A real-life mob mistress has ordered a hit on an Antoine Fuqua-Nicholas Pileggi crime drama that’s being developed at Morgan Creek.
In a story filled with more nicknames than a David Chase script, Linda Schiro, former girlfriend of late Colombo crime family capo Gregory “The Grim Reaper” Scarpa, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Morgan Creek seeking to stop the release of the planned movie and also suing for punitive damages.
Schiro and daughter “Little Linda” Schiro claim they gave interviews to mob dramatist Pileggi (“Casino,” “Goodfellas”) and “Training Day’ director Fuqua, who is known for spending time with real-life cops and criminals as part of his research. In exchange, they were promised $150,000 for their life rights and gigs as consultants on the pic, the suit says.
The real-life story the movie seeks to tell is a colorful one. Scarpa allegedly carried out dozens of hits over three decades on behalf of Colombo family honcho Junior Persico before dying in prison in 1994. He also allegedly had a relationship with a corrupt FBI agent named Lindley DeVecchio.
Schiro was Scarpa’s longtime mistress who testified on behalf of the government against DeVecchio in a case that eventually was dropped.
The backstory behind the project is proving to be equally dramatic, with reps for one side saying there clearly was a deal in place and the other side saying it hasn’t even seen the lawsuit.
Schiro attorney Perry Wander said the Schiros provided filmmakers with key information and in return were promised money by the production company.