HARTFORD, Conn. _ Fotis Dulos was able to post the $6 million bond after he was arrested for the murder of his estranged wife because Anna Curry, a North Carolina woman, contributed $147,000 in cash and promised to pay another $272,000 more, according to records obtained by The Hartford Courant.
The bond became a critical issue this week when it became the subject of an emergency court hearing Tuesday. Instead of going to the hearing Tuesday _ and possibly being sent back to jail if his bail was revoked _ Dulos attempted suicide at his Farmington home, setting off a chaotic sequence of events.
Dulos is accused of killing his estranged wife, Jennifer Farber Dulos.
The state had sought to revoke the bond because the Palmetto Surety Company, which secured it, was now saying it no longer would do so because the collateral used to secure it wasn't sufficient. Palmetto underwrote the bond with six pieces of real estate _ but two of them, including the Farmington home _ are in foreclosure and a third is significantly overvalued.
Dulos referred to Curry, a former co-worker of Dulos at a New York financial firm, as his "best friend" in the bond documents. Curry signed a $3 million promissory note and was one of two indemnitors listed on the documents. The other is a high-profile private investigator from Fairfield County who initially was hired by Dulos' lawyers.
Curry, 42, was present at Dulos' Farmington home on Tuesday when Dulos was supposed to be heading to the Stamford hearing. Dulos faced the prospect of a judge revoking his bond because Palmetto, a South Carolina surety company, was questioning whether the collateral to support it was fraudulent and was threatening not to return the initial cash payment by Curry.
Sources said that Curry left the home to run some errands sometime before 10:30 a.m., and when she returned shortly before noon Farmington police were already on the scene attempting to revive a nearly lifeless Dulos. She was interviewed by Farmington police as part of their investigation into Dulos' suicide attempt.
"It is my understanding and belief these were old friends who developed a friendship years ago at work and out of loyalty to that friendship she has assisted Mr. Dulos," Dulos attorney Norm Pattis said. "We should all be lucky enough to have such a loyal friend."
Dulos was clinging to life at the Jacobi Medical Center in New York City on Wednesday in "dire" condition, according to Pattis. At a court hearing Wednesday the issue of possibly revoking the $6 million bond wasn't raised. Judge Gary White said that he would take up the issue if Dulos is ever able to attend court again.
Records obtained by the Courant through a Freedom of Information request to the state Department of Banking show that on Jan. 9 Curry wrote two checks totaling $147,000 to pay the bail bondsman his fee on the $6 million bond. Dulos wrote a check for $1,000, records show.
The checks were made out to 24/7 Bail Bonds LLC, the bail bond company that handled the bond. In order to get bonded out a defendant must post 7% of the bond in cash. With a $6 million bond, Dulos needed $420,000 in cash to get out.
Curry also agreed to pay the balance of $272,150 in 15 installments on the 9th of every month until April of 2021, records show.
Among the other documents submitted as part of the bond package was a form filled out by Dulos listing his personal information from how many children he has to his occupation. On one line under "best friend" Dulos wrote Curry's name along with her contact information.
Dulos listed that he worked at Capgemini, a New York technical consulting firm, for several years in the early 2000s at the same time that Curry was working there, according to her LinkedIn profile. Sources said she has been supporting Dulos behind the scenes for several months, although she has never appeared in court with him.
Curry is a financial adviser now living in North Carolina.
Curry also signed a promissory note of $3 million to the Palmetto, records show. She is the only indemnitor listed on that note, records show.
However, there is a second indemnitor, Patrick McKenna, a well-known private investigator in Connecticut. Records show that McKenna agreed to be an indemnitor on Jan. 16. McKenna was hired by Pattis to work on the Dulos case over the summer. McKenna declined to comment Wednesday.
For now, with Dulos hospitalized and near death, the bond revocation hearing has been postponed. It is unclear if Curry will ever get her money back.
Pattis said that if a bond hearing is held he will argue it is a dispute between the bondsman and the insurance company and not Dulos' fault or issue. Pattis has lined up a New York bondsman, Ira Judelson, to assume the bond.
Judelson, who represents high-profile clients from media mogul Harvey Weinstein to football player Antonio Brown, said he has been preparing a bond package and is ready to take it over when necessary. He appeared in court Wednesday and left with the attorney for Palmetto.
