Post Reporter Is Probed For Extortion

Jared Paul Stern, a freelance gossip columnist at the New York Post, is under investigation by the FBI for an extortion attempt involving one of the world's richest men, California billionaire Ron Burkle.

Mr. Stern, who has also written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and New York Magazine, allegedly demanded $100,000 from Mr. Burkle, plus a regular stipend of $10,000, not to write any damaging stories about the supermarket magnate and Democratic fundraiser, whose net worth is listed by Forbes as $2.3 billion.

Mr. Burkle, 53, is the founder of Yucaipa, an investment company based in Los Angeles, and a close friend of President Clinton, who sits on the Yucaipa board.

According to the Post, which posted an article on its Web site last night, "sources close to the investigation say the FBI has been investigating for two weeks under the direction of Mark Weinstein, the chief of the economic crimes division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, and has Stern on video and audiotape."

"Jared Paul Stern is a freelance reporter who sometimes worked two days a week at the New York Post," said the Post's editor-in-chief, Col Allan, in a statement. "He has been suspended pending the outcome of the federal investigation. Should the allegations prove true, Mr. Stern's conduct would be morally and journalistically reprehensible, a gross abuse of privilege and in violation of the New York Post's standards and ethics."

A federal law enforcement source said no arrests have yet been made. Mr. Burkle was unavailable for comment last night.

Mr. Burkle, whose investment company, Yucaipa, is involved in talks to buy some of the newspapers recently sold by Knight Ridder to McClatchy, is listed at No. 335 on Forbes Magazine's list of the world's billionaires. He made his fortune through leveraged buyouts of such supermarket chains as Jurgensen's and Ralph's.

Mr. Stern, who wrote the "Nightcrawler" column for the Post and contributed to its Page Six gossip column, cultivated a flamboyant after-hours persona, and was often photographed in a suit and fedora. He is a 1994 graduate of Bennington College who lives in New York City and the Catskills.