Mayor’s attorneys file motion to compel defendants to testify; Bookkeeper, Philbin family members continue to defy subpoenas

Carlo DeMaria, Jr. vs. Everett Leader Herald, Sergio Cornelio, Joshua Resnek, Matthew Philbin and Andrew Philbin, Sr.

  According to a motion filed in Middlesex Superior Court on Nov. 15, 2022, in the ongoing defamation lawsuit filed by Mayor Carlo DeMaria, four witnesses, all linked to defendant and Everett Leader Herald owner Matthew Philbin, have refused to appear to testify before Attorneys for the mayor. “Each of these witnesses quite plainly has relevant evidence demonstrating the actual malice underlying the defamation campaign now conclusively established to have been conducted by the Defendants, who published a series of concededly false accusations that Plaintiff, the Mayor of Everett, had committed crimes,” states the motion. “These accusations are ones that Defendant Joshua Resnek, Philbin’s publisher at the Defendant Dorchester Publications LLC (“Dorchester”), has admitted were not only false, but “fabricated”, are “fiction” and, indeed, as Resnek agreed, “BS”.

  The four witnesses are Mary Schovanec, the bookkeeper at the newspaper; Tara Philbin, sister of Matthew Philbin and the CEO of Philbin Insurance Group, Inc.; his brother, Andrew Philbin, Jr., the keeper of Records for the Philbin-Middlesex Realty Trust and Philbin Family Realty, LLC, where he is the manager; and Nicole Porcella, former personal assistant to Matthew Philbin and Andrew Philbin, Jr.

  Much of the testimony given in four depositions by corrupt Leader Herald Editor Joshua Resnek has offered insight as to Philbin and Resnek’s total objective in publishing the newspaper since Philbin’s purchase and control in 2017: to remove Mayor Carlo DeMaria from office in the 2021 election through stories and “editorials” consisting of fabrications and lies, according to Resnek’s testimony.

  DeMaria’s attorneys, in seeking the newspaper’s bookkeeper Mary Schovanec, kept track of all the monies received by Dorchester Publications, LLC; the Everett Leader Herald, through its QuickBooks system, has been specifically identified by Resnek and the former vice president of Operations for Matthew Philbin’s business interests, Elena Vega, who has already testified.

  According to the motion, “the evidence is that the Defendants’ determination to ruin Plaintiff’s reputation was obsessive. Resnek’s testimony, the documents and Vega’s testimony show that the Defendants devised and implemented a scheme to solicit, collect and expend thousands of dollars in cash, collected from Plaintiff’s opponents, to fund a seven week political campaign to defeat him in the September 2021 primary election in which he was up for reelection.”

  Resnek described “the anger by the Philbin defendants” over the mayor’s refusal to use taxpayer money to fund the Philbin family insurance business. Resnek, in his testimony, stated that the Philbins were very upset that the mayor had awarded the city insurance to a company in Somerville. According to Resnek, the Philbins were also angry at DeMaria for not providing favorable treatment for their various business interests, including ownership in multifamily properties and their ability to obtain permits required to develop properties in Everett.

  “Each of these witnesses, who are refusing to appear for their depositions, has knowledge of the facts regarding the Defendants’ publication of the false and defamatory statements at issue with actual malice. Such actual malice is established by evidence that the statements were either published with knowledge of their falsity or in reckless disregard of whether the statements were false or not,” according to the motion.

As of press time, it will be up to a judge to enforce the subpoenas of the witnesses to testify.