HBO’s new documentary series Telemarketers aired its premiere episode on Max last week, kick-starting a jaw-dropping investigation that highlights decades-old examples of corruption and billion-dollar scams in the world of telemarketing. Produced by a group including the likes of Danny McBride and the Safdie brothers, the series follows telemarketers Sam Lipman-Stern and Patrick J. Pespas, who document the company they work for, its negligent employer policies, and the sham donations it asks its callers to facilitate.
In episode one, it’s revealed that Pespas is known as a “telemarketing legend,” and he quickly becomes the star of the series itself. As audiences eagerly await new episodes and the inevitable unfurling of more secrets, they might wonder what the legend himself is up to these days. In anticipation of episode two (out August 20), here’s everything we know about where Telemarketers’ Pat Pespas is now.
Who is Pat Pespas?
By the time audiences meet Pespas in Telemarketers, the 30-something salesman is already considered a legend in the field. He worked at the Civic Development Group call center long before Lipman-Stern arrived, and would lead sales meetings. We also learn that Pespas was — in the period of the 2000s when most of the archival video was shot — was a convict on probation. Some scenes show Pespas using heroin in the telemarketing office, which company higher-ups willfully ignored (among other outlandish behaviour).
Pespas’ sales record is perhaps the reason he wasn’t terminated from CDC, which is not to say he was in love with the job. Telemarketers frames Pespas as someone to root for, given that he only took on the job to support his wife, Sue. Lipman-Stern, an aspiring filmmaker, gave much of the camera time to Pespas, as the pair grew increasingly suspicious of the company’s legality. Then, CDC was shut down by the Federal Trade Commission and the pair parted ways, reuniting years later with hours of footage and an investigation to unfold.
Where is Telemarketers’ Pat Pespas now?
Episode one of Telemarketers largely covered Pespas’ life in the 2000s, so we may have to wait for more current information on the so-called “legend” in future episodes. In any case, The Cinemaholic reports that Pespas is still married to his wife Sue, and the pair currently reside in New Jersey. Pespas describes himself as a freelance journalist on his official Instagram page, with some reports that he also works as a telemarketing expert and undercover telemarketer.
In an interview with Vulture, Pespas said he is actively engaged in promoting political reform to the fundraising industry. Pespas has plans to testify before Congress, and propose a unionized, transparent telemarketing industry which offers adequate working conditions and sends money to the people who deserve it. Audiences will have to wait to see how Pespas’ story continues to unfold.