Hey there, just want to thank you for all of your coverage on the democratic underground forum. While the lawsuit is over, there is still a huge battle ahead for me. I have decided to publicly forgive the man who sued me for $10,000,000.... However I will go on record to say I am very upset that he backed out of the public apology. My decision to settle for such a small amount, was conditional to a public apology. Still, I can't accrue any more legal fees so I am not going to go after him for it. I do hope one day he does the right thing and makes a public statement. The courts and judge Arthur Pitts pressured me to settle and they even tried to cancel the hearing after I did so. My latter insisted that I get to speak. I told the judge to his face that The Supreme Court of Riverhead should be mortified that they tolerated this in their court system for two years. It truly is a disgrace. The bar also choose to do nothing. The system doesn't like to punish lawyers. That is what I have learned from this experience. Bonfante had a lawyer for the first time at this hearing. They choose to refrain from punishing him at all, which is a slap in the face to the torture that this experience was. While it was great to get my legal fees back, the fact that I was not compensated for my time or loss of reputation really bothers me.
Chuck's remorse was very real and palpable, as the entire dispute was completely between him and the man who hired me. His beef with the man who hired me in my opinion was legit. Only Chuck should have taken him to small claims and filed a 4 page complaint. He was not professional. Instead he was emotional, hence the insults, 112 page complaint and the extremely dumb choice of dragging me into it. I understand why he got so angry at the man who hired me, but his job as a lawyer is to put that aside and stick to the facts, which he didn't do!
Now that the lawsuit is over, I am turning my attention to the The New York Post and the way the media handled the story. The case was actually between two men and had absolutely nothing to do with me! They disbanded when the bass player asked Charles Bonfante to borrow $15,000 because he was being investigated for elder fraud. Chuck was handling the paperwork for the bandleaders elderly aunts estate. He was angry because he felt the band leader put his practice at risk. The band leader also then defamed Chuck on Facebook... Which is most likely what sparked the lawsuit. This is what the media should have reported on. When the media told America that I was sued for being too old and too ugly... Well the flat out lied to sell newspapers.
Bonfante did make comments about my looks, but my age was never once mentioned. The media made that part up. He also made derogatory remarks about the bass player and guitar player. In reality, his opinion of my looks was a very small detail of the case. I understand why the media was fascinated by it, but they missed out on a much more interesting and scandalous story.
The New York Post could have told the truth and still sold papers.... But their spin on it was almost a work of fiction. They gave the impression that the lawsuit happened because I performed and that my performance sparked the suit. It's simply not true.
So I am working to get the real story out! Also I am getting a lot of resistance in Albany regarding legal reform. Frivolous lawsuits create profits for The Trial Lawyers and The Lawsuit Lending Industry... But that is a whole other drama! I wish this case was closed... But it's just starting! Again thank you for all of your coverage!
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