Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association President John Kazanjian has withdrawn his defamation lawsuit against the Fraternal Order of Police.
The move took place just before the PBA was expected to provide financial documents related to its operations, according to the attorney representing the FOP.
“They caved,” said Jack Scarola, attorney for the FOP. “I am confident that the material we would have received would have been quite damaging to the PBA, and that is the reason PBA withdrew the lawsuit.”
Efforts to obtain comment from Kazanjian as to why the lawsuit was withdrawn were unsuccessful.
Kazanjian, who leads both the county PBA, and the Florida Police Benevolent Association, filed the lawsuit last year, alleging that FOP leadership defamed him by making false statements that tarnished his reputation and cost the PBA membership.
The alleged defamatory comments related to the election for county sheriff two years ago that pitted incumbent Ric Bradshaw against his one-time top aide, Michael Gauger. The PBA backed Bradshaw; the FOP, Gauger.
The FOP, in its response to Kazanjian’s lawsuit, said Kazanjian was scared 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.”
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 police benevolent associations. Named as defendants were FOP Lodge No. 50 and FOP leaders Luis Blasco, Carlos Dorta and Wilhelm Prieschl.
The statewide FOP chapter was not involved in the lawsuit.
PBA lawsuit against FOP cited allegations made in election campaign
At issue were claims made by FOP leaders that Kazanjian committed “fraud, obtained documents by criminal means, embezzled funds from the foundation of his late daughter, Kaitlin Kazanjian, and misappropriated deputies’ cost-of-living adjustments for improper means,” according to court documents.
The PBA lawsuit also cited a letter written by the FOP accusing Kazanjian of “enriching himself on the backs of men and women he represents.”
Bradshaw, who is serving a record fifth term, defeated Gauger by a margin of 15 percentage points.
According to the FOP, the alleged defamatory statements were made in the context of the sheriff’s election, and were not made with malice, a criterion that must be met for a defamation lawsuit to be successful. The FOP argued that the comments were within the protections afforded by the First Amendment.
The timing of the lawsuit’s withdrawal, Scarola said, was linked to an effort to have Gauger be a participant in Scarola’s work. Gauger is Scarola’s paralegal.
The PBA filed an emergency motion with the court to prevent Gauger from assisting Scarola. but the judge hearing the lawsuit ruled in favor of Scarola. Shortly after that, Scarola filed a discovery motion to obtain PBA financial records.
Kazanjian ended the lawsuit rather than provide the records, according to Scarola.
The FOP and PBA compete to represent police officers in South Florida. To increase its membership, the lawsuit alleged the FOP launched a concentrated effort to destroy the reputation of the PBAs and Kazanjian “by any means necessary.
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: Police Benevolent Association Fraternal Order of Police suit dropped
Reporting by Mike Diamond, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
