Producer admits to attempted Letterman shakedown
3/9/2010NEW YORK — A television producer has pleaded guilty to trying to shake down David Letterman over the comic's sexual affairs.
Robert “Joe” Halderman entered his guilty plea to attempted grand larceny Tuesday in a Manhattan court. He is being sentenced to six months in jail and 1,000 hours of community service.
He was charged last fall with demanding $2 million to keep quiet about Letterman's love life.
The case spurred the late-night TV icon to tell viewers he'd had affairs with women on his staff.
Halderman's lawyers initially said he was just offering to sell Letterman a thinly veiled screenplay about the comedian's life.
Halderman is a producer for CBS' “48 Hours Mystery.”