A Superior Court judge has ruled Michelle Troconis must answer 18 questions in a deposition in a civil lawsuit involving her ex-boyfriend Fotis Dulos, who along with Troconis has been charged in connection with the May disappearance of Dulos’ estranged wife Jennifer Farber Dulos.
Tronconis was deposed by attorney Richard Weinstein in September and pleaded the Fifth Amendment to all but two questions — her name and where she was living at the time. Her lawyer, Andrew Bowman, ordered Troconis to assert her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination because of the “continuing investigation” into Farber Dulos’ disappearance "which may or may not result in a homicide charge or in a conspiracy charge.”
“Ms. Troconis is in the very difficult position of not only being charged with certain serious crimes but also runs a risk that she could be charged with additional crimes as a result of law enforcement’s continuing investigation,” Bowman wrote. “Even acknowledging knowing Fotis Dulos is incriminating.”
Many of them are mundane such as whether or not she has a U.S. passport or is a citizen of Argentina. But some relate to whether she observed Dulos doing business in several locales. The judge has compelled her to answer questions about who Dulos may have met with when he visited her in Miami Beach, Florida or in Vail, Colorado.
Noble is allowing Troconis to assert the Fifth Amendment to any questions about her relationship with Dulos, any knowledge she may have of The Fore Group’s finances and whether she has any information on how Dulos is paying for the litany of attorneys representing him in criminal, civil, family and probate court. Noble also said she doesn’t have to answer questions about her time living on Jefferson Court in Farmington with Dulos.
Troconis is not on Weinstein’s witness list for the civil trial that begins Tuesday and is expected to last two or three days. She could still be called as a rebuttal witness if, as expected, Dulos takes the stand and testifies on his own behalf.
After she invoked Fifth Amendment, judge orders Michelle Troconis to answer 18 questions in civil lawsuit involving Fotis Dulos