Man to plead guilty in Cruises' 'wedding photo' extortion plot

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David Hans Schmidt, 47, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of sending communications for purposes of extortion.

He faces up to two years in jail and a £124,000 fine under.

Marc Lewis Gittleman, who authorities say helped recover photos from a computer hard drive, has been charged with conspiracy to commit extortion.

Gittleman, 33, faces up to five years in prison.

Gittleman and Schmidt were arrested July 26 after federal authorities said Gittleman obtained photos of Cruise's wedding in Italy last year to Katie Holmes from the event's official photographer, court documents show.

Schmidt also has tried to auction off Paris Hilton's diaries, along with photos of her in various stages of undress and other personal items that had been locked away in a Los Angeles-area storage locker until a few months ago.

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Cruise spoke out to defend his new role as German hero Claus Graf Schenk von Stauffenberg

Cruise recently broke his silence to defend his controversial role as the German colonel famous for a failed attempt to kill Adolf Hitler.

In response to German politicians and media who have attacked his religious beliefs and his decision to play one of Germany's greatest heroes in his new movie Valkyrie, he told German weekly, Bunte: "All I can say is, 'Save your comments until you see the movie.

""I carry a great responsibility to the Germans, for whom a man like [Colonel Claus Graf Schenk von] Stauffenberg means so much.

He added: "I want to think positive and concentrate on the film."