Letterman admits to sex with staffers after extortion threat

Late-night talk show host David Letterman confesses to sexual relations with staffers during a taping of "Late Night with David Letterman." The admission follows a $2 million extortion attempt resulting in an arrest on Oct. 1.

David Letterman, host of CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman" revealed on his Oct. 1 program that he had sex with members of his staff. This revelation came on the heels of an extortion plot and the arrest of the alleged extortioner. The extortioner asked for $2 million or he would expose Letterman's sexual relations with staff members by writing a screenplay. Letterman, 62, said that he received a "package" from the unnamed person three weeks ago, according to Newsday. The late-night talk show host said he "had gotten to his car early one morning and found a package in the backseat containing a note saying, 'I know that you do some terrible, terrible things.'" Newsday's report indicates that Letterman then contacted authorities and, according to Letterman's statement on Thursday night, he referred the matter to the Special Prosecution Bureau of the Manhattan district attorney’s office. An investigation was conducted and authorities had Letterman issue a "phoney" $2 million check to the extortioner. This action resulted in an arrest on Oct. 1. Newsday reports that Letterman said during his program:

This whole thing has been quite scary. I had to testify before a grand jury, how I was disturbed and worried for myself, my family felt menaced and I told them all the creepy things. It’s been a very bizarre experience, and . . . I hope to protect my job.

Letterman married his longtime girlfriend Regina Lasko in March, but what is unknown at this time, according to the New York Daily News "is whether Letterman simply had consensual relations with a fellow grownup at a time when both were free agents or whether other factors were at play, like age or job description." A report on Morning Joe indicates the alleged extortionist is a producer on the show 48 Hours. Further specifics were revealed by CBS News on Oct. 2 noting that "A veteran producer of 48 Hours, Joe Halderman, was arrested Thursday on charges of attempted grand larceny in the first degree." A report on the status of the suspect's arrest and indictment can be found here.