Problem
Analyze the details of the following case and post a response to the question.
Bob and Kevin are in business together in Delaware. Bob learns that Kevin has been stealing money from the company. He sues Kevin in Delaware. While that case is going on, Kevin attempts to build a competitive company to steal the entire business and cut Bob out. In an effort to persuade one of his vendors he isn't doing anything wrong, Kevin tells the vendor that Bob has been convicted of securities fraud and is a business partner with people who are involved in organized crime. Then, Kevin purchases the domain name. On the website, he posts "Bob is business partners with people who have direct associations with organized crime according to several news outlets." Bob's business partner, Jeff, testified against a mobster twenty years before and was in witness protection. There is one news story linked to the website from 21 years ago written by a questionable source that indicates that Jeff was partners with another guy (David) who had mob ties and that Jeff was unavailable for comment and nobody could find him.
As a result of the website, Bob is unable to convince a Bank to provide him financing for a multi-million dollar project he is working on.
Can Bob successfully defeat Kevin in a defamation lawsuit? Explain your reasoning.