Joseph Tacopina
PER
Joseph Tacopina Tacopina
In a statement, Joseph Tacopina, Mr. Stern's new lawyer, said that Mr. Stern has been the victim of a fallacious smear campaign, and expects to be fully exonerated and reinstated in his position. The accusations aimed at Mr. Stern have put Page Six, Mr. Johnson and gossip journalism under scrutiny, turning the spotlight onto a world far removed from what most newspaper reporters and editors are accustomed to.  It is a well-known element of the glossy magazine business and was even a kind of expectation for a society columnist in the days of ''Sweet Smell of Success.'' Yesterday, as the story again dominated the front page of the Post's chief rival, The Daily News, Mr. Stern got a new lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, who replaced Edward Hayes.