John Travolta drops extortion charges

John Travolta has dropped charges against two men who allegedly tried to extort money from him and his wife Kelly Preston after the death of their 16-year-old son Jett in 2009.

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Ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne, who was among those treating Jett, allegedly sought $25 million with the assistance of local politician Pleasant Bridgewater in return for not releasing private information about the death.

"The long pending status of this matter continued to take a heavy emotional toll on my family, causing us to conclude that it was finally time to put this matter behind us," telegraph.co.uk quoted Travolta as saying in a statement.

"Therefore, after much reflection, I concluded that it was in my family's best interest for me not to voluntarily return to the Bahamas to testify a second time at trial."

Jett, who was autistic, died of seizure in January 2009 while the Travolta family was on holiday in the Bahamas.