On April 2, 2009, a professional mixed-martial arts fighter and boxer was charged with assaulting a food critic for the Times Union newspaper in Albany, New York. Police are investigating whether the assault was a premeditated attack in retaliation for a critical review of an area restaurant the year before.
The professional fighter, Jerry Spiegel, was arraigned on two counts of misdemeanor assault, reported the Times Union, which further reported that authorities were investigating alleged ties between the suspect and the restaurant that received the critical review.
The food critic, Steve Barnes, was leaving another area restaurant on Oct. 17, 2008, when he and a friend said they were both attacked by two assailants in the parking lot, according to the Times Union. Only one suspect, Spiegel, has been charged to date for the attack. Barnes wrote a blog entry hours before saying that he would be having dinner that evening at the restaurant.