1 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:09,280 In this episode of American Greed, Pam Phillips and Gary Triano, their charmed 2 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:11,360 life makes others green with envy. 3 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:17,220 The public saw them as a power couple. They saw her as beautiful, they saw him 4 00:00:17,220 --> 00:00:18,220 as charismatic. 5 00:00:18,700 --> 00:00:20,500 He's a mega -millionaire developer. 6 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:25,540 She's a socialite. But don't envy them, because the money isn't his. 7 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:28,660 He owed a lot of people a lot of money and declared bankruptcy. 8 00:00:28,940 --> 00:00:30,880 So Gary had a lot of enemies. 9 00:00:31,340 --> 00:00:35,740 And when greed takes hold of their marriage, is there anything they won't 10 00:00:35,740 --> 00:00:40,240 money? I am very serious about this. You're going to be very serious when you 11 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:42,080 send in a woman's prison for murder. 12 00:00:59,850 --> 00:01:05,349 In Tucson, Arizona, it seems like every swing of the hammer or pull of the slot 13 00:01:05,349 --> 00:01:08,990 machine lever has something to do with Gary Triano. 14 00:01:09,810 --> 00:01:15,970 Triano is a developer and bingo hall pioneer back in Tucson's go -go days of 15 00:01:15,970 --> 00:01:17,070 1980s. 16 00:01:18,430 --> 00:01:22,310 Rusty Sands is Triano's good friend and former partner. 17 00:01:22,550 --> 00:01:27,270 At that time, he was very, very, very successful. He was one of the 18 00:01:27,270 --> 00:01:28,270 of bingo. 19 00:01:28,830 --> 00:01:29,950 on Indian reservations. 20 00:01:30,450 --> 00:01:31,450 Bingo! 21 00:01:31,850 --> 00:01:34,950 They started making a lot, a lot of money every month. 22 00:01:36,150 --> 00:01:41,150 Triano is well known around Tucson for his wealth and his larger -than -life 23 00:01:41,150 --> 00:01:42,150 personality. 24 00:01:42,370 --> 00:01:47,170 Very self -assured, very flamboyant, liked the center of attention, but could 25 00:01:47,170 --> 00:01:48,390 typically back it up. 26 00:01:48,730 --> 00:01:50,470 Yeah, he was a lot of fun to be around. 27 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:53,840 In 1985, 28 00:01:54,540 --> 00:01:59,620 Triano catches the eye of a local real estate agent named Pamela Phillips, who 29 00:01:59,620 --> 00:02:01,740 was newly divorced from her first husband. 30 00:02:03,140 --> 00:02:08,660 Pam socializes with Gary at parties thrown by him and his wife, and they 31 00:02:08,660 --> 00:02:09,660 friends. 32 00:02:09,820 --> 00:02:13,620 Well, she was a sexy lady, and she made herself available. 33 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:16,300 I believe Gary was very smitten. 34 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:21,000 Soon, the married Triano becomes enamored with Phillips. 35 00:02:21,500 --> 00:02:23,200 and the two begin an affair. 36 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:28,820 Within months, Triano files for divorce from his first wife, with whom he has 37 00:02:28,820 --> 00:02:29,820 two children. 38 00:02:31,180 --> 00:02:36,440 Less than a year after ending his first marriage, Gary and Pam marry on a yacht 39 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:37,440 in San Diego. 40 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:44,020 It was a fantastic wedding. It was a black -tie type of wedding, and 41 00:02:44,020 --> 00:02:47,740 and anything you wanted to drink was flowing. It was a beautiful, beautiful 42 00:02:47,740 --> 00:02:48,740 wedding. 43 00:02:48,940 --> 00:02:51,600 The adoring couple seems to have it all. 44 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:55,020 Love, happiness, and lots of money. 45 00:02:55,800 --> 00:03:00,900 No one could imagine, then, how it would all go so wrong within a few years. 46 00:03:01,180 --> 00:03:04,540 As it turned out, I guess it was the biggest mistake he ever made in his 47 00:03:07,980 --> 00:03:11,720 But during the good years, Gary and Pam live in high style. 48 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:17,220 They have two children together and purchase a home in Tucson's affluent 49 00:03:17,220 --> 00:03:18,220 Country Club. 50 00:03:18,350 --> 00:03:20,610 where they host their wealthy and famous friend. 51 00:03:21,630 --> 00:03:26,370 Carrie Drobin is an author and criminal defense attorney who spent a year 52 00:03:26,370 --> 00:03:30,450 researching the couple for her book, A Socialite Scorned. 53 00:03:30,670 --> 00:03:33,350 They ran around with the likes of Donald Trump. 54 00:03:33,570 --> 00:03:38,370 They would go to their estate in Mar -a -Lago. They had two Jaguars. They lived 55 00:03:38,370 --> 00:03:42,790 in this beautiful house. They thought nothing of jet -setting off to, you 56 00:03:42,790 --> 00:03:44,910 some exotic locale for the weekend. 57 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:51,440 That was the lifestyle that they created and wanted people to see them as. 58 00:03:55,480 --> 00:04:01,200 Then, in the late 1980s, Tucson's economic tide begins to turn, and Gary 59 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:03,740 Triano's fortune starts washing away. 60 00:04:05,060 --> 00:04:07,560 First, the real estate market crashes. 61 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:13,680 Triano is highly leveraged, so when real estate values drop, he owes more than 62 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:14,680 he's worth. 63 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:18,640 So Triano turns toward heavier investment in gaming. 64 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:24,560 As the management company for tribal bingo halls, Triano skims a percentage 65 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:25,580 all receipts. 66 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:32,040 But in the early 90s, Arizona's Indian gaming laws change so that Native 67 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:36,280 American tribes can retain all the income from gaming on their 68 00:04:36,940 --> 00:04:41,280 Gary lost the contract with the Indians. They went into their own casino. 69 00:04:41,540 --> 00:04:42,660 He got cut out of that. 70 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:45,660 So he therefore lost a lot of money at that time. 71 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:52,420 His income plummets 93 % in one year, and it only goes downhill from there. 72 00:04:53,940 --> 00:04:55,800 He owed a lot of people a lot of money. 73 00:04:56,500 --> 00:04:59,100 Some of those people were very bad people. 74 00:04:59,700 --> 00:05:05,180 He owed money to a group of northern Mexican investors to tune to $2 .6 75 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:09,000 Their attorney had told him, if you file bankruptcy, these people will kill you. 76 00:05:10,220 --> 00:05:15,840 Despite the warning, he goes ahead and files for bankruptcy in 1994 with an 77 00:05:15,840 --> 00:05:18,240 estimated $26 million in debt. 78 00:05:20,220 --> 00:05:24,760 Meanwhile, his wife Pam, who was a very successful real estate agent in her own 79 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:28,220 right, doesn't know the extent of Gary's troubles. 80 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:33,420 In fact, what is really striking about it is Pam comes into this marriage with 81 00:05:33,420 --> 00:05:34,420 $2 million. 82 00:05:34,650 --> 00:05:38,990 They visit a bankruptcy attorney together, and she has probably this cold 83 00:05:38,990 --> 00:05:43,130 dawning when she's sitting in the office realizing, oh, my God, what have I 84 00:05:43,130 --> 00:05:49,270 done? She discovers at that time that Gary is nothing that the public 85 00:05:49,270 --> 00:05:51,830 him to be. He has 74 pending lawsuits. 86 00:05:52,190 --> 00:05:55,030 He owes his attorney $97 ,000. 87 00:05:55,330 --> 00:05:58,070 He owes his former wife $1 .8 million. 88 00:05:58,850 --> 00:06:02,910 He is indebted to everyone with no means of paying anything back. 89 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:07,160 So all of a sudden, she's plummeted into this world that she never wanted. 90 00:06:08,340 --> 00:06:12,800 Once she learns just how much debt her once high -rolling husband has gotten 91 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:13,800 himself into, 92 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:16,280 Pam Phillips files for divorce. 93 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:19,480 And in a little over a month, it's finalized. 94 00:06:19,860 --> 00:06:21,700 Pam is awarded the house. 95 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:27,480 But things get even worse between the former golden couple when Pam decides to 96 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:29,440 leave town with their two children. 97 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:31,580 She sold the house. 98 00:06:31,980 --> 00:06:34,560 and recouped the proceeds. It was about $300 ,000. 99 00:06:35,380 --> 00:06:40,020 She did that while Gary was off on a weekend jaunt with someone else. 100 00:06:40,260 --> 00:06:44,820 So it was sort of a stick it to you, I'm going to take what's mine, what she 101 00:06:44,820 --> 00:06:48,580 felt she was entitled to, and she fled to Aspen. 102 00:06:50,580 --> 00:06:54,900 Gary Triano is alone in Tucson with a mountain of debt. 103 00:07:06,030 --> 00:07:11,710 On the afternoon of November 1st, 1996, Gary plays golf at his favorite course, 104 00:07:12,050 --> 00:07:13,550 La Paloma Country Club. 105 00:07:14,070 --> 00:07:18,730 Though he shoots well, it may be his last time playing here. 106 00:07:19,830 --> 00:07:24,410 He owes the club months of past dues, and they want him out. 107 00:07:26,490 --> 00:07:31,630 It's been quite a fall, but his problems will soon be over. 108 00:08:07,210 --> 00:08:13,230 On the last day of his life, Gary Triano golfs his favorite course at La Paloma 109 00:08:13,230 --> 00:08:14,710 Country Club in Tucson. 110 00:08:17,350 --> 00:08:21,390 Gary Triano was a creature of habit, and that was sort of his trademark. 111 00:08:21,690 --> 00:08:27,330 He golfed a certain day of the week at a certain time and with a certain 112 00:08:27,330 --> 00:08:28,330 partner. 113 00:08:30,270 --> 00:08:32,150 Triano plays 18 holes. 114 00:08:32,429 --> 00:08:34,630 Then he makes the walk to his parking spot. 115 00:08:35,210 --> 00:08:37,330 As he's done so many times before. 116 00:08:38,350 --> 00:08:40,830 Only this time, there is someone watching. 117 00:08:41,850 --> 00:08:43,210 And lying in wait. 118 00:08:44,370 --> 00:08:47,870 Someone who has placed a blue bag on Gary's passenger seat. 119 00:08:59,870 --> 00:09:03,010 Authorities believe Gary reaches over to pick up the bag. 120 00:09:03,980 --> 00:09:06,160 It's the last move he ever made. 121 00:09:14,660 --> 00:09:20,020 Gary Triano, just shy of his 53rd birthday, is killed instantly. 122 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:25,300 His watch permanently stopped at 5 .38 p .m. 123 00:09:28,980 --> 00:09:31,180 There were light flashing. 124 00:09:31,930 --> 00:09:33,290 emergency vehicles everywhere. 125 00:09:33,790 --> 00:09:40,330 It was surreal that something of this magnitude could happen in Tucson 126 00:09:40,330 --> 00:09:45,710 and in one of the most prestigious sides of town. 127 00:09:47,610 --> 00:09:52,510 Pima County Sheriff's Detective James Gamber arrives on the scene and begins 128 00:09:52,510 --> 00:09:54,370 collecting evidence from the debris. 129 00:09:54,850 --> 00:09:59,930 A roof had been torn off of it. It was riddled with holes from shrapnel. 130 00:10:00,410 --> 00:10:04,830 Door panels were blown out. The rear window and the windshield were blown 131 00:10:04,970 --> 00:10:09,490 In fact, we recovered the windshield in a swimming pool about 70 feet away that 132 00:10:09,490 --> 00:10:12,330 had to travel over trees that were like 20 feet tall. 133 00:10:13,350 --> 00:10:18,710 The bomb squad determined that the explosive device was a simple, if 134 00:10:18,750 --> 00:10:23,990 one. It was a pipe bomb that was initiated by a remote control. 135 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:29,880 We know that the remote control had to be within a quarter of a mile. 136 00:10:31,220 --> 00:10:35,380 There is no shortage of rumors floating through town about who could be 137 00:10:35,380 --> 00:10:36,380 responsible. 138 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:42,340 NBC affiliate KVOA's crime reporter Lupita Murillo covers the case. 139 00:10:42,780 --> 00:10:47,340 During the initial investigation, everybody was saying it was a mob hit. 140 00:10:47,340 --> 00:10:48,340 a mob hit. 141 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:51,360 Gary Triano didn't borrow from banks. 142 00:10:51,660 --> 00:10:53,520 He owed money to individuals. 143 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:56,220 some with questionable reputations. 144 00:10:56,600 --> 00:11:01,440 What's more, given his background in the gaming industry and the gangland style 145 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:05,840 of the murder, police naturally think of organized crime. 146 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:09,360 We, at this point, don't have any specific suspects. 147 00:11:09,860 --> 00:11:15,780 We have a lot of circumstances surrounding his personal relationships 148 00:11:15,780 --> 00:11:20,560 of his business dealings that I think would lead any reasonable... 149 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:26,720 police officer to conclude that people might have motives for murder. He was in 150 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:29,660 desperate, desperate financial circumstances personally. 151 00:11:30,680 --> 00:11:33,020 Police also looked closer to home. 152 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:38,740 Detective Keith St. John interviewed Gary's ex -wife, Pam Phillips, now 153 00:11:38,740 --> 00:11:43,440 with their two children in Aspen, Colorado, and struggling to get back on 154 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:45,880 feet. Pam was strikingly attractive. 155 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:48,880 She came across as self -assured. 156 00:11:49,100 --> 00:11:53,860 Obviously, she was used to money, but she also was cooperative. She sat down 157 00:11:53,860 --> 00:11:55,920 with me on three separate occasions and talked. 158 00:11:56,620 --> 00:12:02,060 Pam Phillips is the beneficiary of a $2 million life insurance policy on Gary. 159 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:06,220 And two months after Gary's death, she receives the money. 160 00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:10,080 In my mind, there wasn't enough evidence to say she's a suspect. 161 00:12:12,330 --> 00:12:18,110 After about eight months, the Gary Triano murder case goes cold and stays 162 00:12:18,110 --> 00:12:19,710 way for nearly ten years. 163 00:12:22,130 --> 00:12:27,050 Next on American Greed, a new connection leads to a new suspect. 164 00:12:27,430 --> 00:12:30,610 He's got all this paperwork between Gary and Pam. 165 00:12:30,910 --> 00:12:32,950 He's got to have something to do with this. 166 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:51,780 In the Gary Triano murder case, the trail is cold. 167 00:12:53,540 --> 00:12:57,220 But Tucson police will discover a fresh lead. 168 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:02,480 It's in 1994, two years before the murder. 169 00:13:14,670 --> 00:13:19,670 The newly divorced Pam Phillips moves with her two children to Aspen, 170 00:13:20,750 --> 00:13:26,210 Living on the $300 ,000 in proceeds from the sale of her Tucson home, she sets 171 00:13:26,210 --> 00:13:31,030 about making a name for herself in a new town away from her ex -husband. 172 00:13:31,450 --> 00:13:37,250 She moved to a very affluent neighborhood in Aspen and needed to find 173 00:13:37,250 --> 00:13:38,229 make ends meet. 174 00:13:38,230 --> 00:13:41,950 And she did that again by relying on friends. 175 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:46,280 and making her alliances with wealthy people, because she certainly didn't 176 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:47,620 down when she moved to Aspen. 177 00:13:48,260 --> 00:13:54,160 But establishing herself as a realtor in Aspen is harder than she expects, and 178 00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:56,180 her lifestyle exceeds her means. 179 00:13:56,720 --> 00:14:03,320 Her passion lies with a startup business she creates called StarBabies .com, a 180 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:07,600 website that she claims will predict the futures of newborns. 181 00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:13,320 Pam believes the fledgling company could grow to be worth millions, but she 182 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:14,520 can't do it on her own. 183 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:19,680 And that's when she enlists the help of her neighbor, a self -described business 184 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:22,140 consultant named Ron Young. 185 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:28,380 He was a very bright individual, and he had become close to Pam Phillips in 186 00:14:28,380 --> 00:14:35,280 Aspen. And Ron Young began to become involved in Pam Phillips' financial life 187 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:36,280 a great extent. 188 00:14:36,940 --> 00:14:41,760 The two also begin a romantic relationship, even though Ron Young is 189 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:44,180 sort of man Pam usually goes after. 190 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:49,600 He was unsophisticated, not attractive, not wealthy. 191 00:14:50,020 --> 00:14:54,880 He couldn't take her to the locales that he was used to. 192 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:58,740 But Pam is clearly getting something out of the deal. 193 00:14:58,980 --> 00:15:03,160 In addition to business help, she leans on Ron when it comes to her troubled 194 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:04,740 relationship with her ex. 195 00:15:05,290 --> 00:15:09,630 She complained incessantly about Gary. She complained that he didn't pay her 196 00:15:09,630 --> 00:15:11,770 enough in child support or in spousal maintenance. 197 00:15:12,170 --> 00:15:18,410 And he considered himself a problem solver, a fixer. And so he would come up 198 00:15:18,410 --> 00:15:21,790 with ways where she could solve the problem, the Gary problem. 199 00:15:22,450 --> 00:15:25,610 He actually called it the 800 -pound gorilla problem. 200 00:15:27,730 --> 00:15:31,570 Yet by April 1996, things turned sour. 201 00:15:32,810 --> 00:15:37,410 After two of Ron Young's other business clients report him for fraud, Pam 202 00:15:37,410 --> 00:15:42,450 Phillips follows suit, reporting to police that Ron Young is also ripping 203 00:15:42,450 --> 00:15:44,330 off in her Star Baby's business. 204 00:15:45,770 --> 00:15:51,010 James Crowley, a detective for the Aspen police, tries to locate Ron Young. 205 00:15:51,450 --> 00:15:52,750 He was already gone. 206 00:15:53,370 --> 00:15:58,850 He rented a van at the Aspen airport, and that was the last we heard of him. 207 00:16:00,430 --> 00:16:04,710 In his absence, Young is charged with two counts of theft and two counts of 208 00:16:04,710 --> 00:16:07,490 forgery, and a warrant is issued for his arrest. 209 00:16:10,490 --> 00:16:14,450 Two months later, Crowley gets a call from Yorba Linda, California. 210 00:16:15,410 --> 00:16:20,290 Ron Young's rented van has been found, parked near his parents' home. 211 00:16:20,750 --> 00:16:25,710 Yorba Linda contacted me and said that Ron had been at the impound yard trying 212 00:16:25,710 --> 00:16:29,250 to recover the van, and when he was told that the police were on the way, he 213 00:16:29,250 --> 00:16:31,420 left. and left the van behind. 214 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:36,020 Crowley flies to Yorba Linda to inspect the van. 215 00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:39,720 Inside, he finds some interesting documents. 216 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:45,820 Their work, business documents from Star Babies, divorce paperwork between Gary 217 00:16:45,820 --> 00:16:50,900 Triano and Pamela Phelps. There are also maps of Tucson, hotel receipts from 218 00:16:50,900 --> 00:16:55,280 Tucson, and still an Arizona license plate and a shotgun inside. 219 00:16:56,780 --> 00:16:59,300 Crowley isn't sure what to make of the evidence. 220 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:04,740 Until two weeks later, when he hears about a car bombing murder in Tucson, 221 00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:06,040 Arizona. 222 00:17:06,300 --> 00:17:10,180 I come into work the morning after the car bombing, and it's on the front page 223 00:17:10,180 --> 00:17:11,180 of the newspaper. 224 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:13,500 And it didn't hit me quite at first. 225 00:17:14,140 --> 00:17:18,920 So I'm like, Gary Triano, Gary Triano. And it's like, oh my God. 226 00:17:20,900 --> 00:17:24,920 It's got to have something to do with it. I mean, between the map of Tucson, 227 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:27,220 guy's got a taser in the car, he's got a shotgun in the car. 228 00:17:27,710 --> 00:17:30,570 He's got all of this paperwork between Gary and Pam. 229 00:17:30,870 --> 00:17:32,990 I mean, he's got to have something to do with this. 230 00:17:33,330 --> 00:17:38,710 So Crowley then calls us, which makes the connection for us. 231 00:17:39,190 --> 00:17:44,730 Then when we question Pam, she minimizes Ron Young and says, oh, no, he's just a 232 00:17:44,730 --> 00:17:46,610 guy that did a little financial work for me. 233 00:17:47,030 --> 00:17:52,890 And then later on, what we find based on the hotel receipt is that Ron Young was 234 00:17:52,890 --> 00:17:55,810 in Tucson in June and July for about 18 days. 235 00:17:57,070 --> 00:18:01,370 While police cannot place Young in Tucson in November when the murder 236 00:18:01,670 --> 00:18:07,130 they want to know what he was doing there in the months prior, especially 237 00:18:07,130 --> 00:18:12,390 he has no ties to Tucson and no apparent law -abiding reason to be there. But 238 00:18:12,390 --> 00:18:16,610 detectives can't ask him these questions because he's nowhere to be found. 239 00:18:17,010 --> 00:18:23,190 We were depending on the fugitive warrant from Aspen for that to lead to 240 00:18:23,190 --> 00:18:24,570 arrest so we could confront him. 241 00:18:32,370 --> 00:18:37,750 Meanwhile, Pam Phillips collects a payout from Gary's life insurance 242 00:18:37,750 --> 00:18:38,750 million. 243 00:18:39,910 --> 00:18:44,770 If Pam has been building a castle in the sky, $2 million allows her to put a 244 00:18:44,770 --> 00:18:46,190 foundation under it. 245 00:18:46,490 --> 00:18:50,770 She bought a house in Meadowood, which is a subdivision just outside of town, 246 00:18:50,910 --> 00:18:56,290 remodeled the house, and started living the lifestyle that she was accustomed 247 00:18:56,290 --> 00:18:57,290 to. 248 00:18:58,220 --> 00:19:01,780 She went to lots of social engagements at night. 249 00:19:01,980 --> 00:19:04,800 She was skiing a lot. 250 00:19:05,020 --> 00:19:10,440 She was known as a real social jet -setter, moving in circles with very 251 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:11,440 people. 252 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:18,820 For ten years, Phillips lived a good life in Aspen, while Ron Young stays out 253 00:19:18,820 --> 00:19:19,820 of sight. 254 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:26,740 Next, police finally track down Ron Young. 255 00:19:27,690 --> 00:19:29,890 And his own words come back to bite him. 256 00:19:30,490 --> 00:19:31,870 You're going to be really sad. 257 00:19:32,190 --> 00:19:33,210 I'm going to be back at work. 258 00:19:33,430 --> 00:19:35,070 No, you're going to be in prison for murder. 259 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:59,420 In 2005, Pima County, Arizona, Sheriff's Detective James Gamber is assigned to 260 00:19:59,420 --> 00:20:01,820 work the department's unsolved murder cases. 261 00:20:03,080 --> 00:20:08,560 One of the most infamous is the 1996 car bombing of Gary Triano. 262 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:15,960 Nine years later, Gamber digs the massive case file out of storage. 263 00:20:16,360 --> 00:20:19,320 So this is the paper case file of the Triano case. 264 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:22,860 It contains about 300 ,000 pages of paperwork. 265 00:20:23,220 --> 00:20:25,300 As you can tell, it's endless files. 266 00:20:25,740 --> 00:20:28,720 This isn't Gamber's first shot at the Triano case. 267 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:31,280 He also worked the original investigation. 268 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:37,300 Well, we eliminated all the suspects that Gary's friends, families, and even 269 00:20:37,300 --> 00:20:38,900 enemies gave us. 270 00:20:39,260 --> 00:20:43,880 There was but one suspect that Gamber feels he wasn't able to eliminate. 271 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:45,720 Ron Young. 272 00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:51,300 Colorado businessman and one -time boyfriend of Gary's ex -wife, Pam 273 00:20:51,620 --> 00:20:54,120 who has been a fugitive for nine years. 274 00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:59,220 What we were left with was the one anomaly, and that was Ron Young. All the 275 00:20:59,220 --> 00:21:04,480 details that we found in Ron Young's van, and then Pam's denial or 276 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:05,840 of their relationship. 277 00:21:06,220 --> 00:21:07,940 But Ron was on the run. 278 00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:10,280 He had the fraud charges out of Aspen. 279 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:11,860 We couldn't find him. 280 00:21:12,300 --> 00:21:14,700 So until we found him... 281 00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:16,760 We were stuck. 282 00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:23,080 Gamber and an ATF colleague reach out to America's Most Wanted and convince the 283 00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:25,180 show to do a story on Ron Young. 284 00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:28,580 It airs on November 19, 2005. 285 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:34,720 Ron Young's chiropractor recognized him, knew he had a standing appointment, so 286 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:36,560 he called in to America's Most Wanted. 287 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:40,840 When Young shows up for his adjustment at the Pompano Beach, Florida, 288 00:21:40,900 --> 00:21:44,860 chiropractor's office, police are waiting to take him down. 289 00:21:56,680 --> 00:22:02,800 And the goal was to put him into custody on the Colorado fraud charges and for 290 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:05,060 us to talk to him about the Gary Triano murder. 291 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:11,580 Young denies any involvement in Triano's murder, and he gives police consent to 292 00:22:11,580 --> 00:22:13,980 search his home, car, and storage locker. 293 00:22:14,620 --> 00:22:17,640 where they find an unexpected trove of evidence. 294 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:24,060 They found about four large boxes worth of evidence, a lot of paper records, a 295 00:22:24,060 --> 00:22:26,260 computer, and some microcassettes. 296 00:22:26,540 --> 00:22:32,520 We put one of those microcassettes into a recorder, and there's Ron Young 297 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:33,600 talking to Pam Phillips. 298 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:35,500 Hello. Hi. 299 00:22:35,820 --> 00:22:40,580 Hi. I'm at Walmart, shopping like a madwoman. 300 00:22:41,690 --> 00:22:47,310 to get back to the kids who are swimming on their own with a bunch of fat, gross 301 00:22:47,310 --> 00:22:49,970 bodies down at the Glenwood Springs pool. 302 00:22:51,350 --> 00:22:52,510 Nice place, huh? 303 00:22:52,710 --> 00:22:53,710 Oh, geez. 304 00:22:55,670 --> 00:22:58,130 And it's not just one conversation. 305 00:22:58,930 --> 00:23:04,450 Police find recordings of 500 calls and 100 e -mails between Young and Phillips 306 00:23:04,450 --> 00:23:05,770 spanning eight years. 307 00:23:06,650 --> 00:23:09,990 The topics are wide -ranging, but mainly... 308 00:23:10,360 --> 00:23:11,560 They talk about money. 309 00:23:12,140 --> 00:23:16,820 I just, you know, with you, I want to help you out. I just want to be at our 310 00:23:16,820 --> 00:23:22,600 original agreement, and I will honor that, and I will try to get you as much 311 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:24,060 as quick as I possibly can. 312 00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:28,920 It seems that Pam Phillips is making regular cash payments to her former 313 00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:29,920 boyfriend. 314 00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:33,380 Pam sends Ron the money via FedEx. 315 00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:36,060 She even gives him the tracking numbers. 316 00:23:38,350 --> 00:23:40,790 Let's see. I have a number for you. I'm sending it to FedEx. 317 00:23:41,050 --> 00:23:44,790 It's 8127. I mailed something. 318 00:23:45,030 --> 00:23:49,710 Let's see. I put it in the box. It is 80713864. 319 00:23:49,990 --> 00:23:51,890 And I did it, you know, priority overnight. 320 00:23:52,450 --> 00:23:58,950 Ron Young records it all on audio tape and on spreadsheets. 321 00:23:59,210 --> 00:24:04,810 I mailed you something, but it takes care of January, February, and all of 322 00:24:04,810 --> 00:24:05,739 March. 323 00:24:05,740 --> 00:24:12,000 For as smart as Ron Young was alleged to have been, he kept an enormous amount 324 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:15,940 of material that ultimately led to his downfall. 325 00:24:16,660 --> 00:24:22,040 This surreptitious transfer of money directed at Ron's direction went on for 326 00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:25,560 about 10 years, and we were able to prove 44 transactions. 327 00:24:27,630 --> 00:24:31,510 When people get greedy, it's good for police and prosecutors because they 328 00:24:31,510 --> 00:24:34,350 to turn on each other in these phone conversations. 329 00:24:34,890 --> 00:24:39,950 Well, I don't want too long money for somebody for most of a decade. 330 00:24:40,230 --> 00:24:42,170 Look, can I finish it? Can I finish a sentence? 331 00:24:42,910 --> 00:24:45,050 Can I finish a sentence? 332 00:24:45,430 --> 00:24:47,030 Can I finish a sentence? 333 00:24:47,710 --> 00:24:49,750 Can I finish a sentence? 334 00:24:50,150 --> 00:24:51,890 Will you allow me to finish a sentence? 335 00:24:52,130 --> 00:24:56,510 At one point in their relationship, Pam begins to fall behind in payments. 336 00:24:57,160 --> 00:24:58,600 which angers Ron Young. 337 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:02,960 In 338 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:17,260 some 339 00:25:17,260 --> 00:25:23,760 exchanges, the amount of money they discuss equals the life insurance policy 340 00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:25,960 Pam collected after Gary's death. 341 00:25:26,620 --> 00:25:28,020 Two million dollars. 342 00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:30,580 He goes, you got your 1 .6. 343 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:32,340 I want my four. 344 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:34,640 Well, that conveniently adds up to two million. 345 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:40,480 But this conversation postdates the murder. It's way after the murder, which 346 00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:43,120 me says there was a prearrangement. 347 00:25:43,700 --> 00:25:48,460 In other words, you kill Gary, I'll get two million dollars and I'll give you 348 00:25:48,460 --> 00:25:51,300 400 ,000. Right now, I want to know. 349 00:25:51,850 --> 00:25:55,390 And I'm going to go figure out what it is, and I'm going to try to figure out 350 00:25:55,390 --> 00:25:56,390 how to get it to you. 351 00:25:56,810 --> 00:26:01,350 But right now, I want to know that we are capping it at four. I don't want 352 00:26:01,350 --> 00:26:04,330 nebulous thing out there that we're supposedly supposed to do. It's not 353 00:26:04,330 --> 00:26:09,910 nebulous. I don't want you to pass your agreement. I am very serious about this. 354 00:26:10,770 --> 00:26:14,570 Well, I tell you, you're going to be very serious when you sit in a women's 355 00:26:14,570 --> 00:26:15,810 prison for murdering. 356 00:26:16,280 --> 00:26:22,400 When you sit in a women's prison for murder, you know, you're going to be 357 00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:23,400 sad. 358 00:26:23,780 --> 00:26:26,300 No, you're going to be in prison for murder. 359 00:26:26,940 --> 00:26:31,600 We listened to those tapes over and over again, and we tried to come up with 360 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:36,200 alternative theories to explain why these two people told each other you 361 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:37,460 be in prison for murder. 362 00:26:38,740 --> 00:26:44,020 And, you know, there's just no other reasonable alternative explanation. 363 00:26:45,070 --> 00:26:46,510 for those conversations. 364 00:26:46,830 --> 00:26:51,790 I helped you on something that was, you know, beyond what anybody else in the 365 00:26:51,790 --> 00:26:54,010 world would probably do. 366 00:26:54,690 --> 00:26:59,070 And I think that deserves some consideration. 367 00:27:00,930 --> 00:27:03,630 Since you're living off the benefits of it, you know. 368 00:27:04,430 --> 00:27:10,470 The emails, the FedEx connection, the banking transactions, the phone calls, 369 00:27:10,470 --> 00:27:11,510 becomes so obvious. 370 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:15,380 I can't put Ron Young at the murder scene. I can't put Pam Phillips at the 371 00:27:15,380 --> 00:27:18,020 murder scene. I can't show either one of them making the device. 372 00:27:18,420 --> 00:27:23,560 But when you look at all that circumstantial evidence, this all 373 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:31,020 On October 16, 2008, Young and Phillips are indicted for first -degree murder. 374 00:27:33,780 --> 00:27:35,360 Next on American Greed. 375 00:27:36,090 --> 00:27:40,930 Taking down Pam might be harder than they thought. She's gone, and we don't 376 00:27:40,930 --> 00:27:42,010 if we can ever find her again. 377 00:27:42,250 --> 00:27:45,410 What else did Ron Young and Pam Phillips talk about? 378 00:27:45,690 --> 00:27:51,270 Hear more at cnbcprime .com slash American Greed. Feeling greedy? 379 00:27:51,550 --> 00:27:54,330 Want more than your share of behind -the -scenes dirt? 380 00:27:54,670 --> 00:27:57,370 Follow us at American Greed TV on Twitter. 381 00:27:57,690 --> 00:27:58,770 We'll be right back. 382 00:28:09,740 --> 00:28:14,880 Pam Phillips is under indictment for the 1996 murder of her ex -husband, Gary 383 00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:20,260 Triano. But she's living openly here, on the shores of Lake Lugano in 384 00:28:20,260 --> 00:28:23,880 Switzerland, where she has been trying to escape the past. 385 00:28:24,260 --> 00:28:28,380 Pam had gone to visit her daughter, who was going to college in Lugano, 386 00:28:28,460 --> 00:28:33,480 Switzerland. She started dating a rather wealthy man there, which, in my 387 00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:35,020 opinion, gave her reason to stay. 388 00:28:35,710 --> 00:28:39,710 Phillips might feel safe in the country famous for its neutrality. 389 00:28:40,310 --> 00:28:44,650 That's because Switzerland, like many European countries, will not extradite 390 00:28:44,650 --> 00:28:47,110 suspects who could face the death penalty. 391 00:28:47,570 --> 00:28:50,830 Then they made the announcement that we were dropping the death penalty. 392 00:28:51,290 --> 00:28:55,190 Unfortunately, that was made publicly, so Pam got the clue to run. 393 00:28:55,950 --> 00:29:00,450 So when the police in Switzerland went to the hotel room where we knew she was 394 00:29:00,450 --> 00:29:02,350 staying, she was gone. 395 00:29:03,630 --> 00:29:08,030 U .S. authorities work with Swiss police to try to get Pam back to the States. 396 00:29:10,810 --> 00:29:17,170 Meanwhile, nearly 6 ,000 miles away in Tucson, Arizona, Ron Young stands trial, 397 00:29:17,450 --> 00:29:21,190 accused of conspiring with Pam to kill Triano. 398 00:29:21,950 --> 00:29:27,510 The prosecution's case rests squarely on the audio recordings between Young and 399 00:29:27,510 --> 00:29:31,410 Phillips that Ron Young himself recorded and saved. 400 00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:52,540 In an exclusive interview with American Greed, Young claims that he can explain 401 00:29:52,540 --> 00:29:53,540 everything. 402 00:29:54,260 --> 00:29:59,900 I'm absolutely innocent. I did not participate, did not plan. I never heard 403 00:29:59,900 --> 00:30:01,940 Pamela discuss anything like this. 404 00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:05,400 Absolutely, completely, 100 % innocent. 405 00:30:07,540 --> 00:30:14,260 Young says he left Aspen in 1996 on a long driving vacation with his son, not 406 00:30:14,260 --> 00:30:16,240 because he was fleeing fraud charges. 407 00:30:16,510 --> 00:30:20,970 And then once he found out he was charged, the only reason he didn't go 408 00:30:20,970 --> 00:30:24,510 Aspen is because he thought it wasn't that big a deal. 409 00:30:24,830 --> 00:30:29,250 As far as how smart any of this was, it was incredibly stupid. 410 00:30:29,930 --> 00:30:36,470 I had never been in trouble with the law, so I had absolutely no experience 411 00:30:36,470 --> 00:30:40,410 the police or criminal activity. 412 00:30:40,790 --> 00:30:43,770 I figured it would go away, and I just ignored it. 413 00:30:43,970 --> 00:30:45,530 As it turned out... 414 00:30:45,740 --> 00:30:50,360 Eventually, it came back and kicked me in the hind end. 415 00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:55,800 As for the $2 million Phillips and Young discussed in the audio tapes, Young 416 00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:59,640 claims that figure has nothing to do with Triano's life insurance payoff. 417 00:31:00,060 --> 00:31:05,860 He says it's $2 million of equity Pam has tied up in a San Diego real estate 418 00:31:05,860 --> 00:31:09,700 development, a portion of which he believes is owed to him. 419 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:13,060 I played lawyer. I played accountant. 420 00:31:13,390 --> 00:31:16,070 typically a financial advisor, business consultant. 421 00:31:16,450 --> 00:31:19,730 What I had done is saved her a fortune in professional fees. 422 00:31:20,450 --> 00:31:24,230 As much as the defense tried to suggest that there were innocent reasons for 423 00:31:24,230 --> 00:31:28,870 these conversations taking place, I think that when you listen to their 424 00:31:29,070 --> 00:31:31,050 I think it's very clear they're talking about the murder. 425 00:32:02,350 --> 00:32:06,190 Though they have no direct evidence tying Ron Young to the crime scene, 426 00:32:06,450 --> 00:32:10,910 detectives can place the Aspen -based businessman in Tucson. 427 00:32:11,730 --> 00:32:15,410 We had no eyewitnesses who saw Ron Young in the parking lot that day. 428 00:32:15,790 --> 00:32:20,950 However, we did have Ron Young here in Tucson in July before the murder on an 429 00:32:20,950 --> 00:32:23,930 assumed name for over two weeks. 430 00:32:25,390 --> 00:32:29,270 I felt that that was strong circumstantial evidence that he was here 431 00:32:29,270 --> 00:32:32,530 and find out which would be the best way to kill Gary Triana. 432 00:32:34,330 --> 00:32:36,530 Will the jury see it the same way? 433 00:32:38,130 --> 00:32:42,030 In March 2010, Young awaits the verdict. 434 00:32:42,790 --> 00:32:46,830 I was 435 00:32:46,830 --> 00:32:53,570 in shock. Just totally in shock because I allowed myself to... 436 00:33:00,479 --> 00:33:05,800 Six weeks later, the judge sentences Young to two consecutive life sentences. 437 00:33:10,700 --> 00:33:11,700 Now, 438 00:33:14,100 --> 00:33:19,520 Tucson authorities need to find Pam Phillips, who is somewhere in Europe, so 439 00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:20,940 can have her day in court. 440 00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:27,740 Between Interpol and the police in Geneva, the criminal brigade, they did a 441 00:33:27,740 --> 00:33:32,660 of work and they tracked her to Liechtenstein and then into Vienna. 442 00:33:32,920 --> 00:33:36,940 And then the police in Vienna arrested her on our arrest warrant. 443 00:33:41,300 --> 00:33:45,840 In July 2010, Pam Phillips lands at the Tucson airport. 444 00:33:46,460 --> 00:33:51,440 Now 53 years old, She appears worn and tired from her journey. 445 00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:56,740 KVOA reporter Lupita Murillo is there to try to get answers. 446 00:33:57,260 --> 00:34:01,740 Your reaction, Pam, to what investigators say, that you hired Ronald 447 00:34:01,740 --> 00:34:05,100 kill your ex -husband, what's your reaction to that for the insurance 448 00:34:05,100 --> 00:34:05,679 that true? 449 00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:09,840 Never said a word. Just kept looking straight ahead. 450 00:34:10,340 --> 00:34:17,159 The only thing she said to me as she got into the squad car was, 451 00:34:17,670 --> 00:34:18,790 It's rather warm here. 452 00:34:19,969 --> 00:34:21,850 Well, it got a lot hotter after that. 453 00:34:22,350 --> 00:34:27,370 Phillips is booked on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder. 454 00:34:29,010 --> 00:34:33,590 Next on American Greed, Phillips' defense team says it has new evidence. 455 00:34:34,070 --> 00:34:35,409 Will it set her free? 456 00:34:35,610 --> 00:34:39,370 We found trace DNA, and it excluded Ronald Young, the person that the 457 00:34:39,370 --> 00:34:42,489 prosecution said built the bomb and killed Gary Triano for Pam. 458 00:34:42,710 --> 00:34:44,389 That's reasonable doubt right there. 459 00:34:59,660 --> 00:35:04,900 Brought back to Arizona from Switzerland, Pamela Phillips pleads not 460 00:35:04,900 --> 00:35:09,100 the charges of murdering her husband, Gary Triano, for insurance money. 461 00:35:09,620 --> 00:35:14,360 And on February 18, 2014, Phillips' trial begins. 462 00:35:15,540 --> 00:35:21,500 The prosecution builds its case upon money, greed, and audio tape. It's a 463 00:35:21,500 --> 00:35:25,700 circumstantial case that the defense team attempts to pick apart. 464 00:35:26,710 --> 00:35:30,930 proved at trial, and the only thing they proved, that there was a connection 465 00:35:30,930 --> 00:35:34,990 between Ronald Young and Pam Phillips, and it was a financial connection. 466 00:35:35,290 --> 00:35:36,430 That's all they proved. 467 00:35:36,650 --> 00:35:39,690 That doesn't prove that they had anything to do with the murder. 468 00:35:40,170 --> 00:35:45,610 Pam Phillips' defense attorneys, Alicia Katah and Paul Eckestrom, say that Pam 469 00:35:45,610 --> 00:35:49,930 wasn't even paying the premiums on the life insurance policy, that another 470 00:35:49,930 --> 00:35:54,190 friend had offered to take over the monthly payments because Pam was in 471 00:35:54,190 --> 00:35:55,290 financial straits. 472 00:35:56,060 --> 00:36:00,300 And the month before Gary's murder, she forgot to make the payment. 473 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:04,400 If you're going to kill somebody for the insurance money, aren't you going to 474 00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:08,500 make sure that the premiums are paid and the insurance is all up to date and 475 00:36:08,500 --> 00:36:14,280 that you will get the money if this happens? And that didn't happen with 476 00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:19,580 Over the course of working with Pam Phillips, Eckstrom and Katah become true 477 00:36:19,580 --> 00:36:21,040 believers in her innocence. 478 00:36:21,500 --> 00:36:24,760 The evidence you're going to hear is going to convince you now that my client 479 00:36:24,760 --> 00:36:27,960 is... but that Ron Young is innocent. 480 00:36:28,240 --> 00:36:33,520 We felt that we had to do a thorough investigation to build a case that 481 00:36:33,520 --> 00:36:36,240 else did it. And we basically, I think, solved the case. 482 00:36:37,540 --> 00:36:41,820 The defense team orders new tests on the pipe bomb fragments that killed Gary 483 00:36:41,820 --> 00:36:45,620 Triano and are able to acquire trace amounts of DNA. 484 00:36:46,360 --> 00:36:50,060 And it excluded Ronald Young, the person that the prosecution said built the 485 00:36:50,060 --> 00:36:52,020 bomb and killed Gary Triano for Pam. 486 00:36:52,600 --> 00:36:53,700 He was excluded. 487 00:36:54,230 --> 00:36:55,710 from the trace DNA that we found. 488 00:36:56,450 --> 00:36:58,250 That's reasonable doubt right there. 489 00:36:58,690 --> 00:37:03,510 The defense team then takes it even further, presenting an alternate 490 00:37:04,890 --> 00:37:09,390 Well, there's an individual named Neil McNeese who Gary Triano had ripped off 491 00:37:09,390 --> 00:37:14,230 for about $80 ,000 and was very angry at Gary for doing that. And he was a 492 00:37:14,230 --> 00:37:20,930 heroin addict. He was a trust baby. He had a lot of money and had this 493 00:37:20,930 --> 00:37:22,250 thing about... 494 00:37:23,010 --> 00:37:27,290 Gary because of the fact that Gary filked him out of $80 ,000. 495 00:37:27,550 --> 00:37:31,730 And I think ultimately it was him who had ordered this to happen, had a hit 496 00:37:31,730 --> 00:37:35,070 put together, and had a friend of his build the bomb that killed Gary. 497 00:37:35,470 --> 00:37:38,830 And we were able to identify all those people. 498 00:37:39,270 --> 00:37:45,570 At trial, McNeese's private doctor, Lawrence D 'Antonio, testifies that he 499 00:37:45,570 --> 00:37:49,210 McNeese threaten to kill Gary Triano on several occasions. 500 00:37:49,810 --> 00:37:52,270 What did he say about Gary Triano during his period time? 501 00:37:52,700 --> 00:37:53,700 He wanted to kill him. 502 00:37:53,900 --> 00:38:00,300 But the problem is, Neil McNeese died of a drug overdose in 2002, and he was 503 00:38:00,300 --> 00:38:02,540 never investigated by Tucson police. 504 00:38:03,440 --> 00:38:07,420 As with any investigation, you go back and look at it over time, and there's 505 00:38:07,420 --> 00:38:10,700 always things that could have been done either differently, or should have been 506 00:38:10,700 --> 00:38:15,520 done differently, or leads that could have been pursued, and for whatever 507 00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:16,640 reason, or not. 508 00:38:17,060 --> 00:38:20,740 And the defense went to great lengths to investigate Mr. McNeese. 509 00:38:21,240 --> 00:38:23,900 And the best they could come up with is that he didn't like Gary Triano. 510 00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:30,020 He had a friend who knew about remote -controlled cars, and he told people 511 00:38:30,020 --> 00:38:36,380 he would like to kill Gary Triano. But that was over a debt over a ring. 512 00:38:37,280 --> 00:38:41,140 But when you look at that, the debt over the ring occurred in 1991. 513 00:38:42,220 --> 00:38:45,300 He waited until 1996 to have him killed. 514 00:38:46,240 --> 00:38:48,980 Prosecutor Rick Unclesby points to the money trail. 515 00:38:49,500 --> 00:38:52,540 and says greed is on both ends of it. 516 00:38:52,820 --> 00:38:58,020 The 44 cash payments from Pam Phillips to Ron Young made over the course of 10 517 00:38:58,020 --> 00:39:01,260 years total more than $400 ,000. 518 00:39:02,340 --> 00:39:07,500 But the prosecutor has one more bit of evidence, and it proves to be a 519 00:39:07,500 --> 00:39:14,280 bombshell. He calls to the stand Pam's former close friend, Laura Chapman. She 520 00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:18,440 testified that Gary had been over to Pam's house. 521 00:39:18,970 --> 00:39:19,970 They'd had a fight. 522 00:39:20,030 --> 00:39:26,010 Gary pulled a gun to Pam Phillips, threatened her. He left. She called her 523 00:39:26,010 --> 00:39:31,730 friends. They came over. They were consoling her. And that's when she said 524 00:39:31,730 --> 00:39:34,450 is a $2 million insurance policy. 525 00:39:35,010 --> 00:39:39,910 She said that she should just hire a hitman, have him taken out. 526 00:39:40,370 --> 00:39:45,770 A few years later, Chapman is driving home when she sees smoke in the Tucson 527 00:39:45,770 --> 00:39:49,080 foothills. and learns about Gary Triano's death. 528 00:39:49,740 --> 00:39:54,240 Pam's earlier talk about hiring a hitman now echoes in her mind. 529 00:39:54,640 --> 00:39:58,060 I remember saying, oh my gosh, she really did it. 530 00:39:58,260 --> 00:40:01,340 I think that was the nail in the coffin, so to speak. 531 00:40:01,660 --> 00:40:05,960 At the end of the seven -week trial, the jury has heard from more than 100 532 00:40:05,960 --> 00:40:11,140 witnesses, and they have two completely different theories on who killed Gary 533 00:40:11,140 --> 00:40:12,520 Triano and why. 534 00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:14,480 What will they decide? 535 00:40:17,230 --> 00:40:21,870 On April 8, 2014, Pam Phillips waits to hear her verdict. 536 00:40:22,410 --> 00:40:26,630 Do you find the defendant, Pamela Ann Phillips, guilty of first -degree murder 537 00:40:26,630 --> 00:40:28,310 as alleged in count to the indictment? 538 00:40:30,250 --> 00:40:36,450 On May 22, 2014, Phillips is brought into the courtroom shackled to await her 539 00:40:36,450 --> 00:40:41,950 fate. She has traded her designer clothes for a state -issued orange 540 00:40:42,970 --> 00:40:44,730 The judge sentences her. 541 00:40:45,240 --> 00:40:48,940 to natural life in prison without the possibility of parole. 542 00:40:50,680 --> 00:40:54,440 Upon hearing her sentence, Phillips stands and addresses the court. 543 00:40:55,300 --> 00:40:57,920 I just want everybody to know that I am innocent. 544 00:40:58,140 --> 00:40:59,260 I am innocent. 545 00:40:59,520 --> 00:41:00,600 I am innocent. 546 00:41:00,920 --> 00:41:06,180 Okay? And I'm really, really... This is hard. So hard for me. It's a nightmare. 547 00:41:06,820 --> 00:41:07,980 This is a nightmare. 548 00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:12,520 I've never had somebody where I went to trial thinking that they were innocent 549 00:41:12,520 --> 00:41:13,820 lose a trial. 550 00:41:14,270 --> 00:41:15,370 And this one she did. 551 00:41:16,070 --> 00:41:19,670 And it wasn't just I thought she was innocent. This one I was absolutely 552 00:41:19,670 --> 00:41:22,310 convinced she was innocent from the evidence that we had dug up. 553 00:41:23,810 --> 00:41:27,290 Both Phillips and Ron Young are appealing their convictions. 554 00:41:29,510 --> 00:41:34,330 But author Carrie Drobin says she believes justice has been served. 555 00:41:34,930 --> 00:41:39,210 It's really a story about two sociopaths. 556 00:41:39,760 --> 00:41:44,680 They didn't have empathy for people. They knew how to manipulate people. They 557 00:41:44,680 --> 00:41:50,140 had one goal in mind, and that was to satiate their hunger, to have money, and 558 00:41:50,140 --> 00:41:51,140 to have more of it. 559 00:41:51,400 --> 00:41:56,760 And that is the quintessential element of being a sociopath, that you just 560 00:41:56,760 --> 00:42:02,940 have no remorse, no empathy whatsoever, that you have just murdered the father 561 00:42:02,940 --> 00:42:05,960 of your children in such a heinous way. 562 00:42:07,180 --> 00:42:12,380 Gary Triano's good friend Rusty Sands also has no doubt that Pam Phillips is 563 00:42:12,380 --> 00:42:13,740 right where she belongs. 564 00:42:14,920 --> 00:42:19,020 She's going to live the rest of her life in a place that she's not used to. 565 00:42:19,360 --> 00:42:22,980 She only likes to go to five -star hotels. She wouldn't go to a four -star 566 00:42:22,980 --> 00:42:25,040 hotel. Well, she's not in a hotel anymore. 567 00:42:26,380 --> 00:42:31,360 And I think she's going to live the rest of her life out a very, very sad life. 568 00:42:34,380 --> 00:42:40,840 Next, a hometown hero builds a scam on fake deals and bogus contracts until his 569 00:42:40,840 --> 00:42:46,320 accomplice turns snitch. American Greed, scams, scoundrels, and suckers. Next on 570 00:42:46,320 --> 00:42:47,320 CNBC. 571 00:42:48,800 --> 00:42:52,140 The fastest growing cable network in primetime. 572 00:42:52,420 --> 00:42:53,420 CNBC.