Mafia plot to extort cash from star

Film star Steven Seagal has been the target of an extortion racket by one of New York's most notorious Mafia families.

Members of the Gambino clan are alleged to have planned to demand that the star of action thrillers such as Under Siege and Exit Wounds pay £100,000 for each new film he made.

The plot was exposed with the arrest of 17 alleged members of the Gambino family yesterday, including two brothers of John Gotti, the "Dapper Don" and head of the clan, who is serving life in prison.

Peter Gotti, who was named in court documents as the head of the family, was charged with mobrelated crimes along with his brother Richard.

The charges included an attempt to "extort hundreds of thousands of dollars from an individual in the film industry," later identified as Seagal. A former business partner of the martial arts star, Julius Nasso, was also charged.

Nasso,who worked with Seagal for 15 years, was said to have been recorded on tape planning to extort the money with a Gambino captain. He was released on £1 million bail.

Earlier this year, Nasso, who produced Fire Down Below and On Deadly Ground, began a £40million law suit against the star.

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