STEVEN SEAGAL - SEAGAL ENDS SIX-YEAR LEGAL BATTLE WITH PRODUCER PARTNER

Action man STEVEN SEAGAL and his former business partner JULIUS R. NASSO have ended their bitter six-year legal battle, which at one point saw allegations of Mob extortion surface. Nasso filed a $60 million (GBP30 million) lawsuit against Seagal in 2002, accusing the actor of reneging on a deal to develop and produce four movie projects with him. Seagal maintained no such agreement was ever made. Now, in an out-of-court settlement to end the dispute, Seagal is expected to pay his former best friend Nasso $500,000 (GBP250,000), while the producer will drop his lawsuit. Nasso says, "I'm glad it's behind us. I wish him the best." In 2002, FBI agents arrested Nasso on suspicion of conspiring to extort Seagal. The producer was charged alongside 16 people with alleged ties to the Gambino crime family. In 2003, Nasso pleaded guilty to conspiring to extort Seagal and ended up serving one year in prison. He now hopes to secure a presidential pardon removing the offence from his record. As part of the pair's settlement, Seagal has agreed to write a letter supporting Nasso's application for a pardon.