Sunday, October 12, 2008

Author & FDE writes amazing Fiction series

Sheila Lowe is a Forensic Document Examiner, Handwriting expert, and the author of the Claudia Rose Forensic Handwriting Mystery series

Claudia Rose is a forensic handwriting expert who uses her expertise to help solve crimes.

Poison Pen and Written In Blood are the first two books in the Claudia Rose Forensic Handwriting Mystery series.

I have read Sheila Lowe's first book Poison Pen & couldnt put it down. I was done within 24 hours, and then had to wait almost a year for the next book Written in Blood. I plan on getting it for my birthday in less than 20 days.

Sheila does what Stephen King & Dean Koontz does (two of my favorite authors).

She grabs the reader and pulls them into the book, during the first paragraph and she doesn't let them go until the last paragrah. Even then she still has a hypnotic hold on the reader and leaves them wanting more.

Sheila's books are a must read in this blogger's opinion.

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Handwriting expert fingers Brooks

Forensic Document Examiner testifies about the handwriting on a Fed Ex shipping label.

Handwriting expert fingers Brooks

By TRENT SPINER
Union Leader Correspondent

Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008


BRENTWOOD – Prosecutors yesterday rested their case against accused killer John "Jay" Brooks after laying out evidence for more than a month implicating him in the murder of a Derry trash hauler.

The move opens the possibility for Brooks to take the stand in his own defense as early as this morning, though his attorneys would not comment on their plans.
Brooks, a multimillionaire businessman from Derry, has so far been largely emotionless throughout the trial as two of his alleged accomplices pointed the finger at him in the murder of Jack Reid Sr., 57.

Brooks' testimony could prove important for jurors trying to determine his intent when he allegedly lured Reid to a Deerfield barn in the summer of 2005. Because prosecutors are seeking a capital murder conviction against Brooks, they have the burden to show Brooks orchestrated Reid's killing after "substantial planning and premeditation."

Prosecutors spent yesterday questioning DNA and handwriting analysts who examined evidence in the case.

Alan Robillard, a documents expert, testified it was Brooks' writing on a shipping label used to send a package to the murder scene. While the name "Jay Brice" was listed on the slip, Robillard said he thoroughly examined the writing to determine it likely was done by Brooks.

Full article:
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Handwriting+expert+fingers+Brooks&articleId=ef9478b4-141d-4712-a797-ba04d4525ba2



similar article on the Brooks case: http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2008/10/07/state_rests_in_nh_murder_for_hire_trial/

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Lawyer still awaiting documents from prosecutors

Publication: The East Hampton Press & The Southampton Press
Motz's lawyer still awaiting documents from prosecutors
By Vera Chinese
Oct 8, 08 1:03 PM

The attorney representing Quogue Village Mayor George Motz, who was indicted in August on charges that he illegally earned more than $1.4 million for his Manhattan-based investment firm, is one step closer to securing a trial date for his client after requesting documents from the prosecution during a pre-trial hearing on Friday.

Mr. Motz’s attorney, G. Robert Gage of Manhattan, explained on Tuesday that the status conference, a pre-trial hearing held in U.S. District Court in Central Islip that lasted about 20 minutes, was held to discuss administrative tasks and scheduling concerns.

Mr. Gage said he is still waiting for the prosecution to provide him with documents he requested before he can file any motions on behalf of his client. “We thought that was the best course,” Mr. Gage said.

The rest fo the story: http://www.27east.com/story_detail.cfm?id=172021





Follow the story from the beginning:

Mayor is indicted
http://www.27east.com/story_detail.cfm?id=164771

Trial date to be set
http://www.27east.com/story_detail.cfm?id=170680

Lawyers waiting on documents
http://www.27east.com/story_detail.cfm?id=172021

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Discrepancies in Dallas DA’s Disclosure Reports

2 document examiners agree on the handwriting of Dallas DA's disclosure reports.


Note, this article was not found when visiting the original link--it was copied in its entirety from the link's cached pages

Original http://www.myfoxdfw.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7504924&version=5&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

Cached link: http://74.125.113.104/search?q=cache:Ra0e1p7C_I0J:www.myfoxdfw.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail%3FcontentId%3D7504924+Discrepancies+in+Dallas+DA%E2%80%99s+Disclosure+Reports&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

This is Google's cache of http://www.myfoxdfw.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?contentId=7504924. It is a snapshot of the page as it appeared on Oct 6, 2008 07:31:12 GMT. The current page could have changed in the meantime

Discrepancies in Dallas DA’s Disclosure Reports
Last Edited: Wednesday, 24 Sep 2008, 10:38 PM CDT
Created: Wednesday, 24 Sep 2008, 3:28 PM CDT

By Becky Oliver, Joe Ellis, Donna Ressl


Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins has made the integrity of the Dallas justice system a cornerstone of his administration. But when FOX 4 asked for an explanation of inconsistencies in his financial reports to the state, he didn't provide one. So, FOX 4 went to outside experts for help.

Elected officials are required to report everything about their personal finances. Those reports require an oath of truth. Every year elected officials like Dallas D.A. Craig Watkins must complete a personal financial statement, signed by them, witnessed by a notary public, and filed with the Texas Ethics Commission.

"That's where people go to find out whether you have conflicts of interest," says Tom "Smitty" Smith, with the government watchdog group, Public Citizen. "These are the heart and soul of disclosure in state government and in county government and they've got to be accurate," Smith continued. But FOX 4 noticed some apparent discrepancies with Craig Watkins’ disclosures.
On his 2008 personal financial statement, filed last spring, Watkins’ wife, Tanya is the notary shown on the statement affidavit. FOX 4 noticed the date on the notary stamp had expired five months earlier. FOX 4 also noticed the handwriting in the space provided for the notary looks nothing like Tanya Watkins’ writing on Craig Watkins’ 2007 disclosure affidavit and other public documents.

FOX 4 asked two experts, separately for their opinions. We provided them with copies of Craig Watkins' personal financial statements over the last three years and other public records.
Certified forensic document examiner Brenda Anderson noted how Craig Watkins tends to write the letter "Y" with the first stroke almost parallel with the baseline and randomly capitalizes the letter "A" within words. Those same characteristics, she points out, also show up in the notary space on Watkins 2008 disclosure affidavit. Anderson called the notary signatures on Watkins’ 2008 and 2006 disclosures forgeries in her detailed report.

Handwriting expert Jeanne Parsley also reviewed the documents and provided a detailed report. She, too, noticed particular traits in Craig Watkins' writing, including how he tends to write the letter "Y" and the letter "A," and reached a similar conclusion about the notary handwriting on Watkins' 2008 financial statement affidavit. "It is definitely Mr. Watkins' handwriting," said Parsley.

Parsley pointed out the expired notary stamp and what she calls "pictorial evidence" that Tanya Watkins' writing on other documents is very different from what appears on the 2008 disclosure affidavit. "The signature, it is not that of Tanya Watkins," said Parsley. "This is an attempt to disguise the authorship of the signature." But something else caught Parsley’s eye on the 2008 disclosure affidavit: the word "notary" in the space provided for "title of officer administering oath" is misspelled. The author spelled it "n-o-t-e-r-y."

Parsley says a comparison of Tanya Watkins' handwriting and signature on other documents shows she did actually notarize her husband's 2007 statement.

But on Watkins' 2006 financial statement, filed before the 2006 election, he used a different notary, Toyia Gamble. Parsley points out the "pictorial evidence" that the notary signature on the 2006 statement affidavit is nothing like Gamble’s signature on a 2003 deed of trust filed with the Dallas County Clerk. "It is not an attempt to even sign Ms. Gamble's name in the usual way that her signature would be seen," Parsley said. "Again, this is an attempt to disguise the signature," she continued.

Parsley again noted how Craig Watkins consistently writes particular letters, including the distinctive use of a capital "A," which appears in the notary’s printed name on the 2006 statement affidavit. "The printed name, as well as the title of officer administering oath line is in Mr. Watkins handwriting and is not that of Toyia Gamble," said Parsley.

So, is it a crime for someone else to use a notary’s stamp and signature?

"Depending on the situation, that could be interpreted as impersonating a public servant, which is a clear violation of the penal code and you can’t do that," said Scott Haywood with the Texas Secretary of State’s Office. Haywood says a notary public is a commissioned public servant, administering an oath of truth. "Signing for someone else and pretending to be that person - that would actually be a felony offense and you can't do that," Haywood told FOX 4.
FOX 4 asked Craig Watkins who signed his wife’s and Toyia Gamble’s signatures and used their notary stamps on his 2006 and 2008 financial statements. But Watkins refused repeated requests to go on camera. In a (1 written statement Watkins only says: "The Texas notary statute allows a duly licensed notary to acknowledge their spouse's endorsement." Actually, the Texas notary law says nothing about notarizing a spouse’s documents. But the Texas Notary Handbook does.

"You’re really not supposed to notarize for your spouse,” says Haywood. “Notaries are supposed to be independent witnesses that have nothing to do with the transaction or the documents that are being attested to," he continued.

So, did an independent witness notarize Watkins financial statements? He didn’t answer that in his statement. We also wanted to know about something missing from his financial disclosures…concerning his private business dealings.

Fidelity National Title’s corporate website still lists him as the direct contact for the fair branch office in Dallas.

Earlier this summer, Watkins told FOX 4 he has a contract with Fidelity National Title to close real estate deals as a fee attorney. Watkins said his contract is to sell title insurance, not for private legal work. Private practice is illegal for Texas prosecutors.

So, why does Craig Watkins’ name show up on 2007 real estate documents as "Craig Watkins – Attorney at Law," with his private business address? Watkins is the trustee on several deeds of trust filed with the Dallas County Clerk after he took office. One of them was filed on June 27. His wife, Tanya notarized all of them.

"You can't have it both ways," says Tom Smith. "Either you're working for the escrow agency and providing attorney services, or you're working for the county."
But is Watkins having it both ways?

On April 9th of this year, Craig Watkins filed a certificate of ownership for his title company with the Dallas County Clerk. Just three weeks later he filed his 2008 personal finance statement with the Texas Ethics Commission. But in his 2008 disclosure Watkins makes no mention of owning the title business. He only checked the box for "information relates to spouse" and checked the box indicating she is "self-employed."

"If he's showing it with the county that he is the owner and not with the Ethics Commission he's not telling the truth to one or the other of the bodies," says Tom Smith.

Texas Department of Insurance records show Craig Watkins is the "attorney" and his wife, Tanya is the "employee." Both renewed their escrow officer licenses last year. But on Watkins' 2007 and 2006 disclosure statements: again, nothing about his involvement in the title business.

In his written statement, Watkins says: "If FOX 4 believes some items may not have been reported on my 2007 and/or 2008 personal finance statement, please let me know what those items are as it would have been a mere oversight." FOX 4 had already told Watkins exactly what seems be missing from his disclosures, but he would not respond any further.
Watkins did report owning the actual, physical property of his title business, but Tom Smith says that's not full disclosure. "If you own an interest or represent to a state agency or county that you are the owner of a business then you need to make full disclosure on the personal financial disclosures to the state," says Smith.

Several weeks after FOX 4 asked for an explanation, and didn't get it, Craig Watkins did finally disclose owning the title business. In late August, he filed corrections to his personal finance statements for 2006, 2007, and 2008.

On one corrected financial statement and "good faith affidavit" to the Texas Ethics Commission, Watkins states: "my wife and I jointly own Fidelity National Title. Please include this in the section that requires that I report my interest in business ventures."
Watkins submitted another correction affidavit stating: "The notary stamp on my 2008 report was outdated. Please accept the notary stamp on this correction affidavit as a correction to the original stamp on the 2008 report."

Watkins did not file anything to address the discrepancies in the notary signatures.
The Texas Ethics Commission says it accepts all reports as being filed under oath and it cannot look in to any reporting discrepancies or take any action without a complaint.

Monday, October 06, 2008

Connecticut medical supply company suspended from Mecicaid program due to fraudulent claims

CCH® Medicaid — 10/3/08


State fraud penalties imposed against DME provider, owner
The Supreme Court of Connecticut upheld the state agency's imposition of $178,053.28 in restitution and a five-year suspension from the Medicaid program for overpayments and fraudulent claims by a provider of oxygen equipment and supplies and an individual owner. The state agency terminated the supplier's provider agreement after determining that 74 percent of the supplier's audited claims had been overpaid and that some of the overpaid claims were based on altered documents.

The evidence of misconduct

The auditor randomly selected 93 of the 3,496 claims filed by the supplier during the two-year period of the audit. Of those, 69 contained at least one of 16 irregularities that resulted in overpayments, including failure to have a certificate of medical necessity on file, claiming payment for more oxygen than was authorized, overlapping dates of service, use of billing codes inconsistent with the documented services, and alteration of documents. The supplier's response to the termination notice admitted errors and sloppy bookkeeping but denied knowledge of any alterations of documents. Extrapolating from the 93 audit claims, the agency determined that the supplier had been overpaid $261,303.45. It offset $83,025.17 from funds owed to the supplier.
Read the rest of the story here: http://health.cch.com/news/medicaid/100308a.asp

Saturday, October 04, 2008

Forensic spotlight cast on Bach's music

Forensic spotlight cast on Bach's music
Friday, 3 October 2008 Anna Salleh
ABC

Debate surrounds how much Anna Magdalena contributed to her husband's music

The international forensic science community is set to examine the provocative theory that Johann Sebastian Bach's wife, Anna Magdalena, wrote some of the works attributed to the great composer.

Associate Professor Martin Jarvis of Charles Darwin University in Australia will present his research at the International Symposium on the Forensic Sciences in Melbourne next week.
"The scientific evidence says the way we understand the relationship between Johann Sebastian Bach and Anna Magdelena is not correct," says Jarvis.

He says Anna Magdalena is normally portrayed as a simple woman who was only good for having babies and accurately copying Bach's manuscripts.

"My conclusions may not be wholly accurate," he says. "But the way in which tradition has put Anna Magdalena into this pathetic role ... is rubbish."

Jarvis, who is artistic director of the Darwin Symphony Orchestra says ever since his student days at the Royal Academy of Music in London in the 1970s, he has thought the Bach Cello suites did not sound like Bach.

"Certainly in the first suite, the movements are short and very simple, in comparison with the first movement of the violin works," he says. "And I couldn't understand why."

Jarvis' interest was further piqued by the discovery of a note written on the cover of the cello suites manuscript, by its owner.
This is the first time that Jarvis is presenting his work to the forensic science community.
Dr Bryan Found of the The Australian and New Zealand Forensic Science Society has been assisting Jarvis with his analysis.

"On the surface of what I've seen it seems valid conclusions are being drawn," he says.
Found says Jarvis has uniquely linked forensics with musicology in his analysis and will have to get feedback and peer review by experts in both field.

Friday, October 03, 2008

Judge denies new trial for teacher

Judge denies new trial for teacher
By: Linda Finarelli, Staff Writer
10/01/2008

Three anonymous letters calling into question the guilt of former Longstreth Elementary School teacher Susan Romanyszyn, who was convicted of 11 counts of terroristic threats in June, will have no impact on the verdict rendered against her.


Bucks County Court Judge Rea Boylan recently issued two rulings denying defense attorney Sara Webster's request for a new trial for Romanyszyn.Sentencing is now set for Nov. 2.

Romanyszyn, 46, of Warminster, was found guilty of terrorizing the school - scattering notes threatening to bomb the school and kill teachers and planting a fake bomb in a student's desk - between Oct. 11 and 19 of last year. The jury acquitted the then fourth-grade teacher of six counts of terrortistic threats and of a facsimile weapons of mass destruction charge.

Romanyszyn, who had previously taught math at Klinger Middle School for seven years and kindergarten at Longstreth for two, maintained her innocence during her testimony at trial and in comments following the verdict. Diagnosed with cancer following her arrest, she has been undergoing treatment since then.

Rest of the story:
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20146500&BRD=1306&PAG=461&dept_id=187834&rfi=6




Follow the story:
Teacher arrested
http://cbs13.com/national/Susan.Romanyszyn.Longstreth.2.643201.html

Teacher convicted: http://www.enews20.com/news_Teacher_Convicted_in_Threatening_Case_08854.html

Judge denies new trial
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20146500&BRD=1306&PAG=461&dept_id=187834&rfi=6

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Quogue Village Mayor trial date to be set

Publication: The East Hampton Press & The Southampton Press
Motz trial date could be set soon
By Vera Chinese Oct 1, 08 2:23 PM



A trial schedule could soon be set in the case involving Quogue Village Mayor George Motz, who was indicted last month on charges that he “cherry picked” profitable accounts for his Manhattan-based investment firm and then altered documents to impede the ensuing criminal investigation.


Mr. Motz, 66, and his attorney, G. Robert Gage, are expected to appear in federal court in Central Islip at noon this Friday, in front of U.S. District Judge Arthur Spatt for a status conference. The conferences, which are pre-trial meetings, are used to discuss how a case is proceeding and to set a tentative schedule for future court dates.

http://www.27east.com/story_detail.cfm?id=170680


Follow the story from the beginning:

Mayor is indicted
http://www.27east.com/story_detail.cfm?id=164771

Trial date to be set
http://www.27east.com/story_detail.cfm?id=170680

Lawyers waiting on documents
http://www.27east.com/story_detail.cfm?id=172021

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Defense agency rescinds whistleblower's gag order

Defense agency rescinds whistleblower's gag order
By Robert Brodsky rbrodsky@govexec.com
September 26, 2008


The Defense Contract Audit Agency has rescinded a controversial, and possibly illegal, nondisclosure memo filed in 2007 against an agency whistleblower, Government Executive has learned.

Two days after a Sept. 10 hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in which lawmakers excoriated agency leaders for appearing to retaliate against employees who had raised concerns about suspicious contractor fees, DCAA lifted the year-old gag order against veteran auditor Diem-Thi Le.

In a Sept. 12 memo obtained by Government Executive, Jan Findley, branch manager of DCAA's Santa Ana, Calif., office, wrote that Le was now free to share agency records with the Office of Special Counsel or any other government investigator.

Find the rest of the story here:
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=41071&dcn=todaysnews

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Miss Marple's final case: real-life crime mystery of late Oscar-winning actor

Alan Travis The Guardian,
Tuesday September 30 2008

She was an Academy Award-winning character actor best known in later life for her flamboyant screen portrayal of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple.


But after her death, Dame Margaret Rutherford became the victim of a crime mystery worthy of the spinster detective herself.


The case involved Rutherford's live-in companion, the disappearance of an Oscar, and a Fulham antiques dealer.


Rutherford, who played Miss Marple in four films between 1961 and 1964, appearing alongside her real-life husband, Stringer Davis, employed a down on her luck former soprano as a companion in her declining years.


Violet Lang-Davis lived at the couple's home in Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire, before Rutherford died in 1972. Lang-Davis, then in her 60s, stayed on to look after Rutherford's widower and grew so close to him that they contemplated marriage. But he died in August 1973 before they could tie the knot.


He left a will which bequeathed everything to his wife, even though she was dead. All the silver, china and furniture the grande dame of the English stage and screen had accumulated in her career was due to pass to Stringer Davis's distant cousin William James Davis. Lang-Davis was left nothing.


As Detective Sergeant Paul Hunter of the Gerrards Cross police told the director of public prosecutions: "She then embarked on a series of actions designed to secure the inheritance of the late Mr Davis," according to a Whitehall file released this month at the National Archives.
She went to see her old priest in Brook Green, west London, Father Joseph Williams, who had agreed to marry her and Davis. She left a copy of a will naming herself as sole beneficiary while Williams was out visiting parishioners. An accompanying note asked him to act as an executor and to forward it to the Rutherford family solicitors.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

No fraud found in voter registration

Note, this article was not found when visiting the original link--it was copied in its entirety from the link's cached pages

Original link: http://www.keysnet.com/news/story/23716.html

Cached link: http://74.125.113.104/search?q=cache:oc7srmc2Qj8J:www.keysnet.com/news/story/23716.html+Dodamead+also+voiced+concern+at+not+being+able+to+obtain+a+copy+of+his+own+records+and+that+a+handwriting+expert+was+not+used+in+the+case&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

No fraud found in voter registration
Keys man claims signature not his

By RYAN McCARTHY
rmccarthy@keynoter.com
Posted - Wednesday, September 24, 2008 07:01 AM EDT

The Monroe County State Attorney's Office has found no evidence of fraud in a Marathon man's voter registration records, though he disagrees.

After he voted in the primary in August, Tom Dodamead filed a complaint with the Supervisor of Elections Office, claiming the signature on a change-of-affiliation form with his information was not his. Dodamead says he did fill out a form changing his party from Independent to Democrat -- just not the one on file with the Elections office.

"I'm saying I didn't do it, that's the way I feel about it," Dodamead said, adding he has no plans to pursue the matter further.

"It's pretty stressful for me; I'd rather it just go away. I thought it was important enough to make sure it wasn't happening to anyone else," he said.

Well, investigators say it didn't happen to him.

They say no motive appears evident to tamper with the affiliation form because the party change was what Dodamead desired and the information on it is consistent with his other records.

"Had the contents of the two cards been different in any way, that might have suggested that some crime was being committed," State Attorney's Office spokesman Matthew Helmerich said.
"Results of the investigation indicate that although Mr. Dodamead believes his signature on the card in question was not his signature, it is," a State Attorney's Office report says. "Therefore, no evidence exists indicating a criminal act occurred."

The report cites a mark Dodamead uses when signing his name "indicating he is Thomas Emile Dodamead III." "That mark, on the card in question, is similar to the mark on his Florida driver's license record. This record contains four separate signatures of Mr. Dodamead," the report reads.

Dodamead said the information in the report was not what he was told by the State Attorney's Office.

"They just said they can't resolve it; they can't figure out who's telling the truth," he said.
Dodamead also voiced concern at not being able to obtain a copy of his own records and that a handwriting expert was not used in the case.

"It wasn't necessary to analyze the handwriting. There's a preponderance of evidence that says he was present with ID when both cards were filled out," Helmerich said of the card in question and the new one he filled out before voting in August.

"I didn't want this to turn into a big political issue. I just wanted to make sure it's not happening on a regular basis," Dodamead said.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Decision is Made on the Sharp County Wet/Dry Issue

Decision is Made on the Sharp County Wet/Dry Issue
Posted: Sep 25, 2008 06:01 PM EDT


SHARP COUNTY, AR (KAIT) - Judge Philip G. Smith decided not to allow the wet/dry issue on the November ballot in Sharp County.

The decision came down late Thursday afternoon. In his decision, Judge Smith stated that if this alcohol issue was on the ballot, the votes would not be counted and would be null and void.
The needed signatures to get the item on the November ballot was 4,369 but after 461 were invalidated, the total number fell short of the requirement.

More on this on Region 8 News on KAIT and kait8.com.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Wet-dry case enters day 3

Wet-dry case enters day 3
By Larry Stroud Guard Associate Editor
Published: Wednesday, September 24, 2008

ASH FLAT — The excitement level dropped sharply in day two of a civil trial to determine whether voters get to choose wet or dry in Sharp County this November.

Tuesday, however, Sheriff Dale Weaver and other officers set up a metal detector in front of the courtroom because of a comment a Cave City woman had made on Monday, the first day of the trial. The woman was taken to the sheriff’s office, then released without charges, after being heard saying she would return the following day with a gun.

Weaver said he did not interview the woman himself, but the two officers who did said the woman was known to say things she didn’t mean and was not considered a threat.

The metal detector “door” through which spectators had to walk was set up anyway.

The first day of the trial found the courtroom packed with spectators, most of whom appeared passionate about one side or the other.

Circuit Judge Phil Smith ruled that day that the petitions to get the issue on the general election ballot substantially complied with state laws regarding local option elections. He said part of the structure of the petitions was incorrectly worded but said he did not feel that was a fatal flaw and could be fixed with “judicial directive” concerning the wording on the ballots.

He ruled that the issue will be on the ballot, because those had to be prepared in advance and work had to start on that by Tuesday. However, it remains to be seen whether the votes will be counted.

That depends on the validity of the signatures.

Read the rest of the story here: http://www.guardonline.com/?q=node/48102

Monday, September 22, 2008

Man Charged In Series Of York County Robberies, Shootings Faces First Trial

Man Charged In Series Of York County Robberies, Shootings Faces First Trial
To comment on this story, e-mail Greg Suskin.
POSTED: 6:43 pm EDT September 22, 2008
UPDATED: 6:44 pm EDT September 22, 2008

ROCK HILL, S.C. -- There was a tremendous sigh of relief after the February arrest of 20-year-old Phillip Watts Jr. Watts is charged with seven armed robberies in York County last winter. Four people were shot in those robberies, including two store clerks and two customers in Fort Mill, Rock Hill and York County.

Monday morning, the trial began for Watts, who police said confessed to all seven crimes and gave a detailed statement of how they happened, even telling police he was going to hit a store in the city of York next.

However, on Monday Watts took the stand in a pre-trial hearing and denied ever confessing to anything. He told the judge that he read about the robberies in the paper but didn't know anything about them.

He also claimed that the signature at the bottom of one of the signed police statements wasn't his.

Watts's mother, Valerie Dunham, told Eyewitness News that if her son said he didn't commit those crimes, then she believes him.

"He knows if he did it better than anyone," Dunham said. "He didn't do it. I didn't raise him like that, to tell lies."

Judge John Few asked that a handwriting expert be called in to study the two signatures.

Read teh entire article: http://www.wsoctv.com/news/17533174/detail.html

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Typewriter Guru, Martin Tytell passes away

obituary
Blue-ribbon repairman keyed typewriter's role
By Bruce Weber

The New York Times

Article Last Updated: 09/17/2008 02:20:56 AM MDT

NEW YORK — Martin Tytell, whose unmatched knowledge of typewriters was a boon to American spies during World War II, a tool for the defense lawyers for Alger Hiss, and a necessity for literary luminaries and perhaps tens of thousands of everyday scriveners who asked him to keep their Royals, Underwoods, Olivettis (and their computer-resistant pride) intact, died Thursday in the Bronx. He was 94.

The cause was cancer, said Pearl Tytell, his wife of 65 years. She said her husband also had Alzheimer's disease.

When he retired in 2000, Tytell had practiced his recently vanishing craft for 70 years. For most of that time, he rented, repaired, rebuilt, reconfigured and restored typewriters in a second-floor shop in Lower Manhattan, where a sign advertised "Psychoanalysis for Your Typewriter."
There, at Tytell Typewriter Co., he often worked seven days a week wearing a white lab coat and a bow tie, catering to customers such as writers Dorothy Parker and Richard Condon, newsmen David Brinkley and Harrison Salisbury, and political opponents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Adlai E. Stevenson





In addition to his wife, Tytell is survived by a daughter, Pamela, of Paris, and a son, Peter, of Manhattan. Peter Tytell, who closed the store about a year after his father retired, is a forensic document examiner who frequently testifies in criminal trials, a natural offshoot of the family business.

see full obituary here: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_10480659