Here's a late breaking surprise ripped from the headlines: Robert Halderman, the '48 Hours' producer accused of blackmailing David Letterman, has admitted to his guilt.

He took a plea deal with prosecutors in federal court that nets him six months in prison and 1,000 hours of community service, plus four and a half years of probation. For the unfamiliar, Halderman was busted in an undercover sting in which he tried to extort more than $2 million from Letterman. If Letterman didn't pay, Halderman would go public about Letterman's secret relationships with female members of his staff.

News of the plea came as quite a surprise since he and his attorneys have waged a loud campaign to expose and humiliate Letterman in open court. Halderman has since made a public statement, as seen in the video below, apologizing to Letterman and 'Late Show' staffer Stephanie Birkett and their families.



[via Comedy News]

So, sue me -- please don't, I can't afford a lawyer -- but I couldn't help using the pun. Garrison, who plays David "Tweener" Apolskis on FOX's Prison Break, will undergo a 90-day evaluation to help evaluate an appropriate sentence for his act of vehicular manslaughter.

In late May, Garrison pleaded guilty to the manslaughter and linked alcohol charges that resulted in the death of a 17-year-old passenger and the injury of two teenage girls. Garrison was driving with a blood alcohol content of .20 (California's legal limit is .08).

Oh, and so does John Grisham!

Interesting piece by the horror writer in this week's Entertainment Weekly (the one with Kate Winslet on the cover). King talks about the latest controversy involving the mentally unbalanced queen of exploitation legal journalist, and has a few choice observations for the woman he calls "Graceless and Tasteless:"

"And before you accuse me of writing about news in your favorite entertainment magazine, let me assure you Nancy Grace is entertainment...if, that is, you're the sort who watches NASCAR for the crashes and Survivor hoping no one will. In the increasingly weird world of infotainment, she is the belle of the Freakers Ball...[Grace] conveys by body language alone the idea that we're all guilty of something...and she knows it."

Bravo, Mr. King. He goes on to talk about the recent case involving the disappearance of Trenton Duckett. Grace had his mother on her show and pretty much hammered her about her whereabouts that day, and Duckett wouldn't say (as King points out, her lawyer told her not to, duh). And when Grace and CNN found out that she had killed herself earlier that day did they decide to not run it? Of course not, they ran it anyway.

(The article isn't online yet, but the issue is on newsstands now.)

Maybe 'Naked Guy' doesn't fly in prison. Season one Survivor winner, Richard Hatch, has been moved to a federal prison in Oklahoma. He's serving a 51-month sentence for not paying taxes on his $1 million prize and other income. The judge was especially harsh because he believed Hatch repeatedly lied on the stand.

Hatch was doing time at the Plymouth County Correctional Institution in Massachusetts and he was inexplicably moved to the federal transfer center in Oklahoma and it's not clear whether he'll serve the remainder of his sentence there or be moved elsewhere. When he was sentenced, he requested to serve his time either in Rhode Island or Florida, to be near his family.

The notorious Survivor winner Richard Hatch is festering in jail these days... by himself. E! Online is reporting that Hatch is being kept in isolation at a jail in Plymouth, Massachusetts as he awaits sentencing for tax evasion. Although he was known for stripping all his clothes on the reality show, that's not why he's separated from the other inmates. A U.S. marshal says Hatch requested solitary confinement because he's worried that he won't be safe among the other prisoners because of his celebrity status.

In case you don't remember, Hatch lost his trial earlier this year when he claimed that Survivor producers promised they'd handle the taxes for his $1 million prize. He also was found guilty of spending money on himself that was earmarked for a charity.

Not surprisingly, the former Baretta star has filed for bankruptcy. Robert Blake owes his wife's children $30 million, because, a little over two months ago, a civil court jury found he "intentionally caused" her death. However, he was acquitted of killing his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, by a criminal jury in March.

In his bankruptcy filing, Blake lists his debts as the $30 million judgment, $1.3 million in federal taxes, and $300,000 in state taxes. Last year, he paid his attorney $250,000 in legal fees- a price tag the attorney says he put a cap on. Blake's only assets are $100,000 and $500,000. He's currently sharing an apartment in San Fernando Valley with his publicist. One of his adult daughters has adopted the 5-year-old daughter he had with Bakley.

Not only was Richard Hatch found guilty of not paying taxes on his $1 million prize for winning Survivor, he was handcuffed and taken into custody because a judge decided he's a flight risk. Today a Rhode Island jury also found him guilty of not paying taxes on $327,000 he earned co-hosting a Boston radio show (dude, I want that gig!) and $28,000 he made by renting out his property. He was acquitted on mail fraud charges relating to a charity he operates. Hatch could spend up to 13 years in prison and pay a fine of up to $600,000. His sentencing is April 28.

This is no surprise, considering his lawyer's "defense". In closing arguments, Hatch's own lawyer called his client the "world's worst bookkeeper" and said that Hatch never meant to do anything wrong. I'd say Hatch hired the "world's worst lawyer". Is there a mug for that?

Cynthia Watros, who plays Libby on Lost, apologized to a judge for drinking and driving. She pleaded guilty to DUI, after being picked up by police in Hawaii on December 1st. Watros had to pay a $370 fine, have her driver's license suspended for 90 days, and attend alcohol counseling. Michelle Rodriguez, who plays Ana Lucia on Lost, was also picked up for drunk driving on the same night. She has chosen to fight the charge and will go on trial in March. If convicted, she could be sent to prison in California for violating her probation for drunk driving charges in that state. Maybe the outcome of that trial will determine whether Ana Lucia lives or dies at the end of this season... or maybe that's already decided.

I am going to limit this rant to Law and Order since it is the primary offender when it comes to putting guest stars on its many, many shows. It's as though the writers can't help but make every single celebrity guest star the guilty person! Do they know it is a dead giveaway to the viewers? If I see Dean Cain, Fred Savage, or Dana Delany as a seemingly minor character in the beginning of the show, I know they'll end up on trial or at least be the guilty ones by the end of the episode. Last night, I was watching a rerun of Criminal Intent where Lee Tergesen from Oz appeared as a minor character in the beginning. Guess who ended up being guilty of murder? Surprise, surprise. I remember Julia Roberts being on the original Law and Order during season nine, does anyone remember whether she was guilty?

Michelle Rodriguez, who plays Ana Lucia on Lost, entered a 'not guilty' plea to DUI in court yesterday. Actually, her lawyer entered the plea for her as she did not make a personal appearance. That means, in true Ana Lucia style, she'll be going on trial on March 30th in Hawaii to fight charges that she was driving drunk on November 24th. As we've been reporting, Rodriguez has a long list of speeding charges in Hawaii and she is currently on probation in California for drunk driving and hit-and-run. If a judge decides that Rodriguez was in violation of her probation by driving while drunk in Hawaii, she could go to prison in California for up to 18 months. If not, she could at least spend 14 days in a Hawaiian jail, a $1,500 fine, and loss of her license for a year (shouldn't that happen anyway?).

As for Cynthia Watros, who plays Libby on Lost (and the one who looked the most tanked), her lawyer asked for a new arraignment date for Jan. 12 so she can change her plea to guilty. Her lawyer said, "Cynthia realizes she made a mistake."