BY JIMMY LAWTONNorth Country This Week

OGDENSBURG — Ogdensburg Mayor Michael Tooley says the city’s plan to finalize an agreement to settle a defamation lawsuit is still moving forward.

In February Ogdensburg City Council approved a settlement to end a lawsuit filed against the former City Mayor Jeffrey M. Skelly and former City Manager Stephen Jellie.

"We believe it's in that the net expense to the city in terms of legal expenses, and at this time we are providing support attorneys to Mr. Jellie and Mr. Skelly, as well as the attorney representing the city, that the net legal cost of $30,000 to $35,000 today plus a $30,000 legal settlement falls short of what the estimated legal costs will be if we continue further in this litigation," Mayor Michael Tooley said after the February meeting where the deal was approved.

Gerald Mack, a former Fire Captain, filed the lawsuit following a dispute that stemmed from a dispute with former Mayor Jeffrey M. Skelly and former City Manager Stephen Jellie which has roots going back 2020, and centers around public comments made by them regarding a number of incidents.

In a recent interview Mack said he can only speculate that the suit is hung up due to disagreements between the lawyers representing the city and the attorney representing Jellie and Skelly, who are funded by the city.

Mack, though, said he has been given no official reason for the hang up.

Although the council held an executive session Monday regarding litigation, no real update came following the 30 minute discussion, which may or may not have centered on this particular lawsuit.

However, later in the meeting the mayor stated that the city directed the city manager to finalize a deal put forward by the court. He added that things are still proceeding as planned and that the settlement is still expected.

Mack and Skelly have had several interactions, including a December 2020 incident in which Skelly was charged with second-degree harassment for an incident that occurred at city hall.

Mack alleged the mayor had knocked him to the ground.

The mayor was eventually found not guilty of the charges.

In November of 2021 Mack was charged with stalking and criminal mischief after Skelly accused Mack of slashing tires on his vehicle.

The charges were eventually dropped by prosecutors.

In August of 2022, Skelly was charged with making false statements, the charges stem from the allegations he levied regarding the tire slashing.

That criminal matter remains unresolved.

Both Skelly and Jellie were named in the lawsuit against the city..

The defamation suit claims Skelly made false allegations against Mack to local news sources and that Jellie did the same.

The summons alleges that the claims made by both are libelous and slanderous and have caused Mack sustained economic damages.

The summons also claims that Skelly and Jellie worked specifically to “cause emotional damage and financial damage to the plaintiff Gerald Mack.”

The summons also claims the Ogdensburg Police Department was ordered to arrest Mack and directed to end the investigation “as to not find exculpatory evidence.”

The summons alleges Tammy Mack was “deprived of the services of her husband and the comfort and happiness of his comfort, consortium, society and companionship and seeks monetary damages.