Ex-felon threatening legal action against newspaper for writing about writing about him
Last Friday, Fred Gomez, aka Federico B. Gomez de Maria, was fired from his position as an administrative director and fund raiser at the New Mexico Performing Arts Academy in Las Cruces, NM, where he’d been working since last year. Fred Brito admitted that he was dismissed for “not disclosing his full identity.”
Representatives at the Academy were hesitant to comment on the situation, citing that Fred Brito has threatened to sue them for wrongful termination.
Los Angeles readers will recall that Brito made local headlines in August, 2005 after he was fired from UCLA for falsifying his resume and disclosing his previous convictions for embezzlement and theft, along with a lengthy history of gaining employment using false credentials, including work as a Roman Catholic priest and other fundraising positions. At the time the LA Times printed the front page story about him, he had already found work with the American Red Cross in Pasadena, who fired him a month later for, again, falsifying his credentials and not disclosing his criminal history. (click here for a timeline of Fred Brito’s “employment and conviction” history)
According to a statement currently available on Fred Brito’s blog*, the Las Cruces Sun will be publishing their own front page story about Fred Brito on March 9th. The statement goes on to attack the newspaper for its motives, and contends author of the article, who he names as Jennifer Kistler, “is an young novice aspiring reporter and would give anything to capture the “golden goose egg” on her personal road to fame and glory by exploiting and sensationalizing people’s personal life struggles with total disregard for ethics and journalistic professionalism.”
The statement dismisses the 2005 incidents in Los Angeles as “an old story” and makes no reference to his more recent firing in Las Cruces. Also stated is the “Gomez de Maria family’s” intention to sue the Las Cruces Sun for “intent to disparage and harm him with malice and without just cause.”
In addition, Fred Brito’s admission of the firing from the New Mexico Performing Arts Academy, originally posted on March 3rd, has since been removed from his blog.
It should also be noted that last October, the Las Cruces Sun printed two stories about a “Fred Gomez” with accompanying photos that match Fred Brito’s, including one story about a “check scam” that “Fred Gomez” said he’d nearly fallen victim to.
Previous coverage of Fred Brito reemerging in Las Cruces.
*Post deleted after this entry was originally written.
