Mendte fresh: Ex-CBS 3 anchor cleared in suit

LARRY MENDTE is free and clear. For now.

Common Pleas Judge Allan L. Tereshko has dismissed the remaining claims filed against the former CBS 3 anchor by ex-colleague Alycia Lane.

But Lane's attorney, Paul Rosen, made it very clear that he planned to appeal the ruling.

Tereshko dismissed the civil case filed against CBS 3, but had allowed some of the charges against Mendte to stand, pending further investigation.

Those final claims were dropped last week after the judge found that Lane had deleted key emails from her computer.

"As far as I'm concerned, Lane already got her pound of flesh from Larry in the federal criminal case. Larry has done nothing but try to make amends and move on, but she has nothing but vengeance in heart," said Mendte's attorney, Julia Morrow.

Mendte pleaded guilty to federal charges of email intrusion and was sentenced to six months of house arrest and probation. Mendte is currently a news commentator for Tribune Broadcasting.

Rosen, meanwhile, said he was "elated with happiness" by the ruling.

According to Rosen, Tereshko was prejudiced against his client from the beginning, and the final dismissal allows him to appeal the case to Superior Court.

"It was like a release from judicial jail, and I finally get a chance to challenge the warden," Rosen said, calling from his vacation in St. Barts.

Tereshko issued his ruling last week after Morrow argued that the destruction of evidence by Lane ruined Mendte's ability to defend himself against charges that he damaged Lane's reputation.

"My position was that no, she damaged her own reputation by punching that cop and calling her a dyke," Morrow said, referencing a December 2007 incident for which she was charged with assaulting a New York City police officer. The charges were later reduced to a misdemeanor and subsequently dropped.

Lane is currently the morning anchor at KNBC in Los Angeles.

CBS 3 declined to comment.

Like, gag me with a spoon.

Eagle DeSean Jackson recently put down $1.65 million for a 3,837-square-foot house in Tarzana, Calif. According to TMZ, it's a five-bedroom, four-bath pad, complete with a massive kitchen, guest house and pool.

Jackson was born in Los Angeles and has been renting a spot for years, but now he's got a permanent spot.

Of course, Tarzana is located in the San Fernando Valley, officially making Jackson a Valley girl.

Tommy Stinson, current Guns N' Roses bassist and former member of all-time great band the Replacements, is the most recent guest on "Accademia dei Cento," an online cooking show sponsored by Cento, the Philly-founded Italian-food label. Stinson is joined by his uncle, Philly musician and chef Chip Roberts, and show host, Philly-media gal about town Lorraine Ranalli. Check out the video at ph.ly/stinson.

In the video, Stinson and Roberts cook up a recipe for braised chicken thighs. "I'm a novice, but Chip showed me how to do this stuff. We've had a lot of fun cooking together to feed our peeps while we wait to get our jam on," Stinson told me. "It's become a serious thing. We've talked about doing a restaurant; we have a lot of ideas."

Stinson spent a large portion of this year with Guns N' Roses, but teased an upcoming country side project he's been working on called Cowboys in the Campfire.

Earlier this year, the Replacements (well, at least Stinson and singer Paul Westerberg) released an EP to benefit former guitarist Slim Dunlap, who suffered a stroke last year. It's available online at songsforslim.com.

When I expressed my delight at new Replacements material, Stinson offered a tantalizing bit of info. "This will be a very big year for you then. I'll leave that one hanging."

On Twitter: @PhillyGossipDN