newjerseynewsroom.com

BY NOAH COHEN

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

There were no car chases or explosions. Investigators were not wearing designer sunglasses. And, located near a car dealership and a diner, the Union County Prosecutor's Office forensic laboratory is far from the glitter of Las Vegas or Miami.

The quiet focus of the crime lab technicians in white coats hovering over microscopes would likely make a fan of the popular CSI crime drama change the channel.

In fact, officials at the $1.1 million-a-year Westfield facility are quick to point out they have no interest in watching the slew of forensics-themed spin-offs.

Monica Ghannam, DNA technical leader at the lab, said she is not sure how accurate the television shows are because she never watches.

"I can tell you nothing happens in 15 minutes," she said.

Romankow selected Ghannam as the lab's lead DNA expert after a search spanning the U.S. and Canada. She has held similar posts at a private firm in California and the Maryland State Police crime lab.

The county lab's biology section handles DNA evidence from first- and second-degree crimes including burglaries, rapes and homicides. In a four-step extraction process, technicians use extreme heat and chemicals to pull DNA from human cells, Ghannam said.

The results appear as a series of peaks on a graph but can be translated to guilt or innocence in court.

DNA evidence helped convict Alturik Francis for fatally stabbing and raping Majuly Collins and smothering her two young children, stacking the bodies in a bathtub, before stabbing another woman.

The crime occurred in December 2007 and he was convicted in February 2009.
Francis is currently serving three life sentences in New Jersey State Prison after being convicted on 13 separate counts including murder and attempted murder.

Investigators have used DNA to solve non-violent crimes as well.

Michael Davis, of Newark, was arrested after the county lab linked him to burglaries in Clark and Union Township by pulling his DNA from skin cells left on a screwdriver, Romankow said.

DNA evidence has also shed new light on old cases that are decades old. A Plainfield man was exonerated after serving more than 20 years in prison for a 1985 double murder when DNA evidence pointed to another suspect. The suspect, Clifton Hall, died in jail while awaiting trial in November, according to the prosecutor's office.

On television, gun-toting lab technicians analyze a sample then dash out to arrest the perpetrators. For Ghannam, the thrill is in the science. She said she rarely follows the individual cases beyond her official responsibilities.

"I'm looking at it scientifically," Ghannam said. "It's the nature of the items that's fascinating to me."

Normal DNA analysis takes two to four months with a quicker turnaround of about three weeks possible in emergencies. The lab's controlled substances section, which analyzes seized illegal drugs, can identify narcotics in about a week.

Cocaine and marijuana account for most of the more than three thousand drug samples tested in 2009, according to data provided by the prosecutor's office.

Although funded by the prosecutor's office, the lab is independent of the law enforcement agencies that submit samples. This gives the results more creditability in court, Romankow said.

Last year, the lab became the first county lab in the state to receive DNA accreditation from the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors Laboratory Accreditation Board. The New Jersey State Police forensic lab in West Trenton is the only other facility in the state to have such a certification.

The certification allows Union County lab results to be accepted in jurisdictions across the world, Romankow said.

Having an accredited county lab also lowers the chances of evidence being damaged in transit to West Trenton or facilities outside the state, said Sgt. Joseph Koury, the forensic lab's director.

None of the lab officials interviewed said they watched CSI. However, officials and experts did say the popular show has spurred new interest in forensic sciences careers.

"The problem is that people who watch CSI have a distorted view of the field," said Lawrence Kobilinsky, professor and chairperson of the sciences department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. "What is sought after are people who have a good scientific foundation."

John Jay's forensic science programs have seen a steady increase in enrollment over the past five to six years with some of that interest driven by CSI and other TV shows. Demand for internships and full-time positions have grown along with student interest, he said.

While leading reporters on a tour of the lab, Koury, the lab director, glanced at a message on his BlackBerry – an e-mail about a student looking for a lab internship.

Click here for more information about the Union County Forensic Laboratory.

Noah Y. Cohen specializes in writing about crime and can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it