Nosortos may ground Golden Eagles
The awards, held annually in June, are a syndicated event designed to spotlight Latino achievements within the film and television industries.
Since October, the only thing Nosotros has spotlighted is the fact that its members are ripping each other apart.
"Ironically, this would have been the first year that Nosotros would have seen a profit from the Golden Eagles television show," said the show's producer, Frank Nanoia.
He noted that a Japanese conglomerate had been interested in buying media time to promote the Asian image in a Latino market.
Yet Nanoia said circulated reports of alleged financial misconduct aimed at him and at suspended president Marc Allen Trujillo have managed to scare away the new potential sponsor and nixed a six-year relationship with Pepsi.
"I was told by Pepsi that because of all the controversy, they were pulling out," Nanoia said. The company had been scheduled to buy $ 150,000 in media time.
Jaime Vasquez, the head of Pepsi's Hispanic marketing division, was reluctant to comment on the Nosotros situation other than to say that Pepsi had decided not to make the Golden Eagles one of its media buys this year.
"One reason that I can comment on is that we're skewing toward a much younger audience now," Vasquez said. "And we did not feel the Golden Eagle Awards hit that target audience."
Meanwhile, the in-fighting at Nosotros continues, as the board of directors has filed a cross-complaint in court in answer to a suit filed last December by Nanoia.
Nanoia's suit charged that the board had not abided by the org's bylaws and had defamed him. Ousted prexy Trujillo filed a similar suit at that time.
This week, those board members filed a cross-complaint that charged Nanoia with breach of written contract, accounting and fraud, among other things.
While acting president Ralph Camarillo did not return calls, the cross-complaint alleges that Nanoia has not paid Nosotros money earned from producing the Golden Eagle Awards from 1988-92. The complaint estimates those back earnings exceed $ 200,000.
According to the complaint, Nanoia was to pay the org 50% of monies earned from the production. It charges that Nanoia falsified financial records and bartered Golden Eagle air time for airline tickets to take personal trips.
Yet Nanoia has contended all along that the Golden Eagle Awards program -- which last year was taped for syndication and aired on WABC, New York, and Fox/KTTV, Los Angeles, and in 76 other markets -- has never made enough money for a profit. As part of his contract, he was to be paid $ 25,000 for producing the event, but his attorney, Stanley Patnoi, said Nanoia only received $ 21,000 last year.
Patnoi has indicated that the amount of money the board is disputing is no more than $ 4,000.
