Yoko Ono’s driver, accused of trying to blackmail her for $2 million, was indicted Tuesday on first-degree attempted grand larceny and jailed without bail after the judge said he was a flight risk.
Koral Karsan pleaded not guilty in Manhattan’s state Supreme Court to four attempted grand larceny counts. He entered the plea just before his lawyer accused Ono of pressuring Karsan to commit “immoral and illegal acts.”
Karsan’s lawyer, Robert Gottlieb, did not say what the acts were, but he told the judge that Ono was abusive to other employees and was a possible tax cheat and that his client had “tucked her in bed.”
Justice Michael Ambrecht set Karsan’s next court date for Jan. 11. He eliminated Karsan’s $250,000 bail after the prosecutor said the driver, a native of Turkey, was in the United States illegally and had family and resources overseas.
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman said Monday his agency had issued a detainer for Karsan, who entered the country on Nov. 7, 1992. This means that once the state case is resolved, ICE likely will take Karsan into custody.
Karsan, 50, was arrested Dec. 13, accused of trying to shake down Ono, his employer of about 10 years, for $2 million. Police said he threatened to humiliate her by releasing embarrassing material and maybe have her killed unless she paid him.
Karsan lied about passport
Assistant District Attorney Anne Schwartz told the judge that Karsan had lied when he said during his first appearance in court Friday that he did not have a passport and would have to work hard to “scrape together” $15,000 for bail.
Schwartz said that Karsan entered the country with a passport and that she had learned he and his family, in the textiles business, had about $1.2 million in a bank account in Turkey. She noted the initial $250,000 bail was offered the day after his arraignment and said she was sure he would flee to Turkey if released.
The prosecutor also said Karsan spoke about other crimes he could have done, such as stealing Ono’s artworks. She said investigators found a DVD at his home with photos of every piece of art in Ono’s home in the Dakota apartment house, across from Central Park.
Schwartz’s recitation about Karsan was followed by Gottlieb telling the judge, “This case does not remotely reflect what the district attorney has been saying, once all the facts come out.”
“These photographs reflect nothing about his [Karsan’s] plan to do harm to Yoko Ono but instead reflect his concern that she would do harm to him,” Gottlieb said. “And that is why we are standing here today.”
He said Ono for years was pressuring Karsan “to perform immoral and at times illegal acts” and her “demands escalated over the years.”
Gottlieb said he had “ample reason to believe she attempted to flout the tax laws” by treating Karsan as a contract worker rather than the full-time employee he was.
Gottlieb also said he had received a letter from Ono’s lawyer warning Karsan that “he’d better watch out and not disclose anything because they intend to hold him accountable to the confidentiality agreement” he signed as Ono’s employee.
Schwartz accused Gottlieb of having “trashed” Ono in public with irrelevant comments.
Police said Karsan presented his extortion pitch Dec. 8, 26 years to the day after Ono’s late husband, John Lennon, was fatally shot four times in front of the Dakota, the Manhattan apartment building where they lived and where she still lives.
Fans observe the anniversary of the former Beatle’s death by gathering at Strawberry Fields, a section of Central Park opposite the Dakota. In the past, Ono and son Sean Lennon have placed candles on the windowsill of their apartment as a message of recognition of the fans’ observance.