The Thin Line Between Gossip And Extortion No Longer Blurry
A New York Post Page Six staffer solicited $220,000 from a high-profile billionaire in return for a year’s “protection” against inaccurate and unflattering items about him in the gossip page, the Daily News has learned.
In two 90-minute meetings, characterized by a shocking breach of ethics, Jared Paul Stern , a fixture on the city’s gossip scene who also edited Page Six The Magazine, asked for a series of payments from Ron Burkle , the managing partner of Yucaipa Cos., a conglomerate with interests in supermarkets, celebrity clothing lines, and media. [ED. NOTE: Yucaipa just put in a 2.2 billion dollar bid to buy the Inky and DN and ten other newspapers from the McLatchy Gang]
It was all a setup, a sting monitored by law enforcement, including the U.S. attorney’s office and the FBI, who are now investigating the extortion attempt. The meetings, on March 22 and March 31, were videotaped.
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