Coverage in the Cirignano case demands a retraction, they say

By Chet Williamson

In the wake of the highly publicized case between a pro-marriage advocate and a counter-demonstrator, Catholic activists are pressing the Worcester Telegram and Gazette for an apology and/or retraction related to its coverage of the incident.

On Oct. 22, Larry Cirignano, the former executive director of Catholic Citizenship, was acquitted of assault and battery charges against Sarah Loy at a pro-marriage rally last December.

The alleged assault was described in detail by T&G reporter Richard Nangle — who says he witnessed the incident first-hand — in his Dec. 17, 2006 article, "Worcester rally takes ugly turn: Gay marriage backer pushed."

Larry Cirignano (right) with defense attorney Michael C. Gilleran in Worcester Central District Court, where the trial was held.

Giving an eye-witness account, Nangle wrote: "Tempers boiled over at an anti-gay marriage rally yesterday when the executive director of the Boston-based Catholic Citizenship emerged from behind a lectern outside City Hall, rushed toward a female counter-demonstrator, and pushed her to the ground.

"Sarah Loy, 27, of Worcester, was holding a sign in defense of same-sex marriage amid a sea of green "Let the People Vote" signs when Larry Cirignano of Canton, who heads the Catholic Citizenship group, ran into the crowd, grabbed her by both shoulders and told her, ‘You need to get out. You need to get out of here right now.'"

In his defense, Cirignano claims that he did ask Loy to leave the area, but did not push her. He says he walked up to her and using one arm led her away from the area.

"My witness testified that I had left her and was on my way back to the podium when she tripped over a young girl's foot and fell down," he said.

In response to questions from Catholic activists on his reporting, Nangle stood by his statements. Reacting to comments on the T&G story, "Jury clears Cirignano in gay marriage case," he posted this on the paper's Web site: "For the record, I stand by my coverage and testimony. Consensus is not a fact-based exercise."

In a series of e-mails obtained by Worcester Magazine, the reporter continued to trade barbs with a number of the Catholic activists. Two days after the verdict, Gary Morella sent this to Nangle: "One would think that there would be legal recourse here in terms of libel for Mr. Cirignano. If this happened to me, I guarantee you that I would be getting some good lawyers to make the liars pay, BIG TIME!"

In response Nangle wrote: "I think the libel is in this e-mail. The Times [owner of the T&G] has a pretty good law firm and I'm the litigious type."

Morella then said: "Is that a fact? It clearly looks like a retraction is in order here on the part of the trumped up charges reported as fact against Mr. Cirignano, given the legal decision to date, in particular those who feigned that an assault was committed by him. FYI, I'm a very litigious type myself with the lawsuit won to prove it."

To which Nangle wrote: "Dude, you bore me. I'm going to the World Series tonight. Get a life."

Morella forwarded the exchange to Karl Maurer, of the Catholic Citizens of Illinois, who sent this statement to Nangle: "I am a friend of Larry Cirignano, and knew from the minute I heard the accusations against him that it was a lie. When you do a story, and discover that your sources have basically lied to you, is there some way to go back and repair the damage done by reporting this false information and the fact that it was really the pro-family groups that were attacked by liars and fakers at the ACLU? Thanks!"

Maurer says the string of e-mails got "testier" as it went on and after a while he just backed out of the exchanges. He did, however, also send this note off to T&G City Editor Jay Whearley, saying, "I started this e-mail with an innocent request to Richard Nangle as to whether his false reporting and lies about my friend Larry could be repaired. His smirking and moronic response leads me to wonder if you employ any grown-ups at your paper. Mocking people who are trying to point out an error in fact you have reported is quite a show of stupidity. What kind of rag sheet are you running?"

At this point, Whearley stepped in and responded to Maurer, Morella and others with this: "The Telegram & Gazette will not retract any portion of its coverage of the original incident involving Mr. Cirignano. Again, Mr. Nangle was at the event and reported, very plainly and unemotionally, what he saw. He testified under oath as to what he saw. His account, as was the case with all who testified at the trial, was reported fairly and accurately. There is nothing to retract."

Nangle said his response had come after the 30th e-mail sent to him. "I just had had enough. I was foolish enough to be drawn into their web of hatred. These people are out in left field. They post on Web sites that talk about homosexual agendas and homosexuals are made and not born.

"An intelligent person could see where a jury could fall short of finding guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and that wouldn't necessarily mean that the charge was in error.

"Let me also tell you this, I received more hate mail on this particular issue than anything that I've dealt with in 23 years of reporting. It was vicious. It was hateful. If there had been a guilty verdict, these haters would react in the exact same way. This should be considered." o