Man arrested in Cruise extortion plot

AN Arizona man who allegedly demanded more than $1 million not to publish Tom Cruise’s stolen wedding photographs has been arrested, the actor’s lawyer said yesterday.

David Hans Schmidt, known for brokering deals involving compromising celebrity photos and videos, approached Cruise’s representatives about six weeks ago with photos from the actor’s Italian wedding last year to Katie Holmes, attorney Bertram Fields said. The FBI was then contacted.

“He was looking for money, lots of money,” Fields said.

Schmidt, 47, was arrested by federal agents, said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.

She said the criminal complaint charging Schmidt was under seal in federal court.

Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the US attorney’s office in Los Angeles, said a judge set bond at $100,000. Schmidt was being held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Los Angeles.

It was not immediately clear if Schmidt had a lawyer or how he obtained the photos.

Schmidt has also been trying to auction off Paris Hilton’s diaries, along with photos of her in various stages of undress and other personal items that had been locked away in a Los Angeles storage locker until a few months ago.

Hilton’s publicist, Elliot Mintz, has said the belongings were “illegally seized” from the storage facility.

Over the years, Schmidt has claimed to have brokered deals to sell a video of former US figure skater Tonya Harding’s wedding night.

He also claimed to have obtained topless shots of rescued US Army prisoner of war Jessica Lynch.