Emerging Technologies with Vehicle Crimes

John Letteney is the Assistant Manager for the Town of Morrisville, North Carolina, where he has responsibility for several municipal operations, including the Morrisville Police Department. He retired as Chief of Police for the Thomasville (GA) Police Department in January 2024, and previously retired from service as Chief of Police for two North Carolina agencies. He has over 43 years of service in law enforcement.

Chief (ret.) Letteney has been a member of the IACP Board of Directors since 2014, is a Past General Chair for the Division of State Associations of Chiefs of Police (SACOP), and served as the IACP President in 2022-2023. He currently serves as the Parliamentarian for the IACP Board of Directors.

He was appointed as a Commissioner for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) in January, 2025. He is certified by the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police (GACP) as a Chief Executive, holds an Advanced Law Enforcement Certificate in North Carolina, has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Marist University in New York, and is a graduate of the FBI Command College and the 248th Session of the FBI National Academy.

Christopher McDonold is the Executive Director for the Maryland Vehicle Theft Prevention Council/Department of State Police. After serving 25 years, he retired on June 30th, 2012 from the Baltimore County Police Department. He had been assigned to the Patrol Division, the Burglary Investigation Unit, the Firearms Violence Section and for his last 17 years was assigned to the Baltimore Regional Auto Theft Team. Chris is the committee chair of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Vehicle Crimes Committee and has been a member of the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators (IAATI) since 1995, serving as its president from 2010-2011. Chris is also the current chair of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) NMVTIS Law Enforcement Sub-Committee. Chris is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and the United States Air Force Reserve and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from Mount St. Mary’s University and a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership from Johns Hopkins University’s Police Executive Leadership Program.

Paul Steier is the Law Enforcement Program Manager with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA). Paul coordinates training and educational programs to inspire collaboration between motor vehicle and law enforcement agencies through-out the U.S. and Canada. Paul joined AAMVA in 2017 and previously served 25-years as a commissioned officer with the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) where he was the Director of the Bureau of Investigation & Identity Protection. He managed a staff who investigated motor vehicle and personal identity crimes along with operating the DOT's facial recognition program. Prior to his service as Bureau Director, Paul held the rank of Major working for the DOT's Motor Vehicle Enforcement Office where he also served as a Fraud Investigator and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Officer. Paul is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police serving on the Vehicle Crimes Committee and is Chair of the Emerging Technologies with Vehicle Crimes Working Group. Paul is a member of the National Sheriff's Association serving on the Traffic Safety Committee.  He also is a member of the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators, International Association of Auto Theft Investigators, and the Iowa Peace Officers Association. Paul has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Paul is a graduate of the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy and served on the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force.    

George Baker serves as GM’s primary interface to the international vehicle crime investigation community. He leads GM’s Global Vehicle Security Team, working with GM’s technical experts to ensure GM understands and counters current and emerging vehicle crime methods to provide optimal vehicle security to GM product owners. George has held a variety of positions at General Motors since 1995, including locomotive program manager in Mexico and Russia, sales/marketing/aftersales director in Moscow, director of GM Military Trucks, and OnStar’s primary liaison to law enforcement. He holds an engineering degree from West Point and a master’s degree in Russian area studies from Harvard University. George is a retired US Army officer following his service on tanks and in the Army’s military liaison program.

D.T. “Rusty” Russell is the Director of Operations-Vehicles with the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB).  In his role Mr. Russell coordinates all vehicle, marine, and specialized equipment investigative programs of the NICB (both nationally and internationally) at the headquarters level. He has been with NICB since 2009 and previously served as an NICB Special Agent in Western North Carolina. As Director of Operations-Vehicles he has been instrumental in the development of NICB’s LPR Program, Specialized Equipment Program, Berla Program, and the Crash Data Retrieval Program. Mr. Russell has advanced NICB relationships with manufacturing partners and strengthened strategic partnerships with organizations such as the National Automobile Services Task Force, Automotive Information Sharing & Analysis Center, and the Automotive Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition.  

Paul is an electronics engineer and technology consultant with more than 25 years’ experience in global engineering and consultancy roles. Most of his experience has been gained working within the Automotive industry. He currently owns and runs an engineering consultancy company based in the UK called Adrow Ltd.

Paul holds a master’s degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from the University of Surrey. He subsequently held Senior Engineer roles in Automotive Tier-1 companies, such as Alps and Motorola, where he was responsible for the development, testing and production launch of a wide range of Electronic Control Units (ECUs) used in contemporary vehicles. 

Paul then moved into engineering consultancy and has spent the last 14 years working with vehicle manufacturers, security system suppliers and other stakeholders to help them understand the latest theft techniques and advise them how to design-out some of the weaknesses exploited by contemporary vehicle theft tools. As part of his consultancy role he presents at national and international conferences, runs confidential technical workshops and seminars with clients and produces numerous reports and articles on contemporary theft methods. Paul is listed on the UK National Crime Agency’s (NCA) ‘Expert Advisor’ database and assists law enforcement by identifying, testing, and providing evidential statements on recovered tools.

Adrow Ltd specialises in separating fact from fiction regarding vehicle theft for our clients in Asia, Europe, and North America. The work we do is strictly confidential. We cooperate with a trusted network of law enforcement and theft investigators to share intelligence with our clients, enabling the development of enhanced security systems to meet the evolving threat environment.