Stephanie Birkitt, David Letterman, and Joe Halderman in the news

Last fall Stephanie Birkitt, David Letterman, and Joe Halderman were in the news. If you recall, David Letterman was threatened with black mail by former CBS News producer Joe Halderman.

 Halderman claimed that Letterman was having an affair with his assistant Stephanie Birkitt. Moreover, Halderman alleged that Letterman was known for having affairs with his female aides and was going to write a screenplay about it unless Letterman paid him $2 million.

Rather than run away from or knuckle under to Joe Halderman's black mail threat, David Letterman called the Manhattan District Attorney's office and then, in a funny, mater-of-fact, yet dramatic fashion that's now one of the classic moments of television, David Letterman gave this on-air confession starting with "I have a story to tell you..":



For a time after David's historic confession, he was trashed by some in the media and providing a better-than, hollier-than-thou; not here...



...but the public quickly warmed to Letterman's honesty, and very soon he regained his reputation and respect.

Meanwhile, Stephanie Birkitt became a hot internet search and Joe Halderman declined from respected news journalist to a person labeled an extortionist.

Today, Joe Halderman pled guilty to blackmailing David Letterman. The plea carries a sentence of four-and-a-half years in prison and 1,000 hours of community service. Here's Halderman:




Will David Letterman get a Tuesday rating boost from this news? Will he talk about it tonight? Stay tuned.