Two New York City brothers have brought the definition of ‘sibling rivalry’ to a whole new level.
The warring siblings claim each one wanted to kill the other over the past year following a dispute over the sale of their parents’ $800,000 waterfront home in Brooklyn, according to court papers.
Now the elder brother Silvio Spallone, a Manhattan developer, is suing his younger brother Frank Spallone, owner of a Queens trucking company, for $20 million for allegedly having him arrested for attempted murder.
“It’s basically a Cain and Abel story,” Silvio’s attorney, Andrew J. Wigler, told the Post.
Silvio, 55, claims the trouble started when Frank broke a 2006 written agreement between the four Spallone children that they would sell the family’s Mill Basin 5-bedroom and split the proceeds.
When Silvio confronted Frank for “secretly listing” the property and entering a sale contract, the younger brother allegedly went bonkers, according to the suit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.
But Frank, in an interview with the Post, said his brother is “nothing but a nasty, arrogant, nutty person.”
“This should be a movie!” he gushed. Frank said his brother was the one who tried to steal away the family home and noted his criminal record.
Silvio pleaded guilty to income tax evasion in Brooklyn Federal Court and was sentenced to 30 months in prison in August 2000, court records show.
But Silvio’s suit paints his brother as the bad guy, claiming he filed two bogus Family Court petitions against him and then sent him death threats.
Frank admitted to cursing out his older brother in court, but said he only spewed the profanities after Silvio allegedly said “I’m going to f—king kill you.”
Police sources told the Post that Frank has no arrest record since 2012. Silvio has three sealed arrests.
After Silvio reported his brother to the police, Frank told cops that Silvio came to his Jamaica, Queens office on March 22, 2013 and “shot a gun and attempted to murder” him,” according to court papers.
“It was strictly a monetary issue that was being handled by attorneys then my brother took it to the next level and concocted a story that I tried to shoot and kill him,” Silvio told the Post in an interview.
Silvio was arrested in April, but the charges were dropped in July after he gave prosecutors video footage and credit card receipts proving that he was having dinner with his wife in Battery Park City at the time of the alleged shooting.
Frank maintains that a man of the same height and build as his brother stalked him outside his Jamaica office that night and allegedly yelled, ‘Frankie boy, you’re going to be with dad now. You’re dead!’ then allegedly shot at him.
“It’s a devastating experience that no one should have to go through,” Silvio said, adding that he was facing a 15 to 30 year sentence and would still “be sitting in Rikers” if he hadn’t been able to afford the $250,000 bail.
Additional reporting by Natasha Velez