TWICE AS FAR

SWISSAIR 111

CRASH INVESTIGATION

- ILLEGAL ACTIONS -

CHANGE THE NOTES

THE 'CHANGE THE NOTES' DOCUMENT

THE 'CHANGE THE NOTES' DOCUMENT

This is the 'Change the Notes' document

that was provided by Lathem and Fraser

on the 20th of February, 2001.

Added to the printed portion was the handwritten line.

There was too much room at that point

and it seemed that Lathem would be able to add in another line

once it was signed.

After all,

I believed that this document was part of an illegal act,

so why wouldn't one believe

that he and Fraser

could do something else underhandedly.

The following is a link to Neil Fraser's nine pages of notes for the meeting.

At the top of the first page is listed the participants,

but Peter Purchase left during the first break.

Each statement is preceded by the initials of the person who made it.

The notes are fairly accurate but sparse

and they lack the detail of my notes

mainly because he made them at the time simply by highlighting what was said

as best as he could while the words were being said.

It would seem that he did not go back and fill in any details.

Instead, Neil merely left them in their initial form

until the official request for them was made

quite some time later during the assessment grievance process.

Keep in mind that he did not know shorthand,

there was no tape recorder,

and Neil himself asked questions.

At times the conversation was fast and heated.

So Neil did not record everything,

certainly not the tone nor the atmosphere of the meeting.

He recorded nine pages of notes in the format as shown

for a meeting that lasted more than an hour.

But it can be seen from those notes

that nothing of the identification process was discussed during the meeting.

So Lee Fraser's planned trip

had nothing to do with a face to face meeting to discuss those functions.

Also,

I was told shortly after the meeting

that he was in Halifax on personal and private business.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

THE NOTES INITIALLY IDENTIFIED FOR CHANGE

THE NOTES INITIALLY IDENTIFIED FOR CHANGE

During the 'Change the Notes' meeting,

three dates were raised as examples of the issues Fraser and Lathem did not like in the notes.

The following are links to those note pages.

Read them in context with what was going on in the hangar

including the fact that

I had reason to suspect that the criminal act of multiple homicides may have taken place.

Also remember that they are simply notes

and not a brushed and groomed report.

After considering how the RCMP and the TSB conducted the investigation of this file,

it now seems obvious why Fraser and Lathem were so upset over what I had written.

I had hit upon the truth without actually realizing it.

However, while sensing what was going on and recording it was one thing,

at the time I had no substantial proof of any purposeful misdeeds.

My supervisors as commissioned officers of the RCMP

were breaking the law and shirking their duties.

Those were duties that they had sworn to uphold.

That is not something that one encounters

without going through a tremendous amount of second guessing of oneself.

However, even though there was denial on my part at the time,

I recorded in the notes the details of my suspicions

including what I saw and heard.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

THE ASSESSMENT DOCUMENTS

THE ASSESSMENT DOCUMENTS

Once the change the notes session ended,

it was time for my annual assessment.

However first,

Lathem provided another of his Performance Log forms 1004 for the notes.

As can be seen,

it all contributed to the charade that was being played out

to ensure that I was totally discredited.

I don't think that Lathem knew what good notes were,

and hisnotes showed that.

However, picking on the notes was not only simple and easy,

it was the key means of discrediting any future testimony that I might give.

After the performance log was presented,

Lathem thought he was now able to provide

an interim assessment based on that performance log.

Note the dates on the form 1004 above

and the interim assessment that follows.

Lathem mentions the written order to turn over the notes

and my walking out of the meeting.

As previously indicated,

the form 1004 from that 'Ambush Meeting' was a total sham.

Lathem's 1004 did not mention one single 'wrong-doing'

that he alleged I had committed.

What's more,

those 'wrong-doings' that he was so upset about

were the very same thing

that competent police people the world over do as a matter of routine.

As for the dates,

the assessment was written the day before the form 1004.

That rules out his ability to mention any part of his alleged note problem.

As a commissioned officer,

he should have known better.

Then Gorman supplied his assessment.

The date was February 2001,

and the coverage for an assessment was to be for

only the previous twelve months.

As such,

the coverage of this assessment must not overlap

the timeframe covered in the previous assessment.

That fact really should have been obvious to Gorman,

especially since he provided a most contradictory narrative

for that same overlapped period.

Something to keep in mind is that the rules for an assessment in the RCMP,

as in most organizations,

are that anything that is mentioned either positive or negative about the individual

must be based on specific incidents that have been recorded on a performance log

Additionally,

they must have been brought to the attention of the person being assessed

as soon as possible after they occurred.

What's more,

they must fall within the specific period for the assessment.

In this assessment

Gorman used generalities and subjective criticisms

without mentioning specific times, dates, and details.

He took quotes out of notes,

but again it was neither an objective observation on his part

nor had it been discussed

and previously documented on the performance log.

'A number of co-workers' may consist of two

who have been brainwashed into believing what the 'boss' had told them to believe.

However, most important of all,

the material raised in an assessment must be true and objective.

This material was slanted to Lathem's requirements.

An example of this was the notes for the data base.

It would not accept my data tables without creating an unreadable mess.

Note too that the $40,000 included the costs for

digital cameras and video cameras,

disks, batteries, and waterproof housings.

That nearly $30,000 was all pre-authorized.

As for sensitivities,

I was trying to investigate the suspected murder of 229 human beings

while others were obstructing.

What's more,

after all of this criticism of my work,

one could easily expect that I would have been removed from the file

and returned to the Ident Section to be closely monitored and supervised.

However, that was not the case.

Instead

nothing was done.

The reason for that was quite simple.

There was nothing wrong in what I was doing

and this whole paper trail was created for one specific purpose.

To discredit me if the Swissair matter ever went to court.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

PREVIOUS ASSESSMENT DOCUMENTS

PREVIOUS ASSESSMENT DOCUMENTS

To balance the score sheet,

for anyone who might think that Gorman may have been telling the truth

when writing this last assessment,

here is a copy of the previous assessment

that he submitted just thirteen months earlier on 2000 JAN 05.

It was for much of the same period as mentioned in the above assessment.

Many might easily believe that he lied in one of them.

Of note,

Gorman did not even document the morgue fingerprint photo process correctly.

The Kodak CN400 film was black and white 35 mm film

that was processed by way of the colour film method

and not the other way around as he had described.

This should have been basic knowledge for an RCMP Forensic Identification member.

It just goes to show that he did not pay attention to the minor details.

While this is something perhaps only trivial,

the little things are what add up after a while,

such as a mere pinprick of magnesium,

a physically tiny bit of evidence.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

PREVIOUS LETTERS OF COMMENDATIONS

PREVIOUS LETTERS OF COMMENDATION

Now lets look at a memo that was received from Lee Fraser and Vic Gorman

dated February 18, 1999.

It covers the work performed in the 'B' Hangar morgue.

The memos that are mentioned by Fraser were received attached to this one,

but to not overdo it let's just keep to this one document.

Of special interest is page #2

The handwriting on the second page reads:

Tom

Thanks so much for all you have done.  You

certainly are a big part of the FI team.  Your

role in this will continue for quite some

time.  I appreciate your participation & I am

sure you & Vic will do a fine job.  You handled

the fgpt desk admirably.  I also have to mention

the FBI, and say thanks for that too.  Anyway, we

will continue and I appreciate you being a team

member.

Lee

Tom:  "OUTSTANDING  Effort"   Your dedication

and commitment has Not gone un-noticed.  It is

because of your hard work that we were so

successful.  I enjoy working with you in

Hangar "A".  Keep up the Good Work.

Vic

Besides memos from the Force's senior management,

a memo was received from Dr Butt as the Chief Medical Examiner for the Province.

Dr. Butt even thanked me for 'kibitzing' with him.

Again, the handwriting on the page reads:

You've done a great

job Tom and I'm

grateful not only

for your expertise

but for having you

here to "Kibitz" with.

JB

So one can only wonder what changed

and what was the game plan that altered everything?

I certainly hadn't changed how I worked.

So it would seem something was amiss in the top echelons of the Force

when an investigator is faulted for having done too much to solve a potential crime.

However, from the very beginning there was a game plan of which I was not aware

and my work put that plan at risk.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

CHANGE THE NOTES PRE-MEETING

CHANGE THE NOTES PRE-MEETING

The following two pages are notes made by Lee Fraser

for his meeting with Lathem on 2000 FEB 19,

or the day before the 'change-the-notes' meeting

Remember that Fraser wrote them.

Then, on the following day, he would have great concerns about my file notes

and how they would fail to withstand scrutiny by the media

after an access to information request

Some of the lines in the notes are priceless,

such as

'if anything comes to light,

we will go at it in a full blown investigation.'

and

'if something comes to light,

TSB will notify RCMP right away.'

Later documentation shows

just what Fraser meant when he wrote these lines.

The last note-point shows that

Fraser had no idea what was involved when investigating this file

'A' Division FIS was the RCMP's Ottawa Identification Section.

It is a long ways from Ottawa to Halifax where the aircraft debris was stored.

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