Restaurateur Goes on Two-Year Harassment Campaign Over Bad Online Review

Here's what happens when online reviews get nasty (at least in Canada): owner Marisol Simoes of Mambo and Kinki restaurants in Ottawa has been charged with two counts of criminal defamatory libel following two years of...it's not exactly clear. The facts as testified, according to the Ottawa Citizen:

1. Elayna Katz did not enjoy her meal at Mambo.
2. After trying to contact owner Simoes about the bad meal, Katz posted two bad reviews of Mambo on the website Restaurant Thing, the second of which was entitled "Since when did police involvement ever turn up on the menu?"

3. An email, allegedly written by Simoes, was sent from an address with Katz's name on it to 75 of her coworkers. It read, among other things: "Couples, threesomes and group sex. Am especially into transsexuals and transgender (being one myself.) I am a handful in many ways and a tiger in the bedroom. Please message me back if you are interested in a good time!"
4. There was also an ad posted in Katz's name to a dating website that said similar things to the email.
5. Simoes fought to have her businesses removed from the Restaurant Thing website, which complied but also posted her final (totally insane) email to them as an explanation for why users can't review the restaurants. That email is also posted below.

The trial is still going on; no word yet on the verdict.

Email Posted on Restaurant Thing's Mambo Page

As you are both well aware of by now the situation with the customer has not simmerred at all.

She is responsible for 'every' derogatory posting against Kinki and Mambo since May.

She has used may different names and has gotten her friends to do postings aswell.

I am more than fed up with this lady slandering us. And i have to say i am particularily appalled that you are letting her.

I have been recently fighting back to prove a point to her and to hopefully scare her off, and you guys turn around and take away my postings of defense and leave her postings of pure lies and malintent!

You will see that there is no end to this war. She has pushed me to my limits and i will not allow her to further damage the reputation of my businesses. Nor will i allow you guys to continue to allow her to do so.

If you feel it unwarranted that we post messages of defense against her attacks and remove them then you must equally remove her postings which are based on untruths. She has not visited my venues since May yet writes postings of 'suppossed visits' that she has had there and in some of her postings insinuates the most ridiculous things like my staff being drug users while working, or us calling the police on our customers, etc...i mean her postings are downright stupid! Yet you leave them there and take away our postings of defense!!!

These recent actions of yours almost show that you support what she is doing, which is basically using your site as her vedetta tool. Its amazing that in the spring when i pleaded with you guys to take away my sights because i knew that she was going to embark on this path that you did not help me, but now that so much damage has been done by her you dont allow me to defend the honour of my venues.

(and i am sure that she has played a role in this ommission. you seem to have no problem submitting to her demands!)

All i can say is that you have shown very bad judgment to date, and if you continue to remove my postings of defense but leave her postings of lies and attacks I WILL FILE A LAWSUIT AGAINST YOU!

I HAVE SERIOULSY HAD IT WITH HER AND WITH YOU GUYS FOR ALLOWING HER TO COME THIS FAR.

I HAVE A VERY STRONG CASE AGAINST YOU SO BE SMART AND DO WHAT I ASKED OF YOU BACK IN MAY, PUT AN END TO THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL AND TAKE KINKI & MAMBO OFF OF YOUR SITE.

THIS WAY YOU WILL NOT SHOW FAVOURITISM TO HER OR ME, IT IS THE ONLY OPTION AT THIS POINT AND THE 'HUMAN' THING TO DO.

AND I'M SURE YOUR READERS WOULD APPRECIATE IT TOO.

CONSIDER IT AN X-MAS GIFT TO ME, AND IT WILL NOT GO UNAPPRECIATED!

Marisol Simoes

· Restaurant Owner Accused of Retaliating For Bad Reviews With Sex Emails: Testimony [Ottawa Citizen via NYT]
· All Canadian Coverage on Eater [-E-]