Worker allegedly plotted to kidnap Letterman’s child

Helena, Mont. — Authorities have arrested a man on allegations he was plotting to kidnap David Letterman’s young son and nanny from the talk-show host’s Montana ranch.

Sally Hilander, a spokeswoman for the Montana Department of Corrections, identified the suspect as Kelly A. Frank.

The plot was uncovered when someone whom Frank had approached about the plan informed local police, Hilander said. Frank was in custody on a felony charge of solicitation.

Mike Ferriter of the state Department of Corrections said Frank, 43, was arrested Sunday in Cascade County and arraigned Thursday. He had been working as a painter at Letterman’s ranch west of Choteau in north-central Montana, Ferriter said.

Letterman’s girlfriend, Regina Lasko, gave birth to their son on Nov. 3, 2003. Letterman said the boy, his first child, was named after his late father, Harry Joseph Letterman.

Lil’ Kim convicted of perjury

New York — Rap diva Lil’ Kim was convicted Thursday of lying to a federal grand jury to protect friends who were involved in a shootout outside a radio station.

Lil’ Kim, 29, and her assistant were both convicted of perjury and conspiracy but acquitted of obstruction of justice. Kim faces up to 20 years in prison — five years each for three perjury counts and one count of conspiracy — at her June 24 sentencing.

The former sidekick and mistress of the late Notorious B.I.G. testified that she didn’t notice two close friends at the scene of the 2001 gun battle: her manager, Damion Butler, and Suif “Gutta” Jackson. Both men have since pleaded guilty to gun charges.

The jury saw radio station security photos showing Butler opening a door for Lil’ Kim. And witnesses Antoine “Banger” Spain and James “Lil’ Cease” Lloyd, who once made hit records with Lil’ Kim in the group Junior M.A.F.I.A., testified that Butler and Jackson were at the station with her.

CBS planning another made-for-TV ‘Martha’

New York — Nothing could really be real in America before it’s been cycled through at least one made-for-TV flick.

By that equation, Martha Stewart is going to be one super-real lady: CBS is planning another biopic of the housewifely vixen. The project will chart the rise and fall of Stewart, including her prison term.

And who else to grace the little screen as Martha but Cybill Shepherd — the actress who first assayed the part in NBC’s “Martha, Inc.”? Variety says Cyb is in talks with the network to star in the flick.

Former housekeeper says kids ran wild at Neverland

Santa Maria, Calif. — A former housekeeper at Michael Jackson’s Neverland ranch told jurors Thursday about a parade of boys who often stayed at the estate, among them Jackson’s accuser and his brother, who sometimes ran wild and trashed their living quarters toward the end of their stay.

Kiki Fournier named nine children, including actor Macaulay Culkin, who came and went during her intermittent tenure from 1991 to September 2003.

Fournier said she observed the behavior of children change when they stayed awhile at Neverland. The more the children got “free rein,” the wilder and destructive they became, she said.

Birthdays

Rapper-actress Queen Latifah is 35. Author John Updike is 73. Country singer Charley Pride is 67. Singer-actress Vanessa L. Williams is 42. Olympic gold medal speedskater Bonnie Blair is 41.