Anomalies and fraud in the New Mexico Desert
By Philip Mantle
In June 2007 I was invited to take part in field trip into the New Mexico desert by an American colleague by the name of Ed Gehrman. Ed is a firm believer in the authenticity of the Alien Autopsy film and he was of the opinion that he had actually discovered the location, the crash site if you will, where the events took place. I have to say here and now that I totally disagree with Ed on the authenticity of the Alien Autopsy film but that has been covered before by me and details can be located on my web site at: www.philipmantle.com.
FIELD TRIP
We were joined on this field trip by Ed’s daughter Jody and her partner Dave. They, along with Ed were making their own independent documentary and were to film out in the desert as well as at the UFO festival in Roswell, which we were to head to later.
After meeting in Albuquerque we set off to head for the location in the desert, which probably lies closer to Socorro, than it does Roswell. In fact it is the Nogal Canyon area. Ed had been at this site several times so he knew exactly where to go. What I can say about the site is that it is well and truly off the beaten track. I’m glad Ed had hired a 4 X 4, as at times it was a tough place to drive to.
It was a very hot day in New Mexico when we finally reached our destination in the desert. I have to be honest, Ed had described this place to me before and even sent me some photographs and it was exactly as he had described it. You reach a kind of canyon, which has a dry lake or riverbed running through it. In front is a rock face with trees and bushes running up to it.
Before you get to the rock face Ed pointed out that in just one area there are a large number of burnt rocks that are only burnt on one side. There are also trees that are burnt and just in front of the rock face is a large cottonwood tree that is also fire damaged.
The rock face itself is literally covered with bluish material that Ed’s brother had nicknamed ‘alien puke’ as it is splattered all over the place. Loose rocks here and there also have this material all over them. We spent quite a while at this site to take lots of photographs, film for Ed’s documentary and I took several rock samples to take back home. It is a most curious site I have to admit but I kept an open mind as to the possible cause of these anomalies and could not agree with Ed that this was the crash site of the UFO that contained the creatures filmed in the Alien Autopsy film. If the Alien Autopsy film is a fake, which I’m convinced it is, then this by definition could not be a crash site associated with it. It does not mean of course that Ed could not have located a real UFO crash site. Leaving the site we headed to Roswell for the UFO Festival where I was to lecture at the International UFO Museum, and Ed, Jody and Dave were to carry on filming for their planned documentary. After a few days in Roswell we headed back to Albuquerque. I flew home to the UK and Ed and the rest drove back to where they live in California.
Upon return to the UK I wrote about the trip, which was published in a variety of magazines as well as on my web site. The rock samples that I had brought back with me were stored away and remained so until the early part of 2008. Ed had previously had his own test on such samples and the bluish material had been identified as cristobalite. I made a few enquiries in the UK as to where I might get someone to look at the samples I had but I drew a complete blank.
RONNIE MILIONE
In the early part of 2008 I was contacted via email by American UFO researcher Ronnie Milione in New York. Ronnie has a BS, MS and PhD in computer science. Eventually I mentioned to Ronnie in one email exchange that I had these rock samples from New Mexico and wondered if he knew anyone who could take a look at them for me. Ronnie didn’t hesitate and informed me that he had a friend at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in New York who would be wiling to analyze the rock samples I had. Three rock samples were sent to Ronnie Milione and the results came back in September 2008.
The samples had been analyzed by Dr R. Ronald Rau. Although retired Dr Rau still holds a position at the BNL as a Guest scientist at the Physics department. In two reports Dr Rau in the first report numbered: CNM-080108RAU details over 4 pages the radioactivity found in the samples. There is a lot of technical information contained in this report and I put it to one side to ask further questions. I asked Dr Ray via Ronnie Milione what he made of the bluish material that covered the rocks. The second report numbered: 080109RAU again is very technical but on page 4 under the heading of Final Comments it states: Analysis by x-ray diffraction has revealed the material is mainly a variety of cristobalite, a mineral in the tetragonal system which is a form of SiO2 – polymorphous with quartz, coesite, stishovite and tridymite. According to the analysis, tridymite is found in moon rocks and meteorites, and tridymite alters into cristobalite when subjected to high temperatures, as micro traces found in these samples given by Ronnie Milione. As one would be the case when as stricken UFO disintegrates upon an uncontrolled, high-speed entry into the Earth’s atmosphere could be this situation.
To be perfectly honest I was taken by surprise by this last statement. Was Dr Rau saying that these rocks and the material found on them were caused by a stricken UFO? I contacted Dr Rau and asked him to explain in layman’s terms the significance of the radioactivity measured and whether or not he really did think these were the results of a UFO crash. His reply in full is as follows:
“Hello Philip,
Thank you for your questions and working with my dear friend, Ronnie Milione. Ok to answer your questions lets answer you in two parts here.
1. In ref. to report CNM-080108RAU the reports basically is saying that there are small traces of radioactivity. The radioactivity traces was a measurable amount 238 U [which is the most common isotope of uranium found in nature] but is very surprising that it would be on these samples. The other micro-trace picked up was 214Pb [lead] and 214Bi [bismuth] which has very short half-lives but to my account this can be viewed as negligible. What is interesting is 238 U on the rock samples. This can be caused by a condition called Locard's Exchange Principle. This also can be explained in my second report [CNM-080109RAU] as the same phenomena.
2. Basically here is what Locard's Exchange does - "Every Contact Leaves a Trace". So when you have a huge high impact and high temperature yield you can have a transfer of materials from the source to destination at the point of impact. For example from so-called ship to the surrounding area in that impact area can be very well the cause.
I would conclude that something of a very fast high temperature yield caused the surrounding area to exhibit the Locard's Exchange transformation.
Would I tag it a "UFO"...Probably because the unknown source is unknown!
If you need anything else please don't hesitate to write.
Sincerely yours,
Rau –“
So it would seem that Dr Rau is saying that it could well have been a UFO that caused these effects. I had fully expected his reports to offer a conventional explanation but apparently not. I hope to publish both of Dr Rau’s reports in full on my web site so you can read the technical details in full for yourself. I’ve taken the liberty of showing Dr Rau’s reports to a select few UFO researchers to see what the made of them. The reports themselves came via Ronnie Milione so it seems only right that Ronnie should be the first to comment on them. He is in no doubt “After reviewing Dr. Rau report on the rock samples submitted from Socorro, New Mexico I'm strongly convinced that some object of high velocity, temperature and unusual extraterrestrial properties and radiation was exposed to the surrounding crash site and still to this day after more than 60 years left a unique signature of an "unknown object" that still mystifies the UFOLOGISTS of today and proof that the US GOVT still hides the truth!”
In the UK Nick Pope, formerly the Ministry of Defence’ UFO desk officer in the l990’s was intrigued by the results, he stated; "This looks to be a potentially very interesting and significant development, though further clarification needs to be sought on the question of whether a meteor impact could have caused the effect documented. More generally, widespread media and public acceptance of UFO-related claims is unlikely to be forthcoming unless such claims are underpinned by proper scientific analysis. By engaging with Dr Rau, Philip Mantle is doing what few in this controversial field of research have had the courage and foresight to do, namely taking the subject out of the fringe and putting it where it belongs - in the laboratory".
Back in the USA Ed Gehrman was delighted: “I'm glad you had this material tested but it is just as I have always stated. The material is cristobalite. Cristobalite shouldn't be there in this quantity and spread in this manner. The material is not desert varnish, but covers desert varnish. I am 100% correct. Nogal canyon in Socorro is a crash site for the craft and creatures in the Alien Autopsy Film”.
I’ve sent Ronnie Milione a CD with lots of photographs of the site in New Mexico so that he and Dr Rau can perhaps get a better idea of what it looks like. For me I don’t quite know what to make of it. I take no credit for finding this location, that all lies with Ed Gehrman. I cannot agree with Ed with regards to the Alien Autopsy Film but has he stumbled on something out of the ordinary? Ed will be visiting the site again in 2008 and will collect more samples for analysis.
FRAUD EXPOSED
All seemed to be going well and the story had circulated quite literally around the world. However, not everything was as it seemed. On October 14th I received an e-mail from Frank Warren who runs the web site The UFO Chronicles (www.ufochronicles.com). Frank had some intriguing news;
“Good Day Philip,
Today a fellow who claims to be with the Brookhaven Lab claimed the following:
I work in the Media & Communications Office at Brookhaven Lab. Claims have been posted online that Dr. R. Ronald Rau at Brookhaven National Laboratory recently confirmed an alleged UFO crash site by analyzing rock samples from the area. These claims are false.
Dr. Rau retired from Brookhaven Lab in 1990 and now holds a guest appointment at the lab. He did not analyze rock samples, he has not written reports on rocks, and he had no knowledge of these claims until contacted on October 8, 2008, by a reporter.
When Dr. Rau was a working scientist, he did experiments using particle accelerators. As an administrator, he held various appointments in senior management at Brookhaven Lab.
The rock analysis reports attributed to Dr. Rau appear to be poorly made forgeries that are only distinguished by the use of the Brookhaven Lab and U.S. Department of Energy logos, which are readily available online. They are not in the format of an official Brookhaven Lab report and have multiple grammatical and spelling errors.
Additionally, in perusing the Brookhaven web site, there is confirmation that Rau did in fact retire in 1990--please explain.
Concerned,
Frank Warren”
I phoned Ronnie Milione is New York and he gave me a not too convincing story. I then contact Dr Rau via the email address provided by the BNL and he has told me that he has never tested any such rock samples and that’s it. His full email is reproduced here:
“Mr. Mantle, all of this is nonsense. I have never dealt with rocks from New Mexico or any other place. I am a High Energy Physicist not a geologist. I am retired from Brookhaven National Laboratory and they know about this fabrication. I do know casually Dr. Milione as he helped me set up a new computer a few months ago.
Please stop this fabrication.
Thank you Dr. R. Ronald Rau.”
I also checked with a person I respect in the USA who gave me a long list of frauds and falsehoods that Ronnie Milione had previously been involved with. I could not however find anything on the Internet that detailed anything suspicious about Ronnie Milione. I had checked this before but drew a complete blank. However, I have no doubt that my colleague in the USA is telling me the truth. Milione also claims to have A PhD; again this seems to be false. Milione was even behind the fake e-mail’s allegedly from Dr Rau. What else he has falsified remains to be seen.
Basically this whole thing has been a fraud perpetrated by Ronnie Milione. He has produced fake lab reports on Brookhaven head stationary and has used one of their doctor’s names fraudulently. As a result I will be consulting my lawyer to see if I can sue for damages.
I have emailed Dr Rau to apologise and advised him to consult a legal representative. I have also contacted the BNL to advise them of this and have suggested they too seek legal advice. I have offered my assistance to both Dr Rau and the BNL should they choose to take legal action against Ronnie Milione.
If you require any further information please do not hesitate to ask. I can only apologise to the BNL and Dr Rau for any embarrassment caused but the culprit is Ronnie Milione and the BNL. Dr R.Ronald Rau and I are the victims.
I would like to thank Frank Warren for alerting me to this and for my colleague in the USA for supplying me with the low down on Ronnie Milione. For the record I phoned Milione on his landline as soon as I could but guess what, it was coming up and engaged. I did however leave a message on his mobile answering service telling him just what I thought of him. Any further communication with him will now be with my lawyer. However, if anyone would like his full contact details please let me know and I will gladly supply them.
Lessons have been learnt but unlike the Alien Autopsy Film, which took me 14 years to prove as a fake, these sorry events only took a few days.
INFORMATION REQUEST
In recent weeks I have learnt of a number of alleged misdemeanours perpetrated by Ronnie Milione and I am keen to learn more. If you have been a victim yourself you can contact me, in complete confidence at:
E-mail: philip@mantle8353.fsworld.co.
Address:
Philip Mantle
c/o
UFO DATA MAGAZINE
PO BOX 280
LEEDS
WEST YORKSHIRE
ENGLAND
LS26 1AN
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