CBS News producer Robert Halderman, who briefly considered the Tiger Woods defense to beat extortion charges over David Letterman’s sex trysts, has chosen to plead guilty instead.
The extortion case and sex scandal became the butt of late night jokes, even by Letterman himself, but judging from the sentence, prosecutors took the matter seriously.
Halderman will spend six months in jail, according to the New York Daily News.
He will also serve four-and-a-half years probation and do 1,000 hours of community service. Sentencing on the plea to a single count of attempted grand larceny, a felony, was set for this afternoon, the newspaper said.
Although Halderman, 51, could have faced up to 15 years in jail if convicted by a jury, the sentence is still considered stiff for a plea bargain.
He was charged after he threatened to expose Letterman’s affairs with a number of female staffers who worked for him on the “Late Show.”
One of the staffers was Halderman’s ex-girlfriend, Stephanie Birkitt, 34. He obtained the incriminating blackmail evidence from her diary.
After the extortion attempt went down, Letterman made a stunning confession on his show, admitting to the affairs and detailing the blackmail attempt.
Letterman was not married at the time, although during his affairs, he was living with his long-time girlfriend, whom he later married. They have one son together.
Once the Tiger Woods scandal broke, Halderman’s lawyer tried to argue that what his client did was no different than Woods’ payments to his paramours in exchange for their silence about their affair.
