The ASCLD Empire, Part 1: Miracle Off Interstate 40

The American Society of Crime Lab Directors (ASCLD), its laboratory accreditation body, ASCLD/LAB, and its for-profit consulting group, ASCLD Consulting, have driven much of the turmoil and ugliness that has been going on in the forensic science community over the last several years. Trying to follow the convoluted and, at times, jack-knifed trail has been interesting. But it always comes back to one place: 139 Technology Drive.

How The Pieces Fit

ASCLD and ASCLD/LAB were founded around the same time in 1974. Both organizations were formed after an initial meeting in 1973 that was called by the FBI Director, FBI Lab Director, and other FBI personnel to help open channels of communication between the crime labs and the FBI. ASCLD and ASCLD/LAB are nonprofit entities.

ASCLD Consulting is a for-profit corporation that was created by ASCLD and a Canadian-based consulting firm named Quenpro, Inc. in 2007. ASCLD Consulting charges labs for services such as helping a lab determine what they need to do to achieve accreditation, preparing first drafts of manuals that a lab needs for accreditation, and assessment audits of, for example, a lab’s DNA operations.

However, there are more organizations that fit in to this puzzle. For today’s discussion, we’ll stick to one more.

The Consortium of Forensic Science Organizations (CFSO) was created in 2000, ostensibly to

speak with a single forensic science voice in matters of mutual interest to its member organizations

However, the CFSO was also, according to its website, set up to

influence public policy at the national level and to make a compelling case for greater federal funding for public crime laboratories and medical examiner offices. The primary focus of the CFSO is local, state and national policymakers, as well as the United States Congress.

So, basically, the CFSO is a lobbying organization. It is registered as a 501(c)6 organization, which gives it nonprofit status but allows it to lobby pretty much full time, which it does.

The following organizations are members of the CFSO:

• American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS)
• ASCLD
• ASCLD/LAB
• Forensic Quality Services (FQS)
• International Association for Identification (IAI)
• National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME)
• Society of Forensic Toxicology/American Board of Forensic Toxicology (SOFT/ABT)

But there’s just one dirty secret that they all share.

Where the hell is 139 Technology Drive?

Actually, I know exactly where 139 Technology Drive is. I’ve been there. I’ve got pictures. See:

That sound you hear is sphincters slamming shut all over the country. From sea to shining sea. The ASCLD Symposium should be a riot this year.

I found 139 Technology Drive in Garner, North Carolina right off Interstate 40 in a little strip mall set up. What I really want to know is:

Where the hell is 139 M Technology Drive?

and

Where the hell is 139 P Technology Drive?

Because those two addresses are responsible for boatloads of cash and influence. And they don’t exist.

What am I talking about? Here are the business addresses listed for ASCLD/LAB, ASCLD, ASCLD Consulting, and the CFSO:

ASCLD/LAB
139 J Technology Drive
Garner, NC 27529

ASCLD
139 K Technology Drive
Garner, NC 27529

ASCLD Consulting
139 M Technology Drive
Garner, NC 27529

The CFSO
139 P Technology Drive
Garner, NC 27529

This might just look grossly incestuous at first glance, except that I walked around and around 139 Technology Drive and, lo and behold, there is no Suite M or Suite P. There isn’t even room in the building for those offices. And where Suite K would be is just another room of Suite J, which is occupied by ASCLD/LAB.

The photo above of Suite J, where ASCLD/LAB is holed up, is at the far end of the building. There is a door for Suite K, where ASCLD would presumably be, even though they swear they are separate organizations. But, alas, there is no ASCLD listed on the door. Inside or outside.

The CFSO is a whole different bowl of sketchy altogether. While it keeps the phantom North Carolina ASCLD-associated address and phone numbers on its website (which I grabbed a screenshot of, just in case they decide to change it), its tax filings share the same address as the headquarters of the AAFS in Colorado. It also shares the same Finance Manager and point of contact as the AAFS.

This makes CFSO Chair Peter Marone’s attempt to exclude then-AAFS President Tom Bohan from the roundtable discussions of ASCLD/LAB’s world domination plan (AKA roundtables with the Senate Judiciary Committee staffers regarding the NAS Report) all the more disturbing. The CFSO has clearly gone off the rails from its stated intent to advance all its members.

As I mentioned before, the discussions that led to the Draft Legislation centered around turning everything over to ASCLD and ASCLD/LAB. No need for research, they insisted. We can fix everything on our own. And in the process the ASCLD and ASCLD/LAB representatives managed to make forensic scientists look like baseless lunatics who were staunchly opposed to any sort of oversight or transparency.

Another interesting thing about the information on the CFSO’s website is that the area code of the fax number is one digit off from the real fax number of ASCLD/LAB. So, if someone tries to dial the CFSO fax number, it won’t go through (I tried it). That way, the person trying to send a fax to the CFSO will presumably call the office number listed for the CFSO on the website (which is one digit off from the phone/fax number for ASCLD Consulting) and they are presumably told, “Woopsie, we gotta fix that on the website. The correct area code is 919.” Then the person will dial in to the ASCLD/LAB fax number.

ASCLD Consulting, the for-profit corporation, filed Articles of Organization and Annual Reports [(1) and (2)] with the state of North Carolina stating that their registered address is 139 M Technology Drive. There is no 139 M Technology Drive, so I have my doubts about how legal that is.

Speaking of illegal document filings, on each of their last three tax filings, both ASCLD and ASCLD/LAB deny being affiliated to each other, to ASCLD Consulting, or to any other organization. For ASCLD’s 990 filings with the IRS for 2007, 2008, and 2009 and for ASCLD/LAB’s filings for 2006, 2007, and 2008, both organizations flat out deny that they are affiliated, directly or indirectly, with any other tax-exempt or taxable organization, including each other.

None of these organizations (ASCLD, ASCLD/LAB, or AAFS) claims their affiliation with each other, with the CFSO, or with ASCLD Consulting in response to “Was the organization related to any tax-exempt or taxable entity?” or similar questions in their tax filings.

Given the fact that there are so many organizations operating out of the very same office on the very same phone and fax lines with each other, I think the IRS may have a different opinion. ASCLD and ASCLD/LAB also deny any lobbying activity on their tax filings.

The AAFS does acknowledge in its tax filings that it has participated in lobbying activities, though it does not say when, how much, or what for, even though it is instructed to do so. ASCLD and ASCLD/LAB deny any lobbying activities on their tax filings although they are affiliated with the CFSO which is specifically set up to lobby for them.

It would seem that these organizations are going through a lot of trouble to hide what they are doing. So, who is in a position to know that all of this was going on? We’ll talk about that next time.