Posts Tagged ‘extortion’

Two Plead Not Guilty in Travolta Case

April 29th, 2009

Months after John Travolta’s son Jett died suddenly in the Bahamas, two Bahamians are pleading not guilty to charges that they were trying to extort millions from the family.

 

Former Sen. Pleasant Bridgewater and Tarino Lightbourne are free on $50,000 bail. They entered their not guilty please Tuesday, denying that they were part of a conspiracy to commit extortion.

 

The case revolves around a secret document allegedly related to Jett’s death after he suffered a seizure in the family’s vacation home on Grand Bahamas Island in January. The trial is set for Sept. 21.

Three Arrested in Travolta Extortion Case

January 23rd, 2009 / Author: OK! Staff

Police in the Bahamas have arrested three suspects they say are connected to an alleged $20 million extortion plot against John Travolta and his family.

According to TMZ, Obie Wilchcombe, the former minister of Tourism, was one of the three people taken into custody. Wilchcombe was a very close friend of the Travolta family and even spoke about how they were coping with Jett’s death on Larry King Live.

Even more unsettling, Wilchcombe told reporters just yesterday, "I thought it was a despicable act. One person should not destroy the character of the country."

 

On Larry King’s show, Wilchcombe revealed intimate details about the funeral home and Jett’s cremation. He said no politician was involved in the plot and there was only one suspect behind it. However two of the three people arrested were politicians–Wilchcombe, a senator in Parliament named Pleasant Bridgewater and an ambulance driver.

Wilchcombe is a current member of Parliament.

Police Investigate Extortion Demands on Travoltas

January 20th, 2009

John Travolta and his Wife Kelly Preston are facing more heartache as reports of extortion threats against the family are revealed by police.

The actor’s Jacksonville-based lawyers said on Monday that they will fight the reported demands made against Travolta and Preston, following the death of their teenage son Jett.

The Tribune, a Bahamas-based newspaper, reported Monday, without attribution, that police are questioning two people, "one believed to be a politician," in the investigation.

 

No word on what the nature of the reported demands are. Attorneys Mike Ossi and Howard Butler, who represent Travolta, arrived in Jacksonville from the Bahamas on Monday and released a statement that read, in part:

"Regretably in a time of such terrible grief there are often a few individuals who attempt to make false claims in hopes of making millions of dollars. We will never let that happen."

The Travolta’s son Jett, 16, died Jan. 2, while the family was vacationing in Grand Bahama. His cause of death was listed as a "seizure." 

Ossi and Butler’s statement said that they have "the utmost confidence in the Bahamian police and government" as it looks into the reported extortion attempt. They declined further comment.

Second Nanny Files Suit Against Rob Lowe

April 30th, 2008

And now, a new twist to the Rob Lowe nanny fiasco.

Extra has confirmed that a second former nanny has filed court papers against the Brothers & Sisters star.

On Wednesday, Laura Boyce filed a countersuit against Lowe. She is currently being sued by the actor–allegedly for violating a confidentiality agreement while she was working for his family.

In a not-so-surprising development, Gloria Allred has taken Boyce under her legal wing, which is convenient because the famed attorney also represents Jessica Gibson, the first nanny to file suit against Lowe.

Allegedly, Gibson claims Rob sexually harassed her. He says she tried to extort $1.5 million from him.

We just want to take this opportunity to make sure everyone understands who’s suing who and who allegedly did what.

Story developing…

Rob Lowe and Wife Face On-Cam Depositions

April 18th, 2008

Rob Lowe’s "nanny-gate" saga continues to get uglier and uglier.
On Friday, the actor’s former nanny, Jessica Gibson, announced through her attorney, Gloria Allred, that she is demanding video-taped depositions from both Lowe and his wife, Sheryl.

Allred told E! News she is going to "turn the screws" during the depositions.

"I’m sure some of the questions will make him and his wife uncomfortable, but our job is to get to the truth," she said. "They are going to have to sit down, and we are going to have a lot of tough questions for them."

 

Depositions are set for May19-20 in Santa Barbara, where the Lowes live. Rob and his wife have repeatedly denied sexual harassment allegations made by Gibson and has, in turn, accused her of extortion.

 

"They are going to have to answer questions under oath," Allred continues, "I’m looking forward to sitting eye to eye with the Lowes, because Jessica has nothing to hide."

 

Gibson maintains she quit working for the actor and his wife three times after having been their nanny for more than seven years, but went back each time because she loved the kids, but ultimately could not "take it anymore."


"She went back because she hoped things would get better, she needed the job, and she loved the children," said Allred.

The couple’s suit, filed April 7, claimed Gibson demanded $1.5 million in exchange for not going public with "a vicious laundry list of false terribles."

As for Gibson, Allred says her 24-year-old client is at home and dealing with the public scrutiny as best as she can.

"This a very painful time for her, a difficult and challenging time, but she is trying to hold up as best as she can," Allred tells E! "This a shocking turn of events for her. But she is not going to be intimidated."

Rob Lowe’s Nanny Fires Back

April 9th, 2008

Jessica Gibson, the one-time nanny for Rob Lowe’s family who allegedly claims she had sex with the actor, is speaking out for the first time since the scandal broke.

In a statement issued through her rep and obtained by Extra, Gibson says, "Our complaint will speak for itself. Everything in the complaint is true. We do not need the media to win the case."

Earlier this week, Lowe wrote a blog on the the Huffington Post stating a former nanny had threatened to reveal damaging secrets about him and his family unless she was paid $1.5 million in hush money. He later filed a lawsuit against Gibson, saying she made false statements, including one that she had sex with him, and then demanded to be paid off.

In a pair of separate lawsuits, Rob Lowe is suing another former nanny and an ex-chef for allegedly conspiring with others to divulge personal informatin about Lowe’s family despite strict confidentiality agreements.

Rob Lowe Sues Chef and Two Former Nannies

April 8th, 2008 / Author: cwillett

Rob Lowe and his wife, Sheryl, are playing hardball with a group of former employees. On Tuesday court documents showed the couple is suing not one former nanny, but two — and have thrown the book at an ex-chef as well.

In the lawsuit, Lowe claims that all three violated confidentiality agreements and, in one case, lied about having sex with the Brothers & Sisters star and then demanded $1.5 million in hush money.

"Defendant [Jessica Gibson] has made statements suggesting that she and Rob Lowe have a personal and intimate relationship and, in effect, accusing Rob Lowe of infidelity."

Lowe calls the statements "false and defamatory." He also insists that Gibson’s allegation is inconsistent: "Defendant has also made statements that Rob Lowe sexually harassed her."

The actor says Gibson accused his wife of making "inappropriate comments of a sexual and racial nature to Defendant," and says, among other things, "compromised the care of their two children by engaging in illegal drug use while on the job and reporting to work under the influence of illegal drugs."

Lowe and his wife filed a pair of separate lawsuits against another former nanny, Laura Boyce, and an ex-chef, claiming they both divulged personal information about Lowe’s family despite having signed strict confidentiality agreements.

 

News of Lowe’s legal battle first broke yesterday, after the actor wrote a blog on The Huffington Post, claiming a former nanny would "accuse us of a vicious laundry list of false terribles" unless they paid her $1.5 million.

Rob Lowe Accuses Babysitter of Extortion

April 7th, 2008

Eighties hearthrob Rob Lowe is accusing a former family babysitter of trying to extort money from him in exchange for keeping her mouth shut about her life with the actor’s family. Talk about the Nanny Diaries!

On Monday, the actor and his wife, Sheryl, filed a lawsuit in L.A. Superior Court, claiming their former babysitter, Laura Boyce, violated a strict confidentiality agreement and spread "malicious lies" about their family, a "Betrayal that reaches far beyond possibly marring the Lowe’s image in the public eye."

 

Earlier today, Lowe wrote a blog for the Huffington Post, claiming the woman was demanding $1.5 million from the actor and his wife, Sheryl, "or she will accuse us both of a vicious laundry list of false terribles."

"It is an attempt to damage and humiliate not only my wife and me, but our two young sons as well," Lowe, 44, writes in the article titled "Household Betrayal."

Lowe continues, "My family is devastated at this betrayal; this woman worked in our home and traveled with us off and on for seven years, without complaint."

The actor then posts what he claims are two friendly text messages from the woman after she quit her job. He adds, "My wife tried to mentor this young woman" and be supportive about personal issues, but "we never saw this coming."

Rob Lowe is currently one of the stars of the ABC hit drama Brothers & Sisters.

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