⏩ Attorney for Jennifer Dulos’ mother questions Troconis for 45 minutes.
WEST HARTFORD — In a quest to investigate the finances of Fotis Dulos, his motherinlaw’s attorney questioned Michelle Troconis on Wednesday about what she knows about the Fore Group’s business dealings.
The deposition lasted 45 minutes at attorney Richard Weinstein’s West Hartford office.
Weinstein is representing Jennifer Dulos’ mother, Gloria Farber, who is suing her soninlaw for $2.5 million in unpaid loans her family made to his real estate development company. Attorney William Murray, who is representing Fotis Dulos in the lawsuits, contends the money was a gift and there were no promissory notes.
In a memo posted on his office door, Weinstein said he would not comment on the deposition, which was not open to the media.
“While I certainly respect the press and their job to ascertain information in regard to the Jennifer Dulos matter and the desire of the public to be informed, I will have no comment in regard to Ms. Troconis’ deposition,” Weinstein wrote in the statement.
Fotis Dulos and Troconis have each been charged with two counts of tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution in the May 24 disappearance of Jennifer Dulos.
Troconis’ attorney Andrew Bowman tried to quash a subpoena to prevent his client from being deposed in the lawsuit on the grounds she could potentially incriminate herself in the criminal charges.
Bowman claimed the subpoena was “an attempt to gain testimony from the deponent Troconis” and Weinstein would “surely seek to turn this discovery over to the state’s attorney who is prosecuting Michelle Troconis.”
A judge ordered Troconis to appear at the deposition after Weinstein filed court papers indicating he would not ask about the criminal case or the disappearance of Jennifer Dulos.
Bowman wrote in his objection that his client would assert her Fifth Amendment right against selfincrimination, which should quash a subpoena ordering her to testify.
However, Weinstein disagreed in his response and said Troconis could invoke her Fifth Amendment rights when asked specific questions.
“The motion to quash is not legally proper, in that the deponent can invoke her Fifth Amendment rights as to questions posed,” Weinstein wrote.
Weinstein contends in court filings that Troconis was listed as an employee of the Fore Group and may have information on the business’ finances.
“The plaintiff (Farber) seeks the deposition of Michelle Troconis not in regard to the allegations set forth in the criminal case against her, or the circumstances surrounding the disappearance and potential harm to Jennifer Farber Dulos, but rather concerning the outstanding claims against the defendants, her role at the Fore Group, her knowledge and involvement in regard to expenses paid for by the Fore Group or reimbursed to the defendant (Fotis) Dulos from the Fore Group, none of which implicate the present criminal charge(s) pending against the deponent,” Weinstein wrote in a motion seeking her deposition.
Farber is also foreclosing on the Farmington home where Troconis and her daughter lived with Fotis Dulos until her June arrest.
As a defendant in the lawsuits, Fotis Dulos had a legal right to attend the deposition. However, Superior Court Judge John Blawie, who is overseeing the criminal cases against Fotis Dulos and Troconis, has banned them from having any contact with each other.
Blawie told Fotis Dulos during a court appearance Monday about issues with his electronic monitoring device that he could not attend the deposition, but could view it by closedcircuit television.
Fotis Dulos’ attorney, William Murray, has indicated in court filings that Weinstein’s allegations of financial wrongdoing have torpedoed the Fore Group, leaving Fotis Dulos without a stable source of income.
Farber filed the lawsuits against Fotis Dulos and his company in 2018 as her daughter was embroiled in a prolonged divorce.
Fotis Dulos and Troconis were arrested on tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution charges about a week after Jennifer Dulos disappeared. New Canaan police said in arrest warrants that two people resembling Fotis Dulos and Troconis were caught on video in Hartford the night of the disappearance. Fotis Dulos was also seen dumping bags that were later found to contain his wife’s blood and clothing, according to arrest warrants.
Police said Jennifer Dulos was the victim of a “serious physical assault” based on blood evidence found in the garage of her New Canaan home.
New arrest warrants released this month provided a detailed timeline tracing Fotis Dulos’ movements the morning of the disappearance.
According to the warrants, police believe Fotis Dulos was “lying in wait” when Jennifer Dulos arrived home from dropping off their children at school around 8:05 a.m. that morning.
Police said Fotis Dulos used a former employee’s pickup truck to drive to and from New Canaan that day. Police said he then urged the employee to swap out the seats of the truck and had the vehicle washed and detailed several days after the disappearance.
The employee eventually removed the seats, but turned them over to investigators who found Jennifer Dulos’ blood on one of them, the arrest warrants state.
Fotis Dulos is free after posting two $500,000 bonds, but he has been banned from contacting his children, who have been in the care of Farber since the disappearance. Farber, 84, has been granted the right to intervene in the Dulos divorce and is seeking permanent custody of the children.
Weinstein has said Fotis Dulos has not paid child support since his wife filed for divorce in 2017 and is attempting to hide assets, which eventually would be part of the children’s inheritance from the Farber family.