Why would Gerry Friedel falsely accuse Ginny Dickey and Peggy McMahon of committing a federal crime months after the Town bailed him out for doing the same thing?
One would have hoped that Friedel would have learned from recent experience that falsely accusing someone of committing a crime is likely to lead to a lawsuit. But only months after the Town, at taxpayer expense, settled the lawsuit that resulted from Friedel falsely accusing a resident of threatening to kill Donald Trump, he has done it again. This time by publicly accusing former Mayor Ginny Dickey and Councilwoman Peggy McMahon of violating the Public Officials Bribery statute.
In a recent post, on an increasingly notorious private Facebook page, Friedel falsely accused Dickey and McMahon of taking campaign contributions from Republic Services. In that post Friedel attempted to justify the ROT majority’s decision to replace Republic Services as the Town’s trash hauler by falsely accusing it of participating in a “pay to play” scheme. An accusation he knew to be false.
Friedel is not unfamiliar with the rules regulating campaign finance and was certainly aware that Republic Services could not make donations to the Dickey or McMahon campaigns. Friedel was also aware the donations were made by the Republic Services Employees Better Government PAC, not Republic Services.
The Better Government PAC receives no funds from Republic Services. The PAC is funded by the personal contributions of drivers, loaders, sanitation workers and administrators. The PAC contributes to campaigns based on the employees’ assessment of a candidate’s stance on issues, like employee safety and labor regulation, that affect them.
Friedel went beyond falsely accusing Republic Services of making illegal campaign contributions, he also accused Republic Services, Dickey and McMahon of corruption practices by claiming that “…within a week of the last donation [Dickey and McMahon] held secret meetings with Republic Services to bring electric garbage trucks to our town? (sic) And the residents would have been on the hook to pay for those as well? (sic)”
This is not the first time that Friedel has suggested that, as mayor, Ginny Dickey was involved in a conspiracy with Republic Services. In 2024, as part of a coordinated smear campaign, Allen Skillicorn and Friedel both suggested that Dickey had agreed with Republic Services to introduce “woke” garbage trucks to the Town’s trash collection service.
Both Friedel and Skillicorn, as members of the Town Council, knew that this statement was false. As mayor, Dickey lacked the authority to make a unilateral decision that would affect the manner in which trash hauling and recycling services were provided to residents.
In his recent post that went beyond suggesting that Mayor Dickey was conspiring with Republic Services, he accused her and Peggy McMahon of accepting a bribe by claiming that within a week of accepting the last donation secret meetings were held to “bring electric garbage trucks to Fountain Hills” that “residents would have been on the hook to pay for.”
In Arizona, falsely accusing someone of a crime involving moral turpitude (dishonesty, fraud, or corruption) is defamation per se. Friedel claimed that Republic Services paid money to Dickey and McMahon to secure a taxpayer-funded contract to bring electric trucks to Fountain Hills, conduct that would violate 18 U.S.C. § 201(b), the Bribery of Public Officials statute.
At the time he published his “pay to play” accusation, Friedel knew it was based on lies. There were no “secret meetings” between representatives of Republic Services, Ginny Dickey and Peggy McMahon where bringing electric trucks to Fountain Hills at taxpayer expense was discussed.
There was a meeting, held in early April 2024, that Mayor Dickey did not attend, where Republic Services planned conversion of a portion of its fleet to electric vehicles was discussed. That meeting was attended by: Town Manager, Rachael Goodwin; Angelea Espiritu, Goodwin’s Executive Assistant; the Public Works Director, Justin Weldy; and Peggy McMahon.
The meeting had been scheduled to allow Republic Services to discuss its initiative, first announced in 2023, to convert half of its fleet to “Fully Integrated Electric Recycling and Waste Vehicles” by 2028. It was in the Town’s interest to learn about Republic’s introduction of lighter, fuel efficient, lower maintenance vehicles that Republic Services believed would reduce its operating expenses, that also had the potential to impact what residents paid for trash collection and recycling services.
At the time Friedel published his defamatory post, he knew that the purpose of the meeting was to share information about the initiative, not to put the public “on the hook” to pay for new trucks.
Defamatory statements made with knowledge that they are false is evidence of “actual malice.” Where “actual malice” is present Friedel cannot raise the First Amendment as a defense, even though Dickey and McMahon are public figures. In addition, a determination that the statements were made maliciously would entitle Ginny Dickey and Peggy McMahon to an award of punitive damages.
Friedel’s defamatory accusations are still posted on Facebook. He would be well advised to delete those accusations and promptly post another public retraction. Taxpayers will not pay to defend and settle a second lawsuit resulting from Friedel’s vindictive recklessness.
