News Articles/Press Releases
6/21/11: Former Boy Scout Leader Receives Jail Time — Western New York RCFL Provides Critical Digital Evidence — The prosecutor in the case cited the existence of pornographic file names on Michael Walleshauer's computer as key — get the full story.
6/8/11: Substitute Teacher Charged with Possessing Child Pornography — The FBI's Buffalo Division announced the arrest of Timothy Bek, 25, a substitute teacher, and charged him with possessing child pornography. The Western New York RCFL is providing digital forensics expertise to investigators. Click here to watch a news video about Bek's arrest.
6/6/11: Protecting Children — Western New York RCFL Aids Successful Project Safe Childhood Prosecution — Justin Jeffrey Amato, 28 will spend the next seven years in federal prison for possessing child pornography on his computer. The Western New York RCFL examined Amato's computer as part of an investigation brought under Project Safe Childhood.
3/8/11: Protecting Children: WNYRCFL Supports Successful Prosecution — Dalton Wilke, 46, was most definitely on the wrong path in life. He spent hours in online chat rooms having sexually explicit conversations with minors in an attempt to seduce them. After grooming one teen for five months, Wilke made plans to meet in person at a suburban park. However, the teen was a police detective working undercover with the FBI – and Wilke's plans for a tryst in the park turned out very differently – learn why.
2/10/2011: "Honor Killing" Defendant Found Guilty — For the first time, the RCFL Program supported an investigation involving an "honor killing," which occurred in an affluent suburb near Buffalo, New York in early 2009. The jury deliberated for just over an hour and found defendant, Muzzamiel "Mo" Hassan, guilty of beheading his wife.
1/31/11: Western New York RCFL Aids Successful Project Safe Childhood Prosecution — Man receives 11-year sentence.
10/18/10: Buffalo Man Receives 17-Year Prison Term for Possessing Child Pornography — The Western New York RCFL (WNYRCFL) examined the digital evidence in the investigation which was part of Project Safe Childhood - read the story broadcast by WIVB.
6/15/10: Trucker Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter — Truck driver Thomas Wallace, 45, plead guilty to second degree manslaughter for running his rig into a disabled car on the New York Thruway. The driver of the disabled car, mother of two, Julie Stratton, was waiting for assistance after hitting a deer. The Western New York RCFL (WNYRCFL) provided digital forensics support to investigators and processed the trucker's laptop two days after being submitted to the laboratory for examination.
08/12/2009: The Western New York RCFL welcomed the Niagara County Sheriff's Office as a participating agency. Click here to read a news story in the Niagara Gazette.
06/19/2008: Press Release Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey recognized 250 Department employees for their distinguished public service today at the 56th Annual Attorney General Awards Ceremony... The William French Smith Award for Outstanding Contributions to Cooperative Law Enforcement is an honorary award granted to recognize state and local law enforcement officials who have made significant contributions to cooperative law enforcement endeavors. This year’s award is presented to John R. Chella, Commissioner Niagara Falls, N.Y. Police Department; John C. Askey, Chief of Police Amherst, Mass. Police Department; Timothy B. Howard, Sheriff Erie County, N.Y.; and Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General State of New York, for their formation and implementation of the Western New York Regional Computer Forensic Lab.
06/19/2008: Rape charges shock NH neighbors Brian Knippers had a career in the New England software industry, a Newmarket condo he shared with a girlfriend and a passion for fishing that included posting his trophies on-line. And if police charges prove to be true, the 35-year-old is a serial rapist who stalked prostitutes in Massachusetts and brutally attacked and raped them over the past 2 1/2 years. After two days of testimony in a Massachusetts courtroom this week, a judge ordered him held for 90 days, according to the Enterprisenews.com, the Web site of the Brockton (Mass.) Enterprise newspaper....
06/12/2008: Gasport man accused of child porn charges GASPORT — A Gasport man was indicted Monday in federal court on charges that he possessed child pornography. Jason Willis, 36, was charged Monday with unlawful possession, distribution and receipt of child pornography that had been shipped and transported in interstate and foreign commerce by means of a computer, U.S. Attorney Terrance P. Flynn announced Wednesday...
11/14/07: Digital DNA A Look Inside the FBI's Computer Crime Lab Buffalo is home to one of the FBI's 14 Regional Computer Forensics Labs, or RCFLs. It's here local, state and federal examiners team up to break down computers, cell phones, and iPods in search of evidence from a crime...
11/28/2006: Online love triangle led to Dynabrade worker's death A middle-aged West Virginia woman posing as an attractive young female on the Internet became the apex of a love triangle that sparked a fatal ambush in Clarence in September, Erie County sheriff's officials said Monday after arresting the man suspected of the killing...
09/08/2006: New laboratory to help FBI, local police; BUSTED: Forensic laboratory helps recover erased hard-drive files and catch criminals Criminals around the region will have to think twice about computer-based identity theft. The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced the opening of its new Western New York Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory Thursday. The lab’s primary purpose is to aid criminal investigations by recovering files on a computer that a user thought was deleted, said Detective Scott Sheehan of the City of Tonawanda Police Department...
09/07/2006: High-tech Crime Lab Officially Opens in Buffalo A lot has changed over the years when it comes to criminal investigations. Nowadays, digital evidence can be just as important as physical evidence when it comes to solving a case. A brand new, state-of-the-art forensics lab has just opened in Buffalo...providing high-tech crime fighting techniques to law enforcers throughout Western New York. The Ralph Phillips case could be one that they've been working on...
09/08/2006: High-tech lab fights crime of digital age: FBI's $1.5 million facility can recover data, zero in on such offenses as child pornography Imagine a laboratory filled with equipment advanced enough to locate deleted child pornography on a hard drive, recover old e-mails sent on a cell phone and trace the owner of a camera used to download photographs onto a laptop...
8/31/06: Press Release The FBI’s Operational Technology Division (OTD) in partnership with the FBI’s Buffalo Division, Erie County Central Police Services, and several other local law enforcement agencies, commemorated the opening of the Western New York Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory (WNYRCFL) in Buffalo. The WNYRCFL is the 12 th laboratory to join the RCFL national network—providing digital forensics expertise and training to law enforcement agencies throughout 17 counties in Western New York. With the opening of the WNYRCFL, the RCFL program is now available to approximately 3,600 law enforcement agencies in 15 states...
3/31/05: Press Release—The FBI is poised to expand the country's premier computer forensics laboratory network starting in May, according to Assistant Director Kerry E. Haynes, Operational Technology Division...
3/16/05: Press Release—The FBI's Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory (RCFL) initiative was chosen as one of the "Top 50" programs in the 2005 Innovations in American Government Awards competition ... Over 1,000 government organizations submitted applications to the annual competition-now in its 18th year...
2004: New Article—Building FBI Computer Forensics Capacity: One Lab at a Time—The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is on a mission: to strengthen law enforcement's computer forensic capabilities throughout the United States ... (Posted: 02/05 ).
10/13/03: Press Release—"The FBI said Tuesday that Western New York was selected to host one of five Regional Computer Forensics Laboratories... "
June 21, 2011 Former Boy Scout Leader Receives Jail Time — Western New York RCFL Provides Critical Digital Evidence
The prosecutor in the case cited the existence of pornographic file names on Michael Walleshauer's computer as key — get the full story.