My humble opinion of Patch.com is they lack journalism ethics and integrity. Patch is back, but it is destined to fail again. Patch has been the recipient of numerous complaints at the Better Business Bureau and maintains an F rating by the consumer protection organization. In late 2016, Patch and Hale Global were sued for unlawfully accessing and publishing information from internal police documents, publishing false and libelous statements, provoking hatred, religious discrimination, anti-Semitism, carelessly endangering alleged witnesses, and revealing alleged witness names. For more information on this, please see case Jonathan Reich v. Charles C. Hale, Hale Global, Patch Media et al. Index number 156787/2016 at New York County Supreme Court.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patch_Media
docdroid.net/wpsMIqa/charles-hale-jessie-sawyer-warren-st-john-patch-media-and-hale-global-sued-for-millions.pdf.html
Steps To Access The Lawsuit– Jonathan Reich v. Charles C. Hale & Patch
New York County Supreme Court – Index No. 156787/2016
1) Go to: http://www.nycourts.gov/efile
2) Click on: “Create an account”
3) Click on: “Search as Guest”
4) Enter the numbers and letters in the captcha on the screen
5) Enter the following into the ‘Case Number’ field: “156787/2016” & Search
6) Click on the link labeled “156787/2016” to view the case documents