Yoko Ono's chauffeur, who's been accused of trying to $2 million U.S. from her, has been indicted for first-degree attempted grand larceny and is being held without bail due to concerns that he's a potential flight risk.
Koral Karsan, 50, has pleaded not guilty to the charge. While friends posted $250,000 cash bail, he was ordered to stay in jail due to concerns that the native of Turkey could flee because he has foreign ties and there are questions about his immigration status.
The Amityville, N.
Y. resident is accused of writing a letter to Ono on Dec. 8 the 26th anniversary of her late husband John Lennon's death that threatened to release embarrassing tape recordings and candid photographs of Ono, and possibly having her killed, unless she handed over $2 million.
Prosecutors say that Karsan warned Ono that he knew people "on standby waiting to kill her" if she didn't meet his demands. He had driven her on an almost daily basis for six years.
Karsan's attorney, Robert Gottlieb, says his client legally entered the U.
S. from Turkey on a work visa in 1992 and has been trying to get permanent resident status ever since. But the immigration lawyer he hired apparently turned out to be a fraud and has since died, which has put his status in question.
Immigration officials issued a warrant to have him detained while the matter is investigated.
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