This is the entirety of Det. Krolak's e-mail complaint to me of 11/4/99 (I have corrected several minor misspellings):

I came across your articles about Noreen. In your quest to debunk Noreen you had mentioned my name several times [here and here]. You didn't do very much research on my investigation of the double homicide in Albany New York in which I utilized Noreen. You quoted newspaper articles and Geraldo Rivera who by the way I had no conversation with him prior to the show or backstage. As a journalist or reporter or whatever it is you do you would think that a professional like yourself would only deal in facts. You made no attempt to contact me before doing your article.


My reply of 11/4/99:

Mr. Krolak:

Thank you for your note. I did no independent research on the Albany case, nor did I claim to have done so. Instead, I presented your very positive comments, as elicited by professional interviewers, regarding Noreen's assistance in the case. It's hard to imagine how you could have been any more glowing in your praise of her had I interviewed you personally, and I am confident that my readers understand your point of view re: Noreen's role in the case.

Your note implies that I may have conveyed false, inaccurate, and/or misleading information to my readers. Your comment in this regard seems related to the matter of whether or not you had told Geraldo, prior to his show, that Noreen had fingered the grandson as a suspect. Thank you for clarifying this peripheral issue about which I included a parenthetical aside in my chapter (I did not state as a certainty that you had been Geraldo's source for this information). But your clarification begs the following questions:

1) Even if you didn't tell Geraldo "prior to the show or backstage," were you still the one who told Geraldo (or his staff) that Noreen fingered the grandson?

2) Were you the one who told Doug Tunnell (or his staff) that Noreen fingered the grandson?

3) If you weren't the one who told Geraldo and Tunnell, who else could have told them? It wasn't the daughter (she adamantly denied on Geraldo's show that Noreen had fingered her son, and you -- sitting next to her -- did not contest her denial, nor did Noreen). The only other obvious source would seem to be Noreen.

4) Was the daughter telling the truth when she adamantly contested Geraldo's statement? If so, whoever fed Geraldo and Tunnell this claim was not being truthful.

5) If Noreen did not finger the grandson, and if Noreen is the source of untruthful information about this to two (at least) national TV shows, have you written to her to complain?

--Gary Posner


And my follow-up reminder of 12/25/99:

Detective Krolak:

Season's Greetings from sunny Florida.

I would like to extend to you a second opportunity to reply to my note of 11/4, which was written in response to yours of the same date. Both messages are reproduced below.  [Note: Of course, on this web page, those prior messages are reproduced above, not below.]


Several years later, I managed to reestablish contact with Det. Krolak (see here).


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