David Letterman blackmailed over sleeping with staffers

again chi. When you get a girlfriend, sleep with someone else and then use the argument "but we aren't married". Let us know how that works out.

And I agree that he either curbs his jokes when other people do it, or he has to continually do jokes on his own situation. He may actually do the latter if he doesn't want to look like a hypocrit.

 

gotcha...this is making me to lose faith in men, in general. i hope there are some good guys out there. or we, women, might as well go ahead and cheat because our husbands would cheat on us eventually!

 

don't lose faith. despite the jokes, men are all individuals...not all alike. you can see that on this message board alone.

 

He wasn't in a committed relationship the whole time, he was openly dating that Merrill Markoe chick who used to be writer for the show as late as 1988.

 

I'm pretty sure that Dave's current wife and his ex-wife both met him while they were working on his show, so it shouldn't be a secret that he gravitates toward relationships with staffers.

 

Well I think it’s morally reprehensible that Dave is constantly sleeping with his female underlings. He should be ashamed.

Sincerely,

Spoiler

 

That's not fair for Mr. _Di. Making a hasty generalization is not as bad as cheating, but it's certainly getting up there as something wrong.

Dave is a celebrity, and Mr. Di is not. Attractive females will throw themselves at his feet. He was weak. He now accepts it. I don't know if he had a girlfriend at the time, but he shouldn't have done this either way. I believe him when he says he is sorry about it.

 

I used to be a nice guy until a woman ripped my heart out with her bare hands. I have now joined the ******* bandwagon.

 

you're right. it's not fair to my babe. a non-celebrity man can do the same thing...y'all are wired in the same way.

 

Stephanie...

 

Stephanie. "Vicki" :

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Hey, she IS a pretty good actress.

 

Oh c'mon, stop that nonsense. Women are just as scandalous. Yall cheat just as much as men. Women are just more sneaky about it. I see right through yall like fishnet stockings.

 

Extortionist is a successful producer. Man, that was foolish.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/robert-ha...ed-extortionist-cbs-producer/story?id=8730770

[rquoter]Robert Halderman, CBS Producer Named as Alleged Letterman Blackmailer
Letterman Confessed Sex With Staff Members, Targeted by Extortionist
By EMILY FRIEDMAN, KATE McCARTHY and RICHARD ESPOSITO
Oct. 2, 2009 —


An award-winning CBS News producer was indicted at a Manhattan courthouse today on charges of allegedly blackmailing late-night comedian David Letterman for "a large chunk of money."

Robert "Joe" Halderman, 51, a longtime Emmy-award winning producer for CBS News' "48 Hours," was arrested Thursday outside the network's Manhattan offices and could face up to 15 years in state prison if convicted.

Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau spoke at a packed press conference and said that Halderman "demanded to be paid $2 million dollars" in an initial meeting with Letterman on Sept. 9. Halderman allegedly waited outside Letterman's New York City apartment at 6 a.m. with "with a letter and other materials."

Halderman then directed Letterman to "call him by 8 a.m. to make a deal."

Letterman met with Halderman again on Sept. 15, 23, and 30 at Manhattan's Essex House, conversations Morgenthau said were recorded by Letterman's attorney.

"During subsequent meetings Halderman repeated his demand," said Morgenthau.

Halderman had threatened to reveal "personal and private information" if Letterman did not accede to his demand to purchase the one-page screenplay he presented at the initial meeting, said Morgenthau. The DA said the screenplay described a scenario in which Letterman's world would "collapse all around him" and would lead to a "ruined reputation."

Also mentioned in the screenplay, according to the DA, was Letterman's professional success and a reference to his "beautiful and loving son."

Morgenthau said the screenplay "covers all the necessary facts" to indict Halderman with one count of attempted grand larceny in the first degree.

Morgenthau said the phony $2 million check Letterman gave to Halderman was "designed to bounce" and that Halderman was arrested after trying to deposit the check in Connecticut on Oct. 1.

The prosecutor, in an apparent reference to Letterman's admitted philandering, said that he wanted to be clear that "we are not here to enforce the blue laws," but to "enforce the statutes pertaining to extortion."

Assistant District Attorney Mark Dwyer suggested to ABC News that the alleged extorter was careless. "If I were extorting somebody I wouldn't want a check," he said.

Dwyer said that it in cashing the check, Halderman "was going to pretend it was the legitimate sale of a screenplay."

Halderman lived until recently with Stephanie Birkitt, 34, who had previously been a personal assistant to Letterman.

Halderman's lawyer is defense attorney Gerald Shargel who has defended some of the city's most prominent criminals, including notorious mafia don John Gotti. Halderman's most recent assignment at CBS News was to produce a "48 Hours Mystery" piece on Gotti family.

"I'm doing everything necessary and appropriate to get him out," Shargel told ABC News. The lawyer said he has no prior relationship to Halderman.

Letterman, 62, confessed during a taping of "The Late Show" for broadcast Thursday night that he had had sex with members of his staff.

"This morning I did something I've never done in my life," Letterman told his audience. "I had to go downtown and testify before a grand jury."

Letterman revealed to the studio audience that he received a package three weeks ago containing a threat to reveal those indiscretions "if Letterman did not pay the individual a large sum of money" -- specified in a later communication as $2 million.

He said that the package contained a letter that said, "I know that you do some terrible terrible things, and I can prove that you do these terrible things ... and sure enough what was contained in the package was proof that I do terrible, terrible things."

The audience laughed nervously as Letterman described how he'd called his attorney and then set up a meeting with his blackmailer in which the plotter told him he wanted to write a screenplay about him that included sordid details of the talk show host's life.

At a third meeting, Letterman, with the assistance of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, handed the blackmailer a phony $2 million check. It was then that the extortionist revealed he also planned to write a book about Letterman's life, also revealing details of his past sexual infidelities.

"A companion piece to the screenplay," Letterman cracked weakly.

Letterman then acknowledged unspecified sexual relationships with female staff members to a silent audience.

"My response to that [allegation] is, 'Yes I have.' Would it be embarrassing if it were made public? Perhaps it would," Letterman said.

"Especially for the women," he managed to joke.

"I feel like I need to protect these people. I need to certainly protect my family," he said.


Letterman Suspect Used to Live With Letterman Aide
ABC News could not reach Halderman for comment, but CBS News released a statement saying that he has been suspended from his job as the investigation continues.

Colleagues were dumbstruck by the charges against Halderman. "I really can't believe the charges against him. I don't understand the motivation," said one producer who had worked with Halderman in the past.

The producer described Halderman not only as a well paid producer but one who was a "top shelf producer, highly regarded by CBS." Halderman was routinely entrusted with top stories ranging from the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan, to assignments for "48 Hours."

...[/rquoter]

 

Why didn't he just write the screenplay or book, or hell just sell the story? As much as they pay for baby pictures, I'd think he could've cleared $250k easy.

"Screwed your wife, ruined your payday, put you in jail and destroyed your career. Still rich, famous and generally well-liked, by the way."

 

The man makes over 30M a year, I highly doubt 250k is something he really needs to concern himself about.

I can't stand people who cheat on their partners, its such a weak act.

 

Where in any of this has it been proven that he cheated on his gf/wife?

A lot of you are jumping to conclusions. It's been stated that he and his long-time girlfriend were on and off again. Who's to say he cheated on her while they were together? Obviously this is totally damaging if he did ... but the fact that he came out and revealed this on his show makes me think (or at least hope) that he did it while separated.

If the masses can look past Kobe cheating on his wife, I think we can look past Dave Letterman having sex with co-workers (which TONS of people do) while presumably single.

 

I meant the extortionist.

 

the guy deposited a check for 2 million from david letterman! what an idiot.

 

TOP TEN REASONS TO ACCEPT THAT JOB OFFER FROM DAVID LETTERMAN

10. Get to find out "Worldwide Pants" refers to his breathing
9. Whenever he has trouble performing, he can always count on Paul
8. Stupid Prostate Tricks
7. Pillow talk includes fond remembrances of working with Calvert DeForest
6. "Can Jay do this? Huh? Can Jay do this?"
5. Share in wistful late-life transition from "My girlfriend doesn't understand me" to "My wife doesn't understand me"
4. Will It Rise?
3. Tries to be nice about it when he passes you off to Biff Henderson
2. "Whoops, looks like Cheney isn't the only one who shoots people in the face"

And the Number One Reason to Accept That Job Offer from David Letterman:

1. After the sex, he lets you keep the Palin wig

 

That's what she said.