BOSTON (CBS) – The plot thickens in the Rupert Murdoch phone hacking scandal. A whistle-blower turned up dead, and another top British police official resigned.

The scandal could be headed to the United States.

In some ways it’s already here, with the resignation of a longtime Murdoch colleague who was overseeing the Wall Street Journal. The impact on American television could be huge if the public learns that the media mogul knew more about the phone hacking and police payoffs than he admits to so far.

WBZ-TV’s Jon Keller reports

It’s been eight years since his star editor Rebecca Brooks made the confession.

She’ll join Murdoch at the witness table before a parliamentary committee tomorrow. But this is no longer just a British scandal.

Republican Congressman Peter King is part of a bi-partisan call for an FBI probe of Murdoch’s practices in America, proof that it’s not just Murdoch’s liberal enemies who are up in arms.

Media expert Tobe Berkovitz of Boston University notes, “The scandal could potentially place at risk Murdoch’s ownership of TV stations in 18 U.S. cities, including Boston.”

If there are problems with the character of the license holder, then there’s a possibility you could start losing those incredibly valuable television station licenses.