NY Post columnist probed over alleged extortion

NY Post columnist probed over alleged extortion

By Daniel Trotta
9 minutes ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's New York Post, known for its aggressive reporting and salacious gossip, said on Friday the FBI was investigating allegations that one of its columnists demanded money to keep stories about a billionaire out of the paper.

The tabloid said it is cooperating with the investigation into allegations that gossip columnist Jared Paul Stern tried to extort at least $100,000 from Beverly Hills billionaire Ron Burkle in exchange for ending a series of items about Burkle's romantic life which appeared in the paper's Page Six gossip column.

Burkle, 53, managing partner of private equity firm Yucaipa Cos., made a fortune in the supermarket business. He and his lawyers denied the Post reports but they kept appearing.

The Post suspended Stern pending the outcome of the investigation after the Daily News, a rival tabloid, broke the story on Thursday.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060407/us_nm/media_post_dc;_ylt=A0SOwlkc5zZEP7wA3AkWIr0F;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--

The American news business has gone right down the toilet since Murdoch slimed onto the scene.

This guy is definitely not going to avoid jail time when they have quotes like this on tape:

"How much do you want?" the billionaire asked. "Um, $100,000 to get going and then you could get it to me on a month-to-month, maybe like $10,000," Stern replied, according to the Daily News.