You might have a point if their results had not been replicated > 14,000 times.
THE SEVEN WARNING SIGNS OF VOODOO SCIENCE
Robert L. Park
Department of Physics
University of Maryland
The most notorious example in recent years was the discovery of “cold fusion” by two University of Utah chemists, Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann. They claimed to have developed a simple electrolytic process to induce fusion between deuterium nuclei in a solution of heavy water, creating helium and liberating substantial amounts of heat. The scientific community did not learn of the claim until it was announced by the University of Utah at a press conference in Salt Lake City. Moreover, the announcement dealt largely with the economic potential of the discovery, and was devoid of the sort of details that might enable other scientists to judge the strength of the claim or repeat the experiment. Even after the press conference, details that might have enabled other scientists to repeat the experiment were not freely available.
Ordinarily, scientists who believe they have made a significant discovery consult first with colleagues in their own institution, and go public with their findings only after the work has been fully vetted by whatever segment of the scientific community is best qualified to judge its value. Attempts to bypass rigorous scientific evaluation by going directly to the media, suggest a desire to turn a quick profit on the work before its flaws can be exposed. Nevertheless, within a few weeks, other scientists felt they had assembled enough details from media accounts to repeat the Pons and Fleischmann experiment. They found no evidence that fusion was taking place.
http://www.physics.utah.edu/~detar/phys4910/readings/misconduct/Park_SevenSigns.htm