A former top Disney exec allegedly hatched a treacherous plot to seize an acclaimed Napa Valley restaurant from the estate of late celebrity chef Michael Chiarello — cheating the chef’s widow and children out of their inheritance, according to an explosive lawsuit.
Rich Frank — who did a nine-year stint as president of Disney Studios under Jeffrey Katzenberg beginning in the mid-1980s, cranking out hits including “Pretty Woman,” “The Lion King” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” — allegedly cooked up a “malicious scheme” to take over Chiarello’s thriving restaurants, according to the lawsuit.
Those included Bottega — a hotspot frequented by the likes of Julia Roberts, Sophia Loren, Ryan Seacrest Carrie Underwood and David Beckham, according to the suit filed in Napa County Superior Court on Monday.
The estate of late chef Michael Chiarello is suing his minority investors over his famed restaurant, Bottega in Napa. WireImage
Frank and hospitality