Former lawyer for this North Jersey town sues council candidates, saying they defamed him
The former Englewood Cliffs borough attorney is suing a Republican group and several candidates running for council, accusing them of defaming his character.
Albert Wunsch filed a lawsuit against the Council to Elect Republicans, mayoral candidate Mark Park, council candidates Zhi Liang and Rivka Biegacz, and Penny Rousouli, an officer of the Englewood Cliffs Republican Party.
The lawsuit says flyers were emailed to residents of Englewood Cliffs on Oct. 7 saying Wunsch was involved in "unethical and criminal behavior." A mailer was sent to all the residents of the borough the next day making similar accusations.
Some of the alleged defamatory statements include an allegation that flooding in town occurs because Councilman Kris Kim was "scheming to pay off Democrat professionals" rather than fix the problem. Wunsch said it is implied that he is one of the professionals referred to in the flyer.
Another publication accused Kim of giving "Wunsch and Co." millions "in the name of settlement" instead of using tax dollars to fix the flooding problems. The lawsuit says it implies there is a "grand scheme of theft and fraud" in Englewood Cliffs organized by the plaintiff.
Question of payments
Wunsch was also accused of being paid over $800,000 to sell out the town, and the lawsuit says any money paid to Wunsch by Englewood Cliffs was in his capacity as special counsel.
One of the publications also accused Wunsch of being paid to run the Democratic Party in the borough, which he denied, noting he had only been paid for services.
Seeks retractions and apology
Wunsch said he has received numerous phone calls from clients and residents regarding the allegations.
A cease and desist letter was sent to the defendants on Oct. 9.
Wunsch is seeking to have both publications retracted, an apology and admission that the flyers were false and untruthful, and a prohibition barring the defendants from publishing anything defamatory about him.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Former Englewood Cliffs NJ lawyer sues council candidates
