“The mere accessing and reading of privileged information is criminal,” acting U.S. Attorney Laurie Magid said. “This case, however, went well beyond just reading someone’s e-mail.”

But these charges are reportedly part of a bigger issue, “a titillating local news rivalry that has already ended Lane’s career at KYW-TV, the CBS affiliate in Philadelphia. She was fired in January after a series of embarrassing off-camera incidents, including a scuffle with a New York City police officer. Now the scandal revolves around Mendte’s alleged off-camera conduct. A one-count information charges Mendte, who co-anchored the news with Lane for more than four years, with a felony count of intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization.”

Some believe that Mendte’s alleged actions came from jealousy and began in 2005 when Lane was getting more than $100,000 a year than him. Her salary, a massive $780,000 a year. One such picture Mendte is charged with obtaining is allegedly Lane in a bikini.