"Extra" has the dish on the "48 Hours" producer who allegedly tried to extort $2 million from David Letterman. Robert "Joe" Halderman was a respected producer... his colleagues pooled their resources to post his $200,000 bail.
All About Robert 'Joe' Halderman
Robert “Joe” Halderman's journalistic career has spanned three decades. An online biography claims Halderman's work has been acknowledged with seven Emmy awards and a prestigious Columbia DuPont Award.
In the 1980s, he worked on “CBS Morning Show” with anchors Diane Sawyer and Bill Kurtis.
A report says the alleged extortion plot was Halderman's plan to embarrass Letterman and Stephanie Birkett (pictured). Word is the FBI is searching CBS offices for evidence in the extortion case and they may have found a hidden camera.
Co-workers describe Halderman as one of the two "best producers" at CBS with a reputation for arrogance.
Halderman's colleagues pooled their resources to post his $200,000 bail.
In 2006, Halderman wrote, produced and directed a documentary about the the deadly school siege in Beslan, Russia. “Beslan: Three Days in September” appeared on Showtime.
Halderman married Patty Montet in 1990. The couple lived in Norwalk, Conn. and raised two children. Halderman and his wife divorced in 2004. A year later, Letterman staffer Stephanie Birkitt moved in with him.
Birkitt and Halderman broke up sometime in the last two months.
