Travolta’s Extortion Retrial Set For September
By WENNFriday, January 29, 2010
JOHN TRAVOLTA will be forced to relive the painful memories of his son’s death for a second time in September (10), when the actor’s extortion case returns to court for a retrial.
Former Bahamas senator Pleasant Bridgewater and paramedic Tarino Lightbourne have been charged with conspiracy to extort $25 million (?17.2 million) from the actor and his wife Kelly Preston after their 16-year-old son Jett suffered a fatal seizure at the family’s holiday home there in January 2009.
The allegations centre around a Refusal of Treatment/Transportation form, signed by Travolta, which the suspects allegedly threatened to release to the media.
In October (09), Senior Justice Anita Allen declared a mistrial after a jury member reportedly leaked the verdict to politicians. Jurors were still deliberating when lawmaker Picewell Forbes allegedly announced to an audience at a Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) convention that Bridgewater was “a free woman”.
The retrial has been set for 6 September (10) and is expected to last four weeks.
The star’s attorney, Michael Ossi, has insisted Travolta, who testified during the initial hearings, will fully cooperate with future proceedings and will testify again if necessary.
Ossi told reporters in October (09): “We are committed to seeing this through, and we are committed to seeing justice served. And whatever the prosecution asks us to do is exactly what we will do.”
