Controversial Mayor Sued For Libelous Statements

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It's been two years since federal authorities charged four East Haven police officers with racial profiling and mistreatment of Latinos during traffic stops. But the controversy hasn't fully faded away.

In 2012, Mayor Joseph Maturo was asked by a reporter what he planned to do for the Latino community after the arrests. He made national headlines when he said he was going to "go home and eat tacos." But it's another comment that has Maturo embroiled in a libel case.

Former town attorney Patricia Cofrancesco accused Maturo of making statements to reporters that suggested that she had acted inappropriately during the U.S. Justice Department investigation of town police. Maturo, when interviewed by a newspaper reporter about a sign that had been vandalized in front of Cofrancesco's private law office, said: "I couldn't care less what Patty Cofrancesco does. She has hurt the town enough."

After Cofrancesco sued, Maturo claimed he was protected from her libel claim because the law allows for aggressive criticism of public officials, even if statements are untrue. But a federal judge recently ruled that Cofrancesco's case can go to trial.

In denying Maturo's motion to dismiss two libel counts, Senior Judge Warren W. Eginton ruled that like other government officials and public servants, town attorneys are sometimes thrown into the public spotlight and subject to criticism. But that doesn't mean they can't recover damages for libel.

In the lawsuit, filed last year, Cofracesco also accuses Marturo of gender discrimination and retaliation - even though the two never held office at the same time.

The bad blood between the Maturo, a longtime Republican mayor, and Confrancesco began in 2007, when Maturo as an incumbent was defeated by Democratic challenger April Capone Almon. In making personnel changes after her election, Almon appointed Confrancesco, an East Haven solo, to be town attorney.

Confrancesco held the position until 2011, when Maturo won his old seat back. It was during the Almon administration when federal officials investigated civil rights abuses committed by police officers when Maturo was mayor.

As town attorney, Cofrancesco implemented a policy in which all town officials were instructed to fully cooperate with the Justice Department. Confrancesco assisted in the investigation, which led to the federal charges against the officers.

After he regained office, Maturo lifted the reinstated the suspended police chief and appointed Joseph Zullo, of Zullo & Jacks, as town attorney.

In her lawsuit, Cofrancesco stated that Maturo took foreclosure cases away from her, and that in the past such cases had been handled by outgoing town attorneys. She claims Maturo took the files away from her in retaliation for her actions in the civil rights investigation.

Sign Vandalism

The libel claim relates indirectly to Maturo's "eat a taco" comment. After it aired on television news programs, Confrancesco placed a political sign in front of her private law office which read: "Taco Joe's Gotta Go."

The sign was vandalized in February 2012. When reporters asked Maturo about the sign, he made the comment that Cofrancesco "has hurt this town enough."

Cofrancesco's lawyer, Roger Calistro of New Haven, filed the complaint which states that Maturo's statement to the New Haven Register were "communications" which intended to harm her reputation and "lower her in the estimation of the community."

Confrancesco claims the statements contained innuendo suggesting her performance as town attorney "was the cause of East Haven's public relations and police department problems." Calistro did not respond to a request seeking comment.

In seeking to dismiss the libel claim, Maturo's lawyer, Lawrence Sgrignari, argued that the comments Marturo made about Confrancesco were merely his opinion, and as such, protected under the First Amendment. Sgrignari, of Hamden's Gesmonde, Pietrosimone & Sgrignari, further claimed that Cofrancesco was a public official, and that public officials have a higher legal burden when claiming libel.

In considering Maturo's claims, Eginton first looked at his assertion that the mayor's statements were his "pure opinion," and therefore not libelous. Eginton wrote that because the statements are not based on any specific facts, they are considered under the law to be expressions of "mixed opinion." Such comments, the judge wrote, are protected only when made by members of the news media. "As Maturo is not a member of the press or news media, his statements were not privileged," Eginton wrote.

The judge also declined to dismiss the lawsuit based on the public official argument. A public official can't recover damages in a libel action unless he or she can prove the statements were made with "actual malice" - that is, a reckless disregard for the truth. But Egington said it wasn't clear that Confrancesco was a public official under the law.

"Not all public employees are public officials," Eginton wrote, referring to previous rulings that define public officials as those "who appear to the public to have control over the conduct of government affairs."

Cofrancesco's former title of town attorney alone does not "conclusively establish her legal status," Eginton wrote, saying the court "will not dismiss her libel claims at this time."

At Maya Murphy, P.C., our personal injury attorneys are dedicated to achieving the best results for individuals and their family members and loved ones whose daily lives have been disrupted by injury, whether caused by a motor vehicle or pedestrian accident, a slip and fall, medical malpractice, a defective product, or otherwise. Our attorneys are not afraid to aggressively pursue and litigate cases and have extensive experience litigating personal injury matters in both state and federal courts, and always with regard to the unique circumstances of our client and the injury he or she has sustained. 

Please contact Joseph C. Maya, Esq., at 203-221-3100, or at JMaya@mayalaw.com, to schedule a free consultation.

Source: Jay Stapleton, Ex-East Haven Town Attorney Accuses Controversial Mayor of Libel, CT LAW TRIB (May 29, 2014)