Maybe it's true, maybe not, but it certainly seems like the amount of tragedy tied to reality television productions gets disproportionately larger each year. The ex-fiance of Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kandi Burruss, A.J. Jewell, was killed last night.

Confirmed: last night's episode of Law and Order was indeed the Hipster Grifter-inspired story. Footage coming soon, but while Keri Ferril's still incarcerated, we need a new hipster folk hero in her stead. Meet the Zooey Deschanel-esque taggette Danielle Bremner.

It turns out the man accused of trying to extort $2 million from David Letterman for having "creepy" sex with his own staff knew from creepy. The brawling, hard-drinking 48 Hours producer was reportedly known for his own intra-office liaisons.

The CBS newsman accused of blackmailing Letterman has pleaded not guilty to attempted grand larceny by way of extortion. Here's the barebones indictment, which includes no new information. Bail has been set at $200,000.

It boggles the mind that the man accused of hatching a bizarre scheme to blackmail David Letterman appears to be an experienced and talented television journalist. Here's what we know about Joe Halderman.

Hey, before you became outraged about Roman Polanski and maybe before you expressed an opinion on the non-parole of Susan Atkins, were you outraged about the release of the Lockerbie bomber? You are so predictable! And wrong!

Like the viral spread of hip hop fashion from the inner city to the suburbs, piracy is now creeping outwards in a terrifying web-shaped pattern, across the globe. Somalis were just the early adopters. All Spanish sailors, abandon ship immediately.

Some dumb shit DC teens beat up a classmate, recorded it and then posted it on Facebook. They now face charges for the whooping. Again: let's learn from Derrion Albert. Stop beating people, people! [WaPo]

Hipster Grifter pal Bucky Turco has posted a gen-u-ine letter from folk hero Kari Ferrell, who's currently in jail in Salt Lake City and way bored. Who has she met, during her incarceration? "Every one of those Homiez figurines."

If you give your kids candy they'll end up in jail, scientists have now proven.

Time for an update on the case of Hiram Monserrate, alleged girlfriend face-slasher and one of New York's three very most objectionable political figures! Having his slash-vic on his side in court is really helping him out. Love—it's crazy.

If you find yourself facing a life sentence at Manhattan Supreme Court and you decide you'd rather take your chances and make a run for it, you'll need to execute your big escape is a well-tailored suit. It worked out pretty well for Ronald Tackman this morning. The career criminal facing five counts of robbery in Manhattan (he's also accused of another robbery in Queens) pulled the move this morning and managed to get mistaken for a lawyer in the process:

Cristina Warthen, who worked her way through Stanford Law as an escort and later pled guilty to tax evasion, has been sentenced to one year home detention and ordered to pay $243,000 in back taxes and fines.

Did you know that crooked financier and voodoo priest Allen Stanford used to run a bodybuilding gym? It's true! Didn't stop him from getting his ass whupped in jail. But there's a bright side.

Derrion Albert, Chicago-based 16-year old who attended Bible Class every week, was beaten to death on September 24. A bystander's video captured the truly horrific ordeal. Four alleged attackers are now being charged as adults. And we have some questions.

Irving Picard has the thankless job of divvying up the remaining crumbs of Bernie Madoff's empire among the Madoff victims. But Irving Picard is going to be much more popular now that he's finally suing Madoff's family, for everything.

Oh, look. Two hot trends — reality show contestant accused of murder and insane self-styled preacher — have now come together to bring us Brian Lee Randone, who's accused of torturing and then killing a porn star.

We joke about scary villains in media. I wish I could joke about Peter Braunstein, the Woman's Wear Daily writer who raped and tortured a woman for 13 hours in 2005. The NYDN interviewed him. How far has he come?

Roman Polanski—the Academy Award-winning director of Chinatown, The Pianist, and Rosemary's Baby—was arrested during a raid on his hotel in Switzerland last night. He was running from American authorities for a 1978 warrant issued after a statutory-rape conviction.

Murdered Yale student Annie Le's funeral was today. I wasn't going to write anything about it, because, you know, not a story. Not even a footnote. Apparently, I'm wrong: