SHERMAN OAKS : Actor DeNiro Faces Paternity Lawsuit

A Sherman Oaks nightclub singer filed a paternity suit Thursday contending that actor Robert DeNiro is the father of her 10-year-old daughter and asking for $10,000 a month in child support.

Helena Lisandrello, 31, also wants the court to order blood tests proving DeNiro is the father of the child, Nina Naderjo DeNiro, said her attorney, Marvin Mitchelson.

DeNiro’s publicist, Stan Rosenfield, called the lawsuit absurd. “I’ve talked to Bob,” he said. “This claim is unfounded.”

Mitchelson said Lisandrello met the Academy Award-winning actor, the star of “Raging Bull” and “Taxi Driver,” at a party in March, 1979, when the two began an intimate relationship that lasted three years. The child was born July 1, 1982, Mitchelson said.

Until three months ago, DeNiro had been “in and out” of the child’s life and had paid child support payments of between $8,000 and $10,000 a month to Lisandrello, the attorney said.

“But now, he’s denying he’s the father,” Mitchelson said. “I hope he’ll resume his rightful place in the child’s life. He’s seen her a lot. He’s spent time with her. She misses him.”

A hearing on the matter is scheduled Aug. 25 in Los Angeles Superior Court.