Extort a Star, Earn an Emmy Nod?!

This just in from the Home Office: the man who tried to blackmail the gap-toothed comic scores an Emmy nomination

For those keeping score at home the count is David Letterman zero Emmy nods; his blackmailer one.

Two weeks after Letterman was passed over for his late-night work at the Primetime Emmy nominations, Robert Halderman today did indeed score a nom for a News and Documentary Emmy for his work on an April 2009 48 Hours investigative report.

Halderman was one of four producers credited on the piece about the controversial murder conviction of American exchange student Amanda Knox in Italy. The piece is up in the category of Best Continuing Coverage of a News Story by a News Magazine.

Halderman was fired by CBS after pleading guilty in May to trying to shake down the Late Show host. He's now serving six months behind bars, so it's a safe bet he won't be showing up at the Emmy ceremony on Sept. 27 to collect his hardware should his crew win. (He has won previously.)

All told, PBS led all networks with 37 News Emmy nominations, followed by CBS with 31. Get the complete list at Emmyonline.tv.