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Gus saved a life now he's facing jail.

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Gus Zucco was a devoted husband to Tracy Simms for 10 years. While married, he earned a good living and provided amply for her, as well as being her caretaker through her various medical conditions. In August of 2007, Gus donated a kidney in a 3-way organ swap to get Tracy off dialysis. A few months later, Tracy dropped a bomb on him and told him she wanted a divorce. Shortly thereafter, it was discovered that Tracy had planned to divorce Gus once she had been able to get a kidney from him.

Although Gus had been successful in business during their marriage, he made an investment shortly before Tracy filed for divorce that ended up failing and leaving a substantial debt. Due to improper legal representation by his divorce attorney, Gus was ordered by the court to be responsible for the entire debt even though it was incurred while the couple was still married and was financed by a joint line of credit the couple had. Once the divorce was finalized, Tracy received an enormous settlement - a house that was paid for in full, a large cash position, and most importantly, a new lease on life thanks to Gus's unselfish act. The couple had no children, so there were no child support expenses. Meanwhile, Gus was left holding the bag being ordered by the court to assume the entire debt.

Gus has since re-built his life, gotten remarried and has a new family. Despite being left with a sizable divorce settlement and a new kidney, Tracy has waged a post-divorce litigation against Gus for over 7 years which has cost him over $100,000 in legal fees in addition to the debt that he had to pay back. Not surprisingly, this caused great financial hardship and although he managed to pay about 2/3rds of the debt back, he was unable to pay the rest and was forced to declare bankruptcy in 2019. Upon filing for bankruptcy, the remaining debt was discharged, however, through deceit, Tracy and her attorneys managed to get permission from the bankruptcy court to pursue Gus for alimony.

In December of 2019 there was an alimony hearing in Danbury CT which Gus could not attend due to a death in the family. The services were nearly 8 hours from the Danbury courthouse. Gus asked for a bereavement continuance, but was cruelly denied this dignity. He also was unable to afford legal representation at the time so his position at the hearing went undefended. As a result of incorrect information presented at the hearing and also due to a corrupt court system in Danbury, CT, Gus was sacked with an enormous alimony award. On July 9, 2020, in the middle of an unprecedented worldwide pandemic, Judge Anthony Truglia ordered Gus to pay a lump sum of $110,000 and also for him to pay Tracy a monthly alimony award of $2,000 indefinitely - possibly for the rest of his life! Gus appealed the case in 2021 through his attorney but as stated above, the CT judicial system is rife with corruption. Gus's appeal was denied and additionally, both of his motions for modification were denied despite proving (in three separate hearings) that 2 crucial errors were made in the determination of the alimony award.

As of today (April 19th, 2023) Gus has paid nearly $50,000 in alimony payments along with tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees fighting this injustice. On April 18th 2023, Judge Christina Simpson ordered Gus to pay the lump sum of $110,000 in 60 days or be found in contempt and incarcerated. So Gus either needs to come up with the money in 60 days or get a motion to open the judgment within the next 60 days. It is Gus and his attorney's goal to open the judgment and hopefully reverse all that has been done but until that is solidly in place, we are asking for help to come up with the $110,000 so that Gus will not have to be incarcerated and risk losing his family's business and everything else that he and his family have worked so hard for.

Many of you know Gus and you know that he is a good and caring person who does not deserve this. What is perhaps most despicable of all in this matter is that Gus's stepson, Ethan (pictured in the photo), is now 17 and planning on attending college in the Fall. Ethan is a bright young man with a promising future. He has worked hard throughout his scholastic career, earning several accolades. Because of this travesty of justice, thousands of dollars that should have gone towards supporting this young man's future have instead gone to Tracy Simms who refuses to work, as she would rather continue sponging off Gus and his new family. Tragically, the law has been consistently on her side the entire time. Please donate whatever you are able to and if you are not, we beg you, please share it as far as possible. Thank you very much and we love all of you for your support.

Sincerely,

Hillary, Alicia, and Ethan
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Organizer

Hillary Styer
Organizer
Gettysburg, PA

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