Alleged Letterman extortionist wants court case dropped

Discussion

November 10, 2009

Halderman claims insufficient evidence

The Associated Press Associated Press Tue Nov 10, 2009, 04:37 PM EST

By JENNIFER PELTZ

Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK — A TV news producer accused of blackmailing David Letterman in exchange for keeping quiet about his sexual affairs was only trying to sell the late-night comic a screenplay, a defense lawyer said Tuesday.

Robert J. "Joe" Halderman's lawyer asked a judge to toss the attempted first-degree grand larceny case, saying the producer did nothing illegal in slipping Letterman documents alluding to the "Late Show" host's dalliances and taking a $2 million check from Letterman's lawyer.

"There was no extortion. There was a screenplay for sale," the lawyer, Gerald Shargel, said outside court. "There was a commercial transaction. Nothing more."

But a lawyer for Letterman said the exchange was a shakedown, not a sale.

"It's classic blackmail, no matter how Mr. Halderman's lawyer wants to dress it up," Daniel J. Horwitz said outside court.

In papers filed Tuesday, Shargel argued that the indictment against Halderman should be dismissed because his conduct wasn't a crime, among other claims. Assistant District Attorney Judy Salwen said she was confident a judge would find the indictment was on solid legal ground.

State Supreme Court Justice Charles Solomon is expected to rule in January. Horwitz said Letterman is prepared to testify if the case goes to trial.

Halderman acknowledges getting a package into Letterman's car on Sept. 9 that included the supposed screenplay "treatment" — or synopsis — and some "source material."

Authorities say the materials included a letter saying Halderman needed to make "a large chunk of money" and a claim that the screenplay would depict how Letterman's world would "collapse around him" when information about his private life was disclosed. Photos, personal correspondence and portions of a diary also were enclosed, authorities said.

The diary entries were allegedly written by Halderman's former girlfriend and outlined her affair with Letterman.

Authorities then taped two conversations between Letterman's lawyer and Halderman — including an exchange in which the lawyer gave Halderman a phony $2 million check after he demanded it as hush money, the Manhattan district attorney's office said. Halderman was arrested after depositing it.

The day before prosecutors unveiled the case last month, Letterman divulged it on his show, acknowledging he had had sex with women who worked for him.

Shargel's court filing said Halderman simply realized he had "a valuable subject for a book or a movie" and sold it to Letterman, threatening to do nothing more than sell it elsewhere if the TV host rejected it.

"I have no plans to do anything other than either sell you this option — this screenplay — to you and therefore you own the story. Or if you don't and you're not interested, as I've said, then that's fine, and I will proceed, and I will do what I want to do, which is what I've been thinking about doing, anyway — which is writing a book," Halderman told Letterman's lawyer in one of the taped exchanges, according to the filing.

Letterman's lawyer said criminal charges would follow if Halderman released the information himself, the filing said. Halderman, it said, responded: "I don't agree with your position on that."

The filing says Halderman had evidence that "Letterman had created and fostered an environment of workplace sexual misconduct" that amounted to sexual harassment — a question that has become an issue since the comic's disclosure of his office affairs. Shargel declined to describe what Halderman had found; his court filing noted only that Letterman himself described his conduct with female employees as "creepy."

Letterman's lawyer strove to keep the focus on the extortion case, not the comic's liaisons, but added that no one has ever made a formal sexual harassment claim against him.

"His conduct's not an issue here," Horwitz said after the brief court session.

Letterman is prepared to testify against Halderman if the case goes to trial, Horwitz said.

Halderman, wearing a gray suit, pinstriped shirt and green tie, declined to comment.

The 51-year-old producer for CBS' "48 Hours Mystery" has pleaded not guilty. He could face five to 15 years in prison if convicted.

Text Only

Breaking News

Official: Ukrainian coach found dead in Pennsylvania cell
A Ukrainian hockey coach was found dead of a suspected suicide while in custody in Philadelphia on child-molestation charges, a U.S. prison official said.

February 10, 2012
Schoolgirls excluded from Dallas movie screening
When 5,700 fifth-grade boys in Dallas' public schools recently went to see a movie about black fighter pilots in World War II, the girls stayed in school and saw a different movie instead. One of the pilots is among those asking why.

February 10, 2012
GOP's Santorum, Wallace set for statewide ballot
Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum and Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Wallace are set to make it on the state ballot unless they are challenged.

February 10, 2012
Report: Non-Solyndra energy loans could cost $3B
The government could lose nearly $3 billion on Energy Department loans for green energy programs — far less than the $10 billion Congress set aside for the high-risk program, according to an independent review.

February 10, 2012
Navy names ship for former congresswoman Giffords
The Navy has named a ship for Gabrielle Giffords, the recently retired congresswoman from Arizona who is recovering from a gunshot wound to the head received in January 2011.

February 10, 2012 1 Photo
Under fire, Obama adjusts his birth control policy
Under fierce election-year fire, President Barack Obama on Friday abruptly abandoned his stand that religious organizations must pay for free birth control for workers, scrambling to end a furor raging from the Catholic Church to Congress to his re-election foes.

February 10, 2012 1 Photo
Wagging tails replace sad eyes in Westminster ads
Pet lovers won't have to look away anymore when those heart-wrenching TV ads appear during the Westminster dog show — the ones with the pitiful little faces peering out from behind those rusted bars of a cage and wondering "how I ended up in here."

February 10, 2012
Stocks fall at the open as Greek deal is held up
U.S. stocks opened lower Friday after Greece's bailout deal was put on hold, a day after it seemed that the country had satisfied its creditors.

February 10, 2012
AP sources: Obama revamping birth control policy
Retreating in the face of a political uproar, President Barack Obama on Friday will announce that religious employers will not have to cover birth control for their employees after all, The Associated Press has learned. The administration instead will demand that insurance companies will be the ones directly responsible for providing free contraception.

February 10, 2012
Advocates want no weakening of Indiana smoking ban
Anti-smoking advocates aren't happy about an 18-month exemption for bars that's included in a bill for a statewide smoking ban, and said Thursday they are aiming to prevent the proposal from being watered down any more as it moves through the Indiana Legislature.

February 10, 2012
More Breaking News Headlines

Breaking News

Search Results

Discussion

Alleged Letterman extortionist wants court case dropped

Halderman claims insufficient evidence

Gov. Mitch Daniels says it is "very improbable" that the Republican nominee for president would choose him as the running mate. As a running mate, would Daniels help the Republican ticket in the November election?

Site Map

Contact Us