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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 19, 2008 Former U.S. Treasury Agent: Portions of Petition Forged by Gingrich A report by fraud investigator and questioned document examiner Michael Robertson of North Canton, Ohio highlights distinct similarities between forged signature lines and Mauree Gingrich's handwriting on the incumbent's nominating papers. The veracity of the documents and Gingrich's candidacy were challenged by 101st district Republican candidate Russ Diamond in Commonwealth Court, which dismissed the case on February 26 without hearing testimony Diamond's witnesses were prepared to offer. Diamond has since appealed the matter to the state Supreme Court. Robertson served as a Special Agent of the United States Secret Service, Department of the Treasury, for 17 years and currently serves as the principal questioned document examiner of Robertson Investigations, Inc. He was described in his U.S. Treasury Department Job Description/Classification as an "expert in the detection of forgeries" and has previously testified in Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on election issues. Robertson's analysis and report focused on the signature and printed name portions of Gingrich's page 2 petition, but also noted that "many entries in the other columns contain numerals and printing executed by one person." It further noted "the presence of unnatural or disguised writing which is present on this document." Robertson provided a two-color markup of the questioned page 2 petition. In pink, he highlighted letters and styles that match the "known letter forms of Mauree Gingrich." In blue, he highlighted "letter forms that are common within the document." Each of the 21 lines on side 2 of the page 2 petition contains one or both of these elements. Also provided in the report were highlighted exhibits of Gingrich's handwriting. Robertson concluded that some of the entries were forged by Gingrich. "It is my opinion based on a reasonable degree of professional and scientific certainty that the author of the known Mauree Gingrich documents executed the pink highlighted letters on the questioned document exhibit," he said in the report. "Via extrapolation, if part of a signature is identified as corresponding with the known writing of a person then the entire signature, by extension, would have been written by the same person." Robertson's findings contradict Gingrich's sworn Commonwealth Court testimony that she did not add signatures to the petition or violate the election code. Robertson further recommended that "this matter be turned over to law enforcement for criminal investigation, to obtain affidavits from the listed voters and obtain solicited handwriting exemplars from Ms. Gingrich for further examination by the Pennsylvania State Police or other forensic lab." "This goes beyond a battle over the rules for gathering signatures on petitions and has now crossed into the realm of potential criminal activity by an incumbent state representative," said Diamond. "Turning this over to the Attorney General's office immediately for further investigation is the proper course of action." A synopsis of the case is posted online at www.russdiamond.org/forgery. Robertson's report is posted at www.russdiamond.org/forgery/robertsonreport.html and his professional credentials and qualifications are included as part of the report. ### |
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