The New York Post reports that CBS News producer Robert Halderman is trying to get a plea bargain deal for charges that he tried to blackmail David Letterman. However, his lawyer denied that any deal is in the works.
In any case, it looks like any negotiations, even if they are proposed, would have to wait until January. Robert Morgenthau is retiring after 35 years as District Attorney for Manhattan, so the Post sources say any plea bargain decision will be left to newly elected DA Cyrus Vance Jr., who takes office in January.
Halderman is reported by the Post to be offering to plead guilty in exchange for a prison sentence of only one year. He could face as much as 15 years if the case goes to trial and he is convicted by a jury.
Letterman went public with a confession of sexual liaisons with female staffers after Halderman allegedly tried to shake him down for $2 million to keep quiet. Halderman’s defense has maintained that he was only trying to sell the “Late Night” CBS host a screenplay treatment about a TV comic whose bedding of interns was about to be made public.
