October 9, 2008 --
ANOTHER lurid scandal involving news anchors in Philadelphia has erupted - and it promises to be juicy.
Lori Delgado, the sexy morning news presenter on WCAU-TV, quit this week - days after she and the station were hit with a legal notice from the NBC-owned channel's ex-afternoon anchor, Vince DeMentri, that he intends to sue the station for slander.
DeMentri was fired from WCAU last August after he was suspected of vandalizing Delgado's Lexus by scratching it with a key. He also allegedly removed possessions from her desk, including a hair dryer and handbag.
Delgado, 29, now married, and DeMentri, 44, who's divorced from QVC host Pat James, had a "particularly close friendship that soured," according to Philadelphia Daily News columnist Dan Gross.
DeMentri's lawyer, Paul Rosen, did not return our call, but told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Delgado is named as a defendant for "intentionally interfering with [DeMentri's] contractual relationship with NBC." He wouldn't elaborate.
Delgado's lawyer, Eric Weitz, told Page Six: "Miss Delgado is unaware of any facts that support the legal allegations of Mr. DeMentri." The suit is expected to be filed soon. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission is also probing a sex-discrimination claim against WCAU by DeMentri.
Delgado, who joined WCAU in 2005, once worked at News 12 in New York. DeMentri was a reporter on WCBS/Channel 2 here before moving to Philadelphia in 2003. He was suspended at WCAU in 2006 for allegedly threatening weatherman Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz, who made fun of him for doing a flood report while standing in water.
The latest Philly TV news shocker comes less than two months after Larry Mendte pleaded guilty to accessing the personal e-mails of his KYW-TV co-anchor, Alycia Lane, and leaking them to the press.
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