Released texts, emails of defendants offer insight to motive Resnek’s emails, text are a disturbing admission of guilt

Nobody does it better – or worse

  Although the deposition of Everett Leader-Herald reporter Josh Resnek have taken a break as attorneys for Mayor Carlo DeMaria peruse thousands of emails between Resnek and his boss, Leader-Herald owner Matthew Philbin, some disturbing details have emerged over the anger the two “journalists” have for the mayor as well as some interesting insights into Resnek’s personality, and his feelings for his own work.

  In a pathetic reach of self-importance, Resnek writes in a 2021 email to a friend, “Each week, 52 times a year, I invent the Leader-Herald, which has been published since 1885. I own it. I am responsible for it. I communicate with the city with it.”

  But then he turns his attention to his work, he describes his writing for the newspaper in a very hopeless tone; “It takes me two days away from important writing every week to create this (expletive). Mondays and Tuesdays I must concentrate on this stuff,” proclaims Resnek in the email.

  The anger appears to be the theme for both Resnek and Philbin, who directs Resnek at what appears to be their only purpose as newspaper publishers – to destroy the mayor.

  In a text from Resnek to Philbin on May 20, 2021, Resnek reports that City Councillor Wayne Matewsky had a heart attack in Florida, was in a coma and needed open heart surgery. But the most interesting part of the text states, “I am meeting the private eye this afternoon to discuss strategy about surveilling our friend locally.”

Doing as he’s told

  In many of the texts obtained by The Everett Advocate, Philbin texts Resnek on June 29, 2021 stating that City Clerk Sergio Cornelio, who Resnek refers to as “No B@&#s” in a Sept. 2, 2021 text, their pawn to take down the mayor in their Corey St. commercial property deal, was voted president of the Mass. Clerk Society. “Give him a call and let’s give him a Huge Blow J@b for it…” states Philbin. “Of course,” replied Resnek.

  In an example of Philbin’s complete control over Resnek’s unsavory articles, Philbin tells Resnek in a July 6, 2021 email to, “Take out the Everett Housing Authority piece,” to which Resnek replies, “All recommendations you make will be followed – as is always the case.”

A little help here

  As the 2021 elections draw near, Philbin and Resnek, now placing pressure on Cornelio to make false accusations against DeMaria over their legitimate property deal, are starting to feel the pressure themselves, especially Resnek, who reaches out via email to his Boston Globe reporters.

  In a Sept. 6, 2021 email to Russel Pergament, a retired Boston Globe reporter, Pergament asks Resnek since he has the city clerk on record, that he should reference “specific statutes” and to quote state and federal officials on the gravity of the accusations made by the city clerk in his article. Pergament seems mystified as to why Resnek doesn’t provide any “dignified packaging” in his article.

  “You have something potent and focused – why not give it some dignified packaging and thus a beefier presence in the paper,” asks Pergament, fearing people might be “less involved” with his article that he would publish on Sept. 8.

  “You don’t bury the lead – all you have is the lead – I want more, I want to savor this,” states the former Globe reporter.

  Pergament ends his email by instructing Resnek to call the mayor for a quote before deadline, “so you can note he refused to address these serious allegations.”

  Resnek then replies, “It is a call I cannot wait to make. That call is about payback – yes – I will make that call. Thanks for the advice.”

  It was a call Resnek would never make. But with Philbin’s blessing, despite never taking a single note, never providing any proof of the mayor breaking any law, two articles would be published claiming the mayor engaged in an illegitimate commercial property deal with the city clerk, and covered up by local bank officials.

  In further incriminating evidence, Resnek attempts to build credibility for his first of two articles at the center of the lawsuit, the Sept. 8, 2021 article with another former Boston Globe reporter and Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Kurkjian by email on Sept. 6, 2021 that he wanted Kurkjian to “digest” his article and offer his comments as to where Kurkjian “would go with this.”

  Resnek tells Kurkjian that he was putting the details together on his article and that he was dealing with the facts as told to him by the city clerk and the article will be his front-page story.

  “I have met with the city clerk – he has detailed everything to me,” proclaims Resnek in his email to Kurkjian.

  “I have checked the record at the Registry and the Secretary of State’s office,” says Resnek, “They back up everything alleged here.”

  Resnek continues claiming that there was a second LLC (Limited Liability Corporation) set up by an attorney so the mayor could receive funds from the city clerk which he states was concocted by the Everett Co-operative Bank president Richard O’Neil and his brother, local attorney David O’Neil.

  “The bank headed by O’Neill keeps $15 million of the city’s money in its ledger account (interest free),” states Resnek to Kurkjian.

  Resnek continues his ravings claiming proof that the city clerk has emails and texts from the mayor; or that Attorney O’Neil cannot refute the claim of a second LLC.

  “I know I have this right. Let the mayor and the bankers point out where I have it wrong,” writes Resnek. “Bottom line – the mayor got $96,000 from the city clerk by threatening him.”

  “Think I have this fat (expletive). I’ve been working for three years to bring him down,” he states. “Let me know what you think.”

  On Sept. 6, 2021, Resnek also emails Walt Pavlo. Jr., an expert on white collar crime and the federal justice system with respect to his upcoming Sept. 8^th article which he sent to Pavlo.

  “This is an early iteration of a (expletive) masterpiece that will bring this (expletive) down!” writes Resnek.

  On Sept. 30, in a text exchange with Globe reporter Andrea Estes, who Resnek claimed in his depositions het attempted to feed Estes with his stories with the hopes the Globe would pick up on it, Estes requests that Resnek go to speak to Everett Co-operative Bank officials, saying she knew someone who was friends with the president.

  Resnek replies that he can’t “go there” as they “play Carlo’s game for him”.

  “Have u tried? replies Estes.

  Resnek, again trying to persuade Estes into doing his dirty work, tells Estes that the bank president knows that he “knows everything. I can’t go after him. You can. I can’t.”

  “Why?” asks Estes.

  “My partner owes the bank about $6 million,” replies Resnek, adding, “Even I have boundaries I must observe.”

  By October 2021, DeMaria files his lawsuit against the newspaper, Philbin, along with his father, Andrew Philbin, Sr., Cornelio and Resnek which send the pair spiraling back to reality – and on the defensive.

  In an Oct. 29, 2021 text message, Philbin tells Resnek not to release an edition which obviously carried the same “message” as previous editions against the mayor.

  Philbin is beside himself, judging from his text with Resnek.

   “I don’t want any of those papers to see the light of day, states Philbin, adding, “The 18 bundle you took last night are not to go out.”

  “Of course not. Have you lost it. Our attorneys are supposed to represent us, not report us to the insurance company. The decision is whether to run the globe article or not whether to fight to election day or to stop the fight. Nothing has changed,” replies Resnek.

  The ongoing lawsuit depositions will continue in the coming weeks with Resnek delivering what should be some interesting testimony.

  Resnek claimed under oath to have never known or investigated the state ethics commission on the mayor’s land sale with Cornelio, Resnek, in an email with Philbin on Feb. 22, 2021, states, “I guess I should thank these (expletive) for conducting the investigation! What a (expletive) joke. Fat Boy gets away with another scam.”

  The email message, with the subject line: “State Ethics Commission” was from an email message thread which contained correspondence from Brian McWilliams, a special investigator for the Mass. Ethics Commission.

  “What was that about? Replies Philbin.

  That should be a great question by the mayor’s attorney – and maybe, even the defendants.