VCU news

By Brian McNeill

Carlo Rosati, a retired FBI firearms and ballistics examiner who teaches in the Department of Forensic Science at Virginia Commonwealth University, was featured as an expert in Sunday’s episode of “Forensic Files II” on cable channel HLN.

Rosati, an adjunct instructor who has taught the department’s undergraduate firearms course and is planning to teach a new elective on vehicle identification, appeared in the episode “The Orange Shorts,” which tells the story of the forensic investigation in the 2010 murder of Monica Schmeyer in Pennsylvania.

From the episode’s official description: “A mortally wounded woman crawls to call 911. Her husband, who wants a divorce she will not give him, gets a hard look from police. But he says he has an airtight alibi for the exact time of the murder. The intricate forensic science of ballistics is brought to bear and draws a direct connection to an unexpected conclusion.”

In the episode’s lab scenes, filmed at VCU in teaching laboratories in Harris Hall South, Rosati demonstrates scientific equipment used by forensic examiners across the world — and at VCU — such as stereo microscopes, comparison microscopes, bore scopes and more.

“This case did not involve what some would consider typical firearms identification work such as bullets and cartridge cases,” Rosati said. “It did have them, but the person of interest tried to damage the firearm which leads to a lot more work, such as looking at the firearm parts and using dental casting material to make a cast of the inside of the barrel.”

Rosati, who called the case a “real whodunit,” was happy to be featured, even though he says he’s “really not a ham.”

“When given the opportunity to talk to people about firearms identification, I spin off like a top,” he said. “I love to tell people about the men and women and the cases and techniques they use every day.”

Tracey Dawson Green, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Forensic Science in the College of Humanities and Sciences, said the department is proud of its part-time and full-time faculty, each of whom brings with them “storied experiences from their prior career work in the forensic science crime laboratory community.”

“Forensic science faculty, like Carlo, bring those real-life case experiences to our students through their classroom teaching, which greatly enriches the program and student experience,” she said. “In turn, being able to use our departmental scientific expertise and technical capabilities to help bring justice to families in our community adds value to the work done in the classroom by our faculty each day.”

“Forensic Files II” is not the first show to feature Rosati’s expertise. He has also appeared on “The FBI Files,” Fox Nation’s “Secrets of Abraham Lincoln,” CNN’s “A look inside America's bomb library” and a number of local, national and international news segments.

Plus, he added: “I have given tours to movie stars, producers, princes and one U.S. president. So it’s been an interesting life and I am glad it’s not done yet.”