By MARK TODD - Staff Writer - mtodd@starbeacon.com
CONNEAUT — A Conneaut council embroiled in a blog-based dispute says the attorney of his accuser has improperly disseminated personal information secured through court action.
In a statement released Thursday, Ward 1 Councilman Dave Campbell said he and his wife were “shocked” to discover Nicholas Iarocci of Conneaut possessed e-mail passwords and Internet user names and then shared them with others.
Iarocci, meanwhile, said Campbell’s comments probably scuttled any chance for a settlement of the defamation case aimed at the councilman on behalf of his client, Ward 1 Councilman Tony “Dino” Julio.
Campbell’s statement violates an agreement between the parties not to discuss the matter publicly while a settlement was in the works, Iarocci said.
“We will let the courts decide this now,” he said. “We will have no more comment.”
At issue is a claim Julio made in late October alleging that Campbell and others, including Campbell’s wife, posted defamatory messages on a Star Beacon Web forum in early 2008. Campbell has strenuously denied the claim, and a short time later filed a complaint with the Ohio Election Commission.
Campbell was a candidate for council president at the time, and claims Julio timed his accusations to affect the election. Campbell was defeated by a sizable margin.
A probable cause hearing was held Nov. 5 before some of the OEC members. A majority of the group present decided to schedule the matter for a hearing before the full commission at a date to be scheduled.
Also during the meeting Iarocci was told to provide Campbell all pertinent documents related to the case, Campbell said.
After the meeting Campbell said he approached Julio, told him the matter was not good publicity for the city, and to call if he wanted to discuss the matter further. Two hours later, Campbell said Iarocci contacted him to set up a meeting for Nov. 6, the following day, Campbell said.
Campbell said his review of the documents provided by Iarocci determined he possessed Internet passwords and user names “that would allow him and others to access our personal e-mail accounts at home and at our business,” Campbell wrote in his statement.
Iarocci violated the couple’s privacy by sharing that information with others, including the media, Campbell wrote.
“My wife and I are forgiving people, but at this time too much damage has been delivered to our reputations and justice will be served to the people who caused this havoc,” he said in the statement.
Iarocci disputed the remarks, beginning with how Campbell obtained the documents. Iarocci was not compelled to hand over the papers by the OEC, but offered them “as a matter of courtesy.”
The documents were obtained via the “subpoena process,” Iarocci said.
“Nothing there was confidential,” he said. “We went through the court.”
The meeting that followed the OEC hearing involved Iarocci, Julio, Campbell and councilman-elect Robert Naylor, a local attorney who attended in a mediator capacity, Iarocci said. “We talked about a lot of issues,” he said.
It was decided a joint statement could be issued in an attempt to “calm the waters between (Julio and Campbell),” Iarocci said. The parties agreed there would be “no press” on the matter “while we’re trying to resolve this.”
Campbell’s recent statement breached that agreement, Iarocci said.
Reached for comment Friday, Campbell said his statement violated no agreement since it steered clear of the mediation effort.
“I didn’t talk about mediation in my statement,” he said.
