Controversial U.S. politician sues UNB for releasing his widely criticized PhD thesis

The University of New Brunswick has become the target of legal action by a Republican politician in Pennsylvania who's accusing the school of leaking his doctoral thesis and of participating in a scheme to discredit his research on a First World War hero.

Doug Mastriano, a U.S. Army veteran and state senator, is suing UNB and several of its faculty members following a wave of criticism directed at the thesis he wrote on Sgt. Alvin C. York that earned Mastriano a PhD from the university in Fredericton.

"Defendants embarked on a racketeering enterprise to deprive Col. Mastriano of his intangible property interests in his PhD, his books, and his speaking engagements," says the lawsuit, filed in Oklahoma by lawyer Daniel Cox.

The lawsuit also names UNB president Paul Mazerolle, David MaGee, vice-president and director of research, and Drew Rendall, dean of graduate studies at UNB.

It alleges the three conspired to publicly release Mastriano's thesis, resulting in "a substantial loss and deprivation of his intangible property interests."

None of the claims in the lawsuit have been tested in court.

CBC News asked UNB for an interview with Mazerolle about the allegations.

In an email, spokesperson Marcia Seitz-Ehler said UNB is unable to comment because the matter is before a court.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. district court for the Western District of Oklahoma on May 31, and documents indicate notifications of summons were issued to the named defendants on July 2.

The lawsuit says it was filed in that court because James Gregory III, one of the named defendants, lives in that jurisdiction. The suit says all other defendants are subject to personal jurisdiction in that district, "because a substantial part of the events giving rise to the claims" occurred there.

CBC News attempted to contact James Gregory III, who is listed in the lawsuit as living in Edmond, Okla., but was unsuccessful.

James Gregory Jr. is a U.S. academic who was vocal in his criticisms of Mastriano's thesis.

CBC News contacted Gregory by phone in the state of Louisiana, where he resides. He said he had not been served notice of the lawsuit and therefore would not comment.

Critique prompted investigation

Attempt to reach Mastriano through his office were not successful.

Mastriano is a retired U.S. Army colonel who in May 2019 was elected a state senator for Pennsylvania's 33rd district.

Known for his socially conservative views, he rose to national prominence for his support for former president Donald Trump and the debunked conspiracy theory that the 2020 U.S. presidential election was rigged in favour of President Joe Biden.

With Trump's endorsement, Mastriano ran in 2022 for governor of Pennsylvania but was defeated by Democratic nominee Josh Shapiro.

In 2013, Mastriano received his PhD from UNB, with his thesis focusing on York, who achieved fame for killing 25 Germans on a battlefield in France. York's heroics inspired a Hollywood movie, with actor Gary Cooper in the lead role.

A year later, Mastriano used his thesis as the template for a book he published, even while his thesis remained under wraps, thanks to an unusually lengthy embargo on its release.

That didn't stop other academics, however, from questioning claims in the book, prompting calls for UNB to release his thesis publicly.

In 2022, UNB conceded and published the thesis, which several academics have said is riddled with fabricated footnotes and unsubstantiated claims.

In spring 2023, UNB appointed a committee of three professors to investigate the allegations of academic fraud in Mastriano's thesis.

Under UNB policy, the investigation committee was required to submit its recommendations to the university within 60 days, but any findings the committee might have reached have not been released to the public. 

Mastriano seeking millions from UNB

While Mastriano's lawsuit takes aim at academics outside UNB who questioned his work, a key element of the lawsuit focuses on UNB's decision to release his thesis.

The lawsuit alleges its 2022 release, despite Mastriano's request to keep it embargoed until 2030, constituted election interference and allowed his work to be stolen by another academic, who at the time was also working on a book about York.

An exhibit attached to the lawsuit shows a July 2022 letter from Drew Rendall, the UNB graduate studies dean, informing Mastriano that his thesis was being released immediately.

Rendall, in the letter, told Mastriano that university guidelines provide for a maximum embargo duration on graduate theses of only four years, adding that Mastriano's request "greatly exceeds" the school's embargo limits.

Mastriano's lawsuit also alleges UNB participated in a scheme to deprive him of his "property interests" associated with his PhD thesis by opening the investigation into it.

UNB launched the investigation in spring 2023, and the lawsuit claims UNB notified Mastriano last December that the university was relaunching the investigation into it.

The lawsuit makes no mention of what the investigation determined, or whether it's concluded.

The lawsuit says Mastriano is seeking up to $100 million in damages from UNB, and a minimum of $1 million from each of the individually named defendants.