a video camera hidden backstage at the Stardust hotel-casino recorded headliner Bobby Berosini hitting his orangutans across the back with a rod while handlers held the apes' hands. The treatment is repeated on tape several nights, moments before Berosini and his apes take the stage for their act of gags and tricks during the Lido de Paris floor show. An animal rights organization got hold of the tape and sent copies to primate experts around the world. Most, including famed researcher Jane Goodall, complained that it depicted gross abuse. The tape and the charges found their way onto national television, first on "Entertainment Tonight," then on the networks. Berosini, who contends that he was only "correcting" his reddish-brown, waist-high apes, is suing for slander and invasion of privacy, and seeking $80 million in damages. The chimps, that were "dumped" at the zoo, were animals used in such movies as"Planet of the Apes," with Mark Whalberg, and others. Go to www.peta.org for more information on this pretty sick act from this guy!