Lawyer sues Netflix, area publisher and another lawyer for libel over coverage of his role in a Needham guardianship case

People need to realize the MOVIE IS based on fact and true events READ ON HERE A Cambridge lawyer is suing Netflix, the producers of its “Dirty Money” series, the Boston Broadside and an Essex County attorney for allegedly ruining his life by portraying him as an evil money grubber out to defraud an elderly Needham man who owned five derelict properties in Needham that the town had been trying to get cleaned up for 20 years. Nicholas Louisa filed his suit in Middlesex Superior Court last month but Lonnie Brennan, publisher of the Peabody-based Boston Broadside, which puts a right-wing spin on news on both a Web site and in a monthly newspaper, this week sought to have the case moved to federal court in Boston because of the First Amendment issues. At issue are articles the Broadside posted in 2019, and an episode this past spring of “Dirty Money,” that focused on the treatment of a lifelong Needham resident and property owner who now lives in a Dedham nursing home. The articles and show portrayed the man as an elderly, but still lucid, man taken advantage of by a corrupt Massachusetts guardianship system out to suck money out of his holdings, as exemplified by Louisa and various lawyers appointed by Probate Court judge to represent his interests in proceedings during which one and then all of his properties were sold, initially to pay for cleaning up the properties, eventually to pay for his nursing-home expenses. One of sources for the articles and show was Lisa Belanger, an Essex County attorney who provided them with documents from the man’s court files, even though a judge had impounded them, after she tried to intercede in his case. Belanger has been… Read More

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The Worst Criminals in Society Wear Black Robes, Suits and Badges

On April 5, as a part of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Leadership Enrichment Series, former FBI Special Agent Terrence Hake was invited to speak on Operation Greylord, an undercover operation in the 1980s to investigate corruption inside the Cook County judicial system. This event was hosted by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and co-hosted by the 19th Judicial Circuit with members of the Judiciary, Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, and Lake County Sheriff’s Office in attendance. Operation Greylord lasted over three years in the 1980s and included local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. During the investigation, 103 people were indicted on corruption-related charges with most of those charged either convicted at trial or by pleading guilty. Hake, while employed as a prosecutor in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, played an important role in this investigation when he went undercover for the FBI, exposing the corruption occurring in the judicial system. At the conclusion of Operation Greylord, Hake became an FBI Special Agent, graduating from the FBI Academy in 1984 and served as a federal law enforcement officer for 23 years. “It was an honor to host Mr. Hake,” Sheriff Mark Curran said. “His experiences and story are an excellent example of how the justice partners must work together to maintain and ensure the continued integrity and trust of our justice system.” Sheriff Curran introduced the sheriff’s office Leadership Enrichment Series as a part of his ongoing efforts to raise the bar at the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Past speakers have included Medal of Honor Recipient Allen J. Lynch, who discussed serving with honor and avoiding complacency; and Chief Tim McCarthy, who served in the U.S. Secret Service and is notable for defending President Ronald Reagan during an… Read More

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