Albrecht g.f. says both were drunk and made mistake. Case closed, at least in court.

By Alex Ben Block

HOLLYWOOD, CA. (Hollywood Today) 5/11/07 — Chris Albrecht, whose high profile arrest in Las Vegas over the weekend led to his resignation as head of HBO, has now settled his legal problems. He pleaded no contest today to a charge of battery against his girlfriend and received a year’s informal probation and $1,000 fine.

Albrecht’s girlfriend said in a statement: “Chris and I made a mistake last weekend. It was an incident fueled by both of us drinking too much alcohol, but I was not injured and I know he cares about me. Our argument that evening got out of hand, but I still love him and I forgive him. We are both grateful that the matter has been resolved with the Las Vegas authorities. Chris and I are both committed to our sobriety and are looking forward to putting this behind us and moving on with our lives together.”

In a Las Vegas courtroom, Albrecht agreed to pay a $1,000 fine and received a six month suspended sentence. He also promised to obey an informal probation order for at least one year not to get into any more legal trouble. He was represented by Las Vegas attorney David Chesnoff.

“My behavior was clearly inappropriate and, in this spirit, I have accepted the judgment of the authorities in Las Vegas,” Albrecht said in a statement. “I have apologized to [girlfriend Karla Jensen] and I would like to express my appreciation for the fair and professional way I was treated by the Las Vegas police. Karla and I now look forward to putting this behind us and getting on with our lives.”

A Las Vegas police report on the case filed Sunday has also been made public. It says Albrecht was observed just after 3 am Sunday in front of the MGM Grand Hotel “grabbing a white female by the throat using two hands,” according to the police. He smelled from alcohol, them he was head of HBO and said that his girlfriend, who later declined to press charges, had “pissed me off.”

Pleading no contest means Albrecht does not admit any guilt and that the case can’t be used against him in any future legal proceedings.

Albrecht resigned as CEO of HBO after a very successful decade on top. His downfall came after the incident, and press reports that he had been involved in other incidents. Time Warner has put a business executive in charge of HBO for now. It has not named a replacement CEO or said how long it will take to find Albrecht’s successor.