• The Hollywood Reporter, Thursday, August 16, 2007 10:30 AM

"Dateline NBC" is trying to rebut a claim by an Esquire article that producers on its "To Catch a Predator" series tried to manipulate Texas cops into arresting a district attorney who committed suicide after being confronted by police last year. At the same time, the net faces a $105 million federal lawsuit filed by the man's sister, and one from a former producer who said she was fired because she questioned the ethics of "Predator."

Adding to "Predator's" woes is ABC News, which is working an angle for "20/20" on the death of Kaufman County prosecutor Bill Conradt and "Dateline's" role in it. As part of the sting in question, the men's mag says an actor was hired to pose as a 13-year-old boy to chat online with a man later identified as Conradt. The show tried to lure him to a house where police awaited, but found out he ultimately turned down the bait. So they decided to take police and a "Dateline" crew to Conradt's home. The next day a SWAT team -- with "Dateline" cameras along for the ride -- entered the man's house and, after a few words, he shot himself in the head.

His sister Patricia sued NBC Universal last month claiming invasion of privacy, among other charges. None of the men arrested in the operation have been charged. NBC News declines to let executive producer David Corvo talk, but a spokeswoman disputes Esquire's account of the incident, as did correspondent Chris Hansen in an interview with the magazine. "

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