Julius R. Nasso

Julius R. "Jules" Nasso (born October 19, 1952) is an Italian-American film producer, pharmacologist, and businessman. He is a 20-year Directors Guild of America member. His production of Narc, starring Jason Patric, Ray Liotta, and Busta Rhymes, which was nominated for the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Award and won the Special Prize Policier Award at the Cognac Film Festival in France.

Early life Nasso was born in the village of Terranova in Calabria. At the age of two, his family moved to the Brooklyn borough of New York, where he was raised. In 1976, Nasso graduated from St. John's University

Business career

Universal Marine Medical Supply Company (UMMSC) Nasso established Universal Marine Medical Supply Company (UMMSC) in 1974 while attending college. UMMSC provides medical supplies, equipment, and services globally. In 1987, Nasso began a business partnership with Steven Seagal while Seagal was working on his first film, Above the Law, for Warner Bros. Pictures. He was responsible for the international marketing of the film.

Nasso and Seagal "became best friends", according to Seagal, and in 1990, they formed Seagal/Nasso Productions together, which handled distribution and foreign rights sales of Seagal's films. The men were at one point next-door neighbors on Staten Island in New York. Nasso served as associate producer of Marked for Death (1990) and executive producer of Out for Justice (1991). In 1992, Seagal/Nasso Productions signed a deal with Warner Bros. for four films — On Deadly Ground (1994), Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995), The Glimmer Man (1996) and Fire Down Below (1997), all of which Nasso produced or co-produced. Seagal, who later claimed that he brought a handgun to the meeting, was able to stall Ciccone and escape the meeting unharmed. Ciccone and Cassarino again visited Seagal at his home in Los Angeles the following month. In the spring of 2001, Seagal sought out another mobster, Genovese crime family captain Angelo "The Horn" Prisco, to act as a "peacemaker" in the dispute. He visited Prisco in prison at Rahway, New Jersey, and paid Prisco's lawyer $10,000 as "a favor for a favor".

In March 2002, Nasso filed a lawsuit in Richmond County Supreme Court, suing Seagal for $60 million. According to the suit, Nasso and his company had suffered substantial financial losses as a result of Seagal breaching a contract to star in four agreed upon motion pictures. Nasso was arrested by the FBI at his Staten Island home and charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit extortion. An attorney for Seagal, Martin Pollner, denied claims by Nasso's legal team that Seagal had initiated the FBI investigation.

On March 17, 2003, Ciccone, Cassarino and others were convicted of extortion and various other counts under the RICO Act. Seagal testified for the prosecution about the mobsters' extortion attempt. During the trial, Nasso was described by federal prosecutors as a Gambino associate. During the sentencing hearing, the judge questioned the government's decision to label Nasso a Mafia associate, instead describing his conduct as "aberrant" behavior from an otherwise law-abiding man.

After a six-year legal battle, Nasso reached an out-of-court settlement with Seagal on January 6, 2008, with Seagal reportedly paying $500,000 in exchange for Nasso agreeing to drop the $60 million lawsuit for alleged breach of contract. Nasso commented: "I’m glad it’s behind us. I wish him the best".

Manhattan Pictures Nasso co-founded Manhattan Pictures Intl., a Gotham-based motion picture distribution and production company, in his home city of New York, where he produced and released the films Enigma (2001) and In Praise of Love (2001).

Belafonte Arts and Media Since 2006, Nasso has been Harry Belafonte's producer and contributed to a variety of works, including Sing Your Song (2011).

Nasso's most recent protégé, Tony Schiena, who he met in London in 1998, costarred in Nasso's directorial debut Darc (2018). Nasso has also been the former four-year chairman of The Harbour Lights Theater Group.

Filmography Hard to Kill - Producer Marked for Death (1990) - Associate Producer Out for Justice (1991) - Executive Producer Under Siege (1992) On Deadly Ground (1994) - Producer Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995) - Co-Producer The Glimmer Man (1996) - Producer Fire Down Below (1997) - Producer Not Even the Trees (1998) - Producer The Patriot (1998) - Producer Prince of Central Park (2000) - Producer One Eyed King (2001) - Producer Narc (2002) - Producer In Enemy Hands (2004) - Producer The Poet (2007) - Executive Producer Trophy Wife (2010) - Producer Sing Your Song (2011) - Producer Squatters (2013) - Producer Nailed (2013) - Executive Producer Split Decision (2013) - Executive Producer Pride of Lions (2013) - Executive Producer Getaway (2013) - Executive Producer The Legend of William Tell: 3D (2014) - Producer Darc (2019) - Producer and Director The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin (2026) - Producer