Man Who Donated Kidney to Save Wife’s Life Threatened With Jail Based on Legal Trick She Played Over $1 Dollar a Year Alimony

Some say CT Family Court rules for lawyers with influence. Due process is unheard of. They say CT Family Court judges – most of whom were family law attorneys before they got to the bench – create law as they go, finding legal arguments for the results they want for favored attorneys, instead of finding justice, regardless of the attorney.

Judges are appointed to the bench, so they do not answer to the people. The governor appoints them with ratification from the legislature. Attorneys themselves are the biggest lobbyists for the appointment of judges.

No jury, people jailed without a trial on contempt. Rules of evidence decided by whim and caprice, admitted or not dependent on help to the favored attorney. And by definition, favoring attorneys means delivering results that make them the most money.

Some say, to make it easier for the judge to favor attorneys, the two opposing attorneys agree on how they want the judge to rule in advance. And if the adage “a good lawyer knows the law; a great lawyer knows the judge” is true anywhere, it is true in CT Family Court, where there are a lot of great lawyers.

Now listen to the story of Gus Zucco, now 53.

Gus Zucco

In 1999, he worked for a list broker in Brewster, New York. There, he met co-worker Tracy Simms, and they planned to marry.

Starting in 2001, Gus’s fortunes took a turn upward. He began doing online marketing in the early days of the internet.
He took his profits and invested in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and REITs.
About a month before the 2002 wedding, Tracy quit her job. Thanks to Gus’ success, Tracy did not have to work.
After the marriage, Gus handled the business and paid all the bills. For the first five years, Gus made several million, but their joy was tempered. Tracy was unwell. Her diabetes got worse.
In 2006, Tracy underwent dialysis for end-stage renal failure. She also had a failing pancreas, but was ineligible for transplant because of her kidneys. Gus not only managed the business, but also a full time caretaker for his wife. Her condition worsened, and without a kidney transplant, she would die.
 
In 2007, Gus chose to donate one of his kidneys to Tracy. He knew the risks to him: high blood pressure, hernia, organ impairment, kidney failure, and death. He invested years of his life in taking care of her day and night. He planned to be with her for the rest of their lives.
Gus wanted to donate one of his healthy kidneys to be transplanted inside the body of his wife. But his and Tracy’s blood types were incompatible. 

Swappin Kidneys

If they could find another donor whose blood type was compatible, they could still save her life. They found out about kidney swapping.

 Paired Kidney Donation or Kidney Swap

According to Michigan Medicine: If you need a kidney and have a family member or friend willing to donate one of his or her kidneys, but it cannot be done due to tissue or blood type incompatibilities, we have a potential solution.
A paired kidney exchange, also known as a “kidney swap”, occurs when a living kidney donor is incompatible with their recipient, but does match another person on the waitlist.  Two live donor transplants would occur.
Suppose there were two donor/recipient pairs, Donor and Recipient 1 and Donor and Recipient 2:
  • Donor 1 would give a kidney to Recipient 2.
  • Donor 2 would then give a kidney to Recipient 1.

Through Gus’ efforts, the couple participated in a first of its kind three-way swap.

To be clear, Gus had to donate his kidney to a stranger – to participate in the swap – to qualify Tracy for a kidney from one of the trio of donors — all strangers to one another.
Manhattan’s Columbia Presbyterian Hospital
On August 30, 2007, Manhattan’s Columbia Presbyterian Hospital completed three transplantsThe kidney swap involved two married couples and two individual men. John Feal donated his kidney to Eleanor Burns. Eleanor’s husband, Kwok Eng, donated his kidney to Tracy. And Gus donated his kidney to Paul Grossfield. The donors and the actual recipients were all strangers, and all three donors were incompatible blood types with the person they were trying to save.  

Post Operation

After Gus gave up his kidney to Grossfield, and Tracy got a kidney from Eng, the couples’ fortunes reversed. Tracy got off dialysis and became eligible for a pancreas transplant. She got her pancreas from a cadaver. She was feeling better than she had in years.
On the other hand, Gus took some time to recover; his health was not as robust. For the first time in years, his business began to fail.  Three months after Gus donated his kidney – during the Christmas holidays – Tracy asked for another gift from Gus.
She wanted a divorce.
Gus was shocked. He hadn’t expected this. He had taken a vow, for better or for worse. He had nursed Tracy for years, then risked his health with life-altering surgery.
He was missing a kidney. And now his wife was planning to leave.
Sometime later, he said, he discovered evidence that she had actually planned to divorce him before he donated his kidney, but chose not to tell him, fearing he might not go through with the operation.
 
The couple did not divorce at once. Tracy had no money. They lived together in their 4000 square foot home on an acre lot in Danbury, CT as “roommates” for three years.

Gus and Tracy’s Connecticut home at the time of their divorce, for which they paid $700,000

In 2012, Gus borrowed against a line of credit to invest in a reality show called American Museum and the purchase of Elvis Presley memorabilia. If the investments were profitable, he and Tracy – for she was still his wife – could make significant profits. Gus never produced the show, and the couple incurred $490,000 in debt.

Gus still had $1.6 million in savings. The money came solely from his earnings, but he put the accounts in his and his wife’s name.

Gus also purchased two houses in their names, one free and clear in Patterson, New York, worth half a million, and the Danbury home, worth about the same but mortgaged to the hilt.

In September 2012, Tracy filed for divorce in the Superior Court in the judicial district of Danbury. 

She retained CT attorney Randolph Richardson, who, on her behalf, demanded half of the assets, none of the recently incurred debt, and the free and clear house in Patterson, NY for herself.

Connecticut Family Law attorney Randolph Richardson is a great lawyer who knows judges well.

Gus, Tracy said, could have the house without any equity in Danbury. 

Tracy also demanded Gus pay the entire $490,000 debt for the failed Elvis Presley/TV show investments, arguing she should not have to pay for his mistake. She agreed to share his successes, but not his failures.

Gus retained Eva De Franco, and she and Tracy’s lawyer Richardson hammered out the divorce agreement before going to the court for approval.

On January 15, 2014, Judge Heidi Winslow dissolved the marriage and incorporated the agreement worked out in advance.

As per the divorce agreement, four accounts were split in half. Tracy also got the free and clear Patterson, NY house and other marital property.

Tracy’s lawyer insisted on the inclusion of a seemingly innocuous clause.  Article 2.1 of the agreement provided that Gus would pay Tracy $1 (one dollar) of “alimony per year for five and one-half years.” 

Alimony? A mere $1 dollar per year – and it would expire in June 2019, when all alimony obligations “shall be completely non-modifiable as to term by way of extension.”

Gus’ lawyer, Eva DeFranco, did not object. She and Tracy’s lawyer Richardson were friends for years. It was $1 per year, just symbolic. It would end on June 2019.

Gus’ first attorney, Eva DeFranco

Later, Gus won a malpractice lawsuit against DeFranco for her representation. 

While the length of the term of alimony was not modifiable, Section 2.1 of the agreement allowed Tracy to try to change that symbolic $1 per year to any number her attorney could get a judge to agree with. There were no children from the marriage. Tracy, now healthy, could work. The agreement stated that the alimony of $1 per year could be modified if Gus earned more “income from employment.”

Marriage Over

CT Family Court dissolved her 10-year marriage, during which Tracy never worked one day or earned one dime. She depended on Gus as her caretaker when she was sick. Now that she was well, thanks to Gus, she felt it was time to move on with her life.

Tracy left the marriage with about $750,000 in cash, a house in Patterson, NY worth $500,000, two automobiles, and another $245,000 to be paid over six years as settlement on the Presley/Museum TV show. She also left the marriage with a new kidney.   

In fairness, Tracy did not keep all the money for herself.

She admitted in a later proceeding that a substantial sum went to her attorney Richardson.

Legal Attack on Gus

The marriage ended in 2014. By 2015, Tracy filed a motion to modify alimony. She wanted more than a dollar per year. She wanted a decent monthly check. After all, she was not working. She lived on the million plus Gus had settled with her.

Tracy alleged Gus’ had “an increase in… income and assets, and [she had] a decrease in [her] financial circumstances.”

Since Tracy did not work and lived off of the divorce settlement, it was likely her assets were decreasing.

Gus said his income, however, did not increase.

Not satisfied with his answer, Tracy filed a motion on March 21, 2016, claiming Gus concealed $400,000 of his assets.

The new litigation further burdened Gus, who had never recovered financially from the loss of a kidney, and his wife.

His finances were in shambles. In installments, Gus had paid $139,000 of the $245,000 to Tracy from the debt he owed on the reality show. He still owed $106,000.

Gus Zucco Hillary
Gus Zucco with his current wife, Hillary Styer

Gus, and his new wife, Hillary Styer, owned a small business in Gettysburg, PA. Gus and Hillary filed a voluntary Chapter 13 petition for bankruptcy in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

On May 30, 2019, Tracy made a motion to intervene in Gus’s bankruptcy to prevent him from getting bankruptcy protection, which could stop her from modifying her alimony payment in CT. 

On July 2, 2019, the Bankruptcy Court granted Tracy’s motion to try to modify her alimony.

CT Family Court Judge Anthony Truglia scheduled an alimony hearing for December 5, 2019, in Danbury.  

Judge Anthony J Truglia

Gus’ wife’s grandfather died in the wake of her father’s passing. Services were the day before the hearing, on December 4, and the gathering of the bereaved, and for the comfort of his wife, would continue until about 9 pm in Huntington, PA, three hours west of his home in Gettysburg, which was another five hours to Danbury.

Gus requested a bereavement continuance.

Tracy, through her attorney Richardson, fought the adjournment and submitted the obituary to the judge, arguing the funeral was December 4, and the hearing was December 5.  Richardson said Gus should attend court even if he had to drive all night.

Judge Truglia understood. Richardson would have a decided advantage if Gus failed to show. The judge denied the continuance.

Gus, like he did for Tracy, chose to sacrifice his best interest for his wife, and attended the services.  He spent the day with the grieving family on December 4, and stepped aside to make calls to find a CT attorney, last-minute, to represent him. He was unsuccessful.

On December 5, 2019, Judge Truglia held an evidentiary hearing on modifying Gus’ $1 per year alimony – without Gus present.

Attorney Richardson introduced Tracy’s financial affidavit and Gus’ schedule of assets, liabilities, and creditors from his bankruptcy.

Attorney Richardson examined Tracy on the witness stand. She gave uncontested testimony that Gus concealed assets and increased his income since the divorce.

Tracy Simms during online court appearance

Judge Truglia had a challenge. According to the divorce agreement, the alimony ended on June 2019 – five months before.

It took him seven months to find a way to rule in Richardson’s favor.

In July, 2020, Judge Truglia chose not to modify Gus’ alimony obligation from his divorce agreement. He couldn’t for the alimony term had expired. Instead he chose to cancel the old divorce agreement and rewrite it as he and Richardson liked. 

Based exclusively on Tracy’s testimony and Richardson’s counsel, Judge Truglia decided Gus should pay Tracy $2,000 per month in alimony, extending Gus’ alimony to Tracy for the rest of her life.

Judge Truglia also ordered Gus to pay Tracy $110,000 in a lump sum. He figured Gus should pay $2,000 monthly retroactively, going back four and half years to December 2015.

It was the height of COVID. Gus and his wife’s business was hanging by a thread. To make the $2000 monthly payment, they handed almost all their net earnings to Tracy, while their family went without.

Gus appealed Judge Truglia’s decision in 2021. The appellate court sided with the judge of their court. The appeal was denied in August 2022. 

Defeated on appeal, Gus took another avenue. He motioned to modify the alimony. At a hearing on November 1, 2021, Tracy was asked about Gus donating his kidney to her, an event that allowed her to be there that day in court 14 years later, not buried in a grave.

Tracy made it clear. Gus did not give her his kidney. She got her kidney from “another donor.”

She did not want to explain that Kwok Eng, a stranger, donated his kidney to Tracy only because John Feal donated his kidney to Eng’s wife, and Feal donated his kidney only because Gus donated his kidney to Paul Grossfield; or more plainly, Tracy would not have a new kidney, but for Gus’ donation of his kidney.

Pressed by Gus’ attorney, David DeRosa to admit it, she said “Mr. Zucco was part of the kidney swap. Paul Grossfield in New Jersey has his kidney.”

DeRosa asked, “so he gave up a kidney at some point, so you could have a kidney at some point?”

There was real money at stake. This was no time to admit even the slightest gratitude for her opponent.  Instead of answering yes or no, Tracy downplayed what Gus had done, as if it were little or nothing, as if she never asked for his help. In fact, it wasn’t even her decision.

Tracy said: “My mother was one of the testers, and they decided to go with Mr. Zucco.”

Tracy won the hearing. The alimony was not modified. Gus continues to pay $2,000 per month.

PA Attorney Heather Roberts 

Tracy then set her sights on collecting the $110,000 retroactive alimony. She retained attorney Heather Roberts licensed in Pennsylvania. Roberts is an attorney well embedded in the Gettysburg legal system. Roberts was tasked with collection.

Roberts arranged to get the case in front of PA Judge Christina Simpson, a judge whose disposition she knew well. 

Judge Christina Simpson

There is but one way to collect debts. Threaten with debtors prison.

On April 18, 2023, Judge Simpson gave attorney Roberts what she wanted. Without regard to Gus’ financial condition – and that he did not have any savings left – let alone $110,000 to pay in retroactive alimony, Judsge Simpson gave Gus 60 days till June 18, 2023, or she would find him in contempt.

If he was in contempt, as attorney Roberts surely told Tracy, Gus would go to jail, starting perhaps with 30 days to teach him a lesson.

Then, if he still did not pay, a further term of incarceration could happen swiftly.

And while he is in jail, Gus would still have to pay the $2,000 per month to keep current or be jailed further for contempt.

Today, Gus’ finances are in ruins. He barely has the money to pay alimony, and he may be in jail as early as next month.

Gus’ wife created a GoFundMe to raise funds to pay Tracy $110,000. So far, about $2,000 has been raised.

Gus with his wife, Hillary Styer, and her  children

Maybe this story will attract attention from tabloids and CT may grab some needed press. It’s the kind of story the tabloids could love.

The headline: “Man Who Donated Kidney to Save Wife’s Life Is Jailed Based on Legal Trick She Played Over $1 Dollar a Year Alimony.”

The lessons to be learned are several:

Don’t get divorced in Connecticut. If you do, retain attorneys who know the judge – which also works in Pennsylvania – and think twice before you donate a kidney to a spouse. The life you save may be your own.

 

About the author

Frank Parlato

140 Comments

Click here to post a comment

Please leave a comment: Your opinion is important to us! (Email & username are optional)

  • Anna doesn’t hate men she feels sorry for them. That’s intriguing. Men don’t hate women but we absolutely hate a worthless c*** like Anna.

  • No woman should ever get alimony paid to her for life!!! Go get a job and if you can’t try welfare or SS disability like everyone else does!! This states system is nothing short of pathetic! He gave her all he had to give obviously that just wasn’t enough!!

  • I was in court, That thing whatever you want to call her could not even answer the questions that were asked. at one time she even said she had no money for gas to get to the dr. i saw the papers and she has a whole lot of money she is a joke

  • Hello. Gus a man is supposed to die for his wife. You wants to stiff her on money. You wants to go back to -15 years ago when you gave his kidney for her. Just because you did that 15 years ago don’t mean you can use that excuse now. You owes her in 2023 for alimony. The judge decided you has to do the honorable thing take care of your wife till death us do part. That’s what you said and you had to live up to your word.

    • I think you’re very confused, Tracy is not his wife anymore, hasn’t been for a very long time. Gus has a wife! He doesn’t owe Tracy anything, she lied, and she used him for a kidney, please stop saying that bitch is his wife, she IS NOT!

    • Anna, I thought you were going to stop posting. The only reason I come back to this blog is because the crock of crap you post makes me cringe as a woman and laugh at your idiocracy. Maybe Anna/Tracy needs to move on and find another man. So she’s not so fixated on the man she divorced. For sake of women’s rights everywhere. Stop Anna.

  • This is more of an Op-Ed than an investigative article. As a law student I came across this and “investigated” it myself on google .. Simms vs Zucco. There is MUCH more to this story than what is provided here. Mr. Zucco should be careful with this article though .. he could end up like Amber Heard and get additionally sued for defamation.

    • So, you are calling out Mr. Zucco for what you claim you “investigated” and you think you know much more than most people because you are a law student? Well, there is a lot more to this story and it will all eventually come out. Unless you know these people and the entire story then you really don’t have any idea what you are talking about. It is scary that you claim to be a law student and you are acting this way. You are no better than the judges and attorneys involved. Lastly, this is an article that another person wrote and these are the facts. This story is way bigger than you would or should know at this point (unless you are buddies with anyone involved) You must be pretty bored to attack someone about what you think you know.

    • Difference is though, he isn’t an abuser. Drawing a comparison between the two with no basis of evidence for the sort of behavior Heard was involved in is extremely immature, particularly for a law student. While I am not a law student myself, I cannot imagine that your professors encouraged you to assume the absolute worst when examining a case.

    • So Gus should pay alimony for life ?
      Claire you won’t be a very good lawyer if you can’t read between the lines and see the fix was in.

      Yeah there is a lot more to the story the corruption of the courts that can swindle a man and write it like their shot don’t stink

  • I think I would have kept my kidney and saved it for myself. Also if I were to give a kidney to my wife she better be a hottie.

  • You horrible misogynists. I may leave this misogynist website and misogynist community. Tracy is a victim of Gus. He tried to use his kidney to coercively control her. She wanted to leave him. She let him donate his kidney to be a good wife. How would it look if she let someone else give the kidney. He’d look like the cheap fool he is. So she let him donate his kidney.

    How long are you misogynists gone to play this up. He owes her $110,000. Pay up Gus yours a misogynist!!!

    • Oh no! You don’t think there’s any misogyny at play, do you? Like any partner who’s worth being married to, Gus’s decision to donate his kidney was solely to improve the health and well-being of his wife. Is that so difficult for you to understand? What exactly does he owe her $110,000 for? She didn’t work a day in her life. If she had been the sole source of income for the two during their marriage, I would understand. However, it’s entirely the opposite way around. It’s genuinely laughable that you believe she should be paid money that she never earned. Just to top off all of the mindless claims you’ve been making, you comment with the grammar of a middle schooler. Frankly, I pity you.

  • Yall should look into hiring a hippa lawyer and also medical malpractice attorney. Since it was a experiential surgery if she willing lied to receive a medical procedure and with malicious intent went after another patient from the same experimental trial she broke multiple hippa laws and so did her lawer. I am a little rusty on my hippa law since I have not actively studied it in 4 years but just might be worth looking into.

  • So macabre. I can’t wrap my head around this story. Something is missing.

  • Gus, just hide your money. Maybe give all your money to another woman, oh and give all your money to greedy lawyers too. Don’t forget to pay me for reading this bullshit. Gus, why did you agree to the terms if that’s not what you really wanted? One dollar bro? Wtf it’s like beating around the bush. If I divorce my sugar daddy I’m not going to except one dollar from him either. I’d expect more because of my sugar baby status.

  • Tracy, as a child, would tie pork chops around her neck just so the dogs would play with her. But when the chop was gone, so were the dogs.
    Gus, do you like pork chops?

    • Your implied position on this matter is clearly extremely presumptuous. How could you possibly know what led him to being with her?

  • Tracy is the victim. She was the one who was sick. Her husband was healthy. He had money she does not. He owed her the kidney otherwise she would have died. That’s just plain common sense. But that don’t mean he does not have to support her.

    Kidney is not worth that much. He is just virtue signalling

    Just because she wanted a divorce doesn’t mean he gets to stop paying. He has to pay alimony the rest of her life. When he gets social security he has to give half to her. This is the law. Judge Truglia knows this.

    The second wife doesn’t get anything. Only the first wife. That’s the law. Tracy gets his inheritance too. She gave Gus the best 10 years of her life. How long must she suffer. Pay up Gus. You owe Tracy a big apology.

    • “He owed her the kidney”?
      “Kidney is not worth that much”?
      “Tracy gets his inheritance too”?
      “the best ten years of her life”?
      “Pay up”?

      There’s something about that comments. 🤔

      That’s satire, right Anna?

    • Wow.
      Your delusional comment is circumvented by the sudden use of the concept “virtue signaling”.
      How does a person as blinded and obviously ignorant and uneducated use such scholarly vocabulary?

  • Hardly a court of ‘equity’ given she’d be dead absent his kidney donation, not that Judge Truglia has a clue of equity, just cash, all CT Family Court runs on. A special place in hell for these judges and their pet attorneys.

  • This is horrific. This man gave her more than enough. She deserves nothing else. Get a job. Take care of yourself you pathetic golddigger.

  • Absolutely horrible. What kind of woman does this? Get your freeloading ass a job. Find another sugar daddy.

  • I’m leaving this post so you can’t do your evil misogyny. Do you Frank have any idea how much you hurt Tracy. She is a woman with one kidney and you attack her. She need a the money and Gus promised to love honor and obey her till death do them part. She is still alive but Gus is doing everything he can to kill her.

    Pay the money Gus. Support your wife. You promised to do it. Is keep your word.

    You had two kidneys. You didn’t need them both. That’s a lame excuse to not support Tracy who married you and let you be her husband which you never deserved.

    Tracy is an angel and Gus you’re a devil. If I were judge I would make sure you paid her $4000 per months instead of keeping her at poverty level.

    Frank don’t write any more about this.

    • She isn’t his wife anymore, they are divorced, remember? TRACY asked for a divorce or he would have loved, honored and obeyed, & loved her til death so then part! But again SHE asked for a divorce, lmao. Gus doesn’t owe Tracey shit, she is not his wife. He has a wife whom he loves, honors and obeys.

      Tracy used Gus for a kidney. Who tf are you to say Gus didn’t need BOTH of his kidneys. You’re literally a delusional psychopath.

    • I am sorry that you hate men this much. She isn’t owed shit for her duplicity and hatred.

    • The wedding vows to love, honor, and cherish stop when a woman divorces her husband. Gus donated a kidney in order for one to be donated to her. She had already planned on divorcing him before he donated and then once she was well, she left him. The divorce is on her.

    • Anna,
      I am a social worker and grew up with Gus. I would be the first to advocate for a disabled woman. That said, just going by the facts your friend decided to divorce Gus. Period! He is no longer her husband she is no longer his responsibility. It was a Blessing that she found someone with a good heart that knowingly risked his health for the rest of life to move mountains for the woman he loved. A house, money and cars were a fair addition to her quality of life in the divorce which included a new kidney and her freedom (that she wanted). Leave Gus alone now. It’s very ugly to keep sucking him dry and God doesn’t like ugly, Also, this story is a negative for the kidney swap program. People make great sacrifices from the kindness of their heart and go through an operation they may not survive . Your friends behavior and desperate grab at money could deter a person from participating. Tell her to sell the house and the cars and there are lovely communities that will cost less to live in. The story started with a selfless act of humanity and no one can deny that. Where it is today is an embarrassing opportunistic grab for money. I pray for Justice and for each party to be able to cut ties and live a happy and healthy life.

  • Re: the jailing and disbarment of whistleblowing American lawyers

    “… Dr. Richard Fine is the principal of Richard I. Fine & Associates, which was established in 1974 as an international law firm. Fine has more than 45 years of legal experience. with a PHD in International Law from the London School of Economics & Political Science, University of London. He also received a Doctorate of Law at the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Wisconsin.

    Additional items of note for Fine are his Public and Private International Law certificates from the Hague Academy of International Law, a Certificate of Comparative Law from the International University of Comparative Science in Luxembourg, and a Diplome d’Edudes Superieures du Drot Compare from the Faculte Internationale pour L’Enseignment du Droit Compare in Strasbourg.

    Prior to opening his firm, Richard Fine was a prosecutor for the United States Department of Justice, part of the formation of the first municipal antitrust division and Special Counsel to the Governmental Efficiency Committee of the Los Angeles City Council.

    For 15 years, Dr. Fine served as Consul General for the Kingdom of Norway in Southern California.

    Fine is also an activist on tax and tax abuse issues. As part of that effort, Richard Fine sued California State Supreme Court Justices for receiving monies Dr. Fine claimed were beyond the limits permitted by the Constitution of the State of California.

    For reasons still not clear, Richard Fine was ordered to be taken into custody by Justice David Yaffe; and that incarceration lasted 18 months. On his own behalf, Fine filed an item with the United States Supreme Court. Shortly thereafter, though the U.S. Supreme Court denied hearing the case, Richard Fine was released by Yaffe – who subsequently resigned. Ron Kaye, formerly of Los Angeles Daily News is very critical of the case in his Blogging that “Judge Yaffe Explains Why He Freed Richard Fine After 18 Months of “Coercive Confinement”.
    Fine was disbarred because of his relentless efforts to halt an injustice within the CA State Judicial system.

    What appears to vindicate Fine is the fact that, among the many controversial Pardons granted by Governor Schwarzenegger, such as the Pardon of Esteban Núñez, Governor Schwarznegger also pardoned the California State Supreme Court Justices for receiving the extra monies that Fine remarked upon in his initial litigation …“

  • Gus, I bet you wish you’d let nature take its course so you’d be rid of this parasite. She needs to become a ward of the state. Let the state of Connecticut take care of her.

  • A gross use of the court system she was going to die and his actions saved her life he could have just as easily said no but he chose to help her

  • Let’s focus on judge truglia. Turning tricks in the court house. Tricking Truglia. He’s almost as bad as Alderman. The judicial committee is a joke. Impeach and clear the benches in Connecticut. Clean up the state.

  • First and foremost Tracy needs to get off her ass and get a job. Gus went above and beyond for her and she is a selfish snake who needs a cold dose of reality. Second, Anna, you’re an uneducated idiot which leads me to believe that you’re really Tracy using a different name. You could use that energy to get a job and support yourself. Gus is a kind man with a good heart. These judges and attorneys should be ashamed of themselves. Karma never misses an appointment and I only hope that Gus gets to see it happen to them all.

  • Tracy needs to get a job and stop living off of her ex! Enough is enough! No one owes anyone a penny when they’re not willing to support themselves. Freeloading is never an admirable trait.

  • Anna is fake. Pay no attention to the post. Trying to make women look bad. Tracy is a piece of work.

      • Maybe Anna – I mean Tracy – is just a miserable, evil human being. Lazy. Manipulative. Lying. Great traits for a person… Maybe Tracy just wants more money because she’s so lazy and disgusting that no man or woman wants her. Maybe she’s jealous that Gus moved on. Based on the picture, looks like his new wife is a serious upgrade. Seems like Gus lucked out. Too bad the old hag can’t return to her swamp and leave the two alone. Funny how she doesn’t need Gus, but needs him to live off of. Because she cant get off the couch to go work, and is so terrible of a person she can’t attract anyone that would take care of her.

  • That’s absolutely appalling. She’s made a career out of sueing Gus taking and living off all his money, rather than go get a job being a productive citizen in. Meanwhile
    the CT tax payers money is being wasted on all these hearings and she’s sitting on her arse. CT judges are enabling this horrible behavior. A sad times in CT family law.

  • Some people shouldn’t be saved. That greedy useless excuse for a human is one of them. Every person helping her along the way deserves to experience hell imo.

    • You all are making such a big deal about a lousy kidney. So he gave his kidney. She spend 10 years with him. She did her part. Now he should pay. Fair is fair!

      • @Anna…. I assume you are being sarcastic. If not, you also fall under the category of “useless excuse of a human.”

      • What part exactly did she do? They didn’t have kids. She was sick and he took care of her for ten years. She already got more than she deserved before The alimony and of course the $110,000 lump sum payment for..,🤷‍♀️. This abuse by our Justice system is disgusting. The obvious bias by the judges is enough to remove them from the bench if there was anyone willing to look into this.

      • It wasn’t a lousy kidney when she needed it was it ? He still DONATED A KIDNEY FOR HER, FOR HER, You idiot ! This bitch wouldn’t have a kidney if it wasn’t for GUS! selfish, inconsiderate, heartless bitch, that’s what you “Anna”, I mean “Tracy” are! Karmas always works it’s way around , and it’s coming for you!

        I wish my mom would say I didn’t donate my kidney to her because she didn’t get my direct kidney. 😂😂

  • I would say it’s time for ungrateful Tracy to get a JOB!

    Gus doesn’t deserve this stupidity, and Hilary is a wonderful human.

    Tracy wanted to get a divorce it’s time she acts like an adult and work. If I were her I would be so embarrassed as a grown woman expecting her xhusband to take care of her!!!

  • The attorneys are driving this train along with the judge. They couldn’t do it without Tracy but there’s way Tracy pursued this without direction from her attorney. I’m sure she knew the purpose of the $1 alimony – but even when that expired Truglia rewrote the divorce anyway.
    And the appellate court approves it.

  • Gus is a good guy. I know him personally. This is an insane ploy from his ex. I’m hoping for the best in this situation for Gus and his family.

  • Gus is a good man. I spent a week with him and he is a warm hearted person. He never told me this horrible story or complained instead he helped me feel better about my own horrible situation with my daughter. This story is 100% true.

  • After a mother from Connecticut hired Rick to handle a simple child custody case, she and her children were then dragged through “the family courts” for the next ten years. She still hasn’t recovered.

    She paid Rick tens of thousands of dollars while she bought second-hand clothes for her children. She drove herself and her children around in used cars that broke down every few months. The father in the case was wealthy. He could have bought a safe car for the mother and his children. He didn’t.

    Rick could have managed the case differently. He didn’t. The mother worked several jobs, raised the children on her own and struggled to keep her home clean. Rick’s office was spotless. If he hired a cleaning service to clean his office, why wouldn’t he send the cleaning service to help that mom? Because that’s not what Connecticut “family courts” are for. The case could have been over in a few months. Instead, Rick took tens of thousands of dollars from that family and helped destroy the childhood of a few children. Why should we care? Because a few more children here and there throughout the state, throughout the nation and in several countries in the same ways, every couple of days over the course of several decades has achieved very specific political goals and very specific religious goals.

    Back in the hills of Connecticut, it looks like Rick did the same in Gus’ case. The fact that Richardson, the lower court and Appellate Court judges weren’t sanctioned or fired for refusing Gus’ request and right to grieve and support his family reflect what look like certain hidden goals of Connecticut family courts, Connecticut state legislators and Connecticut’s executive branch.

    Thousands of parents complained about corruption and malfeasance in the “family courts” for the past several decades. Yet so far, only a few legislators spoke in public to say things like, “Hey, maybe we should review all the family court cases in which family court employees and vendors acted unethically.” The legislators who have spoken up about the need for investigations in family courts aren’t members of high society.

    The current governor of Connecticut is a descendant of politicians and bankers who wears Grateful Dead Owsley bear belts. He legalized pot. Is that groovy or does it tell the youth of the state to use marijuana? Is the governor advertising for LSD, too? Owsley Stanley designed the bear logo on the governor’s favorite belts.

    Owsley Stanley was the Grateful Dead’s tour manager, sound engineer and distributor of LSD in the 1960s and 70s. According to a Rolling Stone article, “He is so synonymous with the drug that the Oxford English dictionary lists ‘Owsley’ as a noun describing very pure LSD.”

    Why would a Connecticut governor promote drug use? Why would a Connecticut governor allow state family courts to destroy so many children and families? If someone like James Lindsay can lead the investigations of the root causes of corruption in America’s family courts, the public could know why.

    He says, “So, to make sense of how our secret religions of the West operate, we have to understand their basic framing of reality — their creation myths, their underlying mythology — but also the operation because their religion is a religion of activity. It’s not a religion of just belief. It’s a religion of practice. So we have to understand how that works. We talked about negative theology. We talked about negating the real, but we haven’t talked about the mechanism of their sorcery. I gave you a lot of stuff yesterday about examples of people who are the ones who have the mind and the people who are excluded from the mind — and how that justifies different treatment. Parallel sets of principles, in other words, that they get to excuse themselves from their own evil.

    We read that directly out of the Corpus Hermeticum they have a double standard that they erect for themselves. Why? Because they know better why they’re doing an evil thing for a good outcome. And thus, it’s what Hegel actually referred to as something called “the cunning of reason”. The cunning of reason for Hegel was that good things come out of bad people people doing bad things …” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_Hermeticum

    James speaks about the politics of today with a sense of urgency. All good people who care about how this world should feel that same sense of urgency. As soon as possible, as many as possible must do everything possible to help James pull back the curtain. Can Nicki Clyne help? Would Allison Mack help when she’s released from prison?

    In Connecticut, “family courts” have directly and indirectly harmed hundreds of thousands of children and families. The public isn’t allowed to know whether or not DOJ investigated Connecticut family courts in 2014-15 in their multi-agency “public corruption” investigation. If the public has no right to know, who does?

    After the initial AFCC group established public-private partnerships in Connecticut, California and Minnesota “family courts” in the 1970s and 80s, the destruction of children and families in “family courts” was well-organized and incentivized in for-profit private cottage industries serving the judicial branch. After Richard Gardner’s theories in the 1980s promoted the sexualization of children in “family courts”, public schools started pushing that same early sexualization of children and suddenly, multinational corporations now push the same agenda throughout society.

    Suddenly, banks and politicians can destroy anyone anywhere who doesn’t follow the “progressive” plan. Mandatory compliance, under penalty of law, isn’t just for parents and children in family courts. Those reading about corruption in family courts need to see the bigger picture.

    In behind-the-scenes politics and religion, many things matter much more to high societies than color.

    If you haven’t yet, please take notes:

    • Thank you for presenting so much information to understand who is leading the corruption in Connecticut.

    • Thank you for putting information out there. We need the public to be advised of the truth. The GOP is investigating New York. Come to Connecticut! We are in desperate need of help!!!!

  • Check out the connections between Heather Roberts and Judge Christine Simpson and look into how Simpson became a judge. .

    Frank dig into it and you’ll find corruption.

    Gus should have gotten a medal but I can only say Simpson will do Heather’s bidding. She doesn’t have to put Gus in jail. She could say this is a Connecticut matter and not do debtors prison in Pennsylvania. Jail for the good guy and extra money for who ?

    Look into Heather and Christine.

  • Why doesn’t Tracy donate her heart to science ? It is too small to see with the naked eye.

  • If Gus really loved Tracy he should have been happy when she asked for a divorce because it showed he had done his part in her life. He helped her get well. If he was a good man an oxymoron he would have thanes Tracy.

    But no he wants to deprive her of happiness. Why give the kidney in the first place if he didn’t want her to be happy?

    Tracy us the real hero here. She needs that. $110,000. What is Gus thinking about trying to nott pay her?

    Men are so evil. He promised to love honor and obey Tracy till death. When will he keep his word?

    No one holds men accountable.

      • Gus should have supported her decision to leave. He had 10 years with her. That was enough. He should thank his lucky stars he got be with her. He’s a man and he is selfish. Pay his wife and stop messing around.

    • Seriously? First your comment sounds like a 5 year old wrote it . Also sounds like you don’t have all the FACTS. He saved her life already once! She isn’t broke. In fact living the high life mortgage free. His financial status changed from when they were married drastically- for the worse. She’s well off now. Bank reports show that. This woman is evil. She’s fake. The only thing she does have is luck in getting the most shady corrupted judges and attorney. Gus paid his dues. No kids together. Married less then 10 years and you think giving someone 2,000 a month FOR LIFE to make this women who had reeked havoc in this man’s life… better? He doesn’t love her. He doesn’t care about her happiness. He has a family to support- NO ONE COULD AFFORD 2,000 a month for life when trying to put food on his table for his children and keep a roof over their head.. You sound like an idiot. This crazy ex of his needs to move on. She’s got everything she needs to live financially free for the rest of her life already… claiming disability while using a chainsaw to cut trees… give me a break. The judicial system is the most corrupt system in this country. That disgusting excuse of human that wants to live off Gus the rest of her life is Lucky to be alive because of Gus.

      • Tracy has expenses too. So why did he marry her if he wasn’t willing to support her? He used her. Just because she wanted to be free doesn’t mean he gets off free for life!

          • Yes he does. He made a commitment to take care of her and to love honor and obey for life. So let him obey her. He has to support her. Fair is fair.

    • She also took the same vows. Why are you only holding him accountable? She divorced him. She broke the vows. She shouldn’t get anything.

        • For your knowledge, I’m a woman and I do not see the misogyny in this situation. Tracy is lucky. The divorce wasn’t filed for as soon as she brought it up. Gus allowed her to continue living with him for three years before the divorce was even final. Most men would not allow that.

    • You are disgusting for even commenting something this. You have a bible thumping mind set. Without his kidney, she would be dead.

    • Obey? That’s not part of the vows. Marriage is not simply a way for men to “do their part.” The fact that you think there is a “part” to be done shows how close-minded and selfish you really are, and discredits anything you could say about this story.

    • Anna, if you aren’t a sock account for Tracy, you are pathetic. Gus went above and beyond for that golddigger and there is ZERO reason to be holding him ransom if she wanted out.

    • Anna. I am trying to understand, how is Gus depriving her of happiness, she asked for the divorce, if anything, Tracey should be grateful that Gus donated his kidney during the kidney swap so that she could have a new kidney and not die. I have carefully read the article, and all of your comments, from my understanding a Judge re wrote the divorce agreement, years after it had been finalized and signed, and did not allow a continuance based on Tracey’s attorney being friends with the Judge, why was a video conference not allowed? Obviously, Gus was not earning near enough to pay 2000 a month, and requested a reduction, and it was denied? but for some reason, reading between the lines, his wife Hilary’s salary is now being taken into account as his., when asking for a reduction and to look at his actual income. How is that possible.? I am not sure if you are Tracey and posing as Anna, but any psychiatrist when reading your responses, would believe that you are Tracey and have some serious mental issues with regards to men, and entitlement, narcissism, and a believe that is not reality, Tracey got a huge amount of money, surely she should be happy and move on, or is that she is not happy with her life and does not like herself and feels Gus should not be either ? what has Gus done wrong ? is she jealous that he found happiness and has moved on ? can you answer that Anna aka Tracey ? all of this that should be addressed in court, along with the Judge and his obvious friendship with Tracey AKA Annas attorney. There is so much more to address with regards to Tracey and her Attorney and friendship with the Judge and the Judge as well.

  • So many articles about CT courts. How much do these people pay to get these articles written? They don’t change anything.

    FR should stick to covering sex cults.

    This crap is boring.

  • This is how Connecticut works. Richardson is close to Truglia. And friends help friends. They see nothing unethical.

    Don’t be stupid. Hire the right lawyer. It’s just a game. The lawyers never think about the clients as people.

  • That poor woman Tracy. After going through so much her kidneys fail her pancreas and then that lout Gus he wants to quibble with her over money.

    Sure she wanted a new life once she weee well. Who wouldn’t. You can’t blame her for that. What right did Gus have to stop her from enjoying her life?

      • Gus is trash for not giving her what she wanted. It is only fair. He donated the kidney you can’t count that. Beside he gave it to some guy. That’s a donation. That dont count for nothing. Besides he didn’t give to her. He have to some man.

        Mr Eng gave his kidney to her. If Tracy went after Mr Eng I would agree that she would be wrong cause Mr Eng gave of his heart.

        • Okay Tracy (aka Anna)….keep spouting your BS. Apparently the Courts didn’t hear enough of it…. You are one sick individual, Tracy. Jealous much of your ex-husbands new wife and life?
          Ooooh…poor you.

    • To Anna, and all the women like her, You are a gold digging evil person. Gus pretty much gave Tracy a new life when they did the kidney swap. She is an ungrateful human being, who should never have been given a new leach in life if this is how she was going to treat the one person who stuck his neck and heal at sized his health to give her a chance at a new life. This was devious and disgusting. I never want to wish anything horrible on someone so I will leave it to the universe to deal with people like Tracy who are users and abusers. And her attorneys desire the same karma along with the judges. Adelman literally caused the death of one of my clients by running her into the ground in a very similar manner by taking all of her state pension from her and giving it to her cheating husband who had been hiding assets the entire marriage. This is deplorable.

      • Men have to pay. That is the way of God. Tracy is the victim here. The man who wrote this you should be ashamed picking on this poor woman with only one kidney.

        She only has less than half of what she got from this selfish man. $2000 a month will take care of her expenses. How selfish Gus is.

        Frank go do your report in hell. Asshole.

        • “Men have to pay” care to cite the passage of the bible that clearly say that? Yeah, I figured not. If she has expenses that need to be paid, she can take her able-bodied, lazy ass off her couch and get a damn job. You must be truly delusional if you think she deserves even one cent after giving him absolutely nothing for their entire marriage. The only gifts she ever bought him were paid for with the money he earned.

      • I absolutely agree!!! This is either Tracy or the crooked lawyers trying to defend their heinous crimes. Unfortunately, this is not just CT but nationwide, especially here in VA:-(

    • Enjoying her life with the money he earned, while she continued to not work despite being in vastly improved health? She no longer needs to sponge off of his income, so don’t act like it’s any kind of justice that he’s legally obligated to allow her to do so.

    • She can do that, on her own dime? She should have not have further rights to his life and earnings after the divorse settlement. She’s a leech.

  • If Gus goes to jail what will the charges be? Will he get to bond out, or is he looking at real time?
    The $1.00 a year is an interesting move. Why did Gus agree to this?

    • Eva DeFranco, lawyer for Gus, was working under direction of Rosemary Giuliano, partner of Richardson, Tracy’s attorney, Gus was the mark, he was set up, the $1 alimony was the sting, a red flag to anyone who knows the racket, it was all planned out. The value of the kidney was ignored by DeFranco and Richardson, a play to get to Gus’ cash, which is all the lawyers wanted, same goes for Truglia. The way racketeering works.

    • It was a trap and his lawyer sold him down the river. Downplayed it. But she knew it was a trap. That’s why she lost her malpractice suit.

  • Connecticut family court just wants the money, it feeds parasitic lawyers, a destructive system.

    • The answer to the family courts in Connecticut is with in the state government. The state has strategically placed people in position to keep this going. They don’t want online exposure so they pass laws to punish people coming forward with information. Take a deep dive into the agencies surrounding family court. That’s where you will find the heart of the problem. The courts are not for protection of the citizens of the state. It’s for political agenda and funding. The real story is with in the government of the state not the court system it’s self. Follow the money tree.

      • The family court is communist ideology, no law, no rights, just needs of the state and its ruling elite. Pretty obvious. Gulag Connecticut, shut up and get in the box car, but leave your kidneys behind.

  • Richardson is an AFCC member- partner to guiliano who had hand in very sneaky financial fraud divorces- grohs v grohs and tittle v tittle- among many others where the other party defrauded constantly. The same rules don’t apply-

    • After family courts destroy parents and parents and children are left with fewer resources, the parents’ only option is to file an appeal. Filing an appeal takes the emotional strength and financial resources that were usually drained in those kinds of nightmarish family court cases. The damage done to families is done on purpose. There’s no oversight on purpose.

      There’s a reason there are so few neutral non-profit offices investigating family court cases to find wrongdoing. There’s a reason there are so few neutral non-profits pursuing justice for families and children who have been harmed by family courts. Protecting families from family courts is like protecting people from the tobacco industry and Big Pharma.

      So far, there’ve been no warning labels posted in any family court anywhere — and there should be.

  • MORE PEOPLE (MEN) NEED TO SPEAK and tell their story , the only way you can make change is hitting them with numbers!

    • We need more insiders in the system to speak out. We need more whistleblowers to tell the public what’s been happening.

  • judges in CT are foul smelling criminals. Another victim to this unethical cesspool of family court in CT. Stay strong the truth will prevail. These scum sucking leeches will have their day.

  • Everyone should see what is happening in family court. It’s robbery and criminalization of innocent people.

    And the appellate court does nothing. Truglia’s parents are/were good people. They would be ashamed and enraged over their sons conduct.

    He’s destroying his fathers hard earned legacy.

    Karma will catch up this this arrogant, angry criminal.

  • Absolutely disgusting. I’m so sorry for Gus and current wife. Unbelievable the story’s just keep coming.

  • Truglia and Adelman make the same “retroactive” payments. The criminal conduct is blatant—

    Life savings plundered and shared with the judges.

    Truglia is a pig. He fancies teen girls and is not held accountable for his conduct both within and outside of court.

  • Reading the article, you think, “This can’t be. There has to be more to the story.”

    The Appellate Court opinion seems to say: “Nope. That’s basically it.”

    I wish I could donate to help Gus and will when I can.

    https://casetext.com/case/simms-v-zucco

  • Don’t get married. This person was clearly in the relationship solely to be taken care of. What a sick, greedy individual. Sounds like my still wife. Petitioned for divorce over 3 years ago. Now I haven’t seen my kid and my bank account has been empty for a year. 140k in new debt. Not one judgement in my favor, even when a retired judge reviewed and made suggestions on a filing. I have had lawyers and legal experts check my filings. Her filings are wrong, on wrong documents (doesn’t matter). Her lawyer is a judge actively in the same court for 15 years. So I have been sanctioned and haven’t won a single motion without my documents even being considered.

About the Author

Frank Parlato is an investigative journalist.

His work has been cited in hundreds of news outlets, like The New York Times, The Daily Mail, VICE News, CBS News, Fox News, New York Post, New York Daily News, Oxygen, Rolling Stone, People Magazine, The Sun, The Times of London, CBS Inside Edition, among many others in all five continents.

His work to expose and take down NXIVM is featured in books like “Captive” by Catherine Oxenberg, “Scarred” by Sarah Edmonson, “The Program” by Toni Natalie, and “NXIVM. La Secta Que Sedujo al Poder en México” by Juan Alberto Vasquez.

Parlato has been prominently featured on HBO’s docuseries “The Vow” and was the lead investigator and coordinating producer for Investigation Discovery’s “The Lost Women of NXIVM.” In addition, he was credited in the Starz docuseries 'Seduced' for saving 'slave' women from being branded and escaping the sex-slave cult known as DOS.

Parlato appeared on the Nancy Grace Show, Beyond the Headlines with Gretchen Carlson, Dr. Oz, American Greed, Dateline NBC, and NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, where Parlato conducted the first-ever interview with Keith Raniere after his arrest. This was ironic, as many credit Parlato as one of the primary architects of his arrest and the cratering of the cult he founded.

Parlato is a consulting producer and appears in TNT's The Heiress and the Sex Cult, which premieres on May 22, 2022.

IMDb — Frank Parlato

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Parlato,_Jr.

Contact Frank with tips or for help.
Phone / Text: (305) 783-7083
Email: frankparlato@gmail.com

Archives