NYC Local News: NY Post Character assassin Claim,"I WAS A PATSY!"

The recent problems at Rupert Murdoch's Flagship New York rag, The New York Post, are just getting weirder and weirder.

The Washington Post Reports:
NEW YORK -- A New York Post gossip writer accused of trying to extort money from a billionaire businessman for positive press coverage said Sunday he was set up....

Stern is suspected of demanding $100,000 and an annual $10,000 stipend from Ron Burkle in exchange for not writing negative stories about him, the Post said....

Stern told The Associated Press the businessman initiated discussions about payments about press coverage.

"He set it up through a middle man," Stern said in a telephone interview. "He initiated discussions in a potential investment in my clothing company. That's where the whole money issue originated."

The whole story from its start till now has been a borderline Shakespearean comedy, with all the necessary twists and turns. This latest development just propels it into bizzaro world. That feeling is not unfamiliar to those who follow the NYC newspaper wars and the Post specifically.

The funniest statement to emerge from this mess comes from the New York Post's editor, Col Allen:

The Post's editor in chief, Col Allen, said that if the extortion allegations are true, "Mr. Stern's conduct would be morally and journalistically reprehensible, a gross abuse of privilege and in violation of the New York Post's standards and ethics."

ROTFLMAO! Didn't even know they had any!