Producer pleads guily to extortion

Seagal: "Has put his dealings with Mr Nasso behind him"

The former business partner of action film star Steven Seagal has pleaded guilty to charges he hired mafia members to extort money from the Hollywood actor.

Jules Nasso, the producer of several of Mr Seagal's early films, pleaded guilty in a federal court in New York on Wednesday to extortion conspiracy.

Under a plea deal, he now faces a year in jail and a fine of $75,000 (£47,700). No sentencing date has yet been set.

Mr Nasso, 50, told a federal magistrate he had an "understanding" with Anthony "Sonny" Ciccone, linked to New York's Gambino crime family, that Mr Ciccone would demand payment of a debt in a way that could be taken as a threat.

Seagal, who starred in Under Siege and Exit Wounds, had earlier testified he was threatened by men in a dark upstairs dining room of a Brooklyn restaurant in 2000. They demanded Mr Seagal pay Mr Nasso nearly £100,000 for each of his films.

Lawsuit

Mr Ciccone has been convicted alongside crime boss Peter Gotti in a racketeering case and is awaiting sentencing.

Despite the plea deal, Mr Nasso's lawyer, Robert Hantman, said the producer "has no ties to organized crime whatsoever".

Mr Nasso has claimed that Mr Seagal still owes him $2.5m (£1.59m) and has said he will launch a suit to get the money.

According to Mr Seagal's lawyer, the action star "does not take joy in Mr Nasso's sorrow.

"He has put his dealings with Mr. Nasso behind him and hopes Mr Nasso will do the same," lawyer Abbe Lowell said.

Mr Nasso and Mr Seagal formed a production company after meeting in Los Angeles in the 1980s. They worked on films such as Out for Justice and Deadly Ground.

Prosecutors had earlier said they had recordings of the mobsters laughing at how scared the actor was during their meeting.

"I wish we had a gun with us," one of the men had said. "That would have been funny."