Page 2 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, December 20, 2024 The Advocate Newspapers Close for Christmas Vacation! T he Advocate Newspapers, thanks to a middle-of-the-week Christmas holiday, will not publish on Friday, Dec. 27 due to the holiday week. Publisher Jim Mitchell has decided to reward his dedicated staff with a week off. Our next edition will be published on Jan. 3, 2025 – to ring in the New Year! The Advocate Online will still post news, photos and legal notices during that week as we our office will be open Monday (9a-5p) and Tuesday (9a-3p, Christmas Eve), and returning by appt. Thursday and Friday. The Advocate Newspapers publisher and staff wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah and Happy Kwanzaa to all our readers. Please contact us at: 617-387-2200 or email: info@advocatenews.net Need a hall for your special event? The Schiavo Club, located at 71 Tileston Street, Everett is available for your Birthdays, Anniversaries, Sweet 16 parties and more? For more info, call (857) 249-7882 8 Norwood St. Everett (617) 387-9810 Open Tues. - Sat. at 4:00 PM Closed Sun. & Mon. Announcing our Classic Specials Dine In Only: * FREE Salad with purchase of Entree, Tuesdays & Wednesdays * Cheese Pizza - Only $10 Catch ALL The Live Sports Action On Our Large Screen TV’s Scan & Follow Us on Facebook! A Victory Over Journalistic Dishonesty Everett Mayor DeMaria clears name and wins $1.1 million settlement that puts Everett Leader Herald out of business By Mark E. Vogler T he owner and publisher/editor of the now-defunct Everett Leader Herald paid the ultimate price for knowingly publishing a series of fake news stories in an organized campaign to discredit and publicly humiliate Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria. It cost them $1.1 million in damages and the life of the weekly newspaper, which was first established in 1885. Those were the key components of a settlement agreed to by Leader Herald Owner Matthew Philbin and Publisher/Editor Joshua Resnek. That was an expensive option, but one they preferred over going to trial next month in Middlesex Superior Court to defend themselves in the defamation lawsuit filed by the mayor back in 2021. “This is a rare amount [damages] and a very high amount to be awarded in a case like this,” Boston Attorney Jeffrey Robbins, a Partner at Saul Ewing LLP, told The Everett Advocate in an interview this week. “I’m not aware of a politician who has ever received an award in a defamation case that comes close to this. Nothing remotely close,” Robbins said. Robbins and Saul Ewing Attorneys Joseph Lipchitz and Paige Schroeder represented Mayor DeMaria in his lawsuit against the Leader Herald, its owner and its publisher/editor. Owner Philibin could not be reached for comment. Publisher/Editor Resnek did not return a telephone call left on his answering machine. In his interview with The Everett Advocate, Robbins called the case “the most egregious example of professional misconduct and dishonesty by a newspaper” that he can recall during his 42 years of practicing law. www.810bargrille.com “The American citizen has a very low view of the media right now,” Robbins said. “And this is the kind of set of During a press conference at the law offices of Saul Ewing LLP in Boston on Monday, Mayor Carlo DeMaria, shown with his wife, Stacy, delivered a statement regarding the awarded settlement he will receive in the defamation case against the Everett Leader Herald. (Advocate photo by Emily Harney) Attorney Jeffery Robbins of Saul Ewing LLP shares his remarks with the media regarding Mayor Carlo DeMaria’s settlement in the defamation case against the Everett Leader Herald. facts that feeds right into that,” he said. Mayor agrees to drop lawsuit Robbins and Mayor DeMaria announced the settlement of his lawsuit during a press conference held Monday in the Boston office of Saul Ewing LLP. Court documents related to the settlement remained confidential. But Robbins met with reporters to explain how that settlement was reached. “The size of the payment by the defendants to Mayor DeMaria and their shutting down of the newspaper speaks volumes about the egregiousness of the defendants’ conduct, which the paper’s publisher and editor has already admitted constituted actionable defamation,” Robbins said in a statement to reporters on Monday. “Today marks the end of a very unfortunate process, one which should never have been necessary, and never would have been necessary but for the decision of the owner of the Everett Leader MUSINGS| SEE PAGE 11
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