DEFENSE BEGINS CASE, CALLS ON 'DATELINE NBC' ASSOCIATE PRODUCER

BANGOR - The laboratory that analyzed the first urine sample given by
trucker Peter Kennedy in September 1994 lost its certification about six
months later and eventually closed, according to testimony presented Monday
in a controversial defamation trial taking place in Bangor federal court.

The Acculab facility in Wisconsin was decertified by the National Institute
of Drug Administration because, among other factors, it was producing too
many false-positive results on random drug tests, according to a
toxicologist who testified during the eighth day of the trial.

The reporting of the drug test by "Dateline NBC" is a crucial element in
the suit brought by Kennedy, his boss, Ray Veilleux, and Veilleux's wife,
Kelly, against the National Broadcasting Co., correspondent Fred Francis
and independent producer Alan Handel for defamation, invasion of privacy
and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

The shows, which aired April 19, 1995, and April 26, 1995, prominently
featured Kennedy in a cross-country trucking trip, violating federal
regulations along the way.

A report from Acculab concluded that Kennedy's urine tested positive for
the presence of marijuana, amphetamine and methamphetamine. The test
results were taken from a random drug test ordered while Kennedy was on the
cross-country trucking trip - with "Dateline NBC" staff in tow.

Questions about the accuracy of the drug test and the laboratory that
performed it were disclosed during the final phase of the plaintiff's case
presented Monday.

The defense launched its case in the late morning, calling a "Dateline NBC"
associate producer and a trucking executive to the stand. The trial is
expected to last into next week.

In the broadcast, it was announced that Kennedy was fired as a result of
two positive drug tests.

Toxicologist Brian Pape of New Hampshire said that the drug test results on
Kennedy's urine were not reliable.

In addition to problems with the first laboratory, another laboratory, this
one in California, used the same sample to perform a second test on
Kennedy's urine. The second test registered positive for the same drugs as
the first test, but Pape said the sample could have been contaminated by
the time it reached the California laboratory.

It was Kennedy who requested the second drug test in 1994. He admitted to
using marijuana a few days before a cross-country trip in September and
October of that year but denied using amphetamines.

A lab director at the second laboratory testified by deposition that
Kennedy's urine sample was not frozen when it was sent there from
Wisconsin. A frozen urine specimen "preserves the integrity of the sample"
and "retards the breakdown" of any drugs in the sample, according to James
Callies of Quest Diagnostics. Callies is director of the substance abuse
testing laboratory at the firm called Attest.

Even though the urine sample was not frozen, it tested positive for
marijuana, methamphetamine and amphetamine, acording to Callies.

Any driver who tests positive for drugs is automatically fired, according
to the president and chief executive officer of a Florida firm that had
umbrella responsibiliey for Kennedy and his boss at the time of the drug test.

Testifying for the defense, Carroll Fulmer of the Carroll Fulmer Group said
he issued the order to fire Kennedy.

Fulmer testified that his company bought out Ray Veilleux's company in
1992. At the time, Veilleux's company was called Transcoastal Corp. Fulmer
said the company exhibited financial problems from the start. Veilleux also
appeared to have problems doing business the way Fulmer officials wanted it
done, leading to a separation of the businesses in 1994.

Fulmer severed ties completely with Veilleux in 1995 but he denied the
separation was because of the "Dateline NBC" broadcast.

He said Veilleux called him after the broadcast and announced he was suing
NBC. He sought Fulmer's support, the executive said.

"He thought our breakdown of the company was the result of the show. I said
'it definitely was not,"' Fulmer testified.

In other testimony Monday, an associate producer of "Dateline NBC"
testified she was "in shock" to hear Ray Veilleux claim last week that she
referred to a trucker-employee of his as a "[expletive] dopehead."

Tracey Vail of Washington, D.C.. said she never referred to Kennedy that way.

The first witness for the defense, Vail said she first heard the
expletive-laden description of Kennedy last Friday in court.

"I shook my head. I was in shock," said Vail, recalling her reaction to the
testimony of Ray Veilleux.

Vail's version of events before, during and after the filming of the
"Dateline NBC" trucking series got under way after a midmorning break.

Before her testimony, plaintiff's attorney Bill Robitzek rested his case.

U.S. District Judge Morton Brody reserved a decision on a motion to dismiss
the case.

Checked-by: Richard Lake