Norfolk judge orders anti-Burfoot website taken down

NORFOLK

A judge Wednesday forced the removal of a website attacking Vice Mayor Anthony Burfoot and the city's treatment of downtown clubs.

Circuit Court Judge Charles E. Poston ordered an immediate removal of the website May4thCounts.com, stating that other legal action "is not adequate under the particular circumstances of this case."

GoDaddy.com, the site's host, removed the content later in the day.

The website appeared last week, about a month before City Council elections. Burfoot, a target of the website, brought the suit in Circuit Court.

Burfoot said he wants to discover the site's anonymous author or authors and sue for slander. "This is just an attempt to try to destroy a person," said Burfoot, who is seeking a third term on the council.

Norfolk City Attorney Bernard Pishko, who represented Burfoot, said he found the site to be "slander on the whole community."

The site mentioned city officials, the Bar Task Force and Burfoot's campaign supporters.

The website ran 32 printed pages and detailed alleged business dealings of downtown Norfolk clubs and bars.

Last year, the city cracked down on code violations at several downtown venues. Several closed in the wake of the increased scrutiny. Several details on the site could not be independently verified by The Virginian-Pilot.

The site also focused on the opening of a new club, The Palace on Plume Street, and its investors. The City Council approved a special exception for the club in February.

Burfoot tried to track down the source of the website, according to the court order. The site was registered to a "disgruntled citizen" with a phone number belonging to a woman not involved in the case, Pishko said.

The defendants in the suit, listed as May4thCounts.com and "disgruntled citizen," did not appear in court. Poston ordered the website to be shut down immediately.

GoDaddy.com general counsel Christine Jones said the company received the court order Wednesday. GoDaddy.com receives similar requests every day and complies when a court order is issued, she said.

Although the company is not legally compelled to follow a local court order, its corporate policy is to remove websites when an injunction has been issued, she said.

Burfoot is being challenged by three candidates to represent Ward 3: former educator and civic league president Mamie Johnson, businessman William E. "Billy" Mann Jr., and arts festival director Donna Fay Smith.

Johnson and Mann said they knew about the site and had nothing to do with it. "I've never seen anything like this in Norfolk," Mann said. "Not to this degree."

Johnson said if she were elected, she would not become embroiled in controversy. Smith could not immediately be reached for comment through a campaign aide.

Burfoot said the attack was untrue and "goes beyond politics."

He said he wanted to find the source of the material. "There should be some accountability," he said.

Members of the City Council, including Mayor Paul Fraim, said they knew nothing about the suit. Daun S. Hester said the issue was not discussed during Tuesday's City Council meeting.

Hester, a mayoral candidate, said the full council should have been consulted. With the city's tight budget, she said, "I do have concerns about public funds being used on this matter."

Councilman Paul Riddick added that if Burfoot wanted to sue, "he should have done it on his own."

Staff writer Harry Minium contributed to this report.

Louis Hansen, (757) 446-2341, louis.hansen@pilotonline.com