Larry Mendte, Alycia Lane's Co-Anchor, Admits Hacking Into Her E-Mail

PHILADELPHIA — A fired TV newscaster admitted in court Friday that he illegally hacked into his co-anchor's e-mail accounts and leaked private information about her to gossip columnists.

Larry Mendte admitted that he viewed hundreds of Alycia Lane's e-mails from March 2006 to May 2008, including ones from her agent, her then-husband and lawyers representing her after she was arrested in New York last year and fired from KYW-TV, Philadelphia's CBS affiliate.

"There is no question he wrecked her career," said lawyer Paul Rosen, who represents Lane in her wrongful-termination suit against the station.

Mendte, 51, said at a news conference that his actions grew out of a feud with Lane, 36, that began after he ended what he said was a flirtatious and improper relationship with her, including long dinners and late nights out together.

Rosen promptly disputed the account. He called Mendte "sick and narcissistic" and said there was never an inappropriate relationship.

Mendte, who is married to local Fox news anchor Dawn Stensland, accused Lane of undermining his standing at the station after the relationship ended, and said that with his career in trouble, he began looking at her e-mails.

"I was not the source of every story about Alycia Lane or the sole source on many, but I was a source, and I was getting some of the information from her e-mails," he said.

Mendte earned about $700,000 a year at the station. Rosen believes he became jealous of his younger co-anchor in early 2006 as her salary climbed to about $780,000. He bought a keystroke-logging device to get her passwords in August 2006, and intercepted e-mails from Lane's personal and work accounts, prosecutors said.

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From January to May of this year, Mendte read Lane's e-mail 537 times, the FBI said.

Mendte and Lane co-anchored evening broadcasts together for four years at KYW until Lane's arrest in December after an alleged scuffle with New York police.

Mendte was fired in June after FBI agents searched his home and seized his computer. His attorney, Michael Schwartz, has said Mendte cooperated from the start.

Mendte faces a maximum possible sentence of five years in prison but is likely to get much less under federal guidelines when he is sentenced Nov. 24. Prosecutors have agreed not to recommend any sentence.

As the twice-divorced Lane's personal life became tabloid fodder, she complained to the station that her work e-mails were getting passed around, Rosen said.

"They treated her as if she was paranoid," he said.

The allegations are the latest embarrassment for the station, which had been making gains with the Mendte-Lane duo against longtime news leader WPVI-TV, the ABC affiliate.

According to the criminal information filed in July, Mendte relayed details about Lane's criminal case and other information to a Philadelphia Daily News reporter.

Lane is suing the station over her dismissal, which the station said was necessary because she had become the subject of several news stories.

New York prosecutors in February downgraded felony charges that Lane struck the officer. A judge pledged to drop the remaining charges in August if she is not arrested again.

Mendte joined KYW in July 2003 after several years at the local NBC affiliate. He previously co-hosted "Access Hollywood" and worked at stations in Chicago, San Diego and New York.

Comments

[blowhard]

I didn't know they paid stupid people so much money to read news.

[johnnyjust]

If you're making $700,000 doing a job, just shut up. You know you're overpaid for your talent. Who cares if someone else is overpaid for theirs?

[scorpioleidy]

I remember him from Ch.2 here in Chicago ... boy, you can't judge a book by its cover, can you? Who knew he was that sick?! Eww!

[lolyla]

Mendte's actions were appalling. The Internet may not be anonymous, but there is an expectation of privacy between certain individuals, especially a husband and wife. The prosecutor agreeing not to recommend a prison sentence length is a misstep as well. By receiving no prison time, which will probably be the case, the Court misses an excellent opportunity to set legal precedent regarding privacy of Internet communications, creates the illusion that reading someone else's personal communication is merely a nuisance crime not worthy of worry by perpetrators, and encourages the belief among those in the public eye that they are above the law.

[ignorantwillyharper]

What's the big deal, as Bush and Cheney have all our email hacked 24/7.

[strangerinthenight]

TOMG, what a story ?

Mendte hacking Lane's e-mail. Gross ! Lane just won the Super Sweeps.

[TRichards]

Was he auditioning for a job at Fox?

[ominous]

i bet she knows how many houses she owns and he doesn't.

[SifSkade]

If they fired her becuase she was in the news too much and he was the reason she was in the news too much, the very least they can do is rehire her. Immediately. Poor woman. Always good to see what some jealous lunatic (spare me the "late nights out together" story -- he was mad about the difference in salary and the fact that she was probably being treated as a hotter property) with a kit from Radio Shack can do to ruin your life.

[Jason357]

It may be too late for other than compensatory damages. When a public figure's credibility (corrupt career politicians with connections excluded) is diminished to the point they have lost the trust of the public, that's grounds for termination. The military was like that. Even off duty, if arrested or charged with a party disturbance, the command got involved. You don't stop being a public figure after hours. It's pretty tough to take a news anchor seriously if too much of her private life is common knowledge.

I'd say she has a good case against both the station and the other anchor for damages. She won't have to work again, but it's a shame the guy was allowed to rob her of something she probably got a lot of satisfaction from.

Rule #1, emails are NOT secure. The internet is NOT anonymous, #2.

[MandieD]

I'm not quite sure how it works in the States, but every media organisation I've worked at here in NZ has contractual clauses to prevent things like this happening -- or at least make it grounds for dismissal. Is it similar over there?

[DPonyourset]

She should get mendete's bank account and a few million from the station. Mendete needs to go to prison for a very long time.

[pie8ter]

I am just curious how he "hacked" her email?

I am really dieing to find out Huffpo. Do you really know how email systems work? Above all, does a TV anchor know enough about "hacking"?

[blueroses70]

He used a keystroke capturing device he bought from the internet. You don't have to be a tech genius to plug one of those in and commit a federal crime against a co-worker, apparently. Popular opinion over recent months seems to indicate that he was simply jealous of the media attention afforded to his new, young, glamorous co-anchor with top-notch journalism school (grad and undergrad) credentials and over indications that she was helping ratings. Narcissism, just like Edwards, only minus the sex and the baby. It was a hit job on her from what I've read, and, while she may have made a few mistakes off the job, he committed crimes on the job, so he's the real heel as far as I can tell.

[4wehttam]

"I am just curious how he "hacked" her email?"

From the article above:

He bought a keystroke-logging device to get her passwords in August 2006, and intercepted e-mails from Lane's personal and work accounts, prosecutors said.

[FaceYourFears]

I bet he's a republican......

[drumz]

It's hetero sex though... Now if he was making up the story to cover his real desire with her boyfriend, then yes, emphatically yes!

[YouDisgustMe]

he probably is

[ZimboChick]

my sentiments exactly

[Mahi Joe]

I don't know if he is republican but I remember him here in Chicago and I can tell you he was boring on the news. yawn.

[Megaflow]

Unfortunately there are creeps in all parties...

[johnnygoodwud]

what is she doing now??? anyone know. she can be my anchor anytime.

[VictorAndTim]

As a Philadelphian I think they should BOTH be back on the air together. They certainly deserve each other and it would be a ratings bonanza. The evening news, brought to you by the Lunatic and the Paranoid.

[trollsbwild]

Give Lane back her job. If nothing else, there would be a ratings boost.