John Travolta drops extortion charges

London: Hollywood actor John Travolta has dropped charges against two men who allegedly tried to extort money from him and his wife Kelly Preston after the death of their 16-year-old son Jett in 2009.

Ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne, who was among those treating Jett, allegedly sought $25 million with the assistance of local politician Pleasant Bridgewater in return for not releasing private information about the death. "The long pending status of this matter continued to take a heavy emotional toll on my family, causing us to conclude that it was finally time to put this matter behind us," telegraph.co.uk quoted Travolta as saying in a statement. "Therefore, after much reflection, I concluded that it was in my family’s best interest for me not to voluntarily return to the Bahamas to testify a second time at trial." Jett, who was autistic, died of seizure in January 2009 while the Travolta family was on holiday in the Bahamas. IANS