Deep Inside the David Letterman Scandal

Vanity Fair has a terrific feature on the David Letterman scandal this month, taking us inside his affair and the alleged extortion plot against him like never before.

Even before 48 Hours producer Joe Halderman caught Letterman kissing his girlfriend, Late Show staffer Stephanie Birkitt, he and Dave were on a collision course.

The converging emotional sides of the slow-moving, but explosive triangle - Birkitt’s ambition, Halderman’s bitterness, and Letterman’s self-loathing - rocked CBS.

Excerpts follow, with a link to the full story at the bottom:

"A man waits in the darkness, watching his life slip away.

His name is Robert Joel Halderman. At 51, he is a producer for CBS' 48 Hours Mystery, a battle-scarred newsman who has spent much of his life in war zones.

He’s had two divorces, which have saddled him with crushing alimony payments, and his second wife recently sent him “reeling,” as he e-mailed colleagues.

David Letterman's shocking admission stunned viewers.

She had just moved to Colorado with their 11-year-old son, Jimmy.

August 2009. Robert Halderman is outside his modest house in Norwalk, Conn., as a $100,000 electric Tesla sports car comes to a stop at the end of the road.

In the passenger seat is his smart, attractive live-in girlfriend, Stephanie Birkitt, being driven home from work by her boss, none other than David Letterman.

Letterman lives 20 miles away on a 108-acre estate in Westchester.

Halderman has watched Dave and Stephanie seduce each other on national TV. For more than 10 years, as Stephanie rose from Late Show with David Letterman intern to one of the host’s assistants, to his frequent on-air sidekick.

It started innocently enough, with Letterman calling his office and asking Stephanie, then 26, about such things as “strippers” and “the dirty little Hooters girls.”

“Do you like hot dogs, Stephanie?” he asked.

Continue reading in Vanity Fair ...

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Source: Robert Halderman Seeking Plea Deal in David Letterman Extortion Case

The guy accused of trying to blackmail David Letterman has offered to plead guilty in exchange for a one-year prison term, according to the New York Post.

Robert Halderman's lawyer, Gerald Shargel, denied knowing anything about an offer, saying: "There have been no plea negotiations. None whatsoever."

He would say that regardless, of course, and it's all a moot point until January, when Cyrus Vance Jr. takes over as Manhattan's new District Attorney.

A one-year term would be a far cry from the 15 he's facing.

Halderman stands accused of trying to shake down Letterman for $2 million by threatening to expose the TV star's series of sexual affairs with staffers.

Letterman admitted as much - and was blatantly honest in his on-air apology to fans, staffers and wife Regina Lasko - even breaking the story himself.

WHAT A RACKET: Halderman is accused of trying to shake down Letterman.

Prosecutors allege that Halderman dropped off a one-page "screenplay treatment" with Letterman's driver September 9. The proposed "story line" revolved around an intern-loving comedian whose sexy antics were about to be outed.

That plot appeared to make direct reference to Letterman's admitted affair with intern Stephanie Birkitt - also Halderman's ex-girlfriend - and others.

But instead of caving, Letterman went to war, contacting police and wiring his lawyer for a series of meet-ups with Halderman, who was later arrested.

He is free on $200,000 bail. Shargel has filed papers demanding dismissal of the charges, arguing that this was nothing but a "business transaction."

Prosecutors aren't buying that, though, saying that Halderman hatched the extortion plot with the screenplay nonsense as his intended cover stlory and admitted on tape that he resorted to the scheme because he needed the money.

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Robert Halderman's New Strategy in Letterman Blackmail Case: The Rachel Uchitel Defense!

Robert Halderman, the alleged "mastermind" of a $2 million extortion plot against David Letterman, is just throwing everything at the legal wall at this point.

The CBS News producer is using the Tiger Woods scandal as a precedent to fight the charges against him, which could land him in jail for years if convicted.

Halderman's lawyer, Gerald Shargel, notes in legal papers that when news of Tiger's infidelity surfaced, mistress Rachel Uchitel reportedly signed a multi-million dollar settlement in return for her silence, with the help of Gloria Allred.

Shargel notes, admiringly, "Their behavior was capitalist, not criminal."

The lawyer says Robert Halderman, who is reportedly seeking a plea deal in the case, merely "offered to sell a very marketable story" of Letterman sleeping with Stephanie Birkitt, and that it was a simple business transaction.

Except for the part where he deliberately tried to shake Letterman down.

It was only a matter of time until these cheating scandals collided.

Shargel says that celebrity misdeeds have "significant fair market value" and they are "routinely suppressed through private business arrangements."

His argument, however thin and stretched, is that Rachel wasn't prosecuted for taking Tiger's money, so why would Halderman for wanting Dave's?

Gloria Allred, for her part, is far from pleased that Halderman's lawyer compared himself to Rachel Uchitel, saying he has no basis to make such claims:

"I have no personal knowledge of his case. He has no personal knowledge and therefore, no basis for remarks about my representation of Ms. Uchitel."

"Mr. Shargel should spend his time representing his client based on facts, rather than comparing it to matters of which he has no personal knowledge."

In other words, Rachel's settlement was confidential. If there even was a settlement, which is widely believed to be true, but it is, by definition, secret.

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Prosecutors Say Robert Halderman Feared Getting Whacked By David Letterman After Shakedown

Before Tiger Woods took his crown, David Letterman was the king of extramarital sex scandals this year. The Late Show host's involved an extortion plot.

Prosecutors in the case released transcripts of conversations clandestinely recorded of Robert "Joe" Halderman, who allegedly blackmailed Letterman.

"The defendant's threat was simple: Unless Mr. Letterman paid $2 million, defendant Halderman would make public information about a purported sexual relationship between Mr. Letterman and his assistant," said the feds in court papers.

Why $2 million?

"Because that amount would enable him to visit his son [in California] without needing to demand more money from Mr. Letterman in the future."

That's one expensive plane ticket.

According to excerpts, Halderman's intent was "crystal clear" in that was going to claim the negotiations were a business transaction for a screenplay.

Robert "Joe" Halderman stands accused of trying to extort David Letterman.

He would use that as legal cover to shake down Letterman, who slept with ex-assistant Stephanie Birkitt, who was living with Halderman at the time.

Prosecutors rejected Halderman's screenplay story, citing remarks he made about storing "copies of the dirt he had" on David Letterman just in case.

"The only way to be sure that I never talk to anybody is for somebody to kill me. Well, you know, I don't want that to happen," Halderman said.

What the hell does he think this is, The Departed?

He apparently thought so: "I'm not sure how crazy this guy is, or um, how dangerous he might be," Halderman said, per court papers. "Should I be fired, mysteriously ... if my house burns down ... any number of things."

"I have no idea who or what he is or is capable of."

A hearing in the case is set for January 19.

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