The son of infamous American mafia boss LOUIS 'COCK-EYED' FRATTO has fired off a cease-and-desist letter to MTV, insisting Nick Cannon's upcoming reality show SON OF A GUN is based on his original idea.
Johnny Fratto, who is a regular guest on Howard Stern's U.S. radio show, claims he came up with a reality programme with the same name, centred around the daily life of a post-mafia family, in 2004.
He alleges he came "very close" to landing a deal with a number of networks after producing two pilot episodes.
Cannon has now signed a deal with MTV to air Son of a Gun, about up-and-coming rapper Cory Gunz, and Fratto has accused the TV presenter of stealing his idea as the show also has a mafia theme.
According to TMZ.com, Fratto has sent MTV bosses a letter ordering them to pull the programme from their schedules unless they change the title.