Brendan J. Lyons is reporting for the Times Union Cohoes Mayor Shawn M. Morse has been accused of defamation by a city resident who was the target of a series of statements made by the mayor during a call to Talk 1300 with host Paul Vandenburgh. A lawsuit was filed against Morse individually on May 19, in state Supreme Court, and seeks $500,000 in punitive damages and $50,000 in compensatory damages. The plaintiff, Jeffrey S. Bailey, is a frequent critic of Morse's. The city's insurance carrier is representing Morse in the matter, although it is unclear if the mayor was acting in his official capacity when he called the radio station. In the call, Morse said Bagley had been "arrested 19 times for harassing people ... has a history of doing this to people ... called and texted a woman on her personal phone after she told him to stop ... (and) harassed and threatened a young woman so badly that she was afraid for her life." The mayor also said that Bagley "sold crack cocaine to kids." The lawsuit alleges Morse's statements were false and made with "reckless disregard" for the truth. Morse, 52, is in the final year of his first term as mayor and his name will not be on the ballot in the general election in November. In September, Morse is scheduled to stand trial on federal criminal charges of lying to FBI agents and stealing campaign funds for personal use. He has pleaded not guilty. Read the full story in the Times Union.