Steven Seagal plays tough guys on screen, but even the actor knows not to mess around with mobsters in real life. In fact, a disturbing encounter he had with them in the early 2000s is enough to chill anybody to the bone.
So, what’s the story here? Well, it all started with a dispute between Seagal and his producing partner Julius Nasso. The gist is this: Nasso had a bunch of action movies lined up for Seagal to star in, but Seagal wanted to distance himself from Nasso on the advice of a spiritual guru. According to Seagal, he wouldn’t reach full enlightenment if he continued to associate with Nasso and carry on down the path he was on. As per Variety, Nasso sued Seagal for $60 million afterward.
And yet, this wasn’t the strangest part of it all. According to Seagal’s testimony (via the Los Angeles Times), Nasso enlisted Sonny Ciccone and the infamous Gambino crime family to pressure him into backtracking on his decision to part ways. The mob visited Seagal a few times without incident, but matters escalated into something that could have been pulled straight out of one of Seagal’s films.
The mob and an armed Seagal had a serious chat at a steakhouse in 2000. According to Seagal (via CBS News), he was told to continue working with Nasso and to give him $150,000 per movie – or else. Seagal added that Nasso told him, “If you would have said the wrong thing, they would have killed you.”
Footage of the incident also featured one of the mobsters laughing after the tense encounter and saying, “I wish we had a gun with us. That would have been funny.”
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At this point, Seagal realized he needed outside help, so he met with mobster Angelo Prisco to see if he could organize a truce between him and the Gambino family. At this point, the authorities caught wind of what was going on and got involved.
When Seagal was asked why he didn’t approach the FBI when this first started happening, he replied that he wouldn’t have been able to continue working “in the witness protection program.” Ultimately, Nasso received a year behind bars for his part in this extortion plan, while Ciccone received time until 2013.
There was still the issue of the production company started by Seagal and Nasso. However, this was resolved when the pair struck a deal. As per the agreement, Seagal backed Nasso, who sought out an official pardon from President Barack Obama; however, Obama denied Nasso’s request.
Seagal continued to make movies, while Nasso carried on with his producing career. In a rather humorous twist of fate, Nasso produced the riff on The Expendables called The Dependables. Famously, Seagal was one of the high-profile action stars who never appeared in The Expendables franchise, even though he was arguably more than qualified for it.
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