The Case Breakers are a 40+ member national task force of seasoned investigators — from working millennials to retired octogenarians — with law enforcement, military, forensic, academic, legal and investigative skill sets. The mission: to use their combined 1500 years of experience and the latest technology to reverse-engineer some of the most stubborn crime mysteries, one dead end at a time.
But they don’t just close cases. When quietly deployed, the unpaid role models take the time to do it the old-fashioned way: with personal follow-ups, returned calls, crime anniversary door-knocks, stakeouts, security shifts, document searches, witness hunts and tracking court proceedings — for both justice and to correct injustice.
Here’s the volunteer team that’s making the country proud:
Private Investigators & Forensic Experts:
APUS, College Adjunct Instructor Jen Bucholtz – former Army Counterintelligence (Peyton, CO)
PI Bill Proctor – former Police Officer, 40-year TV Investigator (ret.), current PI (Bloomfield Hills, MI)
PI George Jared – Field Investigator, Three-Time Author, Podcaster (Jonesboro, AR)
PI Jack Immendorf – Crime / Fraud Expert; worked 1977 “DB Cooper” CA murder case (S.F., CA;)
PI Justin Rimmel – Field Investigator & Researcher, Podcaster-Mysterious Circumstances (IN)
Forensic, Archeologist/Anthropologist Dana Kollmann – PhD, 3 degrees, CSI (Towson Uni, MD)
Forensic, Archivist Shannon Van Zant – Document-Recovery Expert (Calaveras County, CA)
Forensic, CSI Professor Tom Mauriello – former DOD, now Criminal Justice Instructor (Laurel, MD)
Forensic, Cyber Inv. Courtney Lancaster – field/online operative, DOD Instructor (Baltimore, MA)
Forensic, Cyber Inv. Jim Christy – Former Director, AFOSI/DC3; Cyber Expert (Baltimore, MA)
Forensic, DNA Expert Kelly Elkins – Forensic biology/chemistry at 4 schools (Towson Uni, MD)
Forensic, DNA Expert Francine Bardole – Forensic Lab/Ballistics Coordinator (SLC, UT)
Forensic, Document Examiner Linton Mohammed – Former National President, ASQDE (S.F., CA)
Forensic, NSA Codebreaker Rick Sherwood – Former USA Sgt., 3 Vietnam Tours (Wheatfield, IN)
Forensic, Pathologist Priya Banerjee, M.D. – Instructor at 2 Universities, State Cold Case Team (RI)
Consultants / Federal Agencies & Departments:
FBI Agent Donald Max Noel (ret.) – Supervisory SA, 1996 Unabomber Capture (San Francisco, CA)
FBI Agent Dory Schreuder (ret) – 1980 River Supervisor for “DB Cooper” cash-recovery (Bozeman, MT)
FBI Polygrapher Ron Hilley (ret.) – Team’s spokesman for former federal agents (S.F., CA)
FBI Profiler Jack Schafer (ret.) – Ph.D., Therapist, Lie Detection, Author (Macomb, IL)
FBI Senior Agent Bobby Chacon (ret) – 8 years Lucchese & Jamaican mobs, 19 yrs CSI diver (LA, CA):
FBI Sup. Hadley McCann (ret.) – Oversaw 2017 “DB Cooper” parachute-recovery dig (Bend, OR)
FBI Sup. Mark Roberts (ret.) – 12 years, NYC Gambino Mob; 20 years Counter-Intelligence (VA)
U.S. Atty. Joe Russoniello (ret.) – Former FBI, 2-time US Attorney & SF Law School Dean (S.F., CA)
U.S. Army Counter-Intel Mike Davis (ret.) – Security, Investigator, CB Video Editing (Sacramento, CA)
U.S. Army Intelligence Officer Erik Kleinsmith (ret.) – “Able Danger” Major, CB Vice-Chair (Chantilly, VA)
U.S. Army Interrogator Gina Smith-Kundinger (ret.) – Co. D, 165th Bn-MI, 1996-97 (San Antonio, TX)
U.S. Army LTC Ken Overturf (ret.) – 1st Cav; “D.B. Cooper” former commander (Colorado Springs, CO)
U.S. Customs Field Ops/Pacific Division Director Richard Vigna (ret.) – CBP, Pacific (Reno, NV)
U.S. Marshal Art Roderick (ret.) – Investigations Assistant Director & Senior Executive Service (MA)
U.S. Marshal Johnny “Mack” Brown (ret.) – also former County Sheriff (Greenville County, SC)
U.S. Marshal Neil DeSousa (ret.) – Former Asst. Director, Tactical Ops; now at FSA Fed (Ashburn, VA)
Consultants / State Agencies:
Special Agent Jon Campbell – South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED; Travelers West, SC)
Lt. Agent Pete Logan – South Carolina Law Enforcement Division/Former FBI (SLED; Columbia, SC)
Consultants / Local Agencies & Departments:
Commander Jim Zimmerman (ret.) – Chicago JTTF/Niles PD (London Mills, IL)
Commander Terry Freeman (ret.) – Chicago JTTF/Woodridge PD (Delavan, WI)
Detective Bob Schiotis, Homicide (ret.) – CA DOJ & Fresno Police (Fresno, CA)
Detective Dan Horan – former Major Crimes, LAPD; now VCDA Investigator (Thousand Oaks, CA)
Detective Sgt. John Bocciolatt – former Portland Police Bureau (NY)
Legal / Publicity Associates:
Atty. Richard H.L. Marshall – former USAF JAG, NSA, DHS & DOD-Cyber (WA, DC)
Atty. Jeff Renz – Law Professor (ret.), Fulbright Scholar / DNA Analysis (MT)
Manager/Entertainment Atty. Michael London (Beverly Hills, CA): LonBiz@aol.com
Director/Exec Producer Thomas J. Colbert (Los Angeles, CA): TColbert@CommStatim.com
Very impressive!
[…] who boast law enforcement, military, forensic, academic, legal, and investigative skills. See here for a full list of Case Breaker […]
I am a former Dallas Police Officer and a PI for the last 34 years. I worked mainly for attorney Tom Pappas, senior partner at Burleson Pate and Gibson in Dallas.
I had to retire because I have been diagnosed with Lewy Bodies Dementia. Our last case was a case that resulted in a not guilty for the client, Sandra Garner, in Ellis County. She was charged with shooting her husband while he (they) was sleeping. We were never able to identify the actual shooter. According to Sandra, a masked man came into her bedroom, called her by name and the way he knew to get into the home, and the 2 dogs did not bark, made us think this was a perp that knew of the backyard, rear kichen door left open and knew the dogs. We thought it might be her son, Wesley Garner, or the father or the brother of John Garner, but could never prove it with our limited budget.
Hello, Thank you for your message. I am forwarding to our team and someone will respond ASAP.
Thank you for your consideration.
WHAT IN THE SAM HELL IS WRONG WITH THE RIVERSIDE PD??? THEY SHOULD BE DOING “EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN” IN HELPING THIS CASE BY ALLOWING THE DNA EVIDENCE THEY HAVE WITH ANYONE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT TO CONFIRM THAT THIS MONSTER IS FULLY IDENTIFIED!!!
I GREW UP IN THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AREA, VERY CLOSE TO RIVERSIDE CA. I REMEMBER THIS CASE AS I WAS TERRIFIED OF THIS MONSTER, NEVER KNOWING WHERE OR WHEN HE WOULD STRIKE NEXT. I HAVE ALWAYS FOLLOWED THIS CASE AS HE IN MY OPINION HAS BEEN THE MOST ELUSIVE SERIAL KILLER IN AMERICAN HISTORY!
Hi! Do you know anyone in Canada that would do the same as you do or are you in contact with anyone in Canada for cases that are connected with USA’s? A case in Montreal (Catherine Daviau assaulted and killed in the middle of the day in her locked from inside appartement that was set on fire) was believed to be the fact of a USA serial killer traveling through our country. It happened in 2008 and still not solved.
Hello, Thank you for your message. I am forwarding to our team and someone will respond ASAP.
Havana Cuba weapons could use some investigation. They are currently being used on the American Civilian Population in droves. Radiowave based investigative tech, as investigators a lot of lives would be saved if you guys could take a look at some of this tech. Reportedly it was used in the Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syrian war fronts. There’s a lot of People dying, one article noted as “Bigger Than Snowden” affirms the existence of the weapons and use upon the Nation, yet the Journalists are being told the CIA has to yet identify the weapons. Perhaps some good old-fashioned proof in the pudding investigative assistance would help shed light on what is happening to Citizens in our Country right now… Military staff in Sacramento California and Law Enforcement divisions in the FBI field office of Sacramento California should be able to assist with how they work and who is being targeted with them.
Hello,
My name is valerie Matthews and I am a retired police captain with the San Francisco police Department. I have years of investigative experience snd would love to learn more about what you do and how I could possibly get involved.
Thank you,
Hello, Thank you for your message. I am forwarding to our team and someone will respond ASAP.
very cool
it’s just like death note
I knew a boy in school who I suspect to be the zodiac killer. He was in the military close to riverside and was kicked out because he was crazy. He was in the Reno area going to college at the same time the killing happened. In one of my classes he drew zodiac signs. He also did the same where he worked at on my mothers car.
He had screaming headaches from time to time.
He worked in a paint store.
He started medication to stop his extreme headaches early 70s.
Why why why is his DNA so private?
Bill Proctor. Now there is a name I haven’t heard in years. I resided in SE Oakland County for the first 40 years of my life and always watched you on “Channel 7 Action News.” Good to see you are still in the investigative field. Has your team considered looking into the Oakland County child killings from the 70s?