Dan Gross: Alycia Lane: 'I'm so glad this is over'

THE CRIMINAL CASE

of CBS 3 exile Alycia Lane is all but over. The questions now are if, how and when she'll rebuild her career.

"I just want to say I'm so glad this is over," Lane said yesterday on the steps of New York Supreme Court. "And I want to thank all of those who supported me and believed in me. And I just look forward to moving on with my life now."

In a four-minute hearing, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Michael Greenman asked that felony assault charges against Lane be dropped because the injuries to the NYPD officer Lane had been charged with assaulting were not serious enough to merit the charge. Greenman and Lane's attorney, David Smith, agreed to an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, or an ACD.

It's essentially a six-month-long dismissal of her case. If she doesn't get arrested in the next six months, the case will be formally declared dead.

We reported Feb. 8 that this deal had been reached, but we said the six-month period was probation. It is not. Lane doesn't have to report to any court officer, nor is she under court supervision through Aug. 25. She just has to avoid being arrested.

Lane's settlement includes one day of community service. Smith submitted a letter from Philadelphia's Project HOME shelter that Lane had already spent a day volunteering at the homeless welfare organization. Who knew?

A message left for Project HOME's director, Sister Mary Scullion, to ask about Lane's civic service, was not returned yesterday, and Lane referred our inquiry about her service to Smith, who also did not return our call.

Lane was charged with hitting a police officer in New York City on Dec. 16 during an incident in which she and other passengers in a taxi were involved in an altercation with three plainclothes police officers.

Lane, as we reported last week, is writing a book about her life and the incident in New York that led to her arrest and the loss of her job.

The anchor, we're told, has hired big-time PR man Matthew Hiltzik to repair her image. Hiltzik handled Don Imus during HoGate and has also worked with Hillary Clinton and another famous CBS anchor, Katie Couric.

Smith denied that Hiltzik is working for Lane, and Hiltzik did not return an e-mail asking if he was repping Lane.

Though Lane says she doesn't know what's next for her, her civil lawyer, Paul Rosen, said she "has so many offers coming in now."

Rosen also says he is proceeding "full speed ahead," in his civil suit against CBS 3, which he alleged terminated his client prematurely and without cause. We asked CBS 3 for a reaction to the Alycia outcome:

"As we have said previously, we made a decision in January that was not based solely on the New York incident of December 16 but rather on a series of judgments made by Alycia when she was working at CBS 3.

"As we did then, we continue to wish her the best in all of her future endeavors," CBS 3 President Michael Colleran said in a written statement.

Before her arrest, Lane received notoriety after bikini photos of herself that she intended to e-mail to NFL Network anchor Rich Eisen were mistakenly sent to Eisen's wife.

CBS 3 was also upset that Lane had called Gov. Rendell after her arrest in what appeared to be an attempt to ask him to intervene in her legal drama, and the station was not happy to learn of her arrest from PhillyGossip.com - a staffer read our report during a CBS 3 holiday party.

"We are confident that as this goes forward, Alycia will succeed in her life," Smith said on the courthouse steps.

"It is important that everybody knows that she is not on probation. She doesn't need to return to court and this matter will end in a complete dismissal - with the arrest and prosecution being a nullity, as if they had never existed."

The brief hearing drew about a dozen reporters and photographers.

After Lane and Smith spoke with reporters, Camp Alycia, which included her parents and her boyfriend, Chris Booker, were ushered into a black Cadillac Escalade by a private security guard.

Lane, meanwhile, recently met one of Booker's friends, radio legend Howard Stern.

Stern revealed on his Sirius Satellite Radio show that he and girlfriend Beth Ostrosky had dinner with Booker and Lane at Atlantic City's Borgata last week, after Stern sidekick Artie Lange had performed at the hotel.

"She's hot . . . she has nice big t---ies . . . and is the best piece of ass Booker's ever had," Stern said of Lane.

Lane suggested we tune into Booker's Q102 show this morning. Asked if she'll appear on the show, Lane said she wasn't planning to, but you "never know." *

Visit PhillyGossip.com for Dan's latest stories. Have a tip? Call 215-854-5963, or e-mail grossd@phillynews.com. For recent columns, visit go.philly.com/dangross.