Everett mayor awarded $1.1 million in defamation suit, newspaper to shut down
EVERETT - Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria is celebrating a major legal victory against a newspaper that knowingly published false stories about him. The Everett Leader Herald, its owner and its publisher and editor, have agreed to pay DeMaria $1.1 million in damages.
As a condition of the settlement, the 139-year-old paper will stop publishing within seven days.
At a press conference Monday, DeMaria said the defendants fabricated quotes and reporter notes of interviews that had never taken place. He said it was done to destroy his reputation and "serve their own financial interests."
DeMaria has agreed not go forward with the trial of his defamation case against the Leader Herald's owner, Matthew Philbin and its publisher and editor, Joshua Resnek. The trial was scheduled to start on January 21 in Middlesex Superior Court.
"Relentless campaign"
"These defendants embarked on a deliberate, purposeful, relentless campaign to publish accusations against me that they knew were false, that they knew were fabricated, that they knew had no basis, that they knew would damage my reputation and inflict severe damage not only on me, but on my family," DeMaria said.
The mayor said the paper changed when the new owners took over in 2017.
"I am unaware of any instance in which a media outlet was purchased for the purpose of destroying someone's reputation but that is precisely what has happened here," DeMaria said.
DeMaria says it almost forced him out of office and that the financial settlement will not make up for the emotional toll of the ordeal. "It wasn't just dishonest, it was corrupt," DeMaria said.
DeMaria is a lifelong Everett resident and was first elected mayor in 2007.