Bahamas senator charged in alleged Travolta extortion plot resigns
Last Updated: Saturday, January 24, 2009 | 12:59 PM ET
The Associated Press
John Travolta, right, and his son Jett, who died of a seizure on Jan. 2 while the family was vacationing in the Bahamas. (Rogers & Cowan/Associated Press)A member of the Bahamas Senate has resigned her position after she was charged over an alleged plot to extort money from actor John Travolta after his son's death.
Pleasant Bridgewater, a senator from Grand Bahama Island, was arrested Thursday.
Bridgewater, who also practises law, resigned from her senatorial seat Saturday and released a statement saying said she plans to fight "untrue and unfair charges" stemming from actions she took as a lawyer.
"How these innocent actions can be so misconstrued — so perversely twisted — to mean something other than it was, is a mystery," she said without providing more details.
Bridgewater was charged with "abetment to extort and conspiracy to extort" and released Friday on $40,000 US bail, according to Loretta Mackey, assistant superintendent of police.
Authorities in the Bahamas also detained two other people in connection with the case.
Police said ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne and former tourism minister Obie Wilchcombe were detained Friday.
Earlier, several tabloids quoted Lightbourne describing efforts to revive the celebrity's son, Jett, 16, who died of a seizure Jan. 2 at Travolta's family vacation home on Grand Bahama Island.
Marvin Dames, senior assistant commissioner of police, 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."
Travolta filed complaint
Lightbourne remained in police custody late Friday and was assisting police, according to a police statement.
Authorities said Travolta filed a complaint of attempted extortion but they didn't say what the allegations involved.
Wilchcombe, a member of Bahama's parliament, was detained in connection with the complaint, questioned by police and released "pending further investigations," Mackey said.
Wilchcombe has described himself as a friend of Travolta who was with the actor shortly after his son died.
The actor and his wife, Kelly Preston, returned home to Florida with their son's ashes, and Travolta's publicist Paul Bloch said Friday he had no comment.
