Blogger sues Lyndhurst commissioner, family
Blogger Dave Sivella has accused Commisioner Thomas DiMaggio's wife and son of using police to harass his volunteers and silence his reporting.
Blogger sues Lyndhurst commissioner, family Blogger Dave Sivella has accused Commisioner Thomas DiMaggio's wife and son of using police to harass his volunteers and silence his reporting. Check out this story on northjersey.com: https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/bergen/lyndhurst/2019/05/24/lyndhurst-blogger-sues-family-commissioner-first-amendment-case/3771668002/
Nicholas Katzban, North Jersey Record Published 7:14 a.m. ET May 24, 2019
NEWARK — A local blogger has filed a federal lawsuit against Lyndhurst Township, its police and the family of one of its commissioners, claiming the defendants violated his first amendment rights.
In his suit, filed with U.S. District Court on Monday, Dave Sivella cites five incidents, in which, he alleges, Commissioner Thomas DiMaggio, his wife, Joyce, and their son Anthony confronted volunteers who were passing out promotional flyers for Sivella's website, Lyndhurst07071.com, and repeatedly reported the volunteers' actions to the police.
"The parties' collective efforts to silence Sivella and the articles he published […] are evident by the malicious complaints Anthony and Joyce DiMaggio filed with the Police Department," Sevilla's suit states, and alleges the Lyndhurst Police Department assisted the DiMaggios "in quieting Lyndhurst07071.com."
Through Lyndhurst07071, Sivella regularly criticizes the township government and school district, and has accused both governing bodies of ongoing corruption, nepotism and cronyism.
In and interview Wednesday, Sivella said that soon after launching the blog, he accused Joyce and Thomas DiMaggio of taking direct action to silence dissenting voices on a local message board.
"I found it so arrogant that they could just attack" a website, Sivella said. In response, he premiered Lyndhurst07071 on Sept. 25, 2017.
Elections: Cedar Grove mail-in council ballots under investigation by county prosecutors
Local: Medieval Times adapts show for visually impaired students with play-by-play, earbuds
His suit concerns five incidents in Lyndhurst Municipal Park, behind town hall, in which the DiMaggios allegedly confronted a number of volunteers who had been passing out leaflets and cards that promoted Sivella's blog.
Five days after his website first appeared online, the township was celebrating its centennial in Municipal Park, where Sivella's son, King Belen, and another volunteer were handing out the leaflets, the suit states.
Anthony and Joyce DiMaggio "berated" Sevilla's volunteers, according to a copy of the complaint, and the next day, Sevilla claims, Anthony DiMaggio reported the two men to Lyndhurst Police Department.
Similar events occurred in February and July 2018, Sevilla claims, with Anthony reporting the volunteers to the police each time.
The Lyndhurst Police say that no criminal complaint was filed against Sevilla nor any of his volunteers, although they acknowledge the existence of an incident report relating to an Aug. 8, 2018 encounter when two officers responded to the scene.
In that instance, Belen, Myklos Perevicius — both of whom are named as plaintiffs in the suit alongside Sivella — and a third volunteer were again passing out small cards promoting the blog.
Joyce and Anthony DiMaggio approached the three men and demanded to know who they were and who published the blog, Sivella alleges. Anthony DiMaggio then reported to the police that "suspicious males were distributing 'hate' flyers," according to the suit.
"All the cards said was, 'Free speech in Lyndhurst, Lyndhurst07071.com,' Sivella said Wednesday. "None of these cards had anything controversial on them."
Police said all parties were questioned but no further action was taken.
A public records request returned six police reports relevant to the DiMaggios and Sivella's blog. Two refer to incidents in the park involving flyers and others are reports of unofficial complaints against the blog itself, citing harassment.
Two auxiliary officers from the Lyndhurst Police Department responded to the park on Aug. 23 of that same year for another incident, this time in response to a phone call from Commissioner Karen Haggerty, both the suit and a police report show.
Commissioner Thomas DiMaggio is named in the suit, although Joyce and Anthony are repeatedly described as the active parties in each encounter.
According to the complaint and police reports, all five encounters occurred in Municipal Park, which sits across the street from the DiMaggio's home.
However, Sivella denies that he continually sent his volunteers to Municipal Park to provoke the DiMaggios.
"Were we looking for a confrontation? The answer is no," he said. "We were going back because we knew we had a right to be there and that's where people were."
Municipal Park is "the centerpiece of all function in town," he added. "If you have a carnival, it's held in that park. If you have a parade, its route ends at that park."
Neither Joyce nor Thomas DiMaggio responded to requests for comment. Municipal Clerk Angela White said Thursday the township's insurance fund has not yet assigned an attorney to the case.
Sivella is seeking damages, attorney's fees and court costs, as well as court orders that would urge the department and township to train its officers and employees to prevent further civil rights violations.
Read or Share this story: https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/bergen/lyndhurst/2019/05/24/lyndhurst-blogger-sues-family-commissioner-first-amendment-case/3771668002/
Kirkland's in Paramus to close
Judge dismisses some evidence in fatal Wayne crash, driver too stoned
Mega Millions winning numbers for Friday, Jan. 17
See inside some of the celebrity homes with hefty price tags in North Jersey
Two dead in Nutley house fire
One dead in Route 80 shooting in Lodi