Page 2 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2021 LAWSUIT | FROM PAGE 1 ethical violations. On August 20, 2020, Attorney Brian Riley gave his opinion. “It would not violate Chapter 268A for you to acquire an interest in this parcel or to file with a city board or official in your own name to request a permit. In the event that you acquire an interest in the property under a different entity, however, you would need to have an attorney or other representative handle any such application,” he said. “You would also be prohibited from taking any action in your capacity as mayor that would foreseeably affect your financial interest in the parcel.” Therefore, Riley suggested filing a Disclosure of Appearance of Conflict of Interest. DeMaria filed that document with the City Clerk’s Office on September 23, 2020. “Attorney Riley’s opinion, the State Ethics Commission’s advisory opinion and Mr. DeMaria’s disclosure are all public records and could have been reviewed by the Leader Herald Defendants prior to publishing the articles,” said Lipchitz. “They intentionally chose not to review these filings.” On April 14 of this year, Cornelio and DeMaria sold the Corey Street property for $1.3 million LAWSUIT | SEE PAGE 4
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