CBS was clearly looking for a fresh start when it replaced theMemogate-tainted Andrew Heyward with SeanMcManus as president of its news division. But unfortunately theappointment seems to have brought McManus a tawdry blast from his own past. Wehear a mentally unstable former bra model who once had a one-night encounterwith McManus—and whom the exec had arrested after she threatened to tellthe press—recently went on a rampage after hearing about hispromotion.
The sordid affair began when McManus, at the time V.P. for CBS Sports, wentto an Upper East Side bar on the night of the 1997 U.S. Open and metCharlotte von Vogt, a then 46-year-old part-time prostitute andformer bra model once known for having “the most beautiful breasts in theworld”—at least according to famed flack Dick Falk.The exec reportedly enjoyed a few rounds of cocktails with the buxom blonde, then invited her back to his Park Avenue apartment for a nightcap.
It was at this point that their memories of the evening diverge. Von Vogt hasclaimed that she and McManus embarked on a night of drinking, drug use, andkinky sex. In court, an attorney for McManus categorized the whole encountersimply as “a chat, a walk, a drink, [and] a simple and chastegoodbye.” The one thing that’s certain is that after the two parted,von Vogt began to call McManus nonstop, demanding that he acknowledge what sheclaims transpired between them and pleading with him to attend a session withher psychiatrist. When she finally threatened him in February1998—after 15 fruitless calls, many of which McManus secretlyrecorded—that she would go public with her story if he persisted indenying what ocurred, he had her arrested for harassment and“telephone stalking.” (McManus, incidentally, had just gottenmarried the previous June.)
When the case went to court in 1999, McManus was cross-examined twice aboutthe evening in front of a press-filled gallery. (So much for keeping it out ofthe papers.) Von Vogt, however, suffered a nervous breakdown during theproceedings—brought on, she claimed, by the investigatorsCBS had sicced on her—and the judge declared her unfit for trial.Afterwards, her attorney, David Breitbart, suggested shesee a new therapist to deal with the emotional fallout from the case.
According to a source close to the trial, von Vogt only saw the therapistbriefly before dropping out of sight—until October of this year, whenMcManus was announced as the incoming CBS News head. We’re told she began calling the female shrink nonstop, venting her anger over the exec's promotion and claiming “she was going to use [the psychiatrist] to get toMcManus.” Then, last Halloween, von Vogt followed the shrink fromher office and attempted to push her into oncoming traffic on York Avenue and75th Street in Manhattan, screaming, “You Bitch! You piece of garbage! You’rejust a pawn to get to McManus!” She was arrested and, last we heard, was beingheld without bail.
McManus could not be reached by presstime.