I would not publish it at Tidewater Liberty UNLESS there was good reason for the person to shield his identity, such as a city employee whistle-blowing on a superior AND there was some way for me to verify the contents had a least some basis in truth AND the matter was worthy of public scrutiny.

Are you bringing an important matter to the public attention, or abetting a coward in maligning an enemy?

I would print information about malfeasance, but I would not publish gossip about an affair, no matter how much I disliked those involved.

I hope that helps.

Just remember, YOUR name will be attached to whatever you publish from an anonymous source.

On the other hand, you seem to have done some independent investigation (which, I suspect, a newspaper would have done, were the allegations newsworthy), and a question of endorsement seems to arise at this point. The issues — if important, which I presume that they are — would have more credibility if you were to discuss them, since you would be attaching your credibility to them. For the reasons I stated above, allegations published under a cloak of anonymity tend — more often than not, rightfully — to be dismissed on that basis.

Of course, it’s your blog, and therefore, your decision.

I think that you should post the letter in its entirety, but with a oucple of caveats:

1. If there are allegations of wrongdoing by, or aspersions on the characters of, specific individuals, get yourself a primer on libel law if you don’t have that knowledge already. Allowing anonymous comments by others is not the same as you publishing content that was submitted anonymously. Many newspapers will publish LTEs anonymously, but they almost always require that the writer identify themselves to the newspaper.

2. Retain the letter, the envelope it came in, and everything associated with it. You may need it if something in the letter blows up in your face.

Having said all that, I’m intrigued, and I don’t even live in Norfolk or on the East Coast (AZ here).

If you think that the letter has the appropriate verisimilitude, go for it.

BTW – Thank you. That’s the first time in my life that I’ve been able to use the word “verisimilitude” in a sentence that wasn’t just discussing the word itself. )

Of course, the not knowing piques my interest. Could it ruin someone’s career? Does it involve allegations of misconduct, fraud, illicit affairs? On what order of magnitude is this?

Also, you could always show the letter to whomever it is about and then ask for their comment and post their reaction as well as the letter.