What Truly Prompted the Lawsuit

Update as of 10-15-2018 -- The case has been dismissed by both parties.  As we have agreed to move forward, the dismissed case will remain confidential.

August 3, 2012

I sent an email to Joshua Fine (film production attorney) and cc Victor and Marco Cuadros (Alfieri's manager) voicing my concerns about post-production and asserting my rights as executive producer.

“Dear Josh,

I am sure you are well aware of what is going on now.

As to my agreement with Bondolini Productions, there are a few clauses in my agreement that have been breached.

1.7     Any changes to the production schedule and/or the agreed budget of the Picture shall be agreed in writing in advance with Executive Producer.

The budget/cost of the movie has been changed by Victor. I am not agreeing to those changes. Any previous emails where I agreed to such amounts should be voided as I felt pressured by Victor while he was yelling at me and texting non-stop, threatening to not fulfill his obligation unless he received more money.

Also the following clause has been broken.

1.9     Within thirty (30) days of completion of the Picture, Company shall deliver to Executive Producer a full and itemized cost report for the production and completion of the Picture in a form to be approved in advance by Executive Producer, and the Parties shall agree to the final cost of completion of the Picture (“the Production Costs”).  

As the bookkeeper for this film project, I have taken on the responsibility of keeping the numbers/costs clear. I have asked Victor numerous times to meet with me to clarify some of the receipts. He has refused to meet. I have not been able to finalize the Production Costs because of that. I am also missing receipts for some other substantial expenses.

Victor stated that he received a loan from Manuela and from Donatella. I would like some proof in writing that that money was received from them and that it has been used for production. 

And the last thing in the contract -  " This Agreement shall NOT be modified, changed, altered or amended in any way except through a written amendment signed by all of the Parties hereto.  
  "

I already talked to an entertainment attorney and what I am asking is very simple:

1.  I want my original agreement to be honored in its entirety.

2.  If there are changes to be made, then Bondolini Productions and I will sign a mutually agreeable new contract. If Victor is to receive a higher compensation for his hard work, then I would like to incorporate some amendments of my own as well.

3.  I don't want the "final word" necessarily but do want to be considered in major decisions just as my agreement states. It is my investment after all.

4.  I do want to see this project reach distribution.  I am more than willing to honor our previous agreement or negotiate new terms as I stated previously.

5.  I will not take legal action as long as there is no breach in our current or future contracts.

As soon as I emailed the letter to Marco, Josh and Victor, I immediately received a phone call from Marco, Victor's manager. "What's going on? Any problems? Do you want to talk about it?"

I had always liked Marco. He seemed kind, understanding and ethical. I felt I could trust him with what I was about to say. "Marco, I am very concerned about the way Victor is handling post-production. He wants to get rid of Josh and Christine... He became enemies with most of the crew and the actors. I want to take control of what is left of my investment. I have already fulfilled my contractual obligation. I will be withdrawing the rest of my money and will invest for postproduction accordingly.”

I told Marco about my intimate relationship with Victor. “Marco, did Victor ever tell you that he and I were sleeping together? Well, we have been really close for the last year. I love him and that is the main reason I invested in his movie.”

Not even an hour later I received this text from Victor. This was the last text message I ever received from him…

“Just read your email. Spoke to my manager. He came over. Thank u so much for making it easy for me. From now on, you can communicate to Joshua. But I also will seek my other attorney… for personal abuse and professional. So be prepared. I have everything in writing. You stating something… then writing the complete opposite the very next day. Obviously you want to have sex with me… sorry I am not interested.”

“Obviously I want to have sex with HIM and he is not interested?” What???? I immediately wrote an email to him. I copied Josh and Marco.

Victor,

I am writing this email to disclose personal information that might be crucial in a possible future legal action. I am including Josh and Marco to this email.

You and I started a "sexual" relationship in June 2010. This "relationship" continued until late March 2011 right before you left for Italy. The main reason I became an investor in your film was because of this intimacy, trust and love I felt for you. I told you numerous times in person as well as through emails and letters. 

It has been brought to my attention by several people in the cast and crew that you have been saying to them that I was "obsessed" with you and wanted to sleep with you. These comments made by you to members of the film project are unprofessional and defamatory.  I had been sleeping with you for over a year... way before I invested money in your movie.

I am not interested in having any type of personal relationship or friendship with you.  I only want to protect my investment the best way possible now. It is also your investment of time and hard work.  So I suggest that we work out an ethical agreement that honors my position as executive producer and at the same time respects yours as the writer, director, producer and "creator" of the film. I still believe it is "your" project and vision. I continue to respect that.

I prefer to communicate through Marco instead of Josh for general communication.  For legal matters, I will be communicating through Josh.

As I said, I will be consulting with an entertainment attorney just to guide me in doing the right thing. And I hope we can reach an amicable resolution.”

My email triggered his anger and fear. I had exposed him. Marco probably told him that I would be withdrawing the rest of my money. I wrote two checks from the Bondolini account and had already deposited them into my personal account.  It was my money, after all. When I went on line to check on the status of my deposit, I realized that he had just withdrawn everything. He took what was left of MY money.

While all this was going on, Daniela, Victor’s mother is trying to contact me via skype.

Daniela Carloni:  Sei in linea?  (Are you on line?)

I had no time to reply to her or to talk on skype. So I ignored her IM’s.

Victor was not picking up his phone. I tried several times.

My last text message to him…

You stole my money. I will take legal action now. I had fulfilled my contract with my investment. You know that. That money belonged to me and was not part of the agreement.

A message he probably did not receive, as he disconnected his phone and disappeared.

I sent this email to Victor, cc’ing Josh, the attorney, and Marco, his manager thinking that at least one of them will be reading what I wrote.

From:          Adriana Trevino

Date:            Wed, 3 Aug 2011 22:54:40 -0500

To:               Victor Alfieri; Joshua Fine; Marco Antonio Cuadros

Subject:        important notice

Victor,

The $17,500 you took from the account belongs to me. I demand that it is redeposited to the account or given back to me.

My agreement states that my investment would be $130,000. I have already invested 136,000. Therefore the $17,500 are in excess of my obligation and not part of this agreement.  

The production phase is done and all the expenses have been covered.  I have not authorized any financial transactions, contracts or spending for the further production or post-production of the film. Therefore, I can only assume that you took this money for your personal use, making it a felony.

If I don't get this money tomorrow morning, I will be calling the police. 

I am also aware that you disconnected your phone. I do have documentation of all our emails that will show that you deliberately stole the money.

Adriana Trevino

I did not get a reply to this last email. Feeling desperate and not knowing where to turn, I wrote an email to Daniela, Victor’s mother. She and I had become very good friends. She would understand.

Cara Daniela,

Victor ha rubato 17.500 da me. Si prega di chiedergli di restituire il denaro.

Dear Daniela.

Victor has stolen 17,500 from me. Please tell him to return the money.

I was hoping Daniela, who had been my ally, could help me get Victor to return my money and to possibly work things out with him.

During the month of August, 2011, I tried to work things out with Victor. I asked for proof that the money he took had not been used. He assured me the money was intact and would not be touched.

In Early September, 2011, through an attorney friend of mine,  I asked him to return that money and to respect the investment agreement he and I had. On September 20, 2011, he filed a lawsuit against me.

I recently found out the that money he took from my investment without my authorization, was the very same money he used to hire Roger Muse to sue me.  

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Disclaimer -- As of October 15, 2018, all legal issues have been resolved. This resolution was reached during arbitration. There are no pending issues related to fraud or theft. The resolution was mutually agreeable. There will be no more posts written about this story.