Wasser Consulting Services, Inc.
POLYGRAPH EXAMINATIONS
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The Detroit Legal News. September 17, 2007.
Wasser honored by American Polygraph Association
Lawrence Wasser, forensic polygraph examiner, received the 2007 President's Award at
the American Polygraph Association's 42nd annual international seminar held in New Orleans.
This award was presented to Wasser for 19 years of service as vice president and
member of the Board of Directors, and for outstanding contributions to the polygraph
profession throughout the world. Wasser was also given lifetime membership. He has served
as a certified polygraph school inspector for the American Polygraph Association.
Wasser is further the recipient of four of the five major awards given by the American
Polygraph Association for exceptional service to the polygraph profession.
During 2003, Wasser was presented with the President's Award from the Michigan
Association of Polygraph Examiners in the State of Michigan. He served three terms as
president of the Michigan Association of Polygraph Examiners and served 21 years on the
Board of Directors. He received their Distinguished Service Award.
In 1983, Wasser was appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate to serve
three four-year terms on the Michigan State Board of Forensic Polygraph Examiners. He is a
member of the following Polygraph Associations: California, Arizona, Texas, Virginia, Indiana,
Florida, Singapore, and Latin America. He is a Diplomat and Fellow in the American College
of Forensic Examiners.
Wasser is president of Wasser Consulting Services, Inc., located in Southfield. He has
been a forensic polygraph examiner since 1972 and is a qualified expert in both State and
Federal courts.
Detroit Legal News. August 26, 2003
Wasser honored by American Polygraph Association
Lawrence Wasser, forensic polygraph examiner, recently received the William L. Bennett
Memorial Award at the American Polygraph Association's 38th annual seminar held in Reno,
Nevada.
This award was presented to Wasser for outstanding contributions to polygraph throughout
the world. He was previously presented with three of the five other major awards given for
outstanding service to the polygraph profession.
Last year at the 37th annual seminar, Wasser was re-elected to a two-year term to the
association's board of directors. The association represents professional polygraph examiners
throughout the world.
On May 9, 2003, Wasser was presented with the President's Award from the Michigan
Association of Polygraph Examiners for outstanding service to the polygraph profession in the
state of Michigan.
The American College of Forensic Examiners recently elevated Wasser from diplomat to
fellow.
Wasser is president of Wasser Consulting Services, Inc. in Southfield. He is a past three-term
president of the Michigan Association of Polygraph Examiners and has served 17 years on its
board of directors. He has received their most prestigious award, the Distinguished Service
Award.
Wasser was appointed in 1983 by the governor and confirmed by the Senate serving three
four-year terms on the Michigan state Board of Forensic Polygraph Examiners. He has been a
forensic polygraph examiner since 1972 and is recognized as an expert in both state and
federal courts.
Wasser is also a member of the California, Texas, Virginia, Indiana, and Florida Polygraph
Associations.
Detroit Free Press. April 28, 2001 (by George Cantor)
Lie detector tests can help the falsely accused
When divorce is bitter, those who bear the brunt of the hard feelings are almost always the
children.
Getting at one's former spouse, the big jerk, is most readily accomplished through the kids,
especially when it comes to arguments over custody and visitation.
Unfortunately, one of the most frequent avenues of retribution is an accusation of sexual
abuse. Investigators are inclined to believe the children, even when it has been demonstrated
time after time that young kids can be coached to fabricate stories and may even have their
own agenda for getting back at a parent thought to be too strict.
Usually, however, such charges are directed at the father. In Denise Manns Doyle's case,
they were made against her.
Her former husband was given custody of their two sons, who were then aged 10 and 6.
After visits to Doyle's home, accusations of inappropriate touching and behavior were made.
What should have put the authorities on alert was that there were also stories about being
made to have sex with a cat.
Nonetheless, the stories had an air of plausibility, and Doyle was charged with child abuse.
"When the police showed up at my home, I had no idea why I was being arrested," says
Doyle, who live in Clinton Township. "When they told me the charge, my first thought was,
'Why? I don't hit my kids.'
"Never in my worst nightmare did I think I could be accused of this. It was like an out-of-
body experience, like I was floating above myself, and it was all unreal."
After consulting with her attorney, Mark Haddad, it was decided she would have a polygraph
exam.
"She jumped on the idea," says Haddad. "A lot of people are scared of lie detectors
because of what they've heard. But Mrs. Doyle's attitude was 'This has only got to help me.'"
Polygraphs do not enjoy the best reputation. But that is mostly because the tests are only
as good as the examiner. Inept or biased examiners can misread or distort any reading.
Haddad chose Lawrence Wasser, of Beverly Hills, who is regarded as one of the top
polygraph examiners in the state.
"I've got to tell you that when I first read the report, I thought this woman was despicable,"
says Wasser. "It is so unusual for a mother to be charged with something like this-I don't think
I've ever had another case like it-that it kind of rocked me. But she passed the test without a
question."
Armed with the results of the test and after taking depositions, Haddad got the charges
thrown out.
"People get very defensive about lie detectors," says Wasser, "as if they twist the truth and
reveal secrets that are made to sound like guilt. But for innocent people who are falsely
accused, like Mrs. Doyle, they are the best hope we've got."
Denise Doyle will not comment on why her children said what they did. In her mind, they
were victims.
"I'll get over this," she says. "I only pray they do, too."
Detroit Free Press. February 5, 2000 (by George Cantor)
Police's racial profiling can lead to discrimination
One evening last fall, Dr. Waleed Mammo left his dental office in Sterling Heights to drive
home. In the parking lot, he was confronted by a gunman who demanded his keys.
Dr. Mammo offered money instead but was angrily waved off. He turned over his keys and
watched his Cadillac driven away. He then returned to his office and called the police.
But the carjacking was only his first upleasant surprise of the day. The second came when
the cops made it clear that they felt this was not a robbery.
"They began asking me if I gambled a lot," says the Iraqi-born dentist. "They asked me if I
had done into Detroit to look for prostitutes. They wanted to know if I was over the mileage
limit on my lease.
"I was staggered. Here I am, a professional man and a property owner in their community,
and they were treating me like a criminal. I was the one who had been robbed. But they told
me that my description of the crime was impossible because carjacking didn't happen here.
"There is not a doubt in my mind that if I had been a dentist named Dr. O'Hara, never in a
million years would I have been treated this way."
Sterling Heights police did not respond to phone calls asking about the case.
There is a lot of news about police profiling these days. African Americans say they are
frequently pulled over by suburban cops for the offense of Driving While Black.
There is also a growing tendency to profile Arab Americans and, in this area, Chaldeans.
Arab voters in Hamtramck complained that they were singled out for extensive checks on
registration and residency last November. This is especially interesting in a community with no
record of being overly punctilious about voting laws.
Arab merchants in Detroit are often tagged with the stereotype of being clannish, abusive
and dishonest-and by those who should know best the damage stereotypes can do.
Dr. Mammo's attoney, Raymond Salloum, suggested he take a polygraph. The test was
administered by Lawrence Wasser, of Southfield, who found that the dentist was non-
deceptive in his responses.
"It's much harder to show that than it is to show that someone is lying during an
examination," says Wasser. "But Dr. Mammo clearly was telling the truth."
A few days later, the cops found his car parked near the home of a young man who had
bragged about the crime in school. Dr. Mammo's office was clearly visible from the driveway.
Dr. Mammo does not carry a grudge "because I still have my practice here and I don't need
any trouble."
But there must be other factors, besides race or ethnicity alone, to justify the use of
profiling. Otherwise, it isn't profiling. It's bigotry.
The Detroit News. September 26, 1998 (by George Cantor)
Uncovering terrible truths about children's lies
In two decades as a polygraph examiner, Lawrence Wasser thought he had managed to put
his emotions aside when interviewing subjects.
He had seen them all walk through his door, from smirking young thugs who thought they
could beat him to frightened clerks wrongly accused of theft. Wasser learned to be
dispassionate and let his reading of the polygraph tell the tale. But he had never examined a
7-year old child before, either.
"Brian was very intelligent and had an amazing vocabulary," says Wasser.
"Otherwise, it would have been impossible to conduct the test. If a child can't tell the
difference between true and false in his own mind, obviously he can't be polygraphed."
Wasser believes that no one this young has ever been examined in a legal proceeding in
Michigan. Because of the age of the subject, his real name has not been used. But everyone
involved in the case lives in the Metro Detroit area.
Brian's parents are divorced, and he had accused his father of sexual abuse during
visitations. The mother was trying to get the visits suspended, and the father faced the
prospect of criminal prosecution. The mother's attorney, Barry Fayne, of Southfield, had
brought the boy to Wasser to sort out a few inconsistencies in his story.
Brian had accused his father, among other things, of breaking his arm, wearing
women's clothes and masturbating in his presence.
"This child walked into my office and, in spite of myself, I was furious," says Wasser. "He
was a beautiful, smart little boy and I was almost eager to nail the SOB who would abuse this
kid."
Instead, the examination proved that Brian was lying. When shown the test results, he
admitted making it all up.
Later psychological exams indicated that his mother was suffering from Factitious Disorder
by Proxy. Paranoid delusions brought on by severe depression had been projected on her
son in the form of imaginery injuries and abuse.
"This case was a reminder to me about trusting your emotions," says Wasser.
"When you're dealing with children, stay detached. Trust your integrity first."
Wasser honored by American Polygraph Association
Lawrence Wasser, forensic polygraph examiner, received the 2007 President's Award at
the American Polygraph Association's 42nd annual international seminar held in New Orleans.
This award was presented to Wasser for 19 years of service as vice president and
member of the Board of Directors, and for outstanding contributions to the polygraph
profession throughout the world. Wasser was also given lifetime membership. He has served
as a certified polygraph school inspector for the American Polygraph Association.
Wasser is further the recipient of four of the five major awards given by the American
Polygraph Association for exceptional service to the polygraph profession.
During 2003, Wasser was presented with the President's Award from the Michigan
Association of Polygraph Examiners in the State of Michigan. He served three terms as
president of the Michigan Association of Polygraph Examiners and served 21 years on the
Board of Directors. He received their Distinguished Service Award.
In 1983, Wasser was appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate to serve
three four-year terms on the Michigan State Board of Forensic Polygraph Examiners. He is a
member of the following Polygraph Associations: California, Arizona, Texas, Virginia, Indiana,
Florida, Singapore, and Latin America. He is a Diplomat and Fellow in the American College
of Forensic Examiners.
Wasser is president of Wasser Consulting Services, Inc., located in Southfield. He has
been a forensic polygraph examiner since 1972 and is a qualified expert in both State and
Federal courts.
Detroit Legal News. August 26, 2003
Wasser honored by American Polygraph Association
Lawrence Wasser, forensic polygraph examiner, recently received the William L. Bennett
Memorial Award at the American Polygraph Association's 38th annual seminar held in Reno,
Nevada.
This award was presented to Wasser for outstanding contributions to polygraph throughout
the world. He was previously presented with three of the five other major awards given for
outstanding service to the polygraph profession.
Last year at the 37th annual seminar, Wasser was re-elected to a two-year term to the
association's board of directors. The association represents professional polygraph examiners
throughout the world.
On May 9, 2003, Wasser was presented with the President's Award from the Michigan
Association of Polygraph Examiners for outstanding service to the polygraph profession in the
state of Michigan.
The American College of Forensic Examiners recently elevated Wasser from diplomat to
fellow.
Wasser is president of Wasser Consulting Services, Inc. in Southfield. He is a past three-term
president of the Michigan Association of Polygraph Examiners and has served 17 years on its
board of directors. He has received their most prestigious award, the Distinguished Service
Award.
Wasser was appointed in 1983 by the governor and confirmed by the Senate serving three
four-year terms on the Michigan state Board of Forensic Polygraph Examiners. He has been a
forensic polygraph examiner since 1972 and is recognized as an expert in both state and
federal courts.
Wasser is also a member of the California, Texas, Virginia, Indiana, and Florida Polygraph
Associations.
Detroit Free Press. April 28, 2001 (by George Cantor)
Lie detector tests can help the falsely accused
When divorce is bitter, those who bear the brunt of the hard feelings are almost always the
children.
Getting at one's former spouse, the big jerk, is most readily accomplished through the kids,
especially when it comes to arguments over custody and visitation.
Unfortunately, one of the most frequent avenues of retribution is an accusation of sexual
abuse. Investigators are inclined to believe the children, even when it has been demonstrated
time after time that young kids can be coached to fabricate stories and may even have their
own agenda for getting back at a parent thought to be too strict.
Usually, however, such charges are directed at the father. In Denise Manns Doyle's case,
they were made against her.
Her former husband was given custody of their two sons, who were then aged 10 and 6.
After visits to Doyle's home, accusations of inappropriate touching and behavior were made.
What should have put the authorities on alert was that there were also stories about being
made to have sex with a cat.
Nonetheless, the stories had an air of plausibility, and Doyle was charged with child abuse.
"When the police showed up at my home, I had no idea why I was being arrested," says
Doyle, who live in Clinton Township. "When they told me the charge, my first thought was,
'Why? I don't hit my kids.'
"Never in my worst nightmare did I think I could be accused of this. It was like an out-of-
body experience, like I was floating above myself, and it was all unreal."
After consulting with her attorney, Mark Haddad, it was decided she would have a polygraph
exam.
"She jumped on the idea," says Haddad. "A lot of people are scared of lie detectors
because of what they've heard. But Mrs. Doyle's attitude was 'This has only got to help me.'"
Polygraphs do not enjoy the best reputation. But that is mostly because the tests are only
as good as the examiner. Inept or biased examiners can misread or distort any reading.
Haddad chose Lawrence Wasser, of Beverly Hills, who is regarded as one of the top
polygraph examiners in the state.
"I've got to tell you that when I first read the report, I thought this woman was despicable,"
says Wasser. "It is so unusual for a mother to be charged with something like this-I don't think
I've ever had another case like it-that it kind of rocked me. But she passed the test without a
question."
Armed with the results of the test and after taking depositions, Haddad got the charges
thrown out.
"People get very defensive about lie detectors," says Wasser, "as if they twist the truth and
reveal secrets that are made to sound like guilt. But for innocent people who are falsely
accused, like Mrs. Doyle, they are the best hope we've got."
Denise Doyle will not comment on why her children said what they did. In her mind, they
were victims.
"I'll get over this," she says. "I only pray they do, too."
Detroit Free Press. February 5, 2000 (by George Cantor)
Police's racial profiling can lead to discrimination
One evening last fall, Dr. Waleed Mammo left his dental office in Sterling Heights to drive
home. In the parking lot, he was confronted by a gunman who demanded his keys.
Dr. Mammo offered money instead but was angrily waved off. He turned over his keys and
watched his Cadillac driven away. He then returned to his office and called the police.
But the carjacking was only his first upleasant surprise of the day. The second came when
the cops made it clear that they felt this was not a robbery.
"They began asking me if I gambled a lot," says the Iraqi-born dentist. "They asked me if I
had done into Detroit to look for prostitutes. They wanted to know if I was over the mileage
limit on my lease.
"I was staggered. Here I am, a professional man and a property owner in their community,
and they were treating me like a criminal. I was the one who had been robbed. But they told
me that my description of the crime was impossible because carjacking didn't happen here.
"There is not a doubt in my mind that if I had been a dentist named Dr. O'Hara, never in a
million years would I have been treated this way."
Sterling Heights police did not respond to phone calls asking about the case.
There is a lot of news about police profiling these days. African Americans say they are
frequently pulled over by suburban cops for the offense of Driving While Black.
There is also a growing tendency to profile Arab Americans and, in this area, Chaldeans.
Arab voters in Hamtramck complained that they were singled out for extensive checks on
registration and residency last November. This is especially interesting in a community with no
record of being overly punctilious about voting laws.
Arab merchants in Detroit are often tagged with the stereotype of being clannish, abusive
and dishonest-and by those who should know best the damage stereotypes can do.
Dr. Mammo's attoney, Raymond Salloum, suggested he take a polygraph. The test was
administered by Lawrence Wasser, of Southfield, who found that the dentist was non-
deceptive in his responses.
"It's much harder to show that than it is to show that someone is lying during an
examination," says Wasser. "But Dr. Mammo clearly was telling the truth."
A few days later, the cops found his car parked near the home of a young man who had
bragged about the crime in school. Dr. Mammo's office was clearly visible from the driveway.
Dr. Mammo does not carry a grudge "because I still have my practice here and I don't need
any trouble."
But there must be other factors, besides race or ethnicity alone, to justify the use of
profiling. Otherwise, it isn't profiling. It's bigotry.
The Detroit News. September 26, 1998 (by George Cantor)
Uncovering terrible truths about children's lies
In two decades as a polygraph examiner, Lawrence Wasser thought he had managed to put
his emotions aside when interviewing subjects.
He had seen them all walk through his door, from smirking young thugs who thought they
could beat him to frightened clerks wrongly accused of theft. Wasser learned to be
dispassionate and let his reading of the polygraph tell the tale. But he had never examined a
7-year old child before, either.
"Brian was very intelligent and had an amazing vocabulary," says Wasser.
"Otherwise, it would have been impossible to conduct the test. If a child can't tell the
difference between true and false in his own mind, obviously he can't be polygraphed."
Wasser believes that no one this young has ever been examined in a legal proceeding in
Michigan. Because of the age of the subject, his real name has not been used. But everyone
involved in the case lives in the Metro Detroit area.
Brian's parents are divorced, and he had accused his father of sexual abuse during
visitations. The mother was trying to get the visits suspended, and the father faced the
prospect of criminal prosecution. The mother's attorney, Barry Fayne, of Southfield, had
brought the boy to Wasser to sort out a few inconsistencies in his story.
Brian had accused his father, among other things, of breaking his arm, wearing
women's clothes and masturbating in his presence.
"This child walked into my office and, in spite of myself, I was furious," says Wasser. "He
was a beautiful, smart little boy and I was almost eager to nail the SOB who would abuse this
kid."
Instead, the examination proved that Brian was lying. When shown the test results, he
admitted making it all up.
Later psychological exams indicated that his mother was suffering from Factitious Disorder
by Proxy. Paranoid delusions brought on by severe depression had been projected on her
son in the form of imaginery injuries and abuse.
"This case was a reminder to me about trusting your emotions," says Wasser.
"When you're dealing with children, stay detached. Trust your integrity first."