MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Barefoot Bandit’s mom says author stiffed her

Nov 2, 2012, 1:49 PM | Updated: 2:11 pm

Colton Harris-Moore, left, also known as the “Barefoot Bandit,” sits next to his attorn...

Colton Harris-Moore, left, also known as the "Barefoot Bandit," sits next to his attorney, John Henry Browne, right, in Island County Superior Court, Dec. 16, 2011, in Coupeville. (AP image)

(AP image)

The Barefoot Bandit’s mom accuses an author of stiffing her out of up to $300,000 for interviews about her son.

Pam Kohler tells Seattle Weekly author Bob Friel owes her between $100,000 and $300,000 for her insider information he used in his book “The Barefoot Bandit: The True Tale of Colton Harris-Moore.”

Kohler says she typically charges $1,000 to $2,000 for interviews.

Friel says Kohler is “full of it,” calling her claims “ridiculous and absolutely false.” He tells the Weekly he’s never paid for an interview and says he conducted “well over 200 interviews for my book and didn’t pay anyone.”

Kohler reportedly called the Weekly out of the blue Thursday to let “everybody know what a cheater [Friel] is.”

She says she spent hours talking to him and expected to be paid.

“So I spent all that damn time with him and he won’t return my calls or anything,” Kohler says.

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