by Dareh Gregorian

The writer of the Off-Broadway show "Italian Bred" wants a judge to whack a lawsuit against her for making an "offensive" racketeering allegations. In papers filed in Manhattan Federal Court, the lawyer for the show's Italian-American creator and star Candice Guardino said it was in poor taste for the disgruntled investors to sue her under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

"The RICO statute, of course, is best-known for its application against Italian-American members of La Cosa Nostra and the Sicilian mafia in maxi-trials like the so-called 'Pizza Connection' case," wrote Tom Mullaney, the lawyer for Guardino and her husband, Thomas Felicciardi. "It is ironic, if not offensive, that plaintiffs seek to invoke the RICO statute against them in what is, at best, a run-of-the-mill dispute about food money and a rental car."

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Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/