# What Ever Happened to Richard Clark?



## Patrick Bateman (Sep 11, 2006)

A member of the forum was talking about Richard Clark's Buick GN. I did some googling and there's a Richard Clark that was involved in the investigation of the Duke Lacrosse case.

Odd.

Anyone know whatever happened to the GN?









Here's the Richard Clark from DNA:SI labs, which was part of the Duke Lacrosse investigation









Here's Richard Clark, famous for the Buick GN, this pic is twenty five years old

Here's the article:

DNA analysis market is â€˜hugeâ€™ - Greensboro News & Record: Local News

_BURLINGTON — In a warehouse complex that used to be a fabric finishing plant, a man who once copied VHS tapes for a living may be presiding over the next big thing in crime fighting.
DNA:SI Labs is finalizing contracts with police and sheriff’s departments across the Piedmont Triad on a new DNA database. It’s the company’s first widespread foray in North Carolina. The company will double its lab space by building a new, thin-walled complex in a cavernous warehouse.
“The market is so huge,” company President Richard Clark said as he showed off the expansion. “This is a society changing. ...”
The sound of construction drowned him out before he could finish.
Greensboro police Chief Ken Miller has been pushing this project for months. His department expects to take DNA swabs from crime scenes and suspects within a month, then ship them to DNA:SI’s lab for analysis and inclusion in a new database._


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## miniSQ (Aug 4, 2009)

They are one in the same.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

He is still down the road from me in Burlington, NC. RC got heavily involved with the Grand National scene and hosts GN/GNX get togthers at his shop/barn. There are several people on the GN forums who have posted pictures of him building motors for their cars.

That particular GN is still in NC, but the system is out of it. But the car is still there and mostly intact.

He did VHS copying too? He had a CD manufacturing plant at one point too.


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## BuickGN (May 29, 2009)

Yep, he's still alive and well in the GN world. Very, very knowledgeable and has built a lot of quick GNs.


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## Patrick Bateman (Sep 11, 2006)

thehatedguy said:


> He is still down the road from me in Burlington, NC. RC got heavily involved with the Grand National scene and hosts GN/GNX get togthers at his shop/barn. There are several people on the GN forums who have posted pictures of him building motors for their cars.
> 
> That particular GN is still in NC, but the system is out of it. But the car is still there and mostly intact.
> 
> He did VHS copying too? He had a CD manufacturing plant at one point too.


Newsweek Graduate Education Directory - Criminal Justice - DNA As Crime Prevention Tool Has Risks, Benefits

This article goes into more detail about the connection between the DNA lab and the Duke Lacrosse case. This has very little to do with audio, more to do with "what ever happened to a sound off legend?"

_"Clark said his company processes a few thousand DNA samples a month in its lab on Tucker Street. It works with nine enforcement agencies in Florida, Louisiana, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Clark said he hopes to top 20,000 samples a month soon. The next goal, after he doubles his lab space, is 50,000 a month.

Clark acknowledges the company may be on the verge of big success. Local police departments expect a powerful new crime-fighting tool.

And it all began with a video cassette bound for Congress.

The instructional video

Clark used to be in the VHS business, copying tapes in bulk. The federal government was his largest customer.

One day, a tape arrived featuring James Watson, who helped unlock the structure of life's genetic blueprint: DNA.

Watson wanted funding to map human DNA. Clark's company copied the tape for every member of Congress. He said he watched it "over and over and over."
Time passed, as did VHS tapes. Clark read about DNA backlogs plaguing law enforcement labs around the country and he "figured we would start the FedEx of the DNA business."

DNA:SI is not the only company that does this. But testing DNA for crime fighting -- forensic DNA -- is not a crowded field.

DNA:SI's first law enforcement client was Palm Bay, Fla., in 2007. The city quickly saw crime rates drop, though they have since rebounded.

Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office in Louisiana hired DNA:SI in 2009.

"It's a good program," said Lt. Allen Venable, who manages the program for the Lafayette sheriff's office. "We're still very, very happy with it."

But, the Duke case?

It hasn't all been smooth sailing.

In 2006, the company -- then called DNA Security -- tested DNA samples for Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong, who was prosecuting the Duke lacrosse rape case.

Lacrosse team members had been accused of raping a stripper. They were exonerated and Nifong was disbarred.

DNA Security fired lab director Brian Meehan, whose report "obscured findings" that cleared the players, according to an appeals court decision. Meehan's "opaque language" glossed over the fact that DNA samples found didn't match any of the lacrosse players, the court found.

"The person responsible for that hasn't been here for five years," Clark told the News & Record this month.

Clark also said the incident was blown out of proportion. He said the defense team didn't request the lab's data for months. He said Meehan was fired because he wasn't a good communicator, he prepared poorly for his court testimony and his "inability to clarify" the lab's work made the company look bad.

Meehan said, "I categorically deny and refute all comments made by Richard Clark regarding me and the Duke lacrosse matter."

DNA:SI, which changed its name in 2009, lost business from the incident, Clark said, but not its accreditation. The Garner-based American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors Laboratory Accreditation Board confirmed that DNA:SI is accredited.

DNA:SI settled a lawsuit earlier this month with three players who sued the company over Meehan's report. The terms of the settlement weren't disclosed. A second lawsuit on the matter continues._"


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## dallasneon (Nov 3, 2005)

Looks like they may have gone under.

DNA - SI Labs, Inc. - Sale in Bankruptcy Case # B-13-11592 C-7G, Middle District of NC Auction #572


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## dallasneon (Nov 3, 2005)

Something else interesting.
The worlds largest collection of Buick Grand Nationals - KOLAB


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## Patrick Bateman (Sep 11, 2006)

dallasneon said:


> Something else interesting.
> The worlds largest collection of Buick Grand Nationals - KOLAB


What a great article!

I've rarely met people who combine dedication, single-mindedness, time, and deep pockets.

I seriously think that's the reason that 80% of the loudspeakers at hifi shows are terrible. When you talk to the vendors, you'll frequently find that the loudspeakers they're showing were finished days (or sometimes hours) before the show, and the designs are largely experimental. Clark seems like the opposite of this; he knows what he's trying to achieve, he's dedicated to it, and he'll spend years and piles of money to achieve his goal.

Very cool. An inspiration.


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