Online attacks, harassment claims against ex-Brimfield police officer end in settlement (2025)

About four years after a lawsuit claimed a former Brimfield police officer wrote defamatory posts on Facebook and tracked the movements of at least two people, the case has been resolved through a settlement, according to court filings.

Ryan Olszta was a police officer and had served on the Board of Selectmen in Brimfield, the same town where the plaintiffs, Hariklia Crisafulli and Arthur Crisafulli Jr, are field owners at the Brimfield Flea Market and spokesperson for the Brimfield Show Promoters Association.

In 2021, the Crisafullis sued Olszta and John Doe for $100,000 in damages for defamation. The lawsuit claimed the officer made various online attacks — which court documents state continued after the lawsuit was filed — and the plaintiffs’ fear of being tracked and harassed in person.

The lawsuit was scheduled for trial on Dec. 19, 2024. However, it was dismissed and was later officially settled on Dec. 30, 2024. Details of the settlement were not disclosed.

Neither the Crisafulli’s nor Olszta’s lawyers responded to MassLive’s request for comment.

• Read more: Brimfield residents complained about police officer for years; what was done?

Online attacks

The online attacks, according to the lawsuit, began on the Brimfield community Facebook page.

“Olszta began posting to several different Brimfield community Facebook pages that Klia had launched an ‘all out attack’ on him, his family and his job as a law enforcement officer. He also claimed that she was attacking the community,” the lawsuit states, adding, “Klia had done nothing of the sort.”

The posts were made by Olszta and another person using the name David Goodsen, according to court documents. Olszta thought his family was also being targeted on social media and “on occasion let his feelings and opinion about that be known,” court documents state.

Overall, Olszta thought his Facebook posts were his opinion about Hariklia Crisafulli and, therefore, he couldn’t be found liable for defamation, according to court documents.

However, the online posts didn’t stop after the lawsuit was filed.

On March 23, 2024, a post written by “Riley Chase” on Hubpages, an online publishing platform, was shared on Facebook by a work colleague of Olszta’s, court documents state.

The Hubpages article was titled “The Olszta Defamation Lawsuit: Unveiling the Allegations” and warned the lawsuit could cost the town of Brimfield $100,000.

“As the lengthy legal battle surrounding the defamation lawsuit against former Officer Ryan Olszta approaches its climax, a closer examination of the case reveals a disturbing pattern of unsubstantiated claims and questionable motives on the part of the plaintiffs, Hariklia (Klia) and Arthur Crisafulli,” the post reads. “... However, upon closer scrutiny, their allegations crumble under the weight of their own inconsistencies.”

The post claims that there is a “web of deceit” and that Olszta and the John Doe listed in the complaint are not the same person.

“... the Crisafullis were unable to provide any evidence supporting their claims,” the post reads.

It also adds that the posts made by Olszta did not mention the Crisafullis.

“This leaves the question of whether these posts amount to defamation to be determined by the judge,” it reads.

The Hubpages post also mentioned “more unsubstantiated claims” regarding complaints filed against Olszta, which it said were filed after his employment with the town had ended.

A subpoena for Chase’s Hubpages account information revealed a phone number, which the caller ID identified as belonging to Ryan Lapierre, according to court documents. Lapierre is Olszta’s husband’s surname and the name he uses on social media.

It also identified a static IP address in Longs, South Carolina, as the only one used to access the account for Chase, court documents state. The documents claim Olsta’s business and his in-laws share the same address in Longs, South Carolina. Additionally, Olszta was documented as being in that area at the time the post was made.

“This is not some ‘unrelated article’ posted by a ‘non-party’ as Defendant’s counsel represents,” court documents read. “Rather it is a continuation of the Defendant’s defamatory behavior giving rise to this action, under a new alias by a Defendant with a history of doing so.”

Fear while running errands

The lawsuit stated that Crisafulli’s businesses were negatively affected by these false claims on Facebook and that the officer has “harassed and intimidated Klia, her clients and her customers.”

“Olszta frequently parks his vehicle within sight of the Crisafulli’s property while they are conducting business and also at other times when Klia is at home,” the lawsuit stated. “Klia’s clients and business partners fear that Olszta is keeping records of individuals associated with Klia, and as a result, they fear that they will be punished for working with Klia.”

Court documents claim the Crisafullis could not prove it was Olszta.

The lawsuit also stated they were afraid of being in the town itself.

“Olszta’s behavior has led Klia and Arthur to believe that Ryan is tracking their movements around town, and they are fearful that he will appear when they are running errands in order to harass them,” the lawsuit continued.

Discrimination complaint

This wasn’t the only complaint ongoing regarding Olszta and his time as a police officer in Brimfield.

On Aug. 18, 2021, Olszta filed a complaint with The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) that claimed the town of Brimfield discriminated against him due to his sexual orientation.

The complaint claimed that he was the only gay police officer in town and discriminated against for being gay, ultimately leading to not being reappointed as a police officer.

In June 2021, there were 13 police officers up for reappointment in the town. The Board of Selectmen reappointed all but Olszta.

• Read more: Brimfield didn’t keep its longtime chief; newly obtained records explain why

The complaint included statements made by Pat Leaming and Suzanne Collins. Martin Kelly, although he voted against reappointing Olszta, did not make any comments.

Investigators reviewed the complaint, email communications, meeting minutes, a news article and more.

However, investigators did not find evidence of discrimination, stating that they couldn’t prove that some of the “comments were negative or that they related to Complainant’s sexual orientation.”

In October 2024, it was dismissed for lack of probable cause.

“At the conclusion of the Commission’s investigation, there is insufficient evidence to support a determination of probable cause to credit the allegations of the complaint with respect to all claims in the complaint,” the investigative disposition states.

Olszta claims the MCAD process is “insufficient” in court documents.

Another lawsuit regarding the discrimination involving the town, Collins, Leaming, Miller, George Adams and the new Chief of Police, William Beaudry, is ongoing.

Other complaints from residents

Complaints about harassment, verbal abuse and ethical concerns regarding Olszta continued for years, leaving residents scared and concerned, MassLive reported in 2023.

The complaints detailed how the former police officer became “unusually agitated” during police stops and accused a small business owner of supporting “terroristic organizations,” which she said, “put her in jeopardy during a time when our country was at a high state of insecurity.”

The complaints also note that Olszta discussed a child who was part of an investigation with town residents at a nearby Applebees. Olszta reportedly told the other residents that the child, who was a local Boy Scout, “is on heavy medications.”

“... this just continues to show how extreme and how dangerous this individual is, and not only to your community but he branches out and is a danger to our state, especially with his badge,” one of the complaints sent by a Massachusetts resident to the Board of Selectmen states.

Although Olszta is not currently certified to be a police officer in Massachusetts, he told The Reminder in June 2022 that he would consider rejoining the police department in the future. Some residents are still concerned about their safety as they said the harassment has continued while he still lives in the town.

Olszta has not previously responded to MassLive’s requests for comment. In 2021, however, he told MassLive complaints against the police were “baseless and lack credibility.”

Another letter of intent to file a lawsuit was sent to the Board of Selectmen and Olszta on Nov. 9, 2020.

“On or about May 10, 2020, during a routine traffic stop, Officer Ryan Olszta, conducted, under color of law, a pat-and-frisk of my person that was not constitutionally justified in that I gave him no reason to suspect that I was dangerous and had a weapon,” the letter states.

The letter, sent by Eric Schultz, also states the officer did a pat-and-frisk of Koichi Morita, “my good friend, who has a very limited command of the English language.”

“Officer Olszta has evidenced by his words and actions, i.e. in his comments on social media, an animosity toward Schultz family members and their family business,” the letter states. “Given his personal animosity toward me and my family business, and taking into account his vengeful natures, the willful and malicious purpose of the unlawful pat-and-frisks was to annoy, frighten and humiliate us thereby, showing that Officer Olszta is unfit to act as an armed, uniformed police officer in the town of Brimfield.”

The lawsuit was never filed.

Former Brimfield Police Chief Charles Kuss never released any information regarding the complaints against Olszta. MassLive asked for complaints against Olszta in a public records request, including disciplinary actions in October 2021. It wasn’t until October 2023, after Kuss retired, that MassLive received the information, including more than a dozen of those complaints.

However, Kuss told MassLive each complaint was looked into and that it wasn’t uncommon for there to be complaints against the arresting officer.

In October 2023, Kuss spoke highly of Olszta and his time in Brimfield.

“He put in the effort. He put in the work. He was willing to do the things he needed to do. He took the trainings; he was constantly going to training. Just about every single measure,” Kuss said. “He was an excellent police officer.”