Crime and Punishment
Accused Letterman Extortionist's Defense: He Just Wanted to Sell a Script
You know about Occam’s Razor, right? The theory dictating that the best explanation for a situation is often the simplest one? That 700-year-old saw emerged today as the one accused David Letterman extortionist Robert “Joe” Halderman is paying big bucks for as part of his defense strategy, with his attorneys explaining that Halderman really was simply trying to sell Letterman a script about the host’s dalliances with his staff when he asked him for $2 million.
Halderman’s defense attorney Gerald Shargel today appeared with his client in a Manhattan court, where the lawyer filed a motion to dismiss the pending grand larceny charges against Halderman. He’d been misunderstood, Shargel argued: That set of meetings between Halderman and Letterman was meant to interest the talk-show host in a script about his own story — one which Letterman surely couldn’t have wanted to produce, but still. Producers buy material to bury it all the time, don’t they?
Yes, but not quite like this, with damning materials left in Letterman’s car and seven-figure checks hand-delivered by the script’s subject in person. No matter! As Shargel also noted today, Halderman was entrapped during his fateful final meeting with Letterman. Moreover, he added, the press has tainted this case beyond the point of no return for any jury, and his client has no chance at justice under the circumstances.
Shargel may have a point about the jury, especially now that everybody knows the ideal new way to sell a hot script about Letterman’s backstage swordsmanship is to feed it to Twitter in installments. If @LateShowOrgy is taken, think of something else. Blackmail is so antiquated, so impractical, so… Leno at 10.
· Accused Letterman Extortionist: It Was Business, Not Blackmail [E!]
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Posted 10 Nov 2009, 3:13 PM
Mr. Vanairsdale,
Am writing screenplay about the REAL reason you deleted your Facebook. Wondered if you would like to make a small investment of 4 to 10 million. (unmarked bills)
Leave under Bob's Big Boy statue near Warner Bros. studio.
Signed,
Old No. 7
Posted 11 Nov 2009, 8:07 AM
This guy is so obviously lying... come on.
Posted 11 Nov 2009, 9:00 AM
First, Leno at 10 IS cool. Smartest thing NBC could have done. Had he gone to ABC, he would have thumped Conan and Letterman both in the ratings. Even with Leno being an older guy (though not nearly as old as Letterman - but who is?) he's still funny and quick-witted. Letterman is a mean-spirited antique who needs to retire. In fact, all late-night programming needs a makeover.
How old are you anyway VanAirsdale? Catch up dude. Letterman was cool up until around the turn of the century. Why do you think his ratings suffered so bad against Leno? It sucks that he got blackmailed, but he should have left that wrinkled, old appendage in his pants. If any of those woman that he took advantage of come forward and sue him now... well, it will be less than what he deserves.
Posted 11 Nov 2009, 11:28 AM
Nice try, Potato Head
Posted 11 Nov 2009, 11:41 AM
I agree, he must be lying...lol