Albany restaurant critic Steve Barnes was viciously beaten last October by two thugs he'd never seen before. An arrest has been made! And he's got shadowy connections to the seedy Albany restaurant world!

Jerry Spiegel, a professional mixed-martial arts fighter, was charged with assault in connection with the attack. There, uh, aren't too many details yet, but the Times-Union story features this compelling line:

The arrest of 36-year-old Jerry Spiegel of Troy comes as law enforcement sources said Guilderland police are continuing to examine connections between Spiegel and an Albany restaurant that Steve Barnes, a food critic, had written about last year.

Let this be a lesson to all of you: never criticize anything, ever, or blog. Or just stay the hell out of Albany.

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