Giuseppe "JOE" Pugliese is a con artist way before he's anything else.
- New York Film Studios doesn't exist.
- Los Angeles Film Studios doesn't exist either.
These are merely URLs used out of his Long Island, NY apartment.
Joe Pugliese owes us over $1,000 for a shoot that he got paid for but did not pay us in full. He was fired from the job but expected to use a post-production budget to cover the production crew and gear we supplied.
Joe was MIA through half of the shoot, was beyond disorganized and spent much of it text messaging a girl friend.
Joe's resume claims that this was a BRAVO pilot. This couldn't be further from the truth! It was produced and sponsored by
Acela Media Group the very producers that fired Joe. (Later, Acela even apologized to us for how poorly Joe performed, which was totally out of their control.)
I first met Joe because we needed a specific camera for a multi-camera shoot. He shows up with a lower grade model than we had (no HDSDI out - no way to direct coverage).
He claimed that his "partner" had it out on another job. Of course, he has no partner. What's more, later the story turns with Joe saying, "Oh, we sold that camera but kept this one." Clearly, he never owned the camera and lied about it to get the job.
Similar to other complaints, I was taken back by Joe's hyper-nervous need to get a signed contract to ensure payment. It was a four hour gig, and he was paid a couple hundred bucks in cash.
Finally, Joe claims that New York Film Studios has a producer by the name of Peter Lufrano. Mr. Lufrano is a sales rep with a utility company and tries to use their database to identify video clients. He's not a producer anymore than Joe is.
Joe Pugliese is a bottom feeder and low balls rates to get anything he can. The axiom, "You Get What You Pay For" rings loud and clear here!