Forensic Analysis Expert Witness

Expert Witness No.2156

Summary

Expert 2156 was born in Asheville, North Carolina.  Expert 2156 previously worked for the U.S. Government as a forensic scientist for over 25 years.  During that time he has worked on many notable cases to include; the Unabomber, numerous accused Nazi war criminals, e.g. John Demanjuk, a.k.a. Ivan the Terrible, the reinvestigation of the Dr. Martin Luther King murder, the reinvestigation of the Kennedy assassination/CIA conspiracy theory, the Quedlinburg Treasure, the Jon Benet Ramsey murder investigation, the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the D.C. Sniper investigation.  He has testified as an expert witness in state, federal and military courts of law, as well as testified or been deposed in foreign court systems to include; Austria, Australia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Canada.  He has also testified at The Hague in the Netherlands and three times before the U.S. Congress.  Expert 2156 most recently held the position of Laboratory Director and Chief Forensic Scientist for the United States Secret Service.  In that role, he managed up to 120 scientists, technicians, and support staff in the areas of document analysis, handwriting, fingerprints, trace evidence, audio and video analysis, photography, toolmarks, computer evidence and counterfeit analysis.  In 2005, Expert 2156 founded an independent forensic consulting and investigative firm located in California.

Occupation

Chief Forensic Scientist and President – A Forensic Consultant Company in California

Education

Associate of Arts Degree - Received June 1976
Florida Technological University, Orlando, Florida

Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science Degree - Received August 1979
University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida

Master of Forensic Sciences Degree - Received June 1983
Antioch University, Yellow Springs, Ohio

Pertinent Specialized Courses

Forensic Microscopy Course - March 1978
McCrone Research Institute, Chicago, Illinois

Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry - April 1979
Perkin-Elmer Corporation, Gaithersburg, Maryland

Gas Chromatography Course - December 1979
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Gaithersburg, Maryland

Advanced Gas Chromatography - March 1980
Perkin-Elmer Corporation

Advanced High Pressure Liquid Chromatography Course - January 1981
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Washington, DC (course location)

Ink and Paper Analysis Seminar - January 1981
U.S. Air Force - Office of Special Investigations, Washington, DC

High Pressure Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry - July 1981
U.S. Justice Department, F.B.I., Quantico, Virginia

High Pressure Liquid Chromatography/Computer Operation - March 1984
Perkin-Elmer Corporation, Rockville, Maryland

Questioned Document Course - February 1985
U.S. Secret Service, Washington, DC

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy Course - June 1986
Nicolet Analytical Instruments, Lanham, Maryland

Scanning Electron Microscopy - September 1994
Philips Electronic Instruments, Mahwah, New Jersey

ASCLD/LAB Inspector Training Course – January 2000
Portland, Oregon

Work Experience

December 1975 through March 1979
Laboratory Technician - University of Central Florida

March 1979 through September 1979
Internship - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms

September 1979 through July 1982
Forensic Chemist - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms

July, 1982 through June, 2005 (Retired)

Counterfeit Specialist

Questioned Document Examiner

Lead, Instrumental Analysis Section

Lead, Instrumental and Computer Analysis Section

Senior Document Examiner/National Expert for the United States Secret Service

Chief, Questioned Document Branch

Assistant Laboratory Director

Laboratory Director/Chief Forensic Scientist

United States Secret Service

June 2005 to Present – Chief Forensic Scientist and President
Forensic Consulting Company located in California

Instructor

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Rockville, Maryland

United States Air Force, Office of Special Investigations
Special Investigator’s Course, Washington, DC

United States Secret Service, Washington, DC

Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Glynco, Georgia

Drug Enforcement Agency, Washington, DC

International Law Enforcement Academy
Budapest, Hungary

Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Washington, DC

Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York

Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, CA

Guest Speaker

(Dates available upon request)

Montgomery College - Rockville, Maryland

Antioch School of Law - Washington, DC

Montgomery College - Ink and Paper Analysis/Instrumental Techniques Rockville, Maryland

Document Security - Washington, DC

George Washington University - Ink and Paper Analysis , Washington, DC

Inspector General Office - Health and Human Services
Tri-regional Conference - Mt. Pocono, Pennsylvania

Bolling Air Force Base - Joint Basic Computer Forensic Workshop - Washington, DC

Virginia Military Institute - The Uses of Chemistry and Biology in the Forensic Sciences
Lexington, Virginia

UCLA - Forensic Examination of Financial and Identity Documents
American Society of Questioned Document Examiners meeting - Los Angeles, California

Catholic University - Science Under Oath – Washington, DC

GATF Conference - Security Printing, Computers and the Forensic Scientist
Pittsburgh, PA

Fraud Prevention Workshop Security Printing –U.S. Department of State
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

International Association for Identification Forensic Science and Fraudulent Documents
Sacramento, California

San Luis Obispo Criminal Bar Association Getting the Most from Forensic Technology
in Criminal Investigations – San Luis Obispo, California

California Association of Licensed Investigators Counterfeits Are All Around Us!
Palm Springs, California

Specialized Tours/Training

(Dates available upon request.)

Crane-Weston Paper Mill, Dalton, Massachusetts

Philadelphia Mint, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Bureau of Engraving and Printing , Washington, DC

Visa International, San Francisco, California

Malco Plastics, Garrison Park, Maryland

BIS CAP International, Ink Jet Printing Conference, Boston, Massachusetts

Achievements

(Dates available upon request.)

Participated as a "referee" in the Crime Laboratory Proficiency Training Program Forensic Sciences Foundation

Testified before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, U. S. House of Representatives.  These matters concerned the investigation of fraud in science.

Certified by the U.S. Secret Service as an accredited Examiner of Questioned Documents

Recipient of the Health and Human Services Inspector General’s Integrity Award,

Appointed Chairman of A.S.T.M. task groups concerned with developing standards for performing "Writing Ink Comparisons" and "Writing Ink Identifications".

United States Delegate at a European Meeting on Currency Counterfeiting, The Hague, Netherlands, and at the First International Conference on Fraudulent Documents, Ottawa, Canada,

United States Delegate at a European Conference for Police and Government Experts, London, United Kingdom.  Presented a paper on Ink Dating, Relative and Absolute.

Testified before the House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims, U.S. House of Representatives.  This matter concerned detection and prevention of counterfeit documents.

Classified as an “Inspector” for the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors

Elected to the Board of Directors for the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors.

Elected to the Board of Directors for the Document Security Alliance.
Appointed as Forensic Consultant for United Nations, tasked with development and implementation of a successful forensic laboratory in Nigeria, Africa

Elected to the Board of Directors for The Academy

Certified Forensic Consultant, American College of Forensic Examiners Institute

Appointed as a forensic consultant for the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs in Yerevan, Armenia

Original Research Publications/Presentations

Available upon request.

Professional Affiliations (Past and Current)

Mid-Atlantic Association of Forensic Scientists

American Academy of Forensic Sciences - Fellow

Canadian Society of Forensic Scientists

American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors

Document Security Alliance

California Association of Licensed Investigators

Forensic Expert Witness Association

American College of Forensic Examiners Institute

Offices Held

(Dates available upon request.)

Mid Atlantic Association of Forensic Scientists
Secretary/Treasurer

American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors
Board of Directors

Document Security Alliance
Board of Directors

The Academy
Board of Directors