Joe Halderman
Encyclopedia
Robert Joel "Joe" Halderman is an American television news writer, director, producer, and convicted felon.
and Bill Kurtis
. In 1986 he produced the CBS specials AIDS
Hits Home and 48 Hours on Crack
Street. He became a foreign reporter who travelled to more than 70 countries, and was responsible for war reportage from nations such as Iraq
, Afghanistan
, Lebanon
, and Bosnia.
He was stationed in London
for 12 years, throughout most of the 1990s, from where he reported on events in the Soviet Union
and later Russia
.In 1992 he wrote and produced the CBS special Somalia
: A Country Is Dying. In February 1998 he worked on CBS coverage of the Olympic Winter Games XVIII.
During the 2000s, Halderman worked on domestic shows for CBS, He produced the show Flashpoint
in 2007, and from 2005–2009, he was also a producer of the CBS true crime
journalism series 48 Hours
, including episodes such as Out of the Shadows (2005), about a man who for 18 years was wrongly suspected of being the serial killer
Dennis Rader
, also known as the BTK Killer; and Virginia Tech: Anatomy of a Rampage (2007), about the school shooting and mass murder
known as the Virginia Tech massacre
which took place at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. In September 2006 he produced Five Years Later: How Safe Are We?, a look at US security since the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center
and The Pentagon
.
Halderman's work at CBS News
won an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for broadcast journalism and seven Emmy Awards. He also received an Emmy Award nomination for the 2006 film Beslan: Three Days in September which was narrated by Julia Roberts
and aired on Showtime. The film, which Halderman wrote, directed and produced, combined guerilla footage and interviews with family members, soldiers, local politicians, school officials, and survivors to describe the hostage-taking and massacre of hundreds of people at a children's school by Chechen
rebels in North Ossetia, Russia
.
In July 2010, after his conviction and incarceration, Halderman was nominated for an Emmy as a producer of a 48 Hours Mystery segment regarding Amanda Knox
. The Emmy was won instead by a 60 Minutes
segment on the War in Pakistan.
and moved there with her sons.
According to CBS News, Halderman and Stephanie Birkitt
lived together in Halderman's Norwalk, Connecticut
home until August 2009, when she reportedly moved out. She was also romantically linked to David Letterman
during the same time.
David Letterman
for $2 million. According to Letterman, who described the incident on his television show on October 1, 2009, someone had threatened to expose Letterman's sexual affairs with female staff employees in the form of a screenplay
and a book if he was not paid off. Halderman was arrested when he attempted to cash a phony $2 million check given to him by Letterman's lawyer.
At the time of his arrest, Halderman was a producer of the CBS true crime
journalism series 48 Hours
. Halderman was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury and he pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted grand larceny in criminal court on October 2, 2009. If convicted, Halderman faced punishment of five to 15 years. Bail was set at $200,000, which Halderman posted.
Halderman had at one time lived with one of Letterman's assistants, Stephanie Birkitt
. As a member of the CBS page program, Birkitt worked for both Letterman's show and for 48 Hours before becoming a staff employee for Letterman.
On October 15, CBS News made the unusual announcement that the company's Chief Investigative Correspondent, Armen Keteyian
, had been assigned to conduct an "in-depth investigation" into the blackmail of Letterman by Halderman, a CBS News producer. On March 9, 2010, Halderman pleaded guilty to attempted grand larceny
in the second degree and received a 6-month jail sentence, to be followed by five years probation
and 1,000 hours of community service
.
Halderman was released from Rikers Island
on September 2, 2010, after serving four months of his 6-month sentence. He still has to complete 1,000 hours of community service and will most likely be working with the homeless and recently released prisoners.
Career
Halderman's journalistic career began in the early 1980s, when he was a producer on the CBS Morning Show with Diane SawyerDiane Sawyer
Lila Diane Sawyer is the current anchor of ABC News' flagship program, ABC World News. Previously, Sawyer had been co-anchor of ABC Newss morning news program, Good Morning America ....
and Bill Kurtis
Bill Kurtis
Bill Kurtis is an American television journalist, producer, narrator, and news anchor. He is also the current host of A&E crime and news documentary shows, including Investigative Reports, American Justice, and Cold Case Files...
. In 1986 he produced the CBS specials AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
Hits Home and 48 Hours on Crack
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
Street. He became a foreign reporter who travelled to more than 70 countries, and was responsible for war reportage from nations such as Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, and Bosnia.
He was stationed in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for 12 years, throughout most of the 1990s, from where he reported on events in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and later Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.In 1992 he wrote and produced the CBS special Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
: A Country Is Dying. In February 1998 he worked on CBS coverage of the Olympic Winter Games XVIII.
During the 2000s, Halderman worked on domestic shows for CBS, He produced the show Flashpoint
Flashpoint (TV series)
Flashpoint is a Canadian police drama television series that debuted on July 11, 2008, on CTV in Canada and ran on CBS in the United States for its first three and a half seasons. In 2011, Ion Television began airing new episodes of the series in the United States...
in 2007, and from 2005–2009, he was also a producer of the CBS true crime
True crime
True crime is a non-fiction literary and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people.The crimes most commonly include murder, but true crime works have also touched on other legal cases. Depending on the writer, true crime can adhere strictly to...
journalism series 48 Hours
48 Hours (TV series)
48 Hours is a documentary and news program broadcast on the CBS television network since January 19, 1988. The program originally presented documentaries of various events related to a particular subject occurring within a 48-hour period, and is credited as one of the first to air a "reality show"...
, including episodes such as Out of the Shadows (2005), about a man who for 18 years was wrongly suspected of being the serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
Dennis Rader
Dennis Rader
Dennis Lynn Rader is an American serial killer who murdered ten people in Sedgwick County , between 1974 and 1991....
, also known as the BTK Killer; and Virginia Tech: Anatomy of a Rampage (2007), about the school shooting and mass murder
Mass murder
Mass murder is the act of murdering a large number of people , typically at the same time or over a relatively short period of time. According to the FBI, mass murder is defined as four or more murders occurring during a particular event with no cooling-off period between the murders...
known as the Virginia Tech massacre
Virginia Tech massacre
The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place on April 16, 2007, on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people...
which took place at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. In September 2006 he produced Five Years Later: How Safe Are We?, a look at US security since the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
and The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
.
Halderman's work at CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
won an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for broadcast journalism and seven Emmy Awards. He also received an Emmy Award nomination for the 2006 film Beslan: Three Days in September which was narrated by Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. She became a Hollywood star after headlining the romantic comedy Pretty Woman , which grossed $464 million worldwide...
and aired on Showtime. The film, which Halderman wrote, directed and produced, combined guerilla footage and interviews with family members, soldiers, local politicians, school officials, and survivors to describe the hostage-taking and massacre of hundreds of people at a children's school by Chechen
Chechen people
Chechens constitute the largest native ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region. They refer to themselves as Noxçi . Also known as Sadiks , Gargareans, Malkhs...
rebels in North Ossetia, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
In July 2010, after his conviction and incarceration, Halderman was nominated for an Emmy as a producer of a 48 Hours Mystery segment regarding Amanda Knox
Amanda Knox
Amanda Marie Knox is an American woman who was accused of the murder of Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Umbria, Italy. She served 4 years of a 26-year sentence before the murder conviction was overturned on October 3, 2011. Raffaele Sollecito, Knox's boyfriend at the time of the murder, was also...
. The Emmy was won instead by a 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
segment on the War in Pakistan.
Personal life
Halderman married Patty Montet in 1990 and the couple had two children. They divorced in 2004. In 2007, Halderman was ordered to pay Montet $6,800 per month in child and spousal support until May 2011, when the payments will be reduced to $5,966 until May 2014, according to papers filed in Stamford Superior Court in Connecticut. In May, 2009, Montet bought a house in Fort Collins, ColoradoFort Collins, Colorado
Fort Collins is a Home Rule Municipality situated on the Cache La Poudre River along the Colorado Front Range, and is the county seat and most populous city of Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Fort Collins is located north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. With a 2010 census...
and moved there with her sons.
According to CBS News, Halderman and Stephanie Birkitt
Stephanie Birkitt
Stephanie Anne Birkitt was an assistant to David Letterman on Late Show with David Letterman.Although Birkitt was usually treated as a character named Vicki, in some of her appearances, Letterman referred to her by various other surreal nicknames such as Smitty, Kitty, Monty, Gunter, and Dutch...
lived together in Halderman's Norwalk, Connecticut
Norwalk, Connecticut
Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of the city is 85,603, making Norwalk sixth in population in Connecticut, and third in Fairfield County...
home until August 2009, when she reportedly moved out. She was also romantically linked to David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
during the same time.
Blackmail attempt
In October, 2009, Halderman was accused of attempting to blackmailBlackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
for $2 million. According to Letterman, who described the incident on his television show on October 1, 2009, someone had threatened to expose Letterman's sexual affairs with female staff employees in the form of a screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
and a book if he was not paid off. Halderman was arrested when he attempted to cash a phony $2 million check given to him by Letterman's lawyer.
At the time of his arrest, Halderman was a producer of the CBS true crime
True crime
True crime is a non-fiction literary and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people.The crimes most commonly include murder, but true crime works have also touched on other legal cases. Depending on the writer, true crime can adhere strictly to...
journalism series 48 Hours
48 Hours (TV series)
48 Hours is a documentary and news program broadcast on the CBS television network since January 19, 1988. The program originally presented documentaries of various events related to a particular subject occurring within a 48-hour period, and is credited as one of the first to air a "reality show"...
. Halderman was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury and he pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted grand larceny in criminal court on October 2, 2009. If convicted, Halderman faced punishment of five to 15 years. Bail was set at $200,000, which Halderman posted.
Halderman had at one time lived with one of Letterman's assistants, Stephanie Birkitt
Stephanie Birkitt
Stephanie Anne Birkitt was an assistant to David Letterman on Late Show with David Letterman.Although Birkitt was usually treated as a character named Vicki, in some of her appearances, Letterman referred to her by various other surreal nicknames such as Smitty, Kitty, Monty, Gunter, and Dutch...
. As a member of the CBS page program, Birkitt worked for both Letterman's show and for 48 Hours before becoming a staff employee for Letterman.
On October 15, CBS News made the unusual announcement that the company's Chief Investigative Correspondent, Armen Keteyian
Armen Keteyian
Armen Keteyian is an American television journalist and author. He is currently CBS News' Chief Investigative Correspondent based out of New York, reporting primarily for the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley, while also contributing to 60 Minutes.-Early life and career:Keteyian was born in...
, had been assigned to conduct an "in-depth investigation" into the blackmail of Letterman by Halderman, a CBS News producer. On March 9, 2010, Halderman pleaded guilty to attempted grand larceny
Grand Larceny
Grand Larceny is a 1987 thriller film directed by Jeannot Szwarc and starring Marilu Henner, Ian McShane, Omar Sharif and Louis Jourdan.-Plot summary:...
in the second degree and received a 6-month jail sentence, to be followed by five years probation
Probation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
and 1,000 hours of community service
Community service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
.
Halderman was released from Rikers Island
Rikers Island
Rikers Island is New York City's main jail complex, as well as the name of the island on which it sits, in the East River between Queens and the mainland Bronx, adjacent to the runways of LaGuardia Airport. The island itself is part of the borough of the Bronx, though it is included as part of...
on September 2, 2010, after serving four months of his 6-month sentence. He still has to complete 1,000 hours of community service and will most likely be working with the homeless and recently released prisoners.