Privitera v. Town of Phelps

Cardamone, J. (concurring).

This is a slander case. The defendant charged plaintiff with being “a member of the Mafia and a criminal.” At issue on this appeal is whether that utterance constitutes slander per se. The majority holds that it does not. I disagree.

There are three grounds upon which this complaint should be sustained: (1) the words used charge plaintiff with indictable offenses under New York law; (2) they also charge plaintiff with an offense indictable under Federal law; and (3) in the context in which the words were spoken, a listener would infer that plaintiff was a convicted…