SHAMOKIN - Picket signs that landlord Barry Getchey has used to express criticism of Shamokin Housing Authority officials have resulted in a libel suit.
Raymond G. "Jerry" Splane, authority chairman, filed the complaint July 25 in Northumberland County Court, seeking at least $25,000 plus punitive damages from Getchey for conduct described as "outrageous, wanton, reckless, willful, oppressive and the result of a bad motive or reckless indifference."
Getchey has been at odds with Splane and authority executive director Ronald Miller since November, when the
authority began withholding Section 8 federal housing rental payments from Getchey. The authority said Getchey had failed to comply with HUD regulations and lease requirements and failed to make adequate and timely repairs to his apartment building at the corner of West Spruce and Sixth streets. Getchey complained to HUD, but the agency affirmed the authority's decision.
Getchey, 68, reacted by picketing regularly in front of the authority's downtown building at Independence and Eighth streets. Content on some of his first signs included "Stop corruption at our HUD office."
But copies of photographs taken in July and provided as exhibits in the lawsuit show Getchey, who uses a wheelchair during the picketing, holding hand-written signs that say "Jerry Splane thinks the rape of a 10-year-old boy was great," "J.S. likes little boys" and "Ron Miller and Jerry Splane of the Housing Authority are Gay," with smaller print below, "very joyous and merry."
The words were intended to expose Splane to "public hatred, contempt or ridicule, or injure the plaintiff" personally and as authority chairman, the lawsuit states. It says the plaintiff "emphatically denies" that any of the statements are true.
"He has been picketing down here for the last six months and the comments have just escalated and escalated," Splane said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "He just keeps coming down here with that nonsense and it needs to stop. I'm tired of it."
Miller is not a plaintiff. The decision was made to focus on the comments made about Splane, said authority solicitor Frank Garrigan.
Bribery case tie-in
The lawsuit notes Getchey was charged by state police on April 16 with bribery and criminal attempt to commit obstruction of the law when he allegedly left a voice mail for Splane saying he would give him $300 if he used his influence to change Miller's decision and release the housing funds. Getchey has said his inability to rent to Section 8 tenants, resulting in the loss of $3,500 in monthly income, has ruined his rental business.
Getchey told The News-Item in January he wasn't trying to bribe Splane, but that the money was offered as a gift if he could help.
Getchey waived the charges to court on May 23 and on June 22 filed a request for Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD), a pre-trial program for non-violent offenders with a limited or no prior criminal record. If he completes ARD under conditions set by the court, his record could be expunged.
Splane's suit says he could be a witness against Getchey in any criminal prosecution.
Getchey said the libel suit will not deter his efforts because "they embarrassed me and my family with the bribery charge, so I will keep doing what I'm doing."
Getchey, in defending the condition of his apartment building, where he also lives, has repeatedly pointed to the fact that he was found not guilty Jan. 23 in district court of seven code violations filed by city code enforcement officer Rick Bozza.
Authority representation
Garrigan said legal fees and associated costs for the suit will be paid for by the authority, as approved at the board's recent meeting.
"The reasoning is that all of the libelous activity against Mr. Splane has come as part of his duties as chairman of the housing authority," Garrigan said this week.
Splane is seeking judgement "in an amount in excess of $25,000 plus attorney's fees and costs." That dollar amount requires that the case be heard by a jury and cannot be settled by arbitration, Garrigan said.
Garrigan said any award received will first reimburse the authority. The remainder would go to Splane.
Libel proof difficult
Jonathan Hugg, a Philadelphia attorney and a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Media Response Team, said the content of Getchey's signs, offensive as it may be, doesn't guarantee a court victory. He said it is difficult for public officials and public figures to prove libel.
"It's not virtually impossible to prove libel against a public figure, but it's close," he said. "At the end of the day, a judge could look at this and say it is the statement of a frustrated citizen, and is deserving of protection under the First Amendment."
Hugg did wonder about the arrangement of Garrigan representing Splane when the authority itself is not a plaintiff.
"The solicitor owes his duty to the authority, not the members of its board. I've been an attorney for corporations and I work as the lawyer of the corporation, not its board members," he said. "The question I have is how is this lawsuit furthering the mission of the housing authority?"