Am I supposed to be blind to this?
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.
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It is difficult for me to ignore all the red flags and suspicious activity that still surround this movie project. Most of my friends and family tell me to just ignore all of it and to "move on." I have already closed the chapter on the personal relationship I had with Victor Alfieri. That is done! However, I am still dealing with post-production and trying to get this film finished and distributed. So the only way for me to completely "move on" is to give up my WHOLE investment and forget I was ever part of this movie... plus I would have to ignore all the unethical and seemingly fraudulent things that keep coming to my attention.
Just put yourself in my position. First, remove the personal/intimate/romantic relationship. That is not a factor anymore. Now, ignore the betrayal, disappointment, loss of money, legal battle, slander and scandal. What are you left with? An investment you want to recover and lots of suspicious activity that cannot be justified.
Would you wait until the movie got sold and ignore behavior that you consider shady, unethical and possibly illegal? Be honest with yourself. Would you ignore it???
Victor Alfieri has clearly betrayed me. His public attack with false allegations has damaged my reputation and hurt my business. I know it has been almost two years since that happened. I can leave that behind and move on.... the problem is that Alfieri continues to conceal information. He continues to do unethical and suspicious things.
I thought that because during our depositions many facts were disclosed, he would be more careful with his actions when I dropped my lawsuit. I thought he would be more respectful, honest and ethical. I was wrong.
Past Suspicious Activity and Unethical Behavior
Alfieri would prohibit me from talking with anyone involved in the film project. Now I understand that he did not want me to say anything that would contradict his lies.
Alfieri made many "cash deals" claiming he was saving money that way. There is no way to verify how much money was actually paid and how much Alfieri pocketed.
Most of the Italian expenses were covered with cash payments and no receipts. This is extremely suspicious. There is no paper trail. The amounts can be easily made up.
Alfieri did not want to get SAG actors. We all know the legal implications and the lawsuits against him that he avoided.
Alfieri was accused of sexually harassing the lead actress and, four months later, accused me of doing the same to him. This is a common reaction of someone who knows that he has done something wrong.
An actor and good friend of Alfieri's, was the holder of the life insurance policies during the production of the film. This is very suspicious. I, as the sole financier of the movie, should have been the holder of such policies, as my investment was at risk, not anybody else's.
Victor Alfieri took my money from the account without my authorization, disconnected his phone and disappeared. If there is a person who would not consider this theft, I would like to meet that person.
Alfieri claimed that he did not steal the money he took from me, that the money was INTACT in a bank account, when in reality he had immediately used most of it to hire Roger Muse to sue me. No comment here.
There are many more suspicious/illegal/unethical things he did in the past. I was willing to put all that behind and continue with post-production. I even publicly retracted my fraud allegations against him hoping that it would help get this project finished.
Current Suspicious Activity
- Cash payments to crew
- No written agreements with current crew members and/or service providers
- No legitimate receipts for substantial expenses
- Refusal to provide names of "alleged" new investors and their singed agreements
- Refusal to take any of my input into consideration
- Refusal to honor my agreement (breach of contract)
- Personal Assistant, C.R. This is laughable. I know Alfieri has no PA.
- The movie is not listed on IMDb
This is a portion of the email I received from Alfieri's "PA":
"In regards to your request for the contracts and information of all the investors and crew, we are unfortunately unable to provide them at this point. After learning of your blogs in which you mention everyone by name and their actions, disclosing private business emails and matters, all of the investors and post productions crew have requested (in writing) from Bondolini Productions to keep their information strictly confidential. Therefore, we are not legally in position to disclose any information to you or any other party at this point. "I replied to that email and offered to keep the new investors' names confidential. I got no response. Alfieri's refusal to provide this information is breach of contract. I also voiced my disagreement as to terms and credits awarded with the investment. I have not given written authorization to most of the things that he has done. What it is important to point out is that Alfieri continues to breach our contract again and again.
This is my personal opinion: There are no other investors or they are investing different/lower amounts than reported. Alfieri is getting most of the work done for free or at a much lower fee while promising to give producer credit to those people who are not paid fully. He is inflating the budget, claiming he is paying in cash or cashier's checks while, in reality, he is pocketing the money. I also believe that he is trying to cut me out of any future revenues.
I might be wrong... I really hope I am... And I do hope this project reaches completion and I get to recover my investment.
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.
