Gawker: larry mendte

Philly Newsman Gossip Hacking Scandal Trial Mercifully Concludes

Hamilton Nolan — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 10:38:45 EST

Larry Mendte was the first male host of Access Hollywood before becoming a news anchor in Philadelphia, where he worked with Alycia Lane, a fellow anchor who punched an undercover cop and sent bikini photos of herself to the wife of a sports TV personality, all of which somehow made Mendte jealous, causing him to hack into Lane's email and forward the most salacious bits to gossip journalists, which ended up getting her fired, though his activities eventually came out and got him fired, and then got him sued by her as well as charged in a criminal case. Got that? Well now Mendte has been sentenced:

He got six months of house arrest and three years of probation. At his sentencing he apologized, and said this:

"When I look back on the story of my life, I can't believe it brought me to this moment. I am ashamed."

Actually an Access Hollywood gig leading down a road that ends in a criminal trial based on illegally-obtained salacious gossip is quite predictable. [Philly.com; pic via]

Fired For Snooping On Cop-Slugging Co-Anchor

Ryan Tate — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 08:54:49 EDT

"Philadelphia news anchor Larry Mendte has been fired by CBS amid the FBI probe into allegations he hacked into former co-anchor Alycia Lane's computer and leaked embarrassing stories about her to Page Six." [Post]

Did Email-Spying Newsman Hate His Punchy Co-Anchor?

Hamilton Nolan — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:09:03 EDT

Page Six has a "DARK THEORY" (or, if you prefer, a "bizarre scenario that seems possible") about why former Access Hollywood host Larry Mendte would want to read the email of Alycia Lane, his cop-slugging former co-anchor at the CBS station in Philly. Yammering coworkers say that Mendte was jealous of Lane's success, and "worked hard to take Alycia down." The clear implication is that Mendte may also have been responsible for leaking past gossip items about Lane's personal life. It certainly qualifies as a dark theory, but is it true? Nobody knows yet, so here's an anonymous coworker's gratuitous quote about Mendte's wife: "She's an older version of Alycia, which I find a little freaky." [P6]

Former Access Hollywood Host Accused Of Reading Cop-Slugging Colleague's Emails

Hamilton Nolan — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:21:11 EDT

Larry Mendte, the first male host of Access Hollywood, is under investigation by the FBI for reading someone else's emails. If he did it, at least he probably saw some thrilling stuff: his alleged victim is Alycia Lane, his cop-slugging, bikini-posing former colleague at Philly's CBS TV station. You can see why he'd be tempted! Early indications are that Mendte's snooping could rank right up there with Insider host Pat O'Brien's sexy drunken voicemails in the annals of gossip show host scandals.

Mendte is accused of opening Lane's email "hundreds" of times, and possibly of leaking some of the information he found to the media. Investigators are currently trying to match up the timing of leaks with the emails that they know Mendte opened—including a bunch from her lawyer, which may be related to a lawsuit Lane filed against CBS3 after her police-smacking incident. Bad! This is considered the same as opening someone's mail at home, legally speaking. So why did he do it, allegedly? Even gossiping colleagues aren't sure:

Several current and former CBS3 newsroom staffers, who agreed to speak yesterday on condition of anonymity, said they were shocked at the suggestion of animosity between Mendte and Lane, who became an anchor team on Sept. 15, 2003. The combination quickly boosted the station's appeal: Mendte, the hometown guy, raised in Lansdowne, hired away from NBC10 after six years; and Lane, the rising star from Long Island, hired from Miami.
But two sources said their off-air relationship had its highs and lows; they seemed to be barely speaking by the end of last year, they said.

It's also unclear why the feds would get involved in a case like this, except to make an example out of a high-profile TV star. The curse of tabloid television hosts in action! Ironic, too, that Mendte's best YouTube clip involves him falling down on the job:

[Inky]