/raises hand
It’s completely lost on you, that what you have described right there in the body of your text is in fact Civil Conspiracy, and unlawful highly illegal collusion between separate and competing businesses. And all around the concept of “we’ve heard stories”. See Shane, the Cons are businesses. As businesses they aren’t allowed to discuss this sort of thing with each other behind the scenes. Blacklisting across competing busineses is not just actionable it’s “pound me in the ass Federal Prison” type illegal. Your story, as described, if accurate, is enough for Vic or rather his attorneys to start filing FTC complaints. This is why businesses do not ever discuss employment or contractor matters with each other beyond verification of employment. You would think a skilled and experienced manager who knows all about contracts like you would know this.
See the entire heart of your story, the very center of it, is a Federal crime. And Vic isn’t the criminal.