Former Mob Wives star files suit over GTA 5, wants $40 million

Karen Gravano, the daughter of Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano who was recently a star of VH1's Mob Wives before she left the show, has filed a lawsuit against Take-Two Interactive, claiming her image and life story was ripped off in Grand Theft Auto V. She is seeking $20 million in compensation and another $20 million for punitive damages.

"Notwithstanding the fact that plaintiff has the utmost respect for the writers and creators of the Grand Theft Auto V video game…her story is unique and is hers to tell,” papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court Monday and obtained by the New York Daily News state.

Gravano's lawyer Thomas Farinella said that the character Antonia Bottino is based on Gravano, who was not compensated or credited for the role. Bottino's in-game father, a former Gambetti family mob boss named Sammy (Sonny) Bottino, winds up becoming an informant, just like Gravano's real-world father did to help bring down John Gotti.

Also in the game, Bottino does not allow her daughter to star in a fictional show called Wise Bitches, which is an obvious parody of Mob Wives.

Gravano's lawsuit against Take-Two notes that Rockstar Games producers could have asked for her permission "with relative ease, which may have (averted) this action." Take-Two declined to comment to the New York Daily News and has not responded to GameSpot's request for statement.

This lawsuit is not the first legal action levied against Take-Two since GTA V's record-setting launch in September when it generated over $1 billion in revenue in three days. In December, Mean Girls actress Lindsay Lohan said she planned to sue Take-Two, claiming her likeness was used without permission. And before that, Rapper Daz Dillinger accused Rockstar in October of using two of his songs in the game without permission, demanding that Rockstar give him more money for the songs or destroy all remaining unsold copies of GTA V.