INGLES TÉCNICO II –CALÍGRAFOS. 7.

TEXTO 1. Introduction to How Handwriting Analysis Works b. QDE significa ………………………………………………………………… y su plural en inglés
es ………………………………………………………………….

Introduction to How Handwriting Analysis Works

In the world of forensic analysis, which includes crime scene investigation, DNA c. Tareas del QDE:
testing, fiber analysis, fingerprint analysis, voice identification and narcotics
1.
analysis, to name just a few of the disciplines, handwriting analysis fits into the
area of questioned documents. Questioned document examiners (QDEs) 2.
analyze documents for signs of alteration, forgery and, when sample documents
are available, handwriting or typing comparisons to determine or rule out 3.
authorship (and/or tie a document to a specific machine in the case of typing).
4.
Handwriting analysis is a tedious and methodical process that relies on
extensive knowledge of the way people form letters, which characteristics of d. Conocimientos necesarios del QDE para ejercer su tarea:
letter formation are unique and the physiological processes behind writing - the
ways in which a person's fine-motor skills can affect his or her handwriting and 1.
leave clues about the author's identity.
2.

3.
ACTIVIDAD 1. COMPRENSIÓN. Usando sólo el texto anterior, completa:

CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin

a. Disciplinas forenses:
ACTIVIDAD 2. GRAMÁTICA, ESTRUCTURAS, VOCABULARIO
1.
a. ¿En qué tiempo verbal está escrito el texto?
2. b. Extraé del texto 4 combinaciones SUSTANTIVO+SUSTANTIVO en las
3. que el primer sustantivo tiene una función adjetiva.
c. Subrayá un verbo de modalidad.
4. d. El pronombre relativo WHICH aparece en las líneas 1 y 9, ¿cómo lo
traducirías en ambas ocasiones?
5.
e. Da tu versión en español del texto.
6.
1
TEXTO 2: FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS ABOUT HANDWRITING
ACTIVIDAD 1. Leé cada grupo de oraciones sobre la escritura y llená los
espacios con las palabras correspondiente que se encuentran en los cuadros
de texto.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS ABOUT HANDWRITING
1. The act of writing is a skill learned through repetition until it becomes a
__________.
2. Handwriting requires the concerted effort of the ________, muscles and
nerves.
3. No two people ___________ exactly alike.
4. Individual characteristics that are unique to a particular writer exist in
every person’s handwriting, distinguishing it from every other
handwriting.
5. There is natural __________ in everyone’s handwriting.
6. No one can exactly ____________ anything he or she has written.
7. No one can write __________ than his or her skill level.
variation - brain - better - write - habit - duplicate
8. People adopt writing _____________
9. People stylize their writing, deviating from the ____________ they were
taught.
10. Many writing habits are ________________ and therefore cannot be
changed by the writer.
11. A writer can be ______________ by his or her subconscious habits.
12. A person’s normal form of writing is based on ____________ images of
learned letter designs.
13. A person’s handwriting changes over the course of his or her ________.
identified - method - styles - lifetime - mental - subconscious
14. Substance abuse __________ handwriting.
15. Some illnesses, ___________, and emotions may result in changes in
handwriting.
16. It is not possible to determine what caused a _________ in the
handwriting from studying the handwriting characteristics.
17. If the writer places the pen on the paper before _____________ to
write, the lines will have blunt initial strokes.
18. If the writer stops the _________before lifting it from the paper, the
writer will leave a blunt ending on the words.
19. If the writer has the pen in motion when beginning and ending writing,
the initial and ___________ strokes will be faded.
ending - change - pen - affects - starting - traumas
20. When the writer changes the _________ of his or her writing, the
proportions between uppercase and lowercase letters generally
remain the same.
21. The amount of pressure that a writer uses to push and ________ the
pen through the strokes of writing will be seen in the variations of the
pressure patterns.
22. Most people create heavier strokes when the pen is descending and
CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin
__________ strokes when the pen is being pushed away from the
writer.
23. The writing surface _________ the depth of pressure.
affects - pull - size - lighter
2
TEXTO 4. BOB BAIER Activities

Dear Client, Actividad 1. Contestá las siguientes preguntas. Usá inglés o español.

My name is Bob Baier. I'm a court qualified handwriting expert and forensics document 1. ¿A qué se dedica Bob Baier?
examiner. If you have a document which needs any type of document examination: 2. ¿Cuál es su arancel mínimo?
signature analysis, forgery, on-site inspection, or altered documents . . . I can help. I
specialize in disputed documents and can give a verbal or written opinion and even come 3. ¿Se ofrece a viajar a cualquier lugar de los EEUU para testificar?
to court and testify to the findings. 4. ¿Tiene experiencia como perito de parte?
My office is fast, efficient, and thorough. You can receive an expert opinion starting at just
5. Enumerá al menos ocho tipos de documentos que Baier analiza.
$395. Plus, I will travel nationwide to testify in your court case or deposition, if needed. 6. ¿Cuánto cuesta la primera charla? ¿Es confidencial?
• Court qualified
• Attorney recommended/Courtroom veteran 7. ¿Qué le ofrece a abogados y clientes?
• Forensic document examination 8. ¿Por qué medios podés contactarlo?

Forgeries, wills, disguised writing, notes, checks, contracts, prenuptial agreements, expert Actividad 2. ¿Trabajarías en el equipo de Baier? ¿Harías una publicidad
witness, poison pen letters, envelopes, attorney consulting, courtroom exhibits, and much
more. similar? ¿Por qué? ¿Por qué no?

Call me today at 1-888-460-3828 GRAMÁTICA – ESTRUCTURAS – VOCABULARIO

If you are looking for a Certified and Court Qualified Forensic Document Examiner, you Actividad 3.Traducción de grupos de palabras
have found a qualified professional.Your first conversation is free and confidential.
Es muy difícil dar una versión en español de frases nominales largas en inglés.
If you are an attorney, you will appreciate the candid communication and professionalism
you will receive. If you are not an attorney, you probably have questions, fears, worries
Hasta el traductor de Google lo encuentra difícil. Mirá sino cómo este software
and tremendous stress relating to your case. I deal with people who have forgery problems traduce:
every day. A few of the situations we hear about regularly have to do with forged wills,

CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin

forged deeds, forged checks or altered documents to name just a few. I'm a court qualified handwriting expert and forensics document examiner.

Just pick up the phone and call my office today toll-free at 1-888-460-3828. Or you can Google: Soy un tribunal expert en caligrafía calificado y forense examinador de
send e-mail to info@robertbaier.com
documentos.
I look forward to working with you.
¿Cuál versión te parece mejor? ¿Podés ofrecer una versión mejorada?

 Soy un experto calígrafo judicial calificado y perito grafotécnico.

 Soy un calígrafo judicial experto calificado y perito de documentos forenses.
 Soy calígrafo experto calificado para actuar en juicios y perito
Bob Baier documentológico forense.
Court Qualified Handwriting Expert and Document Examiner

3
TEXTO 5: CARE AND HANDLING OF DOCUMENTS Body fluids such as _______________ can injure papers when handled excessively.

CARE AND HANDLING OF DOCUMENTS

Documents are fragile. Paper is a fragile, organic material that can be damaged
by a host of agents, such as fire, water, insects, molds, chemicals, sunlight, and
dust. Even body fluids can injure papers when handled excessively. Papers are damaged by _______________ ing

Improper or careless handling of documents can inflict serious damage. Papers _______________ ing
are damaged by folding, tearing, crumbing, and staining from rust, food, soil and _______________ ing
grease. Pins, staples, glue, and other fastening devices injure paper. Erasing
information from documents, whether by abrasion or chemical eradication, can _______________ ing from ____________
damage paper fibers and the finishes on paper.
____________

____________
Actividad 1. Completar los siguientes diagramas.

_______________ are fastening devices. They injure paper.

Agents such as __________________ can damage paper.
_______________
__________________
_______________
__________________

CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin

__________________
Erasing information by ________________ can damage __________
__________________
________________ __________
__________________

__________________

4
TEXTO 6: TRANSPORTING DOCUMENTS B. Complete la lista de las prácticas sugeridas para la mejor preservación de los
documentos originales durante el momento de tránsito. Usar el idioma español.

TRANSPORTING DOCUMENTS

It is the responsibility of the document examiner to continue to

preserve the document while in his or her care and to return it intact.

Original documents must be safeguarded during transit. Originals

should never be sent through ordinary mail. Insist that originals be
sent by registered mail if the client uses postal mail. Federal Express
is preferred by many for its speed and ability to track the
whereabouts of its parcels at all times.

Original documents should be protected in envelopes or folders.

Envelopes should be large enough for the documents to lie flat.
Documents should never be folded. Clear plastic folders can be used
if they are the type of plastic that does not stick to the documents.
Mylar folders are best. Manila envelopes may also be used. Be
certain that any information placed on the envelope is done before
the documents are inserted into the envelope. Documents can also +fold the document
be transported in file folders in an attaché case. They should never

CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin

+send the document by ordinary mail
be placed in a pocket or pocketbook.
+write on the envelope once the document is inside
A. Decidir si las siguientes proposiciones son verdaderas o falsas.
+use Mylar or manila envelopes
1. Documentos originales deben ser salvaguardados cuando son
transportados. +send the document by registered mail
2. Federal Express ofrece un servicio rápido y seguro ya que garantiza la
+transport the document in a plastic folder that does not stick to
reposición del artículo en caso de pérdida.
the document
3. No escriba en el sobre una vez que el documento esté en su interior.
+put the document in your pocket

5
 TEXTO 7. DOCUMENTS USED IN CRIMINAL ACTS - FORGERY
ACTIVIDAD 1. Por favor, lea el texto atentamente y, sólo basándose en el
mismo, enumere:
a. Tipos de documentos que un perito calígrafo puede examinar en su
carrera profesional
b. Distintas tareas que se le pueden solicitar a un perito calígrafo
DOCUMENTS USED IN CRIMINAL ACTS
Ransom notes, extortion and blackmail letters, and crank mail (both vicious and
sexually oriented) constitute some of the types of cases document examiners may be
asked to solve. They may be asked to identify the author of a hold-up note or a death
threat. They may be able to uncover a bigamist. They may be asked to determine who
put the wrong dimensions on an architectural drawing. Did the suspect write the
murder confession or is he or she being framed? These are just a few of the scenarios
encountered in the field of document examination.
FORGERY
All subjects are subject to forgery, from Shakespeare’s plays to Abraham Lincoln’s
letters. Some forgeries are difficult to detect, but most show obvious signs of
spuriousness.
What is forgery? A person who makes, utters, or alters a writing in such a way as to
convey a false impression with the purpose of deceiving or injuring another is guilty of
forgery.
Forged checks are the most common type of forgery, but there are others. Wills and
contracts constitute a large number of forgery cases. Any document is vulnerable to
forgery from college diplomas to stock and bonds.Only the court can determine if a forgery
has been committed. Document examiners can only identify the document as being
spurious, but cannot state the document is a forgery.
a. Leé el párrafo siguiente y conteste.
¿Este párrafo agrega algo al texto sobre el delito de falsificación?
In law, forgery is the making of a false writing with the intent to defraud. “Writing”
need not be handwriting: the law of forgery also covers printing, engraving, and
keyboarding. Counterfeiting is usually regarded as a specific type of forgery. Checks,
negotiable instruments, contracts, wills, and deeds are examples of documents that
may be forged. Evidence may also be forged. Forgery requires fraudulent intent.
b. Vocabulario
Un falsificador es una persona que ____________, _________________ o
_________________ con la ________________ de ____________________ o
perjudicar a un tercero.
TEXTO 8: EXEMPLARS
EXEMPLARS
Exemplars are legally admissible, authentic samples of
handwriting used for comparison with questioned writing to
determine the authenticity or spuriousness of the questioned
writing.
CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin
There are two kinds of exemplars, informal and formal.
Informal exemplars are documents previously written in the
normal course of business and known to be genuine. Formal
exemplars are request writing samples, i.e., handwriting
samples made at the request and under the supervision of
police, document examiners, or attorneys for the purpose of
creating known writing samples to compare with questioned
writing.
Actividad. Da tu versión en español del texto.
6
TEXTO 9: EXEMPLARS
Actividad. Leé el texto y deducí dónde van los siguientes subtítulos:
WHEN AN EXEMPLAR IS CONSIDERED GENUINE – DOCUMENT EXAMINER’S
WORK – KINDS OF EXEMPLARS - DEFINITION
_____________________
Exemplars are legally admissible, authentic samples of handwriting used for
comparison with questioned writing to determine the authenticity or
spuriousness of the questioned writing.
____________________
The genuineness of the exemplars must be found to be clear and undisputed by
the presiding judge. The courts will accept uncontradicted testimony of
competent eyewitnesses who saw the execution of handwriting being offered
into evidence. The courts also will accept the testimony of the author admitting
genuineness or someone to whom the author admitted genuineness. The
testimony of a person who received a writing sample from the author and acted
on it also is valid although not necessarily accurate.
_____________________
Exemplars are also referred to as known handwriting samples or standards.
There are two kinds of exemplars, informal, which describe documents
previously written in the normal course of business and known to be genuine,
and formal which are request writing samples.
_____________________
When a document examiner is hired to examine documents, he or she is often
given material that may not be suitable for examination. A document examiner
needs to examine the best evidence, which, in most cases, will be original
documents, both questioned and known. Document examiners should
automatically ask for original documents if they are not provided. They should
be given an early-generation photocopy or a photograph if the original is not
available. Research has shown that document examiners give accurate
opinions on photocopies as long as the photocopy is an accurate reproduction
of the original. A clear photocopy can yield almost as much information as an
original and in most cases is sufficient for examination.
________________________
Exemplars must be comparable with the questioned writing. Ideally, writing
done around the date of the questioned material should be used for
comparison purposes, some dated immediately before and some immediately
after the date of the questioned documents. What time frame is considered
appropriate? Documents executed within 2 to 3 years are generally acceptable
unless there has been a major change in the writer, such as deteriorating
health, trauma, or drug addiction, in which case a shorter time period would be
necessary.
Comparison materials, when possible, should be written under the same
conditions under which the questioned documents were executed. Although
this is the standard method of taking request writing, it may be harder to
locate informal writing samples written under similar conditions.
CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin
Documents similar to the questioned document make the best exemplars.
People sometimes have more than one style signature depending on the
document being executed. Checks may be executed in a more careless manner
than wills and contracts. Compare contracts with contracts and canceled
checks with canceled checks.
Obtain like signatures. If the questioned signature is in ink, obtain signatures in
ink, if pencil, obtain pencil specimens. If the questioned document is lined
paper, find documents written on lined paper. If the questioned document
contains handprinting, collect documents that are handprinted. When no
similar documents are available, try to locate documents with authenticity that
7
can be verified, such as canceled checks that have been accepted by a bank. Las muestras de escritura solicitadas son muestras manuscritas realizadas a
Other documents executed in the normal course of business are also suitable. pedido y ………………………………………………………..................................................
con el propósito de ………………………………………………………..
Documents can be found in both private and public locations. The client may be
able to uncover documents from friends or relatives. Public sources include the La escritura solicitada convierte a este acto en un acto consciente, así las
Department of Motor Vehicle Records, voting records, and deeds transferring muestras de escritura a edido no son tan útiles como las de escritura informal.
property. ………………………………………………………………..………………………………………………………
Sin embargo se pueden tomar ciertas medidas para
How many writing samples must one collect? Twenty to 25 signatures or 4 to 5
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
pages of handwriting or handprinting are recommended. Do not rely on too
little writing. How much is enough? Collect enough to positively identify or FRAGMENTO 2. ACTIVIDAD 1. VERDADERO O FALSO?
eliminate the writer. Although it may be possible to make a match with only a
few exemplars, more are better. 1. Las muestras de escritura a pedido deben incluir no sólo letras en
mayúscula y en minúscula sino también números.
ACTIVIDAD. En parejas elabora una lista de, al menos, cuatro consejos para un 2. Se le puede dictar el texto, también.
futuro perito sobre la obtención de muestras de escritura. 3. El dictado debería incluir sólo el material en cuestión.

TEXTO 10: REQUEST WRITING FRAGMENTO 2.

LEÉ CADA FRAGMENTO Y A CONTINUACIÓN REALIZA LA ACTIVIDAD
Request writing forms contain all the upper and lowercase letters, plus
PROPUESTA.
numbers and punctuation marks. Material can be dictated to the writer as
PÁRRAFO 1. well. Dictation should include the material in question, plus additional
writing containing words or phrases similar to the questioned material.

CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin

Request writing exemplars are handwriting samples made at the request and
under the supervision of police, document examiners, or attorneys for the
purpose of creating known writing samples to compare with questioned writing.
Request writing leads to self-consciousness in the writing act, thus request FRAGMENTO 3. ACTIVIDAD 1. HACÉ UNA LISTA DE LOS PASOS A SEGUIR SIN
writing samples are generally not as useful as informal writing. The writer may INCLUÍR RAZONES NI EJEMPLOS.
attempt to disguise his or her writing to avoid being identified. Several steps can
be taken, however, to overcome the problems associated with request writing.

FRANGMENTO 1 ACTIVIDAD 1. COMPLETÁ

8
PÁRRAFO 3. 7. Have the suspect write with both hands. Indicate which hand is being used on
The document examiner should take the request writing exemplars each form that is completed.
8. Date and initial all request writing. Number the documents in the order in which
whenever possible following an established procedure. A document
they were executed.
examiner is then in a position to determine if the writing is normal writing
or if the writer is trying to disguise his or her handwriting. If someone else is 9. Additional request writing can be worded to include words, expressions, letters,
names and combinations found in the questioned writing. When a case involves
taking the request writing samples, he or she should also follow an
numbers, have the suspect write numbers from 1 to 100. Ask yourself: Do request
established procedure as described:
writing standards show any signs of attempted disguise? Do they contain suitable
1. Use a questionnaire to identify any circumstances that could affect material for comparison, such as similar letter combinations and spacing? Have
the writings, such as illness, injury or substance abuse. they been properly taken and properly witnessed?
2. The writing conditions of the questioned document should be
Care must be taken to ensure that request writing is suitable for comparison purposes
replicated. If a suspect writing is handwritten, obtain handwriting
because the writer may attempt to disguise his or her writing. Normal writing is a result
for proper comparison. If a suspect document is printed in
uppercase printing, the request writing should be uppercase of subconscious habits. The quality of writing is recognized by repeated significant
characteristics executed with ordinary attention to the operation as indicated.
printing as well. Be sure to make notes of any special instructions to
the suspect.
3. Replicate the writing instrument. Compare ballpoint pen with
ballpoint pen, and pencil with pencil.
4. Replicate the writing environment. Photocopy the document, white
out the suspect writing and duplicate the form several times. Have
the suspect sign the samples one at a time removing each sample

CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin

as it is completed so the suspect cannot copy from earlier work. If
the questioned document is not available, use similar size paper to
make up exemplars.
5. If the questioned document was written under unusual
circumstances, those circumstances should be duplicated. If the
writer was standing while signing a questioned document, the
writer should be asked to write in a standing position.
6. To prevent the writer from disguising exemplars, increase the speed
of dictation and rush the writer. Distract the suspect between
handwriting samples. The writer will not be able to maintain his or
her disguise if distracted.
9
TEXT 11: DO’S AND DON’T S FOR COLLECTING STANDARDS Hay circunstancias en que se usa el verbo auxiliar ‘do’ y ‘did’ en afirmativo: para
enfatizar, para agregarle certeza a lo que decís o escribís.
DO’S AND DON’TS FOR COLLECTING STANDARDS
 At least
 Do obtain sufficient handwriting exemplars, at least 20 to 25
 Too / enough
signatures or 4 to 5 pages of handwriting or handprinting.
 Like
 Don’t rely on too little writing. How much is enough? Enough to
 Exclusively significantly recently
identify the writer.
 Do collect like samples, handprinting with handprinting, ink
signatures with ink signatures, lined paper with lined paper, same
size with same size.  Many years ago
 Don’t rely exclusively on writing that differs significantly form the  Under abnormal conditions
questioned writing.  Such as
 Do collect standards dated at approximately the same time as the
questioned writing.
 Don’t rely on documents recently written if the comparison
questioned documents were written many years ago.
 Do collect documents that duplicate the writing environment, checks
with checks, contracts with contracts.
 Don’t compare writing written under abnormal conditions, such as
intoxication, with normal writing.

CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin

GRAMÁTICA – ESTRUCTURA - VOCABULARIO

 Concepto de “auxiliary.” Usos.

El más conocido de todos los verbos auxiliares en inglés es ‘do’ y sus mutaciones
‘does’ y ‘did.’ Es imprescindible utilizar el ‘do’ con presente simple en negativo e
interrogativo, recordando que en la tercera persona ‘do’ se convierte en ‘does.’
En los tiempos pasados ‘do’ se convierte en ‘did’ y no cambia en la tercera
persona.

10
TEXT 12: RONALD REAGAN
Movie-goers loved Ronald Reagan when they saw his first movie. They wrote him fan
letters. The Warner studio raised his salary and he moved his mother Nelle and his
father Jack to California. He paid them to answer his fan mail. Mother Nelle signed
letters, photos and even the membership cards of his official fans’ club which she
picked up at the studio. She even wrote long notes on the back of the cards.
Here is a two-page letter from Nelle Reagan which she signed Mum Nelle. Notice the
way she dated the letter. Note the form of the word “Dear”, especially the upper case
“D”, the distinct first stroke of the “y” in “you,” and the cross bar in the upper case “T”
in “Terry.” Notice also how she wrote her son’s first name and notice the distinctive
final stroke of the “s” in “as” on the letter’s second page. Notice the formation of the
upper case “I”.
Now compare these distinctive samples of her actual handwriting to a letter she wrote for her
son.
Now let’s compare these two letters to one authentically written and signed by Ronald Reagan.
Now look at these three columns, the similarities are both in the hand of Reagan’s
mother, the 3rd shows samples of a letter written by Reagan.
During World War 2, Reagan joined the Armed Forces, and Warner paid his mother
U$S 75 a week to sign his photos.
In the 1950s and early 60s many Reagan’s authentic signatures appeared on letters
and TV contracts.
In 1966 he was elected governor of California and in 1970 he was re-elected. His
personal secretary, Helene von Damme, signed many autographs. She continued
signing for him until she was appointed US Ambassador to Austria in 1983.
When Reagan was President, facsimile photos were frequently signed by an autopen,
a machine that mechanically reproduces signatures using an actual pen.
Over 17 patterns were discovered. Two official State letters for Latin American
presidents were signed by an autopen. For close friends there was even a “Ron”
autopen pattern. Two “Dutch” autopen patterns were recently discovered. They were
used on letters to friends.
TEXT 13: UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE
ACTIVIDAD 1. ¿Qué entendés por …..?
1. “ink library”
2. “video, audio and image enhancement services”
3. “Amber Alert”
4. “experts in the psychology of deception”
5. “forensic photography”
6. “3D modeling and simulation”
ACTIVIDAD 2. Recorré con la vista el texto y hacé una lista de las
especialidades forenses del Servicio Secreto de los Estados Unidos.
ACTIVIDAD 3. Leé con mayor detenimiento ahora y toma nota de información
que encuentres nueva o interesante sobre cada una de estas especialidades.
Forensic Services
The U.S. Secret Service is home to an advanced forensic laboratory, which
includes the world's largest ink library. Secret Service forensic analysts examine
evidence, develop investigative leads and provide expert courtroom testimony.
CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin
The lab is accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory
Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB).
Forensic examiners analyse questioned documents, fingerprints, false
identification documents, credit cards and other related forensic science areas.
Examiners also are responsible for coordinating photographic and graphic
production, as well as video, audio and image enhancement services. Much of
the technology and techniques utilized by examiners is exclusive to the U.S.
Secret Service.
11
As part of the 1994 Crime Bill, Congress mandated the U.S. Secret Service to
provide forensic/technical assistance in matters involving missing and exploited
children. The Secret Service offers this assistance to federal, state and local law
enforcement agencies and the National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children. On April 30, 2003, President George W. Bush signed the PROTECT Act
of 2003, known as the "Amber Alert Bill," which gave full authorization to the
U.S. Secret Service in this area.
The forensic services utilized by the Secret Service include a number of
specialties:
Identification - The Secret Service has access to a full range of fingerprint-
related services using the most up-to-date chemical and physical methods,
including the utilization of state-of-the-art equipment for the development of
latent prints. Specialists provide technical expertise and training in all
fingerprint-related matters to the Secret Service field offices and other law
enforcement agencies. They also provide expert testimony in federal, state and
local courts.
Forensic Automation - Forensic automation analysts provide advanced
automated/computer support to all U.S. Secret Service protective and
investigative elements, as well as for outside requests that have originated
within Secret Service field offices. This responsibility is computer intensive and
utilizes internal and external networks to identify fingerprints, handwriting,
counterfeit identity documents and financial documents when other
investigative leads have been exhausted.
Polygraph - The Secret Service has distinguished itself as having one of the
premiere polygraph programs in existence. Highly-trained personnel use their
skills and the latest technology available to enhance U.S. Secret Service
protective missions, criminal investigations and hiring needs. The examiners
assigned to the program are considered experts in the psychology of deception
and provide investigative expertise for all cases under the agency's jurisdiction.
Polygraph examiners are most often called upon when all other techniques of
investigation have been exhausted. However, any case has the potential to be
enhanced through the use of a polygraph examination.
Questioned Documents - The Secret Service has long been recognized as one
of the foremost questioned document laboratories in the world. The primary
goal of analysts is to support field investigations by providing expert forensic
analyses of evidence developed during investigations; writing reports of the
scientific findings and providing subsequent expert testimony in court
proceedings. Examiners also provide training to investigators on subjects
related to forensic analysis and participate in crime scene search teams. Also,
many have authored articles for relevant scientific and professional journals.
Visual Information - The Secret Service utilizes a unique blend of technologies
providing expertise in forensic photography, graphic arts, multimedia
operations, audio/image enhancement, voice identification, and 3-D modeling
and simulation.
ACTIVIDAD 4. GRAMÁTICA – ESTRUCTURAS – VOCABULARIO
1. ¿Qué tiempo verbal predomina en este texto?
2. ¿Encontraste otros tiempos verbales? Extraé del texto un ejemplo de
esos otros tiempos verbales e identificalos.
CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin
3. Da tu versión en español de las siguientes combinaciones de
palabras:
 an advanced forensic laboratory
 expert courtroom testimony
 false identification documents
 in matters involving missing and exploited children
 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies
 the most up-to-date chemical and physical methods
 technical expertise and training in all fingerprint-related
matters
12
  when other investigative leads have been exhausted: cuando se En el texto hay varias palabras compuestas, por ej. Courtroom. Buscá cuatro
han …… más.
 highly-trained personnel
 one of the foremost questioned document laboratories in the 6. Conectores. Buscá los siguientes conectores en el texto. Hay uno por
world párrafo.
 a unique blend of technologies  And , also,

4. Subrayá los prefijos y encerrá con un círculo los sufijos de los 7. Construcciones pasivas. Marcá con un tick las construcciones pasivas.
siguientes ítems de vocabulario.  The lab is accredited by theASCLD/LAB.
 Examiners are responsible for coordinating photographic
o Missing production.
o Exploited
 They provide expert testimony in federal, state and local
o Subsequent
courts.
5. Palabras compuestas.  The Secret Service has long been recognized as one of the

Llamamos palabras compuestas a aquellas palabras que se forman a partir de foremost questioned document laboratories in the world.
otras palabras, sean estas palabras adjetivos, participios, gerundios o
preposiciones. La relación entre las distintas partes de una palabra compuesta
puede ser de muy diversa índole. La única regla que existe en inglés es el hecho
de que la segunda parte de una palabra compuesta describe lo que es y la
primera parte la precisa, dicho de otra manera, un frogman es un hombre y no

CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin

una rana. La tabla abajo trata de mostrar, en plan de ejemplo, las diferentes
relaciones que pueden existir entre la parte descriptiva y la parte determinada
de una palabra compuesta.

sustantivo sustantivo Football, classroom,

self-control
preposición sustantivo Overcoat, underwear,
beforehand
gerundio sustantivo Reading-glasses,
dancing-queen
adjetivo sustantivo Red-head

13
TEXT 14: ALTERATIONS, ERASURES AND OBLITERATIONS Obliterations can hide original entries, occurring with the use of ink, correction
fluid, photographs or a secondary document, such as a visa label in a passport.
ALTERATIONS, ERASURES AND OBLITERATIONS
Alterations can change the meaning or value of a document. Handwriting,
See also: http://prezi.com/e_p3waw-kfqm/alterations-erasures-and- printed text or security devices on a document can all be altered. Alternatively
obliterations/ the document could be altered, such as through the effects of fire or water
SOURCE: immersion.

PARTE 1. COMPRENSIÓN DEL TEXTO Through detailed examination, using magnification and a variety of lights
sources and filters, entries can be enhanced or recovered, or alterations
1. ¿Cuál es una de las maneras más comunes de alterar un documento? shown.
2. Da tu versión en español
Occasions where this type of examination may be conducted include passports
and identity documents, entries in journals or diaries, employment references,
educational qualifications or financial records.
DOCUMENT EXAMINATION SOLUTIONS ONLINE
Contact Us to discuss your requirements, or for further information.
Our Services

Document examination is a specialised forensic discipline. Forensic Document

Examiners provide advice, determinations and recommendations as a result of
detailed examination and provide evidence as an expert witness in courts of law.

Erasures, Obliterations or Alterations

CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin

Information on documents can be changed in a number of ways. It can change
through aging, accidental damage or as an intentional act. Changes can affect
the purpose or value of a document.

Erasures, obliterations or alterations occur regularly. Information is masked or

removed, and potentially replaced with new entries.

Typically, erasures occur by either physical or chemical means, removing, or

partially removing entries.

14
TEXTO 15: FEDERAL POLICE CHIEF RECEIVES DEATH THREAT

26/08/2013 Federal Police chief receives death threat

The head of Argentina's Federal Police, Román Di Santo, made a criminal

complaint over a death threat he received.

Yesterday the Police chief found on the doorstep of his home a cutting from a
sports newspaper, which contained an article about Boca hooligans. Written
over the text by hand was the phrase, "we will find you", while a reference in
the article to coffins had been highlighted by those who sent the threat.

Judge Manuel De Campos, who is also investigating a case related to Boca

hooligans receiving membership cards as well as the deadly shootout in July that
left two members of 'La Doce' dead, will be in charge of looking into the threats.

"Di Santo headed the request to investigate police who could be involved with
Boca barras, but he also removed other officers in the intelligence section. We
believe that, although it could have been hooligans that left the threat at his
house, it has to be police officers who gave his address, whether they are still
active or removed from service," a Federal Police source explained.

COMPRENSIÓN LECTORA: CONTESTÁ LAS SIGUIENTES PREGUNTAS.

CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin

1. ¿Cuándo y dónde recibió el jefe de la PFA la nota de amenaza?
2. Hay un error en la traducción de la nota. ¿Lo encontraste?
3. ¿Qué otros dos casos está investigando el juez De Campos?
4. De acuerdo con la fuente de la PFA, ¿quiénes pueden estar detrás de esta nota?

TRABAJO EN PAREJAS: ANÁLISIS DE LA NOTA DE AMENAZA

TIPO DE TEXTO - PAPEL (TAMAÑO – CALIDAD DE PAPEL - LISO – RENGLONES – ETC) – TINTA
(LAPICERA – MARCADOR – CARACTERISTICAS) – LETRA (TAMAÑO – MAYÚSCULA- MINÚSCULA –
CARACTERÍSTICAS – RASGOS SALIENTES) – USO DEL ESPACIO – TEXTO/S RESALTADO –
¿CONSIDERAN EL MATERIAL ÚTIL PARA COMPARACIÓN? – ¿CREEN QUE HUBO INTENTOS DE
ENMASCARAR LA ESCRITURA? SI HUBIERA UN SOSPECHOSO, ¿QUÉ PASOS TOMARÍA PARA TOMAR
UNA MUESTRA ÚTIL PARA COMPARARLA CON ESTA NOTA? ETC

15
TEXTO 16: DISGUISE letters, that is, the size relationship of uppercase with lowercase and
middle-zoned letters (such as a, c, and e) with looped letters (b,d,f).
En el Capítulo 17 del libro Forensic Document Examination, su autora Katherine D. Many writers believe no comparison can be made between cursive
Mainolfi Koppenhaver, CDE (Certified Document Examiner), se refiere a las writing and block printing. The pictorial effect may change but many of
distintas formas de enmascarar la escritura. Para facilitar la lectura, ella dividió the writer’s normal characteristics will remain, including the methods
el texto en subtextos sobre cada uno de los métodos utilizados. A continuación of forming many of the letters.
leerás los subtítulos y extractos de los capítulos. Completa la siguiente tabla. E. Another method of disguise is changing the writing instrument. Writers
Método de enmascaramiento 1 2 3 4 5 6 sometimes use a wide-tipped pen to distort their letter forms. They
feel the wide strokes will prevent comparison with normal writing.
Extracto del capítulo 17 They fail to take into consideration that many characteristics of writing
may not have been altered.
F. Many of the writer’s normal characteristics of writing will be present in
other-hand writing. Because handwriting is brain writing, that is, the
METHODS OF DISGUISE
brain directs the movement, many handwriting characteristics will
1. Change of slant remain. Letter designs will be retained as well as spacing, proportions,
2. Change of size initial, terminal, and connecting lines, and ticks and hooks peculiar to
3. Altered letter forms the individual.
4. Block letters
5. Other-hand writing
6. Other methods of disguise

EXTRACTS

CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin

A. Some writers will add flourishes and extended endings to their normal
letters in an attempt to hide their identity. Others simplify letter forms
by omitting initial and terminal strokes. Some letters may have
exaggerated loops.
B. A writer who normally uses a vertical slant may change the slant to a
forward one. Writers are seven times more likely to use the backhand
slant than a forward one in disguise.
C. Occasionally a writer will squeeze letters close together in an attempt to
divert attention. He or she usually maintains the proportion of the

16
TEXT 17: HITLER DIARIES
In 1981 a spectacular manuscript attributed to Adolf Hitler was disclosed by the
brother of an East German general. These documents included Hitler’s 27-
volume diary and an unknown third volume of his autobiography, MeinKampf.
The existence of these works was both culturally and politically significant to the
millions who were affected by World War II.
Authentication of the diaries was undertaken by two world-renowned experts,
one Swiss and one American. Both declared that the handwritten manuscripts
were identical to the known samples of Adolf Hitler’s handwriting that they
were given. Bidding wars began for publishing rights, and a major national
newspaper in the United States won with a price near $4 million.
The publishing company that originally released the documents to the world
market undertook its own investigation, which ultimately revealed a clever but
devious plot. The paper on which the diaries were written contained a whitener
that didn’t exist until 1954, long after Hitler committed suicide. The manuscript
binding threads contained viscose and polyester, neither of which was available
until after World War II. Further, the inks used in the manuscript were all
inconsistent with those in use during the year these pages were allegedly
written.
Moreover, the exemplars sent to the Swiss and American experts as purportedly
known examples of Hitler’s handwriting were actually from the same source as
the diaries. Thus, the experts were justified in proclaiming that the documents
were authentic because they were written by the same hand--it just wasn’t
Hitler’s. Chemical analysis of the inks later determined that the “Hitler’s diaries”
were in fact less than one year old--spectacular, but fake!
PRÁCTICA DE PARCIAL
PARTE 1. COMPRENSIÓN DEL TEXTO.
ACTIVIDAD 1. VERDADERO O FALSO?
1. Estos textos serían de gran importancia para la gente que vivió la
Segunda Guerra Mundial.
2. Los dos expertos calígrafos recibieron los textos dubitados y
ejemplares fehacientemente escritos por Hitler.
3. Los hilos con los que se encuadernaron los textos no existieron hasta
1954.
4. Los “diarios de Hitler” no eran auténticos.
ACTIVIDAD 2. RESPONDÉ.
1. ¿Cuántos tomos de la biografía de Hitler se conocían hasta 1981?
2. En el segundo párrafo se menciona una guerra. ¿A qué guerra se
refiere?
3. ¿Qué tres descubrimientos hicieron los expertos de la editorial?
4. ¿Qué argumentos utilizaron los dos expertos calígrafos para defender
sus conclusiones?
ACTIVIDAD 3. A CONTINUACIÓN ESCRIBÍ TU VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL DEL
ÚLTIMO PÁRRAFO.
PARTE 2. TIEMPOS VERBALES–ESTRUCTURAS-VOCABULARIO
1. En la construcción pasiva a veces se incluye a la/s persona/s que
CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin
realiza/n la acción expresada por el verbo y otras veces se omite/n.
Extraé dos ejemplos de cada estructura.
2. Multiple choice.
Attributed (L.2), unknown (L.4) and handwritten (L.8) son:
a. Infinitivos b. participios c. gerundios
3. ¿Qué sustantivos están siendo reemplazados por los siguientes
pronombres?
Both (L.8 ); those (L.19); they (L.24)
17
4. Extraé cinco palabras que contengan un sufijo. Encerrá el sufijo en un 2. Complot
círculo.
3. Parcela

Right (L.10) 1. El bien

5. Usá el diccionario y da el significado en español de las siguientes
palabras: 2. derecho

3. (política) la derecha
+White
+whiten 4. derecho (opuesto a izquierdo)

+whitener

8. Adverbios: ¿Cuáles son sinónimos? ¿Cuál es una falsa

Fijáte en el diccionario si “dark” se comporta de la misma manera con
transparencia?
esos sufijos. Y
Allegedly
+dark
Purportedly
+dark_ _
Culturally

+dark_ _ _ _ Politically

+know Ultimately

CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin

+known
Actually
+unknown
9. Connectors.
6. ¿A qué / quiénes se refiere both en las siguientes líneas…
L.5 Further
L.8
Moreover

7. ¿Cuáles de los significados de “plot” y “right” se usan en el texto? Thus

Plot (L.15 ) 1. Argumento

18
TEXT 18: REQUEST WRITING
Request writing exemplars are handwriting samples made at the request and
under the supervision of police, document examiners, or attorneys for the
purpose of creating known writing samples to compare with questioned writing.
Request writing leads to self-consciousness in the writing act, thus request
writing samples are generally not as useful as informal writing. The writer may
attempt to disguise his or her writing to avoid being identified. Several steps can
be taken, however, to overcome the problems associated with request writing.
Request writing forms contain all the upper and lowercase letters, plus numbers
and punctuation marks. Material can be dictated to the writer as well. Dictation
should include the material in question, plus additional writing containing words
or phrases similar to the questioned material.
The document examiner should take the request writing exemplars whenever
possible following an established procedure. A document examiner is then in a
position to determine if the writing is normal writing or if the writer is trying to
disguise his or her handwriting. If someone else is taking the request writing
samples, he or she should also follow an established procedure as described:
1. Use a questionnaire to identify any circumstances that could affect the
writings, such as illness, injury or substance abuse.
2. The writing conditions of the questioned document should be
replicated. If a suspect writing is handwritten, obtain handwriting for
proper comparison. If a suspect document is printed in uppercase
printing, the request writing should be uppercase printing as well. Be
sure to make notes of any special instructions to the suspect.
3. Replicate the writing instrument. Compare ballpoint pen with ballpoint
pen, and pencil with pencil.
4. Replicate the writing environment. Photocopy the document, white out
the suspect writing and duplicate the form several times. Have the
suspect sign the samples one at a time removing each sample as it is
completed so the suspect cannot copy from earlier work. If the
questioned document is not available, use similar size paper to make
up exemplars.
5. If the questioned document was written under unusual circumstances,
those circumstances should be duplicated. If the writer was standing
while signing a questioned document, the writer should be asked to
write in a standing position.
6. To prevent the writer from disguising exemplars, increase the speed of
dictation and rush the writer. Distract the suspect between
handwriting samples. The writer will not be able to maintain his or her
disguise if distracted.
7. Have the suspect write with both hands. Indicate which hand is being
used on each form that is completed.
8. Date and initial all request writing. Number the documents in the order
in which they were executed.
9. Additional request writing can be worded to include words,
expressions, letters, names and combinations found in the questioned
writing. When a case involves numbers, have the suspect write
numbers from 1 to 100. Cone can organize a diversity of alphanumeric
characters into a paragraph such as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.
Ask yourself: Do request writing standards show any signs of attempted
disguise? Do they contain suitable material for comparison, such as similar
CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin
letter combinations and spacing? Have they been properly taken and properly
witnessed?
Care must be taken to ensure that request writing is suitable for comparison
purposes because the writer may attempt to disguise his or her writing. Normal
writing is a result of subconscious habits. The quality of writing is recognized by
repeated significant characteristics executed with ordinary attention to the
operation as indicated.
19
TEXT 19. Source: Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Science.
Any object with handwriting or print whose source or authenticity is in doubt
may be referred to as a questioned document. Document examiners apply
knowledge gathered through years of training and experience to recognize and
compare the individual characteristics of questioned and known authentic
writings. For this purpose, gathering documents of known authorship or origin is
critical to the outcome of the examination. Many factors compose the total
character of a person’s writing. The unconscious handwriting of two different
individuals can never be identical. Furthermore, the writing style of one
individual may be altered beyond recognition by the influence of drugs or
alcohol. The collection of an adequate number of known writings is critical for
determining the outcome of a handwriting comparison. Known writing should
contain some of the words and combinations of letters present in the
questioned document.
The two requests most often made of the examiner in connection with the
examination of typewriters and printing devices are to determine whether the
make and model of the typewriter and printing devices used to prepare the
questioned document can be identified and whether a particular suspect
typewriter or printing device can be identified as having prepared the
questioned document. The individual type character’s style, shape, and size are
compared to a complete reference collection of past and present typefaces. As
it is true for any mechanical device, use of a printing device results in wear and
damage to the machine’s moving parts. These changes occur both randomly and
irregularly, thereby imparting individual characteristics to the printing device.
The document examiner has to deal with problems involving business and
personal computers, which often produce printed copies that have only subtle
defects.
Document examiners must deal with evidence that has been changed in several
ways, such as through alterations, erasures, and obliterations. Indented writings
have proved to be valuable evidence. It may be possible to determine what was
written by the impressions left on a paper pad. Applying an electrostatic charge
to the surface of a polymer film that has been placed in contact with a
questioned document visualizes indented writings. A study of the chemical
composition of writing ink on documents may verify whether known and
questioned documents were prepared by the same pen.
TEXT 20. SYSTEMATIC EXAMINATIONS OF HANDWRITING
PRELIMINARY PROCEDURES
Document examiners need to use a systematic approach to the examination of
handwriting. A standard method of operation assures that a complete analysis
is conducted methodically and meets the requirements for expert testimony.
Initial examination
The most logical step is to search for obvious signs of forgery in the question
material. Presence of any of the signs of forgery does not necessarily indicate
fraudulent handwriting. Any of the signs of forgery could be present in genuine
handwriting.
A simple forgery is generally the easiest type of forgery to identify because the
CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin
questioned signature has no resemblance to the known. This is usually quite
obvious because the pictorial effect will differ considerably from the known
writing. You must make sure to have sufficient samples of the known writing to
cover all of the types of signatures that the writer makes in order to identify a
simple forgery.
If there are two or more identical signatures, one or all of the signatures are
falsified. Duplicate signatures are free-hand simulations, cut and paste,
computer-generated signatures, or traced signatures. Valid authentic duplicate
signatures would be signature stamps or auto-pen signatures.
20
Once the document examiner has determined there are no obvious signs of
forgery in the questioned material, he or she should determine if there is any
evidence of self-disguise. The document examiner should also scrutinize the
documents to determine if there has been an attempt to disguise the known
documents. Disguised writing is any conscious or deliberate attempt to alter the
normal characteristics of one´s handwriting to prevent recognition.
Originality in disguise is rare. Only about one out of nine writers can disguise his
or her cursive handwriting so that it is not recognizable at a glance. Most
writers change the slant of their writing, feeling this is sufficient because it alters
the appearance of the writing. They do not change any other characteristics.
Lack of internal consistency is the principal sign of disguised writing. Writers
revert back to their normal writing when their attention wanes so there is
usually some natural writing mixed in with the disguised writing.
PARTE 1: COMPRENSIÓN DEL TEXTO.
ACTIVIDAD 1. CONTESTÄ ESTAS PREGUNTAS.
1. ¿Cómo debe ser el enfoque que el calígrafo debe utilizar y por qué?
2. ¿Por qué es importante que el calígrafo tenga suficientes muestras de
la escritura conocida?
3. ¿Qué sucede si todas las firmas son idénticas?
4. ¿Qué debe hacer el profesional luego de asegurarse que no hay signos
de falsificación?
5. ¿Cómo se define “enmascaramiento”?
6. ¿Qué es lo que la mayoría de los escritores hacen para ocultar su letra?
7. ¿Cuál es la principal señal de escritura enmascarada? Desarrollá.
ACTIVIDAD 2. HACÉ UNA LISTA CON POR LO MENOS 5 CONSEJOS QUE PODRÍAS
COMPARTIR CON UN COMPAÑERO QUE NO LEYÓ ESTE TEXTO.
PARTE 2: ESTRUCTURAS – GRAMÁTICA – VOCABULARIO
ACTIVIDAD 1. EXTRAÉ DEL TEXTO:
 Dos adjetivos en grado superlativo, uno de los adjetivos debe ser largo
y el otro, corto.
 Dos construcciones pasiva en presente.
 Dos auxiliares de Presente Simple. ¿Por qué se usan esos auxiliares?
 Dos verbos de modalidad.
 Tres números
 La palabra en inglés que significa: una vez
 Dos ejemplos con “or” y dar la versión en español de la oración
 Un ejemplo con “because” y dar la versión en español de la oración
 Un ejemplo con “so” y dar la versión en español de la oración
 Un ejemplo de prefijo
 Tres sufijos
 Cómo se expresan en inglés las siguientes nociones: “no hay” “ha
habido”
 Dos ejemplos de “any”, ¿cómo los traducirías
ACTIVIDAD 2. MARCA CON UNA CRUZ LAS CONSTRUCCIONES PASIVAS.
• Any of the signs of forgery could be present in genuine handwriting.
CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin
• Presence of any of the signs of forgery does not necessarily indicate
fraudulent handwriting.
• Lack of internal consistency is the principal sign of disguised writing.
• If there are two or more identical signatures, one or all of the
signatures are falsified.
21
 PARTE 2: ESTRUCTURAS – GRAMÁTICA – VOCABULARIO
ACTIVIDAD 1. EXTRAÉ DEL TEXTO:

 Dos adjetivos en grado superlativo, uno de los adjetivos debe ser largo y
el otro, corto.
 Dos construcciones pasiva en presente.
 Dos auxiliares de Presente Simple. ¿Por qué se usan esos auxiliares?
 Dos verbos de modalidad.
 Tres números
 La palabra en inglés que significa: una vez
 Dos ejemplos con “or” y dar la versión en español de la oración
 Un ejemplo con “because” y dar la versión en español de la oración
 Un ejemplo con “so” y dar la versión en español de la oración
 Un ejemplo de prefijo
 Tres sufijos
 Cómo se expresan en inglés las siguientes nociones: “no hay” “ha
habido”
 Dos ejemplos de “any”, ¿cómo los traducirías

ACTIVIDAD 2. MARCA CON UNA CRUZ LAS CONSTRUCCIONES PASIVAS.

• Any of the signs of forgery could be present in genuine handwriting.

CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin

• Presence of any of the signs of forgery does not necessarily indicate
fraudulent handwriting.
• Lack of internal consistency is the principal sign of disguised writing.
• If there are two or more identical signatures, one or all of the signatures
are falsified.

22
TEXT 21. The Lindbergh Kidnapping
Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., 20-month-old son of the famous
aviator and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was kidnapped about 9:00
p.m., on March 1, 1932, from the nursery on the second floor of the
Lindbergh home near Hopewell, New Jersey. The child's absence
was discovered and reported to his parents, who were then at home,
at approximately 10:00 p.m. by the child's nurse, Betty Gow. A
search of the premises was immediately made and a ransom note
demanding $50,000 was found on the nursery window sill. After that,
the Hopewell police were notified. The New Jersey State Police
assumed charge of the investigation.
Charles
Lindbergh
The first ransom note
During the search at the kidnapping scene, traces of mud were found on the floor of the
nursery. Footprints, impossible to measure, were found under the nursery window. Two
sections of the ladder had been used in reaching the window, one of the two sections
was split or broken where it joined the other, indicating that the ladder had broken during
the ascent or descent. There were no blood stains in or about the nursery, nor were there
any fingerprints.
Household and estate employees were questioned and
Lindbergh house with ladder
outside of the nursery investigated. Colonel Lindbergh asked friends to
communicate with the kidnappers, and they made
widespread appeals for the kidnappers to start negotiations.
Various underworld characters were dealt with in attempts to
contact the kidnappers, and numerous clues were advanced and exhausted.
A second ransom note was received by Colonel Lindbergh on March 6, 1932,
(postmarked Brooklyn, New York, March 4), in which the ransom demand was increased
to $70,000. A police conference was then called by the governor at Trenton, New Jersey,
which was attended by prosecuting officials, police authorities, and government
representatives. Various theories and policies of procedure were discussed. Private
investigators also were employed by Colonel Lindbergh's attorney, Colonel Henry
Breckenridge.
The third ransom note was received by Colonel Lindbergh's attorney on March 8,
informing that an intermediary appointed by the Lindberghs would not be accepted and
requesting a note in a newspaper. On the same date, Dr. John F. Condon, Bronx, New
York City, a retired school principal, published in the "Bronx Home News" an offer to act
as go-between and to pay an additional $1,000 ransom. The following day the fourth
ransom note was received by Dr. Condon, which indicated he would be acceptable as a
CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin
mediator. This was approved by Colonel Lindbergh. About March 10, 1932, Dr. Condon
received $70,000 in cash as ransom, and immediately started negotiations for payment
through newspaper columns, using the code name "Jafsie."
About 8:30 p.m., on March 12, after receiving an anonymous telephone call, Dr. Condon
received the fifth ransom note, delivered by Joseph Perrone, a taxicab driver, who
received it from an unidentified stranger. The message stated that another note would be
found beneath a stone at a vacant stand, 100 feet from an outlying subway station. This
note, the sixth, was found by Condon, as indicated. Following instructions therein, the
doctor met an unidentified man, who called himself "John," at Woodlawn Cemetery, near
233rd Street and Jerome Avenue. They discussed payment of the ransom money. The
stranger agreed to send the family a token of the child's identity. Condon was
accompanied by a bodyguard, except while talking to "John."
23
 A baby's sleeping suit, as a token of
identity, and a seventh ransom note
were received by Dr. Condon on March
16. The suit was delivered to Colonel
Lindbergh and later identified. The
eighth ransom note was received by
Condon on March 21, insisting on
complete compliance and advising that
the kidnapping had been planned for a
year.
On March 29, Betty Gow, the Lindbergh
nurse, found the infant's thumb guard,
worn at the time of the kidnapping, near
the entrance to the estate. The following
Sketches of "John," who received day the ninth ransom note was received
the Lindbergh kidnap ransom money. by Condon, threatening to increase the
demand to $100,000 and refusing a
code for use in newspaper columns. The tenth ransom note, received by Dr. Condon, on
April 1, 1932 instructed him to have the money ready the following night, to which Condon
replied by an ad in the Press. The eleventh ransom note was delivered to Condon on April
2, 1932, by an unidentified taxi driver who said he received it from an unknown man. Dr.
Condon found the twelfth ransom note under a stone in front of a greenhouse at 3225
East Tremont Avenue, Bronx, New York, as instructed in the eleventh note.
Shortly thereafter, on the same evening, by following the instructions contained in the
twelfth note, Condon again met whom he believed to be "John" to reduce the demand to
$50,000. This amount was handed to the stranger in exchange for a receipt and the
thirteenth note, containing instructions to the effect that the kidnapped child could be found
on a boat named "Nellie" near Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. The stranger then
walked north into the park woods. The boat didn't exist. The kidnapper had not only picked
up the ransom money without being arrested, he had done so without producing the baby.
About a month after the ransom pay-off, a truck driver found the corpse of a child in a
shallow grave. The decomposing body, face down in the mud, lay two miles from the
Lindbergh estate. The infant's skull had been fractured, and its hands had been carried
away by animals. The Coroner's examination showed that the child had been dead for
about two months and that death was caused by a blow on the head.Investigators
theorized that the baby had been dropped by the kidnapper as he came down the ladder.
At the morgue in Trenton, Col. Lindbergh identified the remains of his son. The baby's
nursemaid, Betty Gow, recognized the shirt she had made for the child on the night of his
abduction, producing the cloth from which it had been fashioned, and the thread she had
used. The remains were furthered identified by an examination of its hair, and teeth.
Moreover, the age of the corpse and the estimated time of death corresponded generally
to the age of the Lindbergh baby and the date of the kidnapping.
With his son dead, Col. Lindbergh had no interest in identifying the killer, leaving the task
to H. Norman Schwarzkopf whose best chance of catching the kidnapper involved
identifying the man who had been passing the ransom bills around New York City. Once
the ransom bill passer was caught, there would be plenty of physical evidence, principally
the fourteen ransom notes—comprised of Germanic syntax and misspelled words—
connecting him to the crime. Albert S. Osborn, the dean of questioned document
examination, had already established that the same person had written all of the notes,
including the one left in the nursery. He had also composed a special paragraph,
unrelated to the kidnapping, that contained key words, numbers and phrases that when
dictated to a suspect to acquire known handwriting samples, would facilitate comparison
with the questioned documents.
Because the ransom negotiations had taken place in the Bronx, and most of the ransom
bills were being passed in Manhattan, the focus of the investigation had shifted to New
York. On September 14, 1934, a gas station attendant in Manhattan, suspicious of a ten-
dollar gold certificate offered by a customer (the country had switched to greenbacks in
May, 1933), wrote the gold note passer's license number on the margin of the bill. A bank
employee, after checking the bill's serial number against the widely circulated ransom list,
notified the FBI who sent an agent to retrieve the bill. The license number came back to a
1930 Dodge registered to a Richard Hauptmann, a resident of the Bronx who lived a few
blocks from where several pieces of the kidnap ladder had been purchased.
The next day, two and a half years after the kidnapping, a team of investigators from the
CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin
New Jersey State Police, FBI, and New York City Police Department, pulled Hauptmann
out of his car as he crossed into Manhattan from the Bronx. Hauptmann was in
possession of a twenty-dollar ransom bill, spoke with a German accent, and closely met
the description of John Condon's “Cemetery John.”
The next afternoon, Albert S. Osborn began analyzing Hauptmann's handwriting,
samples the subject had given to officers who had read to him Osborn's carefully worded
paragraph. A few days later the police found, hidden in Hauptmann’s garage, $14,000 of
the ransom money. In explaining the loot, Hauptmann came up with the so-called “Fisch
Story” involving a business partner named Isadore Fisch who had supposedly left the
money with Hauptmann for safekeeping a month before Hauptmann's arrest. Fisch had
since returned to Germany where, penniless, he had died of tuberculosis. Investigators
broke the “Fisch Story” by interviewing several credible merchants who identified
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Hauptmann as passing ransom bills months before the money had supposedly come into
his possession from Fisch.

About the time Albert S. Osborn reported that Hauptmann was the writer of the ransom
documents, police found a gap in Hauptmann's attic floor that had once been filled by a
plank used in the construction of the kidnap ladder. This board, referred to as Rail 16,
contained holes that lined up to nail punctures in the floor joists, and matched up to the
attic plank from which it had been cut.

The police had now connected Hauptmann to the crime through his handwriting, his attic
floor, and the ransom money. As an unemployed carpenter in the height of the Great
Depression, he had spent $36,000 between the time of the ransom exchange and his
arrest. When confronted with this evidence, true to the low-grade sociopath that he was,
Hauptmann maintained his innocence. Therefore, to convict him, the prosecution would
have to rely on circumstantial evidence, principally the handwriting, and the identification
of Rail 16.

Hauptmann's six-week murder trial began on January 2, 1935 in Flemington, New Jersey.
The heart of the state's case, the handwriting evidence, consisted of eight forensic The top eight experts of those days testified that Hauptmann was the writer of the
document examiners whose testimony lasted four days, producing a transcript of 800 questioned documents.
pages. The questioned evidence included:
On February 11, 1935, the jury of four women and eight men, a group of high school
• The nursery note educated, common sense people, found Hauptmann guilty of murder. Because the jury
did not recommend life imprisonment, Hauptmann, by law, was sentenced to death.
• The fourteen extortion letters Following two stays of execution and appeals all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court,
Hauptmann died in the electric chair on April 3, 1936.
• The “Boad Nelly” note

• The address on the mailed sleeping suit package

CPN - Inglés II – Lic. Claudia Irigoin

• John Condon’s phone number written on a board in Hauptmann's closet

• The handwriting evidence totaled 1,400 words.

• The known, conceded writing consisted of hundreds of words in Hauptmann's

notebooks; his car registration signatures; insurance papers and other personal
documents. The request samples involved handwriting elicited from Hauptmann through
Albert S. Osborn's carefully worded paragraph.

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