Marilyn Manson Settles Lawsuit With Ex-Keyboardist Pogo

Marilyn Manson and his former keyboardist Stephen Bier -- known to fans by his stage names, Pogo and Madonna Wayne Gacy -- have settled a 2007 breach-of-contract lawsuit, but the terms of the settlement have not been made public. According to reports, attorneys for Bier and shock-rocker Manson told Judge Michael L. Stern on Dec. 11 that a settlement had been reached in Bier's August 2007 suit against Manson, but the terms were not revealed in open court.

In Bier's suit, he claims Manson had been using the band's money to fund his lavish lifestyle, drug habit and the production of his upcoming film, 'Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll,' among other things.

The suit further alleged that Manson took assets belonging to the rest of the band (money generated through touring and album/merchandise sales) to purchase Nazi paraphernalia, African masks made of human skin and the full skeleton of a 4-year-old Chinese girl, all of which he had on display in his Chatsworth, Calif., mansion. The suit also claims Manson used band funds to pay for a $150,000 engagement ring for ex-wife Dita Von Teese. Of course, Manson has long denied the allegations. Bier's suit was originally seeking more than $20 million in damages.

In the wake of the settlement, Manson took to his MySpace blog to rip into his one-time keyboardist. "I want to make clear that, aside from the wasted legal fees, in no way did I pay off the person that stood behind a keyboard - pretending to play music other artists in this band wrote," Manson writes. "And I would not piss on Pogo if he was on fire. Thee end. Or is it? Let's wait until all the really bad things I covered up for him are suddenly uncovered. I got a far more severe type of karma for traitors and people that owe me, legally a lot more than what I wasted tolerating your rape of a band you never deserved to be in."

Later, Manson resumed his rant in a separate posting on the blog. "I don't want this to be confused as anger," he writes, before hinting that there may be some arson in Pogo's future. "I feel nothing for a person that betrayed me and my band. My band. And I'm sure that if anyone wants to discuss this with him personally, I won't be so rude to not give you his or his family's addresses. Since I payed [sic] for both soon to be destroyed buildings. That's at least what I just had a dream of, that I awoke from. So good luck to you, sir. You are gonna need it. Sweet dreams."