EXCELLENT WORK!

Operation Slipknot is complete. Even though three suspects remain at large, your work represents a huge step forward in cleaning up our beloved city.

The fugitives are being arrested, handcuffed, and extradited back to Gotham for prosecution.

Doesn’t it feel better to be on the right side of the law for once?

Thanks to you, Gotham can hold its head high once again. But do me one favor… stay out of trouble.

–Gordon.

Clicking each of the suspects shows how they were caught. Shortly after the completion (despite three missed suspects), participants received a phone call from Jim Gordon (DOWNLOAD).

humanresources@whysoserious then sent out a text to the mobiles in the packages received — pointing us towards a new Why So Serious Page: “It’s All Part of the Plan”.

There’s a four day countdown and a lever in the top right — clicking the lever reveals a brand new Dark Knight Poster: “Welcome to a world without rules” (Download Super Hi Resolution Image)

Sample of the high resolution poster:

The envelope itself contains a joker card, telephone (as expected), a Gotham city driving license, a foreign language phrase book, a Gotham City bank bond, a letter from Joseph Candoloro, a travel confirmation letter from Kinsly Travel and an itinerary for ticket-less travel.

Andrizzle, upsincefour, gobrutus and RawWulf at Superhero Hype have kindly posted detailed pictures of the package:

Entering the flight details at Kinsly Travel for GAL/2567:

Departure City: Chicago
Departure Time: 0745
Destination City: Bangalore
Arrival Time: 0215
Status: On Time

TCA/1298:

Departure City: St. Louis
Departure Time: 0543
Destination City: Dusseldorf
Arrival Time: 0235
Status: On Time

The Assignment also updated:

OPERATION SLIPKNOT

Within the last twenty-four hours, many of your colleagues intercepted packages intended for the 30 fugitives pictured here.

These informants are now receiving this critical evidence.

MCU is standing by. We need the information in the packages to be uploaded AS SOON AS IT IS RECEIVED. We will process the information and implement our final apprehension/extradition plans by 6:00 pm.

Time is of the essence. Do not let these suspects escape the long arm of Gotham City justice at the last minute. Upload the information immediately.

OK friend, you’re up to bat now. You have yourself a new assignment: Operation Slipknot.

Linking to a new Gotham Major Crimes Unit page dedicated to “Operation Slipknot”.

Clicking each of the police images reveals details about the individuals. The assignment states,

OPERATION SLIPKNOT

Gotham Police Major Crimes Unit, in cooperation with the GPD Internal Affairs Division, needs you to help track down numerous offenders that are fugitives from justice. Interestingly, we’ve tracked all of these individuals to the same last known location: Gotham Intercontinental Hotel. But we don’t know where they’ve gone from there.

Call the hotel and convince the concierge to ship you a certain package that’s been sent there for each fugitive. Use the provided intel and whatever means you can to convince him that you’re the intended recipient, your travel plans have changed, and he needs to send the package to you. Once received, you should have all you need to fill in the blanks as to that fugitive’s location.

We will add details about additional fugitives as they become available. Time is of the essence, as we have only a short time before the trail runs cold. Your cooperation in this operation will go a long way. Good luck.

Heading over to the Gotham Intercontinental Hotel, we are presented with a telephone number to call their concierge — 1 866 306 5589.

The aim is to state that you are the officer and provide your reference number — as outlined by the INTEL:

You should have received your duplicate care packages by now. If not, contact the concierge at the Intercontinental and have him forward you your original package (reference #‘s, as always, the total number of letters in your name followed by your last name shifted forward one letter, like 15DBOEPMPSP). He’s been instructed to send no-questions-asked if these ref #‘s are used. Do NOT contact me.

Bon Voyage!

Then you must state that your travel arrangements have had to change, the concierge shall ask for a mailing address and then confirm that a package shall be sent out to that address overnight. You also need to provide a telephone number in case of problems. The phone lines are VERY BUSY and new fugitives are being added regularly

When you get your package, their is a submit button to provide the relevant details and turn them in:

If you have received a package, enter any pertinent intel on your subject here: the confirmation # of their ticket, the last name of the alias they’re traveling under, and the city they’re flying to. If everything checks out, we’ll forward it so that appropriate action can be taken.

Thanks Bruce, Maeghan and Carlos!

Update: All fugitives have been assigned and packages sent out. The game has gone quiet until tomorrow morning, when I’m sure it will return with more surprises!

At the end of the call they provide a number to give to friends if they wish to take part — 8777776197.

Download the recorded call with secret message at the end

This corresponds with an update on CCFABG,

Message from the Webmaster:

You may be wondering why I haven’t updated this site recently. Well, you wouldn’t either, if you were facing legal actions like slander charges and defamation of character accusations.

I can’t afford to get sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars, especially now that everyone who supported this site is “unavailable” or “can’t remember” they had anything to do with the site.

If I weren’t waiting for my last paycheck, I’d go on a little “vacation” myself. In fact, if you don’t get any more updates from me in the next few days, it means I did just that.

This whole smear campaign has been a real SOURCE of consternation for me. I’ll be glad when it’s all in the past. And you know what? I just might vote for Harvey Dent.

William Bucksworth-Haven, Webmaster Extraordinaire

In the source code for the page is this comment:

<!-- <ACCESS: 164938> -->

Which, when entered as answers on the survey reveal a secret message.

Edmund has also sent in this message (thanks!) that he received from Jim Gordon (jim.gordon@gpdmcu.com):

My friend,
Indictments are about to be handed down. If you don’t want your name on one, we’ll need your full cooperation in an upcoming operation.

In case you haven’t heard, we are struggling with a bit of corruption in the department. I’m not about to let the Gotham PD collapse in on itself, so we’re taking action. We’ve identified a group of offenders that need to be apprehended. Problem is, most of these cops are hightailing it out of the city. But a C.I. just like you just gave us some information on their last known whereabouts. Now all we need is to catch them. This is where you come in.

Consider yourself on deck. I’ll contact you next week, and let’s just say it’s in your best interest to play along. County’s not a place you want to spend the rest of your life.

Lt. Jim Gordon, MCU

Seems MCU had your boy’s diner under light surveillance. Wiretap showed nothing unusual, just phone orders for various menu items. That is, until just before the incident. Check out MCU3932571. It’s odd, one caller seemed to know something was ready to go down, but didn’t feel like warning anyone…

That number refers to a secure document which contains a recording of the deli’s order line:
Download Wiretap MP3

I Believe in Harvey Dent has also updated,

4/15 HARVEY DENT RESCUES WOMAN IN HOSTAGE STANDOFF

HOSTAGE-TAKER WAS “SMEAR COP”

LISTEN TO RAW AUDIO HERE

A MESSAGE FROM HARVEY DENT

Friends, my entire campaign I’ve talked about how this campaign is a struggle for this city’s soul. On the one hand, there are those people who prey on the innocent citizens of Gotham. On the other hand, there is our movement to take back Gotham from crime and corruption.

At Rossi’s Deli, we saw that struggle play out. Play out inside the head of the hostage taker, Sgt. Frank Notaro. Some are calling him a “crazed smear cop” but he encapsulates the choice facing us. Do we continue to allow our worst nature to lead us? Or do we take a chance on hope?

That’s the choice I laid out to Frank Notaro. And he responded. He released an innocent, terrified girl. He turned himself in. And he is now talking to the police about mob involvement in the smear campaign against me.

That’s the real lesson of the incident. We must, all of us, have the courage to hope. If we have the power to change ourselves, if we have the power to change one person, then we have the power to change Gotham.

Today’s press conference was unexpectedly cancelled due to a hostage crisis located at a nearby deli. In a selfless move, Mr. Dent entered the premises, exchanged himself for a woman who was being held at gunpoint, and negotiated the successful release of the remaining patrons in the restaurant. Watch this site for updates. We will release more details when they become available.

Download the MP3 Audio of the situation

The hostage situation was instigated by desperate cop, Frank Notaro, he takes a woman hostage before requesting witness protection for him and his family. Harvey Dent exchanges himself for the woman before Notaro is arrested.

This all took place at Rossi’s Deli — Notaro’s madness was tripped in the event of seeing his partners (Cisneros) death in a car explosion, also killing his entire family — all whilst leaving a message on Rossi’s answer phone. Download the voicemail message and listen to the scene

For some back story on Frank Notaro I recommend reading our coverage.

Glenn Barhyte’s email, accessible through the security pages at Gotham Police, has two new messages from Frank:

Deal’s Off
I saw it. With my own eyes. Best partner I ever had. Dead. What the hell’s going on?

Thank’s For Nothin
Looks like you’re out having breakfast or something. I knew I couldn’t trust IA to keep my family safe. I’m going to Rossi’s Deli to take care of Condoloro myself, don’t try to stop me.

Background on Francis

Francis Notoro is a Gotham police officer that appears on the “Concerned Citizens for a Better Gotham” website, one of the eight that damned Harvey Dent in a press conference:

Eight Gotham police officers stood up for the truth today at a morning press conference at Gotham’s Hotel Internationale. One by one, the police officers took the podium and told their story. Their devastating testimony showed that Dent is a dishonest, corrupt, out-of-control prosecutor who threatened police officers in order to get them to testify against innocent cops who Dent wanted in jail. Francis Notaro, Sergeant, told the press corps that Dent had offered him money to testify against an innocent cop, Jimmy Scaliano.

He currently features in CCFABG’s latest advertisement: CCFABG Ad

And update to the Gotham Police website, awarding him the Gotham Medal of Commendation:

At a ceremony in City Hall’s Banquet Room yesterday, Gotham Police Department Sgt. Francis X. Notaro received the Gotham Medal of Commendation. It is the highest medal one can receive from the Mayor of Gotham, and requires “an extraordinary act of courage in the face of real danger to one’s self.” Mayor Garcia as well as numerous other dignitaries were there to honor Sgt. Notaro, who was accompanied to the event by his wife Hannah and his two children, Samuel, 7, and Rachel, 4.

The commendation emerged from Sgt. Notaro’s actions of May 13 of last year. A crazed gunman began shooting up passers-by in an alley downtown off of Jackson and Columbus at around 2 AM.

Notaro, who was not on duty at that hour but happened to be close by, heard the shots, went straight to the scene of the incident, and shot and killed the perpetrator. Notaro’s actions put himself at grave risk of death, while saving the lives of innocent bystanders.

“Sgt. Notaro reflects the very best of Gotham,” said Mayor Garcia. “He represents the spirit of dedication, duty, and commitment to the rule of law that we all can admire.”

The Fan Investigation and Mystery

“jlevine”

All the information posted so far is readily available on the viral sites. Here is where the journey really begins. Looking at the updated Gotham Police page, the picture of Frank Notaro used asks not to be hotlinked — this begs us to look at the URL:

thegothamtimes.com/media/jlevine/public/gtp00339.jpg

By incrementing the number on the image we can find a few more pictures of Frank with his children. The name in the URL, ‘jlevine’ refers to one James Levine, cited in The Maiden Avenue Report:

TIMES REPORTER LEVINE: “MEDIA PACKRAT” PREPPING EXCLUSIVE NOTAROINTERVIEW?

Using the known folder and trying some different file names, this interview is uncovered: Download, here’s an excerpt:

Notaro: Harvey Dent offered me cash money to lie about a good cop.
Levine: Yep, that’s what the ad says.
Notaro: Cash money. To lie.
Levine: What cop was he trying to prosecute?
Notaro: James Scaliano.
Levine: Scaliano, Scaliano…Ahh, Scaliano, this is the guy who was found guilty of shaking down shop owners for protection money and roughin’ up guys for the shylocks.
Notaro: Lies. All lies. Scaliano was a good man.

Voicemail Messages

Moving swiftly on, hope you are with us so far. Onto a site we uncovered a short while ago, that of CCFABG leader Joseph (aka Joe) Candoloro. On this page is a telephone number, 1866 626 8049, combining it with the price of “Joe’s favourite” at Rossi’s deli (1149), yields voicemail.

Joe’s Favorite
An 8oz sirloin cooked to order and 3 fantail shrimp, breaded and fried. $11.49

The first message we hear is a little gem from Albert Rossi which reveals a secure document number, IA176495U (“killed by the men upstairs”) and he leaves his number at the end of the message, 1866 580 3840. Use the pin “9482” to access his voicemail — these letters correspond to his mother’s name Zita (we found this out at St Swithuns). Using this a series of voice messages were uncovered. These messages reveal the secret stories of three characters — Candoloro, Rossi and Notaro. Within a message to Rossi, Notaro reveals his number to be 1866 626 608 3515. Combining this with his date of birth as a pin (32976 — aka 3/29/76) we get access to another phone and set of messages.

Download Pack of all MP3 Voicemails

Secure Internal Documents

Now onto the real nitty gritty. Everything so far has been trivial. For those that didn’t know, the Gotham Police website has a secret login page at this location. Back in December we used this to retrieve some secret documents. We login using username: BarhyteGlenn, password: tevredenheid,

By submitting Frank’s name to the We Are The Answer website, you get this email response,

Thank you for your submission. Officer Francis Notaro is currently being investigated to determine his guilt or innocence.

We Are The Answer will keep the citizens of Gotham informed regarding this, and other, investigations of police officers.

UmVmOg0KSUE4MjM0OTcxDQpJQTgzNzYxMjENCklBODM4ODU1NQ0KDQo=

That code at the end is very intriguing. It turns out that it is Base64 encoded, decoding this gives us three document numbers, IA823497, IA8376121, IA8388555.

Logging into the secure documents page and entering the number from Rossi’s voicemail reveals the official investigation into the use of deadly force by Franci Notaro — this shows that his story has inconsistencies. The document has since been removed from the archives (as per the voice message).

Next up we have the first of the Internal Affairs numbers, which gives us a wiretap recording between Rossi and Notaro which reveals details of a cover up, regarding the events that led to Notaro’s commendation.

Download Wiretap MP3

The second of the encrypted documents is Notaro’s Bank statement. Note the $10,000 deposits from JC, believed to be Mr Candoloro.

Last but not least, there is some DNA evidence from the crime scene:

These samples prove the victim’s innocence.

Many many thanks to the members at SuperHeroHype

GPDMCU: www.gpdmcu.com

The site lists a contact email address (which was originally incorrectly pointing to a .org address), contact@gpdmcu.com.

www.acmesecuritysystems.com/delos

The aim is to deactivate a particular security system, and the password is “Needle”.

Entering your telephone leads them to call you with an automated message, on answering you need to clearly state “Needle” as the password. Saying “Hello” fails the password check. You’ll then be greeted by a fellow (Gordon) from Gotham Police Department stating that your identity has been captured and that you “work for us now”. It is a very exciting and interesting phone call if you get it to go through.

Meanings to the numbers in the Identity Captured image — they are charges:
156.05 Unauthorized use of a computer.
156.10 Computer trespass.
156.27 Computer tampering in the first degree.
156.35 Criminal possession of computer related material.
(thanks gilga)

Download Audio Recording of the Phone Call

(thanks to BANEparkour)

Telephone Transcript:

Woman: Hello, this is the Acme Security Systems voice print identification system, please say the password clearly.

Caller: NEEDLE

Gordon: This is Jim Gordon, major crimes, Gotham Police Department. Not the voice you were expecting… huh? We have your name. We have your number. We have your computer’s IP address. So what I’m saying is, we have you. Consider yourself the Gotham Police Department’s newest recruit. You see, this works one of two ways, either you’re going to jail for conspiracy in a criminal enterprise, or, you’ll work for me. We’ll be in touch. Oh, have a great day!

As we turn the corner into the cold and bitter December the night was once again a flurry of Dark Knight viral puzzles.

First up, solving the perfect getaway. Given the combined map of Gotham City from all the viral websites, and using a connect the dots method, a message stating “Out of Time” was spelled out across the map, this led to the new Why So Serious page:

www.whysoserious.com/outoftime/

“My Kind of Clown! You’re obviously center ring material, unlike some poor goons who can’t complete one simple task. Watch the funny papers in a few days for your final step in the process

The name on the tag is Alder Frederick, with a date of death 30th November, caused by Asphyxia.(www.whysoserious.com/outoftime/alder.htm)

A GPDiad email was also discovered, glenn.barhyte@gpdiad.com, which spewed out some interesting responses to queries about document LC6551. As a result this login form was discovered,

GPD Login Form. For which you can use the name and password:

Name: BreitupKarl
Password: 21485

Logging in and doing a file search for LC6551 yeilds the document,
Document LC6551, it is titled “Upswing in Extortions and Chechen Gang Activity”.

Some of the email responses from Glenn included:

“With all due respect, like I’ve told your friends, I just can’t discuss
LC6551, or IA8214299 for that matter. I don’t know who’s leaking
these, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m just not at liberty to
discuss sensitive information.

Glenn”

“[Karl Breitup] will meet someone at Betty’s Pie Shop tomorrow. I can give you more information, but you will need to cooperate with me for that.“

To access the second referenced document you need a login with higher authority, this is Glenn Barhyte’s account:

Name: BarhyteGlenn
Password: tevredenheid (satisfaction in dutch, given via the clues for his favourite song by the Rolling Stones and in combination with the file stating he lived in Utrecht for 9 years — see The Gotham Times)

IA8214299 is a clearance request discussing the surveillance of Betty’s House of Pies — six officers, no uniforms, listening van, equipment for recording.

Further details of this stakeout can be found in a memo (memo.jpg)

Most importantly, 15:00 Betty’s Pie Shop. Using Glenn’s login details a live audio feed will be played here. Get your recording equipment ready. (direct link to flash)