JOE PESCI - PESCI 'HAPPY' AFTER HITMAN LAWSUIT IS DROPPED

Actor JOE PESCI is "happy" after a private investigator dropped a $103,000 (GBP51,500) lawsuit against him for alleged breach of contract. Private investigator John Perry claimed he was hired by Pesci "to perform private investigative, bodyguard, security and property surveillance services" - after the actor's ex-wife Claudia Haro was accused of hiring a hitman to shoot her stuntman husband in 1995. Perry says he was never paid, despite carrying out the investigation and racking up a bill of $103,000 (GBP51,500). But Perry dropped the lawsuit on Monday (17Dec07) - a day before a scheduled court hearing on defence motions to dismiss the case. Pesci's attorney Caryn Brottman Sanders says, "He's happy he doesn't have to deal with it anymore. The legal arguments didn't make any sense, and the factual arguments maybe even less so." Haro was arrested two years ago (05) and is awaiting trial in Los Angeles County on charges of conspiracy and attempted murder.