Picente, Keeler named in Gordon lawsuit over arrest report

David Gordon has filed a lawsuit against Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente Jr., local radio personality William Keeler and others, alleging that they violated his civil rights and slandered him by obtaining and disclosing a sealed arrest report.

The suit -- filed Aug. 20 in New York State Supreme Court in Oneida County by an attorney with New York City based Law Office of Richard A. Altman -- alleges that the sealed arrest report detailing an August 2017 domestic dispute incident between Gordon and his fiancé was improperly attained in February and used to attack Gordon, who was running a primary campaign against Picente for county executive.

"Plaintiff's claims arose in the context of an election campaign, where First Amendment values of freedom of speech and press are at their highest level," the suit states. "But, even in election campaigns, there are still limits to what can be said and done. In their ruthless and vicious pursuit of power and self-interest, these defendants acted corruptly and tortuously, not only to secure their victory but to destroy plaintiff's reputation in the process. The defendants in this case transgressed those limits, willfully violated the law and plaintiff's civil rights, defamed him and caused grave damage to him and to his reputation."

The suit states that Alfred Candido, Picente's chief of staff and a formerly high ranking official within the Utica Police Department, was possibly the one that leaked the report.

Candido, Townsquare Media Inc. and Townsquare Media of Rome/Utica Inc. were included in Gordon's lawsuit along with Picente and Keeler. Townsquare Media is the parent company of Townsquare Media of Rome/Utica, which owns radio station WIBX, where Keeler hosts a show.

"As of this moment, neither County Executive Picente nor Chief of Staff Candido have been served with a lawsuit pertaining to this matter," said Phil Vanno, spokesman for the Oneida County Executive's Office.

Keeler referred questions to Karen Carey, market president for Townsquare Utica. Carey spoke on behalf of Keeler and Townsquare Media.

Carey said they have reviewed the complaint and plan on vigorously defending themselves against the complaint.

Gordon -- who has moved to South Carolina -- claims in the suit that the utilization of the report forced him out of the state, destroyed his insurance business and caused him a financial loss of over $1 million. Gordon is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.

In the suit, Gordon alleges that Picente and Keeler brought up the report several times and often included defamatory and false claims. The suit further states that Keeler does not have First Amendment reporting privileges in regards to the report.

"There is no fair reporting privilege for the unlawful disclosure of the contents of a sealed arrest record, and the release of such a record is unlawful and its disclosure actionable," the suit states.

The lawsuit also alleges that Keeler is not an unbiased journalist and was employed by Picente's campaign.

The suit points to a New York State Board of Election Financial Disclosure Report from Feb. 20 that shows that the Picente campaign paid Keeler or an entity he owns $6,200 for services connected to the campaign.

According to financial disclosure reports filed by Friends of Anthony Picente, there was a $6,200 fee paid to Keeler Strategies Inc. on Feb. 20 for Picente's State of the County address. No further information was provided in the disclosures.

Gordon could not be reached for comment, and his lawyer Richard Altman declined comment.

Gordon did speak about the August 2017 arrest, where he was charged with criminal mischief, during an early February news conference. He said the case was dismissed and that he and his fiancé reconciled and later welcomed a child in 2018.

Contact reporter Ed Harris at 315-792-5063 or follow him on Twitter (@OD_EHarris).

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