HBO head Chris Albrecht got his ass canned last night after he beat his girlfriend in the parking lot of a Las Vegas casino over the weekend. Someone thought he was the character Joey Pants played on “The Sopranos” or something. Remember the episode when he killed the hooker? *shudder* Anyway, it turns out that HBO covered up a previous incident of Albrecht hitting a girlfriend . That’s nice. This guy sounds like a real 007-type. I’d introduce him to my Mom if I wasn’t worried he’d back spin kick her into the fireplace. Or beat her in a casino parking lot.

f the allegations are true, Albrecht had [previously] beaten up a woman. In 1991, HBO paid a settlement of at least $400,000 to Sasha Emerson, a subordinate at HBO who had just broken off an affair with Albrecht. Both were married at the time.

“Albrecht allegedly assaulted Emerson in her office in Century City when she told him she had been dating someone else,” the Times reported. “Albrecht allegedly threw her from her chair to the ground.”

One source said HBO execs now acknowledge they never should have covered up the incident. “There wasn’t as much sensitivity then to the issue of violence against women,” said one.

So, in 1991 it was cool to strike your lady friend? What? They had afterschool specials back in those olden days. There weren’t a lot of covered wagons rolling about. Can you watch my butter churn, my husband needs to educate me with his fists. And after that we’re going to watch “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”!