Robert J. Halderman Arrested for David Letterman Affairs Extortion

David Letterman dropped a bombshell on his talk show Thursday night, revealing an extortion plot for $2 million that had the potential to disclose sexual affairs that he had had over the years with employees of his show. Not only did David Letterman confess to actually having sex with female employees of the show but that he had been involved in events leading to the arrest of the blackmailer, who is alleged to be CBS "48 Hours" producer Robert J. Halderman. David Letterman talked about the extortion plot, something he referred to as a "bizarre experience," and speaking to a grand jury and judge about the case earlier in the day. He said it all started three weeks ago when he found a package that outlined the extortion plot in terms of a screenplay that revealed his affairs if he did not pay the blackmailer, allegedly one Robert Joe Halderman, $2 million.

Robert Joe Halderman, part of an Emmy-winning team that produces shows for the CBS investigative news magazine "48 Hours," was arrested Thursday during a "sting" operation in which David Letterman participated via his lawyer, handing over a faux $2 million check to Robert Joe Halderman.

David Letterman told "The Late Show with David Letterman" audience that the package had contained a letter. He said, "I know that you do some terrible terrible things, and I can prove that you do these terrible things ... and sure enough what was contained in the package was proof that I do terrible, terrible things." Letterman revealed that those "terrible things" was have sexual affairs with female members of his show.

The year 2009 might go down as the year of high-profile extortion plots. Besides David Letterman's public confession of being allegedly targeted for extortion by Robert J. Halderman, Senator John Ensign (R-NV) announced publicly in June that he had been the target of an extortion plot by the family of Cindy Hampton, a campaign staff worker with whom he had had an affair. Accusations and allegations ensued for a couple weeks, making national headlines until Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolin, who, like Senator Ensign, was considered a Republican Party contender for the presidential race of 2012, stole the scandal hot seat by publicly announcing his extramarital affair after returning from a visit to see his mistress in South America.

Rick Pitino, head coach of the vaunted Louisville Cardinals basketball team, captured headlines even earlier in the year (April) when he announced that he was cooperating with authorities investigating an extortion scheme involving $10 million and various other pay-off demands. Rick Pitino later admitted to having a one-night sexual affair with Karen Sypher, who had publicly accused Pitino of raping her subsequent to her arrest for extortion. Pitino apologized for his misconduct in August and remains head coach at Louisville. He insists that the sex between himself and Karen Sypher was consensual.

Extortion plots, affairs, celebrity scandals -- although nothing new, David Letterman's public confession and scandalous revelations via his own talk show may be one for the history books. Press conferences and released statements are usually the way these matters are handled and many were stunned to see David Letterman Thursday night speaking about such a serious topic in such a serious manner on the show.

It should be noted that David Letterman has been taping his show during this three-week extortion period. Notoriously private about personal matters, it is as yet unknown how the ordeal may have truly affected Letterman. It would seem that the apparent stress of the situation, however, must have compelled him to talk about the series of events that led to Robert Joe Halderman's arrest earlier in the day, because at the end of the "confession," Letterman, who seemed to have become self-conscious of his subject, quietly thanked his live audience for allowing him to "vent."

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Sources:

ABC News
"The Late Show with David Letterman," CBS Television