Former Judge Gets Tough on Sopranos Creator

Posted by Eriq Gardner

What would Tony Soprano do if someone stole his nephew Christopher's idea for a mob-themed slasher movie called "Cleaver"? Probably not sue. But in the non-mafia world, former New Jersey municipal court judge Robert Baer is still pressing his case against "The Sopranos" creator David Chase.

This week, jury selection is underway in a federal case where Baer alleges Chase took his ideas to come up with the show's pilot episode. Baer says he first met Chase at a California restaurant, and later introduced him to police detectives and other experts who walked him through New Jersey mob life. In a 2002 court filing, Chase admitted talking with Baer but called Baer's claims "grossly distorted, petulant and self-aggrandizing." The case has been whacked out of court twice, but those rulings were overturned.