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July 29, 2003Sometimes, people actually get what they deserve...
I thought karma had no place in Hollywood, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear otherwise this afternoon. I got some very satisfying news from a friend of mine, who found the following in an article by Laura Weinert from last week's Backstage West about scams that the unscrupulous try to pull on actors looking for representation:
Scam companies can be charged with more crimes than just violating the talent agency act, and sentencing can go well beyond merely having to pay a few fines. In 2001 talent manager Christopher Valentino received a jail sentence after pleading no contest to one count of criminal conspiracy and two counts of grand theft for conspiring with photographer Svetlana Kraft of Beverly Hills' Lana Kraft Photography. They had been swindling clients by charging them for photographic sessions and promising them acting work that was never provided.
Valentino also told clients that he represented former Miss America Ali Landry, that he had appeared in numerous soap operas—including a 16-year stint on All My Children—and that he was represented by the William Morris Agency, according to investigators. Unfortunately none of this was true. Neither were his alleged promises to find these actors work.
What he did find them, however, were headshots from a "highly recommended" photographer, who, he said, was a "former European model" who had done a lot of work for Jennifer Aniston. But Aniston had never heard of Kraft, investigators determined.
I found this such a delicious revelation because I was one of those actors that Valentino tried to dupe. I even worked for Valentino for a short time, before I realized that his promised industry introductions were never going to take place. Just to put it all in context, this was a guy who looked at John Robert Powers and wished he'd thought of it first.
Shifty, lecherous and dishonest, Valentino embodied all that was bad about my Los Angeles experience. It does my heart good to know he got what he deserved--and that he's been unmasked in a publication that is read religiously by the very segment of the acting population he'd targeted.
Posted by patrick at July 29, 2003 12:33 AM
CommentsI am wondering if this is the same Christopher J. Valentino whose website is valentinostudios.com??? I would like it if someone out there could let me know. I recently hired "Valentino" to take my headshots, he provided me with a "great television makeup artist" who charged $100 for her work. Once I arrived there, she didn't even have her own makeup case, on top of that, she was HORRIBLE. I asked her what her experience was and she said she had only been doing this for about a month and that it was more of a "hobby". I'm pissed off and still awaiting my headshots from Valentino. I already paid him half the cost as a deposit (to cover my butt) and told him I'd pay the rest once I received the photos, he got angry and said he'd send me the photos via mail once he received a check for the remainding amount!! Someone, please let me know if this is the same guy as mentioned in this article!
Posted by: Kerry B. at November 10, 2003 12:11 PM
hey kerry....go fuck yourself....
Posted by: star69 at May 31, 2004 07:54 PM
hey patrick...i would watch your back...The name Valentino is italian...i know this guy...and he is very connected...just a word of advise...you just might be swimming with the fishes...if you know what i mean...
Posted by: tony cardillo at May 31, 2004 07:58 PM
It is the same scammer. He was kicked off OneModelPlace.
HE had the ball to show up to a really bad casting call I went to hosted by Bobby Cipriani (What a waste of times - the guy thinks he's a mobster), and this Valentino guy brings his "book". It was all tears from magazines, but even someone who has never looked a a grouping of photos before would know the styles were so dramatically different that the images were not his.
He is a scumbag and a scam-artist. Incidentially, the MUA you spoke of was his Girlfriend.
Good luck!
suze
Posted by: Susan Yaffe at June 17, 2004 01:32 PM
glad no one reads this shit...Valentino did a really great job on my portfolio....Caring...Patient and a real Pro...Thanks Val...you are the best in my book...
Posted by: jennifer page at July 16, 2004 09:46 AM
I have known Valentino for over a decade...and have represented him as his attorney on several matters...Yes, he has run into some trouble but know one knows the whole story. He took the fall for his partner who the L.A. District attorneys office wanted to deport Lana Kraft because of her visa status...Valentino had one of several choices...He could spend over $20,000 in legal expenses to prove his innocence and then they d.a. would have still deported Kraft or he could cut his loses and give in to the Gov't. Unfortuatly he ddcided on the latter...Many people look at the verdict and not the pressure that is put on by our Gopvernment. Take Martha Stewart as an example. She can't tell the general public how she really feels because of her appeal. I have been a practicing attorney in n.y.c. for years and i know how some district attorneys can get if they have a hidden agenda. think about it...this was Consumer Affairs...not the Criminal Division.
Posted by: John Cardillo,Esq. at July 17, 2004 10:28 AM
It amuses me to pull up the comments record of this page and notice how "star69" and "Tony Cardillo" both have the same IP address (now banned from leaving comments), as do "jennifer page" and "John Cardillo, Esq." (also banned from leaving comments).
"Tony Cardillo" and "star69" even left their comments on the same morning, within minutes of each other.
And it's really odd how all of these pro-Valentino comments are written by people who employ frequent ellipses and eschew capitalization.
Come to think of it, Valentino himself writes like that.
What are the odds, huh?
Posted by: Patrick Seitz at July 26, 2004 10:22 AM
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