Three Arrested in Travolta Extortion Plot

Three people have been arrested in the alleged extortion plot against John Travolta.

Police in the Bahamas have detained an island lawmaker and a paramedic in the plot to extort money from Travolta, reports the Associated Press. Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Marvin Dames says Senator Pleasant Bridgewater has been held since Thursday in the case.

Dames also told the AP that a second suspect is ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne, who was detained on Friday. Lightbourne was quoted in the press describing efforts to revive Travolta's 16-year-old son Jett, who died of a seizure disorder earlier this month at a family vacation home in the Bahamas.

Dames said Lightbourne was detained after police issued an alert that he was wanted for attempted extortion, was "considered dangerous and should be approached with caution."

Obie Wilchcombe, the former Minister of Tourism and member of the Bahamian Parliament, was one of three arrested.

A police official reported that Wilchcombe was initially brought to the police station under the pretext of helping authorities with the case but is now "implicated" and being held in custody.

Wilchcombe was a very close friend to the Travolta family and actually spoke about the investigation on Thursday.

Wilchcombe said that only one person -- not two, which had been reported -- was involved and that it was not a politician.

Wilchcombe had said he was approached about the extortion plot early last week and passed along the information to Travolta's lawyers, Michael Ossi and Michael McDermott.

"The irony was that the Travolta family just sent a letter of gratitude -- it happened that afternoon," said Wilchcombe, referring to a Jan. 12 statement issued by McDermott, Travolta's lawyer, thanking the people of the Bahamas for their support.

"I thought it was a despicable act," Wilchcombe had said when he first heard news of the extortion plot. "One person should not destroy the character of the country."
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