Naheed Nenshi being sued by home builder over 'Godfather' comments

A lawsuit has been filed against Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshiover numerous comments Nenshi made, includingdescribing Shane Homes founderCalWenzelas a "godfather."

Nenshi made the comments after a video of Wenzelsurfaced showing him outlining toa group of fellow home builders prior to the October 2013 municipal election a plan to defeat members of city councilwhoare seen as being against the interests of home builders.

Nenshi, in an Oct. 9 interview on CBC's Calgary Eyeopener, implied the video was similar to a scene "out of the movie [The]Godfather."

When host David Gray attemptedto clarify, asking Nenshi if he just called Wenzel the Godfather, Nenshi replied, "maybe."

The defamationsuit, filed Nov. 13, allegesthe mayor damaged Wenzel'sreputation.The documents also sayWenzeland his family received an anonymous death threat. None of the allegations in the suit have been proven in court.

The mayor has not filed a statement of defence and because he is away on vacation, has not been served with notice of the lawsuit. As yet, he could not be reached for comment.

The exchange

In the lawsuit,Wenzelobjects to Nenshisaying that he broke the law and told other people how to break the law. He accused the mayor of uttering "false and maliciously spoken" words.

Full Oct. interview

Exchange starts at 6:17.

In the interview with Gray, Nenshialso suggested Wenzel could have beenin violation of election laws.

The mayor saidthe video exposes potential illegal activity overthe home builders' involvement with theManning Centre, a conservative think-tank founded by Preson Manning, former head of the Reform Party of Canada.

In the video, Wenzeltalks about how11 home builders donated $100,000 each, for a sum of $1.1 million, to the Calgary-based centre.

Wenzel is asking for $5 million in damages, as well as $1 million in additional damages.

The Wenzelvideo