Posts Tagged ‘Scandal’
Wednesday, August 25th, 2010
Just five days ago, a painting was stolen from the Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil Museum of Giza, Egypt for the second time. The work, which is a van Gogh called “Poppy Flowers” or “Vase with Flowers”, first disappeared in 1978. It was recovered two years later in Kuwait. This time around, initial reports indicated that the 12 in x 12 in painting had been recovered mere hours after it was stolen at the Cairo airport. As it turns out, the painting is still missing—prior information about the supposed recovery had been false.
The most recent theft occurred just after the museum opened on Saturday. The painting—which had been valued at approximately $50 million—had been cut out of its frame. Police officials have reviewed security footage, dusted for fingerprints, and have detained and arrested some museum personnel and a member of the culture ministry pending further investigation. No formal charges have been filed at this time. It has been said that security lapses at the museum are to blame and that the museum may face an inquiry regarding the lax measures. Apparently none of the alarms went off and only 7 of 42 security cameras were functioning that morning. That means that one of every six cameras worked. Considering the contents of the museum included not only the infamous van Gogh piece, but also works by Paul Gauguin, Gustave Courbet, Francois Millet, Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, Auguste Renoir, and Auguste Rodin, that is some mighty superficial security.
For more information regarding the theft, check out this video; or any of the following news stories: Telegraph, The National, MSNBC, or The New York Times.
Tags: Art Crime, Crime, CSI, Fingerprints, Mystery, Scandal, Theft
Posted in Forensics in The News, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010
An indictment that was unsealed on Tuesday, July 13, 2010, has charged four members of the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) with federal civil rights violations, specifically deprivation of rights under color of law and use of a weapon during the commission of a crime.
Just days after Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, two men were found dead on the Danziger Bridge in New Orleans, and another four were found wounded. According to recent statements from responding officers at the scene, the civilians were found wounded and bloody. There were no weapons present. However, at the time of the shootings, it is said that the involved officers fabricated witness statements, falsified reports, and event planted a gun at the scene.
In December 2006, seven NOPD officers were charged with either murder or attempted murder for the Danziger Bridge crimes. However, these charges were thrown out in August 2008 by a state judge. A month later, a new mayor stepped in and invited the Justice Department to conduct a top-to-bottom review of the police department. When asked about the investigation, Attorney General Eric Holder stated, “Put simply, we will not tolerate wrongdoing by those who are sworn to protect the public.”
Since the onset of the Justice Department investigation, five former NOPD officers have pled guilty to helping cover up the shootings on the bridge. They are currently awaiting sentencing. However, their statements have the potential to lay grounds for more serious charges against those actually accused of the shootings and engineering the cover-up. If those charged for the shootings are convicted, they could face the death penalty.
For more information, please see this story, or this one.
Tags: Crime, Evidence, Law, Law Enforcement, Murder, Police Corruption, Scandal
Posted in Punishment: The Consequence of Crime, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Friday, April 23rd, 2010
that former Canadian physician John Schneeberger was able to avoid prosecution for the sexual assault of a patient by planting fake DNA in his body? Schneeberger was accused of assaulting a patient after administering the anesthetic Versed; his patient recalled the event after the anesthetic wore off and pressed charges. The fluids found on the patient were collected as evidence and DNA was extracted. Schneeberger was also tested to see if his DNA matched the fluids, they did not. The patient insisted on another DNA test, which was also not a match. Years later he was tested again with cheek swabs used to collect his DNA , that time his DNA matched. It turned out that the doctor had implanted a tube with someone else’s blood, anti-coagulants, and DNA into his arm and that is where his DNA had been retrieved from for the first two matches positively excluding him as the person who assaulted the patient.
Buccal, or cheek, swabs are now the norm for DNA collection.
Tags: Add new tag, Crime, DNA, Evidence, Forensic, Forensic Science, Scandal, Story
Posted in Forensics in The News, Fun Facts | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
In New York City, it seems that there is slim pickings of mugging victims, or so ex-convict Jermaine Washington seemed to think. Washington was in Riverside Park, NY looking for someone to mug when he decided to pull his fake gun on two police officers who happened to be walking by. The two officers pulled their real guns and quickly took Washington into custody, and from there Washington no doubt went straight to prison.
The National Museum of Crime and Punishment wants to say congratulations to America’s Most Wanted for nabbing genuinely hard to catch criminals for 1000 episodes!
 AMW 1000 episodes cake
Tags: Add new tag, America's Most Wanted, Crime, Punishment, Scandal
Posted in Museum Events, Senseless Crimes | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
When Fannie Henson of Virginia found a man’s lost wallet she must have thought it was her lucky day. She took one of the man’s credit cards and ran up almost $400 in charges from a gas station and a grocery store combined. Her undoing? Ms. Henson was a smart shopper and she was sure to scan her personal discount card before paying for her groceries with a stranger’s credit card. She was soon linked to the stolen card and was arrested for credit card theft, a felony.
Tags: National Museum of Crime & Punishment, Scandal, Story, Trivia
Posted in Forensics in The News, Fun Facts, Senseless Crimes | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
One not so smart criminal got a thirst for some liquor during his hold up of a convenience store. A Colorado Springs man walked into a corner store with a shotgun and demanded all of the money from the register. The clerk complied. As the robber was about to leave he spotted a bottle of scotch and demanded the clerk add it to the bag of money, the clerk refused on the grounds that he did not have proof that the robber was of drinking age. The two argued back and forth until the robber gave in and showed the clerk his license, the clerk, after seeing the robber was of age, gave him the scotch and the robber took off. Needless to say he was apprehended soon after he left the store after the clerk called the police and gave them the name and address he had gotten off of the robber’s license.
Tags: Crime, Scandal, Story, Trivia
Posted in Forensics in The News, Fun Facts, Senseless Crimes | 1 Comment »
Friday, September 4th, 2009
Since the death of Michael Jackson there has been a lot of talk about the toxicology report from the coroner and what the findings will be. So what is a toxicology report, or for that matter what is toxicology? Toxicology is the study of chemicals and their effects on living organisms. The most basic fact behind toxicology is that all chemicals are poisons in a high enough dose, this includes essential chemicals such as water and oxygen; the right dose is what marks the difference between a drug and a poison. Toxicological tests for a toxicology report are run to assess what chemicals at what levels were in a person when they died to see if a chemical, or mix of chemicals, contributed to the person’s death.
Drug, or chemical, levels can be at sub-therapeutic, therapeutic, and supra-therapeutic levels. Sub-therapeutic levels means that the amount of the chemical in the body is less than what would be needed to provide the healing effect it is intended to have. Sub-therapeutic levels of drugs often show up in the system from therapeutic doses from days before when the body is still metabolizing or getting rid of the remnants of a drug. Therapeutic levels are the levels of a chemical that are the proper amount to have a beneficial healing effect; therapeutic levels are found when the suggested dose of a chemical is ingested. Supra-therapeutic levels are levels that are higher than the therapeutic levels,these levels are reached when too much of a chemical or drug is administered or ingested; supra-therapeutic levels of a drug can make it a poison. Aspirin is a good example of a chemical that can have an effect at any of the above three levels. At sub-therapeutic levels it can be beneficial to the body via an antiplatelet effect as a blood thinner but will not have a healing effect on any pain or inflamation in the body, at therapeutic levels aspirin can act as an analgesic that relieves pain or inflammation, while at supra-therapeutic levels aspirin is a poison that can cause death.
If more than one drug is in the system then toxicological tests also have to assess what the effects of the drugs together may have been on a person. One especially dangerous interaction of drugs is a synergistic interaction. Drugs can interact synergistically where in the mix of drugs magnifies both drugs’ effects. This means that the interaction makes the effect of the two drugs stronger than just the combined effect of the two drugs without the synergism. A simpler explanation may be if drug one had a 1 effect and drug two had a 2 effect then the combined effect of the two drugs, without synergism, would be 3 but with synergism it would be 4 or more; the effect is greater. An especially dangerous example is sedatives. Two sedatives may each have the reaction of putting someone to sleep, working together they may have a greater and maybe quicker sleep effect than with just one drug alone but synergistically they may be deadly via an overly strong suppression of the respiratory system.
Michael Jackson is thought to have had many drugs in his system, but one of the reactions hypothesized to have caused his death was a synergistic reaction between sedatives. Jackson’s death has been ruled a homicide, which means the toxicology report will be forensically very important to assess legal fault or blame.
To read about the coroner’s report and Jackson’s doctor’s statements click here.
For more information about Forensic Toxicology, as well as other forensic specialties, check out All-About-Forensic-com, a comprehensive forensics website maintained by two forensic professionals.
Tags: Add new tag, Forensic Science, Michael Jackson, Mystery, Poison, Scandal, Story, toxicology, Tragedy
Posted in Forensics in The News | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009
Nineteen year old Adam Cooper decided to make some extra money on the side when he got hired to clean the vents of a grocery store. Cooper, after an honest day’s work cleaning, snuck back into the vent system at night with the hopes of robbing the store. Unfortunately for Cooper the vents seemed smaller at night and he ended up stuck, unable to move, in the vent system of the store. After about an hour of being wedged in the vents he decided he could not free himself and started yelling for help. Once police arrived on the scene they had to grab a bottle of vegetable oil from a shelf and douse him with it in order to wiggle Cooper loose. Although it’s unclear whether Cooper had to pay for the bottle of vegetable oil he did have to pay his $10,000 bail for burglary and criminal mischief.
Tags: Add new tag, Crime, Law Enforcement, Punishment, Scandal, Story
Posted in Forensics in The News, Fun Facts, Senseless Crimes, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Monday, March 9th, 2009
One of the most infamous cold cases of all time, the Tylenol Murders, has just recently been reopened. In 1982, seven people living in and around Chicago, Il were killed after taking Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules which had been replaced with cyanide laced pills. At the time of the original investigation, several people were interrogated for the crimes, including James W. Lewis, but the perpetrator was never found or tried. Lewis remained the prime suspect due to the ransom note he sent to Johnson & Johnson (Tylenol parent company) for $1 million dollars in order to stop the killings. He could not be linked to the crimes, but he spent 12 years in prison for extortion, and was released in 1995. The Tylenol Murders prompted a complete overhaul in product packaging, and the tamper-proof bottle and security foil were developed as a direct response to the crimes.
In a written statement from the FBI, they are conducting a “complete review of all evidence… This review was prompted, in part, by the recent 25th anniversary of this crime and the resulting publicity. Further, given the many recent advances in forensic technology, it was only natural that a second look be taken at the case and recovered evidence.” Lewis’s Cambridge, Mass. condo was search on February 4th, 2009 by FBI and Illinois State Police, and 5 boxes and an old MacIntosh computer were seized by investigators.
What new forensic evidence will be uncovered is yet to be determined, but part of the beauty of scientific advancement and forensic research is that with each new development or technique there is generated a new possibility for once abandoned or previousely deemed unusable evidence. Investigators, survivors, and relatives of unsolved or cold cases can ultimately hold on to that hope for closure someday.
For the full Tylenol Murders story, click here.
Tags: America's Most Wanted, Crime, CSI, Cyanide, Evidence, Forensic, Forensic Science, Museum, National Museum of Crime & Punishment, Punishment, Scandal, Scene, Science, Tamper, Tragedy, Tylenol
Posted in Forensics in The News | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009
It seems like forensics, once again, will be the key to another high profile police investigation; this one spanning 8 years and one which was, until recently, classified as a cold case. The Chandra Levy murder hit close to home for those living in the District of Columbia when she went missing in July of 2001. Her remains were found a year later near Rock Creek Park. Recent activity in the Levy investigation has brought life back to the investigation and DC Police have identified their suspect to the crime: Ingmar Guandique.
A report from the Associated Press indicated in a recent article printed by NBC13 dated February 22, 2009, that, “a law enforcement official who has spoken to investigators said the break [in the Chandra Levy case] came in part from DNA evidence that was either retested or collected”. This short sentence is the only mention of newly discovered forensic evidence, and it leaves the reader without any real understanding of the evidence or how it could have provided the “break” police were searching for. Furthermore, this short mention of DNA evidence can be misleading to those who do not fully understand the value of the evidence, since it places the bias of guilt on the suspect, and as we all know, suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty. To fix that, I’d like to discuss the value of DNA evidence and how DNA evidence found 8 years after the fact can still be used in an investigation.
(more…)
Tags: America's Most Wanted, Chandra, Chandra Levy, Condit, Creek, Crime, CSI, DNA, Evidence, Forensic, Forensic Science, Gary, Guandique, Levy, Museum, National Museum of Crime & Punishment, Punishment, Rock Creek, Scandal, Scene, Science, testimony
Posted in Forensics in The News | 2 Comments »
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