Monessen councilman sues former mayor for libel, slander

A lawsuit alleging libel and slander was filed Tuesday by a Monessen councilman against the city’s former mayor.

Councilman Anthony Orzechowski claims published comments and statements by Mayor Matt Shorraw in the months leading up to last year’s election and continuing into 2022 were intentionally false and erroneously suggested criminal behavior by city officials.

“It is believed… Shorraw made these intentionally false and malicious comments to gain public support for his re-election efforts by assassinating Mr. Orzechowski’s character and he repeated these allegations for months during the 2021 municipal election cycle,” according to the two-count lawsuit filed in Westmoreland County.

Shorraw’s statements were made outside of his role as mayor, Orzechowski claims.

Shorraw did not respond to the allegations in the lawsuit when asked for comment.

“This is the first I’m hearing of it,” Shorraw wrote.

The disputes between the two men began shortly after Shorraw took office in 2018 as Orzechowski publicly criticized Shorraw for not attending council meetings for the first two years of his term, according to the lawsuit.

Orzechowski claims the mayor made false statements on social media and in local newspapers that directly attacked the councilman, including a criminal accusation related to the recording of a closed-door meeting at City Hall.

No charges were filed related to the recording incident, according to the lawsuit.

In another incident, the lawsuit claims, Shorraw falsely claimed he was physically threatened by Orzechowski.

Shorraw, a Democrat, served one term as Monessen mayor, a contentious four-year period that saw a flurry of lawsuits filed by and against him.

In Orzechowski’s lawsuit, the councilman conceded he and Shorraw were political adversaries who were routinely at odds.

Shorraw was defeated in the May 2021 Democratic primary in his bid for a second term by Ron Mozer.

Orzechowski is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.