The 3-week disappearance of ‘Telemarketers' star Patrick J. Pespas

The charming everyman who starred in ‘Telemarketers,’ the most-watched HBO documentary series of the year, disappeared on September 29th, 2023. Not only did Patrick struggle with drug addiction, but he also made very powerful enemies. His disappearance caused great worries among his friends and family.

Image: Telemarketers Documentary Series Trailer/ Rotten Tomatoes TV/Youtube

In late October, Adam Bhala Lough, one of the documentary’s producers, reported that Patrick had been "found and returned safely to his wife Sue," more than three weeks after he went missing. HeBhala Lough thanked everyone for their support and said: "One day I hope to tell the whole story but for now Pat asks that everyone respects his and Sue's privacy."

Image: @AdamBhalalaLough/Twitter

How Patrick was found remains a mystery. But producer Bhala Lough crowdsourced all the help he could get from Patrick's fans and followers, some of whom helped secure viable leads.

Image: @AdamBhalalaLough/Twitter

When he took off, he left his wife Sue, who suffers from health problems, alone. Although the documentary showed he had a heart of gold, a move like this was not outside his character. However, fans did pull together to offer Sue support, as well as searching for Pat.

Image: Telemarketers Documentary Series Trailer/ Rotten Tomatoes TV/Youtube

Throughout the one-of-a-kind documentary, viewers see that Patrick has a problem with drugs, namely heroin. In the early footage from when he was working for a sketchy telemarketing company that was basically just scamming people out of money, he was seen nodding off at his desk and making sales while high on dope.

Image: Telemarketers Documentary Series Trailer/ Rotten Tomatoes TV/Youtube

At one point in the docuseries, he goes missing again. His partner Sam Lipman-Stern, was looking all over for him after he didn’t show up for an interview. Thankfully, Patrick emerged from his disappearance; he was managing his opiate addiction with methadone.

Image: Telemarketers Documentary Series Trailer/ Rotten Tomatoes TV/Youtube

The stunning HBO documentary starts with the filmmaker Sam working at a shady telemarketing operation in New Jersey alongside Patrick and other criminals and outcasts. They would phone people as if they were fundraising for the police, but most of the money just went to the telemarketing company.

Image: Telemarketers Documentary Series Trailer/ Rotten Tomatoes TV/Youtube

Patrick emerged as the main character after inspiring Sam, who was just a teenager, to start investigating what was happening. Adam started by shooting footage with his camcorder in the early 2000s, revealing wild parties and strange immoral activity at the office. The company was later closed for fraud.

Image: Telemarketers Documentary Series Trailer/ Rotten Tomatoes TV/Youtube

In the early years, Sam and Patrick teamed up to try to uncover how these telemarketing agencies could continue scamming people out of money. They started interviewing charity experts, and victims of scams, but just as they were getting into the swing of things, Pat disappeared.

Image: Telemarketers Documentary Series Trailer/ Rotten Tomatoes TV/Youtube

Years later, Sam asked his cousin-through-marriage Adam, who had some success in Hollywood, to produce the movie. Adam saw the footage and encouraged Sam to get back in touch with Pat. “Pat was such a great character. And Sam was obviously the Robin to his Batman,” Adam told the LA Times this summer.

Image: Telemarketers Documentary Series Trailer/ Rotten Tomatoes TV/Youtube

Sam soon found Patrick who had gotten straight and was dedicated to taking care of his wife Sue, who was extremely sick. Patrick enthusiastically got involved with the project again, going undercover, and interviewing high-ups around the country… hilarity and excellent journalism ensued.

Image: @AdamBhalalaLough/Twitter

Due to their investigation, the duo also started getting worried that they were being followed. Interestingly, many police unions were found to play a role in the telemarketing scam industry. Patrick fearlessly put himself out there, confronting some of the high-ups in the police unions and elsewhere about the widespread scams.

Image: Telemarketers Documentary Series Trailer/ Rotten Tomatoes TV/Youtube

While the documentary was unconventional, Patrick and Sam touched on a massive issue. In 2021, a report from Truecaller found that nearly 1 in 3 Americans said they’d fallen victim to a phone scam and estimated that Americans lost a record $29.8 billion in a year.

Image: Telemarketers Documentary Series Trailer/ Rotten Tomatoes TV/Youtube

Just weeks before his disappearance and weeks after his documentary became a huge hit, Patrick released a quick message thanking his fans. “I wanna let you know that there has been movement in Washington on the issue, and that wouldn’t have been possible without you. So thank you and keep the faith!”

Image: @AdamBhalalaLough/Twitter

When Patrick returned from his nearly month-long dissapearance, Sam also thanked everyone when he was found safe and sound. “Thank you so much to everyone who has shared supportive messages, helped Sue with her medical bills and her GoFundMe, posted flyers around, shared our posts and prayed for Pats safe return… He wants everyone to know that he’s ok.”

Image: @AdamBhalalaLough/Twitter

Adam said Officer John Hulse, who, in the documentary, said “regulating telemarketers is like regulating Somalian pirates, it just can’t be done,” showed exceptional dedication to the search for Patrick. He drove around New Jersey going door-to-door in hopes of gathering any useful information. While the duo made enemies, they made a lot more friends and fans.

Image: Telemarketers Documentary Series Trailer/ Rotten Tomatoes TV/Youtube