County's police unions locked in lawsuit over allegations from sheriff's election
The contentious Palm Beach County sheriff's election that pitted incumbent Ric Bradshaw against Michael Gauger, his former top deputy, has been over for more than five months. But the wounds it inflicted show no signs of healing anytime soon.
Bradshaw, who won the election, was endorsed by the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association; Gauger by the Fraternal Order of Police. The two police unions are now locked in a messy lawsuit filed by the PBA.
John Kazanjian, president of both the county and state chapter of the PBA, alleges in the suit that FOP leadership defamed him by making false statements that tarnished his reputation and cost the PBA membership. The lawsuit cited claims by FOP leaders that he committed 'fraud, obtained documents by criminal means, embezzled funds from the foundation of his late daughter — Kailin Kazanjian, and misappropriated deputies' cost-of-living adjustments for improper means.'
The PBA lawsuit takes issue with a letter written by the FOP accusing Kazanjian of 'enriching himself on the backs of men and women he represents.' The FOP says that Kazanjian was scared that Gauger might win because 'a victory would almost certainly end the Kazanjian gravy train and it should end because PBSO should not be his personal cash cow.'
Bradshaw, who is serving a record fifth term, defeated Gauger by 15 points. The alleged defamatory statements were made in the context of the sheriff's election, according to the FOP, and were not made with malice, a criterion that must be met for a defamation lawsuit to be successful.
'Plaintiffs (Kazanjian and the PBAs) are public figures subject to the actual malice standard,' according to the FOP's motion to dismiss the lawsuit. If the court rules that Kazanjian is a public figure, he would have to show that the comments were made 'with reckless disregard' for the truth or with malice. The FOP argues the comments made fall within the protections afforded by the First Amendment.
According to the PBA lawsuit, the FOP responded to Kazanjian's support of Bradshaw 'by manufacturing a malicious defamation campaign' against Kazanjian as well as the county and state PBAs. All three are plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Named as defendants are FOP Lodge #50, Luis Blasco, Carlos Dorta and Wilhelm Prieschl, the FOP leadership.
The FOP and PBA compete against one another to represent police officers in South Florida. To increase its membership, the lawsuit alleges that the FOP launched a concentrated effort to destroy the reputation of the PBAs and Kazanjian "by any means necessary."
The FOP strategy was to make 'false and defamatory attacks to poach PBA members,' according to the PBA. And the strategy, to some extent, has worked, as police departments have left the PBA to join the FOP, the PBA acknowledged in its lawsuit.
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'The false accusations of serious criminal misconduct and unethical behavior to Kazanjian's reputation is immeasurable and impossible to repair," the suit said. The reputation to the PBAs is equally devastating, according to the PBA.
The FOP sent a letter to its membership accusing Kazanjian of stealing from a charity he founded in honor of his late daughter, Kaitlin, who died in a car accident in 2003. The FOP bases its charge on the PBA's income-tax filing that reports that Kazanjian received $101,070 from a related organization. The filing, though, reports that no one from the charity received any compensation, but because the charity's board members are also members of the PBA, the compensation from the PBA was listed. The FOP wrongly reported that the salary came from the charity, according to the PBA.
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The FOP also alleged that deputies attended a fundraising golf event on overtime that raised more than $300,000 yet only $79,000 were awarded scholarships. Another accusation made by the FOP is that the PBA violated federal law by gaining access to Gauger's personnel file and falsely reporting that Gauger never served in Vietnam.
Jack Scarola, the attorney representing the FOP, told The Post that the PBA lawsuit 'is not going anywhere,' adding: 'There are very significant legal impediments for them to overcome. They are trying to restrict FOP leadership from communicating with its membership. And we will be contesting many of the factual assertions they have made.'
Courtney Caprio, the lawyer representing Kazanjian and the PBAs, said 'defamation isn't protected by the First Amendment. There is no constitutional value in false statements of facts, and we look forward to our day in court.' She said it was necessary 'to file the lawsuit to vindicate our clients' reputations, which were unjustly attacked and smeared by the false and defamatory statements published by the FOP and its board members.'
Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government and issues impacting homeowner associations. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: PBA police union sues rival FOP over election allegations
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