All posts containing the tag: "extortion"
Posted Mar 9th 2010 2:29PM by TMZ Staff
David Letterman's extortionist just pled guilty to one count of attempted grand larceny in the second degree.
Robert Halderman was just sentenced to 6 months in jail, 5 years probation and 1,000 hours of community service.
Under the terms of the deal, Halderman will serve 500 hours of community service in New York and the rest in Connecticut.
In the courtroom, Halderman said, "I have great remorse and sincerely apologize to David Letterman and Stephanie Birkitt. I attempted to extort $2 million from David Letterman." Halderman called it "a thinly veiled threat."
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, David Letterman
Tags: court, david letterman, DavidLetterman, extortion, late show, LateShow, plea, robert halderman, RobertHalderman
Posted Mar 9th 2010 12:09AM by TMZ Staff
Cindy Crawford can sleep a little easier tonight. The German guy accused of blackmailing her with photos of her young daughter has been sentenced to spend two years in a German jail.
The perp -- Edis Kayalar -- was convicted of extortion in a German court. As we previously reported, Kayalar was suspected of stealing a private photo from Crawford's former nanny -- a photo that showed the supermodel's 7-year-old daughter gagged and bound to a chair. The nanny said she took the photo as a joke.
Kayalar turned himself in to German authorities back in November -- he was denied bail because the judge thought the dude was a flight risk.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Cindy Crawford
Tags: child, cindy crawford, CindyCrawford, edis kayalar, EdisKayalar, extortion, german jail, GermanJail, guilty, photo
Posted Jan 27th 2010 12:15PM by TMZ Staff
A date has now been set in the retrial of the people accused of conspiring to extort John Travolta over the death of his son, Jett ... TMZ has learned.
The judge in the Bahamas set the retrial for September 6. The trial is expected to last 4 weeks.
Pleasant Bridgewater and Tarino Lightbourne are both accused of demanding millions of dollars from John Travolta, in return for keeping a document related to Jett's death secret. Ironically, the document -- a medical waiver -- is of no real import.
The case had been tried last year but the judge declared a mistrial during jury deliberations because of jury misconduct.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, John Travolta, Exclusives
Tags: bahamas, extortion, extortion case, extortion retrial, ExtortionCase, ExtortionRetrial, Jett travolta, JettTravolta, john travolta, JohnTravolta, pleasant bridgewater, PleasantBridgewater, retrial, tarino lightbourne, TarinoLightbourne
Posted Dec 29th 2009 5:31PM by TMZ Staff
Gloria Allred is pissed that the lawyer for the man accused of extorting money from David Letterman has filed legal docs saying Allred and Rachel Uchitel did essentially the same thing.
Allred told TMZ that Robert Halderman's lawyer, Gerald Shargel, does not have permission to use her name or the name of her client. Gloria adds, "I have no personal knowledge of his client's case and he has no personal knowledge and therefore, no basis for his remarks about my representation of Ms. Uchitel."
Shargel wants the case against his client booted, in part because of the new Tiger Woods defense.
Gloria added this zinger: "...Mr. Shargel should spend his time representing his client based solely on the facts of his case, rather than comparing it to other matters of which he has no personal knowledge."
In other words, Rachel's settlement was confidential.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Exclusives, David Letterman
Tags: david letterman, DavidLetterman, extortion, extortionist, gloria, gloria allred, GloriaAllred, money, rachel uchitel, RachelUchitel, robert halderman, RobertHalderman, tiger woods, TigerWoods
Posted Dec 29th 2009 3:35PM by TMZ Staff
The guy who allegedly masterminded an extortion plot against David Letterman is now using the Tiger Woods scandal as precedent to get the charges against him thrown out ..according to new documents obtained by TMZ.
Robert Halderman's lawyer, Gerald Shargel, filed legal papers asking that the charges against his client be dismissed. In the papers, Shargel notes that when news of Tiger's infidelity surfaced, Mistress #1, Rachel Uchitel, reportedly inked a multi-million dollar settlement in return for her silence -- with the help of Gloria Allred.
Shargel notes, "Their behavior was capitalist, not criminal."
Halderman's lawyer says his client essentially just "offered to sell his very marketable story to David Letterman." Shargel says that celebrity misdeeds have "significant fair market value" and they are "routinely suppressed through private business arrangements."
Shargel's point -- Rachel and Gloria didn't get prosecuted, so why should Halderman?
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Exclusives, David Letterman, Tiger Woods
Tags: david letterman, DavidLetterman, defense, extortion, gloria allred, GloriaAllred, rachel uchitel, RachelUchitel, robert halderman, RobertHalderman, tiger woods, TigerWoods
Posted Dec 22nd 2009 12:46PM by TMZ Staff
The FBI apparently went around the world trying to make a case against Michael Jackson for alleged child molestation.
According to documents just released by the FBI, in 1993 the LAPD and Santa Barbara County Sheriff's deputies "Plan to travel to Manila, Philippines... for the purpose of interviewing (names deleted) concerning their knowledge of accusations against Michael Jackson of sexual abuse of young boys."
We know the people sought to be interviewed were a man and woman who had worked at Neverland from 1988 - 1990 and allegedly witnessed molestation.
According to docs, an FBI special agent was involved in the Manila trip.
And another doc states a legal attache for the U.S. Embassy in London was sending information back home regarding sexual misconduct by Jackson in England ... specifically, a phone call to a teenage boy.
Filed under: Michael Jackson, Jackson FBI Files
Tags: case, documents, extortion, fbi, file, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, MJ, molestation, molestation trial, MolestationTrial, neverland, santa barbara county sheriff, SantaBarbaraCountySheriff
Posted Dec 22nd 2009 12:29PM by TMZ Staff
UPDATE: In our document search, we just found out why the FBI was involved in the Michael Jackson molestation case. According to one of the docs, the LAPD Sexually Exploited Child Unit contacted the FBI in 1993, asking the agency if it would be "interested in working a possible federal violation against Jackson concerning the transportation of a minor across state lines for immoral purposes."
The FBI was secretly involved in the child molestation case against Michael Jackson, according to documents just released by the agency.
In July, 2004, a memo was drafted stating that the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's investigation produced "collateral investigative issues, some of which potentially rise to the level of Federal Violations, in the New York and Miami Divisions as well as the Los Angeles Division." The memo does not elaborate on the nature of the alleged offenses.
According to the docs, FBI special agents from L.A., New York and Miami were assigned to assist Santa Barbara county prosecutors in their case against Jackson -- a case in which Jackson was found not guilty.
The memo says the special agents and prosecutors spent time discussing various strategies in the case.
There are also documents showing the FBI was involved in the 1993 molestation investigation. In one doc, there are notes which state Jackson was riding in a train with a boy whom Jackson identified as his cousin. The notes say, "He was very possessive of boy," and at night on the train a witness "heard questionable noises through wall."
Filed under: Michael Jackson, Jackson FBI Files
Tags: case, documents, extortion, fbi, files, LAPD, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, molestation, molestation trial, MolestationTrial, santa barbara D.A., SantaBarbaraD.a.
Posted Dec 22nd 2009 12:06PM by TMZ Staff
The man who threatened to kill Michael Jackson believed he was married to Janet Jackson -- and law enforcement sources tell TMZ it was Janet that the man was obsessed over.
A law enforcement source tells TMZ the man also made threats to kill Janet and even showed up at the Jackson family home in Encino.
In his rambling letters, the man -- Frank Paul Jones -- says "The situation ... is centered around her confused sexuality." He goes on to say if she does not "overcome" her issue over sexuality, "I'm gonna try to kill every homosexual on the face of the earth. If I can't save my wife, they can't be saved."
Filed under: Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Jackson FBI Files
Tags: case, documents, extortion, fbi, files, frank paul jones, FrankPaulJones, janet jackson, JanetJackson, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, molestation, obsessed, sexuality, stalker
Posted Dec 22nd 2009 11:48AM by TMZ Staff
The person who threatened to kill Michael Jackson unless he got money also threatened to slaughter people at a Michael Jackson concert, according to documents just released by the FBI .. and it all appears to be a scheme to get a woman to notice him.
The person who wrote the threatening letters says, "I'll commit mass murder at a Michael Jackson concert if necessary, in an attempt to murder Michael, then you will have to deal with my situation in the public eye."
It appears from the letters the writer wants mobster John Gotti to fork over money and if he doesn't ... the writer threatens to kill Michael.
The person who wrote the letters appears to be obsessed with a woman and is making these threats to get her attention. Some of the letters were written to newspapers. He says, "I'm 33 years old and never had a real relationship in my life. I can't even slow dance."
The man was arrested on May 22, 1992 outside the White House. He was released on June 4, 1992, and one day later made threats to kill Michael Jackson.
Filed under: Michael Jackson, Jackson FBI Files
Tags: death, death threats, DeathThreats, documents, extortion, fbi, files, john gotti, JohnGotti, kill, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, MJ, molestation, released, white house, WhiteHouse
Posted Dec 22nd 2009 11:38AM by TMZ Staff
Someone threatened to kill Michael Jackson, and then-President George H.W. Bush, according to FBI documents just released.
Someone wrote a letter on July 6, 1992, that the FBI obtained, stating, "I decided that because nobody is taking me serious, and I can't handle my state of mind, that I am going to Washington D.C. to threaten to kill the President of the United States, George Bush."
It goes on ..."Michael [Jackson] I will personally attempt to kill, if he doesn't pay me my money."
One of the documents, written by the L.A. City Attorney's office, indicated on June 22, 1992, the author of the letter "arrives in Calif at Jackson's . Threatens to kill."
The FBI says the person who wrote the letter was charged with extortion, pled guilty and was sentenced to prison in 1993.
Filed under: Michael Jackson, Jackson FBI Files
Tags: case, DC, death, death threats, DeathThreats, documents, extortion, fbi, george H.W. bush, GeorgeH.w.Bush, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, President
Posted Dec 21st 2009 1:18PM by TMZ Staff
The FBI will not release Michael Jackson documents relating to the molestation investigations as well as extortion attempts -- at least not today.
The 333 pages of formerly-classified documents were supposed to be released today but the snow in Washington D.C. has caused a delay of at least one day.
As for what's in the documents ... sources tell TMZ during the 1993 Michael Jackson child molestation investigation, the late great Johnnie Cochran contacted the FBI, claiming the accuser's family was trying to extort money from Jackson with false allegations. It's likely Cochran's contact with the agency will show up when the documents are released.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Michael Jackson, Exclusives
Tags: anthony pellicano, AnthonyPellicano, child molestation, ChildMolestation, documents, extortion, extortion attempt, ExtortionAttempt, fbi, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, release, snow storm, SnowStorm, washington d.c., washington dc, WashingtonD.c., WashingtonDc
Posted Dec 19th 2009 11:50AM by TMZ Staff
The Federal Bureau of Investigation will release 333 pages of Michael Jackson's formerly-classified file on Monday morning. Can we interest you in a little light reading?
The documents will relate to his 1993 and 2004 child molestation cases -- as well as any case Michael Jackson was the victim of ... including threats and extortion attempts. Nothing about Dr. Conrad Murray or Michael's death will be in the files.
Our guess -- the extortion attempts will be the most interesting.
The FBI did a similar thing back in October concerning files involving Anna Nicole Smith and a possible plot to kill the son of her 89-year-old husband, J. Howard Marshall II.
Filed under: Michael Jackson
Tags: classified, de-classified, extortion, fbi, file, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, molestation
Posted Dec 16th 2009 12:15AM by TMZ Staff
David Letterman's alleged extortionist worried that someone might kill him in retaliation for peddling his screenplay about the sexual escapades of the late night host ... at least that's the story of Robert Halderman.
In conversations secretly-taped by law enforcement, the CBS "48 Hours" producer said, "Should I be fired mysteriously... if my house burns down ... any number of things .... I have no idea who or what he is or is capable of, someone might decide the only way to be sure I never talk to anybody is for somebody to kill me."
Halderman's lawyer, Gerald Shargel, claims his client wasn't extorting Letterman ... he was just giving Dave the right of first refusal on a screenplay "relating to Letterman's poor conduct."
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, David Letterman
Tags: 48 Hours, 48Hours, alleged extortion, AllegedExtortion, CBS, Dave Letterman, DaveLetterman, David Letterman, DavidLetterman, death, extortion, gerald shargel, GeraldShargel, kill, Late Show with David Letterman, LateShowWithDavidLetterman, Robert Halderman, RobertHalderman
Posted Nov 20th 2009 12:10AM by TMZ Staff
The suspect in the alleged Cindy Crawford extortion plot put his best fingers forward on Tuesday, greeting German photographers outside of court by flipping them two lovely birds.
Edis Kayalar -- who turned himself in to German authorities on Monday -- was denied bail shortly after this photo was taken.
Filed under: Cindy Crawford
Tags: cindy crawford, CindyCrawford, edis kayalar, EdisKayalar, extortion
Posted Nov 18th 2009 2:30PM by TMZ Staff
Cindy Crawford's alleged extortionist cannot be extradited to the U.S., but he's not out of the woods.
TMZ did some checking and found Edis Kayalar, who turned himself in to German police Monday night, cannot be shipped back to the U.S. for allegedly demanding $100,000 from Cindy and hubby Rande Gerber. Germany does not have an extradition treaty with the U.S.
So, you ask, why did Kayalar turn himself in? We're told in November, after Kayalar was deported to Germany, he was sending emails to Gerber asking for money that could be transferred into a German bank account. That, German authorities tell us, is a violation of German extortion law.
Kayalar allegedly stole a photo from Cindy's former nanny -- a photo that shows her 7-year-old daughter tied up to a chair and gagged. The nanny says she took the photo as a joke.
Kayalar has been denied bail, because the German judge thinks he's a flight risk.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Exclusives, Cindy Crawford
Tags: arrested, cindy crawford, CindyCrawford, cops, edis kayalar, EdisKayalar, extortion, extortionist, germany, nanny, photo, rande gerber, RandeGerber
