Ex-bandmate sues Manson
LOS ANGELES (AP) ¿ Marilyn Manson's former keyboardist has sued the shock rocker, claiming he kept millions of dollars meant to be shared and bought items including a handbag owned by Hitler's girlfriend and a skeleton in a wheelchair.
Stephen Bier ¿ whose stage name was Madonna Wayne Gacy ¿ says he, Manson and other band members signed a partnership agreement in 1993 to share profits. The suit, filed last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claims Manson and others deceived Bier into thinking the band wasn't making much money.
Bier says he began to think differently several years ago when Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, went on a spending binge. He claims Manson owes him at least $20 million in shared profits.
From 2004 to 2006, the suit claims, Manson used band money to buy a $2 million home, collect Nazi paraphernalia and to give his fiancee at the time a handbag once owned by Eva Braun.
Manson also bought "African masks made of human skin, the full skeleton of a four-year-old Chinese girl, and the full skeleton of a 17th-century male in a wheelchair," the suit claims.
In an interview with MTV News, Manson denied the allegations and said he would fight them.