Page 29: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (October 2016)

16,580 & Counting id Since he opened in 1978, Walter Poggi said that Retlif has conducted 16,580 Testing

Programs as of the end of August 2016, or an average of about 437 per year for each of its 38 years in business. Impressive numbers for a company started on $5,000. When pushed to identify what he considered the most odd test of all, Poggi laughed and recalled: “There was a gentleman who wanted us to test him, as he was convinced that he was being controlled by a spy satellite. He actually wrote a letter to a local Congressman, and he received a letter of apology from one of them. No mat- ter how I tried to dissuade this testing, it wasn’t working. He was convinced that because he was being controlled by a spy satellite that he in turn was radiating signals. He wanted us to test him for that. This was going on for weeks when I eventually told him we could not test him, because to test him we would have to put him inside of a shielded room, and once I do that, the satellite can’t control you.” He said ‘I fully understand. The only time I have peace is

Photo: istock.com/agsandrew when I’m in the Mid-Town Tunnel.’ www.marinelink.com 29

MR #10 (26-33).indd 29 10/4/2016 2:46:13 PM