Steven Seagal was once among the biggest action stars in the world. Now, though, he's among
the biggest caricatures in the world, thanks to his many ill advised antics.
For instance, he was a historically awful Saturday Night Live host, often ranked as
the worst host ever. He made horrible movie after horrible movie. After making a flippant
challenge, he was once allegedly choked out by martial arts master Gene LeBell so hard
that Seagal soiled himself. Sylvester Stallone claimed that Seagal once fled in terror after
Jean-Claude Van Damme challenged him to a fight.
And that's not even mentioning the truly gross behavior, such as his support of oppressive
dictatorships, and the numerous people who have accused him of sexual assault and rape.
But even Seagal can't get away with this kind of behaviour forever, which is how Steven
Seagal got targeted by the mob.
It sounds like something out of one of his movies, but according to the New York Times,
Seagal and his producer Julius R. Nasso got involved in an acrimonious legal dispute over
a reported half a million dollars Seagal owed his business partner. Things escalated from
there, and Nasso finally brought in the big guns - literally, as he asked the Gambino
family to shake down Seagal, old school style.
Things reportedly came to a head when mafia types ordered Seagal to step into a car, and
drove him to a Brooklyn restaurant, where an alleged Gambino captain called Anthony
Ciccone had a little talk with him, ordering the movie star to resume his working relationship
with Nasso - and to pay a cool $150,000 for every film he'd made with the producer. Seagal
says that after Nasso and the mob paid him another visit in his L.A. home, he ended up
paying $700,000.
If you wonder why Seagal didn't simply glare at his tormentors and throw the entire concept
of organized crime through a window like he does in his movies ... well, these guys weren't
acting. In fact, Seagal claims that after he left the restaurant meeting, one of Ciccone's
men told him:
"If you would have said the wrong thing, they would have killed you."
This all came to light when Seagal was called to witness by the authorities in a 2003 racketeering
trial of several notable gangsters. Seagal was called in precisely because of his history
with Ciccone, and his testimonial revealed the gravity of the situation. He revealed
that Ciccone told him,
"Look at me when I talk to you. [...] We're proud people. [...] Work with Jules and we'll
split the pie."
Seagal also stated that he hadn't contacted the authorities in his struggle with the mob
because he feared what might happen to his life or career. He said,
"I'm a movie star. If you want to keep making movies, you don't want to start a war with
these people."
He also revealed in his testimony that he had carried a gun during his meetings with
the mob. But while Seagal portrays himself as being cool and collected, the mobsters
apparently didn't think so. Audio from a wiretapped restaurant in Brooklyn reveals that the Mafia
had a significantly different view on how things went. According to prosecutors, the
suspects could be heard laughing about their meeting with Seagal, and how, quote, "petrified"
the actor had looked. Ouch.
The time the mob went after Steven Seagal was actually just one short part of the actor's
copious misadventures with Julius R. Nasso. According to the Los Angeles Times, in 2002
Nasso slapped Seagal with a whopping $60-million lawsuit, alleging that the actor had walked
back on an agreement to work together on four more movies. In 2003, the producer was arrested
and pled guilty on charges of conspiring to extort the martial arts star, and received
a one-year prison sentence. However, their legal battle raged on until 2008, when they
ultimately settled out of court.
Neither Seagal nor Nasso commented on the size of the settlement sum, though the Los
Angeles Times reports that Seagal had to pay roughly $500,000 to his former producer. While
this may seem peanuts compared to $60 million, Nasso seemed pleased, telling Staten Island Live,
"I got a lot more than I expected. I am very pleased."
Nasso has said that he also acquired something more precious than money: A letter from Seagal
to the Office of the Pardon Attorney, which read:
"I am writing this letter to indicate that I have no objection to and would support the
application (when it is timely) of Julius R. Nasso for a Presidential pardon."
Hey, if it's good enough for turkeys, it's good enough for Steven Seagal!
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