Judge to order newspaper to identify online posters

The Journal News in New York’s Lower Hudson Valley is expecting a judge to order it to identify three anonymous online posters who an ex-congressman and his wife believe slandered them on the newspaper’s website.

Attorneys in the case say Westchester County Judge Rory Bellantoni will order LoHud.com to release information that identifies the posters — "SAVE10543," "hadenough," and "aoxomoxoa" — because of comments they made about former Rep. Richard Ottinger and his wife, June. 

The couple alleges that the posters falsely accused them of bribery and filing fraudulent documentation so they could build a home in the Orienta waterfront community. The Ottingers are currently engaged in a legal dispute with several of their neighbors over the construction.

Community Conversation/Editorial Page Editor Herb Pinder said yesterday The Journal News will comply with the order. "The newspaper went the extra mile – the extra 10 miles – to protect the right of anonymous speech here," attorney Mark Fowler, who represents the paper, said.