Legal Commentary

Arrest In Travolta Tragedy

By Big Tent Democrat

A bizarre story on top of the tragedy of the death of John Travolta's son:

Authorities in the Bahamas have charged an island lawmaker and detained two other people in an alleged plot to extort money from actor John Travolta after the death of his son, police said Friday. Two of the suspects — ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne and former tourism minister Obie Wilchcombe — were detained on Friday. Earlier, several tabloids quoted Lightbourne describing efforts to revive the celebrity's chronically ill son, Jett, who died of a seizure this month at their family vacation home on Grand Bahama.

[More...]

Sen. Pleasant Bridgewater, an attorney from Grand Bahama, was arrested on Thursday. She was charged with abetment to extort and conspiracy to extort and released Friday on $40,000 bail, according to Assistant Superintendent of Police Loretta Mackey. Authorities said Travolta filed a complaint of attempted extortion but they did not reveal what the allegations involved. The actor and his wife Kelly Preston returned home to Florida with the ashes of their 16-year-old son, and Travolta's publicist Paul Bloch said Friday that he has no comment.

I will not pretend to understand what the alleged extortion scheme could have been attempting. I am unable to understand how the scheme would work. What was the threat to Travolta? I do not get it I admit.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on January 24, 2009 (boomark / email).