Two detained in Travolta extortion plot

updated 12:26 p.m. ET Jan. 24, 2009

NASSAU, Bahamas - Authorities in the Bahamas have detained an island lawmaker and a paramedic in an alleged plot to extort money from actor John Travolta after the death of his son, police said Friday.

One of the suspects, ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne, was detained on Friday. Earlier, several tabloids quoted him describing efforts to revive the celebrity’s chronically ill son, Jett, who died of a seizure this month at their family vacation home on Grand Bahama.

Authorities did not reveal what the alleged extortion involved. Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston returned home to Florida with the ashes of their 16-year-old son, and Travolta’s publicist Paul Bloch said Friday he has no comment.

Sen. Pleasant Bridgewater, an attorney from Grand Bahama, has been held for questioning since Thursday, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Marvin Dames told The Associated Press.

Dames 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.”

Another member of the Bahamas parliament, Obie Wilchcombe, was aiding the investigation.

Dames said Wilchcombe, a friend of the Travolta family, was brought to a police station to help authorities determine what charges if any to file against the two suspects.

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