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SEAGAL A LEADING MAN OF LIES, SAY WITNESSES
2 hours, 14 minutes ago Add Entertainment - PageSix.com Gossip/Celeb to My Yahoo!
By KATI CORNELL SMITH
Martial-arts master Steven Seagal (news) is a "delusional" liar, witnesses testified yesterday in defense of a reputed wiseguy accused of trying to squeeze millions out of the action-flick actor.
"His ability to be truthful is questionable, very much so," said Canadian filmmaker Damian Lee, when asked to describe Seagal's reputation in the movie world.
Lee was one of seven witnesses reputed Gambino capo Anthony "Sonny" Ciccone's lawyer George Santangelo called to blast holes in the feds' version of the Seagal extortion saga.
The 50-year-old star - who testified at the Peter Gotti racketeering trial earlier this month - claims a group of wiseguys headed by Ciccone tried to muscle their way into the film industry by extorting him.
Seagal has accused his former producer Julius Nasso of teaming up with the thugs after their partnership dissolved, and trying to force the martial-arts master to keep making action flicks - and shell out $3 million.
The aging action hero said the Gambinos expected a cut of the profits.
"Delusional, that would be a fair way of putting it," Lee told The Post outside court, describing Seagal's mental state. "You can't tell what is fact or fiction."
Another witness who testified yesterday said Seagal once convinced Nasso, a Staten Island resident, to jump on a red-eye flight because the star's California estate was under siege by Japanese "yakuza" gangsters.
James Daluise, a friend of Nasso's, said he accompanied the producer on the bizarre emergency trip. By the time the pair arrived in California, Seagal calmly told them it was "a mistake."
Peter Gotti says his trial is "window dressing" and the feds should be "embarrassed" by their case.N.Y. Post: G.N. Miller
In an angry courtroom tirade, reputed mob boss Peter Gotti accused prosecutors of using him as "window dressing" in their racketeering trial - and ranted that the feds are secretly plotting to slap him with new charges if he beats this case.
"If there's a God above . . . and I beat this, how long will it be before there's another [case]? Two or three weeks?" the gruff-voiced Peter fumed. "Find someone else to waste your money on. This is window dressing!"
Peter unleashed his fury on a prosecutor and an investigator who remained in the courtroom after Brooklyn federal court Judge Frederic Block and the jury left on the last day of evidence presentation.
And the accused Gambino big wasn't just blowing off steam - he wanted answers.
"C'mon, you can answer. There's no one around," Peter shouted at special Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Whelan, who did not respond and averted his eyes from the ranting wiseguy.
Peter - who is on trial with six other alleged mobsters, including his brother Richard V. Gotti and his nephew Richard G. Gotti - faces money-laundering charges for allegedly taking a cut of various Gambino rackets as boss of the crime family.
Plea talks prior to the trial failed because federal prosecutors in Manhattan refused to give Peter protection against any new charges.
Brooklyn federal prosecutors mounted a circumstantial case, showing jurors dozens of photographs and a blurry surveillance video of Peter's regular meetings with his alleged bag man Jerome Brancato, among other evidence.
In one case, Brancato climbed into Peter's Ford Expedition carrying a bag - allegedly containing money - and came out empty-handed. But investigators never saw money change hands.
Lt. Stephen Mutone, an investigator with the Waterfront Commission who documented a March 28, 2001, meeting between Peter and Brancato on an extremely blurry video, bore the brunt of the reputed Gambino boss's most scathing remarks yesterday.
"All the times you followed me, why didn't you search me? You should be embarrassed!"
Defense lawyer Gerald Shargel said he intends in his closing argument later this week to "deflate the circumstantial-evidence case" by showing that prosecutors "cherry-picked" their wiretap recordings to suit their version of the facts.
"They have not given a complete picture," Shargel said outside of court.
Cops in Times Square control an enraged mob of 3,500 rap wannabes who became furious when MTV canceled a talent contest because of overcrowding.N.Y. Post: G.N. Miller
Times Square turned into a war zone yesterday morning when thousands of angry young rappers clashed with police after MTV canceled a widely promoted talent contest because too many people showed up.
Helicopters hovered over Midtown, as cops on horseback and in riot gear beat back a crowd of about 3,500 aspiring performers from all over the country who had descended on MTV's Times Square headquarters for an open casting call. Cops called the disturbance a Level 3 alert - on a four-level scale.
The popular music channel had promised to judge 1,000 rappers during the week and give a Def Jam recording contract and $25,000 to the winner.
"I'm disappointed," said Don Sanborn, 27, who flew to New York from Seattle for the contest.
"I saw people falling down. There were some calm cats, but not others. This is a sad day for hip-hop."
Rappers from as far away as Honolulu began lining up outside MTV at 1515 Broadway on Sunday night to take part in the contest. By 7 a.m. yesterday, the crowd had grown to about 3,500.
At that point, MTV canceled the event at the cops' request because of overcrowding, said Jeannie Kedas, a spokeswoman for the channel.
A police source said cops were forced to shut the event down because MTV failed to come through on its promise - to distribute ID bracelets to guarantee people's place in line and to provide adequate security to police the event. MTV's negligence put public safety at risk and created an "out of control" crowd, the cop said.
Disappointed rappers stormed crowd-control barricades and trampled over those at the front of the line. Four people were arrested for disorderly conduct - three of the four were charged with inciting to riot - and two cops received minor injuries, cops said.
"The cops became crazy," complained Eliezer Ruiz, 20, of The Bronx, who had lined up outside MTV at about 4:30 a.m. yesterday.
"They didn't have the lines set up properly. Everybody was pinned in like a bunch of animals. The cops rushed the line. It made people crazy."
A police spokesman denied that cops behaved badly.
"If there are complaints, they should report them," he said.
Kedas said MTV believes it was properly prepared to deal with the crowds and was disappointed it had to cancel.
"We apologize to anyone who traveled far or waited long," she said. "We really tried to make it happen and are rescheduling the contest."
CM+NT But rappers on the streets weren't buying MTV's line.
"First they said they'd see 1,000 people, then they canceled it,"1/8 said Moo Shareef, 18, of Union, N.J. "People came from all over the country."1/8
CM+NT But rappers on the streets weren't buying MTV's line.
"First they said they'd see 1,000 people, then they canceled it," said Moo Shareef, 18, of Union, N.J. "People came from all over the country
I say these are friends of the jerks and yes they would say he lie's but they have this on tape if I remember right...
2 hours, 14 minutes ago Add Entertainment - PageSix.com Gossip/Celeb to My Yahoo!
By KATI CORNELL SMITH
Martial-arts master Steven Seagal (news) is a "delusional" liar, witnesses testified yesterday in defense of a reputed wiseguy accused of trying to squeeze millions out of the action-flick actor.
"His ability to be truthful is questionable, very much so," said Canadian filmmaker Damian Lee, when asked to describe Seagal's reputation in the movie world.
Lee was one of seven witnesses reputed Gambino capo Anthony "Sonny" Ciccone's lawyer George Santangelo called to blast holes in the feds' version of the Seagal extortion saga.
The 50-year-old star - who testified at the Peter Gotti racketeering trial earlier this month - claims a group of wiseguys headed by Ciccone tried to muscle their way into the film industry by extorting him.
Seagal has accused his former producer Julius Nasso of teaming up with the thugs after their partnership dissolved, and trying to force the martial-arts master to keep making action flicks - and shell out $3 million.
The aging action hero said the Gambinos expected a cut of the profits.
"Delusional, that would be a fair way of putting it," Lee told The Post outside court, describing Seagal's mental state. "You can't tell what is fact or fiction."
Another witness who testified yesterday said Seagal once convinced Nasso, a Staten Island resident, to jump on a red-eye flight because the star's California estate was under siege by Japanese "yakuza" gangsters.
James Daluise, a friend of Nasso's, said he accompanied the producer on the bizarre emergency trip. By the time the pair arrived in California, Seagal calmly told them it was "a mistake."
Peter Gotti says his trial is "window dressing" and the feds should be "embarrassed" by their case.N.Y. Post: G.N. Miller
In an angry courtroom tirade, reputed mob boss Peter Gotti accused prosecutors of using him as "window dressing" in their racketeering trial - and ranted that the feds are secretly plotting to slap him with new charges if he beats this case.
"If there's a God above . . . and I beat this, how long will it be before there's another [case]? Two or three weeks?" the gruff-voiced Peter fumed. "Find someone else to waste your money on. This is window dressing!"
Peter unleashed his fury on a prosecutor and an investigator who remained in the courtroom after Brooklyn federal court Judge Frederic Block and the jury left on the last day of evidence presentation.
And the accused Gambino big wasn't just blowing off steam - he wanted answers.
"C'mon, you can answer. There's no one around," Peter shouted at special Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Whelan, who did not respond and averted his eyes from the ranting wiseguy.
Peter - who is on trial with six other alleged mobsters, including his brother Richard V. Gotti and his nephew Richard G. Gotti - faces money-laundering charges for allegedly taking a cut of various Gambino rackets as boss of the crime family.
Plea talks prior to the trial failed because federal prosecutors in Manhattan refused to give Peter protection against any new charges.
Brooklyn federal prosecutors mounted a circumstantial case, showing jurors dozens of photographs and a blurry surveillance video of Peter's regular meetings with his alleged bag man Jerome Brancato, among other evidence.
In one case, Brancato climbed into Peter's Ford Expedition carrying a bag - allegedly containing money - and came out empty-handed. But investigators never saw money change hands.
Lt. Stephen Mutone, an investigator with the Waterfront Commission who documented a March 28, 2001, meeting between Peter and Brancato on an extremely blurry video, bore the brunt of the reputed Gambino boss's most scathing remarks yesterday.
"All the times you followed me, why didn't you search me? You should be embarrassed!"
Defense lawyer Gerald Shargel said he intends in his closing argument later this week to "deflate the circumstantial-evidence case" by showing that prosecutors "cherry-picked" their wiretap recordings to suit their version of the facts.
"They have not given a complete picture," Shargel said outside of court.
Cops in Times Square control an enraged mob of 3,500 rap wannabes who became furious when MTV canceled a talent contest because of overcrowding.N.Y. Post: G.N. Miller
Times Square turned into a war zone yesterday morning when thousands of angry young rappers clashed with police after MTV canceled a widely promoted talent contest because too many people showed up.
Helicopters hovered over Midtown, as cops on horseback and in riot gear beat back a crowd of about 3,500 aspiring performers from all over the country who had descended on MTV's Times Square headquarters for an open casting call. Cops called the disturbance a Level 3 alert - on a four-level scale.
The popular music channel had promised to judge 1,000 rappers during the week and give a Def Jam recording contract and $25,000 to the winner.
"I'm disappointed," said Don Sanborn, 27, who flew to New York from Seattle for the contest.
"I saw people falling down. There were some calm cats, but not others. This is a sad day for hip-hop."
Rappers from as far away as Honolulu began lining up outside MTV at 1515 Broadway on Sunday night to take part in the contest. By 7 a.m. yesterday, the crowd had grown to about 3,500.
At that point, MTV canceled the event at the cops' request because of overcrowding, said Jeannie Kedas, a spokeswoman for the channel.
A police source said cops were forced to shut the event down because MTV failed to come through on its promise - to distribute ID bracelets to guarantee people's place in line and to provide adequate security to police the event. MTV's negligence put public safety at risk and created an "out of control" crowd, the cop said.
Disappointed rappers stormed crowd-control barricades and trampled over those at the front of the line. Four people were arrested for disorderly conduct - three of the four were charged with inciting to riot - and two cops received minor injuries, cops said.
"The cops became crazy," complained Eliezer Ruiz, 20, of The Bronx, who had lined up outside MTV at about 4:30 a.m. yesterday.
"They didn't have the lines set up properly. Everybody was pinned in like a bunch of animals. The cops rushed the line. It made people crazy."
A police spokesman denied that cops behaved badly.
"If there are complaints, they should report them," he said.
Kedas said MTV believes it was properly prepared to deal with the crowds and was disappointed it had to cancel.
"We apologize to anyone who traveled far or waited long," she said. "We really tried to make it happen and are rescheduling the contest."
CM+NT But rappers on the streets weren't buying MTV's line.
"First they said they'd see 1,000 people, then they canceled it,"1/8 said Moo Shareef, 18, of Union, N.J. "People came from all over the country."1/8
CM+NT But rappers on the streets weren't buying MTV's line.
"First they said they'd see 1,000 people, then they canceled it," said Moo Shareef, 18, of Union, N.J. "People came from all over the country
I say these are friends of the jerks and yes they would say he lie's but they have this on tape if I remember right...