A Facebook post is causing trouble for one rookie town council member in Wolcott. His comments about the town's Board of Education are causing a stir and now he is being accused of libel and defamation.
Christopher J. O'Brien, a councilman who represents Wolcott’s third district, posted comments on his Face book page blasting the board and the town’s budget proposal before a public hearing to discuss the budget on May 19, the Waterbury Republican-American reports. O’Brien condemned the school board in his post for not pushing its unions to accept a wage freeze like everyone else.
What’s causing the most uproar is that O’Brien supposedly made up quotes in the post that he attributed to three board of education members, reported the Republican-American. The board's attorney, Craig S. Meuser of Avon, said in a letter to O’Brien, “The board is shocked that you would include comments in quotation marks and attribute them to individual members without verifying if each member made such a statement.”
For right now though, O’Brien is safe from prosecution. Meuser said that if O’Brien removes the post from Face book and takes back some of his statements the board will not file a lawsuit "at this time."
