Page 12 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, July 8, 2022 LAWSUIT | FROM PAGE 11 ticle “Eye on Everett” where Resnek writes asking the then U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, Andrew Lelling, to “take a closer look at the obvious, Kickback Carlo in his tenth year of organized, obscene, uniquely disguised municipal threat and greed.” Robbins points out and Resnek admits to calling the mayor “Kickback Carlo” 11 times in the article – again in a December 2019 article approximately 20 times – despite admitting that he had no evidence that the mayor had ever taken a kickback. Instead, Resnek claimed to have heard it from a person named Gary DiCicco, a real estate developer Resnek claimed owned the land purchased by Wynn for the casino license. When asked by Robbins if DiCicco provided any proof, Resnek replied, “He just alluded to it very strongly.” “Was there proof?” asked Robbins. “I can’t provide you with any proof,” replied Resnek. Resnek claimed he read an FBI report, a lawsuit, yet did not attend any trial or read any documents that claimed the mayor had taken kickbacks – which he stated in his articles on multiple occasions leading up to the elections. As in the majority of his articles written about the mayor, Resnek admitted to having no notes of any kind to back up any of the allegations written in his articles. Resnek was then asked about his claim he made at the end of his article promising the readers of a “fellow I know well has promised to tell in the near future – a bad development for Kickback Carlo.” When asked to reveal the “fellow,” Resnek stated it would be DiCicco, but, three years later, DiCicco failed to show. Resnek then admitted he made no preparations before he wrote the article, including making notes or documentary evidence which provided information that would support his allegation. Again the questioning turned to the “Blue Suit” columns; Resnek, in previous testimony, established that the Blue Suit was fictional, but was also a “conversation” between him and the suit. In a July 1, 2021, column leading up to the elections, Resnek would again promise the readers that “before Sept. 7, everything dark and ugly about Carlo’s background is going to come out.” Resnek admitted he did make that promise but stated his “timing was way off.” Sticking to his ending narratives of his Blue Suit columns, the “journalist” fell short of his goal. Robbins then asked Resnek about his notebook, a leather-bound BU notebook his daughter gave him which he carried on August 25, 2021, the day he went to the City Clerk’s Office to deliver his newspapers. When asked about his routine prior to sending his stories to print, Resnek was asked if he called up anyone to verify his quotes, such as Cornelio, of which his Sept. 8 story was about. Resnek said Mr. Philbin despite Philbin not being quoted in the article. Resnek said that Mr. Philbin is the Leader Herald and the Leader Herald is quoted in the article. When asked if he called up anyone who was quoted in the articles to ask them if they were quoted correctly, Resnek replied he did not. Resnek is then questioned on the notes he had taken regarding the Corey Street property deal and exactly where in the notebook they were written. After reading small missives in quotations such as “sexual harassment”, “Big issue”, and “Mayor extorts 96,000 from Cornelio – promises to ruin Cornelio, mother”, Resnek is asked if these notes were related to any conversation and with who. “I believe they were from Mark Puleo,” said Resnek. “He’s one of our sources.” Resnek stated that Puleo works for a national polling company – “and that he’s big into issues.” Resnek went on LAWSUIT | SEE PAGE 16
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