An attorney representing Pam Carr Hagerman – recently removed as secretary of the Kane County GOP – is demanding that Kane County Republican Central Committee members stop what the lawyer says is harassment and defamation of his client.

The May 18 demand letter from Bolingbrook attorney Joe Giamanco was sent via email to Kane County GOP Chair Michelle Bettag and to the other 11 Republican chairs of the county’s townships.

The letter was provided to Shaw Local anonymously; Giamanco confirmed its authenticity.

The letter details a series of events it claims occurred beginning in February, when Hagerman circulated an endorsement letter for her race for Dundee Township committeeperson, ostensibly from past GOP chair Andro Lerario.

According to Giamanco’s demand letter, other Kane County Republican officials then “threatened [Hagerman] with forgery charges including demands to meet at a police station” over her use of Lerario’s signature on the endorsement letter.

A statement from Hagerman attached to the demand letter acknowledged that she used Lerario’s signature on a “character reference letter” and apologized for that, writing that she came to understand that she did not have his “explicit authorization” to do so.

Her lawyer’s demand letter to the GOP officials also refers to social media posts on party-tied accounts that the letter says defamed Hagerman, who ended up winning her race in the March 17 primary election.

In an emailed response to a request for comment from Shaw Local, Bettag wrote that that “our attorney” was reviewing the demand letter.

“At first glance, this matter appears to be a private matter between Andro Lerario and Pam Carr, and therefore, I don’t have a comment at this time,” according to Bettag’s email.

Hagerman also declined to comment. Lerario could not be reached via email or voicemail.

Giamanco said he didn’t understand the motive for what he described as a targeting of his client, as she’s been involved in local politics for a long time and had been friendly with all the same people in the recent past.

“I don’t know what their true motivations are – why they have aimed their hatred vendetta toward her,” Giamanco said. “What I know is, the way they go about doing, it is defamatory. ... All she’s willing to do is restore her name and stop the vitriol. And we’re hoping this letter is going to be successful.”

According to the demand letter, the Kane County GOP met in “closed session” March 3, during which, the letter claims, Hagerman “was accused of forgery and a decision regarding punishment was discussed, culminating in a vote approving a censure that also removed her from secretarial duties, banned her from the KCRCC office and KCRCC meetings, and removed her access to organizational accounts.”

The demand letter cites case law and asserts that the claimed accusations of forgery, “are false and defamatory and have caused substantial reputational and practical harm.”

“I have reviewed the same and find them to be clearly actionable against all who have been involved in asserting such claims and publishing them to third parties,” Giamanco wrote. “My client has clearly stated to me that she’s willing to fully litigate this matter against not only the named organizations, but all individuals who were involved and who published the subject defamatory statements and that we immediately file suit.”

However, Hagerman does not wish to damage respect for the Republican Party in Kane County and Illinois, according to the letter.

The document states that as a longtime Republican herself, Hagerman is willing to settle for a formal acknowledgement and correction; $3,000 for attorney’s fees; correcting the record; stopping claimed harassment and character assassination; public communication; and transparency.

The letter gives the Kane County GOP and its township chairs until June 15 to confirm an agreement or Hagerman “will have no choice but to move forward with all available legal remedies, including filing suit, and will seek al recoverable damages, fees, and other relief,” according to the letter.

In March, Giamanco won nearly $46,000 in a judgment against a person who created a fake Facebook post that resulted in harassment and doxing of a woman. The Will County judge in that case also awarded nearly $21,000 in legal fees.