NYC Radio: Artist Sues WSKQ's El Pacha For $5M For Defamation

A Dominican musician claims a WSKQ Mega 97.9 FM radio host defamed him, and demands $5 million for it in court.

According to Courthouse News, Anthony Santos sued radio and TV host Luis Federico Crespo Martinez a.k.a. El Pacha, in New York County Supreme Court.

He claims El Pacha, who hosts a Latin music show on New York City's "Mega 97.9," defamed him by telling listeners that Santos threatened him.

Santos, credits himself in his lawsuit with popularizing and redefining the often-racy bachata, a genre once known in his home country as amargue (Spanish for "bitterness").

"He adopted a soft romantic lyrical style that became more socially accepted than the bawdy style common to bachata before him, and he has quickly become the genre's leading artist, helping to move bachata into the mainstream," the complaint states.

El Pacha

He claims that the trouble started over rival bachatero Raulin Rodriguez's May 23 concert at the United Palace Theatre.

El Pacha, who produced the concert, said three days before the show that Santos would perform there to make amends with him, according to the complaint. Santos says that was false, and that he and his managers told fans so in a press release.

El Pacha responded on his television platform, desafine.net, by falsely claiming that "he had been threatened," according to the complaint.

Santos seeks at least $5 million for slander and libel, interference with business relations, negligence and emotional distress.