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Article August 6, 2004. |
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Backstage West
Convicted Mgr Flees to NYC, Keeps Working
By Laura Weinert |
Convicted Mgr Flees to NYC, Keeps Working California holds $100,000 warrant for his arrest. By Laura Weinert
Former Los Angeles talent manager Christopher Valentino, who was convicted of criminal conspiracy and grand theft in 2001 for running a kickback scheme with photographer Svetlana Kraft, has turned up in New York after a disappearing act in the wake of his conviction. In 2001, Valentino did not serve his 150-day jail sentence, failed to show up at further sentencing hearings, and failed to pay the full restitution fines, according to Los Angeles Deputy City Attorney Mark Lambert. As it stands, Valentino now has a $100,000 warrant for his arrest in the state of California and may receive a much harsher jail sentence if he returns. And where is he now?
Two New York–based actors recently contacted Back Stage West to complain about an "unprofessional" photographer who had charged them money for work he did not deliver. His name? Christopher Valentino. Both actors say Valentino contacted them after viewing their photos on OneModelPlace.com. They say they paid upfront fees ranging from $200 to $300 for work they say they never received. "I gave him $255 up front out of $350 that I owed him. Seven months later, I had received nothing from him," said one actor, who wished to remain anonymous.
When the actor got in contact with Valentino months later, she said, "That's when he said he'd gone back to L.A. to do things with his L.A. studio and people. He said my pictures were in storage, and he was charging me $2 a day since Christmas for storage. I asked him to send me a few images, and he did. They were the worst images that I've ever seen of me in my life."
The actor claims she has since come to believe she is not the only one in this situation. "I started getting e-mails from other girls who had shot from him and wanted to know if I'd received pictures. I know personally about eight people, and they range from upstate New York to Ohio. He's promising people the world and making it so believable that these people are spending their own money to come to New York and shoot with him."
When contacted at a New York cellphone number, Valentino denied these claims. "As far as actors who have not received their headshots, there is only one actor," said Valentino. "I did the photos for her, and she reneged on paying the balance, so I acted in a professional manner. I did the work. And when you do the work, you expect to get paid."
Whether or not he is delivering on his promises, Valentino is legally prohibited from working in the entertainment industry. In addition to the 2001 jail sentence he never served, Valentino was ordered to close down his business and Web site, and banned from directly or indirectly owning, operating, or being employed as a talent agent or manager for three years. He was also banned from referring an artist or aspiring artist to any photographer, manager, agent, or acting class.
When asked about this ban, Valentino replied, "The district attorney covers the state of Los Angeles [sic], it does not cover the state of the whole world."
According to Deputy City Attorney Lambert, Valentino is mistaken. "[The court order] is not limited to California," said Lambert.
Yet Valentino never seemed to take the ban seriously. When he spoke with Back Stage West in 2001, he was equally defiant. He told BSW, "Who knows where we're going to be tomorrow, or what we're going to be doing? But I know it's going to be in the entertainment business. I'll do other things. The name of the company has to be shut down, the Web site has to be shut down, but they haven't precluded me from doing photography—which is what I know and love."
Valentino's Web site did remain up until a month ago, advertising photography as well as a series of casting director workshops. Yet Valentino now says he has gotten out of the business entirely. "I'm not in the business of actors, models, or anything to do in the entertainment business," he said. "The last photo session that I took of anyone was six to eight months ago. I'm living down in Florida, and I'm not doing anything in the entertainment business at all. I'm writing several novels and several books, and I'm working in periodicals and publishing."
And why did he fail to serve his jail sentence? "From what I remember, it was a 30-day jail sentence," said Valentino. "And my attorneys worked out a deal where it was done on a probationary period. I don't know anything about a warrant. I'm shocked that there's a warrant. I will contact my attorney and certainly contact Mr. Lambert's office to find out what's going on."
Lambert tells a different story. "None of that is correct. He owes 150 days of jail. He didn't serve. He just took off. He was sentenced to 150 days of jail, placed on three years' probation. He was not supposed to be in this business. According to my calculations, there is approximately $3,600 in restitution that has not been paid."
If Valentino is confused about his sentencing, Lambert had some advice. "Tell him I invite him to come to Los Angeles and clear it up. And tell him to bring $100,000 with him."
As reported in the 2001 article in BSW, in 2001 Valentino pled no contest to one count of criminal conspiracy and two counts of grand theft for conspiring with Kraft of Beverly Hills' Lana Kraft Photography. The two had been swindling clients by charging them for photographic sessions and promising them acting work that was never provided. Valentino had run Beverly Hills Artists Management, at 9250 Wilshire Blvd., for 13 months, along with a Web site on which he advertised entertainment industry–oriented business seminars.
Valentino had 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, whom, 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. |
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