According to a report in the Baltimore Sun, Piscatelli sued Smith and City Paper based on two articles that appeared, respectively, on December 6, 2006 (Late Discovery) and June 20, 2007 (The Lonely Killer), that described the killings as "mysterious" and included allegations by Convertino's mother, Pamela Morgan, suggesting the plaintiff may have been implicated in her son's murder. The Sun article reported that Anthony Miller was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to 60 years in prison in 2007 for killing Convertino and Wisniewski.
The Maryland Appeals Court upheld the summary judgment ruling in the defendants' favor by the Baltimore City Circuit Court and the Court of Special Appeals, finding that Piscatelli had not proved City Paper's reporting was inaccurate and unfair.
"We shall conclude," the Court of Appeals opinion stated, "utlimately that the manner in which Respondent published those statements placed them within the protective embrace of the fair reporting and fair comment privileges, and consequently, Piscatelli's claims were not actionable."
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