Triano children awarded $10M but may get zero

Although it's unlikely they will ever see the money since Pamela Phillips, the woman who was ordered to pay it, is a fugitive, Judge Michael Miller's decision was important to their clients, said attorneys Elliot Glicksman and William Walker.

Triano, a Tucson businessman, was killed Nov. 1, 1996, when someone remotely detonated a pipe bomb placed inside a canvas bag on the passenger seat of the Lincoln Town Car he was driving.

In November 2007, Glicksman and Walker filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Phillips, Triano's former wife, and Ronald Young on behalf of Triano's two adult children, Heather Klindworth and Brian Triano, and his now-13-year-old daughter, Malissa Elliott Gardner.

The attorneys alleged Young killed Triano at Phillips' behest for a portion of a $2 million life insurance policy.

Young was arrested in October 2008 and is scheduled to go to trial in February. Authorities believe Phillips is somewhere in Europe and they are working on locating and extraditing her.

Miller awarded the damages after first hearing Triano's adult children and Gardner's mother testify.

Klindworth and Triano described their father as a larger-than-life man who adored his children and was generous with his time and his money.

Triano, who was 25 when his father died, remembered how his father would sometimes send their restaurant bill to other patrons to see their reaction and would then pick up their bill along with his own.

Klindworth, who was 27 when her dad died, said her father would often burst into song or recite poetry at the top of his voice in the middle of restaurants.

Robin Gardner testified Gary Triano was an active participant in her daughter's life and she is sure he would have been just as attentive to her as he was to his older children had he had the chance. Her daughter was 7 months old when he died, Gardner said.

Glicksman and Walker also persuaded Miller to place a hold on a large sum of money about to be paid to Trevor Triano, the 19-year-old son of Pam Phillips and Gary Triano.

Last year, Miller placed a freeze on all of Phillips' assets, including a piece of industrial property in California that is owned by her and various Tucson residents.

Walker and Glicksman recently learned a portion of the land was sold for $850,000 and Trevor Triano contends his mother transferred the property into his name and he is entitled to 20 percent of the sale price. The remaining portion of the land is valued at $8 million.

Walker and Glicksman asked Miller to sign an order preventing Trevor Triano from collecting until they investigate the matter further.

The attorneys will be back in Pima County Superior Court on Dec. 14 to discuss the matter.