Travolta lawyer warned ex-senator over extortion plot

A LAWYER for John Travolta testified in court that he warned a former Bahamas senator she would not get away with an alleged scheme to extort $25 million (€17m) from the movie star, and even wore a wire to secretly record their conversations.

Attorney Michael McDermott said the defendant, Pleasant Bridgewater, contacted him by phone and demanded the money on behalf of a paramedic who had treated the actor’s 16-year-old son, Jett, following a seizure that led to his death.

The pair allegedly threatened to go to the media with a consent form that the actor signed to have his autistic son taken to an airport and flown to the US for treatment. Travolta later changed his mind and Jett died on January 2.

Bridgewater and the paramedic, Tarino Lightbourne, have pleaded not guilty to extortion charges.

McDermott said he told Bridgewater, who allegedly negotiated with the actor’s lawyers for the doctor, during the January 12 phone conversation that she was committing a crime.

“I then told her: ‘You are playing a very dangerous game, lady. I do not assent to your demands. I will go to the police’.”

Bridgewater kept contacting him with Lightbourne’s demands, McDermott testified. He told jurors that Bridgewater told him the paramedic would accept $15m (€10m).

“She indicated that this was the bottom line and she indicated that she was ready to receive the funds,” McDermott said.

Wearing a wire as part of a sting he set up with Bahamian police, McDermott told her that Travolta would pay her $10m (€7m) in installments over a four-year period. The conversation was in his hotel room, where hidden video cameras had also been installed.

The pair finally agreed to this figure, McDermott testified. He said Bridgewater emailed him instructions on where to electronically transfer the money. The email and the videotapes were entered into evidence.