Larry: No Sex With Alycia

Hey, that Phillymag with the article about Dawn Stensland (Fox 29 anchor, wife of Larry Mendte, etc.) finally arrived in my mailbox; credit to the paper for actually getting to the only possibly interesting thing about the story in the second section, so I could stop reading it.

Today, Dawn says she believes Larry when he says the relationship between him and Lane was inappropriately close, and included kissing, but the two did not have sex.

And if you believe that, I have an issue of Phillymag to sell you. Then again, if everyone in the TV news business is going to act like 13-year-olds, maybe people only get to second base.

Miss Lane And Mister Mendte

A friend in Europe writes in with news of the BBC’s coverage of Larry Mendte Sentencing Day, America’s greatest new holiday. She writes:

This was listed in the “other top stories” section of bbcnews.com, right along side “IMF approves aid to Pakistan” and “Obama pledges jolt to economy.” Definitely in the same news league…

Definitely! News of Larry Mendte’s house arrest sent the stock market tumbling. Or soaring, whatever it did yesterday. And the way the story is worded (e.g., “Miss Lane”) is so proper and British; it’s adorable.

A former US TV news presenter who hacked into a rival’s e-mail and leaked gossip to the press has been sentenced to six months under house arrest.

Larry Mendte, 51, was also handed 250 hours of community service and a $5,000 (£3,300) fine. He was sacked in June. [...]

Mendte apologised to Miss Lane, who was present for the sentencing. She provided a confidential statement which was given to the court but made no public comment.

You know what I’d really like to see? That confidential statement. Now if only there were some way to get Alycia Lane’s password and read her confidential communication. Hmm…

US TV anchor convicted of hacking [BBC]

Happy Larry Mendte Sentencing Day!

Hey, everybody! Just when we had all finally forgotten about the saga of Alycia Lane, Larry Mendte and some stolen emails, Larry Mendte’s sentencing day sneaks up on us!

Yes, today Mendte will (probably) apologize in court and get probation and maybe some community service. He could technically get up to 5 years. He’s also a convicted felon! (He still gets to vote, though, I believe.)

This morning Good Day Philadelphia had on some defense lawyer who chatted with Jennaphr Frederick for a short while about the Lane case and then went off on Alycia Lane for 2-3 minutes and listed every single possibly wrong thing she had ever done in her life. One of the things was “suing some people and wanting to sue some other people.” Isn’t that the American Dream?

After her spiel Frederick said something like, “Oh. We’re all feeling for Dawn Stensland.” Indeed, we are.

So: Sentencing, later today. Let’s root for him to get put in the stocks!

Sentencing Day for TV Anchor Larry Mendte [KYW 1060]

Masons DO Rule The World

There’s so much in the Alycia Lane lawsuit against Larry Mendte, KYW and Dan Gross to parse just this instant, but deep in the Inquirer’s story is the best part, by far. Emphasis mine:

The lawsuit also describes the aftermath of Lane’s arrest Dec. 17. With Lane in lockup and her cell phone in a taxi, her boyfriend, Booker, was frantically calling people.

Disputing a story reported last December, the suit says that Booker - not Lane - called Gov. Rendell to seek the name of a New York attorney. The suit says Booker knew that Rendell was a former district attorney, a native New Yorker - and like Booker - a Mason. Booker left a message with Rendell, the suit says. In the interim, Booker secured a lawyer.

Man, what a club. Ed Rendell and Chris Booker? It’s the kind of thing that makes a guy want to join the Knights of Columbus.

Lane suit details Mendte gossip [Inquirer]
KYW, Mendte, DN sued by Alycia Lane [Daily News]

Larry Mendte Didn’t Need To Get Alycia Lane’s Bikini Photos, Apparently

Holy shit. Larry Mendte’s statement. This story finally got interesting again.

Let me explain. This whole episode started five years ago when Alycia Lane came to Philadelphia. Almost immediately, Dawn heard rumors that Alycia and I were a little too close and she should watch out.

The rumors were true. Alycia and I had a flirtatious, unprofessional, and improper relationship.

Dawn found proof of that relationship when she waited in my office on New Years Day 2005 and read emails that I had left out on my desk, emails between Alycia and me that confirmed her suspicions.

Dawn confronted me with the emails. I told her the truth. I told her I loved her, and I apologized. I then immediately stopped having long dinners with Alycia, staying out late with Alycia, and I stopped allowing her to come into my office to do her makeup everyday.

The relationship that was once close quickly turned into a personal feud.

Alycia Lane then became friends with others in the building, including the new General Manager. Suddenly, I had shows and responsibilities pulled away from me without explanation. The GM angrily confronted me one day and said that I was bad mouthing him. I was not. But, clearly, I was not on the list you want to be on with the new GM.

I found proof that it was Alycia who was undermining me when I saw an email she sent to management that she left up on the computer she uses on the set.

Then he goes on and on about how keylogger programs are available “too easily” on the Internet (sigh) and how he’s going to become a lecturer on how scary the Internet is. But, really, whatever, this first part is the best.

John comments: “I think the new Philly pickup line should be ‘Do you want to come to my office and do your makeup?’” I agree.

Statement of Larry Mendte [Philly.com]

Larry Mendte Charged By Feds

The government made it official today and charged Larry Mendte with reading Alycia Lane’s email; apparently, doing so is a felony.

Mendte was charged with one count of intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization. Authorities allege he checked Lane’s email 537 times (in a row?!) after getting her password.

“As we continually have said from day one, Larry has been cooperating fully with the investigators. He continues to cooperate and will accept full responsibility for his actions,” Mendte’s lawyer said. Blah, blah, blah, jailtime is probably unlikely.

Larry Mendte to be charged today [AP/6 ABC]

Philly.com’s Quest For A Traffic Spike

Ah, yeah, the current Philly.com front is the kind of thing that gets put into museums of pure awesomeness. It was great when I woke up this morning, but since then it’s only gotten about 100 times better. My personal favorite part came when I realized that none of these people pictured are even all that remotely famous, but the new photo arrangement is completely amazing, too.

A friend and reader chimes in: “I think getting Kidd Chris’ thoughts on the whole ordeal puts it over the top. There are just so many layers. It’s getting to the point where I no longer think, ‘Oh, the paper i once loved,’ and instead think ‘Well, this is pretty hilarious.’”

Bravo, Philly.com.

CBS 3 Fires Larry Mendte

Well, we all saw this coming: CBS 3 has released Larry Mendte from his contract. When Alycia Lane filed her lawsuit alleging sexism (and other -isms) at the station, it pretty much sealed Mendte’s fate.

(Lane’s lawyer says CBS 3 wouldn’t agree to change a court deadline, so the suit had to be filed last week. Convenient for the station!)

But that’s not all! According to the Inquirer, CBS 3’s internal investigation discovered a Keystroke logging program on one of the station’s computers. (Shouldn’t IT be looking for that kind of traffic going out over the network anyway?) Mendte’s lawyer didn’t say much of note, but did say, “I fully expect that Larry will resume his broadcasting career.”

And so, in just about six months, CBS 3 has gone from lead anchors of Alycia Lane and Larry Mendte to Susan Barnett and Chris May. Sounds about right to me.

CBS 3 fires Mendte [Inquirer]

CBS 3 Responds To Lane’s Lawsuit

And what a salacious response!

“We have received a copy of Alycia Lane’s complaint against KYW-TV. The station believes the claims are without merit and will defend the case vigorously in court.”

Oh. I guess it wasn’t quite so salacious.

Lane Files Law Suit; CBS 3 Responds [CBS 3]

Alycia Lane Finally Sues CBS 3

Hey, what do you know? Alycia Lane finally went and sued CBS 3, and it actually contains the phrase “the Prince Albert of Monaco Exploitation.” Oh, this is excellent.

Lane’s lawsuit against her employer alleges the station didn’t respond to complaints her private email had been viewed and also said the station treated female employees worse than its male ones. The suit also says co-anchor/alleged email snooper Larry Mendte was jealous of Lane’s higher salary (reportedly $800k vs. $700k) and her popularity.

Michael Klein writes:

Lane’s suit claims that a statement from Colleran that Mendte read on-air on Jan. 7 killed her career. It read in part: “After assessing the overall impact of a series of incidents resulting from judgments she has made, we have concluded that it would be impossible for Alycia to continue to report the news as she, herself, has become the focus of so many news stories.” It added, “We understand that Alycia expects to be fully vindicated in that proceeding” in New York.

The suit says the “clear meaning” was that Lane was “now unable to report the news for any news station anywhere in the world.”

Well, besides on UHF.

Alycia Lane sues CBS 3 [Inquirer]