Alleged Letterman Extorter to Plead Guilty

CBS News Producer Robert "Joe" Halderman Accused of Trying to Shake Down Talk Show Host over His Sexual Affairs

(CBS/AP)  The CBS news producer accused of trying to shake down David Letterman will plead guilty Tuesday afternoon in Lower Manhattan, CBS 2 has learned.

Robert "Joe" Halderman will be sent to jail for allegedly trying to extort $2 million from Letterman after learning his girlfriend was sleeping with the Late Show host.

After Halderman's arrest, Letterman shocked his TV audience by revealing both the blackmail and the fact that he'd slept with unnamed female employees.

Halderman had said he just offered Letterman a chance to buy -- and keep private -- a thinly-veiled screenplay about his life.

Halderman had also told the comedian's lawyer he would keep copies of his information on Letterman's love life for "protection," worrying that he could be fired - or even killed - in retaliation for the scheme, Manhattan prosecutors said in court papers.

"The issue is your client does not want this information public," Halderman told Letterman's attorney in a secretly taped conversation, according to prosecutors. "I have said, for a price, I will sign a confidentiality agreement and I will not make this information public. That's, that's the deal."

"Should I be fired, mysteriously ... if my house burns down ... any number of things that, I don't know this person, I've never met this person, I have no idea who or what he is or is capable of," Halderman said, according to the court papers. He added that someone might decide "the only way to be sure that I never talk to anybody is for somebody to kill me," the papers said. Prosecutors arranged for Letterman's lawyer to record two meetings with Halderman.

Halderman laid out his cover story frankly, saying he would tell his accountant, "I'm optioning a screenplay. I think that's how we should define it," according to the papers.

Still, he expressed misgivings about the scheme, telling Letterman's lawyer he was "not terribly impressed by" his own conduct, according to the papers.

"His efforts to define and characterize his actions as something legitimate and make the 'deal' appear normal are nothing more than a transparent charade," assistant district attorneys Judy Salwen and Peirce R. Moser wrote.

Halderman's lawyer, Gerald Shargel, stood by his contention that the exchange was aboveboard business.

"He had intellectual property relating to Letterman's poor conduct. He had the right to sell that intellectual property," Shargel said Tuesday.

Halderman has said in court papers that he threatened nothing more than a sale to someone else if Letterman said no.

In a package given to Letterman's driver Sept. 9, Halderman said he needed "a large chunk of money" and described a screenplay depicting Letterman's life unraveling after his personal life was exposed, authorities said.

The package included photos, personal letters and portions of a diary in which Halderman's ex-girlfriend - a Letterman assistant - described an affair with the comic, law enforcement officials have said.

Halderman referred to letters, phone bills and the woman's "confession" in the taped conversations, according to court papers.

"There was no extortion. There was no extortion here involved," Shargel said.

"I have had sex with women who work for me on the show," Letterman told his audience on the Oct. 1 taping.

The 52-year-old Halderman faced up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

More on David Letterman and Joe Halderman:

Judge Won't Toss Letterman Case
Letterman Jokes Tiger Woods Is Asking for Advice
Lawyer: Halderman Wouldn't Cop Plea
Letterman Extortion Suspect: Drop the Case

[stinger1z]

Innocent people sure do plead guilty alot. Clearly the case evidence is not on his side. I hope this guy goes away.

[erasmus111]

by pragmatist1 March 9, 2010 1:29 PM EST
What Letterman did was worse than what the extortionist tried to do...


You can't really be serious. What David Letterman did wasn't against the law. And he wasn't married at the time. I'm not saying that what he did was right, but I consider blackmailing someone to be a whole lot worse. And it IS against the law.

[Turbidite]

Sexual predators taking advantage of people that work for them is a very foul crime, both morally and legally. No apparent punishment is coming to Letterman, neither in loss of sponsors, legal indictments nor fines. Staffers that succumbed to Letterman's "manifest charms" don't dare speak out or sue him for fear of being black balled in the only industry they understand. Tiger Woods lost sponsors (=$), reputation and family.

[erasmus111]

by Turbidite March 9, 2010 2:37 PM EST
Sexual predators taking advantage of people that work for them is a very foul crime, both morally and legally.

Just because he had CONSENTUAL sex with a couple of his employees, that doesn't make him a predator. If they didn't want to have sex with him, they could have said...NO.

[pragmatist1]

What Letterman did was worse than what the extortionist tried to do and Letterman goes on with his life as if what he did was morally superior to the other guy because he's not been made to suffer or be punished. Letterman is despicable and a hasn't any respect for women, including his wife; his dalliances occurred while he supposedly was involved with her, before they got married.

[thesevenveils]

Letterman was not married at the time and did absolutely nothing illegal. Now what you've described is true about the morality part. And the shameful thing is there are dozens of politicians and other people that affect your life far more than an actor that has done worse, in the public stalls of a mens bathroom at an airport for instance. And yet, people are able to forgive and overlook this type of behavior.

I say its time to stand up and stop being a hypocrite. Denounce all those people and their organizations that have covered up scandoulous hetero and homosexual behaviors. Start with the politicians and religious organizations first!

[josephp5]

Like Pavlov's dog, there are people that are trained by right wing radio to salivate at the mere mention of anyone that made fun of Sara Palin---people like Letterman, Katie Couric, etc.

[whammersley]

And what about the media's favorite liberal, Letterman. Just how many employees did he demand sex from? Was he another Bob Barker...."you can't work for me until you go to bed with me." Or was it just this one dalliance?