Saturday, July 25, 2009

Relationship polygraph news story

THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE
Polygraph Experts Pitch Services At Suspicious Spouses
By JANICE PODSADA The Hartford Courant
July 26, 2009


Walking the Appalachian trail or fooling around in Argentina? Sober or still drinking-and-drugging on the sly? Out on a hike or out on a lark?

There is a way to uncover the truth, some experts say: Ask the person to take a polygraph test.

"It's cheaper than a divorce," said Bernie Soldate, owner of Forensic Polygraph Center in Simsbury. Soldate charges the going rate, about $900, to administer a polygraph test.

A "lie detector" isn't just for criminal cases anymore. Increasingly, it's being advertised as a tool for private citizens to solve pressing domestic issues or even neighbor disputes.

Associated Polygraph Center in East Hartford recently bought billboard space above the eastbound lanes of I-84 near downtown Hartford in hopes of drumming up more business. "Want to know the truth? Ask them to take polygraph test." the company's electronic ad beamed brightly above the highway.

"We're looking for more of the domestic market," said Karen Nunez-Robbins, whose business partner, Leighton "Skip" Hammond, founded the firm.

More consumers are turning to polygraph examiners to set the record straight, said Soldate, who estimates that 50 percent of his business comes from domestic issues.

"Half of the work out there is husbands and wives, couples," said John Grogan, executive director of the Polygraph Examiners of America. Grogan, who lists baseball player Jose Canseco among the people he has tested, swears by its accuracy.

"Right now, with the modern computerized polygraph and a trained examiner, it's about 98 percent accurate," Grogan said.

When suspicion is eating away at a relationship, especially when it involves a partner's fidelity, a polygraph test may help clear up the problem.

"If there is no other way to work this out, the last resort is a polygraph test," Soldate said. "But before you pay for a test — and I ask for it in advance — be prepared to be truthful. If you've got something to tell your spouse, cough it up now; fall on the sword. Honesty is the best policy."