That guy, David Halderman, the 48 Hours producer who tried to extort money from David Letterman has been sentenced. He’s going to jail for 6 months after pleading guilty…
A few months back, he tried to extort two million bucks from the late night comedian. He reached a deal with prosecutors to serve six months and serve 1,000 hours of community service. He’s also not allowed to appeal the court decision.
For David Letterman, though, its been rough. A lot of things became exposed including his scandalous affair with a staffer, Stephanie Burkitt, that he brought with him on vacations and to his secret bedroom atop the David Letterman Late Night Studios. Letterman just had a kid, earlier this year and is married. He’s still married.
(We think David Letterman Knows EXACTLY what Conan O’Brien is Going through right now – the same thing happened to him)
Late Night Wars II
NBC really, really likes Jay Leno.
And they really, really, really like to stand behind Jay Leno.
Because for the second time in history, an entire late night talk show ‘war’ has erupted over NBCs decision to give Jay Leno its 11:35pm timeslot. And for the second time, a major late night talk show star is miffed, and about to jump ship and claim what he believes he deserves. The coveted 11:35pm slot. And because of that, we are getting ready to see a three way late night talk show battle. Leno (NBC) vs Conan (Fox) vs Letterman (CBS).
Fans of David Letterman will recall, he did the same exact thing n 1995 (jumped ship to CBS and developed a new show ) when NBC passed him over for the Johnny Carson vacancy and handed it to Jay Leno. Dave thought he deserved it.
Now NBC has made a decision to allow Conan O’Brien to break his contract and develop a show else where. (We sense Fox).
Its ugly at NBC. But Conan, like Dave thinks he deserves better. And we know that no matter what happens, if he stays at NBC, he’ll have to deal with the fact that -
NBC really, really likes Jay Leno.
The following timeline describes how the Late Night War is breaking down -
- NBC Pulls Leno from 10pm primetime slot, offers Leno the 11:35p
- NBC orders Conan to resume show at 12:05a, a half hour later than his current 11:35p slot
- Conan O’Brien approached by Fox about hosting a late night show
- Conan O’Brien Refuses to Host his show at 12:05a
- Conan begins publically bashing the network
- NBC allows Conan to Break his Contract and develop a show for another network
- NBC Calls Conan O’Brien an “astounding failure ratings wise” for the network
Daily News – David Letterman’s accused blackmailer took a wild slice at getting his case dismissed Tuesday by invoking the Tiger Woods scandal.In court papers, Robert Halderman’s lawyer argued that if it’s not a crime for mistresses to seek payoffs from the golf great, his client shouldn’t be punished for trying to make a deal with Letterman.Defense lawyer Gerald Shargel cited reports that women linked to Woods, including Rachel Uchitel, were paid for their silence.”Their behavior was capitalist, not criminal,” Shargel wrote in papers [Wait!Theres Tons More…]
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David Letterman was having an affair with his former personal assistant way more recently than David’s rep had us believing — according to documents filed by the alleged extortionist’s lawyer.
According to legal papers filed today by the defense, Robert Halderman confronted Stephanie Birkitt in December 2008 with evidence of the affair and she promised to end it. But Gerald Shargel, Halderman’s lawyer, claims the relationship continued “unabated” into this past summer.
Letterman’s rep has said the affair ended before Letterman’s marriage in March. Dave blew the whistle on the alleged extortion plot in early September.
Today Letterman’s lawyer refused to say when the talk show host broke off his affair with Birkitt. Halderman’s lawyer was coy outside court about the Letterman/Birkitt relationship and said we’ll be hearing a lot more about this.
In court papers filed today, Halderman’s lawyer asked the judge to dismiss the extortion case, on grounds authorities were swept up in “the sensationalism surrounding the indictment” and the grand jury didn’t have enough evidence to target Halderman.
Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2009/11/10/david-letterman-extortion-extortionist-stephanie-birkitt-robert-halderman/#ixzz0WYuSZwVi
Joe Halderman — the guy accused of trying to extort $2 million from David Letterman — is getting the ultimate vote of sympathy from his friends … we’re told they’ve chipped in to pay over a quarter of his mega legal bill.Sources inside CBS tell TMZ friends and co-workers are raising money to help pay Halderman’s $200,000 legal bill … so far they’ve anted up around $50,000.
We’re told some of the staff at “48 Hours” refuse to believe their colleague is guilty of extortion … and if he is guilty, it’s because he cracked over money issues surrounding his divorce.
For Halderman, friends in need are friends indeed. But the jury’s out on whether Letterman has any left.
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NY Observer – Joe Halderman, the CBS News producer accused of attempting to extort $2 million from CBS Late Show star David Letterman, will be headed to a Manhattan court on Tuesday morning for the first hearing in the criminal case against him.
Will Mr. Halderman, as it is widely assumed, try and reach a hasty plea agreement with prosecutors, beginning with Tuesday’s motions hearing?
That’s unlikely, according to a source close to Mr. Halderman.
Over the weekend, Dr. Bob Arnot, a friend and former colleague of Mr. Halderman, told The Observer that Mr. Halderman is currently planning to try and take the case all the way to trial. In a recent interview with Newsday’s Verne Gay, Mr. Halderman’s attorney Gerald Shargel likewise suggested that no plea agreement is in the works.
That’s something of a surprise to those who have closely followed the case.Ever since Mr. Halderman’s initial October 1 arrest on charges of attempted grand larceny, it’s been widely assumed that the troubled 48 Hours Mystery producer would quickly try to reach a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Those assumptions were based in part on widespread reports of Mr. Halderman’s financial problems. Mr. Halderman was making roughly $214,000-a-year from CBS at the time of his arrest and owed roughly $6,000 a month in child-support payments to his ex-wife, while also holding a series of hefty mortgages.
-Access Hollywood – Law & Order” is taking inspiration from David Letterman’s alleged extortion scandal, Access Hollywood has confirmed.
Executive Producer Rene Balcer of the popular long-running television drama, known for pulling from the headlines, told Access Hollywood last month the show was already working on an extortion plot story for the show when the Letterman scandal broke.
“We were already working on a blackmail story that’s somewhat more violent,” Balcer told Access in early October. “And who knows? This one may add a spin to the story we’re working on.”
And now, a rep for the show confirmed to Access, that a Letterman-inspired plot will happen.
According to E! News, the episode will center around a female, “View”-esque “well-known celebrity talk-show host, married with children.”
The host has had “a series of short-lived affairs with some of the employees on the show and up until now has managed to keep them off the radar.”
A blackmailer then comes in asking for $3 million.
As far as Letterman’s off-screen scandal, Robert “Joe” Halderman, the man accused of trying to extort $2 million from David Letterman, pleaded not guilty last month in court.
NY Daily News – Keep the interns away from Dave! At least, this is the new policy at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut when it comes to interns working with David Letterman.”Due to recent circumstances we will have a discussion with those in charge of placing our interns at the David Letterman show in the future,” Quinnipiac University officials said in a statement released to TMZ.com. “We will diligently oversee this internship program to ensure that our interns are out of harm’s way.” And by “recent circumstances” they mean the multi-million dollar blackmail scandal that lead to Letterman, 62, admitting on he had had sex with female employees. People.com reported earlier this month that Stephanie Birkitt, 34, was allegedly at the center of the “Late Show” scandal. [Wait!Theres Tons More…]
Did David Letterman bring Stephanie Burkitt along on family vactions?
NY Post – And the No. 1 reason David Letterman is a cad: The “Late Show” host brought the assistant he was sleeping with on Caribbean vacations with his wife and their young son, sources told The Post. Letterman’s wife, Regina Lasko, had no clue the comic was having an affair with his pretty, much younger assistant Stephanie Birkitt — a $200,000-a-year employee — when she was tagging along on the cozy, romantic trips, [Wait!Theres Tons More…]
In the latest on the extortion case involving David Letterman and the CBS employee who attempted to blackmail him, one late show in particular is becoming a focal point. While Letterman openly admitted to multiple affairs of women on his staff, all eyes are now following on his assistant Stephanie Birkitt, who may provide the possible motivation for 48 hours producer Robert Joe Halderman’s attempt to blackmail Letterman. In a report recently released by the New York Post, Stephanie Birkitt allegedly wrote in her diary that she was taking walks with Letterman, and also that he drove her to Connecticut a few times..The New York Post’s daily
