By Associated Press PUBLISHED: 20:20 EST, 19 February 2014 | UPDATED: 20:47 EST, 19 February 2014 A once-prominent Aspen, Colorado socialite charged in the 1996 Tucson car bomb killing of her ex-husband had nothing to gain from his death and is the victim of overzealous authorities who failed to follow other leads, the woman's lawyer said on Wednesday during opening statements in her trial. Prosecutors, however, described Pamela Phillips as a gold digger who hired a former boyfriend to kill businessman Gary Triano to collect on a $2 million life insurance policy. They say she wanted the payout to maintain her lavish lifestyle as her finances dwindled.
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Prosecutors argue that Pamela Phillips arranged for her ex-boyfriend to kill her ex-husband in order to collect a $2 million life insurance policy
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It's been nearly two decades since Gary Triano died when his car exploded as he was leaving a Tucson-area country club after playing golf
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Authorities say Phillips paid ex-boyfriend Ronald Young $400,000 to carry out the hit
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Young was convicted in 2010 and sentenced to two life terms in prison
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$2 million is a hell of a motive,' prosecutor Nicol Green said
She eventually moved to @placeholder and worked in real estate before meeting Young.