Joseph A. Cafasso

Joseph A. Cafasso knows people - retired admirals, generals, government officials. More to the point, he has said, he knows his way around the netherworld of counterintelligence through contacts he built during a sterling career as a lieutenant colonel in the Special Forces.

The Fox News Channel thought it had found an asset when it hired the gruff, barrel-chested former military man as a consultant to help in its coverage of 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.

For more than four months, Mr. Cafasso assisted and shared tips with reporters, producers and on-air consultants. Then on March 11, he abruptly left Fox amid complaints that he had overstepped his bounds and had become an annoyance. Soon afterward, Fox News, and many associates of Mr. Cafasso, learned that his office style may have been the least of his problems. The real story, many people say, was that he was not who he said he was.....


Mr. Cafasso's collaboration with Mr. Donaldson on TWA the crash ended abruptly when Mr. Donaldson asked to see his partner's service records and Mr. Cafasso told him they were sealed, Mr. Hill said. When the records were not provided, Mr. Hill said, Mr. Donaldson, who died last August, ended the collaboration....

Hanoi Jane Fonda