Andy Richter, Conan O'Brien's sidekick at "The Tonight Show," is acknowledging some ill will toward NBC and Jay Leno in the wake of the network's late-night upheaval.

"Why wouldn't I?" said Richter, who was filling in Tuesday for Regis Philbin on "Live! with Regis and Kelly."

Richter told Kelly Ripa he was frustrated that Leno was allowed to reclaim "The Tonight Show" host chair just nine months after O'Brien had inherited that plum assignment.

"NBC, definitely, everybody said they were going to do something and they didn't," said Richter, implying the network broke long-standing commitments it made to O'Brien.

O'Brien left NBC and "Tonight" in January amid complaints by NBC of low ratings.

O'Brien's future is unclear. So is Richter's, although he said, for now, he's still an NBC employee, "so we'll see if those checks keep coming."

David Letterman avoided a potentially messy trial that would have focused on his affairs with "Late Show" staffers as a former CBS News producer pleaded guilty Tuesday to attempting to extort $2 million from the comedian.

Robert "Joe" Halderman, who had worked for "48 Hours" before being quietly dismissed by the network, entered the plea in a Manhattan courtroom, ending a high-profile melodrama that prompted Letterman to apologize on his late-night program for what he called "creepy" behavior.

Halderman, who had been charged with first-degree grand larceny, is expected to receive a six-month jail term under the agreement.

The attempt to pressure Letterman grew out of his relationship with Stephanie Birkitt, a longtime "Late Show" assistant. Birkitt started dating Halderman after a breakup with her boss, and Halderman was later furious when he saw the two in an embrace, according to Halderman's friend, journalist Bob Arnot.

Letterman married Regina Lasko last year but had been steadily dating her for two decades.

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