Washingtonville parents named in new defamation lawsuit after months-long youth football dispute
News 12 first reported on the dispute last year, when several of those parents came forward saying their children were banned from playing football as retaliation against them.
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A long-running dispute inside the Washingtonville Wizards Youth Football and Cheerleading League has escalated into a defamation lawsuit, filed last week in Orange County Supreme Court.
The lawsuit was brought by James Ferrazzano, the volunteer president of the league, along with his wife Kathleen, their minor son, and their family business, Orange County Design & Print Inc. The complaint names several parents, including individuals who were removed from the league’s board last year, accusing them of spreading false statements online and in the community.
The defendants listed in the lawsuit include James Ognibene, III, Antonina Curaba, Crystal Foy, Erin Krogslund, Craig McQueen, Nicole Berhau, Rocco Cirocosta, Marisela Larrinaga, Allyson Gillespie, and others identified as “John and Jane Does.” According to the filing, several of these parents were voted off the league’s board in November 2024 after what the league says were violations of its code of conduct.
News 12 first reported on the dispute last year, when several of those parents came forward saying their children were banned from playing football as retaliation against them. They also claimed the league targeted families unfairly and mishandled internal disagreements. https://hudsonvalley.news12.com/a-total-disaster-washingtonville-youth-football-team-bans-5-players-to-punish-parents-for-code-of-conduct-violations
Ferrazzano now alleges the conflict continued long after those complaints, saying the defendants launched a months-long online campaign accusing him of embezzlement, financial misconduct, misusing league funds, and other wrongdoing. The lawsuit claims those accusations were shared through Facebook posts, emails, and even anonymous accounts — including one operating under the name “James Kenneth.”
The complaint says the Orange County Youth Football League, which oversees the Washingtonville program, reviewed the allegations last year and found them to be unfounded.
In a statement to News 12, Ferrazzano’s attorney, Lawrence Bluestone of Genova Burns LLP, said the lawsuit outlines what he describes as a “disturbing pattern of conduct” directed at a volunteer and his family. He said that while parents may have had disagreements with league leadership, “their false statements and online harassment caused real harm,” and that the suit aims not only to address the damage but also to “deter this kind of conduct against volunteer board members and coaches in the future.”
The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, as well as a court order preventing the defendants from making any further statements about the family.
News 12 reached out to phone numbers found for some of the parents named in the lawsuit for comment but has not yet heard back.
