Civil complaints allege former producer borrowed $160,000 from childhood friend to finance legal defense before alleged attack.
A former Massachusetts insurance agent who pleaded guilty last year to stealing more than $39,000 in insurance premiums has now been indicted on five additional felony charges, including attempted murder, arising from the alleged attack on a childhood friend who had loaned her money during the earlier insurance fraud case.
An Essex County grand jury returned the indictments against former insurance producer Phyllis Palazzola on July 2, 2026. The charges include attempted murder, assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, and two counts of witness intimidation. According to the Superior Court docket, Palazzola is scheduled to be arraigned July 21 in Salem Superior Court.
The criminal charges arise from an alleged January 3, 2024, attack on Marianna DiMercurio, who separately has filed two civil lawsuits against Palazzola seeking repayment of loans and damages for personal injuries allegedly sustained during the incident.
Agency Checklists previously reported on Palazzola’s 2023 insurance fraud indictments in “Even After License Revocation, Massachusetts Insurance Agent Now Indicted for Continuing to Steal Insurance Premiums” (June 6, 2023) and on her guilty plea in “Ex-Insurance Agent Pleads to Stealing Over $39k in Premiums“ (Feb. 26, 2024).
Friend Who Loaned $160,000 Allegedly Targeted in Attempted Murder Plot
According to the criminal indictments, prosecutors allege that on January 3, 2024, Palazzola assaulted DiMercurio with a dangerous weapon identified in one indictment as a rag and, in a separate indictment charging serious bodily injury, as an aerosol spray. The indictments also charge attempted murder and two counts of witness intimidation.
The indictments themselves do not describe the underlying facts supporting the charges beyond the statutory allegations.
The civil complaint filed by DiMercurio in Essex Superior Court lays out the facts underlying those allegations. According to that complaint, DiMercurio and Palazzola had been friends since childhood. The complaint alleges that between October 2021 and February 2022, DiMercurio loaned Palazzola a total of $160,000 and that the money was needed to pay legal fees in connection with the insurance fraud case that later resulted in Palazzola’s indictment on eleven charges.
The complaint further alleges that after Palazzola failed to repay the loans, she invited DiMercurio to accompany her to a bank on January 3, 2024, under the pretense of repaying the debt. Instead, according to the complaint, Palazzola drove to her Gloucester residence, where she allegedly held a rag soaked with WD-40 against DiMercurio’s face in an attempt to render her unconscious.
According to the complaint, DiMercurio escaped and began recording a conversation on her cellphone during which Palazzola allegedly admitted she intended to kill them both by driving off a bridge and making the deaths appear to be an accident. The complaint also alleges that Palazzola later repeated those admissions during a meeting attended by family members. Those allegations have not been adjudicated.
Insurance Fraud Case Led to Earlier Conviction
The new criminal case follows Palazzola’s earlier prosecution for insurance fraud.
In June 2018, the Massachusetts Division of Insurance revoked Palazzola’s individual insurance producer license and permanently revoked the business entity license of Palazzola Insurance Agency LLC after an investigation found she had failed to remit approximately $16,000 in workers’ compensation premiums and had created false workers’ compensation certificates. Under a settlement agreement, Palazzola agreed to cease conducting insurance business in Massachusetts.
According to prosecutors, Palazzola nevertheless continued operating as an insurance producer for approximately 14 months after the license revocation. Authorities alleged she collected $39,010 in workers’ compensation premiums from eight businesses without placing the promised insurance coverage and issued fraudulent certificates of insurance to conceal the scheme.
An Essex County grand jury indicted Palazzola in 2023 on eight felony counts of larceny over $1,200 by a single scheme, two felony forgery counts, and one misdemeanor count of acting as an unlicensed insurance adviser.
On Feb. 21, 2024, Palazzola pleaded guilty to all 11 charges in Essex Superior Court. She received concurrent terms of supervised probation, suspended House of Correction sentences on the forgery and misdemeanor counts, and was ordered to pay $19,870.70 in restitution. Her former agency also pleaded guilty to related charges and was held jointly and severally liable for restitution.
Civil Lawsuits Also Pending
In addition to the criminal prosecution, DiMercurio has filed two civil actions in Essex Superior Court.
One lawsuit seeks repayment of the $160,000 loan, enforcement of a promissory note, and an equitable lien on Palazzola’s Gloucester property. According to that complaint, Palazzola signed a notarized promissory note agreeing to repay $180,000—representing the principal plus agreed interest—within four months. The complaint alleges no repayment was ever made.
The second lawsuit seeks damages for assault, battery, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and related claims arising from the alleged January 2024 attack.
The criminal case remains pending. The allegations contained in the indictments and civil complaints have not been proven in court, and Palazzola is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
