Former Richmond County warden Steve Sampson to sue for libel

The former warden of Richmond County, Steve Sampson, says hehas filed a libel lawsuit against four people he accuses of ruininghis reputation on Facebook in the midst of an ongoing expense scandal.

Sampsonsaidthe lawsuit names fellowcouncillorGilbertBoucherof District 7;Jeff Stanley, Richmond County's former director of tourism and economic development;and Stanley's brother- and sister-in-law,Genoand EllenPolegato.

Sampsonand other municipal officials, including CAO Warren Olsen, have come under fire in recent months for allegations of "double dipping" expense claims and spending lavishly on food and alcohol at the taxpayers' expense.

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Details are outlined in a preliminary ombudsman's report now under council review. RCMP have also confirmed Richmond County expenses are under investigation.

Sampson, who is currently a councillor but is not seeking re-election,believes comments made anonymously on Facebook "crossed the line."

"It certainly raises one's anxiety and stress level," he said in an interview. "It's extremely hurtful because I feel I've made a very good contribution to Richmond County."

No defences have been filedand none of the allegations have been tested in court. Sampson said he is paying for the court action.

'False and defamatory comments'

It's alleged the four defendantsposted "false and defamatory comments" about Sampson last winter, using the pseudonyms Jake Sampson and Jim Davis.

In March, SteveSampson and Warren Olsen asked the Nova Scotia Supreme Court to order Facebook to release the accounts using those names.The judge granted their motion in June.

Once IP addresses were released, Sampson and Olsen renewed their request to get information on the account holders through Bell Aliant and Seaside Communications. Sampson saidhe finally received the names within the last two weeks.

Olsen expected to join

Olsen is not named as a plaintiff in the libel suit filed in court; however, Sampson saidhe expect to hear from the CAO in "a very short period of time."

"He's currently away attending to some personal matters," said Sampson.

One of those being sued,Ellen Polegato, isa substitute teacher in Richmond County. She admits she did post to the Taxpayers of Richmond County Facebook pageunder the name Jake Sampson, but says it was "a collective of people that post under that name."

'Fear of repercussion'

"People have fear of repercussion so they post anonymously," said Polegato, notingmany residents are related to people who either work for or do business with the municipality."

"There is a strong political influence in Richmond County, I think that tries to silence people."

Sampson concedes that being in the public eye makes him subject to constructive criticism, but he saidhe also has a reputation to protect.

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"There's a fine line when you make very personal comments that imply or refer to one's character or you know suggestions of fraud, incompetence things of that nature," he said. "Hiding under anonymous names is not a way to go and is certainly not the approach that one has to take when you're dealing with me."

'Absolutely no ties'

In an interview,Jeff Stanleytold CBC News he's never posted anything under the Jake Sampson account.

He said he and his brother-in-law, Geno Polegato, have "absolutely no ties" to the taxpayers' Facebook group.

When asked why his IP address was singled out, Stanley said he "certainly wouldn't deny that there may have been posts that have been sent by someone else either at my house or in my driveway using, you know,my internet."

Ombudsman's report

As for the ombudsman's report, Sampson saidhe fully intends to respond to it by the end of the month, citing a "number of errors" in the document.

Polegato believes the final report will back her up in court.

"I'm not concerned about a suit because the ombudsman report does support those postings. And I'm confident that the RCMP examination will also support those postings," she said.