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Robert Halderman has plead guilty to attempted grand larceny for trying to blackmail David Letterman out of $2 million dollars.

Halderman will serve six months in jail and have five years of probation. He has to complete 1,000 hours of community service in the form of helping young adults newly out of prison and also help formerly homeless people with literary and vocational skills.

The Manhattan District Attorney praised David for coming forward and not giving in to the demands:

"Mr. Letterman is a public figure, but like all New Yorkers he has a right to a certain degree of privacy in his personal life. By not giving in to the defendant's extortionate demands for millions of dollars, and instead taking the courageous step of reporting the crime to law enforcement, Mr. Letterman risked the disclosure of certain aspects of his private life. I commend Mr. Letterman for making the difficult but unquestionably right decision to report this crime to my office and thank him for his full and complete cooperation throughout the investigation and prosecution of the case. "

I'm sure David is glad to finally put this scandal to rest and move on. Do you think the punishment fit the crime?

Photos by WENN

Emmy-winning CBS News producer Robert 'Joe' Halderman pleaded guilty to shaking down David Letterman as payback for the host's affair with his girlfriend.

Today, Halderman admitted giving Dave a "screenplay treatment" that was "a thinly veiled threat to ruin Mr. Letterman if he did not pay me a lot of money."

In exchange for the guilty plea, the extortion plotter will receive a six-month prison sentence, 4 1/2 years probation and 1,000 hours of community service.

Outside court, he expressed his remorse for the sordid episode.

"I apologize to Mr. Letterman, to his family, to (girlfriend) Stephanie Birkitt and her family, and my family and friends," said Halderman in a brief statement.

The plea came five months after Halderman threatened to expose Letterman's affairs with several female staffers, including the blackmailer's ex, Birkitt.

David Letterman and his blackmailer, Robert "Joe" Halderman.

Letterman released a statement thanking city police and prosecutors for their help in resolving the bizarre case that exposed his fondness for staffers.

"I had complete faith that a just and appropriate result was inevitable," Letterman said. "On behalf of my family, I am extremely grateful for their efforts."

Halderman would have faced up to 15 years behind bars if he had been convicted of a bizarre blackmail scheme involving the long-time Late Show host.

David Letterman's affair with Halderman's girlfriend, Stephanie Birkitt, ended shortly before his blackmail bid, but also predated her living with Halderman.

Halderman was arrested after Letterman - in a stunning admission on air - admitted cheating on wife Regina Lasko and detailed the blackmail attempt.

Halderman actually collected a $2 million check from Letterman as part of a sting operation started after the host went to police about the shakedown.

He was busted after depositing the check in his Connecticut bank.

[HMG] – In another sad case of mindless extortion, Robert Halderman, the CBS producer who tried to steal $2-million from Late Show host, David Letterman over a screenplay has just pleaded guilty and faces six months in jail.

Halderman, 51, a former ‘48 Hours’ producer, was expected to speak for several minutes at today’s hearing and finally admit to extorting the late night host over his affair with Halderman’s girlfriend, 35-year old Stephanie Birkitt.

To recap, last October Halderman saw David and Stephanie making out in the drive of her home. He then wrote a ’screenplay’ about a talk-show host who slept with female employees and tried to sell it to Dave for $2-million. The cops promptly set up a sting and the incompetent crook was arrested as he tried to cash the fake check.

Today, Halderman faced a judge in Manhattan’s Supreme Court and copped a plea to second-degree larceny. He was  then sentenced to six months in jail, 1,000 hours of community service and four-and-a-half years probation.

With good behavior he should only serve sixteen weeks behind bars.

People who know Halderman tell the Post his crime was largely driven by his ex-wife moving their children to Colorado, the extremely high monthly child support he was then ordered to pay, and the fact that his girlfriend – despite swearing to him there was no affair – was still eagerly sleeping with her married CBS boss.

After the arrest in October, Dave shocked his Late Show’s fans by admitting not only the blackmail, but also that he had slept with other unmarried staffers.

“No, I’m not having sex with any staff members currently,” he said bluntly. “You can’t be victimized by criminals.”

Today, with the case now concluded, the 61-year old host released a brief statement;

“I would like to thank the District Attorney of Manhattan, the former DA, the Special Prosecutions Bureau and the NYPD,” it reads. “When they became involved I had complete faith that a just and appropriate result was inevitable. On behalf of my family, I am extremely grateful for their tireless efforts.”

Halderman  is now expected to begin serving his sentence sometime in May. The adulterous girlfriend, however, faces no blame at all…

Filed under: Celebrity Justice, David Letterman

David Letterman's extortionist just pled guilty to one count of attempted grand larceny in the second degree.Robert Halderman was just sentenced to 6 months in jail, 5 years probation and 1,000 hours of community service.Under the terms of the deal, ...

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Filed under: Celebrity Justice, David Letterman

David Letterman's extortionist just pled guilty to one count of attempted grand larceny in the second degree.Robert Halderman was just sentenced to 6 months in jail, 5 years probation and 1,000 hours of community service.Under the terms of the deal, ...

Permalink

Robert Halderman, the 48 Hours producer who attempted to extort $2 million from David Letterman, plans to plead guilty this afternoon in court.

He's expected to get six months in jail plus 1,000 hours of community service as well as 4 1/2 years probation. It's likely he'll only have to serve four months due to good behavior.

Halderman will speak during the plea hearing today admitting to purposely extorting Letterman, which eventually led to the late-night host admitting his adultery with female staffer Stephanie Birkitt on the air.

What a mess!

[Image via AP Images.]