An alleged con man who reportedly duped high-profile military and political figures claiming to be a counterintelligence expert and Special Forces officer now is being investigated by the FBI, local officials said Thursday.

Joseph Cafasso, 52, has been in the Porter County Jail since Jan. 22, awaiting trial for failing to appear in court on charges of speeding and giving a false name to police investigators after he was pulled over in the Indiana Dunes State Park in October.

Conservation officers declined to comment Thursday on Cafasso, stating his case had been referred to the FBI for further investigation. FBI officials declined to say if they are investigating Cafasso.

According to an April 29, 2002, report in the New York Times, Cafasso claimed to be a well-connected spy who had a high-rank career in the Special Forces. 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," the Times reported.

Cafasso also appeared as a military and counterterrorism expert during Fox's coverage of the invasion of Afghanistan, even though military records show that his total military experience was 44 days of boot camp at Fort Dix, N.J., in 1976.

Cafasso reportedly had been living for several months with a Chesterton woman whom he met on an Internet dating Web site, where he posted his identity as "Robert Stormer." That also was the name Cafasso initially gave to Conservation Officer Robert Kauffmann, as well as a false Social Security number, before admitting his real name.

The woman turned over to Chesterton police a laptop computer that belonged to Cafasso and investigators there said they might seek a warrant to search the computer's memory for evidence in an investigation of Cafasso.

All that stands between Cafasso and freedom, pending trial, is $500 bond, the Porter County Sheriff's department said.

Cafasso's alleged exploits have garnered him a Wikipedia page, and several other Web sites and blogs devoted to tracking his movements and activities.

The suspect likely is male, the release continued, because the toilet seat in the employee restroom was left in the raised position.

Well, Longneck, next time you pull off a heist, be sure to go to the john and lower the seat...

But what if it's a woman who did that to throw them off her tracks!?

What I really got a kick out of were the missing sandwiches.

Me, too. And, when he discovered he was locked in, he made up one of the examining tables as a bed.

The world's stupidest criminals ply their trade here. Couple years ago, the local paper had a headline: "Police Warn of Counterfeiters." The story told of a guy who tried to pass off a phony bill at a nearby McDonald's. Police described it as "a poor-quality Xerox," and (are you ready?) it was a $50 on the front, a $20 on the back!
I can just see it now: guy comes into the McDonald's, says to the cashier, "Say, can you break a $50?" She says, "Sorry, sir, we can only accept 20's." "No problem," he says, turning the bill over...

Now i know we live in a democracy and everyone has the right to protest and the actions of a few do not represent the feelings of the majority but i was just interested in one question?

If this same thing happened in the US,what would happen?

Throughout most of the U.S. I would suspect you'd get the same response as you saw in Luton. Yes, freedom of speech, especially political speech, is deservedly revered and protected, but the exercise of that right carries consequences. The right to spew venom sometimes buys you the right to get punched in the jaw.

Here's a weird local story.... an 87 year old man was riding a bike and apparently lit a cigarette. Somehow the cigarette ignited his nylon jacket and the poor guy ended up burning to death. A FedEx truck driver saw what was happening and used a fire extinquisher to douse the flames but it was too late.

" Mind if I smoke?" and the Fedex driver responded " I don't care if you burn!"

[quote=SC]Rumor has it that the man, while riding next to the FedEx truck turned to the driver of the truck and asked " Mind if I smoke?" and the Fedex driver responded " I don't care if you burn!"

Lilo,
I think that most of these politicians that get caught is not because they're stupid. I think it's arrogance, plain and simple. They have so bought into their own sense of power that they believe that there is no way they can get caught.

In my former life, I had to deal with politicians all the time. Whenever we gave a luncheon or dinner, we would always make sure to recognize the elected officials in the audience. If, God forbid, we missed someone who came in late or something, you cannot believe the phone call we would get afterwards! Ego, ego, ego.

Lilo, where in Michigan are you? I was born/raised in Grand Rapids.
TIS