Cheese magnet … err, magnate Lino Saputo is suing three newspapers (and their owners) for defamation after articles in November and December said he was a target of an Italian investigation into money-laundering. The stories quoted an Italian weekly newspaper, usually with vague words like “published reports.”

Besides embarrassing the man and painting him with the dreaded Mafia brush, the news sank his company’s stock price and just plain pissed him off.

The newspapers involved are:

• Le Journal de Montréal, owned by Sun Media
• La Presse, owned by Gesca
• The Globe and Mail, owned by CTVglobemedia

This makes me want to attend Concordia’s next Board of Governors meeting, where Patricia Saputo and Gesca’s Jacques Tousignant both sit as members. Awkward…