EVERETT, MASS. (WHDH) - The mayor of Everett was awarded more than $1 million in a settlement with a local newspaper.

Mayor Carlo Demaria said the Everett Leader Herald knowingly printed false stories about him. The defamation lawsuit claims the editors fabricated stories that the mayor received kickbacks, stole money, and extorted people.

“What the Everett Leader Herald did and its owner and its publisher and its editor did to my family and me, publishing article after article, accusation after accusation about me that they knew was false, wasn’t just dishonest, it was corrupt,” Demaria said.

As part of the settlement, the newspaper has been ordered to shut down.

The Everett Leader Herald has declined to comment.

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