All posts containing the tag: "extortionist"
Posted Nov 18th 2009 2:30PM by TMZ Staff
Cindy Crawford's alleged extortionist cannot be extradited to the U.S., but he's not out of the woods.
TMZ did some checking and found Edis Kayalar, who turned himself in to German police Monday night, cannot be shipped back to the U.S. for allegedly demanding $100,000 from Cindy and hubby Rande Gerber. Germany does not have an extradition treaty with the U.S.
So, you ask, why did Kayalar turn himself in? We're told in November, after Kayalar was deported to Germany, he was sending emails to Gerber asking for money that could be transferred into a German bank account. That, German authorities tell us, is a violation of German extortion law.
Kayalar allegedly stole a photo from Cindy's former nanny -- a photo that shows her 7-year-old daughter tied up to a chair and gagged. The nanny says she took the photo as a joke.
Kayalar has been denied bail, because the German judge thinks he's a flight risk.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Exclusives, Cindy Crawford
Tags: arrested, cindy crawford, CindyCrawford, cops, edis kayalar, EdisKayalar, extortion, extortionist, germany, nanny, photo, rande gerber, RandeGerber
Posted Nov 15th 2009 1:15PM by TMZ Staff
Police in Germany searched a home in Stuttgart in connection with the Cindy Crawford extortion case -- but they would not confirm the apartment belonged to the suspect, Edis Kayalar.
German authorities confiscated several items from the home, but would not say where Kayalar was or whether or not he had been charged in Germany.
Kayalar allegedly tried to extort Crawford and her husband, Rande Gerber, over a photo of their daughter bound to a chair and gagged.
Kayalar has been charged with one count extortion -- he faces two years in the slammer.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Cindy Crawford
Tags: cindy crawford, CindyCrawford, edis kayalar, EdisKayalar, extortion, extortionist, plot, rande gerber, RandeGerber
Posted Nov 13th 2009 1:38PM by TMZ Staff
Cindy Crawford's alleged extortionist had a brush with the law before the latest incident, but in that case the woman who asked for a restraining order ended up flaking out in court so Edis Kayalar skated.
Marissa Rukgaber -- Kayalar's girlfriend in 2008-09 -- claimed in a declaration that he pushed her and threatened to kill her if she called the police. She said, "He asked me to sleep with him at a friend's house, and when I refused he slapped me across my face and punched me 6-7 time (sic) all over body."
But she never showed up in court and, according to the docs obatined by TMZ, the judge took no action.
Kayalar is accused of trying to extort Crawford and her husband, Rande Gerber, for $100,000 -- over a picture of the couple's daughter.
By the way, in the legal docs, she says, "He's hard to find and slips through the system." That's a problem the feds are dealing with right now.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Exclusives, Cindy Crawford
Tags: arrest, cindy crawford, CindyCrawford, extortionist, german, model
Posted Nov 12th 2009 7:30PM by TMZ Staff
We've just obtained pictures of Edis Kayalar, Cindy Crawford's alleged extortionist -- below are the mug shots and a gallery of modeling pics we've obtained.
There are two booking photos -- the one on the left is from the feds, and the other is from the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.
Kayalar was a model for HERMAEVENTS, a German company (see pics below).
Federal authorities say Kayalar was arrested and deported to his home country of Germany after allegedly trying to pry money from Cindy and Rande Gerber for a picture their former nanny took -- a picture of the couple's 7-year-old daughter bound to a chair and gagged.
Authorities say the nanny took the pic as a prank and Cindy didn't know anything about it.
As we said earlier, a man who appears to be Kayalar contacted TMZ approximately 6 weeks ago trying to sell the photo. He said he had been in a relationship with the nanny and found the photo in her room and became concerned she might be abusing the child.
Kayalar said he had taken the photo from the nanny's room and wanted to know if he could get in trouble for selling it. We offered him no advice and passed on his offer.
Kayalar has been charged with one count extortion -- he faces two years in the slammer.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Exclusives, Cindy Crawford
Tags: cindy crawford, CindyCrawford, edis kayalar, EdisKayalar, extortionist, german, model, rande gerber, RandeGerber
Posted Oct 21st 2009 10:55AM by TMZ Staff
Joe Halderman -- the man accused of trying to extort $2 million from David Letterman -- was spotted at a Connecticut train station this morning, allegedly heading to NYC.
The camera guy asks Halderman how he's doing -- we can't tell if he says "Hey," "Great" or something else.
FYI -- Halderman has pled not guilty to the felony charge of attempted grand larceny in the first degree.
Filed under: Paparazzi Video, David Letterman
Tags: david letterman, DavidLetterman, extortion, extortionist, joe halderman, JoeHalderman, the late show, TheLateShow, video
Posted Jan 27th 2009 2:52PM by TMZ Staff
New details in the John Travolta extortion case. TMZ has learned why Bahamian cops are investigating Obie Wilchcombe, a member of Parliament and John's close friend.
Sources connected with the investigation tell us Pleasant Bridgewater -- the lawyer who has been charged with trying to extort $25 million -- told Travolta's lawyers during her alleged extortion negotiations that Wilchcombe would be getting between 1/4 and 1/3 of the loot. Sources say those conversations were taped and those recordings are in the custody of police.
We're also told there are no tapes of Wilchcombe discussing the matter with Travolta's lawyers.
Wilchcombe, who was detained by cops last week and is still under investigation, insists he had no part in the alleged conspiracy and did a "noble thing" by giving Travolta's lawyers a heads up.
Here's what's ironic...Wilchcombe said a few days back he believed only EMT Tarino Lightbourne was involved in the extortion, thus siding with Pleasant Bridgewater. Little did he know she tried implicating him.
BTW -- there are reports that the FBI is investigating the case. That's bogus.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, John Travolta
Tags: extortion, Extortionist, john travolta, JohnTravolta
