Sopranos, Sex and the City and Albrecht

About a year ago, Chris Albrecht and Jeffry Bewkes, riding high with the success of smarmy, sexy HBO series, were being honored by Phoenix House for their contributions for substance abuse programs.

"There are few corporate leaders or companies as deserving of our Public Service Award as Chris Albrecht and HBO,” said Mitchell S. Rosenthal, M.D., president of Phoenix House. "They truly serve the nation, keeping troubling social issues like drug abuse, homelessness and poverty in the public eye."

"We are grateful to Chris and the many friends and associates of HBO who came out to honor him and support the work of Phoenix House. Thanks to them, we will be able to reach out to help more young people in need." Story in 2006

Now Chris Albrecht has resigned, claiming his physical abuse of a girl friend was caused by his alcoholic relapse. According to today's WSJ, Bewkes helped Albrecht smooth over a 1991 abuse of a female employee with a $400,000 settlement.

If it weren't for the 1991 incident, it could be a he said, she said case. But seems to be the chickens coming home to roost if you ask me, and you know what that smells like.