Alleged Letterman Blackmailer Apologizes, Pleads Guilty

Robert Halderman pleaded guilty to attempted grand larceny, a felony, in New York City, and also apologized publicly to Letterman and his family. Halderman will serve six months in jail concurrent with five years of probation. He will also complete 1,000 hours of community service in the form of helping young adults newly out of prison as well as formerly homeless people with literary and vocational skills.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. said, in part, Tuesday, "Robert Joel Halderman’s guilty plea today to the attempted extortion of David Letterman sends a strong message: If you commit this type of crime in Manhattan, whether you threaten to extort a celebrity or any other citizen, you will be investigated, prosecuted and you will almost certainly go to jail."

He continued on to say, "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. This plea agreement, in addition to imposing a meaningful sentence including a jail term, a lengthy period of supervised probation and significant post-release community service, provides punishment for the defendant and a measure of privacy for the victim."

Published 3/9/10 by