Chapter 689 A wave of unrest

Of course, the so-called countermeasures are just nonsense. To put it bluntly, the NYPD’s public relations department is to get involved quickly and clear up the responsibility first. It’s hard to say exactly which cases it will be involved in, but the approximate time frame can still be estimated.

The supplier of the pack of cotton swabs in Jack's hand is called "White Tip Cotton Company". About a month ago, it won government contracts from New York City and several surrounding cities, and is responsible for supplying them to the police crime laboratories and other cities in these cities. The department supplies swabs.

Of course, this company's business is not limited to this, but the FBI found that in order to cope with these new contracts, they opened a cotton swab processing factory in Brooklyn, New York, which was also the destination of Jack and Mike Taylor's trip. .

If it can be determined that the problem does lie in this newly opened cotton swab processing factory, then it can be basically determined that the contaminated cotton swabs flowed into various crime laboratories in the past month or so.

This is also consistent with the data update time of the DNA information database. In other words, even without Sheldon Hawke's small mistake, it would not have been too long before this problem was discovered.

The problem now is that although the estimated time range is only more than a month, which does not sound like a long time, it is actually not short. In terms of the busyness of the CSI laboratory, Mike Taylor, as the person in charge, is only making a rough estimate. More than 200 cases have been linked to potentially contaminated DNA evidence.

Among them, at least 30 to 40 serious cases were convicted based on single DNA evidence, which means that they correspond to at least 30 to 40 serious criminals.

This is still a small amount, considering that there is not always only one suspect in some cases.

"Considering that the procurement of these swabs involves government contracts, what are the chances that the NYPD will stay out of it?" Jack asked Mike Taylor while driving a Dodge Hellcat through the traffic.

Of course, this was just a euphemistic way of asking. He couldn't directly ask the boss of the CSI New York Laboratory next to him if he would be implicated.

“Based on my understanding of Director Reagan, the pressure should not be passed on to me, but some people may not let this opportunity pass by, and may add insult to injury, whether it is the media and the public’s perception of the city government’s investment in this aspect. Whether it's too much or too little, politicians will always find a reason to criticize and shirk responsibility."

Mike Taylor is not a nerd who lives in a laboratory. Even though he, like Frank Regan, is not keen on politics and just wants to take care of his own land, this does not prevent him from understanding it. .

He responded to Jack's concern very straightforwardly. In theory, the NYPD and its affiliated CSI laboratory are also victims, but the public obviously does not think so.

While they are afraid of criminals who may be released back into society, they subconsciously want to know who the "culprit" is that caused all this.

When faced with this kind of problem, the public does not have much thinking ability. They will naturally believe in the guidance of the media and public opinion, especially those smart people who think they have "independent thinking ability". They are conspiracy theorists. Natural audience.

It is obvious who the city government and politicians who should be responsible for this will use as a scapegoat. This is why Jack and Mike Taylor asked Danny to inform his father and sister before they fully determined the problem. reason.

The machines are rumbling and the workers are busy working non-stop. Even in this winter in New York, this dilapidated, crowded and cramped factory is a bustling scene.

Even if the person in charge of "White Tip Cotton" had the courage to ask Mike Taylor, who held the NYPD badge, to produce a search warrant, he could only stand aside obediently when faced with Jack's FBI credentials, although he had already realized something.

How many steps are there in total to process cotton and plastic sticks into a cotton swab? To be honest, Jack didn't know, but he knew one thing. Ordinary disinfection methods can kill bacteria, but they cannot eliminate DNA residues.

Seeing a little girl who was obviously still underage using her ungloved hands to comb the cut cotton strips, Jack and Mike Taylor looked at each other and felt enlightened.

"Not just this." Jack waved his hand in the air, and the flying cotton fibers were clearly visible under the light. Workers at other work stations also touched their faces and noses with gloved hands from time to time. He even Someone was heard sneezing and no one here was wearing a mask.

"I'm surprised that such a small workshop can actually win government contracts." Jack couldn't bear to look directly at Mike Taylor's dark face.

Underage child labor is employed, and labor protection measures and fire protection measures are almost zero. As for the issue of residual DNA, it seems to have become a small "problem". Jack will not be surprised when this little broken workshop blows up. .

The original hope of finding an omission in a key link and eliminating a single DNA error has been in vain.

However, the CSI laboratory still tried its best to make technical remedies. The factory director handed over a list of all people who may have come into contact with the cotton. Several CSI experimenters who came urgently collected the DNA of these workers for use. Check.

These professional tasks still have to be left to professionals. Fortunately, the CSI laboratory is not a genetic laboratory that only does DNA testing. If there is a problem with the DNA evidence, the court may refuse to accept it, but other physical evidence such as trace evidence testing, Fingerprints and the like can still be used as evidence in court.

When Jack finally finished writing the report and officially handed over the gangster drug dealer and killer Marcia Vazquez to the federal prosecutor's office, it had been three days and the situation finally became clear.

"So, our mayor and the NYPD stand together this time?" After listening to Dana Moge's story in her office, and combining it with recent news reports, Jack roughly understood the current situation.

Although the CSI Laboratory tried its best to make remedial measures, and various district prosecutors' offices also worked in advance, a group of serious criminals were still successfully exonerated. For a time, the entire New York City was panicked, and public opinion was even more intense.

"This afternoon the mayor will jointly hold a press conference with the NYPD and the City Council's Public Safety Committee. Frank hopes that you can go to his office before that."

The FBI's New York office was not involved in this turmoil. After all, with his style of handling cases, most criminals will not be able to go to court. As for a few cases, DNA will never be the only incriminating evidence, so This time the female boss looked pretty good.

"OK, but after this incident is over, I need to leave New York for a few days and go to Virginia Beach." Jack is not bargaining for a vacation, he has serious things to do.

Dana Moger naturally knew what he was thinking, "Are you really sure you can directly recruit a special forces soldier from the SEALs?"

"Maybe, it depends on luck." The time agreed with Jason Hayes was almost over, and Jack planned to contact him again in a few days.

After leaving Dana Moage's office, Jack went directly to the NYPD headquarters alone. Hannah was recently assisting the FBI White Collar Crime Division in investigating a financial fraud case. Not only did this kind of case usually involve a shockingly high amount of money, but in New York's financial world, It happens every day in the metropolis.

This is also one of the daily cases of the FBI's New York office. The number even exceeds ordinary criminal cases. However, Jack is not interested in it. It not only requires energy but also takes a long time. The key is that in most cases, a gun is not needed.

Arriving outside Frank Regan's office, Jack was surprised to see Eileen Regan who was also waiting outside the office, and he roughly guessed the reason why the director was looking for him.

Sure enough, it didn't take long for Frank's blond secretary to come out with a prosecutor in a suit. After seeing him off, she signaled the two of them to wait, and walked quickly to the door of the office.

"Who's next?" Frank's voice came from the office.

"A certain Manhattan District Attorney or Agent Tavole from the FBI, which one do you want to meet first, sir?" Baker, the female secretary, had a smile on her face.

Frank breathed a sigh of relief, "Let's go together, I invited Jack."

The two walked into the office together. Jack very gentlemanly asked Erin to sit down first, and then sat on the sofa chair next to her. Then the female secretary Baker brought coffee.

"Two candies without milk, right, Agent Tavole?"

"Thank you, just call me Jack, beautiful Miss Baker." Jack raised his eyebrows and calmly met Erin's eyes that were a bit gossipy.

He didn't really know Frank's secretary very well before, but Mr. Director was a very busy man. Every time he came to see him, he would often have to wait outside the office for a long time, and he had to talk to him several times.

Frank seemed not to have seen anything, and looked at his daughter Eileen with a businesslike look, "Prosecutor, tell me about the situation at the Manhattan District Attorney's office."

"We have resubmitted new evidence for the four prisoners who requested retrial. They will continue to be detained without bail." Irene put the thinner of the two folders in her hand on the desk in front of him.

Frank's slightly drooped eyelids twitched, and he said it was fine, but he looked solemnly at the thick document in her hand, "So what's the bad news?"