A paramedic and a senator have now been charged with allegedly threatening to extort money from actor John Travolta, following the death of his son.
Tarino Lightbourne, 47, was charged on Monday and denied bail, days after Sen. Pleasant Bridgewater, a lawyer from Grand Bahamas and opposition MP of the Progressive Liberal Party, was also arraigned.
Bridgewater has insisted she is innocent, though she resigned her seat on Saturday. Lighthouse and Bridgewater allegedly conspired to extort $25 million from Travolta, prosecutors say by threatening to release photos of his dead son.
Lighthouse pleaded not guilty during a brief hearing on Monday. He has been ordered held without bail and slapped with forgery and extortion charges.
Bahamian police say they are continuing their investigation into the complaint, filed by Travolta and his wife. Bridgewater was granted bail of $40,000 during the weekend and vowed to fight what she called `untrue and unfair` charges. If convicted, each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years.
Senior Assistant Commissioner Marvin Dames on Monday also said that former tourism minister, Obie Wilchcombe, who appeared in several media interviews after the death and claimed he was a friend of the Travoltas, remains under investigation.
Jett Travolta, 16, was found unconscious on January 2 at his family’s home in the Old Bahama Bay resort on Grand Bahama Island, where John Travolta’s family and friends had gathered for the New Year holiday. He died shortly after. An autopsy cited the cause of death as a seizure.
Source: CaribWorldnews.com
