Hollywood socialite CHRIS PACIELLO is facing a lawsuit over allegations he arranged the wrongful arrest of his former business partner SANDY SACHS.
The entrepreneur, real name Christian Ludwigsen, reportedly convinced a Los Angeles police officer to arrest Sachs - with whom he once co-owned Hollywood restaurant Murano - on fake drink-driving charges.
Sachs previously sued Paciello for failing to pay a $600,000 (£400,000) investment - sparking claims from her lawyer Gerson Horn that Paciello arranged the arrest as revenge.
In tape recordings made in April (09), Paciello is reportedly heard telling off-duty Sheriff Ralph Garay to arrest his former colleague because she was drunk at the wheel.
After initially deciding there was "no evidence that Sandy was drunk", cops then attended Sachs' home at Paciello's insistence, where she was arrested.
Horn alleges some officers "threw her to the ground, handcuffed and pummelled her. Her body was covered with bruises."
No charges were brought at the time of the incident, and a blood test confirmed that Sachs was within the legal limit of alcohol for driving.
She accuses the LAPD of battery, wrongful arrest, and civil rights violations - bot the force and Paciello deny any wrongdoing.
Paciello, who once dated Madonna, walked free from jail in 2006 after serving seven years of a 10-year sentence for taking part in a bungled raid in Staten Island, New York in 1983 that left a woman dead.