Pete has needed counsel for over 30 years with access blocked year after year while his witnesses get picked off

This bar association has denied Pete Bennett access to the legal community for 30 years. Bennett doesn't just have one witness murder he has many far too many for one constituent.

Seeking Counsel #deadwitness

Did this Sheriff? #deadwitness

Bennett knows this story very well, knows the history from the late 70s to the early 90s. This is the Sheriff that missed the sighting of Jaycee Duguard by Pete Bennett who spotted Duguard clinging to the window at a Chevron Gas Station just after the kidnapping. The Sheriff said yellow van when it was brown. Bennett knew Garrido but did not make that connection until the van showed up on Google.

Chief Chris Wenzel

This former Chief and Commander has a sorted leadership as far back to the early nineties as Sgt. Wenzel. On the circle band are the names of numerous victims and cases some were friends or coworkers with Pete Bennett.

Current Bar Association Leadership

 

Oliver Greenwood

President

Law Office of Oliver Greenwood

367 Civic Dr., Suite 2

Pleasant Hill, CA 94523

(925) 957-1030

Nicole Mills

President Elect

Empower Mediation

P.O. Box 2166

Walnut Creek, CA 94595

(925) 351-3171

Mika Domingo

Secretary

M.S. Domingo Law

1475 N. Broadway, Suite 435

Walnut Creek, CA 94596

(925) 891-5006

Dorian Peters

Treasurer

(510) 684-7696

James Wu

Past President

Quarles & Brady LLP

1990 N. California Blvd.,

8th Floor

Walnut Creek, CA 94596-7261

(925) 658-0300

David Erb

Director

Flicker, Kerin, Kruger

& Bissada, LLP

3130 Crow Canyon Place,

Suite 405

San Ramon, CA 94583

(925) 327-6200

Mark LeHocky

Director

ADR Services, Inc.

118 Diablo View Dr.

Orinda, CA 94105

(510) 693-6443

 

David Marchiano

Director

Brown, Gee & Wenger, LLP

200 Pringle Ave., Suite 400

Walnut Creek CA 94596

(925) 943-5000

Ericka McKenna

Director

McKenna Brink Signorotti

1981 N. Broadway, Suite 255

Walnut Creek, CA 94596

(925) 433-5448

Cary McReynolds

Director

CDM Law

4125 Blackhawk Plaza Circle, Suite 207

Danville, CA 94506

(925) 385-8545

Craig Nevin

Director

Law Offices of Craig Nevin

1401 Willow Pass Road,

Suite 1010

Concord, CA 94520-7921

(925) 639-0221

David Pearson

Director

Brothers Smith LLP

2033 N. Main St., Ste. 720

Walnut Creek, CA 94596

(925) 944-9700

Michael Pierson

Director

Key Counsel, P.C.

3440 Hillcrest Avenue,

Suite 100

Antioch, CA 94531

(925) 238-0444

David Ratner

Director

David Ratner Law Firm, LLP

33 Julianne Ct.

Walnut Creek, CA  94595

(415) 817-1200

 

Summer Selleck

Director

S.C. Selleck Law

150 N. Wiget Lane, Suite 105

Walnut Creek, CA 94598

(925) 899-9130

Marta Vanegas

Director

Martin & Vanegas,  APC

3100 Oak Road, Suite 230

Walnut Creek, CA 94597

(925) 937-5433

Qiana Washington

Director

Washington & Associates

1470 Maria Lane, Suite 240

Walnut Creek, CA 94596

(925) 278-1791

The Subjective Cases

The Scott Peterson Appeal

The conviction of Scott Peterson sits on shaky ground. There are several factors such as which individuals recovered Laci and Conner, why they headed to the Berkeley Marina and why they landed in the West County Area.

Profile

James Hogan

Contra Costa Sheriff Search and Rescue (16yrs)

The death of search and rescue member jabs another stake in the heart of the conviction of Scott Peterson sits on shaky ground. Mr. Hogan career timeline placed near important rescues. At the time of his death he began his volunteer career in the mid nineties with strong correlation with Lace Peterson and the 2004 Kinder Morgan Explosion behind Las Lomas High School.

Profile

Deputy Carlos Francies

This deputy was able to get out of custody before the illicit actions of another deputy plans were thwarted. That would be serious harm to Bennett inside the Martinez Detention Center during March 2012. Both of us existed the jail in the early morning hours allowing a 20 minute coversation. By 2012, Bennett was fully aware his witnesses were dead. That same night John Newman was beat to death in Concord then later on April 18th, 2012 the son of Contra Costa Bar President James S. Greenan died as a another accident victim.

The death of search and rescue member jabs another stake in the heart of the conviction of Scott Peterson sits on shaky ground. Mr. Hogan career timeline placed near important rescues. At the time of his death he began his volunteer career in the mid nineties with strong correlation with Lace Peterson and the 2004 Kinder Morgan Explosion behind Las Lomas High School.

Profile

Nathaniel Greenan (

Nate raised in Danville but was residing in Pleasant Hill. He performed at VinniesBar.com at the weekly open mic. He is friends with many local Mormons and musicians.

He performed and Bennett performed and the the widow of a former Police Officer was present who worked with Nate at the Danville Musical Theater. At the time Bennett was attempting to recover funds from his stolen trust. Making many calls to local attorneys seeking redress via litigation as the trust drafted by Attorney Michael Harrington was flawed. Worse the correct Jurisdiction was Walnut Creek where officers refused to start the investigation. That problem extended over to Contra Costa District Attorney Mark Peterson involved in a separate murder coverup with then Sheriff Richard Rainey.

Profile

Councilman Mike Shimansky

His nickname was Mr. Mayor, he walked our Cameo Acres neighborhood mmany times. Easy to chat with and ready to share . After the

After Bennett's truck exploded Council was concerned for the safety of Bennett and his family. Chief Wenzel professed to his committment to investigate but that never happend. Danville is a Town is better described as a murderous lot. What was unknown at the time is the corruption case that would emerge in 2011 with the arrest of officers and a private investigator. From there Bennett concluded that a long string of attempts on his life were connected to the theft of the Dorothea Leslie Milne Bennett Trust, a life death benefit policy valued at $855,000 by Prudential Life and receivables from Albert D. Seeno, SBCGlobal and other clients valued of over $100,000.

Profile

Attorney Mark Angelucci

Bennett learned of Mr. Angelucci via Wood vs. Contra Costa who on appeal won her racketeering case against the county. The case calendered for settlement conference.

This case obviously will have impact around the country affecting overly zealous social workers and the financial network that springs up draining familie until they cannot get their children back from the system using the county treasury to fatten the wallet of attorneys, theraphists and specialist. The reality is often drug them until they can't cry for their families.

Profile

PCB20200917

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#deadwitness ~ OBIT: Patricia Noel - Resident of Alamo - Suicide

Patricia Noel Resident of Alamo

Related

Work: Real Estate/ House Wife

Facts: Just like others

Connection: How I know her

Suicide

Pat Noel Alamo - Patricia A. Noel, 58, died Friday. Mrs. Noel was born May 20, 1945, in Albuquerque, NM, daughter of Allen H. Parkinson and Verttie Taylor Parkinson. She was married to James W. Noel on February 14, 1973 in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is survived by her husband, James W. Noel of Alamo, CA; one daughter, Emily N. Hamilton of Santa Monica, CA, and two sons, Nicholas J. Noel of Santa Barbara, CA and Daniel J. Noel of Alamo, CA; one grandchild, Justin P. Hamilton. Mrs. Noel graduated from San Mateo JC then studied at the University of San Francisco finishing her degree in Psychology at BYU in Provo, Utah. She was a gifted artist, art collector, member of the Wasatch Mountain club (where she enjoyed hiking), a naturalist who enjoyed Emily Dickinson poems and wine tasting with her husband. She not only gave life to her 3 children but when their health was threatened worked tirelessly to raise, educate, and love each one of them forgoing her career. She was also President of Noel Properties, LLC a commercial property investment in Rocklin, CA. Funeral services will be held at Oak Park Hills Chapel, Walnut Creek, CA. Visiting time: 12:30-1:30 with service 1:30 - 2:15. Burial to follow at 2:30PM in the Oakmont Cemetery in Lafayette, CA.

Published in East Bay Times on Mar. 17, 2004 

Heading

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#deadwitness ~ The Corrupted District Attorney and the Contra Costa Hate Crime Network

MEET THE CORRUPT DISTRICT ATTORNEY

COMMANDER, Deputy, Officer, Former Police Officers

The worst is yet to come as truth

The Dirty DUI Crew

• Chris Butler
• Deputy Tanabe
• DA Mark Peterson
• Officer Greg Thompson
• Commander Wielsch
• Albert D. Seeno - fraud case and conviction linked Miller Starr and Regalia

The Fate of Attorneys connected to the Contra Costa Bar Association

For several decades the Bar Association blocked or spun Bennett through a series Attorney Referrals that went nowhere. Talk, Talk, Talk, get intel and say Goodbye can't your case.

Victim: Nathaniel Greenan

Surrounded by family with his son Nate Greenan lying in casket Attorney James S. Greenan represented Kinder Care a subsidiary of Knowledge Universe a holding company controlled by Larry Ellison and Micheal Milken.

• Sister: Cecilia Greenan Ashcroft
• Sister: Nancy Greenan Hamil
• Father: James Greenan
• Brother in-law: Dax Craven former Attorney for Pete Bennett disbarred represented Bennett who lost his sons to the Mormons

The Son of Attorney James S. Greenan

Never in a millions years would anyone expect to marry into the Mormon community only to discover years later the connections to several witness and hate crime murders

James S. Greenan

Profile and history of James S. Greenan

Richard Rainey and the Mormons

In the matter of Bennett vs. Southern Pacific a witness murder went down in 1989. The witness was slated to testify on behalf of Pete Bennett. The case fell apart on the courthouse steps. Judge Peter Spinetta should be a hostile witness now living in Darby Montana.

The unknown passenger bumped at the Newark Gate

How does a client of Bennett get bumped from Flight 93 but Todd Beamer doesn't when the plane has 42 passengers and crew?

Oracle and 9/11

Profile of Oracle employee Todd Beamer killed during WTC Attacks.

Larry Ellison

Knowledge Universe owns Kinder Care, Leap Frog and other entities purchases a services company in Walnut Creek for millions. Not long after one of partners dumps 200,000 into Authentic Technologies rougly seven years after founder Pete Bennett lost millions connected Philip Anschutz who clearly has business relationships with Michael Milken, Larry Ellison, Charles Hurtwitz and Bennett v. Southern Pacific

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#deadwitness ~ Patrick Cifo suicide sketchy as it gets another downtown club patron of Walnut Creek

The Fate of Patrick Cifo

His daughter is in disbelief

Patrick Neil Cifor
June 10, 1962-Feb 8, 2013
Resident of Walnut Creek
Patrick Neil Cifor, 50, was born June 10, 1962 in Livonia, Michigan to the late Shirley and John Cifor. Patrick was a free spirit and a dreamer. He wasn't afraid to work hard and travelled the globe to sample his favorite foods and wines. He was a loving father to his daughters Marika Cifor, who lives and works in Massachusetts, and Yeva Cifor, who is a college freshman in Washington State.
He always tried to be a gentle and trusting soul, who wanted to help others any way he could. He was brother to Sandra Cifor, Linda Cifor, John Cifor, and Gerald Cifor. He had many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins, many still living in Michigan. His longtime business associate in Benefits Access,Neville Guard, and his coworkers, Yolanda, Kate, Sherrie, Yasmin, and Christie, were his longtime friends. He lived life to the fullest and always tried to stay upbeat. He had many friends whose lives were fuller for knowing him.
To celebrate his life, there will be a Memorial Service at Hull's Walnut Creek Chapel on Thursday February 14th at 1PM with his family in attendance. In lieu of flowers,Patrick would have liked donations to be made to the Contra Costa County Food Bank , Red Cross, or the charity of your choice. He will be missed by all of us. Please pray for his soul.

Word on the street was ...

The typical pre Chief Chaplin response was to pass a story and never tell the public the truth. Mr. Cifo a regular around town at bars or clubs like Tiki Toms, WPLJ's, Vinnies and drove one of those cool three wheel bikes. He would park on Main or Locust hand around near the Apple Store (old location, Pre 2018) or would be in the same clubs where Pete Bennett would be on stage at the local open-mics.

Pete met Patrick when he parked the Trike

Then later we crossed paths at local clubs where Pete began incidents. He gave details to Law Enforcement working on the endless attempts on his life as he watched his personal contacts going down accidents, drugs, murder and unusual endings. Pete has been watching for 40 years.

His daughter is in disbelief

- By Angela Cifor

I want to discuss the death of Patrick Cifor. He was my uncle. I loved him. I love his daughters. I love my father, Patrick's brother. The Cifor family is flawed in many ways, but one thing is certain: Cifors do not quit. They do not give up. They do not commit suicide.

Walnut Creek is a small town. It is a wealthy town, quiet and peaceful. The Contra Costa sheriff's department—tasked with protecting the citizens of that county—has an excellent record with respect to community safety. But they are understaffed.

When Patrick Cifor died, the Contra Costa sheriff's department conducted a routine investigation. They took limited witness testimony at face value. They placed a significant amount of weight on the Medical Examiner's statement, which ultimately arrived at the conclusion that the cause of death was a suicide because there were no defensive wounds on Patrick's arms.

Patrick Cifor did not commit suicide. The facts support this. Every person who knew Pat supports this. Patrick Cifor was murdered. How and why is unclear. What is clear is that the Contra Costa sheriff's department far too quickly ruled Pat's death to be a suicide without a complete investigation, without sufficient interviews, and without any perspective on Pat's life, his acquaintances, his friends, and his associates. They failed Patrick, and they failed the community of Walnut Creek.

The Contra Costa sheriff's department claims to have conducted an investigation. That "investigation" was a complete failure because of many staggering omissions. Not a single officer interviewed Patrick's therapist, his neighbors, his friends, or his business associates. Those that were close to Pat shared their confusion about this with his family. The knife that Patrick allegedly used to stab himself was not sufficiently inspected. The sheriff's department told Pat's sister that his body would be cremated in three to five days; it was cremated 12 hours later. What is happening in Walnut Creek, California? Why is no one questioning what happened?

As a Cifor and as a citizen who believes in truth and justice, I am not OK with this situation. Patrick Cifor was a father, a neighbor, a friend, and—most importantly—a kind-hearted man. Ask questions. Demand answers. Do not let this go away without a fight.

His daughter is in disbelief

Patrick Neil Cifor
June 10, 1962-Feb 8, 2013
Resident of Walnut Creek
Patrick Neil Cifor, 50, was born June 10, 1962 in Livonia, Michigan to the late Shirley and John Cifor. Patrick was a free spirit and a dreamer. He wasn't afraid to work hard and travelled the globe to sample his favorite foods and wines. He was a loving father to his daughters Marika Cifor, who lives and works in Massachusetts, and Yeva Cifor, who is a college freshman in Washington State.
He always tried to be a gentle and trusting soul, who wanted to help others any way he could. He was brother to Sandra Cifor, Linda Cifor, John Cifor, and Gerald Cifor. He had many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins, many still living in Michigan. His longtime business associate in Benefits Access,Neville Guard, and his coworkers, Yolanda, Kate, Sherrie, Yasmin, and Christie, were his longtime friends. He lived life to the fullest and always tried to stay upbeat. He had many friends whose lives were fuller for knowing him.
To celebrate his life, there will be a Memorial Service at Hull's Walnut Creek Chapel on Thursday February 14th at 1PM with his family in attendance. In lieu of flowers,Patrick would have liked donations to be made to the Contra Costa County Food Bank , Red Cross, or the charity of your choice. He will be missed by all of us. Please pray for his soul.

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The Contra Costa Superior Court let The Dirty DUI Judge why do you think Pete Bennett created #deadwitness

The Contra Costa Superior Court and "The Dirty DUI"

Appearing in front of this Judge were the same officers arresting and ticketing Pete Bennett.

Judge Joel Golub

Well known to Commander Norman Wielsch, Deputy Tanabe, District Attorney Mark Peterson and Officer Luis Lombardi. T

his crew plus many more to be revealed soon part of theft extortion operation never seen before.

The Traffic Commisioner and Abuse of Authority Under Color of Law and Official

Bennett knows this judge from when he resided in the Town of Danville between 1996 and 2006. Bennett was robbed of his inheritance, cars and family while enduring surreal duress. Golub had ample opportunity to assist Bennett with issues connected to the Police in the Town of Danville. Instead he chose to issue fines that became an immpossible hurdle to overcome.

Golub's Role in a Parental Abduction

The abuse of Judge Golub that he effectivey sealed the fate of the abduction of Bennett's son.

There is no question that Golub knows the ex-wife of Pete Bennett. He was duly informed of multiple attempts on Bennett's which includes the attempet murder via arson. What is better the coconspirators decided the best way to terminate his ex-wife as a witness was burn down the Town of Paradise by using PG&E as the usual scapecoat.

The Chief Murderer of Contra Costa Sheriff

This is the former Chief of Police of the Town of Danville who told Bennett the 9/11 tapes.

Pete Bennett carried an $850,000 Prudential Life Insurance Policy plus an inheritance valued at more than $500,000 and receivables from Albert D. Seeno, SBCGlobal and several others. All of those assets lost in a complicated scheme that was structered within the Mormon community.

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Innocence Cases, False Convictions and Exonerations

Death Penalty

Topics from Elections to Qaudruple Homicides to Missing Children

brenna.devaney@skadden.com; ronald.tabak@skadden.com; fred.goldberg@skadden.com; stephanie.turner@skadden.com; donald.salzman@skadden.com;

Death Penalty

Topics from Elections to Qaudruple Homicides to Missing Ch

False Convictions

Evolution not Revolution

False Convictions

Evolution not Revolution

Exonerations

Topics from Elections to Qaudruple Homicides to Missing Children

False Convictions

Evolution not Revolution

Death Penalty

Topics from Elections to Qaudruple Homicides to Missing Children

False Convictions

Evolution not Revolution

False Convictions

Evolution not Revolution

Death Penalty

Topics from Elections to Qaudruple Homicides to Missing Children

False Convictions

Evolution not Revolution

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#deadwitness - Jamey Sheets the Pharmacist known to Pete Bennett

Was Safeway Pharmacist Jamey Sheets Suicided

Pete Bennett knew Jamey Sheets through his connection to Doc's Pharmacy. Mr. Sheets facing potential felony charges via threats from the same DA investigators linked the Sheriffs Coroner linked to the murder in Bennett vs. Southern Pacific.

Who is Pete Bennett 
Pete Bennett has been resident of Contra Costa County since 1978 arriving from San Franciso Ca but was a resident of Cape Coral Florida, Prior to that was a resident of Mountain Lakes NY, prior to that was a resident of Baldwin NY and New York City NY

Connections to Pete Bennett 

Jamey Sheets was the pharmacist facing indictment for murder of his patients who died from Spinal Meningitis. Pete Bennett was friends with the owner of Doc's Pharmacy since 1978 when the owner hired him to build a trellis. When Pete had is sons at John Muir Hospital in 1996 and 1998, he brought them to Doc's Pharmacy to meet the owner and Jamey Sheets.

Connections of Pete Bennett to George Stahl 

George Stahl - UPS driver in the San Francisco East Bay in Concord died of spinal meningitis in connection to the bacterial deaths at Doc's Pharmacy in Walnut Creek 

Meningitis Scan

Fire the Pharmacist at Safeway

The Safeway Store located at 600 S. Broadway Walnut Creek has more than one nefarious scenario linked to deaths of residents.

Was Safeway Pharmacist Jamey Sheets Suicided

Pete Bennett knew Jamey Sheets through his connection to Doc's Pharmacy. Mr. Sheets facing potential felony charges via thrests from the same DA investigators linked the the Sheriffs Coroner linked to the murder in Bennett vs. Southern Pacific.

Fire the Pharmacist at Safeway

The Safeway Store located at 600 S. Broadway Walnut Creek has more than one nefarious scenario linked to deaths of residents.

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pcb_legal_circles

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Sheriff ~ Richard K. Rainey – 1979-1992

Sheriff Richard Rainey

Pete Bennett remembers, he remembers the murders, the locations and details buried in the archives of Contra Costa Sheriff/Coroner

Richard K. Rainey – 1979-1992

Rainey rose up through the ranks, serving in every division before becoming the department's highest-ranking official. He was the first one to assume the Marshals’ function in addition to the roles of Sheriff and Coroner.

Like many of his predecessors, Rainey went on to serve the citizens of this county in different respects, first as an state Assemblyman and later as a Senator.

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US Attorney ROBERT S. MUELLER III, Two Murders near the 1978 Concord Hash Bust

ROBERT S. MUELLER III,

Wow look at all that hash what a stash

Robert Mueller (left), assistant U.S. attorney, with Daniel Ad dario, federal special agent in charge, with huge hash seizure.Photo: Joe Rosenthal / The Chronicle 1978

Robert S. Mueller may be the most recognizable lawyer in America, a former FBI director now heading the special counsel investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

But he was just another young law enforcer when he was introduced to Chronicle readers more than four decades ago — in an Aug. 3, 1978, photo, standing next to a towering mound of confiscated hashish.

Richard K. Rainey – 1979-1992

Rainey rose up through the ranks, serving in every division before becoming the department's highest-ranking official. He was the first one to assume the Marshals’ function in addition to the roles of Sheriff and Coroner.

Like many of his predecessors, Rainey went on to serve the citizens of this county in different respects, first as an state Assemblyman and later as a Senator.

CA-El Dorado CA-Contra Costa

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1947 Wedding Announcement

Mr. and Mrs. David Leslie Milne advisor to President Kennedy died just before his client was assassinated

Wilson Cobbold Bennett

Mr. and Mrs. David Leslie Milne of 417 Park Avenue have announced the engagement of their twin daughter, Dorothea Leslie, to Wilson Cobbold Bennett, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest H. Bennett of Montclair. N. J., and Orlando<

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NYC - OCME Public Affairs Office

How this agency may close the door on the death of David Leslie Milne or open a link to the assassination of President Kennedy. 

Reporting a Case

• Reportable Death Criteria
• Procedures for Reporting Deaths
• Notes and Definitions for Physicians
• Training Resources to Improve Cause of Death Reporting

Reportable Death Criteria

OCME has jurisdiction over deaths occurring under the following circumstances:

• All forms of criminal violence or from an unlawful act or criminal neglect
• All accidents (motor vehicle, industrial, home, public place, etc.)
• All suicides
• All deaths that are caused or contributed to by drug and/or chemical overdose or poisoning
• Sudden death of a person in apparent good health
• Deaths of all persons in legal detention, jails or police custody
  • This category also includes any prisoner who is a patient in a hospital, regardless of the duration of hospital confinement
• Deaths which occur during diagnostic or therapeutic procedures or from complications of such procedures
• When a fetus is born dead in the absence of a physician or midwife
  • Stillbirths in the hospital need not be reported to OCME unless there is a history of maternal trauma or drug abuse, or the case has some other unusual or suspicious circumstance
  • Neonatal deaths from prematurity and its complications must be reported if the premature delivery was caused by maternal trauma or drug abuse
• Deaths due to disease, injury, or toxic agent resulting from employment
• When there is an intent to cremate or dispose of a body in any fashion other than interment in a cemetery
• Dead bodies brought into the City without proper medical certification
• Deaths which occur in any suspicious or unusual manner

OCME also investigates any case that may present a threat to public health.

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Procedures for Reporting Deaths

Deaths should be reported promptly to avoid delays in official investigations.

Police precincts and hospitals throughout the City telephone a Report of Death to OCME's Communications Department by dialing 212-447-2030, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; the Communications Specialist on duty records basic information concerning the circumstances of injury or death, and of hospitalization. The Communications Specialist then notifies an available OCME MedicoLegal Investigator (MLI).

The MLI will respond to the scene and obtain additional facts from family, friends, and police. If there are reasons for further examination or autopsy, the MLI will direct that the body be transported to an OCME facility. When death has occurred in a hospital, a field investigation is generally not conducted; instead, the investigation routinely consists of a review of hospital records with the reporting physician. Health care facilities reporting cases to OCME Communications must present the following completed and competent documentation:

1. ME Clinical Summary Worksheet 3.0
2. Required Documents for All NYC OCME Cases_Revised Memo
3. ME Clinical Summary Worksheet Version 3.0 Instructions

Deaths occurring in health care facilities which do not meet the Reportable Death Criteria in 1 above need not be reported to OCME.

Deaths occurring within 24 hours of hospitalization from natural causes in which the diagnosis has been made with reasonable medical probability need not be reported, despite the fact that the patient survived less than 24 hours in the hospital; there is no "24-hour rule" in New York City.

Deaths due exclusively to natural disease need not be reported to OCME.

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Notes and Definitions for Physicians

1. Cause, Mechanism and Manner of Death
   
   The cause of death is the disease or injury responsible for initiating the lethal sequence of events. A competent cause of death should be etiologically specific.
   
   The mechanism of death is the altered physiology and biochemistry whereby the cause exerts its lethal effect. Mechanisms of death lack etiology specificity and are unacceptable as substitutes for underlying causes of death. Common mechanisms of death include congestive heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, asphyxia, sepsis, exsanguinations, renal failure, and hepatic failure. The term "cardio-respiratory arrest" is, as a rule, meaningless for the purposes of death certification; it is a description of being dead, not a cause of death.
   
   The manner of death explains how the cause arose: natural or violent (accident, homicide, suicide or undetermined). Natural deaths are defined as those which are caused exclusively (100%) by disease. If an injury of any sort causes or contributes to death no matter how minor the contribution, the manner of death cannot be natural. OCME never uses mixed classifications of the manner of death (eg., natural/accident).


2. Proximate versus Immediate Cause of Death
   
   The underlying or proximate cause of death is that which, in a natural and continuous sequence unbroken by an efficient intervening cause, produces the fatality, and without which the end result would not have occurred.
   
   Intermediate causes of death are the complications and sequelae of the underlying cause. There may be one or more immediate causes, and they may occur over a prolonged interval, but none absolves the underlying cause of its ultimate responsibility.
   • For example, a man sustains a transabdominal gunshot wound with perforation of the colon. In spite of treatment over a period of three months, he develops peritonitis, septicemia, disseminated intravascular coagulation, hepatic and renal failure, bronchopneumonia, and adult respiratory distress syndrome. The gunshot wound is still the underlying or proximate cause of death, and such fatality must be reported to OCME.
   
   
   • As another example, if a person dies from complications of quadriplegia 10 years after an automobile accident in which (s)he sustained a cervical fracture with contusions of the spinal cord, the fatality must be reported because the injuries caused by the accident are the proximate cause of death.


3. In any instance of suspected poisoning or drug overdose, it is essential that the samples of blood, urine and gastric lavage, obtained at or about the time of admission to the hospital, be retained for appropriate chemical testing.


4. All indwelling tubes, intravascular catheters and drains should remain undisturbed in situ following a death which qualifies as an OCME case.


5. All organ or tissue donations from decedents in OCME cases should be cleared with OCME.

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Training Resources to Improve Cause of Death Reporting

Clinical physician staff needing assistance in completing death certificates for deaths in health care facilities should refer to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) training materials. If you have never previously completed training in Death Certificate completion, please click on "Training and Resources for Providers" and then "more information" under "Death Reporting" to find information about how to complete the cause of death. OCME should not be contacted for purposes of assistance with death certification.

The memorandum from the DOHMH Assistant Commissioner, Bureau of Vital Statistics documents resources available for completing cause of death on New York City death certificates.

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