Co-workers at Channel 7 'betrayed' by 'rape-lie' weather gal

[MASTERBAKER]

Co-workers at Channel 7 'betrayed' by 'rape-lie' weather gal


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/cold_front_at_channel_SMMCMc3cRRH9FclY0wfWBP#ixzz18Hka8fzk

For months, weather babe Heidi Jones had convinced sympathetic colleagues at WABC/Channel 7 that she had nearly been raped while jogging in Central Park.

Yesterday, that compassion turned to rage when staffers at the TV station learned that Jones had been lying all along.

"It was an outrageous lie," said a fuming WABC staffer, who like others were "flabbergasted" to learn of the deception by reading about it in The Post.

"All this trust we had is shattered. We're like a family. We feel betrayed," the source said, adding that it had become "common knowledge" around the newsroom that Jones claimed to have been attacked in late September.


runwithheidi.com
HOT AIR: Heidi Jones allegedly made up her attack.
"To the point that security guards would offer to escort her home," the source said.

Among Jones' only defenders yesterday was her mother in Florida, who claimed that Jones never used the word "rape" when she described the alleged attack to police.

"I have no comment. I do know that the word 'rape' was never used," the mom said.

Station officials said yesterday they had suspended Jones, 37, and are conducting an internal investigation.

A source said she will be fired.

"She was deeply unhappy, personally and professionally," a newsroom source said.

Police sources said Jones had admitted to filing the false report because she suffered from "personal and professional pressures" and wanted to gain "sympathy" over an undisclosed personal issue.

"I am surprised by it," said another Channel 7 staffer.

"She's really a nice girl. There must be something deeper that we don't yet know about."

By yesterday afternoon, Jones was persona non grata at the station.

A poster of the weather gal that hung in one of the hallways of WABC had been taken down.

Her bio was taken off the station's Web site during the day -- but mysteriously reappeared at night.

On yesterday's noon edition of "Eyewitness News," anchor Lori Stokes covered Jones' arrest as a regular news story.

"WABC has suspended Jones pending the outcome of an internal investigation," Stokes said.

"Ms. Jones has had a distinguished career as a broadcast journalist and urges all concerned to refrain from jumping to conclusions about the unproven charges against her being discussed in the press," said her lawyer, Paul Callan, adding that his client will plead not guilty.

Nearly two months after the alleged attack, Jones told cops she was jogging in Central Park on the afternoon of Sept. 24 when a Hispanic man in his 30s or 40s grabbed her from behind, dragged her into a wooded area and attempted to rape her. She told police that the would-be rapist was scared off by two passers-by who came to her aid.

She also claimed that the same man approached her on Nov. 21 and threatened her.

Cops questioned the validity of the claim almost immediately, said sources.

Additional reporting by Lachlan Cartwright don.kaplan @nypost.com



Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/cold_front_at_channel_SMMCMc3cRRH9FclY0wfWBP#ixzz18Hka8fzk
[FLASH]http://www.youtube.com/v/wEyocdTENnc?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0xcc2550&color2=0xe87a9f[/FLASH][FLASH]http://www.youtube.com/v/GdcF7zUrV6s?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0xcc2550&color2=0xe87a9f[/FLASH]

 

[Joe Money]

Another white girl trying to come up off some bullshit!

 

[duppy_maka]

bitch got a real nice body too.
blaming it on a phantom "Hispanic" male

every few months, there is always a big scandal involving some news caster here in New York city

 

[auggiedoggy]

For her sentence a random hispanic man should be able to smack the piss out of her

 

[daking181]

need to get the pics of the black chick that does the news in the morning

 

[beof]

For her sentence a random hispanic man should be able to smack the piss out of her

 

[MASTERBAKER]

BY Rocco Parascandola and Joe Kemp
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Friday, December 17th 2010, 4:00 AM



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_..._police_to_work__24hr_prot.html#ixzz18NZKRGuK

WABC-TV weatherwoman Heidi Jones was given 'round-the-clock protection by NYPD detectives before fessing up to sending cops on a wild-goose chase for her phony Central Park attacker, a police source said.

Jones was even contacted by Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, who personally apologized to the meteorologist when she said two uniformed officers refused to take a police report after the bogus Sept. 24 assault, two other police sources said.

The complaint that prompted Kelly's mea culpa came Nov. 24 when Jones told police a few days earlier the Hispanic man who tried to rape her while she was jogging in the park came to her Manhattan apartment and threatened her.

"I don't know how she knows the commissioner," a source said. "But she was contacted by [Kelly] and was told Internal Affairs was investigating the Central Park Precinct."

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne denied the account and said Kelly never reached out to Jones.

But the source, who is close to the investigation, said the 37-year-old forecaster was even given a small squad of detectives from the special victims unit to provide security for her.

"The order came from the higherups," the source said. "We were providing 24-hours protection. It's rarely done."

Six detectives spent three weeks "taking her wherever she needed to go," the source said.

Some of the places included a flea market at Union Square, restaurants around the city, movie theaters and even walks with her dog on the West Side Highway, near where she lives, the source said.

The sometimes fill-in for "Good Morning America" also was driven to work by police.

"We don't do it on a typical victim," the source said. "We just don't provide that kind of assistance."

But as Jones enjoyed the perks of being chauffeured around town by the city's Finest, she continued to flake out of meetings about her case with Internal Affairs detectives and prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney's office.

Detectives grew even more suspicious of Jones' vague story when they listened to conversations she had with her sister during the rides.

"Her story was inconsistent," the source said, adding that dozens of man-hours were also lost poring over surveillance footage from the park in search of a man that fit the description she gave of her attacker.

"All the videos were coming back with no results," the source said.

That's when she was pulled back in for more questioning and finally cracked, telling the detectives that she had been leading them on a chase for a man who didn't exist, the source said.

Jones, who has been with WABC since 2005, was suspended indefinitely. The station said it planned an internal investigation of the arrest.

She is due in court on Jan. 5 and faces up to a year in prison if convicted of filing a false report.

With Rocco Parascandola

jkemp@nydailynews.com



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_..._police_to_work__24hr_prot.html#ixzz18NYmmY8i

 

[MASTERBAKER]

Heidi Jones scandal: NYPD cops spent untold hours probing weather forecaster's attack story
BY Alison Gendar, Rocco Parascandola AND Joe Kemp
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Saturday, December 18th 2010, 4:00 AM

The investigation into the bogus attack on a popular weatherwoman pulled in detectives from across the city, who racked up loads of overtime, police sources said Friday.

Some probed Heidi Jones' claims that a man dragged her off a jogging trail in Central Park, while others spent hours keeping a close eye on her in case the phantom struck again, the sources said.

The NYPD detail was ordered to follow the WABC-TV forecaster from location to location, watching for the creep to resurface, the sources said.

The Daily News reported yesterday that the detectives provided security for the sometime fill-in for "Good Morning America" - even driving her to a flea market and restaurants around the city.

Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne disputed that claim, saying detectives only drove her around while searching for the suspect, but two police sources said detectives piled on the overtime and drove her wherever she wanted to go.

"It was the Special Victims Squad that was assigned to her, to run her around town, provide security for her," one of the sources said yesterday. "Their job was twofold: provide security and investigate the case. There was also surveillance involved."

Details on the number of days and hours spent protecting Jones weren't immediately available. WABC-TV also provided security for Jones after police say she cried wolf, station sources said. It wasn't clear how long that lasted.

Jones is under fire for leading cops on a wild-goose chase for a man she said assaulted her while she was running in Central Park on Sept. 24 and accosted her again two months later, sources said.

She went to cops in the 6th Precinct on Nov. 24 and said the same Hispanic man had approached her near her lower Manhattan apartment, sources said.

The NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau began probing the Central Park Precinct when detectives couldn't find a police report of the previous incident.

Browne said Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly never contacted Jones or ordered special protection. Her lawyer agreed.

From the beginning, there was some doubt about her story, a police source said, adding that investigators assigned to the detail frequently talked to Jones about the incident.

"It didn't take long for detectives to find inconsistencies," the source said.

Dozens of man-hours were lost poring over surveillance footage in and around Central Park, looking for a man fitting the description of the supposed suspect, sources said. But nothing turned up.

Cops eventually hauled Jones back in for more questioning. After they grilled her about the holes in her story, she caved in and told cops she had lied about the attack, sources said.

The avid runner, who joined the local Eyewitness News team in 2005, admitted she was having relationship problems and thought the tall tale would gain her sympathy.

She was later charged with filing a false report and is expected to plead not guilty next month.

With Richard Huff

jkemp@nydailynews.com

 

[DragonXJC]

For her sentence a random hispanic man should be able to smack the piss out of her

I second this, I would be first in line.

This type of bullshit happens to brothas too.

 

[nukdollars]

bitch got a real nice body too.
blaming it on a phantom "Hispanic" male

every few months, there is always a big scandal involving some news caster here in New York city

Yup.

 

[Mr. Met]

For her sentence a random hispanic man should be able to smack the piss out of her

On a side note, what movie is that from?

 

[MASTERBAKER]

I second this, I would be first in line.

This type of bullshit happens to brothas too.

 

[Devilstrider]

That bitch wanted attention and some dick. Why go through all this when you have a body like that?

 

[Ryokurin]

Unfortunately, like several times before she'll get a slap on the wrist because people will be afraid of real victims not reporting crimes in case the police believe it to be fake. She probably won't serve any jail time and just have to complete a course or do some community service.

 

[MASTERBAKER]

***update***


Hail of a 'liar'
Stressed weather gal: 'I made it up'

By LAURA ITALIANO

Last Updated: 10:46 AM, January 6, 2011

Posted: 2:37 AM, January 6, 2011

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/hail_of_liar_xLXLaP8yoNL3m7y6SpKinN#ixzz1AH5cVHBR

Read more:
She’s blaming it all on her own personal highpressure system.

Out-in-the-cold TV meteorologist Heidi Jones — accused of concocting a total snow job about a mysterious “Hispanic” pervert jumping her as she jogged in Central Park — admitted that she had made the whole story up out of “stress,” according to newly released court documents.

“I did make this up,” Jones told a detective at a Midtown precinct three weeks ago, the criminal complaint says. “I made it up for attention. I have so much stress at work, with my personal life and with my family. I know there is no justification for it.”


J.B Nicholas / Splash News
BIG CHILL: Weather girl Heidi Jones leaves court yesterday with lawyer Paul Callan.

see more videos The pretty weather gal put up a cold front yesterday as she clicked into Manhattan Criminal Court in highheeled burgundy patent pumps and a trim black dress suit — refusing to comment to reporters — for her first appearance on two misdemeanor charges of falsely reporting an incident.

But judging from the court complaint, she has been quite chatty with cops.

Her Dec. 13 confession was recorded after midnight; it is not known whether cops picked her up after work outside her WABC/Channel 7 studios. The sit-down with police followed several previous talks with cops, during which she allegedly described a Sept. 24 attack in the park and subsequent harassment by her mystery attacker Nov. 21.

Cops say Jones, 37, told them she was jogging in the park on the afternoon of Sept. 24 when a Hispanic man in his 30s or 40s grabbed her from behind, dragged her into a wooded area and tried to rape her.

Two passers-by frightened the man away and gave her assistance, she claimed.

Jones waited two months before taking her account to cops, sources have told The Post. She explained then that she was spurred to action only after the same man somehow found her again and confronted her, saying, “I know you went to the police.”

Detectives embarked on a lengthy search for the man, scouring surveillance video and canvassing for witnesses, sources said.

Returning empty-handed, they questioned Jones again, uncovering inconsistencies as she repeated her account.

It was when she was confronted with the discrepancies that Jones allegedly admitted to cops that she had fabricated the story in a bid for sympathy, sources said.

Jones, who remains suspended from her forecasting job, will vigorously contest both the accuracy and admissibility of the statements, said her lawyer, Paul Callan.

“She has been vilified in a hailstorm of false and defamatory claims,” the lawyer complained. “It is a sad and sorry example of members of the press cannibalizing one of their own.”

Jones, who also filled in on “Good Morning America,” has been suspended by WABC and faces up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

laura.italiano@nypost.com



Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/hail_of_liar_xLXLaP8yoNL3m7y6SpKinN#ixzz1AH5QWsDy

 

[Acur]

for her sentence a random hispanic man should be able to smack the piss out of her

fuck the spics and the cacs'!