Robert Guccione, the founder of Penthouse Magazine, has sued the Penthouse Media Group and its officers in New York County Court, claiming they drove his porn empire into bankruptcy, shoveled money into their own pockets while doing so, and refuse to pay him severance money they owe him, according to a court reporting newswire.
Guccione claims that rather than reorganize his financially troubled General Media International, he allowed the defendants to take it over and reorganize, on the promise they would let him keep his townhouse, pay him $1 million a year for 25 years and pay him $15 million if they failed to perform, according to the report.
The newswire further reports that Guccione alleged that the defendants snookered him, refused to pay up once they had control of the new company and owe him $7.5 million plus legal fees.
The 37-page complaint describes the considerable debts Guccione and his companies had run up before he ceded control of his “empire,” including “a $50 million art loan that was in default,” and his townhouse, also in default.
A Penthouse Media Group official was not available for comment at press time.
