Larry Mendte under investigation

[Bars-n-tone 35]

...you don't believe he couldn't be behind all of the media leaks of Alycia's follies that eventually led to her firing? Also it's been reported that communications between her and her lawyer had been breeched as well which is a big thing being that she is suing the very station where Larry works and there could be a whole other can of worms opened.

 

THIS.

 

Anyone who thinks Alycia Lane is doing this for revenge or to get her job back (which, personally, I rather doubt she wants back), think of the quote above. All she has to do is show that the "questionable actions", aka the leaks to the papers, that got her booted were not her fault. Discovery of Mendte's role in this feeds into her lawsuit against CBS for wrongful termination.

[Bars-n-tone 35]

 

I don't care if her lawyer denies it, Alycia is behind this. She can't have her cushy job back (and if the rumors of her being offered a spot at KUSI are true, that doesn't matter) so she'll destroy as many lives at her former place of employment as possible in the name of making her look good.

 

What about the possibility that there was a federal crime committed, and it the cost was her livelihood? Would looking into that be revenge?

 

As to reading E-Mail being a federal offense...I think Steve Keeley of FOX29 said it best a couple weeks back...it was something to the effect of "We can't get Bin Laden, but we've got Mendte." I have to believe our government's priorities can't be THAT out of whack, so that makes me believe a certain ex-anchor pushed for an investigation.

 

Just because we have a terrorist mastermind running around, do we not enforce our other laws?

 

...but this problem appears to be derived from someone purportedly snooping over Larry's shoulder at work.)

 

Incorrect. Allegedly, it is derived from Larry failing to log out from Alycia's email before the next user came along to that PC, a computer with a very limited number of users.

 

His charity work and community dedication can't be undercut by this. It just can't.

 

I think this is the real casualty here, perhaps. He did a lot of good community work.

[WCAUTVNBC10 408]

I think this is the real casualty here' date=' perhaps. He did a lot of good community work.[/quote']

 

Exactly. Remember he resigned from the board of Alex's Lemonade Stand the very next day after his house was raided. If that doesn't tell ya something I dunno what does.

[TSSZNews 1046]

[

What about the possibility that there was a federal crime committed, and it the cost was her livelihood? Would looking into that be revenge?

 

It may be the merits for a civil suit Alycia could file against him, but the Feds? For real?

 

My tax dollars are going toward an investigation on the possibility that some guy read some girl's E-Mail? And it's based on a law I've only heard enforced once before?

 

OK...let's assume a worst-case scenario (at least to us right now), and let's assume that it was Larry who *DID* do something...inappropriate with Alycia's bikini photos. (I don't recall her ever outright denying she sent those photos, by the way, but I could be wrong.) That caused a media stir, but that didn't get her fired. What ultimately got Alycia Lane fired was the police report filed against her in New York City, which alleged she punched a police officer. Was Larry there for that? Did he help Alycia *ALLEGEDLY* tighten her fist and swing her arm?

 

There are some things you can't communicate through E-Mail, and being smacked is one of them. That was Alycia's doing, and hers alone.

 

Or...let's assume another worst-case scenario and assume that Larry found confidential E-Mails between Alycia and her lawyer about her suit against KYW, and relayed them to management. This probably would have happened after she was canned. Her "livelihood" (and by "livelihood," I mean her paltry high-six figure a year deal which probably amounts to more than many of us will make in our lifetimes) would have already been toast by that time.

 

If Larry did make a mistake here, it's not nearly as severe as anything Alycia's done to draw attention to herself while employed by CBS--even if the letter of the law dictates otherwise. And until someone can, say, prove that Larry Mendte and Rich Eisen are close friends or close professional contacts...my support stays in Mr. Mendte's court.

 

This late in the game...it's revenge. Pure and simple. Let's hope this doesn't spiral into quadruple overtime. They can "make an example" out of someone else.

 

-T

[fox2 190]

uhh, we can't get Bin Laden so, uh, we'll just let everybody else commit any manner of federal crime. Sure, a really sensible comment of Steve Keeley and you... :rofl!:

 

Being careful of what you yourself email and hacking into other people's accounts are completely different things.

 

There's no "he's worse than her" or vice versa here. They both deserve what they get.

 

The strangest thing is you appear to be blaming Alycia for Larry snooping into her stuff! Ummmm???? Does that make even any sense?

 

If a Philadelphia station wants to hire him and have him as their representative on air with that credibility cloud all over him every night, they are welcome to him.

[TSSZNews 1046]

The strangest thing is you appear to be blaming Alycia for Larry snooping into her stuff! Ummmm???? Does that make even any sense?

 

You're right. I am. There's no indication as yet that Larry did anything on the level of pure hacking...just that Alycia foolishly forgot to logout of an account one day.

 

Having done a similar thing (not at work...at home, and with an AIM account)...if you're that forgetful, you're right. You do deserve what you get.

 

Just as curiosity isn't necessarily an excuse to break the law (no matter how stupid the law is,) your own stupidity isn't an excuse to in effect allow that to happen. People need to be more proactive with their personal information; the government can't and shouldn't be wasting time babying people who can't do something as simple as log out of E-Mail...or completely close a browser window.

 

I'm just saying.

 

-T

[hopdevil 1]

There's no indication as yet that Larry did anything on the level of pure hacking...just that Alycia foolishly forgot to logout of an account one day.

 

 

Actually, station 'sources' have indicated to the Inquirer that he accessed her account several hundred times over many months.

[Bars-n-tone 35]

You're right. I am. There's no indication as yet that Larry did anything on the level of pure hacking...just that Alycia foolishly forgot to logout of an account one day.

 

Having done a similar thing (not at work...at home, and with an AIM account)...if you're that forgetful, you're right. You do deserve what you get.

 

Just as curiosity isn't necessarily an excuse to break the law (no matter how stupid the law is,) your own stupidity isn't an excuse to in effect allow that to happen. People need to be more proactive with their personal information; the government can't and shouldn't be wasting time babying people who can't do something as simple as log out of E-Mail...or completely close a browser window.

 

I'm just saying.

 

-T

 

Allow me to quote from the Inquirer article on June 03: (emphasis added)

One morning in February, a CBS3 employee sat down at a computer shared by newsroom staffers. When the employee wiggled the mouse to "wake" the idle monitor, it became clear that the previous user had forgotten to log out of a Yahoo e-mail account.

 

The employee did a double-take: The e-mail account was registered to Alycia Lane - who had been fired as anchor six weeks before.

 

And yet, someone at CBS3 seemed to be reading Lane's personal e-mail.

 

Definitely NOT a case of forgetting to close a browser or log out.

[newsmaniac 0]

You're right. I am. There's no indication as yet that Larry did anything on the level of pure hacking...just that Alycia foolishly forgot to logout of an account one day.

 

Having done a similar thing (not at work...at home, and with an AIM account)...if you're that forgetful, you're right. You do deserve what you get.

 

Just as curiosity isn't necessarily an excuse to break the law (no matter how stupid the law is,) your own stupidity isn't an excuse to in effect allow that to happen. People need to be more proactive with their personal information; the government can't and shouldn't be wasting time babying people who can't do something as simple as log out of E-Mail...or completely close a browser window.

 

I'm just saying.

 

-T

 

Uh interesting defending him here. She didn't work there anymore when I guess she forgot to log out six weeks earlier...

So that one mistake is what brought this to light. Six weeks after she was gone he was doing this - god knows why!

She has every right to have "revenge"

[TSSZNews 1046]

Allow me to quote from the Inquirer article on June 03.

 

Definitely NOT a case of forgetting to close a browser or log out.

 

It really depends on how long cookies are stored on CBS's computers. Just because Alycia's E-Mail was on a corporate machine six weeks after being fired, doesn't mean Alycia didn't make a stupid mistake and left it on, say, a couple weeks before being fired, for anyone--not just Larry--to peek at. That's especially true if you believe one of my "worst-case scenarios" and believe he did something with Alycia's bikini photos long ago--in which case, this should have been an issue long before Alycia did herself in.

 

You seem to be implying that the way Larry got her login information is on the level of some intricate computer hacking, and thus far no one has discussed that as being even a remote possibility. Were Larry maybe 20 years younger, I'd believe that to be a bit more plausible.

 

-T

[fox2 190]

It really depends on how long cookies are stored on CBS's computers. Just because Alycia's E-Mail was on a corporate machine six weeks after being fired, doesn't mean Alycia didn't make a stupid mistake and left it on, say, a couple weeks before being fired, for anyone--not just Larry--to peek at. That's especially true if you believe one of my "worst-case scenarios" and believe he did something with Alycia's bikini photos long ago--in which case, this should have been an issue long before Alycia did herself in.

 

You seem to be implying that the way Larry got her login information is on the level of some intricate computer hacking, and thus far no one has discussed that as being even a remote possibility. Were Larry maybe 20 years younger, I'd believe that to be a bit more plausible.

 

-T

she didn't do herself in. If she forgot to log out, so be it. Have you ever done that? It's not a federal crime, nor a sackable offense. Going through work colleague's emails, on the other hand, is. Anyone, seeing you mention it, would have logged out if they were the slightest bit honest and law-abiding.

[TSSZNews 1046]

she didn't do herself in.

 

Uh...Yes. She did.

 

When you are accused of smacking a police officer, that's a big deal. If you or I smacked a police officer, we would be serving pretty decent jail time.

 

I wanted to initially believe she didn't do that, but now, given how long this has dragged out and given the other big name she is now trying to take down...yeah. She made her own bed. Remember, this is the woman who went to Dr. Phil to cry about her divorce. I don't care if CBS had some sort of influence in it--she's a big girl and can make her own decisions, and sometimes, you need to have the common sense not to put personal elements of your life out there like that. I highly doubt her job was on the line if she didn't go on the show. She knew what she was getting into--just as she knew what would happen when that police report in New York was filed.

 

If she forgot to log out, so be it. Have you ever done that?

 

If I have, I've known better ahead of time not to check the box that says "Keep me logged in" on a public or semi-public machine.

 

Anyone, seeing you mention it, would have logged out if they were the slightest bit honest and law-abiding.

 

False. The TMZs and various paparazzi in this world thrive on going so low sometimes as to dig in celebrities' trash for personal trinkets or information. If someone like Alycia left her personal E-Mail out in the open for everyone to see, that would be a gold mine for ANYONE curious--not just Larry.

 

Let me try and convey my point in more eloquent terms...if this had been an ongoing issue, as it appears at least some in this thread believe it to be...why in the world did Alycia herself not speak up about it immediately upon her suspicion? No one can be that oblivious in noticing that your E-Mail account is being used, and the messages in it are being read. I can speak from my own personal experiences on this--when you don't speak up about something this substantial until you think you can gain something from it, it casts serious doubt on the motives for speaking up in the first place.

 

If this came up before Alycia got herself into trouble in New York, I would agree with most of you that this is a very serious matter. Now that it's come up many months after her termination...it's still serious, but I'm more inclined to give Larry the benefit of the doubt on this. The timing of it is just too fishy.

 

-T

[Bars-n-tone 35]

It really depends on how long cookies are stored on CBS's computers.

 

They are not stored for six weeks. Also, CBS computers require each user to log on with a specific name/password combo for each session. No one stays logged in for SIX weeks. Also, when an employee is terminated, their accounts are disabled.

 

You seem to be implying that the way Larry got her login information is on the level of some intricate computer hacking, and thus far no one has discussed that as being even a remote possibility. Were Larry maybe 20 years younger, I'd believe that to be a bit more plausible.

 

-Age has NOTHING to do with skill level on computers.

 

-I am not implying "intricate" hacking. But there are simpler ways to get a password.

[Jess 1110]

Going to chime in with notes on getting computer passwords...

 

As has been noted on all of the articles, the account in question was a Yahoo mail account. Not a CBS 3 account, not a private POP 3 account, but a Yahoo mail account - accessed through the web interface. It is not at all hard to get into a Yahoo mail account - you just need a username and password.

 

I don't think this is an example of "master computer hacking" because a high school student can do it. I think it's more a question of Larry - or someone - getting hold of the username and password. Which again, isn't exactly hard; perhaps Alycia left it lying around, perhaps Larry noticed the keys that Alycia was hitting to get into the account, maybe Alycia even told Larry.

 

If it was a CBS 3 or other private account, then it would predictably be much harder, but a Yahoo account? Child's play to get in and out of.

[TSSZNews 1046]

Going to chime in with notes on getting computer passwords...

 

As has been noted on all of the articles, the account in question was a Yahoo mail account. Not a CBS 3 account, not a private POP 3 account, but a Yahoo mail account - accessed through the web interface. It is not at all hard to get into a Yahoo mail account - you just need a username and password.

 

I don't think this is an example of "master computer hacking" because a high school student can do it. I think it's more a question of Larry - or someone - getting hold of the username and password. Which again, isn't exactly hard; perhaps Alycia left it lying around, perhaps Larry noticed the keys that Alycia was hitting to get into the account, maybe Alycia even told Larry.

 

I was just about to bring that last point up.

 

If Alycia told Larry, for whatever reason...then I still stand by my "you get what you deserve" stance.

 

-T

[newsmaniac 0]

Uh...Yes. She did.

 

 

 

Let me try and convey my point in more eloquent terms...if this had been an ongoing issue, as it appears at least some in this thread believe it to be...why in the world did Alycia herself not speak up about it immediately upon her suspicion? No one can be that oblivious in noticing that your E-Mail account is being used, and the messages in it are being read. I can speak from my own personal experiences on this--when you don't speak up about something this substantial until you think you can gain something from it, it casts serious doubt on the motives for speaking up in the first place.

 

If this came up before Alycia got herself into trouble in New York, I would agree with most of you that this is a very serious matter. Now that it's come up many months after her termination...it's still serious, but I'm more inclined to give Larry the benefit of the doubt on this. The timing of it is just too fishy.

 

-T

 

Well it is also easy to cover your tracks in an email. So you forward an email to your own account - delete the forward and mark the message unread. Simple to cover the tracks. She may never have known, and maybe she had a feeling but when this came to light how do you know that isn't what put all the pieces together.

I doubt for one second she gave Larry her password. That makes no sense why would she if it was her personal account.

You can believe in Larry all you want I just happen to believe he is so very capable of this. He doesn't want to share his limelight with anyone.

[Sam Horn 78]

Worth noting: Yahoo! branded accounts have cookies that expire after 14 days.

 

Also: what else is there beyond a un/pw combo for ANY type of account? I've worked institutional IT for close to a decade, and users on every network I've worked are only issued a un and a temp pw that requires reset. MS security standard only requires 1 cap, 1 digit, and 1 special character in a 8-character minimum password. By that logic, a Yahoo! email account can most certainly be just as secure as a POP3 or CBS accounts. There's no difference among them credential-wise.

 

Plus, Lane wouldn't be logging in to her Yahoo! account on Mendte's CBS desktop, so form auto complete is out of the question. Further, if Lane did give Mendte her pw, logic would demand that she changed her pw once their relationship became less than amicable. Common sense leaves the deduction that she had no knowledge of Mendte's possession of the pw.

 

ETA: The point that's being missed is that Mendte, no matter how he gained access to the account, accessed Lane's emails without her permission. Regardless of the means, the act of reading the emails is a bona fide federal offense should Lane choose to move forward with charges. Mendte should have respected her privacy.

 

Quick example: let's say you did something at work or school that was less than reputable. You got punished for it, rightly so. A former colleague of yours that you trusted with your email un/pw continued to read your emails that included private correspondence with your attorney regarding a lawsuit against the employer or school that punished you. Are you "getting what you deserve" in having your privacy exploited?

[TSSZNews 1046]

MS security standard only requires 1 cap, 1 digit, and 1 special character in a 8-character minimum password. By that logic, a Yahoo! email account can most certainly be just as secure as a POP3 or CBS accounts. There's no difference among them credential-wise.

 

The logic is flawed. Maybe it's changed recently, but my Yahoo account's requirements for a password are a LOT more lax. I think it's a four character min, "anything goes" mentality for Yahoo mail.

 

Plus, Lane wouldn't be logging in to her Yahoo! account on Mendte's CBS desktop, so form auto complete is out of the question.

 

That's not necessarily true. At least in my former place of employment, a lot of the anchors SHARED computers with producers, writers etc. because they didn't have their own office. I don't know how things are laid out at KYW though.

 

Further, if Lane did give Mendte her pw, logic would demand that she changed her pw once their relationship became less than amicable.

 

This is someone who *allegedly* smacked a police officer. You really think she understands common sense?

 

Quick example: let's say you did something at work or school that was less than reputable. You got punished for it, rightly so. A former colleague of yours that you trusted with your email un/pw continued to read your emails that included private correspondence with your attorney regarding a lawsuit against the employer or school that punished you. Are you "getting what you deserve" in having your privacy exploited?

 

I've been in that situation--the "former colleague of mine reading private correspondence" situation.

 

The reason I didn't bring it to task is, from a business/corporate standpoint, I, like Lane, still got what I deserved.

 

This is a very warped, evil way to look at it, but forget this whole notion of Larry/Alycia being competitive against one another. if Mr. Mendte is a "loyal" company employee and has information or access to information that could protect the interests of the company he works for in a lawsuit situation...why not help the people who sign his paycheck every day? Why not help the company that makes him look good? Why refrain from ensuring that someone who's already disgraced herself in the public eye keeps piling on the self-embarrassment by allowing the corporate legal team every advantage it can have to take a perhaps disgruntled ex-employee to task on all four cylinders?

 

Is that still wrong? Probably. Is it really sad? Uh, yeah. But sometimes in corporate America, as we've seen, companies and their employees don't like to play by the rules. I can't help but now wonder if there was a little bit of that going on. Maybe, possibly, this goes well beyond Mr. Mendte in terms of involvement. Wouldn't that be interesting? Remember, Ms. Lane's case against CBS3 as it stands right now (IE what's been filed in the courts) is on the ropes.

 

Meh.

 

-T

[TSSZNews 1046]

Because, sir, it's ILLEGAL....whether you agree with the law or not.

 

Ahem.

 

Is that still wrong? Probably. Is it really sad? Uh, yeah. But sometimes in corporate America, as we've seen, companies and their employees don't like to play by the rules.

[Sam Horn 78]

What are you "ahem(ing)" to? He correctly responded to you question as to why Mendte shouldn't have done any of this for the benefit of KYW/CBS.

 

Honestly, "T", you're probably better off arguing the legalities of cannabis and prostitution. While you are obviously passionate about defending Mendte (whatever your reason), what he did for whatever reason he did it is totally indefensible. Beyond that, you're arguing to something that you have no first hand knowledge or understanding of. Maybe you're arguing for the sake of arguing, but you're swerving way off course at this point.

 

(P.S. Some further thoughts on passwords and the like. Yahoo! security standards require at least one numeric character in a password with a minimum of six characters. This meets Windows server standards for "better" security. Most companies operate under the "better" standard, meaning it's safe to assume Lane's CBS account and any POP3 account were no more secure than her Yahoo! email. The suggestion that just because you use Outlook or Mail.app or Entourage to access email is more secure than something web based is laughable. If anything, the fact that most people store their passwords in email apps makes POP3/SMTP even LESS secure than a web-based interface.)

[Weeters 1805]

[TSSZNews 1046]

I've made clear here on multiple occasions that what's going on here, if it's true, is illegal and, yes, wrong, and Mr. Mendte *is* being punished for it in his not being on the air right now, which is understandable. Remember--there's an investigation going on right now, and

there haven't even been charges filed. A lot of you are speculating about whether he'll cop a plea at this point, etc...how will all of you feel if Larry is cleared of any and all wrongdoing in this matter, and he gets to return to his chair at KYW--and deservedly so, at that?

 

My point is, there are varying degrees of what's considered "wrong" in this society. Just as an offense of murder is treated different than an offense of, say, shoplifting, I bet that if you took these two offenses--the one where Alycia Lane allegedly smacked a NYPD officer and this one where Larry Mendte allegedly read Alycia's E-Mails--and presented them to the average person, the average person may see both as bad things, but may see one as a bit more of a problem than the other. My money would be on the former being looked down upon more. And remember, that's the offense that Alycia, and Alycia alone, facilitated. Allegedly.

 

I don't think I'm defending Mr. Mendte so much as all of you are suddenly coming to Ms. Lane's defense. I feel almost as if some of you read the initial story or watched it being covered (as the story did get some national attention) and suddenly threw all your support back to her; that she was a victim of Larry's snooping and her career was totally ruined from it. That just isn't true. Larry isn't the one who acted like an idiot in New York City. And while E-Mail snooping is a federal offense, no one's going to look at the accusation of smacking a police officer very well.

 

Our jobs as journalists and analysts are not to be force-fed the latest story and take it as the gospel. Our jobs are to look at all the facts, and look at all the history behind that story, and put it all in a context that is fair to all parties. We're not doing a good job of that right now, because a lot of us are missing a glaring fact/accusation in all of this.

 

I'm just saying. No offense to anyone in particular. :bang:

 

-T

[rtmclaug 43]

SFLTV.com has a piece on its website that former WFOR-TV reporter Brian Andrews will be interviewing with CBS 3 on Monday (tomorrow). He also confirmed it on his website. I think this is a little premature on the part of CBS 3. The investigation isn't done yet, and Larry's bio is still on the website at cbs3.com. I've seen Brian's work and think he is a great anchor/reporter, but let's wait until the dust clears and the situation with Larry is resolved.

[first on fox 18]

I guess Andrews' little fling in Colombia didn't pan out as he thought it would. I mean, when is the last time you heard about South American news?

[NewsMan 0]

This gets odder and odder on the Brian Andrews Front.

 

Inqlings: The big reach for an anchor

 

By Michael Klein

 

Inquirer Columnist

Fox29 is moving to fill its male prime-time anchor slot, and it's going to great lengths to see one candidate face-to-face.

 

To Colombia.

 

Brian Andrews, a longtime TV newsie in the Miami market (and a onetime colleague of Alycia Lane's), is being flown up for an interview today, I hear.

 

The Atlanta-bred Andrews has been in South America full time since December as a producer for Caracol TV, a correspondent for Al Jazeera, and host of an English-language newscast for RCN Network that is expected to launch later this month.

 

Fox29 released Dave Huddleston last week, and various anchors are being paired with Dawn Stensland.

 

Andrews did not reply to my e-mail and the station did not wish to talk about it. The prospect of a Philly job interview for Andrews first appeared Sunday on the South Florida TV blog, though the post indicated that he was interviewing with CBS3.

 

The Larry Mendte affair, meanwhile, has not affected CBS3's ratings. According to numbers provided by Nielsen Media Research, CBS3 drew an 11 share of the 11 p.m. audience during his last week on the air, May 26, meaning that 11 percent of the viewing audience was tuning in. News of the FBI investigation into Mendte broke on May 31.

 

For the next two weeks (June 2 and 9, Mondays to Fridays), the 11 p.m. newscasts with Susan Barnett and Chris May drew the same numbers. Ratings (the number of households) held steady. Not that flatness is such a good thing. NBC10, long in third place, has been nipping at CBS3's heels.