Suspect arrested in ’96 Triano pipe bomb death; ex-wife sought
by Ryn Gargulinski on Oct. 18, 2008, under Local, Special
Young
Sheriff’s deputies have made an arrest in the death of Gary Triano, the 52-year-old Tucson businessman who was blown up by a pipe bomb Nov. 1, 1996.
“This was a murder for hire,” said Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik. He announced the arrest of Ronald Young, a friend of Pamela Phillips, one of Triano’s ex-wives, whom investigators also are seeking.
Triano was killed when his Lincoln Town Car exploded in the parking lot of La Paloma Country Club nearly 12 years ago.
On Friday, the 66-year-old Young was arrested in Yorba Linda, Calif., where he was living with his parents, working as a sandwich deliveryman, Dupnik said.
Young is charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, he said.
Phillips, 51, will face the same charges once arrested, the sheriff said, adding she is believed to be out of the country, possibly in Italy.
Detectives found evidence among both Young’s and Phillips’ possessions, including taped phone conversations between the two, that investigators believe show Phillips was paying Young in installments over a number of years.
She owned a life insurance policy on Triano worth $2 million, Dupnik said, and Young’s cut for his role in the killing was, investigators believe, to be $400,000. Dupnik said the first installment came after the insurance policy paid out in January 1997 and the last payment came in 2004, with Young having received most of, if not all, of the $400,000.
Investigators believe Young built, placed and then set off the bomb by remote control. The 3-inch-wide by 17-inch-long pipe bomb had been left in a blue, canvas bag on the front seat of the car Triano had borrowed.
The car doors had been unlocked and it was Triano’s birthday, Dupnik said, explaining why the victim may not have been suspicious of the bag on the seat. (Earlier reports stated the bombing was five days shy of Triano’s 53rd birthday.)
“Pipe bombs are probably the most simple to construct. With 10 minutes and the Internet, you can figure it out,” said George Gillett, an agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Phoenix.
The ATF, FBI and a popular television show were all instrumental in the investigation, Dupnik said.
The evidence compiled concerning Young was not discovered until an episode of the “America’s Most Wanted” TV show mentioning him was broadcast in 2005.
“Someone called and said ‘I know that son of a bitch,’ ” Dupnik said. “He was living under a false name. If it were not for ‘America’s Most Wanted,’ we would still be investigating this case.”
Young was arrested in Florida in 2005 on charges out of Aspen, Colo. unrelated to Triano’s slaying. His probation on those charges elapsed several weeks ago, which helped jump-start Friday’s arrest.
Dupnik said deputies were watching him in California and were worried that he would flee the country.
Another aspect pushing the arrest forward was the 2006 civil case filed in Colorado by Triano’s children, who suspected their father was killed by Phillips and Young.
Dupnik said lawyers in that case are asking for the more than 150 boxes of evidence.
“This was a very, very intense investigation,” Dupnik said. “I’ve been a police officer in this valley for 50 years and I’ve never been involved in a case as complicated and difficult as this case.”
Triano and Phillips were married in October 1986 in San Diego and divorced in November 1993. The divorce was bitter and the marriage ended “with a lot of animosity,” an affidavit filed in a Colorado court said.
The pipe bomb, containing at least 1 pound of black powder, was powerful enough to blow the roof off the car and shoot the windshield over 40-foot trees and into a swimming pool more than 70 feet away. A 500-foot radius around the car was strewn with debris.
Detectives said Triano had to have been “within the line of sight” for the bomb to be set off by remote control.
No one else was killed in the blast, Dupnik said, although a young boy in an adjacent car was slightly injured.
Pamela Phillips
Ronald Young.
A federal agent peers into Gary Triano's bombed Lincoln Town Car at the Westin La Paloma Country Club in this November 1996 photo.
