Ono driver arrested over extortion plot

Yoko Ono's chauffeur has been arrested after Ono told police of his attempts to blackmail her with embarrassing photographs and audio tapes for $2 million.

Koral Karsan, 50, was arrested yesterday after John Lennon's widow informed New York police that the driver had chosen last Friday, the 26th anniversary of her husband's murder, to make his move. Karsan delivered a letter to Ono's residence informing her that he possessed potentially embarrassing photos and audio recordings of private telephone calls made in her car.

It is also reported that Karsan, Ono's driver of six years, had spoken of killing his employer and her son Sean Lennon in conversations recorded by investigators.

"She is one woman who has been through enough," BBC News quotes Ono's spokesperson Eliot Mintz as saying. "For an employee - especially a trusted employee who drove her - to attempt a shakedown has left her just absolutely shocked."