FIRST OFF . . .

He doesn’t mean to be a wise guy, but former Rhode Island police officer Salvatore Lombardi, who spent years under cover investigating organized crime, has sued CBS Inc. over the hit television series “Wiseguy,” which he says is based on his life story. Lombardi said he rejected a CBS offer to buy his life story in the early 1980s and was surprised to see how closely the show “Wiseguy” parallels it. “If you look at the lead role, he (actor Ken Wahl) looks like me, with dark hair, blue eyes, about the same age and with the same attitude,” Lombardi, 38, said. Intrigued with Lombardi after reading news accounts, free-lance writer Ted Schwarz contacted him and, after interviewing the officer and his wife, wrote a script that CBS purchased for a movie to be named “Mikki and the Wiseguy,” according to the suit. CBS attempted to negotiate a contract with the couple, but the Lombardis said they rejected the network’s offer because it did not contain any provision for what would happen if the movie were made into a series. Joseph DiMaio, Lombardi’s attorney, said the suit seeks an unspecified amount of money damages but not an injunction to halt the series.