Commonwealth v. Economou

I. Statement of Facts and Procedural History

On January 27, 1997, Alexandra Economou, the wife of the defendant, James C. Economou, was subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury in Worcester county. At that time, the members of the grand jury were investigating the activities of multiple parties, including the defendant, with respect to allegations of insurance fraud committed by partners of a law firm in the Worcester area, their associates and related others.

On February 14, 1997, Mrs. Economou appeared before the grand jury and, on that occasion, declined to answer any substantive…