Heriberto Lopez Alberola claims he was falsely accused of threatening to kill Catholic Charities CEO Rev. Michael Boland, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. He has filed a defamation lawsuit against the Rev. Michael Boland and the Rev. Charles Rubey, associate director of programs for Catholic Charities, an arm of the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago.
In his complaint, Heriberto Lopez Alberola claims the two priests launched a "malicious campaign to ruin his name" and force him out of his new job at the Archdiocese as head of the Office of Latino Affairs.
With a little help from his Illinois injury attorney, he is seeking more than $50,000 in damages. Although he currently works for the archdiocesan chancery, he claims that the priests told archdiocesan lawyers that he was "violent, mentally unstable and dangerous," and therefore should not have been hired to run the Latino Affairs department.
Reporters stated that it's unknown how he could have known about the meeting or what was said, but he claims that Rev. Michael Boland told other employees that he threatened to kill the priest and that he also assaulted him at a 2009 fundraiser.
Heriberto Lopez Alberola left his position in April 2009, and said he had a difficult time trying to file for unemployment. This struggle to file for jobless benefits, he claims in his complaint, led to much of the alleged bad-mouthing and remarks he says rise to the level of defamation:
"[Rubey] communicated to others that Alberola is potentially homicidal and suicidal, and that he is concerned for the safety of Alberola's family, himself and any innocent bystanders."
This begs the question: Could there be any truth to the priests' concerns and did he indeed threaten violence? As FindLaw explains, the best defense to a defamation suit is the truth.
For more information about the tort of defamation, please visit our Related Resources links.
Related Resources:
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Elements of Libel and Slander (FindLaw)
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Ohio Police Apologize, Pay for False Accusation (FindLaw's Injured Blog)
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Catholic Charities Head Sued for Smear Campaign (Fox Chicago)
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Find Chicago Injury Lawyers (FindLaw)
