PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Here's how the author of the ProPublica piece described the process of becoming a certified "forensic consultant" through one of O'Block's organizations:"One afternoon early last year, I punched in my credit card information, paid $495 to the American College of Forensic Examiners International Inc. and registered for an online course."After about 90 minutes of video instruction, I took an exam on the institute’s web site, answering 100 multiple choice questions, aided by several ACFEI study packets."As soon as I finished the test, a screen popped up saying that I had passed, earning me an impressive-sounding credential that could help establish my qualifications to be an expert witness in criminal and civil trials."For another $50, ACFEI mailed me a white lab coat after sending my certificate."The article quoted John Bridges, a former Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator who was hired as ACFEI’s president and chief executive in 2010, only to leave after nine months.“Based on my perception of what went on related to standards and quality, it operated like a certification mill,” Bridges told ProPublica. O'Block said he believed he was making the field of forensics more accessible, and that it was up to judges to determine whether an individual was qualified to be an expert witness. In 2002, Steve K. D. Eichel, a licensed psychologist with a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, wrote of getting his cat certified by one of O'Block's associations, under the name Dr. Zoe D. Katze. When ProPublica brought it up, O'Block denounced the situation as a "stunt" orchestrated by a member of a competing professional organization."
GIST: "The father of the woman who was shot and killed by author and forensic institute founder Robert O'Block in a 2017 murder-suicide at O'Block's Highland Springs home is suing O'Block's estate.
Tiffany Fleming's father says he is entitled to compensation because O'Block's homicidal actions caused pain and suffering and robbed him of Fleming's support and companionship.
According to the Greene County Sheriff's Office, O'Block, 66, shot and killed Fleming on July 30, 2017, before turning the gun on himself at his home on Kingswood Drive in the Highland Springs subdivision.
A witness reportedly escaped from O'Block by jumping from a second-story window.
O'Block and Fleming, 27, were in a romantic relationship and lived together.
The lawsuit filed July 8 by Fleming's father says that in the months leading up to the murder-suicide, O'Block had been taking prescription pain medication that caused him to become angry and abusive. (The estate has not yet had the opportunity to challenge the allegations made in the Statement of claim. HL)
O'Block refused to receive counseling or treatment for his struggles with violent behavior and prescription drug use, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit says O'Block was negligent by not seeking treatment and by keeping guns in his home despite his violent tendencies, and that led to Fleming's wrongful death.
O'Block was a onetime college criminal justice professor who ended up building a network of prestigious-sounding associations that offered, for a fee, to certify individuals in fields such as homeland security, forensics, psychotherapy and integrative medicine.
His company was paid millions to teach sailors for the U.S. Navy, but also came under fire for allegedly granting credentials to nearly anyone whose check cleared.
O'Block's website indicates he founded the American College of Forensic Examiners International and the Center for National Threat Assessment, Inc.
O'Block's companies were scrutinized in a 2012 article from ProPublica and PBS Frontline about the sometimes dubious credentials of expert witnesses that can sway criminal trials.
Here's how the author of the ProPublica piece described the process of becoming a certified "forensic consultant" through one of O'Block's organizations:
"One afternoon early last year, I punched in my credit card information, paid $495 to the American College of Forensic Examiners International Inc. and registered for an online course.
"After about 90 minutes of video instruction, I took an exam on the institute’s web site, answering 100 multiple choice questions, aided by several ACFEI study packets.
"As soon as I finished the test, a screen popped up saying that I had passed, earning me an impressive-sounding credential that could help establish my qualifications to be an expert witness in criminal and civil trials.
"For another $50, ACFEI mailed me a white lab coat after sending my certificate."
The article quoted John Bridges, a former Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator who was hired as ACFEI’s president and chief executive in 2010, only to leave after nine months.
“Based on my perception of what went on related to standards and quality, it operated like a certification mill,” Bridges told ProPublica.
O'Block said he believed he was making the field of forensics more accessible, and that it was up to judges to determine whether an individual was qualified to be an expert witness.
In 2002, Steve K. D. Eichel, a licensed psychologist with a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, wrote of getting his cat certified by one of O'Block's associations, under the name Dr. Zoe D. Katze.
When ProPublica brought it up, O'Block denounced the situation as a "stunt" orchestrated by a member of a competing professional organization.
"ACFEI did not certify a cat…[It] certified a human being who used fraudulent credentials and called himself Dr. Katz,” O’Block said.
Greene County court records indicate that, in 2011 and 2012, O'Block and his company sued two people who wrote about him and it in a negative way on an online discussion board, using phrases like "con artists" and "worthless pieces of paper." One of the statements O'Block objected to was paraphrased in the lawsuit as "they gave a organizational degree to a cat."
Both lawsuits were dismissed, one with prejudice.
O'Block was a religious man. In 2005, he authored "The 7 Steps to the Cure of Souls." A description of the book on Amazon says it "presents the perspective that the root cause of unhappiness, depression, alcoholism, drug abuse, and all the social problems of our day may be spiritual rather than medical or psychological."
From 2017:O'Block's company suspends operations
At the time of his death, O'Block's Facebook profile picture showed him and Fleming posing with Eric Greitens, who later become governor of Missouri, and Robert O'Neill, a Navy SEAL who claims to have fired the shots that killed Osama bin Laden.
The photo was likely taken in early October 2016, when O'Neill appeared at a Greitens campaign event in Springfield.
O'Block donated over $15,000 to Greitens' campaign in 2015 and 2016, according to Missouri Ethics Commission online records. He doesn't appear to have donated at least $5,000 at once to any other state and local candidates dating back to 2008, when the commission's online records begin.
O'Block became a reserve deputy with the Christian County Sheriff's Office in November 2010, according to Sheriff Brad Cole in a 2017 interview.
That same year, O'Block created Business Owners Supporting Sheriffs (BOSS), an organization that provides financial support to sheriff's offices, according to its website. The extent of the organization's work is unclear — Cole said he hadn't heard of it — but a video posted to YouTube in 2012 shows O'Block accepting an award as then-Sheriff Joey Kyle stands by.
Kyle pleaded guilty to embezzling cash from the county in 2015. Cole said O'Block lost his status as a reserve deputy when Cole took over that May, because O'Block wasn't meeting the requirement that he volunteer 16 hours per month.
In July 2016, O'Block received an award from Honor Flight of the Ozarks, part of a network of nonprofits that take military veterans on free trips to Washington D.C. The organization gave O'Block its "Golden Wings Patriotism Award" in appreciation for his "service to the United States Armed Forces veterans past and present and for his contributions" to the organization.
An attempt to reach an attorney associated with O'Block's estate was not successful."
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2020/08/02/family-sues-estate-robert-oblock-2017-murder-suicide-tiffany-fleming/5539978002/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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