Actor was arrested and is facing 10 years in prison over using a prop gun on a movie shoot.
Carlo Bellario is an aspiring actor. He’s biggest acting job has just turned into his biggest nightmare. He’s a defendant in a gun case stemming from an independent movie shoot he did in New Jersey.
Carlo says he responded to a Facebook casting call to play a gangster role in a movie called Vendetta Games. It’s a low budget movie by a filmmaker named Andre Joseph and Epyx Productions. Carlo would land the role. There was no pay, just an acting credit. And, now he’s facing 5 to 10 years behind bars. All because of a movie shoot back in November.
From Pix 11:
“Our scene was a simulated car chase scene. We just drove around the neighborhood. I’m pretending I’m shooting with the recoil, with a pellet gun. I guess people in the neighborhood saw that. They call the police. We get back and we’re surrounded by cop cars!”
Carlo told the police he was an actor and it was just a film. But he had no permit for the gun.
“The producer didn’t have a permit to film. Didn’t have a permit for that gun which turned out to be a bb-gun.”
It’s important to point out that New Jersey has one of the toughest gun control laws in the country. Even a bb gun is treated like a real weapon under the Graves Act. “Now because of that I’m looking at 5 years because it’s a second degree crime. 5 to 10 years actually.”
The movie producers ended up leaving the actor hanging and refused to bail him out of jail. Carlo spent 5 days in a dirty jail cell while his girlfriend tried to find the money to get him out of jail.
“I owe money to the bail bondsman. Gotta see this guy every week. I can’t leave the state to do gigs. I can’t afford an attorney…I’m so embarrassed by this.”
