Martha makes like Trump

Crime pays. It pays really well . . . if you're Martha Stewart.

America's most famous female convict already has a deal with NBC Universal for a new syndicated daytime show. And it turns out all those rumors (previously denied by Trump and diverted by NBC Universal president Jeff Zucker ) were true — she'll be on NBC's prime-time schedule in "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart."

She won't be replacing Donald Trump — who not only headlines the original "Apprentice" but co-owns the franchise with producer Mark Burnett. She'll be doing a cycle of the show in addition to two more cycles Trump has signed on for.

It's sort of like all those "Law & Orders" and "CSIs."

Stewart signed on to do this show before she went to prison, where she's serving a five-month sentence after being convicted of conspiracy, and of making false statements to investigators who looked into her sale of ImClone System Inc. stock amid allegations of insider trading. Discussions began "back during Martha's legal problems," Trump said.

"I'm a good friend of Martha's. . . . I've always admired her. And I learned one thing fairly recently. . . . She's a very brave woman. Very few people could have withstood what she's withstood."

Burnett, who has visited Stewart monthly since she was incarcerated, said she "shouldn't even be there," and that she "took it on the chin." (Stewart is scheduled to be released from a minimum-security federal prison in March; her house arrest ends in August.)

No salary was announced, but Stewart will no doubt be receiving a seven-figure stipend in addition to the reported $8 million a year she's get for the daytime show.

Nobody involved in the new "Apprentice" is in any way concerned that Stewart's conviction will in any way harm the outlook for the show. As a matter of fact, they're banking on her increased notoriety translating into increased ratings.

"There's no question that each of us is fascinated by the rags-to-riches-and-comeback story in this country," Zucker said. "I think that nobody is a better example of that than Martha, and I think that that is part of what the tremendous interest in her will be."

"Americans love to see people make good after being pushed down," Burnett said. "Martha's not at all concerned. She's going to be Martha. She's going to come out and get back to work."

And they're offering this up as sort of an offshoot of the American dream.