| 14th December 2006 07:08 AM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
Last Updated: Thursday, 14 December 2006, 10:01
BBC
Yoko Ono 'blackmailed by driver'
Yoko Ono's chauffeur has been arrested for allegedly trying to blackmail the artist and threatening to kill her. Koral Karsan, 50, from New York said he would release photos and audio tapes of Ono unless she paid $2m (£1.02m).
He was arrested on Wednesday after Ono reported the plot, said a police spokesman. Karsan denies the claims.
The driver also talked about killing her and her son Sean in a conversation which was recorded by investigators, police said. Charges are pending.
Karsan denied trying to blackmail Ono while being led into a New York police station: "No," he said. "No way."
'Shocked'
The Turkish-born chauffeur had worked for Ono for six years, driving her on an almost daily basis when she was in New York.
"She is one woman who has been through enough," said Ono's spokesperson Eliot Mintz.
"For an employee - especially a trusted employee who drove her - to attempt a shakedown has left her just absolutely shocked."
Karsan's alleged blackmail attempt is said to have taken place last week, on the 26th anniversary of the murder of Ono's husband, John Lennon.
Ono's security staff say Karsan dropped off a letter and a photograph of Ono in nightclothes to the artist's apartment in New York, where she once lived with the former Beatle.
Staff told detectives that in his "rambling" note, Karsan claimed to have secretly photographed Ono and made recordings of her private conversations - apparently while she was in the car with him.
The driver warned he would make the material public if she did not pay him, police said.
Anniversary
"You're reminded that this takes place around that time of the anniversary, when she is in a particularly vulnerable position," Mintz said.
"It just adds insult to injury. This one's really cold."
Ono and Lennon married in 1969 after the singer left his previous wife, Cynthia.
They recorded together throughout the 1970s, and became notorious for their anti-war stance.
But in 1980, shortly after his Double Fantasy album went to number one around the world, Lennon was shot dead by Mark Chapman outside his New York apartment.
Fans observe the anniversary of his death by gathering at Strawberry Fields, a section of Central Park opposite the Dakota apartment building.
[Edited by Ten Thousand Motels] |
| 14th December 2006 07:14 AM |
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| mrhipfl |
I'm surprised no one has actually done it by now. |
| 14th December 2006 07:15 AM |
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| Gazza |
quote:
Ten Thousand Motels wrote:
Yoko Ono's chauffeur has been arrested for allegedly trying to blackmail the artist and threatening to kill her. Koral Karsan, 50, from New York said he would release photos and audio tapes of Ono unless she paid $2m (£1.02m).
I can understand how people would be alarmed by this.... |
| 14th December 2006 07:19 AM |
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| Mahatma Kane Jeeves |
The 'audio tapes' part scares me........ |
| 14th December 2006 07:20 AM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
quote:
Gazza wrote:
I can understand how people would be alarmed by this....
LMAO...on that note I gotta go make my first cup of coffee. |
| 14th December 2006 08:56 AM |
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| egon |
"he threatend to kill her"
hmmmmmm.... |
| 14th December 2006 09:10 AM |
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| glencar |
She's dealt with this before. Her former aide from right after Lennon was killed tried to sell some stuff and there was a hint of blackmail. At this point, what would be the point of her paying up? Nobody even cares who she is anymore. |
| 14th December 2006 09:11 AM |
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| Joey |
quote:
glencar wrote:
At this point, what would be the point of her paying up? Nobody even cares who she is anymore.
You are on fire ! |
| 14th December 2006 09:12 AM |
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| glencar |
That's because the gas is building up something fierce! |
| 14th December 2006 09:14 AM |
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| Joey |
quote:
glencar wrote:
That's because the gas is building up something fierce!
I highly recommend the following :
************* END TRANSMISSION ************** |
| 14th December 2006 09:16 AM |
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| glencar |
I'm not *there* yet! |
| 14th December 2006 09:17 AM |
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| glencar |
I love howe a Yoko Ono thread turns to shit! |
| 14th December 2006 09:18 AM |
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| Joey |
" I love howe a Yoko Ono thread turns to shit!"
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| 14th December 2006 09:19 AM |
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| glencar |
Is that the kid what got shot by cops in the Bronx last night? |
| 14th December 2006 09:19 AM |
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| Joey |
" Is that the kid what got shot by cops in the Bronx last night? "
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| 14th December 2006 09:20 AM |
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| glencar |
Zat Fleabit? |
| 14th December 2006 11:58 PM |
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| texile |
quote:
Mahatma Kane Jeeves wrote:
The 'audio tapes' part scares me........
that's funny. |
| 15th December 2006 12:03 AM |
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| glencar |
Her recent Broadway flop about Lennon's life could have used this shot of publicity. |
