David Letterman

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.

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-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.

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