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Oklahoma Medical Examiner Problems

The Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner lost its accreditation in July, 2009, from the National Association of Medical Examiners.  In June, 2008, Dr. Jeffery Gorton, the chief medical examiner, announced he planned to quit performing autopsies in Tulsa.  Legislators from Tulsa objected, and he resigned.   An employee in the Tulsa office who was in charge of petty cash and checks was discovered to have a felony conviction and promptly resigned.  Then the chief investigator, Kevin Rowland, resigned last March, claiming the reason for his resignation was job stress.  Four months later in July, however, he was indicted in Tulsa County District Court for sexual battery and harassment. Tom Jordan, long-time employee and former deputy director of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation was hired a couple of months ago as chief administrative officer of the Medical Examiner’s office.  Then, a new chief medical director, Dr. Collie Trant, was hired as chief medical examiner in . Those two did not get along, as illustrated by the fact that Tom Jordan informed the board that Trant was a “liar.”  The Oklahoma Board of Medicolegal Investigations then fired Trent on February 5th after nine months on the job. The board gave reason for the dismissal, and Trant has filed suit to get his job back.  Trant claims he was fired when he presented evidence of employee misconduct to the board. Last month was busy month at the medical examiner’s office with other events.  The governor ordered an investigation into the office.  The board hired another acting chief medical examiner, Dr. Eric Duvall, but he promptly resigned.  Citing financial irregularities, leaders of both houses of the legislature asked for a special audit of the medical examiner’s office, and Chief Administrative Officer Tom Jordan then fired the medical examiner’s long-time budget director, Steve Slater. The board is still looking for a chief medical examiner. Governor Brad Henry has urged the Medical Examiner’s office be merged into the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to save money.  Speaker of the Oklahoma House estimates it will save $5.3 million annually with that merger and the merger of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs also into the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. However, Representative Randy Merrill, chairman of the house public safety and judiciary appropriations subcommittee, proposes that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner be moved to the University of Central Oklahoma campus, where the agency can lease a facility built to specification but also maintain its autonomy. This contrasts with a previous push by some to make the agency part of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. This recognition of the importance of autonomy for the medical examiner’s office is surprising.  It is also vital, as any Oklahoma criminal defense lawyer can tell you.  The National Research Council of the National Academics of Science, Engineering and  Medicine’s recently published report on the state of forensic science in the United States cites many reasons why the medical examiner’s office should not be part of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. That report even urged the establishment of a wholly independent federal agency to address the problems with the current system of forensic science to govern and improve the forensic science community. There is also a need for institutional independence of public forensic laboratories, which the National Research Council found to have a prosecutorial bias. In times of fiscal want, such as Oklahoma now finds itself, it is difficult to justify any expenditure except the very cheapest.  It is understandable the force to merge the medical examiner’s office into the State Bureau of Investigation.  But without an independent medical examiner, we can expect medical findings to follow the dictates of “law enforcement.”   The lessons of the fiasco with our former medical examiner, Joyce Gilcrest would be lost.

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Police Charged with Selling Heroin

Posted by Edmond Geary on 07-28-2010

Angel “Fat Boy” Ortiz had a meeting near the North Philadelphia Amtrak station.  He met with James Venziale to discuss some business. The idea was to steal some heroin from Miguel Santiago with the help of Philadelphia police officers and then sell the heroin to drug dealer.  The problem was that the intended purchaser, the drug dealer, was an undercover DEA special agent.

Now three Philadelphia police officers are facing federal charges of planning the theft of 300 grams of heroin and selling it to a drug dealer.   Robert Snyder, Mark Williams, and James Venziale are Philadelphia police officers. ‘They are charged with four other people, including three reputed drug dealers and Snyder’s wife, Christal.

The Police Commissioner was aghast. He was planning to terminate the three police officers.

The police officers met with “Fat Boy” over several weeks and another apparent drug dealer, Zachary Young.  Their plan was for the police officers to stop a vehicle to make it appear to Santiago that the drugs were being lawfully seized by law enforcement.

Officers Venziale and Williams, on duty and in uniform, stopped a car occupied by Ortiz and the undercover agent.  Ortiz had just received the heroin from a courier.  Venziale and Williams handcuffed Ortiz and permitted the undercover agent to drive with the 300 grams of heroin.  Venziale and Willams then drove Ortiz away and later released him. Venziale and Williams later met with Ortiz, who paid the two officers $6,000.  Ortiz also met with Christal Snyder and paid her an unknown amount of cash.

The reaction to the indictment from many sectors of the community was disappointment.  Majeedah Rashid, director of the Nicetown Community Development Corporation, said the indictment diminished the community’s trust in the police.  “We work very closely with the community relations people there. It’s a long running relationship.  It’s unfortunate that this happens because you’re going to end up losing the trust of the community and we worked so hard to established.,” he said.

Ralph Wynder, an activist in the Allegheny West section and chairman of the Residents Coalition, a coalition of community groups in the Allegheny West and East Falls, said the indictment was troubling.  Wynder stated, “If the charges prove to be true, this will become a very disturbing series of events.”  He said his community has worked closely with the 39th District, the Police District to which the indictees belong, over the past 10 years.

Venziale, Williams, Robert and Christal Snyder, Ortiz, Young, and Santiago are all charged with conspiracy to distribute 100 grams of more of heroin and related counts, which include the charge against Christal Snyder of passing information between Ortiz and the three officers.  Santiago is in parts unknown.  The F.B.I. and the D.E.A. are looking for him.

Posted in Drug Conspiracy, Drug charges, Drug distribution, Police corruption

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