What Are Keys Made Of?

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Ignition Keys There are some certified automotive locksmiths that actually get qualified as experts in locks in our courts. There is no one to question their statements as actually being accurate or truthful. This is because lawyers know nothing about keys or locks in most cases. The same holds true for the judges and the courts. If an expert makes a statement about the composition of a key, it is assumed he knows what he is talking about. Recently, we received a pre-trial transcript of one of these court qualified experts. This individual has a very impressive military career as a dog handler. His resume states he has 36 hours of locksmith training (mail –order course from Florida). This is also where he acquired his certificate “Certified Automotive Locksmith.” He embellishes his real training, background and experience and his boss Robert F. Mangine testified of the one plus years of training on locks and transponders. This man’s name is Timothy Rosenberger and he was employed by NATFS North American Technical and Forensic Services based in Las Vegas, Nevada. I am giving only one example here as to the fraudulent means that are performed at insurance carrier’s request to determine how a reported stolen vehicle was last operated. The transcript we have is from 2008 and at that time Rosenberger testified he examined more than 2,000 claims. This in itself should have plaintiff attorneys looking for class actions. In fact, just to assist you, I recommend you consider Infinity Insurance Company out of California where these guys were exclusive experts for all their theft and fire claims. Other companies that use this firm are: Progressive, Commerce West, Coast, Bristol West, and Allstate (in Nevada as well), Commerce, Unitrin and many others. They have now expanded into Florida and the Eastern seaboard. The issue here is that Rosenberger states keys are made of steel. He even admits in sworn testimony, he is not qualified as a locksmith or a mechanic. It is obvious that this court qualified expert defrauded the court into believing he could testify to the lock and key. The next day the defense attorney stated “I know you have been qualified to testify on many things. Can you opine as an expert on the lock?” His answer: “NO!” This was what he was originally qualified to testify on!!!! Keys are made from Strattec of Milwaukee for Chryslers, GMs, Fords and Mitsubishis. They are obviously stamped from brass and later coated with the silver colored material known as nickel. Look at all the exemplar brass keys in different operation forms. Now, if Rosenberger and Mangine misrepresented the truth here as to Rosenberger’s qualifications, where else do they lie?  All the thousands of cases they have been involved in, with their cut and paste reports and false testimony both civil and criminal should be re-evaluated!!! What if some innocent person was convicted of a crime based on this firm’s shoddy work??? How many innocent insured’s were denied on their theft claims and listed on the secret CCC data base as to committing insurance fraud, when in fact we had insurer fraud going on here? I can state with certainty, I do not know if my client was innocent or guilty in the USAF Court martial USAF v. Jackson, that my client would have been convicted because or the inaccurate testimony that Robert Mangine gave in his slide show presentation for the jury. Mangine sounded very believable. His presentation looked impressive to a layman or anyone on a jury not familiar with these matters. The vehicle at issue was a totally burned Mitsubishi. The fire in this vehicle was accelerated from the driver’s floor causing direct flame impingement to the ignition lock. Mangine complained because I only spent a matter of minutes examining his so-called evidence attached to a piece of cardboard. There were remains of the transponder antenna ring, some bolts and screws and 3 burned a severely fire damaged wafers (tumblers out of a total of 8. Of the three remaining severely fire damaged tumblers, one was broken in half. In his slide presentation to the jury, he showed a fictitious drawing with a GM lock in Asian vehicle housing. He showed some Chrysler tumblers that had been force rotated and damaged and he addressed the Ford transponder system. Absolutely nothing related to the Mitsubishi in question. He then showed a slide of an electronic key programmer that could program hundreds of vehicles including this Mitsubishi known as the Strattec Code Seeker. He then went on to say a thief would not spend the five thousand dollars on such a programmer. The presentation was very impressive, but not accurate to a Mitsubishi and all Mangine had, was a flyer of the code seeker with his opinion that a thief would not spend the money on it. His un-based opinion with no way to prove if this did or did not happen! When I was on the stand, the prosecutor asked me if I agreed with Mangine’s statement that the machine was too expensive and a thief would not buy it. At this point while on the stand, I opened my computer bag and said “One of these?” I actually had the machine that Mangine was obviously too cheap to buy, however because this was a total burn, this method could not be confirmed or denied. The point being that Mangine in my opinion used smoke and mirrors by putting on a presentation of components that had nothing to do with this vehicle. I take this very seriously!!!! Mangine had no evidence what so ever to determine how this vehicle was last operated and that he assumed because transponder equipped the owner was committing fraud!!!!!!!! I have only met this guy a couple times. For a buck in my opinion, he and his minions don’t care about the fact they cannot prove anything in a burned car and yet have the audacity to use unqualified people and smoke and mirrors to prove a case that no one could prove because it is all assumption!!!