By Sunayana Prabhu
RED BANK – Former Red Bank Public Library Board trustee and current Board of Education president Suzanne Viscomi has filed a defamation lawsuit against the borough council. Viscomi alleges she was falsely labeled a “racist” and “xenophobe” following an accusation by Red Bank resident Julie Flores-Castillo, and was “unconstitutionally” removed from the library board.
The Oct. 8 lawsuit accuses Deputy Mayor Kate Triggiano of pressuring the council to support the “political hit job” to boost Flores-Castillo, who filed her candidacy for the upcoming Board of Education election four days after Viscomi’s ouster. Viscomi is seeking re-election this year.
The 15-page complaint names Mayor Billy Portman, Triggiano, council members Kristina Bonatakis, David Cassidy, Nancy Facey-Blackwood, Ben Forest and Laura Jannone, in addition to borough employees identified as “John and Jane Doe” and Flores-Castillo, as defendants. Viscomi’s lawsuit claims that multiple statements made during her removal at a public borough council meeting have caused “harm to her reputation and standing in the community as well as emotional distress, humiliation, and mental anguish.”
The council is now legally responding to the defamation charges. In a statement last week, Portman expressed regret “that taxpayers must shoulder the cost of defending against a frivolous lawsuit.”
Allegations
Flores-Castillo’s accusation stems from an alleged remark Viscomi made nearly two years ago, around Dec. 2023, during a storytelling workshop at the Count Basie Theater. Flores-Castillo, who shared a story at the event about her father’s deportation, said she was told Viscomi later questioned then-library director Eleni Glykis about how Flores-Castillo could still be in the country if her father had been deported, allegedly adding that Flores-Castillo “should be deported, too.”
Library and Borough Proceedings
In Nov. 2024, according to the filing, library board president Ann Goldman informed Viscomi that Triggiano had contacted Glykis nearly a year after the supposed incident and “pressured” her to formalize the accusation against Viscomi.
According to the lawsuit, the library board later conducted its investigation but closed the matter after determining the allegation was “stale and supported solely by inadmissible triple hearsay” – Flores-Castillo had heard about the alleged comments from library employee Itzel Hernandez, who had heard it from Glykis.
Despite that finding, the complaint said Triggiano and others were “not satisfied with the Library Board’s investigation and determination to exonerate Ms. Viscomi,” and continued efforts “to damage Ms. Viscomi’s reputation.”
The lawsuit adds that borough officials pursued the matter, labeling Viscomi “a racist” and “a xenophobe,” notifying her in June that the mayor would hold proceedings to remove her from the library board.
That notification said the mayor could remove her for “misconduct or conduct that casts the Borough in a negative light.” Viscomi argues state law permits a mayor to remove a library trustee only for chronic absenteeism, not for alleged speech or reputational reasons.
On July 8, Viscomi claims she attended an “informal hearing” led by the borough’s labor attorney Jonathan Cohen, but did not include Glykis, Flores-Castillo, Hernandez or Triggiano, and that the proceeding was conducted in violation of her “constitutional right to due process.” It further alleges she “was not provided with adequate notice or opportunity to prepare” and had “no opportunity to confront the borough’s witnesses against her.”
At the July 24 public meeting of the borough council, Cohen concluded in an investigation ordered by Portman that it was “more likely than not” that the remark occurred and recommended Viscomi’s removal from the volunteer post she had held since 2018 and was set to continue through 2027.
Portman and the council then voted unanimously to remove Viscomi, effective immediately.
Viscomi denied making the remarks and said the accusations were “absurd.”
“It is devastating as an Ecuadorian naturalized citizen that I would make such racist comments about their deportation,” she said at the July council meeting. “How dare you suggest that I’m racist and I made a racist comment on hearsay?”
‘‘Political Hit Job’
In the lawsuit, Viscomi describes her removal as a “political hit job” orchestrated by Triggiano. The complaint alleges that borough officials supported Flores-Castillo’s Board of Education candidacy and later defamed Viscomi through a public petition and social media posts. The law- suit claims Flores-Castillo, “with the knowledge and assistance of Triggiano, Portman, and the council,” made false statements that caused reputational harm, emotional distress, and fear for Viscomi’s professional livelihood.
Viscomi has resided in the borough for over 20 years and serves on multiple boards as a volunteer member. She has also recorded and livestreamed borough council meetings on her social media channels. Viscomi ran for borough council in 2012 as a Republican candidate and in 2018 and 2021 as an Independent candidate. In 2022, she lost to Portman’s Red Bank Ready slate that swept the elections.
In a statement, Portman defended the borough’s actions. “The borough welcomes this lawsuit,” Portman said. “We have nothing to hide, and the facts will speak for themselves. The borough took decisive and appropriate action in response to xenophobic and racist remarks against a community member – and we would do so again without hesitation.”
Viscomi, meanwhile, said she is confident the truth will prevail. “I cannot comment on pending litigation,” she said. “I look forward to proving my case in court.”
Viscomi’s suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and a jury trial, alleging violations of her federal and state civil rights, defamation and conspiracy.
The article originally appeared in the October 16 – October 22, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
