Bomb warning prompts emergency landing

Bomb warning prompts emergency landing

Essam Al Ghalib

Last Updated: September 11. 2008 11:21PM UAE / September 11. 2008 7:21PM GMT


A bomb hoax on an Air Arabia flight from Sharjah caused a red alert at Chittagong airport in Bangladesh on Wednesday.Bomb disposal experts, army personnel and fire officers met the plane carrying 81 passengers after a flight attendant found a handwritten note warning of a bomb on board. “There is a bomb set,” said the note written in Bengali left on a service tray, according to Air Arabia’s communications manager Housam Raydan.

A member of the flight crew who found the note asked a passenger to translate it for her. When its contents were revealed, she notified the captain who immediately alerted air traffic control of a possible emergency.The plane was given priority landing status at Chittagong and was towed to an unused part of the airport where it was searched, but no bomb was found. Upon landing all 81 passengers were asked to provide a handwriting sample and security personnel arrested a Bangladeshi man.

Full article: http://www.thenational.ae/article/20080911/NATIONAL/169508699/-1/NEWS

Caseworkers' documents altered in Tatar case, report says

Caseworkers' documents altered in Tatar case, report says
By Renatta Signorini

TRIBUNE-REVIEW NEWS SERVICE

Saturday, September 13, 2008


A sworn statement from a caseworker and an expert's report that caseworkers' documents were altered were accepted into evidence Friday during an appeal hearing for an Armstrong County man serving a life sentence for the starvation death of his daughter.

Jeffrey Miller, the attorney for James Tatar, 46, of Parks Township, had asked that Judge Kenneth Valasek provide him with resources to bring the forensic document examiner, Albert H. Lyter, from North Carolina to testify. Miller also asked for a detective's help to find Pamela Walmsley, a caseworker who worked with 4-year-old Kristen Tatar and her parents before the girl's death in 2003.

Valasek instead permitted the statement and report be part of the record of an appeal hearing in which Tatar is seeking a new trial.

see full story: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleyindependent/teenscene/s_588017.html

Two politicos charged in passport case

Daily Mirror Front Page

Thursday, September 11, 2008


Two politicos charged in passport case

By T. Farook Thajudeen.



The CID filed charges before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court against two Western Provincial Councillors for allegedly aiding and abetting a person to obtain a passport on forged documents.

The CID filed charges against the two Provincial Councillors Andarage Don Gamini Thilakasiri of Katuwawala, Boralesgomuwa and Hector Bethmage of Talangama South, Battaramulla for aiding and abetting Karunapalage Nandana Jagath Kumara to prepare forged documents to obtain passport bearing no. N 165324.

Whole story:
http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=25971

Irish police demand handwriting samples after plane bomb hoax

Irish police demand handwriting samples after plane bomb hoax

Monday, 8 September 2008

Gardai demanded handwriting samples from 223 passengers and nine crew members during a major security operation at Dublin Airport after a note was found on an Aer Lingus plane warning of a bomb on board.

The operation began at about 9.30am on Saturday when the transatlantic flight travelling from New York to Dublin landed at Dublin Airport.

One of the crew members on the flight had reported finding a paper towel in the toilet of the plane with a written warning that there was a bomb on board.

The plane landed and taxied to a secure location some distance away from the airport terminal and was secured by armed gardai.

Passengers disembarked and interviews were conducted in the terminal building. Passengers were asked to supply samples of handwriting.

Full article: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/irish-police-demand-handwriting-samples-after-plane-bomb-hoax-13963266.html

Who Owns Early Film Star's Oscar

September 8, 2008 5:27 PM
Quinn Emanuel on Case of Who Owns Early Film Star's Oscar
Posted by Zach Lowe


How much is an Oscar worth on the private market? Experts have suggested the trophies can fetch anywhere between $500,000 and $1.5 million. And that's the kind of cash the descendants of Charles "Buddy" Rogers, the former husband of silent film star Mary Pickford, hope to fetch by selling the 1929 Best Actress statuette Pickford won for her role in Coquette, to raise proceeds for charity.

One catch: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences claims it has the right to buy the statue first--for $10.

A Los Angeles trial court judge gave the Academy its first victory in the case yesterday, ruling against the Rogers-Pickford team's motion for summary judgment and ordering the case to a jury trial.

Christopher Tayback of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges is representing the Academy. The firm is the Academy's regular outside counsel.

Mark Passin of Dreier Stein Kahan Browne Woods George, an entertainment litigation boutique, is representing the Rogers heirs.

The Academy established the $10 first-refusal rule in 1950, well after Pickford won her Best Actress award--the first ever given for a performance in a so-called talkie. Regardless of when she first received that Oscar, the Academy contends Pickford signed away her rights to sell it when she won an honorary Oscar in 1975. Passin says Pickford never signed any such agreement and has hired a handwriting expert who has filed a declaration with the court backing the heirs' claim. Quinn Emanuel disagrees, though Academy lawyers concede that an assistant may have signed on behalf of Pickford, who was in her mid-80s at the time. Either way, the agreement should hold up, Tayback argues.

Read teh rest of the story:
http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2008/09/quinn-emanuel-o.html

Teacher Convicted in Threatening Case

Teacher Convicted in Threatening Case
By Marie Miller23:31, June 26th 2008

A split verdict was reached in the case of a fourth-grade teacher in Philadelphia who was accused of planting terrorist notes in the school where she worked.

The judge found Susan Romanyszyn guilty on eleven charges, but she was also acquitted on seven other.

Romanyszyn left threatening messages in the hallways of Longstreth Elementary School in the fall, while she worked as a teacher there, The Philadelphia Inquirer informs.

The notes read messages such as “You die today,” “Bomb today” and “I have a weapon and a knife.”

The rest of the story: http://www.enews20.com/news_Teacher_Convicted_in_Threatening_Case_08854.html

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

OU closed due to written threats found on campus

04/13/2008
By STEVE STAEGER
Senior Reporter

Threats written on bathroom walls in two academic buildings and the Oakland Center have prompted university officials to close the campus until 7:00 a.m. Tuesday.

“Our crisis management team met early this morning to go over the facts,” said Sam Lucido, OU Chief of Police.

That team made the final decision to close the campus.

“Safety and security are the university’s highest priority and the decision to close campus is consistent with that philosophy,” Lucido said.

The closing comes after phone tips led police to discover a vague threat on the men’s bathroom wall in O’Dowd Hall, and another threat in a men’s room in the Oakland Center Saturday. An e-mail was sent to students after the first message was found and investigated.


full article: http://www.oaklandpostonline.com/read_article.php?id=278

Pa. Teacher arrested For Alleged School Threats

Feb 1, 2008 3:45 am US/Pacific

Pa. Teacher Busted For Alleged School Threats


DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (CBS) ― An elementary school teacher has been charged with terrorizing her own school with verbal and written threats.

Investigators said the apparently disgruntled educator made phone calls, left notes, and wrote threats on school walls, CBS station KYW-TV in Philadelphia reported.

Susan Romanyszyn, a former teacher at Longstreth Elementary School in Warminster, turned herself into authorities on Thursday. Romanyszyn has been charged with 17 counts of making terroristic threats.

Police said Romanyszyn left over a dozen threatening notes at the school. Police said she wrote on school walls and wrote "die" and "I will kill" on one occasion.


The rest of the story:
http://cbs13.com/national/Susan.Romanyszyn.Longstreth.2.643201.html



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

Kathie Koppenhaver, FDE

I travelled to Baltimore Md, this past weekend to attend Kathie Koppenhaver's Forensic Document Examiners Conference held at the BWI Marriott hotel.

I saw many of my colleagues from past conferences, and we picked up right where we left off.

Kathie talked to us about the image of an Expert Witness, how to dress, how to behave etc.

We learned about different court room displays and the pros and cons for each. We discussed jury books, computer/video projection, and static displays.

Bill showed us his lab setup, including his stereo microscope, and his magnifying cameras. He brought out his IR filter, and we all got to see if our camera was capable of seeing IR. MOst of the point & click digitals could see IR, but the more expensive cameras (like the Nikon D80 or the Canon Rebel) had a hot mirror in it which stops the camera from seeing Infrared.


We learned how to take requested writings from Bob Baier, who is an excellent speaker and document examiner.

Anne Smith, from Virginia, showed us a cool new program that lets you do measuring and statistical analysis with computer generated calipers, compasses, and protractors. The information is then exported into Excel, where formulas are used to get the statistical information.

Linda Hodges, from North Carolina, presented on book collection software called bookcollectorz. This software will allow you to scan in your books (via the ISBN) or it can go online and gather information using only the ISBN or Title. This is a program that will grow with any avid book collection.

A mock trial was held, and those not court qualified were able to get some experience and those who have been court qualified before, were able to hone their skills.

After the 2 day conference, Kathie was kind enough to invite everyone to her office, so we could see how she operated her business. A great time was had by all, and it was over in a flash.

We are already planning next year's conference--it is one you dont want to miss.

Miami Dade Police Training

In June, I was fortunate enough to go to Miami for a week long training in their Forensic Digital Image Processing Workshop. Using Photoshop, we were taught how to legally enhance photos from crime scenes, as well as documents where the writing was obscured or marked through.

We were taught by Brian Dalrymple and Associates. Brian is from Canada and has many years experience working with photo enhancement.

Phil Sanfilippo and Rosa Holtz were the course coordinators. Phil is a member of Miami Dade Police Dept.

On the last day we did a mock trial and had an attorney come in and do the questioning. He was tough, but we learned quite a bit from him.

I am looking forward to going to more of the classes offered by Miami Dade Police.

Lawyer falsified emails and a memo in lawsuit

Here is a recent news article on altered documents dated Jun 5, 2007:

Lawyer altered documents in Best Buy case
Company says attorney in alleged MSN scam case acted on his own

updated 6:03 p.m. ET, Tues., June. 5, 2007


SEATTLE - A lawyer for Best Buy Co. has acknowledged that he falsified e-mails and a memo before turning them over to plaintiffs in a nationwide class-action lawsuit — a development that could prompt the judge to find the company liable for tens of millions of dollars in damages.

King County Superior Court Judge Douglass A. North Jr. has previously scolded Best Buy for not being forthcoming with documents related to the case, so last month's revelations about the actions of Minneapolis attorney Timothy Block do not bode well for the company.
The lawsuit, filed in 2003, accuses Best Buy of signing up at least 100,000 customers for trial subscriptions to Microsoft Corp.'s MSN Internet service from 1999 to 2003, in many cases without their knowledge. Once the trial period ended, the customers began incurring credit card charges they had not approved.

to read the rest of the story follow this link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19056379/

NADE Conference 2007

Recently I went to the NADE Conference in Tucson, AZ. It was a week long seminar, with numerous speakers.
Some of the topics discussed were:
Forensic Photography
Print Procees Identification
Art and Artifact Forgery Identification
Decoding Printer information
Forgery Science
ASTM
Paper Analysis
Extreme Grips
Book Smarts

I met a few published document examiners such as Kathie Koppenhaver, Reed Hayes, Marcel Matley, and Dr Brian Found.

What I learned will be invaluable to me in my business of Forensic Document examination.

Reading Between the lines

I recently had the opportunity to talk to a local reporter about my job as a Forensic Document Examiner.

My website is
http://www.forgerydocumentexaminer.com/

Christie & I sat in a coffee shop in Harrisburg, as we spoke. I have attached the article she wrote. I hope you enjoy & learn a little more about Forensic Document examination.

Reading between the Lines

Love of science and attention to detail make Hodges feel at home as a forensic document examiner.

By Christie Barlow (Cbarlow@independent tribune.com)

Most people don't pay attention to the junk email that shows up in their inbox.

But it's a good thing Linda Hodges did.

As a child Hodges spent time taking door handles apart and trying to put them back together. She wanted to figure out how they worked.

"I have to know how everything works," Hodges said. "Science is the unknown, when working with the unknown you have to find stuff out. I think that's the magic of it."

As far back as she can remember, she has always loved science.

She received her degree in electronics and was working as a web designer and newsletter editor before she received a career changing e-mail.

Out of the blue, she got an email about becoming a a forensic document examiner with a phone number to call for more information.

She called, and the job sounded like a fit for her.

Hodges enrolled in the School of Forensic Document examination two year apprenticeship program in 2006, and has been working ever since. The program teaches how to analyze handwriting and recognize characteristics in forgeries, Hodges said.

Looking at things like the angle, size, shape, & fluidity, Hodges can determine whether or not a signature was forged.

"There are certain ticks that people have that no matter how hard they try, they don't go away," Hodges said. "I study their handwriting and know that people have certain quirks."

During the two year apprenticeship, Hodges is required to review handwriting samples and perform various tests.

A test would involve a list of 10 different writing samples.

Each participant would write the same word in two different ways.

The forensic document examiner has to pick which two samples match each participant.

They do so by looking for small quirks and tells people have in their handwriting, Hodges said.

"No signature is exactly the same," Hodges said. "But there are quirks. I've written my name 25 times and it is always the same length; it's always the same height."

Now 6 months into her apprenticeship, Hodges has already started working on cases.

With the help of 15 to 20 other forensic document examiners, Hodges examines wills, marriages licenses, graffiti, threatening letters, forged checks, and any other document that some one has signed.

She compares handwriting samples to an alleged forgery and determines whether or not the signature is legitimate.

"The most interesting thing is looking at the signature and helping people," Hodges said. "Some people just want to know if you can tell the difference, and other people need to clear their name."

With identity theft becoming an increasing problem, there is a need for forensic document examiners, Hodges said.

Her goal is to become one of the top examiners in the area.

She wants to testify about important cases in court, but says she deals with largely with wills and forgeries right now.

"It's exciting," she said. "Every case is different, so it's not monotonous. It's a great career."

Two more cases solved

During our tele conference, Bob Baier went over 2 cases.


We were introduced to measuring the height & width of letters.

Bob is a wonderful FDE who gives praise to others when they do an exceptional job. I look forward to working with Bob and learnign from him.

Document Examiner 007: Victim of Forgery??

An awesome true life story about how a forensic document examiner helped someone find justice.

QDE vs HWA What are the differences?

There is so much confusion on what a Questioned Document Examiner (QDE) does vs what a Handwriting Analyst (HWA) does. The QDE examines documents and verifies if the writing is the same. The HWA looks at handwritng to assess personality traits.

Being they are separate disciplines, the requirements are such that separate training and separate certifications to practice professionally are required. They are not interchangeable skills.

Document examiners do work involving analysis of the physical characteristics of writing. They determine who wrote what.

Document examiners may be called into court to testify as an "expert witness." They can be hired by either side to do that. However, many cases are settled long before they go to court. The important fact is that personality assessment is not a factor in their work.

Handwriting Analyts look at handwriting to find personality traits. The handwriting is analyzed to determine what personality traits show up in a given sample of handwriting. For example a lower case 't' with the bar crossed low on the stem is indicitave of low self esteem. The traits and their meaning are given to the writer.


Some QDE & HWA list themselves as handling both kinds of work. That is ok if they are trained and qualified in both.


QDE work is a science and more highly regarded by the public and is in greater demand because fraud & deceit are at an all time high.

Many feel HWA is is not a science, although many HWA would disagree.

National Handwriting Week - How safe is your mail?

National Handwriting Week
How Safe is Your Mail? by Sandi Basye
(postal fraud, busted by forensic document examiner)

This is National Handwriting Week. To some this may not have much meaning, but to those who have been a victim of fraud and have been redeemed by a handwriting expert the dedication of such a week becomes meaningful. I am one of those redeemed victims. Allow me to explain. Question, how safe is your mail? Fraudulent mail transfers can cause more problems than you could ever imagine. Are you aware that anyone may put in a change of address for you? The post office does not require identification. The change can even be made through the mail or internet. Therefore, you would never be alerted to its existence until after the fact. Being a victim of this action has changed my life forever.


Read the rest of the article here

Ethics as a Document examiner

Wednesday night I was on a teleconference about Ethics in the Forensic Document Examination industry.

Did you know:

A forensic document examiner is expected at all times to be: a non-advocate, non-bias, non-spurious, non-prejudice, impartial, skillful, informed, reputable, truthful, reliable, dedicated, publicized, thick-skinned, dynamic, qualified, an author, studious, competent, with integrity and wisdom, and of course ethical.

That is a lot of resonsibility & takes a lot of morel turpitude. It is almost the same standards by which we expect officers of the law, laywers, & judges to abide by....but that is another debate for another time.

We had a lot of tough questions posed to us, and as a Document examiner, we are held at a very high standard.

A word to everyone: Verify the INTEGRITY and the REPUTATION of anyone before giving them your money.

Discrimination in Handwriting

Tonight a group of Doc examiners got together on a conference call.

We talked about Handwriting Identification and the underlying process in identification. We found out how handwriting identification is taught, & fundamental & significant differences in handwriting.

We also discussed different books to add to our library, and licensing issues for a few states.


Linda

Rendering Opinions

I have 2 cases I am currently working on. One is from California, and the other one is from Texas. The questioned documents are copies, but with the proper equipment and some patience, I was able to render my opinion.

I used my light tracer II light box, Microsoft Powerpoint, Adobe Photoshop and a protractor to determine that the questioned documents were in fact forgeries.



Linda