NEW YORK CITY – In response to Penthouse Media Group’s announcement yesterday that it is filing suit against Penthouse founder and former CEO Bob Guccione, Guccione issued a statement today asserting that the action is a “transparent effort to preempt the lawsuit he is commencing against Penthouse Media Group shareholders Marc Bell and Donald C. Staton, and third parties Charles Samel, Jason Galanis and Fernando Molina.”Penthouse is suing Guccione, who originally founded the magazine in 1965, to recover $4 million in cash, artwork and furniture it alleges Guccione never returned to the company. Mr. Guccione, however, plans to sue Penthouse “in connection with their conspiracy to deprive him of his multimillion dollar retirement package from Penthouse.”

Penthouse, then known as General Media, filed for bankruptcy in December 2003. Penthouse Media Group subsequently emerged from chapter 11 in Oct. of 2004 under the control of PET Capital Partners, LLC (an affiliate of Marc Bell Capital Partners). Later in the same month, Care Concepts bought into Penthouse, purchasing 39.3% of the company equity, in the form of non-voting common stock.

Guccione resigned as the CEO of General Media when it was acquired out of bankruptcy by PET Capital Partners. According to the lawsuit filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, Guccione failed to return the furniture and artwork, including two Salvador Dali paintings, he kept at a Manhattan apartment.

The company’s suit also claims Guccione owes Penthouse Media $1.8 million for personal loans he took out and allegedly had General Media guarantee.

According to his statement, Guccione has not seen the complaint filed by Penthouse, but said he is “certain that he will prevail in both the Bankruptcy Court action and the civil lawsuit that he will be filing imminently.”