News
May 27, 2016
Man charged with sex abuse of Oak Park teen he met on Tinder
The Oak Park Police Department has charged a Chicago man with the possession of pornographic images and sexual abuse of an Oak Park teenager. RCFL personnel conducted forensics on the victim's phone.
May 27, 2016
Restaurateur pleads guilty to fraud, money laundering charges
Hu, 48, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve. The feds left Chicago restaurateur Tony Hu’s South Michigan Avenue condominium in 2014 with 100 tattered bags of receipts — and hard drives covered in hammer marks
Feb 20, 2016
Juan Contreras, Former Spanish-language TV host gets 61 years for child sex assaults
Chicago RCFL examiner testified in the trial of Juan Contreras. The former Chicago Spanish-language music producer and television host was sentenced to 61 years in prison Wednesday for sexually assaulting four young girls when he was supposed to be giving them voice lessons, according to prosecutors.
Feb 20, 2016
Dajuan Key convicted of transporting a minor across state lines to engage in prostitution
Testimony from Chicago RCFL examiner helps convict Dajaun Key of taking a 15-year-old girl from Wisconsin to Illinois, where he forced her into prostitution.
Feb 18, 2016
Ex-CPS chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett pleads guilty
Ex-CPS chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett pleads guilty, tearfully apologizes to students. Chicago RCFL provided onsite support at SUPES Academy and other locations that were instrumental in obtaining evidence for this investigation, and examined evidence in the laboratory.
Feb 18, 2016
"The Digital Suspect" - Chicago RCFL featured in News Exclusive
As crime evolves with the digital nature of the world we live in, investigators are evolving as well; finding ways to keep up with the fast paced growth of technology. Director John Dziedzic explains the Chicago RCFL plays a crucial role in providing support for crimes involving digital evidence.
Mar 15, 2012
Former Illinois Governor Begins Prison Term
Rod Blagojevich began serving his 14-year prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution Englewood in Colorado. The Chicago RCFL provided digital forensics expertise to prosecutors for the ex-governor's two trials.
Jun 01, 2011
RCFL Program Featured on FBI.gov
The RCFL Program, specifically the Chicago RCFL, is currently featured on the FBI homepage.
May 06, 2011
Audio/Video Forensics Benefits Diverse Investigations
The ability to enhance images extracted from video and digital cameras has helped solve many investigations — from fleeing bank robbers caught on camera to actual crimes recorded on tape. Chicago RCFL Examiner Paul Rettig is applying his video forensics skills to aid two very different investigations — one for the National Hockey League and another involving a violent criminal who not only robs but chokes his victims
Dec 04, 2009
Chicago lab goes after digital crooks
Trying to conceal wrongdoing, criminals often do whatever possible to get rid of digital evidence, sometimes acting in a moment of panic. That can include anything from deleting e-mails to shooting computers with a shotgun or even burning the house down. It's left to the Chicago Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory to try and recover the data. "The stuff isn't always looking pretty when it comes in here," John Parcol, a Chicago forensic examiner, said Thursday.
Dec 03, 2009
FBI Techno-sleuths Find Evidence In Digital Codes
With FBI agents closing in on him, one suspect tried to burn down his own home in hopes the flames would destroy the computer hard drive holding the evidence to send him to prison. He failed. Another fired a shotgun into his computer at point blank range in hopes that blowing its two hard drives to smithereens would save him from the federal pen. He ruined one hard drive but the other survived and he went to prison.
Dec 03, 2009
FBI's electronic sleuths find key evidence buried on hard drives and in cellphone messages
The FBI is celebrating a new honor for its high-tech Chicago Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory. The laboratory, which handles 500 cases a year in northern Illinois, on Thursday received full accreditation from the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors-Laboratory Accreditation. The recognition puts it in the top level of such laboratories nationwide.