Newspaper Can Call Person a "Reputed Organized Crime Figure"

Under existing case law, the words "mobster" and "reputed mobster," when used to describe an admitted convict, are not actionable per se because they are reasonably capable of an innocent construction. Antonelli v. Field Enterprises, Inc., 115 Ill.App.3d 432, 450 N.E.2d 876, 71 Ill.Dec. 188 (1983). But what if the words "reputed organized crime figure" are used to describe someone who has no criminal record? Does the innocent construction rule still apply?

The Illinois Appellate Court, First District, recently held that such language, even when used to refer to someone with no criminal record, still falls within the innocent construction exception to defamation per se. The appellate court, following Antonelli, relied on the definition of "reputed" as meaning a supposed, perhaps erroneous imputation. Applying this definition, the court determined that there was no defamation because the defendant did not characterize the plaintiff as a mobster, but rather as a person who is, perhaps erroneously, believed to be an organized crime figure. The term "reputed" sufficiently supports the innocent construction of the phrase "organized crime figure," and whether or not the plaintiff has a criminal record is therefore of no consequence. The court concluded that "[f]or better or worse, the use of 'reputed' in front of a derisive characterization of people appears to be a safe harbor for the media." Salamone v. Hollinger International Inc., No. 1-02-2492, 2004 Ill.App. LEXIS 314 (1st Dist. Mar. 30, 2004).