Image from Wikimedia.

Often people try to make a long story short, but David Letterman made a short story long last night on his show when he talked about the David Letterman extortion. Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau identified today the man who tried to blackmail David Letterman.

The alleged extortionist is CBS producer Robert “Joe” Halderman, and I am guessing now that he’s been named in People magazine and the entire David-Letterman-watching public heard the whole story last night, it’ll be a short trial.

David Letterman on David Letterman

David Letterman makes a lot of money and probably gets the best personal loan rates available, but when he got a package with a letter detailing the secrets someone would share if he didn’t get $2 million, David Letterman was none too pleased. Well, clearly keeping his secrets was not worth $2 million to David Letterman because he told those secrets on national television.

I watched the video from last night’s show in which the David Letterman extortion is covered by none other than David Letterman on “The Late Show with David Letterman.” Clearly, the audience was enthralled and entertained by his story, which was punctuated by plenty of laughter, but there is something about turning a story about having sex with women he works with into a 10-minute comedic monologue that really rubs me the wrong way.

When did infidelity become funny?

You see, if it weren’t for the fact that David Letterman has been in a relationship with Regina Lasko, his wife and the  mother of his son, since 1989, I think I would have found it a lot more funny. Clearly these sexual relationships with his coworkers happened while he and Regina were together, otherwise why would this revelation be blackmail worthy?

So what I want to know is what is funny about cheating on your partner? And in general, when did infidelity become a huge component of the entertainment industry in general? I feel like I can’t watch a television show or movie anymore that doesn’t have some kind of infidelity going on it it, and I feel like the subject is taken very lightly on the big and small screen nowadays. Am I a prude for thinking this is wrong?

I’m not judging David Letterman. Perhaps he and Regina had some kind of open relationship or they were “on a break” or something. But it bugs me that he turned the subject into a big joke.

(Photo: abcnews.com)

Despite what some grease spills may tell you, marital infidelity is not a sport. And the idea that it’s only wrong if you get caught clearly is new to the concept of forming ideas. If you cheat on your spouse, a person for whom you supposedly dedicated your love, you’re showing the world just how much character you possess. Installment loans and payday loans, as much as they can help your budget following the divorce, cannot rebuild your credibility.

This is not to say that temptation doesn’t happen, and that we’re only human. Both of those things are true. However, that is not sufficient justification. As humans, we also have the ability to choose. I’m certain that Louisville Men’s basketball and former University of Kentucky and NBA head coach Rick Pitino wasn’t being controlled by Ming the Merciless when he had sexual relations with Karen Sypher (photos not taken). In fact, he admitted that he had consensual sex with Sypher in 2003.

And he paid her $3,000 to have an abortion

USA Today picked up a story by Andrew Wolfson of the Louisville Courier-Journal in which Wolfson reports that Pitino claims he had been drinking the night of August 1, 2003 when he met with Karen Sypher after hours at the Louisville restaurant Porcini. He admits they had sex on that occasion; Sypher alleges that was one additional time at a later date. Furthermore, he told Louisville police he gave Sypher $3,000 so that she could have an abortion. This information was made available to the Courier-Journal under the Kentucky Open Records Act.

Sypher’s allegation includes rape

These allegations have been denied by Pitino, and prosecutors have said he won’t be charged for them. Which leads us to the question of Sypher’s credibility. She has been indicted by a federal grand jury of attempting to extort Pitino in exchange for her silence on the alleged crimes. Sypher was also charged with lying to the FBI, a charges that she has pled not guilty to (along with the other charge). The alleged rapes were reported around two months after the indictment; records even indicate that Pitino was in another state on the date Sypher claims the second rape occurred.

Pitino is sticking with his statement

While he will not agree to be interviewed by the Courier-Journal, Pitino has issued a written statement through his lawyer in which he says that he will “continue to work though this matter privately with his family.” To Pitino’s credit, Louisville’s Athletic Director Tom Jurich appears to be behind him: “Coach Pitino has been truthful with us about this matter all along and we stand by him and his family during this process.”

His story

The occasion at Porcini the night of August 1, 2003 was a celebration for the hiring of a new assistant coach at Louisville, Reggie Theus. Alcohol was flowing. During the dinner, Karen Sypher (then Karen Cunagin) approached Pitino and asked him if he’d call one of her sons and give him a pep talk about sports and school. Pitino, feeling jovial, granted the request. At closing time, Sypher returned to the restaurant and, in Pitino’s interview, came on to him. This led to a sexual encounter.

Two weeks later, Sypher called Pitino to inform him she was pregnant and that he was the father.

Pitino then asked to speak with Sypher discreetly

Here’s an interesting wrinkle to the story. Pitino met with Sypher (remember, then Cunagin) to discuss the matter. They met at the condo of Louisville strength coach Tim Sypher. They’d never met before, but not long after the meeting, Tim and Karen married.

Tim and Karen Sypher (Photo: hollywoodcelebgossips.com)

Pitino and Karen Sypher discussed how they wanted to handle the situation at that time. Pitino says he told her that if she decided to have the child, he wanted a blood test to determine paternity. Sypher, he claims, said she was going to have an abortion but didn’t have insurance. That’s where the $3,000 payment from Pitino comes in.

Her story

Karen Sypher’s story begins parallel to Pitino’s, until the time of the encounter. She claims the two of them were left alone in the restaurant, and he made advances upon her. “I was pushing him off and screaming,” she told police. Yet it is known that one of Rick Pitino’s assistants was still in the restaurant; he was there to be the coach’s designated driver. This assistant claims he heard the sexual encounter, but that it “sounded like they were enjoying it.”

When Karen Sypher met with Pitino at Tim Sypher’s condo, she claims that Pitino raped her again, while Tim Sypher was upstairs. Later she insisted the second rape occurred at a different date, but Pitino was able to prove that he was in California at the time. Sypher could not account for the discrepancy.

Remember the marriage to Tim Sypher?

Karen Sypher was around Louisville basketball often after the marriage to the strength and conditioning coach. All accounts indicate that she behaved normally, and at no point was she able to answer police questions as to why she hung around Pitino at functions after she was allegedly raped by the man. Unfortunately for her, she has also acknowledged that it “didn’t make sense” that Tim Sypher would continue to work for Pitino after discovering he’d supposedly sexually assaulted his wife. Furthermore, she has been unable to explain in interviews why she married Tim Sypher if he was in the condo when Pitino allegedly raped her for the second time and did not respond to her supposed cries for help.

Incidentally, the Syphers have since divorced. And Tim Sypher has gone on record as saying, “I am devastated by the bizarre allegations that my estranged wife is making against both Coach Pitino and myself.”

Does she need money?

The precise truth in such a situation as this is lost from the outset. However, the information that is currently available raises more questions about Karen Sypher’s charges (and photos) than they answer. Of course if Rick Pitino had been more responsible (he is married), this would not have come to pass. Karen Sypher’s reasons for her allegations are her own, and speculation would be exactly that – speculation. Fill in the blanks as you see fit.

By the way… if she needs money now that the extortion has come to an end, perhaps installment loans and payday loans would be a better, legal way to go about it. Karen Sypher could even apply here.

Related Video:

Payday loans may be on their way out in New Hampshire, and while a new personal credit line product may step in to fill the gap for consumers who genuinely need the product, it may or may not receive approval from the FDIC. This absence of competition will hurt consumers.

A recent study by East Carolina University economist Mark A. Fusaro showed that regular checking overdraft is ridiculously expensive

A person who has a $3 overdraft that is outstanding for one day pays an implicit interest rate of 260,245 percent.

Interestingly, banks play an important part in the creation of payday loans. The Bank of Italy opened in San Francisco to serve those who went unserved by larger banks. Ironically, this upstart company went on to become Bank of America, one of many megabanks that oppose to competition no fax payday loan companies offer them.

This is why consumers turn to payday loans

Since banks no longer offer small-scale consumer loans – let’s say $100 or $200 to prop up your budget during a cash emergency before payday – payday loan companies have provided the service. As they have been successful in this endeavor – Kennedy notes the recent Community Financial Service Association (CFSA) estimate that there are about 22,000 payday loan stores in the U.S. – banks have been keen to step back in and reclaim the business that they once believed wasn’t “good for business.”

The impact of legislation catering to banks’ desires for profit will be devastating. Payday loan companies will be forced to close once unreasonable rate caps are in place. People will lose jobs, consumers will look to other less-regulated sources for short-term cash assistance and the economy as a whole will suffer thanks to a lack of competition in the market. Banks will then have no incentive to offer better products or curb extortionist overdraft fees.

The Federal Reserve is on the side of payday loans

Is not the Federal Reserve a national money authority in America? They have released reports that not only show that no fax payday loans fail to meet the definition of “predatory lending,” but that when states ban payday loans as New Hampshire is headed toward, there are mostly negative effects. Studies from academia like this further corroborate this point.

Ms. Kennedy’s ideas could be very effective at addressing this problem. First, she suggests that exorbitant fees be curbed. She believes that banks should return to an old practice where there was a minimum dollar amount necessary to trigger overdraft fees. It was not uncommon that if a customer overdrafted less than $15, fees would not be charged. In addition, she believes New Hampshire offer more affordable health care and give raises that keep pace with inflation. She also feels that making basic financial life skills a part of regular school curriculum will help immensely. Payday loans aren’t the problem, but the competition they afford is part of the solution.