Of course, the biggest, most scandalous headline of 2008 could be none other than the Alycia Lane/Larry Mendte saga. The 11 p.m. news anchor allegedly sent inappropriate photos to NFL Network anchor, Rich Eisen and got into a physical altercation with a female police officer while in New York in December of 2007. This negative press prompted the station to take action and on January 4, CBS announced that Alycia Lane had been released from her contract
The saga continued through 2008 after it was discovered that her former co-anchor, Larry Mendte had been illegally checking Lane’s email. It is assumed that he was behind the pictures of a bikini-clad Lane that were sent to Eisen (and intercepted by his wife).
After a very public investigation, Mendte was sentenced to three years probation, six months of house arrest, 250 hours of community service, computer monitoring, a psychiatric evaluation, a $100 special assessment and a $5,000 fine after pleading guilty in August. Lane’s charges in the New York incident were dropped.
It seems that local anchors couldn’t stay out of the news. Vince DeMentri and Lori Delgado were rumored to have previously shared an intimate relationship and when things went sour, well, they really went sour. Delgado accused DeMentri of vandalizing her car in NBC’s parking lot. She resigned in October alleging that she was scared of Vince DeMentri. He was let go in the summer and has since filed suit against the station for libel and slander.
Jocelyn Kirsch and Edward Anderton, Philly’s own, Bonnie and Clyde made headlines in 2007 for burglary, forgery, identity theft and related charges. Both plead guilty in 2008 to conspiracy, aggravated identity theft, fraud and money laundering. In October, Kirsch was sentenced to five years in prison and in November, Anderton was sentenced to four.
And finally, although, it’s not “juicy,” it’s our favorite headline of 2008. THE PHILLIES WON THE WORLD SERIES!!! Need we say more?
