Joseph J. Cappucci (1913-1992) was a

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

( Special Agent) who served as the first director of the Defense Investigative Service and the 6th Commander of the

Air Force Office of Special Investigations The Department of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) is a U.S. federal law enforcement agency that reports directly to the Secretary of the Air Force. OSI is also a U.S. Air Force field operating agency under the administrative ...

(AFOSI or OSI). As the Defense Investigative Service director, he oversaw its tasks of facilitating personnel security investigations, supervising industrial security, and performing security education and awareness training. As the AFOSI commander, he was responsible for providing independent professional investigative services to commanders of all U.S. Air Force activities about fraud,

counterintelligence Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or ...

and major criminal matters by using a worldwide network of agents stationed at all major Air Force installations and at a variety of special operating locations. He also served as the director of special investigations within the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Air Force while commanding AFOSI.

Education

Cappucci graduated from

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

in June 1935. Besides the

Command and General Staff School The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

, he also attended the U.S. Air Force Special Investigations School, British Secret Intelligence School, Air Intelligence School, Radar Observer Intelligence School and the

Airborne School The United States Army Airborne School – widely known as Jump School – conducts the basic paratrooper (military parachutist) training for the United States Armed Forces. It is operated by the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 507th Infantry, Uni ...

, and holds the ratings of parachutist and gliderman.

Military career

Upon graduation from the

Reserve Officers Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

program, Cappucci commissioned as a second lieutenant into the

U.S. Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

Reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

. Early in his career, Cappucci performed duties as a

and

intelligence officer An intelligence officer is a person employed by an organization to collect, compile or analyze information (known as intelligence) which is of use to that organization. The word of ''officer'' is a working title, not a rank, used in the same way ...

. He was also placed on special duty with the British Intelligence Service and provided detached service to the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

. Cappucci assignments included an overseas posting at the Directorate of Special Investigations, U.S. Air Forces Europe (USAFE), where he served as chief of the

Counterintelligence Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or ...

Division. While in USAFE, he was a member of various intelligence boards in Germany, France and other areas in USAFE, and was responsible for putting into effect a counterintelligence program throughout all USAFE areas of interest. Cappucci would go on to lead other divisions and commanded at the wing-level. Prior to his assignment as Commander of AFOSI, Cappucci served as the director of special investigations within the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Air Force and commanded the 1005th Special Investigations Group, which was a worldwide centrally directed organization. After commanding AFOSI, Cappucci was appointed the first director of the Defense Investigative Service, which was his last assignment.

President Kennedy assassination conspiracy theory

In the late 1960s, Cappucci was commander of the 1005th Special Investigations Group, which gave him access to many individuals in the intelligence community including a close and long-term relationship with former

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

director

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation � ...

. During a dinner at a hotel in Rome, Italy, with Lieutenant Colonel William H. Amos and his wife, Cappuci talked at length about inside knowledge of Mary Jo Kopechne's death inside of former Senator Ted Kennedy's car at

Chappaquiddick Island Chappaquiddick Island (Massachusett language: ''tchepi-aquidenet''; colloquially known as "Chappy"), a part of the town of Edgartown, Massachusetts, is a small peninsula and occasional island on the eastern end of Martha's Vineyard. Norton Poi ...

, MA. It became clear to Mrs. Amos, Cappucci obtained inside information about the investigation of the accident from Hoover and how Ms. Kopechne's parents agreed to a settlement with Senator Kennedy to remain silent. Afterwards, the conversation turned to former President John F. Kennedy's assassination wherein Cappucci told the couple, "it was no wonder LBJ had JFK killed." After the dinner, Lt Col Amos told his wife to never repeat what Cappucci said, which she did for nearly 50 years.

Major awards and decorations

Cappucci is the recipient of the following: * National Order of Vietnam in grade of Knight * Vietnamese Air Service Honor Medal * Republic of China Police Medal * Republic of China Order of National Security Merit Cheon-Su Medal

Personal life

Cappucci was married to his wife, the former Barbara Wade Gibson, of Falls Church, Virginia, for 50 years until he died at the age of 79 to cancer. They are buried together at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cappucci, Joseph J. 1913 births 1992 deaths United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations United States Air Force generals University of Wyoming alumni Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Burials at Arlington National Cemetery