TV producer Eric Weinberg has $5-million bail revoked after judge labels him danger to society
A Wisconsin judge has revoked the bail of a former CBS News reporter who was arrested three weeks ago for allegedly sending threatening messages to CBS President and CEO Les Moonves.
Judge Robert S. Katz in Milwaukee revoked bail for Eric Weinberg, of Appleton, after police found a note left in a bathroom that contained a threat to kill CBS Corp., Moonves’s employer. Weinberg had been released on $15,000 cash bail following his arrest. His lawyer, John Miller, had argued that Weinberg was a danger to the community, and that he had made no request for bail. Miller said Weinberg would be seeking a new judge.
Weinberg worked at CBS for 26 years before leaving in 2011. His contract was up this month.
He is the latest in a string of wealthy celebrities to be ensnared in a crime wave that has swept away bailouts.
Weinberg is the second high-profile celebrity to get caught up in the wave. Last month, CBS CEO Moonves was arrested on federal charges of fraud and bribery after his personal staff used the CBS money for personal gain, police said.
Advertisement
The network and its parent company, CBS Corp., were not immediately available to comment.
News of Weinberg’s bail revocation came on the second day of the hearing. Katz told Weinberg’s attorney that he had “failed to meet his burden of proof.”
“I did not make a request for bail; I didn’t even consider it,” wrote Miller. “I don’t think the court could have even come to that conclusion.”
The Associated Press reported last month that Moonves was considering a buyout from CBS for about $1 billion. CBS shares ended the day up more than 4 percent.
Federal prosecutors say Moonves took more than $30 million in bribes and kickbacks