Audio forensic expert Arlo West of Lewiston entered the Mel Gibson domestic violence fray when an online tabloid asked for his analysis of a recently released telephone recording.
Owner of Creative Forensic Service Inc. in Lewiston, West said that he can prove that the recordings have been edited.
He appeared on "Good Morning America" on Thursday after he was quoted in an online tabloid article posted Wednesday by Hollywood Life.
"It's been insane," West said early in the evening. "Every network out there has been calling."
By late Thursday night, he was moving up in the celebrity food chain — Larry King requested an interview to be broadcast live that very evening.
All of this attention because of West's field of expertise.
“I was contacted by Hollywood Life and asked if I could listen to the Mel Gibson recordings and was asked for an expert opinion,” West said Wednesday afternoon in Lewiston. “Whoever made this tape had sophisticated knowledge because the quality is outstanding. But this tape was clearly edited.”
Hollywood Life provided three sound bites, originally posted by RadarOnline.com. West said he did not know who released them or why. He also noted that he could not determine whether it’s actually Mel Gibson’s voice without the original recording.
“I have to walk a very narrow line,” West said. “I can’t tell how much was removed. I don’t know how long the original recording was. It sounds like Mel Gibson, but I can’t authenticate that without the original. I’m just going to say that this tape was edited. And that much is a fact.”
West makes his living by examining and engineering audio recordings. He said he often works for clients in domestic disputes, custody battles and criminal cases. At times, he also works for the law enforcement and prosecution sides. He prefers working with musicians, as he continues to pursue his own on-again, off-again music career.
Thursday night, he hustled over to the Marriott Residence Inn near the Auburn Mall to be interviewed by Larry King. So what if King was thousands of miles away. On his show, King introduced one of his forensic experts and West appeared on screen.
"I think these were professionally made recordings," West told millions of viewers. "I think that somebody helped her. I think she was being coached."
West argued a bit with a second audio forensic expert, Paul Ginsberg in New York. Mostly the exchange was civil. Near the end, King appeared bewildered by the information being offered up. That was that. The late-night host was on to the next topic: Lawrence Taylor.
In Auburn, West unhooked the microphones, thanked the camera crews and went on his way. More interview requests will likely follow. The Mel Gibson flap isn't going away.
Earlier, off camera, West noted that issues of recording laws and tampering can make the difference in a civil or criminal case.
In this case, Gibson allegedly was recorded as he ranted at girlfriend Oksana Girgorieva using profanity and racial slurs and threats often to the point of near hyperventilation. The conversation is presumed to have been recorded in California, which has a law that requires all parties to consent to be recorded.
West said he could tell that the girlfriend’s side of the conversation was spoken into a large diaphragm microphone. Her voice is “crystal clear” while Gibson’s voice is not, West said. He could also tell that the recording device was plugged into a wall outlet and was digital. And he could tell that part of the recording that made its way into the public realm has been removed.
West explained that he initially listens to the recording. He marks places where he thinks he hears an edit. He goes back to examine the recording visually with a computer program that shows sound output graphically. He can then tell where transients, gaps and fades occur.
After many years of working in the recording studio producing music, West began forensic work while living in Texas where law enforcement needed audio experts. After returning to Maine where he was born and raised, West started his own company about nine years ago. He has worked on cases throughout the country and has provided sound engineering for film and television.
Staff writer Mark LaFlamme contributed to this report.
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