Steven Seagal, renowned for his tough-guy roles in action movies like Marked for Death and Under Siege, where he takes on villains, faced a real-life encounter with the mob due to a tainted business partnership with a producer.
This incident seemed straight out of a B-movie.
In 2002, reputed mafia members Anthony “Sonny” Ciccone and Primo Cassarino appeared in court on various charges, including an attempt to extort money from Seagal.
According to The New York Times, these individuals allegedly coerced the actor into a car and brought him to the Gage & Tollner restaurant in Brooklyn.
It was there that they reportedly threatened Seagal, demanding hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The Gambino family members were supposedly recruited by Julius Nasso, a film producer who had collaborated with Seagal on ten movies.
Although Seagal and Nasso had been close friends and worked together for years, their relationship soured when the star of Out for Justice decided to sever their business ties.
Ciccone and Cassarino were under surveillance, and authorities captured their conversation where they reveled in the moment they intimidated Seagal.
“They found it amusing, commenting that it resembled scenes from movies and wishing they had guns in their possession,” a lawyer who listened to the recordings told The New York Times in 2002.
Let’s delve into what Seagal claimed the mobsters said during their encounter.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Steven Seagal alleged that mob members demanded $150,000 from him for each film he worked on with Julius Nasso.
Quoting Anthony Ciccone in court, Seagal said, “Look at me when I talk to you.
Work with Jules, and we’ll share the profits.”
Seagal was so terrified during the meeting that he agreed to their demands, albeit as a means to buy himself some time.
“If you had said the wrong thing, they would have killed you,” an associate warned Seagal as he left the meeting.
The Tribune reported that defense attorneys argued it was not extortion but rather an attempt by Nasso to retrieve $500,000 he had lent Seagal to help cover taxes.
As detailed by The New York Times, Seagal claimed he gave Nasso $700,000 to appease Ciccone.
Nasso contended that he never attempted to extort money from his former partner.
Instead, he alleged that members of his Buddhist community were embezzling funds from him, as per the Times.
The producer stated that he and Seagal fell out after Buddhist advisors advised against appearing in violent movies, claiming it would hamper Seagal’s chances of reincarnation.
Now let’s explore how Seagal tried to combat the mob.
After being coerced into handing over substantial sums of money to mob members, Steven Seagal did not immediately approach the authorities.
According to the Los Angeles Times, during his testimony, Seagal was asked why he didn’t contact the FBI.
His response was, “They can’t help me.
They can’t protect me.”
Instead, Seagal sought out another mobster who might be able to mediate the situation.
The New York Times reported that the actor visited Angelo Prisco, a reputed Genovese captain, in a New Jersey prison.
Subsequently, Seagal paid $10,000 to a lawyer to compensate Prisco for his time, as noted by the LA Times.
Nasso’s lawyer argued that Seagal’s contact with Prisco was an attempt to intimidate his former partner.
During the trial, Seagal lost his composure when questioned about hiring an ex-CIA agent to carry out a hit on someone.
Frustrated, he blurted out, “This is insane…
I’m not on trial here,” according to the LA Times.
Speaking to the media after the hearing, Seagal disclosed that he only appeared in court because authorities compelled him to do so.
“In movies, I portray a tough action hero, but I have emotions.
I have been a victim twice,” he expressed (via the LA Times).
Neil Prashad, Seagal’s former assistant, also testified during the trial and corroborated much of what the actor had recounted.
According to the New York Post, Prashad informed the jury that he accompanied Seagal to a restaurant where they met with mob members.
While Seagal engaged in discussions, Prashad was forced to wait outside the room, feeling scared.
The assistant claimed that Seagal appeared despondent afterwards, saying, “Steven was very depressed, very quiet, very tense.”
In 2004, Julius Nasso pleaded guilty to charges of extortion conspiracy, with his lawyer describing it as “an unusual incident unlikely to recur,” according to The Guardian.
Finally, in 2008, the former partners settled their long-standing legal dispute.
As reported by The Morning Call, after Nasso served a year in prison for the extortion charges, he and Seagal reached a resolution.
The film producer dropped his $60 million breach of contract lawsuit against Seagal, while the action star agreed to repay the $500,000 he had borrowed.
An interesting aspect of Seagal and Nasso’s agreement was that the Hard to Kill star pledged support for Nasso’s bid for a presidential pardon, as per The Morning Call.
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