By JUAN MCCARTNEY ~ Guardian Senior Reporter ~ juan@nasguard.com:

Opposition Senate Leader Allyson Maynard-Gibson testified yesterday that she informed Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, then Attorney General Michael Barnett and Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Marvin Dames of an alleged extortion plot by former Senator Pleasant Bridgewater and ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne, two days after she met with Bridgewater in Grand Bahama on January 15.

Maynard-Gibson, who is American actor John Travolta's Bahamian attorney, testified that during that January 15 meeting Bridgewater told her that her client, Tarino Lightbourne, who is now her co-defendant in the attempted extortion trial, "has nothing much to lose and that he had in his possession a document that he felt was detrimental to Mr. Travolta, and he wanted to give him the first option to purchase that document" [for $25 million].

Lightbourne was the driver of the ambulance that took Travolta's 16-year-old son Jett to the Rand Memorial Hospital after he suffered a seizure at Travolta's Old Bahama Bay vacation home on January 2. Jett was pronounced dead at the hospital that same day.

At the heart of the prosecution's case is the medical form Travolta admitted to signing during his testimony last week.

That form releases medical personnel who attend to patients in their care of any liability should they not be taken to the Rand Memorial Hospital.

Maynard-Gibson said Bridgewater told her that Lightbourne had said the document "indicated that either Mr. Travolta wanted his son dead, or that he was negligent in looking after his autistic son or that he was negligent in wanting his son transferred to West Palm Beach instead of Rand Memorial Hospital for treatment."

That meeting was the result of a call Maynard-Gibson said she placed to Bridgewater on January 14 as a result of a conversation she had with Clement Maynard III, her partner in the law firm Gibson and Co.

She said that after she spoke to Bridgewater on January 14, she flew to Grand Bahama the next day where Bridgewater picked her up from the airport.

She said that Bridgewater then drove to her office, where they conducted that meeting.

"After pleasantries we spoke. She knew what I was there for," Maynard-Gibson said.

According to Maynard-Gibson, Bridgewater said Lightbourne had already been talking to several international media organizations about the document in his possession and it "could belong to Travolta or it could belong to the world."

"[Lightbourne] had been in contact with a lady from the U.S. media who said it might be beneficial to him if he could show that Travolta was negligent," said Maynard-Gibson, adding that Lightbourne indicated that he would get back to the lady.

Maynard-Gibson also testified that Bridgewater told her that Inside Edition, Greta Van Susteren, Larry King Live, Time Magazine and someone from the U.K. media had been in touch with Lightbourne.

According to the testimony, Bridgewater told Maynard-Gibson that the international media organizations wanted to know if what Lightbourne had was a document or a photograph so that they could assess the value.

Maynard-Gibson testified that Bridgewater told her that Lightbourne said that his assessment of the document was that it was valued at $25 million. And he was "sure that Mr. Travolta did not want his name tarnished in the media."

Maynard-Gibson, a former attorney general, said that Bridgewater also said that, "she had warned her client that what he was doing was wrong and that it would be detrimental to the country."

Maynard-Gibson said Bridgewater told her that Lightbourne said he had been suspended from his job for 30 days for talking to the international media.

According to the testimony, Bridgewater then showed Maynard-Gibson a copy of a refusal to transfer form that Travolta had signed, along with copies of two dispatch reports from the Rand.

Maynard-Gibson said Bridgewater indicated that Lightbourne had the original.

According to the senator, Bridgewater also said that she did not have her client's consent to give her (Maynard-Gibson) a copy of the form, but that since she was her colleague, she would give her a copy as long as she promised not to give it to Travolta.

Maynard-Gibson said that she told Bridgewater that she would not give the form to Travolta but would show it to him or his attorney Michael McDermott.

She said Bridgewater then drove her back to the airport.

During that ride, she said that Bridgewater told her that it was "important that she get back to her by Tuesday, January 20, as that was the deadline for (Lightbourne) to get back to the media."

"I said I would speak with my client as quickly as I could," Maynard-Gibson testified.

Maynard-Gibson said that when she returned to New Providence she put the copy of the refusal to transfer document in the safe at her office and gave McDermott a full briefing of everything that had happened with Bridgewater.

Maynard-Gibson added that on January 17 she had a meeting at her law chambers with the partners in her firm as well as McDermott and another of Travolta's U.S. attorneys.

"I briefed them about what had happened and showed them the documents," she testified. "I advised them that an offense might have been committed."

Maynard-Gibson said she then called the prime minister, the attorney general and the police to inform them about the matter.

On January 18, Maynard-Gibson said she again met with partners in her firm and Travolta's American lawyers.

Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Marvin Dames and Assistant Superintendent of Police Ricardo Taylor were also present, she said.

Maynard-Gibson said that during that meeting she gave the police the copy of the document that she had been given.

Later that day, in another meeting with Maynard III, two other attorneys, Dames and Taylor, she said she consented to having any conversations with Bridgewater tape-recorded.

She said that she called Bridgewater on the phone that afternoon and the police recorded that conversation.

During cross examination, Bridgewater's attorney Murrio Ducille asked Maynard-Gibson if she recalled at any point during the January 15 meeting Bridgewater saying that she did not want to be a part of anything that smacks of criminality.

Maynard-Gibson said that she could not recall Bridgewater saying that.

Ducille then asked if Maynard-Gibson recalled telling Bridgewater during that meeting that she knew her to be a person of integrity.

She said that she did not recall telling Bridgewater that.

She also said that she did not recall Bridgewater telling her that she had no stake in the outcome of the matter.

However, Maynard-Gibson conceded that Bridgewater never personally asked for any money nor issued any personal threats to John Travolta.

Maynard-Gibson is expected to continue her testimony this morning. The tape recording of her conversation with Bridgewater is expected to be played at some point during the trial.


September 30, 2009

thenassauguardian




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