Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria faced significant false allegations from a local newspaper, leading to a rare defamation victory and a $1.1 million settlement. The paper printed damaging stories about him, claiming he engaged in corrupt practices and sexual harassment, despite their fabricated nature. This situation reflects the difficulty public figures face in proving actual malice in defamation cases. While his political career has faced challenges, DeMaria has been successful in local elections and has improved the city's infrastructure, even as new accusations arise in his upcoming mayoral campaign.
They labeled me as a 'Kickback Carlo.' Accusations that I was settling all kinds of sexual harassment lawsuits, that I put a knife to a girl's throat and asked for sexual favors. It was awful. It was disgusting.
Such defamation victories are exceedingly rare under the Supreme Court's 'actual malice' standard for public figures. That willing disregard for the truth became abundantly evident when the paper's editor swore in court to tell the truth and admitted to fabricating story after story in an unrelenting smear campaign.
DeMaria was schooled in a style of politics based on personal connections with fellow residents in the working-class town of about 49,000 across the Mystic River from Boston. Serving as mayor since 2007, he's been praised for his leadership in improving infrastructure.
Out-of-towners can now look beyond the Monsanto and Exxon Mobil facilities as they come to a glitzy casino and, soon, possibly, a professional soccer stadium.
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