Tattle: Scandal brews as retrial in Travolta extortion is nixed

WHILE ONE scandal closes for John Travolta, another one tries to inch its way forward.

In the closing scandal, a judge in the Bahamas dismissed charges yesterday against Tarino Lightbourne and Pleasant Bridgewater, both accused of trying to extort money from the "Hairspray" star after he chose not to face the pain of a new trial stemming from the death of his teenage son, Jett.

Prosecutor Neil Braithwaite had submitted a motion to drop the case just as a retrial was about to start for the defendants.

"The Travolta family has said that this matter has caused them unbelievable stress and pain and they wish to put this whole thing behind them," Braithwaite told the court after a jury had been picked. Lightbourne and Bridgewater were accused of threatening to release private info about the January 2009 death of Jett, at the family home in Grand Bahama.

Lightbourne, one of the medics who treated the teen, allegedly sought $25 million from Travolta with the assistance of Bridgewater, who resigned her seat in the Bahamas Senate after she was charged in the case.

In the opening salvo of a new scandal, the National Enquirer is reporting that Travolta has been cheating on wife Kelly Preston while she is pregnant with twins.

Based on info from Robert Randolph, author of "You'll Never Spa in This Town Again," the article states that Travolta is a frequenter of a "secret gay spa subculture."

"John Travolta has been cheating on Kelly for years!" Randolph says. "And when the details emerge, he's gonna make Tiger Woods look like a Boy Scout."

If the details are accurate (and we're not saying they are), Travolta might like Tiger as a Boy Scout.

84 gets you $58.9M We've given up being amazed by Jerry Lewis' ability to stay up for 20 straight hours (Tattle's parents need a lot less sleep now that they're older) but to be able to function for 20 straight hours is still impressive.

But the stress, strain and sleep deprivation finally got to Jerry, 84, as he broke down in tears at the end of yesterday's MDA Telethon, thrilled that contributions and pledges totaled $58.9 million.

The amount was down from nearly $60.5 million last year and a record $65 million in 2008. Jerry, however, said that he's heartened by Americans' ability to help others in need even when they're struggling financially.

Tattbits