Julius R. Nasso

Julius R. Nasso (born October 19, 1952) is an Italian-American film producer, pharmacologist, and businessman.

Julius R. Nasso
Born (1952-10-19) October 19, 1952
Aspromonte, Calabria, Italy
NationalityItalian
American
Occupation(s)Film producer, pharmacologist, and businessman
Years active1974–present
Notable workNarc

Personal life

Julius R. Nasso was born in a small village called Terranova, Calabria, Italy. In 1976, Nasso graduated from St. John's University with a Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy. He then earned an advanced Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Connecticut.

On March 14, 2017, Nasso made headlines when two ponies belonging to him escaped from their barn during a snowstorm on Staten Island. The ponies, Blondie and Jewels, were quickly captured and returned to Nasso with the help of an off-duty police officer.[1]

Nasso was involved in a six-year legal battle with his former longtime collaborator Steven Seagal after their business relationship ended in 2000. The two had been "best friends", according to Seagal, and formed Seagal/Nasso Productions together, but their relationship eventually became strained. Believing that Seagal owed him $3 million in compensation for backing out of a four-film deal, Nasso enlisted members of the Gambino crime family to threaten Seagal in an attempt to recoup money Nasso allegedly lost. Gambino family captain Anthony Ciccone first visited Seagal in Toronto during the filming of Exit Wounds in October 2000.[2] In January 2001, Primo Cassarino and other gangsters picked up Seagal by car to bring him to a meeting with Ciccone at a Brooklyn restaurant. At the meeting, Ciccone bluntly told Seagal that he had a choice of making four promised movies with Nasso or paying Nasso a penalty of $150,000 per movie. If Seagal refused, Ciccone would kill him.[3] Seagal, who later claimed that he brought a handgun to the meeting, was able to stall Ciccone and escape the meeting unharmed.[4] Ciccone and Cassarino again visited Seagal at his home in Los Angeles the following month.[5] In the spring of 2001, Seagal sought out another mobster, Genovese crime family captain Angelo Prisco, to act a "peacemaker". He visited Prisco in prison at Rahway, New Jersey, and paid Prisco's lawyer $10,000.[6]

On March 17, 2003, Cassarino, Ciccone and others were convicted of labor racketeering, extortion, and 63 other counts under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.[7] Seagal testified for the prosecution about the mobsters' extortion attempt.[8] Nasso pleaded guilty to the charge of extortion conspiracy in August 2003 and, in February 2004, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison, fined $75,000 and ordered to take mental health counselling on release from jail.[9] He had been described by prosecutors as a mob associate.[6]

Nasso agreed to drop a $60 million lawsuit against Seagal for an alleged breach of contract when the two settled out of court in January 2008.[10]

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Nasso has earned numerous critical honors, including the 2012 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Documentary for his work with Harry Belafonte on Sing Your Song (2011).

References
  1. The Strange Connection Between These Runaway Ponies, the Mafia, and Steven Seagal Jack Holmes, Esquire (March 15, 2017)
  2. Seagal Testifies, Explains His Ties to Mob Family Paul Lieberman, Los Angeles Times (February 12, 2003)
  3. Marzulli, John (February 10, 2003). "Seagal's mob terror Star to testify on scary date with gangsters". New York Daily News. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
  4. Gendar, Alison (March 16, 2010). "Action star Steven Seagal under seige again by lawsuit from mobbed-up movie producer Julius Nasso". New York Daily News. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
  5. A nervous wreck; Seagal 'depressed' by mob woes: aide Kati Cornell Smith New York Post (February 13, 2003)
  6. Seagal Stars in N.Y. Trial Of Mafia Michael Powell, The Washington Post (February 12, 2003)
  7. "STEVEN SEAGAL AND THE MOB" Archived 2006-12-15 at the Wayback Machine TruTV Crime Library
  8. Marzulli, John (March 18, 2003). "GOTTI & 6 TAKE FALL IN B'KLYN THE TEFLON'S LONG GONE". New York Daily News. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
  9. Seagal mob saga comes to an end The Guardian (18 February 2004)
  10. Staten Island film producer, action movie star, settle out of court on $60M suit Staten Island Advance (January 7, 2008)
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