MANCHESTER, NH – Mayor Ted Gatsas is suing former longtime Alderman William Cashin and notorious Gatsas critic Jon Hopwood, claiming that a letter drafted by Cashin with the help of Hopwood “exceeds the bounds of public decency,” and is defamation of character.
The paperwork was filed for Gatsas by Attorney Richard Lehmann on July 12. Cashin and Hopwood have 30 days to respond once they are served, which was expected to happen once Lehmann returns from vacation.
He said during a phone interview Wednesday that while there is an expectation for a public official to endure some measure of public scrutiny, in this case, the malice rises to the level of a lawsuit. Once the discovery process to look at all the evidence supporting the claims made by Cashin and Hopwood is complete, Lehmann said a jury trial will be scheduled.
In the suit, Gatsas’ attorney characterizes the letter by Cashin and Hopwood to be “knowingly false” and written with malice. Gatsas is seeking “enhanced compensatory damages” within the full extent of the law.
During the July 18 Board of Aldermen meeting, Cashin’s request to have Gatsas come before a conduct board, which was the main thrust of the letter at the center of the lawsuit, was discussed.
In the letter Cashin accused Gatsas of “engineering” a cover-up of a 2015 rape of a student at West High School for personal/political gain. Aldermen on Tuesday rejected the motion to investigate Gatsas after several board members addressed the request. Alderman-at-Large Joe Kelly Levasseur gave the most impassioned argument against further investigation, which began with a pointed quip to underscore his sense that the original claims by Cashin are politically motivated and “baloney.”
“I have a couple questions for you mayor, first of all did you ever meet with a Russian agent during your election campaign,” Levasseur joked, evoking laughter from fellow board members and several members of the audience.
But Levasseur continued with direct and sober commentary.
“I guess I’d throw this in the garbage or just laugh about it, but the fact that an alderman who sat on this board for 32 years would actually put his name to this makes me question the senility, or the basis for making such incredible allegations,” Levasseur said. “I find the statements about the mayor to be appalling, but at the same time the question is whether [Cashin] has some evidence that the mayor did this.”
Levasseur noted that the incident went to trial without any media attention, also adding that is often the case when juveniles are involved.
“[Cashin] especially should know that there’s no way that the mayor hid information from us because of a financial interest. That really takes this whole allegation right out of its own way, it completely tears it apart and makes it look like a silly thing, and that now if we send it to a conduct board during an election, the other side gets to send out fliers all over the city that says mayor is under investigation, and no matter what that cloud hangs over someone’s head,” Levasseur said.
Levasseur characterized the allegations as libelous, volatile, and slanderous, noting that Cashin was not present at the meeting to speak first-hand to back up his allegations.
“You make an allegation like this, you back it up … There’s nothing in here but a bunch of baloney,” Levasseur said, making a motion to place the letter on file. The board voted in favor of that motion, with only At-Large Alderman Dan O’Neil and Ward 1 Kevin Cavanaugh voting no.
During discussion of the matter, the board reiterated that they were mainly interested in correcting the process of information flow for such serious incidents going forward, and seemed to agree that the responsibility for informing parents and city officials should rest with the School Superintendent.
The lawsuit filing is below:
