NEW YORK (AP) — Actor Steven Seagal and his former business partner have agreed to settle a long-running legal battle, a lawyer and a spokeswoman said Wednesday. The dispute between Seagal and movie producer Julius R. Nasso included allegations of contract breach and Mafia extortion.
Seagal and Nasso had worked together for years, forming Seagal/Nasso Productions and producing movies including Marked for Death,Out for Justice and On Deadly Ground.
Then the two had a falling out. Nasso sued Seagal for $60 million, accusing the actor of backing out of a four-movie deal.
Beginning in 2004 Nasso served one year in federal prison after admitting he plotted to have the mob shake down Seagal.
Anthony "Sonny" Ciccone was convicted of racketeering in the case along with Peter Gotti, brother of the late mob boss John Gotti. At a New York steakhouse, Ciccone and other Gambino crime family enforcers demanded that Seagal keep working with Nasso and pay him $150,000 a film, Seagal testified at Peter Gotti's trial.
Afterward, Nasso told Seagal, "If you would have said the wrong thing, they would have killed you," the actor said.
Surveillance tapes later captured Ciccone's crew chuckling over how "petrified" the actor looked.
"I wish we had a gun with us," one said. "That would have been funny."
The out-of-court settlement included Nasso dropping the suit and Seagal agreeing to pay Nasso an undisclosed amount of money and write a letter supporting Nasso's application for a pardon, said Nasso's lawyer Robert Hantman.
"After six years of litigation, any misunderstandings between Mr. Seagal and Mr. Nasso have been resolved and (Nasso) looks forward to his future and making movies," Hantman said.
Nasso spokeswoman Emma Rosenbloom said in a statement that the men had resolved the dispute.
Neither Seagal nor his lawyer could be reached by telephone for comment Wednesday evening.
Seagal and Nasso, a former Brooklyn pharmacist, once lived next door to each other in Staten Island.
