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From: Victor Martinez Date: 10/05/05 14:07:56 Subject: Dr Dan Burisch's Long Lost PhD: Does he or does he NOT have one?!
EDITOR's NOTE:
As some of you have heard through the grapevine, George Knapp of KLAS-TV is doing a major investigative piece on the entire Dan Burisch/Crain affair set for mid-November 2005. If you have ANY information – either in support or disfavor of Mr Burisch – you're urged to contact Mr Knapp privately with your FACTS and EVIDENCE at:
If his presentation is NOT to your liking and you had information which may have changed that outcome, then you'll have no one to blame but yourself for having withheld it, so SPEAK UP and be HEARD!
Permission is hereby GRANTED to forward and POST this e-mail to all Dan Burisch/Crain-related Web sites, forums, online discussion groups, newsgroups, postings, etc., in the furtherance of soliciting more information on this highly controversial and polarizing figure. ---------------------------------------- Part 1a: PROBING QUESTIONS ASKED BY INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST GEORGE KNAPP OF BURISCH/CRAIN's PhD
Part 1b: TWO (2) UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN THE UK TACKLE AND COMMENT ON Dr DAN BURISCH's BIOLOGY/SCIENCE APPLICATIONS,... A MUST READ!
[ See Attachment] ------------------------------------------ Ex-AFOSI Special Agent RICK DOTY:
"The only CORRECT INFORMATION contained in the e-mail is [about] Burisch. The guy [Dan Burisch] is a HOAX."
From: GEORGE KNAPP, Investigative Journalist, KLAS-TV, Las Vegas, NV
Subject: THE LONG LOST PhD OF Dr DAN BURISCH/CRAIN,... DOES HE OR DOES HE NOT HAVE ONE?!
FLASH: General Comments Regarding the Purported Discovery of Dan Crain's Doctorate:
Did Dan Crain/Burisch earn a PhD from SUNY Stonybrook, as he and his supporters claim? The question cuts to the core of Crain's story.
Crain is the person who made this claim in the first place, so the burden of proof should be on HIM to prove that it is true, especially in light of all the verifiable evidence that casts considerable doubt on this account. And if it can be shown that he made up thi part of his resume, it casts doubt on all the rest of this claims.
Crain originally claimed that he earned his PhD from the John Quincy Adams Institute. I tried to verify this claim but quickly discovered that the J.Q.A Institute does NOT EXIST. Crain and his supporters then explained that they used this false claim in order to throw me and others off the track, an admitted disinformation ploy on their part. They subsequently alleged that Crain earned his doctorate in Microbiology and Genetics at the State University of New York at Stonybrook [SUNY].
The degree was granted in 1989, 1990 or "around 1990," depending on which version of the story was being promoted at any given moment. It's just me, but if I had earned such a prestigious degree, I'm reasonably certain that I would remember the exact year in which it was bestowed. It's just a personal observation, not a major issue.
It didn't take long to discover problems with the Stonybrook story. The most obvious issue was the fact that the school denied having any records of a Danny Crain or Burisch ever attending the university and there is no record of him earning a doctorate.
Crain supporters have assailed me for failing to follow up on the story back before the Cone of Silence was dropped and his records were erased. This is simply UNtrue. I contacted the school by phone in 1994, whether Crain's crew wants to believe it or not. The school already denied ever having Crain/Burisch as a student.
[As an aside, the SUNY Web site shows that in 1989, a total of five (5) doctorates were awarded in genetics. ONLY FIVE. It's not like there were hundreds of students and that Dan's name was lost in the crowd. Surely, someone should remember him in a graduating class of that size, but so far, no student or professor has come forward to confirm his story.]
I also was successful in obtaining documents that proved Dan Crain lived and worked in Las Vegas during the time when he was supposedly earning a degree in New York. He worked from Feb. 1988 until April 1990 as a parole officer, employed by the state of Nevada. I have copies of his employment records, employee evaluation forms, and other paperwork that collectively demonstrate this was a real and full-time job.
I've also interviewed co-workers who confirm his daily presence in Las Vegas during that time period. It was a real job, not a cover job, although this is also the time frame in which he claims to have worked for the Navy in a secret underground lab near Area 51, but still found enough spare time to earn a PhD 3,000 miles away. By any standards, this would be an astonishing accomplishment in time management, if nothing else.
Crain and his supporters then explained that he earned the doctorate on weekends and that the U.S. Navy arranged for weekly cross-country flights so he could attend classes back east. By any standard, this alleged arrangement is tough to swallow.
I would not be surprised if at least some educated people who are reading this might take offense at this claim, considering how difficult it really is to earn an actual doctorate in any discipline, let alone a dual degree in the challenging fields of microbiology AND genetics.
Dan Crain did it on the weekends? He worked a 40-hour week as a parole officer, worked a second job in the lab at S-4, made weekly red-eye flights across the entire country, and still managed to do enough work on his weekends to earn a dual doctorate?! Wow!
Those professors who scheduled regular classes on the weekends to accomodate Crain must be incredibly dedicated, because after devoting six (6) years of my own life to college and grad school, and after teaching at four (4) universities myself, I can't recall a single professor who ever scheduled regular classes on Saturdays and Sundays. A special seminar, maybe, but EVER weekend? Does anyone else know of a professor with THIS much zeal?!
The point I am trying to make – with as little sarcasm as possible – is that this scenario seemingly flies in the face of the commonly accepted grad school experience. It is compounded by the fact that not a single witness from Stonybrook has come forward to verify Crain's presence on the campus at any time. No student, no lab partner, no teaching assistant, no professor, no one, nor has Crain given the name of anyone who might remember him.
If he could manage this seemingly simple matter, it would provide at least a shred of support for his story. No, it would be more than a shred – it would be significant. Crain's supporters presumably want his claims to be taken seriously. The BURDEN OF PROOF is on THEM. WHERE is the supporting evidence or testimony? I raise these questions without rancor or hostility and hope that even the most fervent defenders of Danny can acknowledge that these are reasonable points to raise.
If we all share a desire for a reasonable and civil discussion of the case, this is a good place to start. What, if any, proof does anyone have to bolster Dan's claim about his education? Give us the name of one person who remembers Dan from Stonybrook and who is willing to verify the claim. (A previous statement from Dan's former business partner who says he phoned the school and was told Dan had been there is not very convincing because there is no way to verify it.)
I seem to recall the business associate provided a sworn affadavit, and while this sounds official and weighty, it doesn't amount to much. Making a statement to a notary public in a matter that isn't under consideration by any court or legal authority means next to nothing. There is no risk to anyone who might be untruthful if the affadavit isn't part of an official proceeding. What value does it have? Surely, it is not comparable to a witness taking an oath in a courtroom, where perjury would be a real concern.
But more importantly, a witness who says he talked to an unnamed school official in a phone conversation is not the same as a witness who really was at Stonybrook, and can prove it. That's the kind of witness needed here, and I hope someone can address this head on.
In Danny's defense, there are two (2) people who claim to have supporting information.
– One is Ron Garner, a UFO researcher who has a business arrangement with Crain, Crain's mother, and other figures in this story. Garner is working on video documentaries about Crain's story, hopes to sell movie rights as well, and is acting as a literary agent for Crain's mom Dodie, who wrote a book about her now-famous son and hopes to land a publishing deal.
I met with Garner last year and found him to be an affable and open-minded researcher who wants to pursue the story in an honest fashion. I realise that others may have a different opinion of Garner, but I am giving him the benefit of the doubt for the time being. Garner told me in 2004 that he has the names of three professors at Stonybrook who oversaw Dan's doctoral work.
He said the three came to Las Vegas to administer Crain's oral exam for the degree. They stayed at the Hilton, he says. Garner said then that he intended to make the names public. We're still waiting for that to happen. If he can make good on the promise, it would be a major development, especially if the professors are willing to confirm the story. If the names are released, but the professors deny the story, then we will be back at square one.
– The other person who backs up Crain's claimed PhD is his mom, Dodie Crain. Mrs. Crain has not spoken to her son in 12 years. Danny cut off contact with his parents not long after he married Deborah Burisch. The parents believe that Danny's memory has been erased and that a clone of Danny has been created by the secret government. They believe that Deb Burisch is a government operative, that she is evil and manipulative, and that she controls everything that Dan does.
Dodie Crain is the source of Ron Garner's story about the three professors who visited Las Vegas. Dodie says she made the room reservations for them at the Hilton. She also says she believed Danny when he told her the government had arranged for him to travel out of state to earn his doctorate.
And she is a key witness concerning Danny's long lost doctorate. In an interview last year, Dodie said she opened the mail on the day the degree arrived. She proudly put in in a frame and hung it on a wall in the Crain's home, where it remained until Deb Burisch took it, supposedly to be copied, but never returned it.
Even though Mrs Crain has written a book about her son's claims and has a financial motive for supporting the story (after all, which version would likely sell more copies – one that supported this sensational story, or one that gutted it?), I give her the benefit of the doubt concerning the degree. It's only an impression, but it felt to me like she was being truthful.
For the sake of discussion, let's accept her at her word. We have no way of knowing whether the paper that hung on her wall was a legitimate degree from SUNY or not. Dodie Crain has NO expertise in verifying the authenticity of documents. She has no forensic training of any kind. Her son confirmed that the degree was real, and that was good enough for her.
It looked like a genuine article to her, but since there is no way for anyone else to examine the document, and since the school says no such degree was ever issued, Dodie's account is interesting, but far short of amounting to evidence. Again, the burden of proof is on the people who are making this claim in the first place. It is entirely possible that Dodie did possess something that looked like a genuine degree, but how difficult would it be for someone to create a forgery?
Throughout this long saga, documents, letters, and reports of highly dubious value have surfaced, always from anonymous sources and always of questionable origin. I personally have received dozens of anonymous missives about this case, all of them unsolicited, all of them unverifiable. Several of these were imprinted with amateurish, almost laughable recreations of military-like insignia. They were simply ridiculous.
Some were patched together as if they had been fished out of a trash can in a blatant but weak attempt to add an aura of mystery to the paperwork. Mysterious memos and official-sounding emails are an almost daily part of the scenario. I don't who for sure who is cranking out the bogus paperwork, but there is no question that forged documentation has been a major – and regular – part of the unfolding drama. I think it is reasonable for us to question the legitimacy of the original degree that hung on Dodie's wall.
If the degree itself – or even a copy – could be made available for inspection, we might resolve some of the questions. Without the degree, we have nothing. If Crain supporters want to prove their case, as I'm sure they do, then produce the evidence. It's not an unreasonable request.
Now we come to the latest developments – photos of Deb Burisch standing in a local park, examining a purported copy of the SUNY degree which was mailed from MJ12 offices in London, then delivered to Deb by bicycle messenger in the park. (We don't have a lot of bicycle messenger services here in Las Vegas,if any, so this offers an opportunity for further investigation on this end.)
Conveniently, an unknown photographer was nearby and preserved the moment, and the snapshots were quickly made available on line for all the world to see. Sadly, we have been allowed only a brief and blurry glimpse of the purported degree, but more than enough to convince Crain supporters that the moment of reckoning and confirmation is finally here.
OK, if a copy of the degree exists, let's see it. Crain and crew want their story to be believed, so why not make it available in one form or another to allow at least a cursory examination? If there are book deals and movie deals hinging on Dan's credibility, why not kick them into high gear by bolstering his credibility? While we're at it, how about showing us the envelope and the postage, or a return receipt from the bicycle messenger or anything else?
Is this going to be another in a long line of tantalizing teases in which the irrefutable proof or the unimpeachable witness is just around the corner? Is there some reason for dragging this thing out for as long as possible? In light of all that Danny has supposedly been through, doesn't he deserve the vindication?
Somehow, I doubt we are going to see this degree anytime soon. I hope to be proven wrong. Lest we forget, Deb Burisch is the person who absconded with the original degree. She never returned it and won't talk about it, presumably under orders from her bosses at MJ-12. If Dan really does want to get his degree back, don't you think he might have mentioned this to his wife, maybe over morning coffee? "Say, honey, would you mind giving me my degree back?"
If this happened in your house, wouldn't you raise the subject after so many years, especially if your whole life was riding on the outcome? This scenario simply does not ring true at its most basic level, but that's just an opinion.
We all remember seeing the photo taken near Sunrise Mountain. Dan and Deb were both wearing mlitary uniforms. Deb was driving the car, with Dan in the back seat. Deb exited the car, opened Dan's door, then saluted him in what sure seems like a ceremony staged for the benefit of hidden photographers, photographers who are close friends of the Burisch's.
If Deb was the driver, and she opened Dan's door and then saluted him, it would appear that Dan is the ranking officer in this unknown branch of the armed services. If he outranks her, couldn't he give an official order to produce the doctorate or face a week of KP duty? Couldn't he seek the assistance of those higher-ups who are supportive of his work? Surely someone could send out another bicycle messenger with an order to cough up the PhD?
To the best of my knowledge, neither of them has ever actually served in the military in the first place, so maybe it's a moot point.
Now, another degree has surfaced. A copy is available on line. Not surprisingly, this claimed doctorate is completely unverifiable and thus completely worthless as proof of anything. It's a doctorate in biological systems, issued by a European university. Which European university, you ask? We have no idea.
That information is blacked out. It can't be verified, but it also can't be disproven, like most of the other claims made by Crain. The story is that Majestic – presumably the same folks who suppressed the original degree from SUNY – arranged for Dan to earn this doctorate in a real fast program. If Majestic wanted him to have a degree, why didn't they simply release the one he already had? Silly question, I suppose.
The reason Dan needs this degree is that it allows him to access certain libraries and research facilities so he can continue his work on such projects as minimizing the toxic contamination of water following Hurricane Katrina. (I did NOT make this up.)
So, a password or code name or a run of the mill government ID won't get someone into these libraries. The libraries want to see a copy of your PhD, even though the copy doesn't indicate the name of the school that issued the degree. A critic might argue that this looks like an attempt to manufacture a measure of credibility.
We can't say for sure because, as usual in the Crain saga, there is no way to verify or disprove, which is exactly how things would be if the story was manufactured out of thin air. Why would Crain supporters make this degree public if it really is a turn-key document allowing access to classified places? Why?
I have my own idea, but look forward to hearing alternative explanations. Crain supporters – you have to admit this is really weak. Do you have any mutually-verifiable way to back this up? If so, please respond.
One final thought about the disappearing doctorate. WHY would Danny need a doctorate in the first place? WHY would the secret government go to so much trouble, flying him across the country and then to Europe, just to get a PhD? Is there an employee handbook that specifies that only those with doctorates are qualified to interact with aliens?
At the time he supposedly went to work on the SUNY degree, Dan was already inside the program. He was the only guy who could relate to the J-Rod. He was indispensable, no? So why would they require a PhD? Maybe it was something Danny wanted for himself. I can understand that, but we've already been told that he already knew the material to qualify for a PhD, which is how he finished his work so easily, so he wasn't doing it for the learning experience.
And really, if any of us had a choice between spending our time on classes and tests and lectures, or devoting our energies to ongoing, face-to-face encounters with an all-wise alien, how tough would the choice be?
I offer these questions and observations in hopes of generating an open and robust exchange with those who support the Crain story. These are extraordinary claims. If they are true, they're both exciting and disturbing. We'd all like to know what to make of them. The various stories about the doctorate are central to the larger picture.
I believe these questions are fair, reasonable, and relevent and hope that you can forgive my occasional lapses into sarcasm and that you will share your perspective on these issues. Feel free to return the sarcasm if you are so inclined, but while you're at it, please tell us all what verifiable proof exists regarding all of the above. What forms of evidence convinced all of you that there is merit to the Crain story?
I look forward to a healthy give and take.
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