides in Tefft, in northeastern Jasper County, met "Stormer" about a year ago through an online dating service. They later moved in together. According to the police report, he took control over some of the woman's finances before she learned he was a fraud.

And he embezzled money from her, which is the main reason she's losing both of her homes and reportedly has nowhere to go!

According to the Chesterton police report, the woman and her son believe that Cafasso built a case against a man named Jack Idema, who also has a Wikipedia page.

"Built a case?" That's a rather odd description of his vendetta against Idema for ruining the scam that precipitated the New York Times article "At Fox News, The Colonel Who Wasn't". But Cafasso doesn't realize how many people at Fox unrelated to Idema didn't appreciate his brash manner, his rudeness, and his temper. And bringing up those Wikipedia pages is rather interesting when "Pleasantville" aka Kathryn Cramer is responsible for so many of the edits and updates there.

The police report continues:"Idema is allegedly a Special Forces soldier who went rogue and tortured people in Afghanistan without approval from his superiors. He was jailed in a military prison for this and he blames Cafasso for his troubles.

That is inaccurate. Idema is a Green Beret, and it is Cafasso who blames Idema for outting him as a fraud and blames Idema for losing his job at Fox. For the journalists who want to keep touting that "torturer" mantra about Idema, people might want to check out the story that was never told in the media about Idema at Cao's blog. I don't take a position either way, but I find it interesting that it is Cafasso who is in jail, but they keep repeating that "torturer" business as if it bears some type of merit. You need only look at the release photographs also at Cao's blog to see that there is more on the Idema story than meets the eye....and there is much more there than at Cramer's edited Wikipedia page on Idema, also.

Police say Idema knew about Cafasso's laptop. Idema contacted the Chesterton man through a phone search and told him he wanted the computer.

So he and his mother brought it to Chesterton Police.

Cafasso was successful in duping institutions and high-profile military and political figures as a well-connected counterintelligence expert who had a high-rank career in the Special Forces, according to an April 29, 2002, story in the New York Times.

Alleged victims included the Fox News network, Pat Buchanan's presidential campaign and "several representatives, military officials and activists to whom he had sold himself for years,"?

Cafasso appeared as a military and counterterrorism expert during Fox's coverage of the invasion of Afghanistan.

"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 article states Cafasso failed to show up to provide military records and other documents to The New York Times as he had promised.

The article continues: "Mr. Cafasso, it appears, has used his story of battlefield glories to make friends, find work, and perhaps most importantly, find acceptance among people who walk the fringes of Washington's power corridors, networking his way through a community of retired military officers to arrive at Fox News."

Absolutely priceless! What this article is missing is his masquerade before the Rob Stormer persona as LT. Col. Gerry Blackwood. Robert Stormer is not the only alias Cafasso has used over the years.

Still, this is excellent in terms of allowing people in on the magnitude of Cafasso's crimes and particularly his crimes against women.

I took the liberty of inserting some links into the text for the convenience of my interested readers.