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Robert “Joe” Halderman, the news producer whose attempt to blackmail David Letterman prompted the host to admit workplace affairs, was released from prison on Thursday.

He served four months of a six-month sentence for his 2009 scheme to extort $2 million in hush money from Letterman.

Halderman was granted time off “for good behavior.” The former “48 Hours” producer still must fulfill 1,000 hours of community service.

The plot to squeeze Letterman for money came after Halderman learned of an alleged relationship between the TV icon and staffer Stephanie Birkitt, whom Halderman dated.

In an odd twist, the newly free Halderman is up for an award at September 27′s news Emmys.

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Robert “Joe” Halderman, jailed for attempting to blackmail David Letterman over a sex scandal, has been nominated for an Emmy.

The former CBS producer is up for a News and Documentary Emmy for contributing to an April 2009 segment on “48 Hours” that detailed an American exchange student’s murder charge in Italy.

In May, Halderman began a six-month prison stint after his attempts to extort money from Letterman were exposed. Halderman had knowledge of the late night host’s office affairs and sought to sell his silence.

The awards will be handed out on September 27.

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Robert Halderman, the former CBS producer who attempted to extort David Letterman over the late night host’s sex scandal, is starting a six-month stint in jail.

He was led out of a Manhattan court in handcuffs today, having been sentenced to incarceration and 1,000 hours of community service.

Halderman pleaded guilty to charges that he’d demanded $2 million from Letterman in exchange for silence on what he knew about the comedian’s affairs. Halderman was involved with one-time Letterman employee-paramour Stephanie Birkitt.

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UPDATE – 6:15 PM -

David Letterman made the following remarks during tonight’s “Late Show” taping:

“I need to talk to you about a segment of my life here that began six months ago.  I found myself in some legal trouble, and pretty quickly, it was turned over to the District Attorney’s office here in Manhattan.  Now, I’d never been involved in anything like this in my life, and I was concerned and full of anxiety and nervous and worried.  And the people in the District Attorney’s office said, ‘This will be handled professionally, this will be handled skillfully, and appropriately.’”

“Well, the matter was resolved today, and they were exactly right – it was handled professionally, skillfully and appropriately.  And by way of demonstrating my thanks to the men and women who worked on this, I would like to mention their names now:  District Attorney of Manhattan Cyrus Vance, the former District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau, the Special Prosecutions Bureau in the D.A.’s office and, of course, the New York City Police Department.”

“Thank you all for your help.”

UPDATE – 2:45PM -

Gossip Cop received the following statement from David Letterman regarding today’s guilty plea from his extortionist:

“I would like to thank the District Attorney of Manhattan, Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., the former District Attorney, Robert M. Morgenthau, the Special Prosecutions Bureau in the D.A.’s Office, and the New York City Police Department.   When they became involved with this case, 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.”

ORIGINAL POST – 12:37 PM –

Robert Halderman, the man accused of attempting to extort David Letterman, will plead guilty this afternoon.

The former “48 Hours” producer had pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of attempted grand larceny in October 2009. He allegedly tried to force Letterman to pay him $2 million in return for silence about his sexual affairs, including one with show staffer Stephanie Birkitt.

Today’s plea will land Halderman a prison sentence of six months, followed by 4 and a half years of probation and 1,000 hours of community service.

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Oh, there’s more late night drama…

A judge just refused to dismiss the case against David Letterman‘s alleged extortionist Robert “Joe” Halderman.

As you’ll recall, Halderman, accused of trying to shake down Letterman for $2 million, asked a New York judge to toss the extortion case, having claimed he wasn’t blackmailing Letterman. Halderman asserted that he was simply trying to sell the late-night talk show host a screenplay — about Letterman (and his dirty secrets). The “sale,” of course, was in exchange for Halderman’s silence.

Today, Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Charles Solomon ruled against Halderman’s attempt to have the case dismissed, and noted in his decision that whether this was business or blackmail it “is a classic example of an issue that is best left for a trial jury to decide.”

So the case is going forward and, if convicted, Halderman could face up to 15 years in prison.

Gossip Cop would like to know in the comments section what you think will be the final scene in this “screenplay.”

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Celebrity scandals are colliding, making for some unexpected — and very tense — confrontations.

Gloria Allred, lawyer for alleged Tiger Woods mistress Rachel Uchitel, is angry after Gerald Shargel, lawyer for alleged David Letterman extortionist Robert Halderman, filed legal papers asking that the charges against Halderman be dismissed and at one point comparing Uchitel’s tactics with his own client’s.

Referring to Uchitel (with Allred) reportedly signing a hefty settlement in return for her silence on the Woods matter, Shargel noted in his motion, “Their behavior was capitalist, not criminal.” Shargel maintains that Halderman pursued a similar strategy, offering to sell to Letterman “his very marketable story” of the talk show host’s indiscretions and his silence about the deal.

The so-called “Tiger Woods defense” earned Allred’s scorn, with Uchitel’s lawyer sending Gossip Cop the statement:

“I have never spoken to or had any communication with Mr. Shargel regarding his client or mine, nor does he have any permission to use my name or my client’s. I have no personal knowledge of his client’s case and he has no personal knowledge and therefore, no basis for his remarks about my representation of Ms. Uchitel… Mr. Shargel should spend his time representing his client based solely on the facts of his case, rather than comparing it to other matters of which he has no personal knowledge.”

Gossip Cop asked Shargel to explain his position.

“My point from the beginning is that [people] buy and sell confidentiality all the time,” Shargel told Gossip Cop exclusively. “This is just an illustration of what is commonplace.”

He said that he referred to the Woods case in the filing because it was a “prominent story,” and served as a “useful analogy of the way the world works.” He added that he thought it “apt” to include it, and that once one gets past his Woods reference, it’s clear that he addresses the prosecutor’s argument on the merits of the case.

As for Gloria Allred’s objections, Shargel quipped, “She can rule on my motion.”

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As you may recall, the TV producer, Robert “Joe” Halderman, accused of trying to shake down David Letterman for $2 million, asked a New York judge to dismiss the extortion charge because Halderman claimed last month that he wasn’t blackmailing Letterman. Rather, he asserted that he was trying to sell the late-night talk show host a screenplay — about Letterman (and his dirty secrets).

At the time the case first went before the judge, Halderman’s attorney said, “There was no extortion. There was a screenplay for sale… There was a commercial transaction. Nothing more.”

Well, today prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office urged the judge to reject Halderman’s claim that his money for screenplay/silence wasn’t a crime.

And it seemingly looks worse for Halderman because prosecutors noted today in a filing that the TV producer told Letterman’s attorney that he needed cash to visit his son and would disguise the transaction by saying it was a business deal.

Gossip Cop would like to know in the comments section if you believe this was extortion or a legitimate attempt by Halderman to sell Letterman a script.

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What was his reasoning?

Get this: He claimed he wasn’t trying to extort Letterman. Rather, he was trying to sell the late-night talk show host a screenplay — about Letterman (and his dirty secrets). 

Halderman’s attorney said, “There was no extortion. There was a screenplay for sale… There was a commercial transaction. Nothing more.” Letterman’s attorney countered, “It’s classic blackmail, no matter how Mr. Halderman’s lawyer wants to dress it up.”

Gossip Cop would like to know what you think.

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The David Letterman case is set to begin today in a New York courthouse, and the TV producer, Robert “Joe” Halderman, accused of trying to extort the late-night talk show host, is expected – via his attorney – to ask that the case be dismissed.

Halderman’s lawyer plans to challenge whether the evidence against his client is sufficient, and is set to ask the judge to drop Halderman’s attempted first-degree grand larceny charge.

Relax, this is pretty much standard practice in criminal cases.

On Sept. 9, Halderman allegedly left a package in Letterman’s car that contained a letter, a synopsis for a screenplay (filled with personal information) that threatened to have the “Late Show” host’s world “collapse around him,” various personal photos, and portions of a diary belonging to Stephanie Birkitt, Halderman’s ex-girlfriend with whom Letterman had a long-term sexual relationship.

(As you may recall, Gossip Cop exclusively nabbed an impromptu interview with Letterman and Birkitt four years ago at the Emmys.)

In exchange for keeping quiet, Halderman wanted $2 million in hush money, a demand that authorities had tape recorded.

Last month, Letterman publicly (and painfully) acknowledged that he had sex with some of his female staffers.

Halderman, a producer for CBS’ “48 Hours Mystery,” pleaded not guilty, but if convicted he could face five t0 15 years in the slammer.

Gossip Cop will update you as the case unfolds.

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The National Enquirer is doing its part to keep the David Letterman ‘sextortion’ scandal going, even if it means resorting to the old trick of promising something exists when no one can prove otherwise. In this case: a supposed sex tape.

According to so-called “sources,” a studio surveillance tape is said to have “caught the 62-year-old star and a much-younger female co-worker in a compromising position… when they went outside his private office ‘love nest’ to another portion of the studio.” The tab claims the tape surfaced only recently, and that “a copy” may have been made before the original was erased.

Right.

Sources told the supermarket tab it’s “unclear” if Stephanie Birkitt, whose ex-boyfriend Robert Halderman is accused of blackmailing Letterman for $2 million, is the woman shown on the “grainy” footage.

OK. There is no tape.

Even by the Enquirer‘s reporting, no one has watched the tape, no one can identify who’s in it, no one can provide any details beyond the broadest ‘love nest’ rumors outlined in New York dailies weeks ago, and the bulk of the piece is filler about possible ramifications and background on the extortion case – but not about the “tape” itself.

A source close to Letterman confirmed to Gossip Cop that the existence of a sex tape is “not true.” Forgive us for thinking this ridiculous rumor is just a Stupid Magazine Trick.

(Access Hollywood)

Just about four years ago – on September 18, 2005 – when Gossip Cop was a producer at Access Hollywood, I was stuck in legendary Los Angeles traffic en route to the 57^th Annual Emmy Awards. At a certain point, fearing that I would be late, I jumped out of the car and started hoofing it as fast as I could in my tuxedo to the Shrine Auditorium for the ceremony.

About three blocks away, I saw David Letterman, dressed in shorts and smoking a cigar, briskly walking away from the auditorium. With him was a woman dressed in black. That was Stephanie Birkitt, Letterman’s former assistant, with whom he had a sexual relationship, and who later took up with “48 Hours” producer Robert “Joe” Halderman, the alleged exortionist who reportedly used her diary and e-mails as proof of her relationship with Letterman in an effort to squeeze the talk-show host out of $2 million.

As I passed Letterman, who was to honor the late Johnny Carson that evening, I heard him mutter to Birkitt, “I’m not going in, I’m not going in” before plopping himself down on a nearby bus bench.

Surprised by what I had heard and seen, I had a cameraman from Access meet me at the bus stop, where I asked Letterman if I could ask him a few questions. He couldn’t have been more gracious.

First I asked Letterman what the heck he was doing on the bench with minutes to go before the Emmys. Letterman, seated next to Birkett, replied, “We’re just waiting on the bus.” Birkitt then added, “We’re actually about to go in.”

When I then asked Letterman why he wasn’t suited up in a tux, he joked that he was going to wear his shorts that evening: “This is it, this is… pretty expensive this is like an Armani,” before being cut off by Birkett, who said, “Are you ready?”

Birkett clearly enjoyed such a closeness with Letterman that she felt comfortable cutting him off while being interviewed on camera.

That was then. Now Gossip Cop hears that their sexual relationship ended before he married longtime girlfriend Regina Lasko in March 2009.

Gossip Cop also hears that there have been no recorded issues of sexual harassment. Letterman owns the production company behind “Late Show,” Worldwide Pants, and an inside source tells us there have been ZERO complaints.

As for how the talk show host is doing amidst the controversy, the source told Gossip Cop, “Eh, not so well.”

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