In a 24 February 2002 Star magazine article titled "Star's Lie Detector Challenge to Michael Jackson" polygraph operator Nelson Andreu is quoted claiming that "[n]o one can beat [the polygraph]."

Andreu, a retired Miami detective who runs a company called Deception Check Polygraph and Investigative Services and was to polygraph Michael Jackson for Star, further claims that the polygraph is "very reliable," noting that "[t]o become an FBI agent, you have to pass a polygraph test." However, the recent report on polygraphy by the National Academy of Sciences states that "[t]here is essentially no evidence on the incremental validity of polygraph testing, that is, its ability to add predictive value to that which can be achieved by other methods" (p. 8-2).

Challenge to Nelson Andreu:

1) Publicly support your publicly-made claim that "[n]o one can beat [the polygraph]."

2) Publicly support your publicly-made claim that the polygraph is "very reliable."

If you cannot credibly support your claims to Star magazine, then please retract them.

This challenge will be notified to Mr. Andreu by e-mail to Info@DeceptionCheck.com.

I know who this guy is. He once had an article posted on the Florida Polygraph Assoc. website about countermeasures. Gist of it was that during a maintenance poly, he allegedly detected signs of countermeasures being used. A subsequent search of the guy's home found materials on how to perform countermeasures, and he was sent back to prison. I sent an e-mail to Nelson asking a simple question, that being "Did the search also turn up any evidence that the examinee was re-offending?" Needless to say, I never got a response back.