CSI: NY (2004–2013): Season 9, Episode 12 - Civilized Lies - full transcript

- Good night, ladies.
- Good night.

Get home safe.

Thanks. Okay. We'll see you tomorrow.

Hey, kid.

I'll be there in 15.

No, no, you're buying.

You got a big boy job now and a big boy paycheck.

Uh-huh.

Hey. Let me go, son. I'm locking up.

No, we'll talk when I get there.

I love you, too. And, hey, I'm proud of you.



Aah!

Come on, hurry up, come on!

Hurry up! Get it!

That's it.

Shots went off, I saw the dude get hit...

and I ran.

Got around the block and I... felt this...

burning feeling in my shoulder. That's all I saw.

That "dude" was an off-duty police officer, moonlighting at the check cashing store.

Did it occur to you-- Did it cross your mind for 1 second to go back and help him?!

I mean, se-- I was shot, too.

And you knew you had an active bench warrant on a drug case, so you didn't want to stick around.

You'd rather leave a man die in the street than go to court.

Hey, please... I can't go back inside on that warrant.



I got a kid.

I wanted to call. Okay? I really did.

I was scared.

Maybe I wasn't thinking about the cop, all right?

Good night.

You know what?

There's no law that says I have to help you guys. So, you know what'd be nice? Just a little, maybe...

"Hey, thank you for cooperating, Mr. Lombardo."

You wouldn't even be talking to us if the hospital hadn't called to report you coming in with a gunshot wound.

Hey. How's that cop doing, anyway?

He's down the hall, fighting for his life.

- Get up.
- What?

- Turn around. Turn around.
- Ow. Ow!

Hey, Okay. Relax. Relax! What the hell's going on?!

You weren't across the street running when you got shot.

You were standing right over the officer when the bullet went through your shoulder.

You're no innocent bystander. You're a liar.

Oh, snap!

I got all y'all! What?

Looks like they all go to the same barber.

Uh-huh, no kidding. They could be brothers.

What about the rest of the video?

Uh, see, I see the car, just not really clear.

Uh, witness took down the plate. Car was reported stolen yesterday.

Okay, I went through the entire video, open to closing, and no one resembling Lombardo came in and out.

If he's involved, he's not in this video.

All the witnesses have the same story, all right? 3 bald, African-American males.

No one puts Lombardo at the scene.

But the science does. I examined those gunshot wounds.

Lombardo was standing directly over Riley, facing him... when Riley shot him.

Bullet traveled through his shoulder, ended up on the other side of the street.

Riley's .38 was recovered right near his body.

Lombardo was not shot with that gun somewhere else later on.

Unless Lombardo had some sort of magical cloaking device...

how did he end up in the crime scene, get shot, without anybody seeing him?

Mark Riley was the first officer at 1 of the first crime scenes I worked in the city.

He really made an impression on me. He was so nice...

very professional, really knew his stuff.

I bumped into him at the courthouse a few times.

- Always talking about his family.
- Mm.

Looks like he's got someone following in his footsteps.

Hi, I'm... Jason Riley.

Hi. Jo Danville, Detective. We're from the crime lab.

Hi, I'm Detective Lindsay Messer.

- Uh, my dad's--
- We know.

We're pulling for him.

Do you have any idea who did this?

Not yet, but we have a whole team of detectives working on it.

No one's going home till we do.

So, what, you're, um...

here to process his body if--?

No.

No, we're here to collect evidence in his clothing once he pulls through surgery.

I was-I was talking to him on the phone just before he got shot.

We both got off at midnight, and we were gonna go to the diner, and... have coffee and a midnight snack.

Did he sound worried or concerned about anything?

No. I-I mean, he kind of hurried off the phone like he was distracted, but...

uh, he-he gets that way when he's...

trying to do 3 things at 1 time.

He said, um...

"I love you and I'm proud of you," though.

That's pretty good, right, if...

it's the last thing your father ever says to you?

Don't think like that.

From what I know about your dad, he's a fighter.

Yeah, he is.

Excuse me.

Aw! Oh-ho-oh!

Oh-ho! Oh my God!

Ladies and gentlemen, last night, an off-duty NYPD officer was shot during a burglary in Queens.

But I'm happy to say that the officer is out of surgery and his family is by his side.

Wow! Yes! Wow!

But I will caution you... we are not out of the woods yet.

The next 24 to 48 hours will be crucial in determining his condition going forward.

I want to thank my trauma team--

That's good news for you.

Looks like he's going to make it.

Well played.

What are you doing? That press conference is golden.

It's 2 years old.

We need an upgrade.

You have a point.

Mac wants us to wait for him.

So, what do you think?

Tough nut to crack?

He's scared.

But my gut tells me, as long as he thinks Officer Riley is still alive, he'll keep talking.

I'm gonna make it real simple for you.

The hole in the front of your shoulder is an entrance wound. The hole in the back is an exit wound.

The bullet entered at an upward angle within 6 feet of the shooter.

That means you had to be standing directly over and facing Officer Riley when he shot you.

I was across the street...

running away.

Like I told you.

What? That's the truth.

I mean, I could lie if you want me to. You know, just tell me what you want me to say.

I want you to say the names of the 3 men you were with.

Pss.

Look at me.

The names! Now!

Come on, get up.

Give me an excuse.

I didn't think so.

I'm done with this piece of garbage.

Do whatever you want with 'im.

Damn. I would not want to get on your bad side.

What, now you gonna play good cop?

Be honest with you, I don't know what to do.

He's usually the good cop.

He's also the boss.

And the last guy in this building you want to piss off.

Look, man, you got a witness who can ID me...

bring 'im in.

You got any of that DNA crap... bring it on.

Otherwise, take me to court on that warrant, because...

I told you what I saw.

Look.

You seem like a smart guy.

So you know if we had a witness, you'd be standing in a lineup.

I'm not gonna lie.

All I got you on is that warrant right now.

So what makes you so sure that I'm lying?

Because your story makes no sense.

It couldn't've happened the way you said.

He's being too soft.

Mm-mm. He's being patient.

I can't think of anybody I'd rather have in that room.

You got hit with a bullet from Officer Riley's 5-shot .38.

That thing's a pea-shooter. It wouldn't barely break the skin from across the street.

It definitely would not go clean through you shoulder from that distance.

Impossible.

I've been doing this for a long time.

I've heard a lot of stories.

This one's bad.

Anthony, listen to me.

Being 6 feet away from a cop getting robbed does not make you guilty of anything.

It just means that maybe you got a little too close to a bad situation.

All of our witnesses say that 3 bald black guys did this.

You got a full head of hair, and you look pretty white to me.

What are you hiding?

Maybe you think no one will believe you because of your record?

If that's it, you got to tell me, because the people out there are looking to put this on someone, and right now, that someone is you.

Oh, man.

All right.

Goddamn.

I wasn't across the street, Okay?

I was passing by on the same side that they shot that cop on.

I didn't know what was up till the shots went off.

I got hit.

I just... ran.

I mean, that's it.

I had nothing to do with that cop getting shot.

Mm-mm.

What the hell is wrong with you?

What?

Why did we have to waste all of that time to get to the truth?

I don't know.

I'm coming back with a pen and a pad. I want you to write down your statement.

Yeah, hey, but I'm no good with spelling.

Neither am I.

Fish on, the hook is in, and we reeled 'im into the crime scene.

I'm not buying he was scared because of the warrant. He's involved.

Nice work.

I nearly messed myself when you spun his chair around.

I know that look. What are you thinking?

He puts himself at the crime scene, but we don't evidence that proves he was involved in the robbery.

He's not on the surveillance tape, and we don't have a witness who can place him with other 3 perps.

Something's not right.

Lunch at Lawson's says my results come up first.

Dinner, Grimaldi's. You're on.

Yeah, all right.

All the blood samples I got from Officer Riley's clothing came back to him, no foreign DNA.

I did find 2 hairs on his shirt.

They were both synthetic. Some kind o' polyester-acrylic blend.

They also had epoxy on the ends.

2 guys did have facial hair. Could be from a fake beard or mustache.

*

Oh!

Prrr.

- We're going to Grimaldi's.
- Aw.

*

Hey, hold up. Latex and silicone under Riley's fingernails and...

also on the bullet that... went through Lombardo's shoulder.

And synthetic hairs.

Think I know what we're looking for.

Spelling's pretty bad, right?

It's terrible.

There no such word as "runned." It's "ran."

But the important thing is that the story makes sense and I believe it.

I just got to run it up the flagpole, check with the bosses.

We executed a search warrant at your apartment, found some interesting stuff.

Look familiar?

How about this?!

That's you! Wearing this mask.

You didn't witness 3 guys committing a robbery.

You were 1 of 'em.

4.

They say it's a great age.

Let me honest with you. I don't remember it.

She'll be going to kindergarten next year, won't she?

That first day of school is always a big one.

Let's figure this out.

Attempted murder of a police officer...

that's, like... 10 years minimum.

Robbery 1...

possession of a loaded firearm...

criminal possession of stolen property...

all the other little charges, add another... 7 or 8.

T-t-t... my guess... you're looking at 15 minimum.

Damn, you'll probably just miss the prom and high school graduation.

But no big deal she probably won't even know you by then.

And your girl will promise, and she might even mean it...

I'm telling you this right now...

there is no way she's gonna schlep up to some maxi-max prison on the US-Canadian border to come and see you.

Not gonna happen.

You getting your rocks off?

Messing with my heart?

Disrespecting my family?

No more than you've been getting your rocks off disrespecting me...

sitting in that chair, lying to my face for the last couple hours!

You made me look like a jackass in front of my bosses, and I was trying to help you out!

I believed you, man! I really did!

I'm sorry about that.

Is there people watching us?

Well, there was.

There was a whole crowd of people. It was standing room only. But there's nothing to watch anymore.

It's a ghost town in there now.

Everyone's out in front of the precinct right now at a press conference... announcing your arrest.

The case is cleared. They got their man.

Yeah, they'll say something brave about going after the other 2 guys, but at the end of the day, the cop didn't die.

They are happy putting all of this on you.

And you might be good with that, but I'm not!

I want the truth!

Anthony.

I'm pretty sure you didn't pull the trigger and shoot that cop.

I got to give it to you.

You're a stand-up guy.

I don't think I could do it.

Those guys drove off... and left you in the street, knowing you were shot.

That's messed up.

Who are they?

What are their names?

All right.

You think of those names, you give me a shout.

I'll be around for a bit.

Ah.

If not, I'll see you in court.

He's protecting someone.

Someone he's afraid of or someone he cares about.

He never took his sergeant's test.

Had no interest in being a boss.

He worked that second job to make up for the money.

I never thought that's how he'd die.

Jason.

- Is there any way I can talk you out of this?
- No.

My father...

was invincible in my eyes.

I need to know how it went down and how he died.

Uh, the first round entered your father's abdomen, perforating the bowel and coming to rest near the spine.

It was nonfatal.

The next round entered here...

struck a rib, shattering it. There was significant damage to the right lung, but again, it was nonfatal.

Uh, these first 2 rounds were fired from a distance of 3 to 6 feet.

This one... was close contact. Uh... the gun was pressed against his face.

So he was...

he was executed.

Um--

Lying helpless on the ground?

What kind of human being does that?

You all have your assignments. I want every family member, every friend, every past associate, every codefendant...

of Anthony Lombardo spoken to.

If they aren't home, track them down.

If they have a warrant, drag them in.

If they don't, coax them in.

Somebody on that list was running with Lombardo last night or knows who was.

You all have the year, make, model of the stolen car used in the robbery.

Keep your eyes open. It's probably dumped somewhere nearby.

I know some of you have worked through the night.

If you start feeling tired, think of Mark Riley's family.

Now get out there. Be safe.

Lombardo's always been a property thief... burglary, grand larceny, drugs.

Seems so out of character to shoot a cop.

They came at Riley with pepper spray.

And the only guns we know of belonged to him.

Maybe shooting a cop wasn't part of the plan.

Half these cases are always inside jobs.

Lindsay's working with the owner of Bright-Star, putting a list together of current and former employees.

So, a sector from the Bronx just called the desk downstairs. They found the car.

Dumped under the Deegan Expressway.

Hey, get up.

What's going on?

Officer Riley passed away.

Oh, God.

We have the car, Anthony.

Your friends' prints were all over it.

It's just a matter of time before your pals are sitting in the room next door in the same situation that you are.

What do you think? They gonna be stand-up like you?

You're here. We're here.

You want to make a deal, now's the time to do it. When they come through that door, all bets are off.

Don't do it for us.

Do it for her.

What's it gonna be, Anthony?

I got nothing to tell you.

You're making a very bad decision.

And I'm gonna do my best to make sure that you regret it...

for the rest o' your life.

I'm gonna brief the mayor and the DA.

I'll be back in an hour.

You still don't get it.

No, you don't get it.

I snitch, I'm dead.

My girl is dead, my daughter is dead.

Do you understand that?

We can protect your family.

No, you can't.

You were right. He is afraid of someone.

Yeah.

So afraid, he's willing to take the fall for killing a cop.

Here you go.

I'll get you over to booking when you're done eating.

Unless you've had a change o' heart.

I didn't.

And I won't.

Who's that? What's going on?

The guy in the suit... he's the DA.

You know who the other guy is.

Roland Benitez.

You... probably call him "Mookie."

*

We got his prints on the car. He wants to make a deal.

Pss.

No way.

No way! Mookie's no snitch.

Oh, you don't think so?

'Cause they didn't bring the DA and the camera in to make a YouTube video.

He might be in the room... with all that--

No, no way he's rolling on me.

No?

Mookie's definitely a better speller.

What is that?

They make you write a confession before you do a video.

Looks like he's putting the gun in your hands.

Let me see that.

That would be unprofessional.

That ain't real, man.

What, you think I'm stupid?

I know what you're doing.

Yeah, you're tryin' to fool me.

You give me too much credit, Anthony.

You said you're gonna take me to court.

What are you waiting for?

Do you really think that I'm playing some kind of trick on you?

Yeah, I do.

You've ever heard the expression "seeing is believing?"

What if I let you see Mookie talking to the DA?

Would you believe me then?

You can't tell me the truths you want to tell me.

You can't just tell me what I want to hear.

In order for us to make this deal, you have to tell me everything.

Don, he can't be in here.

2 seconds. I want him to see this for himself.

Yeah. I'm not gonna lie.

Let's start with the car.

Were you worried about alarms?

By the time you hear the alarm and you get to the window in your boxer shorts, I'm halfway down the block--

- Where is he?
- Relax.

He's about to put the final nail in your coffin, my friend. You're done.

Okay, I'm gonna be very specific.

I want to talk about the car you stole yesterday.

I want the names of the people who were with you.

- Where is he? I want to talk to him right now!
- Calm down.

- No, I want to talk to him!
- Hey!

- I didn't shoot that cop! Ow!
- Hey! Come on!

- I didn't shoot that cop!
- Calm down!

I'm not going down for this.

I want to talk to the DA!

Right now, man!

- I want to make a deal, Okay?
- Okay.

- I want to make a deal.
- Okay.

You'll have a chance to tell your story. Let's go. Hey.

I am not going down for this, man! I didn't do this!

He's lying to you!

I didn't do this!

Nice job everybody. We got 'im.

Now we need to find the third guy and determine who actually pulled the trigger.

Looks like I missed all the fun.

You did. I think we just flipped Lombardo.

I've got more good news.

Guess whose name showed up on a list of former Bright-Star employees.

Lombardo.

Yep. He worked there as a messenger for 3 months during the same time that Mark Riley was there.

They knew each other.

They fired Anthony 6 months ago when he stopped showing up for work.

He's our inside man.

We've been homeboys since we were 12, man.

I can't believe that... bitch turned on me like that.

Anthony.

When you're in here... it's every man for himself.

So, right now... it's about saving yourself.

*

You knew Mark Riley.

You worked with him at Bright-Star.

Look... him getting shot...

that wasn't--

never supposed to happen.

I believe you.

But no more lies, Anthony.

You tell me the truth here and now, I'll do everything I can to help you.

But you lie to me just once... about anything...

I'll make sure you never live to see the outside of a prison ever again.

Do you understand?

Me and Roland...

we owed Eric money...

for this... stash of weed we had to ditch when the cops came at us a few weeks ago.

It was a lot.

Like, 10 grand worth.

What's Eric's last name? Mookie didn't know.

He knows.

He didn't tell you 'cause he was scared.

Eric, man...

he's a stone-cold killer.

He's got bodies on 'im.

You got to promise me... that you're gonna protect my family.

You have my word.

Oh, man.

Blaylock.

Eric Blaylock.

Eric, Eric, Eric.

Eric Blaylock.

Got 'im.

So you decide to... rob... Bright-Star as a way of paying Eric back.

I told him...

that me and Roland could do the job.

He says he's got to come with to make sure I don't skim any money from the top before he gets paid what he's owed.

But Eric's crazy.

I told him...

I wasn't gonna do it unless there was no guns.

That's pretty ballsy.

Robbing a cop with no gun.

Nah, I knew the routine from working there.

I knew Mark carried a gun on his right side in his pants.

I knew that if we came at him with pepper spray, masks... we could beat 'im down...

get the gun and the cash.

Aah!

We did it.

It worked, man. We had it.

I didn't know...

that he had another gun.

Get in!

Blaylock! NYPD! Stop!

Stop! Right there!

Hands up!

Put your hands in the air!

You want to live, put your hands in the air! Get on your knees!

On your knees!

See these cuffs?!

They belong to the man you murdered.

Go ahead.

Take a peek.

I'm sure you recognize these guys.

Never seen them before in my life.

Come on.

- You know this guy?
- Nope.

How 'bout him?

You know him?

Yeah, I know him.

I know 'im real good.

And no matter what you say...

what you do to 'im, what you promise 'im...

he ain't writin' nothin', and he ain't sayin' nothin'.

Matter o' fact...

I think he wants a lawyer.

Smug son of a bitch.

He's lucky he didn't catch a bullet.

All right, at least we have him for 2 counts of attempted murder on Lindsay and Lovato, so he's not going anywhere.

The gun we recovered in the alley wasn't Mark Riley's.

We're working on a search warrant for Eric's place. Don't expect it to turn up there.

And the car was wiped clean. He did a good job of covering his tracks up on that.

So, as it stands right now, we have no forensic evidence that links him to Mark Riley's murder.

We need a confession.

That's not likely. He just lawyered up.

Well...

that just means we can't talk to 'im.

But maybe somebody else can.

I didn't give you up.

I swear to God, man.

I swear to God, Mookie flipped on us.

- Man, he gave up the whole thing.
- Stupid bastard.

Listen to me. Listen to me.

Dude wrote a confession.

- I saw it. He flipped on both of us.
- Shut up!

Eric.

Mookie didn't give anything up.

Mookie is dead.

No, man, he isn't. He can't be. I saw 'im.

And I saw him, too.

I saw that cop... shoot him in the leg while he was running away.

He bled out... in the front seat of the car right in front of me.

I watched him die.

Then I shoved 'im in the trunk of the car.

No, that's not possible.

I'm telling you, man, I saw it with my own eyes. He was making the video, man. He was talking to the DA!

There is no video!

He didn't confess!

They played you, Anthony.

Those cops... played you.

Were you worried about alarms, Mr. Benitez?

Alarms?

By the time you hear the alarm... I'm halfway down the block listening to your satellite radio.

Alarms?

By the time you hear the alarm... I'm halfway down the block listening to your satellite radio.

D'you tell them I shot the cop?

Did you?

They already knew, man.

- I swear it, Mookie told them.
- There is no Mookie!

Aah!

Ooh!

I'm gonna kill you.

Come on, man.

The first chance I get, I'm gonna kill you!

You got played, you stupid bitch!

You got played.

Wooh!

Ooh!

Done. Done!

In the boat. Filleted, pan-fried, on the plate.

Oh, that was perfect.

Anthony's statement plus Blaylock's corroborating statement gives us a rock-solid felony murder case against both guys.

Yeah, thank God for civilized lies.

It's moments like these remind me how much I love this job.

Aw.

I'm only gonna say this once.

Did an amazing job in that room.

Thank you.

Yeah, our work is done here. Let's wrap it up and go home.

Detective Messer, thank you for coming.

Oh, not at all.

- This is my husband, Danny.
- Hey. How you doing, man?

I'm so sorry for your loss.

You should know, every cop that worked in Manhattan for the past 20 years... they knew your father.

He was something special.

Thank you, guys. Uh, can you, you know, come in... for a second? Have bite to eat?

Oh, no. Thank you. We just wanted to pay our respects.

And, uh, I wanted to give you something.

I made a few phone calls.

It's yours.

'Course, you don't get to wear it till you graduate from the academy, but...

every time you pin it on your uniform, you'd think of your dad and what he represented.

I'd say make him proud, but...

he already was.

Thank you for everything.

Excuse me.

They, uh, gave me Dad's badge.