From msn.com:

Ono's Driver Held on Extortion Suspicion
Dec 13, 9:20 PM EST


A chauffeur for Yoko Ono has been arrested for trying to extort $2 million from her by threatening to circulate embarrassing photos, and he also spoke of killing her and son Sean Lennon, police said.

Koral Karsan was arrested Wednesday after Ono reported the plot, New York police spokesman Paul Browne said. Charges were pending.

There was no immediate response to a telephone message left at Karsan's home in Amityville, N.Y., and it was unclear whether he had a lawyer.

The security staff for Ono, John Lennon's widow, told detectives that Karsan told her in a rambling note that he had secretly photographed her and made audiotapes of her in private moments and warned he would make the material public if she didn't pay him, police said.

On Dec. 8, the 26th anniversary of Lennon's killing, Karsan dropped off the note and a photo of Ono in nightclothes at the Dakota apartment building, where the former Beatle once lived with her and where she still resides, police said.

Karsan, 50, talked about killing her, her son and himself during a later conversation with one of her associates that was recorded by investigators, police said.

On the night of Dec. 8, 1980, Lennon was returning with Ono to the Dakota from a recording studio when Mark David Chapman opened fire with a .38-caliber revolver, hitting him four times.

From wnbc.com:


Man Accused Of Trying To Extort $2M From Ono

NEW YORK -- A chauffeur for Yoko Ono said she accused him of trying to extort $2 million from her in order to head off some allegations of his own.

As he was led out of a Manhattan police station, Koral Karsan said Ono was trying "to stop me from pursuing a sexual harassment case."

Ono's spokesman denied it.

"That is completely false. She's the victim here," the spokesman, Elliott Mintz, told the New York Post.

Karsan, 50, was arrested Wednesday. Police said he had threatened to circulate embarrassing photos of her and spoke of killing her and Sean Lennon, her son.

Ono, the widow of former Beatle John Lennon, reported the plot, New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said. Charges were pending.

While being led into a police station, Karsan denied trying to extort Ono.

"No," he said. "No way."

Ono's security staff told detectives that the Turkish-born Karsan, who lives in Amityville, N.Y., wrote her in a rambling note that he had secretly photographed her and made audiotapes of her in private moments. Karsan warned he would make the material public if she didn't pay him, police said.

Mintz said Karsan had worked for Ono for at least six years, driving her on an almost daily basis when she was in New York.

"She is one woman who has been through enough," Mintz told The Associated Press. "For an employee -- especially a trusted employee who drove her -- to attempt a shakedown has left her just absolutely shocked."

On Dec. 8, the 26th anniversary of Lennon's slaying, Karsan dropped off the note and a photo of Ono in nightclothes at the Dakota apartment building, where the former Beatle once lived with her and where she still lives, police said. Karsan talked about killing her, her son and himself during a later conversation with one of her associates, which was recorded by investigators, police said.

The audiotapes of Ono were apparently recorded while she was speaking on a phone in the car with Karsan at the wheel, Mintz said.

"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."

On the night of Dec. 8, 1980, Lennon was returning with Ono to the Dakota from a recording studio when Mark David Chapman opened fire with a .38-caliber revolver, hitting him four times.

Fans observe the anniversary of Lennon's death by gathering at Strawberry Fields, a section of Central Park opposite the Dakota. In the past, Ono and Sean Lennon have placed candles on the windowsill of the apartment as a message of support.

In Karsan's Long Island neighborhood, people who knew him were stunned to hear of the allegations.

"He wouldnt say much about Yoko, very closed-mouthed about her, never said anything detrimental," Gertrude M. Follett, a real-estate broker who works from a house next door, told The New York Times. "He loved his job, and we always assumed she was happy with him. He was a charming man, always impeccably dressed. We never would have thought he would do what they're saying."

From billboard.com:


December 19, 2006, 4:45 PM ET


Ono Driver Indicted, Jailed Without Bail



The chauffeur accused of trying to extort $2 million from Yoko Ono was indicted today (Dec. 19) on a charge of first-degree attempted grand larceny and jailed without bail because the judge said he is a potential flight risk.

Koral Karsan, 50, nattily dressed in a blue blazer with his hands cuffed behind him, pleaded not guilty before state Supreme Court Justice Michael Ambrecht.

The judge ordered Karsan held even though his friends posted $250,000 cash bail earlier this week. Ambrecht said Karsan, a native of Turkey, is a flight risk because he has ties abroad and there are unresolved questions about his immigration status.

Assistant District Attorney Anne Schwartz told Ambrecht that Karsan is in the country illegally. Immigration officials issued a warrant yesterday to detain Karsan while they decide his status.

Karsan, of Amityville, N.Y., was arrested last Wednesday. He was accused of threatening to release embarrassing tape recordings and candid photographs of Ono, the widow of John Lennon, and possibly have her killed unless she gave him $2 million.


Karsan warned Ono that he had people "on standby waiting to kill her" if she crossed him, prosecutors said.

Defense attorney Robert Gottlieb said Karsan entered the United States legally from Turkey in 1992 on a work visa. "He has worked nonstop since then to get a green card (for permanent resident status)," the lawyer said. "The question is whether that was resolved properly."

Gottlieb told the court today that the immigration lawyer Karsan had hired turned out to be a fraud and has since died. So Karsan doesn't know where his immigration status stands, Gottlieb said.

Karsan is accused of handing Ono the extortion letter on Dec. 8, the 26th anniversary of John Lennon's death.