Law & Order (1990–2010): Season 3, Episode 8 - Prince of Darkness - full transcript
A Colombian drug cartel assassin is accused in the murder of a Colombian couple in a restaurant. While trying to make the case against the accused, Ceretta is shot by a black-market gun dealer whom the prosecution needs as a witness.
(narrator) In the
criminal justice system,
the people are represented by two
separate yet equally important groups:
the police who
investigate crime,
and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
How many times,
Manuel? I don't wanna go.
It's no longer an issue.
My mother will
take care of Felice.
Please, Manuel. It's
hot. It's uncomfortable.
I... I don't speak the language.
You loved it the first time.
You thought it was romantic.
I like chocolate-chocolate
chip, but not every night.
Happy birthday, Mom.
Happy birthday.
[people chattering]
I don't get it. I did
voice, dance, movement,
two callbacks for Guys and
Dolls. I still can't get a part.
Well, maybe you
don't have any talent.
Hey, hey, hey, that's
my crème brûlée.
I don't have any talent?
Who are you? Tom Cruise?
[gun firing]
[people screaming]
(Felice) Help! Mommy! No!
Daddy! No! Help!
(Felice) Help!
Mommy! No! Mommy! Daddy!
He came out of the
bathroom in a... in a raincoat.
Dark. Blue, maybe. Or, uh,
or... or black. It
could've been green.
What'd he look like?
I didn't see his face.
Okay, don't go home.
[police radio chattering]
I told you, I... I couldn't see
anything. I was reading the menu.
We didn't see anything either.
We? What about you, Mrs. Lawson?
He said we. It... it
happened very fast.
He came in the back door.
I mean, he came
from the kitchen.
No, he descended from
heaven on a silver chariot.
Room full of people,
guy comes in, he fires.
Is he sending a message?
I did it to them. I
can do it to you.
Close your eyes,
keep your mouth shut.
Natalie Ortega, 27.
She expired before
her library card.
Manuel Ortega, 28.
He's circling the
drain as we speak.
You think he's gonna make it?
He's breathing
through his chest.
[people chattering]
Mother, father,
daughter makes three.
Table's set for four.
They were expecting company.
Somebody had the good
fortune to miss dinner.
Five slugs. Mr. Ortega just
took a mortgage on his nine lives.
Is he gonna be able
to make his payments?
The hospital says if he lasts the
week he'll have something to say.
Come on, fellas. An automatic
weapon, rich Colombians.
Do we need a crystal ball?
Manuel Ortega has no
drug conviction record.
In fact, he has
no record. Period.
The wife?
Nada. Don't expect
anything from ballistics.
Soft-nosed slugs, .223s,
they turned to mush on impact.
You gotta be someone to
deserve this kind of firepower.
I have never seen Manuel
Ortega or the wife on page six.
The Ortega family. Anybody left?
Uniform just took
the kid to Grandma's.
We moved from Bogota.
It was too dangerous.
You know what
people say about us.
It's an unfortunate prejudice.
(Mrs. Ortega) If
you're suggesting
that my son was involved
in something illegal...
It wasn't exactly
hit-and-run, Mrs. Ortega.
Drug smugglers don't have MBAs
from the Tuck School, Detective.
And their wives
are not in the Junior League.
(Mrs. Ortega) It was a mistake.
At your daughter-in-law's
birthday party,
was there a fourth
guest expected?
How would I know?
Felice, honey, were your
parents expecting someone?
No.
Your son have a
job, Mrs. Ortega?
He worked the travel business.
Ramon Buenoventura.
It's a tragedy.
At least the girl wasn't...
Manuel was a good
worker, he was a good friend.
Fifth Avenue apartment.
He must've sold
a lot of tickets.
[laughing]
For six years, I was running widows
down to Miami Beach for Christmas.
Now we have 76 employees.
(Ramon) Manuel, he
thought big. I made big.
He didn't sell vacations,
he booked expeditions.
We are interested in
the business expeditions
from Bogota to New York.
I loved Colombia
and so did Manuel.
We watched our
country die for 20 years,
destroyed by drug trade.
A lot of profit came out of
that destruction, my friend.
What happened in Colombia
embarrassed Manuel.
He said that, if he... if he
thought it would make a difference,
he would go back
there and run for office.
But it wouldn't.
Our country is over.
How many saints are blown
away by an automatic weapon?
He's a disappointed patriot.
This was a political hit.
Travel agency, huh?
How do they move
their drugs? Telepathy?
Did you notice how
Manuel's mother
was clutching that little girl?
Like she was protecting her.
From us.
Do you think we need a
warrant for Manuel's apartment?
He's not a suspect.
He's a victim.
We search his apartment,
we're doing him a favor, right?
I like your thinking.
[laughing]
So Manuel not only takes care
of Mom, he takes care of himself.
Brand new Porsche.
Oh, yeah. I had one of those.
In a previous life.
Neighbor's. Took
it for a joyride.
If the old man had
been five minutes later,
I would've had
a juvenile record.
Mmm. Checking
account weekly deposits.
Very nice, $9,500 and change.
She gave to the Mount
Holyoke alumni fund.
He's a member of the City Club.
Fine upstanding citizens.
Yeah.
Well!
Travel agency customers,
names, phone numbers.
And all with the
international country code 57.
Round trips every
couple of weeks.
57.
A small South American
country with a northern coastline.
Yeah. How many times do you
visit your relatives, big daddy?
Looks like a toy.
They don't have one
of those in my sandbox.
Indictments? Okay. Thanks.
Manuel's customers,
all 22 of them
on the Fed's Christmas
list. All dealers.
Merry Christmas,
you're under arrest.
Unlicensed .38 derringer.
Barrel's too short for rifling.
I could trace a
telephone pole easier.
Doesn't a .38 raise
a flag with you?
My flag hasn't been
raised in weeks.
Well, this'll hoist your colors.
Three months ago, a
hit. A .38, close range.
Major dealer, Felix Arias.
Mr. Arias was
returning from Colombia.
Two shots in the back
an hour after he left JFK.
Personal weapon, same caliber.
Maybe our boy in the
hospital hit Mr. Arias.
You couldn't prove it in court
but it's not a common gun.
A .38? Come on.
Manuel's not the only guy
in this town to
carry protection.
It's not a stretch, Donny. Arias
gets blown away just after he lands.
Who knew he was
coming? His travel agent.
The cartel doesn't like family
members to settle disputes in public.
Manuel hits Arias,
they send a signal:
"Don't anybody do it again."
Hold your horses. Something
here sounds familiar.
Yeah, drug dealers shoot people.
No. There was a DEA circular.
Uh, here. Issued
about six weeks ago.
A source in Colombia says A cartel
hit man is on his way to New York.
They don't know the target.
"Javier Laureano
Gaitan, aged 24."
He looks like a young
Elvis. He shot 50 people?
He doesn't look old
enough to tie his shoes.
You want to call the Feds?
For advice only. It's
a homicide. It's ours.
Excuse me.
If our boy in the
hospital hits Arias
and Elvis came from Bogota for
revenge, aren't we missing something?
Manuel is still in the hospital.
And Elvis still has a job to do.
If Manuel goes belly up,
Elvis is on the next plane home.
Manuel dies, you prop him
up, put a piano in front of him.
Nobody knows about this. I
want two uniforms on his door.
We still got to turn up Elvis
before Manuel leaves the hospital.
Okay, Manuel
hits a major dealer.
There's no word on the street?
His mother hears nothing?
My mother's 73, she
knows what I spend for a suit.
Phil, your mother works
in the clothing business.
Manuel's mom has no record.
Are you telling me that she doesn't
know what he does for a living?
How does she pay for that
big Fifth Avenue apartment?
My son is very generous.
He must've been printing money.
His apartment, your apartment...
I bet you've a beach
house in East Hampton.
Sag Harbor.
My son is inspired by his
work and he's very successful.
Is he inspired enough to get rid
of a dealer named Felix Arias?
Suppose we ask your
granddaughter to look at some pictures.
Maybe she sees the
man who shot your son.
Not without my permission.
Did you ever hear of a
material witness order?
If you take Felice, they'll think
she knows something she does not.
I have a sudden
urge to see a judge.
(Mrs. Ortega) All right.
All right.
Felix Arias was
quite taken by Natalie.
His attentions were not welcome.
She would not submit.
He said they could
own him but not his wife.
I told him, "Don't
shoot anybody."
The birthday party, who
was the fourth for dinner?
Manuel's boss from
the travel agency.
I don't like being
reminded how old I am,
so I don't go to
birthday parties.
So we heard.
Listen, I am a
respectable businessman.
I belong to the
Chamber of Commerce
and to the Better
Business Bureau.
All right, maybe Manuel
invited me and I simply forgot.
How's your memory today? You
wanna dredge up the combination to this?
See, that's why
we left Colombia.
Because of these
kinds of police tactics.
You want some police
tactics? I'm gonna count to three.
Before I'm finished, you'll open
that safe, or I'll open it for you.
One, two, three.
Ramon Buenoventura, you're
under arrest for accessory to murder.
You have the right
to remain silent.
(Logan) Colombian passports
found in your client's safe.
U.S. visa stamp.
He doesn't look
like a consulate.
Come on, it's a
dinky federal rap.
Put your client in
a dinky federal cell.
Could I have the one
with the tennis courts?
The Feds say the passports
belong to Colombian hit squads.
One name is an alias used
last year by guess who?
Javier Gaitan.
Your client is Murder
Incorporated's travel agent.
You bought a ticket for the
guy who shot your pal Manuel.
We are talking about
conspiracy, murder two.
He didn't kill anybody.
Tell your client
the law, Counselor.
What is he talking about?
We don't need all the
conspirators to put one away.
The DA says the
Feds'll go along with us.
He gives us Gaitan, he
gets accessory, man one.
Look, I booked the
flights and that's all.
Under what name?
Esteban.
Paolo. But I really
didn't know who he was.
Where's Gaitan?
Look,
I really liked Manuel.
But you just don't
shoot their jefes.
You want to die, you
shoot yourself in the head.
Your Colombian clients, what
hotel do you book them into?
The Europa on Park Avenue.
For Elvis, why not the best?
If we had moved a little
faster, we'd have had him.
Did you expect him to order
room service and wait for us?
When he hears that Manuel
stops breathing, he'll get out.
If Manuel's mother
had cared about
who hit her son, we
might have something.
The only prints in the
hotel room were the maid's.
Two local calls from the room.
Sloppy, Elvis, sloppy.
Desperate. He botches a hit,
he knows there's a
welcoming committee at home.
Thank you very much.
Okay, he called Alvaro Graphics,
18th street and then six hours later,
Sandra Alvaro, 2120 Broadway.
Let's go.
Gaitan, Gaitan?
I had a temporary super.
Maybe he fixed my
washing machine.
You're gonna be doing laundry
upstate with this act, Sandra.
Mr. Gaitan called you
Wednesday afternoon.
I have the same number
as a scalper in Teaneck.
You forget to dial 201,
and you get my office.
He called you
Wednesday night at home.
(Cerreta) What do you think?
A warrant for her apartment,
we'll find Gaitan's dirty underwear.
[sighing]
He never told me what he did.
I wouldn't have
let him in if I knew.
I think she just said
she saw Mr. Gaitan.
That's how it sounds to
me. Thank you very much.
Sandra Alvaro, you are under
arrest for harboring a fugitive.
You have the right
to remain silent.
You didn't know.
Did you think he was in town
for the hardware convention?
10, 12 years ago, in
Bogota, I knew him as a boy.
Our parents played
tennis together.
I just gave him
a place to sleep.
Come on, he had an expensive
bed at the Europa Hotel.
Sandra, harboring a fugitive,
accessory to murder, that's a
long time away from your nice co-op.
But you help us, we'll get
you a very protected cell.
And we'll tell the DA
that you cooperated.
I don't know where he went.
But is he coming back?
[sighing]
He always calls first, a few
minutes before he comes.
He said to be home this
afternoon around 4:30.
Gaitan calls, two minutes later
he's at her place. Every time.
I don't think he rented a
cellular phone at the airport.
Pay phones.
We can't take this
guy on the street.
Broadway, that time of the
afternoon? He decides to run,
we're gonna have bodies
from 75th street to the Bowery.
Mike, call the phone company.
Have Alvaro's phone routed
to Rikers so she can answer.
I want six SWAT teams. Four inside
the courtyard, two across the street.
[telephone ringing]
Cragen.
When?
Well, what the...
No, it's all right,
Joey. Thank you.
Manuel Ortega
died 10 minutes ago.
Two reporters have
the story already.
If we don't get him
before the 6:00 news...
It's adios, Elvis.
[police radio chattering]
Bad manners. He's late.
Or he has a good nose
and he changed his mind.
What's he got out there?
A .38, a .22 and a chest
covered with Kevlar.
[phone ringing]
Yeah. Logan. Okay. Thanks.
Sandra just took the call.
And he's coming down from 78th.
He's checking the street.
He's watching his back.
(Nelson) He's at the arch.
He's entering the courtyard now.
He's coming toward the fountain.
So far, so good.
Wait a minute. He's
talking to the doorman.
He's looking around.
We should've left
the real doorman.
He'd have wet his pants.
(Nelson) Elvis is coming in.
Yes!
All right, hold on.
Let him get inside.
Here he comes. One,
two,
three.
Now.
[policemen yelling]
(officer) Freeze! Don't move!
[grunting]
My name is Paolo Esteban.
I am a citizen of Colombia.
I would like to call a lawyer.
Good. Let's go.
(Logan) What do you
mean you can't indict?
To start with, no witnesses,
no murder weapon.
Hold him on concealment.
He had a straight razor
when we picked him up.
Next time you buy razor
blades, we'll indict you.
But you have the DEA circular.
He claims it's not him.
(Cragen) Are we on
this tightrope alone?
Did you want us
not to pick him up?
I want enough
evidence to indict him.
So you can hold him
for what? 120 hours?
And apparently his name
is on a warrant in Paris,
and a warrant in
another jurisdiction
means that we can
hold him for 30 days.
Can you have the murder
weapon in that time?
A month? We'll nail him for
the Kennedy assassination.
Let's hope you can.
Gaitan is challenging
the 30 days.
Hearing's tomorrow.
Your Honor, a hearing in
prison, it's an affront to my client.
Your client goes in and out of
Colombian jails through a revolving door.
Gentlemen, please, can
we not have a fistfight?
Mr. Stone?
Ms. Alvaro, do you
recognize this man?
Paolo Esteban, I
knew him in Bogota.
Ms. Alvaro, you identified this
man as Javier Laureano Gaitan.
The police threatened me.
Police coercion.
This is heinous.
Judge, the DEA circular...
The DEA circular has
a hazy photograph.
He has a passport, Judge.
Mr. Gaitan has a
record in Colombia?
What about fingerprints?
The Colombian government are
trying to locate them, Your Honor.
Frankly, I'm tempted
to believe the DEA.
However, the French
warrant, Mr. Stone?
Mr. Manetti has a document
from the French embassy.
It's under challenge.
If it's not enforceable here,
you can't have the 30 days.
I'd love to let you hold him.
But he has the same
rights as any defendant.
Pursuant to CPL 180-80
The People have four
days to file an indictment
or you let him go.
Four days? Why don't we
throw darts at my computer?
We need a murder weapon.
Soft slugs, they mash like
potatoes. You try making a match.
Look at this. The CSU
sketch of the restaurant.
Check the position
of the shells.
What? He should've cleaned up?
CSU assumed he
moved left to right,
the shells ejected right,
he's out the back door.
What if he comes in the other
way, goes out the front door?
Are you learning the mambo
or is this leading somewhere?
No. What he is interested
in is the DEA circular,
which tells us that
Gaitan fires left-handed.
Exactly. If he fires left, he
doesn't want a gun that ejects right.
He might get hit by the shells.
So if it ejects left...
A .223 automatic. Who makes it?
"Steyr Aug Commando,
.223, Austrian.
"High velocity,
virtually no recoil.
Adjustable ejector.
Left or right."
Nobody waltzes through Customs
with a machine gun like that.
Think global, shop local.
We're looking for a hot-gun
dealer who sold a Steyr Aug.
Courtesy Firearms Division.
Every guy who sells artillery.
Four of them stocked Steyr
Augs, one time or another.
Call them.
So which con is
our new best friend?
Uh, a guy in Dannemora
named Tommy Bruno.
Oh, I know that guy.
I rousted him two
or three years ago.
The only thing I remember
is he's got a bad hairpiece.
I wouldn't know him
if he sat in my lap.
Well, you two guys
are his old customers.
He's in five to 15,
nobody can check.
Not a supplier in town
he hasn't dealt with.
Homework. Special
Investigations. Tommy's entire life.
Learn it before
you start calling.
I'm a friend of Tommy's.
Do I sound like a cop?
I need a good automatic.
(Logan) Yeah.
Yeah, I saw him last month
A Sig Sauer, a Steyr Aug.
Before he went into the hole.
Okay, is George there?
(Logan) What do you got?
(Cerreta) Yeah.
A semi? Oh.
Nah, no thanks.
I'll wait.
(Logan) But, hey, listen,
I'll give Tommy your best.
Uh-huh.
[whispering] 10 years ago,
they wouldn't even breathe
on an open line.
Dumber. Greedier.
George, how you doing?
Yeah, it's too bad
about Tommy, huh?
A Steyr Aug?
Yeah, you don't see
them around a lot.
How much?
That's pretty steep, but okay.
Tommy's new wife? Alice?
No, I was tight with Sonia.
Fat? That was number one, Enid.
Cash is no problem.
I like the Theodore
on 81st Street.
That's great.
I'll see you there.
Yeah. Goodbye.
This guy sold two
Steyr Augs this month.
Let's make sure we got somebody
good behind the desk clerk.
What are you going
for? A shine or a glare?
If he can't see
his face in them,
he's gonna think
something's wrong.
He's on his way up.
[knocking at door]
Gagliardi? Lobrano.
George Lobrano.
Tommy always used this place.
Tommy liked the
Bingham, 38th Street.
You know Tommy. Yeah, the
Bingham, nice place, very nice, yeah.
You got the money,
all the money?
Let me see it, I
gotta see it first.
Put it out here. Let
me see. Let me see.
[sighing]
$4,000, it better be here.
I don't like being
jerked around.
You're a dollar short,
I'm gonna get very upset.
You told me $3,500.
I meant $4,000,
that's what I meant.
Maybe I said $3,500,
I meant $4,000.
Gorgeous weapon,
cherry, numbers burned.
It's a giveaway, you
ought to be paying $4,000.
This is very fine, brand-new.
[panting]
What's the matter?
It's not okay?
You should like it.
You don't like it, you
ought to be paying more.
You got the extra $500, come
up with it now. It's a good buy.
It's fine. It's fine.
You want to be Mr. Ten Percent?
Here's your ten percent.
[groaning]
[grunting]
[grunting]
[screaming] Get
him off! Get him off!
Officer down! 524 East 81st!
Get a bus. Now!
[groaning] Phil?
30 years, I had a charmed life.
I never even fired.
[moaning]
I can't breathe.
I can't breathe.
Easy. Easy.
[woman chattering
over PA system]
There's a slug near his spine.
[sighing]
They don't know.
You can't see
through walls, Mike.
This guy was on
the astral plane,
he would've popped
Phil if he blinked funny.
[sighing]
We still have the
same problem. Lobrano.
The answer's no.
I'm not saying we'll
plead him, Mike,
but if he can identify Gaitan...
If the son of a bitch
had shot Stone,
would you even
think of pleading?
My partner might spend
the rest of his life on wheels!
You want Lobrano? Too bad.
You send Elvis back to Colombia.
Hey, Mike.
Why don't you head home?
I'll wait for Elaine.
You go home and get
some sleep. All right?
Man shot a cop.
The press is gonna
love us cutting a deal.
How old is Cerreta?
He must be close to 50.
50. That age, major surgery,
you don't recover so quick.
I'd like his wife to get a note
from this office.
Flowers to the hospital.
I'll take care of it.
So we don't plead the gun
dealer, maybe we don't need him.
Especially if we
don't go to trial.
20 people in that
restaurant, No ID.
We say he's Gaitan, they say
Esteban. Without fingerprints,
they can say he's Peter Pan.
State Department buys
dictators over breakfast.
They can't get prints
from the Colombian?
Billions of dollars, the cartel
is an underground nation.
They kill judges
down there for sport.
Adam, is there an agenda here?
(Schiff) The U.S.
Attorney's office did call.
They say that Gaitan can make
federal cases into the next century.
He'll get six months, testify
in three cases, and go home.
Adam, that is nuts. We
convict, the Feds get leverage,
and I think facing 25
years, he'd sell out anybody.
The Feds would like us to
talk to Gaitan. You'll do it.
What my client is saying
is he might consider a deal,
but he's not interested
in doing time.
Are you worried our jails are more
secure than Colombia's, Mr. Gaitan?
Hello, Ben, Planet
Earth calling.
He names drug dealers, who
can guarantee his safety? You?
The prison system?
Man one, three to nine.
No time. That's the deal.
Then we go to trial.
You can't be serious.
Maybe we should turn
him over to the Feds.
Since when did
you get so cautious?
A jury needs connections, Paul.
The gun, revenge, plane tickets.
I'd be listening to the
meaning of reasonable doubt.
We don't have any choice.
We have to use the gun dealer.
His own lawyer said
he never saw Gaitan.
Lobrano said, "I left
the gun in the car,
picked up the cash."
What's that testimony worth?
It is not a firm ID.
You gonna plead
him down for that?
It's better than nothing.
Before we do this, I
have to talk to Cerreta.
We're not here to talk
you into anything, Phil.
[panting]
Just came by to see me, huh?
How good is Lobrano's testimony?
It won't nail him.
Could help.
And Elvis could walk either way.
You don't have to do this, Phil.
They drop attempted murder, all
he gets is assault with a deadly.
[breathing deeply]
Mike.
I can walk, I can talk, I can...
All the important things.
This guy Lobrano's
gonna do time anyway.
Make the deal.
He asked for a Steyr Aug,
said he fired left-handed.
When you sell illicit firearms,
do you normally risk dealing with
people you've never seen before?
This Gaitan, he
has a reputation.
They say he's done
maybe 50, 60 people.
Do you want to
object, Mr. Manetti?
No objection, Your Honor.
He's talking about someone
named Gaitan, not my client.
Mr. Lobrano,
we have heard testimony
that Manuel Ortega
was killed with
a .223 automatic.
What caliber is the Steyr Aug?
That's a .223.
And how many guns have
you sold in your lifetime?
I would guess 200 or 300.
How many of those
were Steyr Augs?
15, 20 at the most.
Thank you, no further questions.
I begged my son not to
kill this man Felix Arias.
We both knew what would happen.
How did you know, Mrs. Ortega?
Objection. This
is all speculation.
She's telling us about her own
experience, Counselor. Overruled.
(judge) Mrs. Ortega?
I've known these
people my whole life.
I've seen them kill.
Have you ever heard of a man
named Javier Laureano Gaitan?
I've... I've heard of him.
Have you ever heard
him called anything else?
They call him,
they say El Diablo.
The Prince of Darkness.
Felix Arias, the
man your son killed,
did he ever mention Gaitan?
He told Manuel that if
he caused any trouble
that the Prince would come.
But your son shot Arias.
Manuel was young.
He was foolish.
Your witness.
Mrs. Ortega,
you testified that your
son knowingly consorted
with members of
the Colombian cartel.
(Manetti) Look at the defendant.
Do you recognize him?
I've never seen him before.
But if he was this Prince of
Darkness, as you call him,
shouldn't you be
able to identify him?
No one has seen Gaitan.
Mrs. Ortega, can you
testify that this man,
the defendant, killed your son?
No.
(Stone) 19 character
witnesses from Colombia.
Next they'll have a
doctor testifying that
his hand muscles are
too weak to fire a gun.
The character
witnesses, I promise you,
upstanding, elegant,
speaking perfect English.
He paid half a million dollars
to get out of Colombian jails.
What's 19 witnesses cost?
You wanna disallow it?
Judge Callahan's clerk says
we'll need the cancelled checks.
What about the girlfriend?
Her attorney says she'll
cooperate when it rains mud in July.
Mr. Gaitan throws
mud. Let's throw cement.
[sighing] The
harboring charge is crap.
She admitted it to a detective.
(Goldman) Plus
the "no bail" thing.
Did the Supreme Court do away
with civil rights while I was sleeping?
She is a flight risk, Sally.
She testifies,
five minutes later,
she might as well throw
herself under a subway car.
The woman wants to survive.
Fine. We're dropping all
charges, she can go home.
Guard?
He's in a hurry.
Press conference.
We're announcing a
new prosecution witness
expected to solidify our case.
(Stone) What's your
friend, Gaitan, gonna think
when you get out of jail?
This is not you, Ben.
This is definitely me, Sally.
When a cop gets shot building
a case, I want a conviction.
(Sandra) Please
don't do this to me.
[sighing]
I didn't know what he did.
Not till this time.
We can have a
stenographer in five minutes.
We'll depose her here.
[sighing]
You would've held
a press conference?
Glad I didn't have to decide.
[knocking at door]
Sally Goldman just called.
Please, don't tell me
Miss Alvaro died in her cell.
No, but her confidence did.
She made two
calls this afternoon.
Friends, I don't know who yet.
Says she'll deny
everything on the stand.
Says we forced her
to lie in the deposition.
If that's an accusation, I
suggest you make it elsewhere.
I'd be happier, if I didn't
have to make it anywhere.
When I cut corners, Ben, I
use a scalpel and not a saw.
And if you so much as
hint that I suborned perjury,
we'll be at the Disciplinary
Committee, all right,
but you'll be
facing the charges.
I'll see you in court.
You know what they
say about his clients.
Innocent until proven broke.
Maybe the woman
did get cold feet.
And maybe someone
put them in an ice bucket.
Sally Goldman says
Alvaro's calls to her friends,
no question, Gaitan got to her.
Goldman says? That's not proof.
Well, it's too bad we didn't
drop charges against her.
She leaves town, unavailable,
we could use her deposition.
Now, if we happen to let
her out and she left town...
No. But does she have to be
out of town to be unavailable?
(judge) What do you wanna do?
Have Alvaro declared unavailable as
a witness because she was threatened.
Rikers is a 45 minute
ride. That isn't available?
And I want her sworn statements
recorded as her testimony in the case.
Ben, we have a rule.
It goes back to English common
law. Maybe you've heard of it?
The defendant has a right
to confront the accuser.
Your Honor, last
summer, People v. Geraci.
The witness was intimidated.
The Court allowed
grand jury testimony
into the record
as trial testimony
even though the witness
was physically available.
I don't care what that
court did. It's wrong.
You can't have a witness
that I can't cross-examine.
Chris, save your theatrics
for the courtroom. Sit down.
In Geraci, Ben, they
had a taped phone call.
The witness said, "I will lie on the
stand." Ms. Alvaro didn't say that.
Her counsel was convinced
that she was intimidated.
Chris, this gives us
a parallel with Geraci.
Judge, you can't even
consider this. Of course I can.
That's why they give
me the black robe.
The witness was threatened.
The defendant waives his
right to cross-examination.
Fine, read her
statement into the record
and let her testify in rebuttal.
In rebuttal against herself?
This is a trial, not a circus.
This Court orders Ms. Alvaro's
sworn statement read into the record.
I will instruct the
jury she's unavailable.
You don't like it, Chris, we have
a remedy. It's called an appeal.
Maryann, study the deposition.
You're Sandra Alvaro.
(Maryann) "District
Attorney Stone:
"" Did he tell you why he
needed to stay at your apartment?'
"Alvaro:
'He said he shot two people.
He said he had to ride. ""
Excuse me, not
ride, it reads "hide."
"" He said he had to hide.'
"District Attorney Stone: 'Did he
tell you where he was calling from?'
"Alvaro: 'He said
the Europa Hotel.
"" He was using the
name Paolo Esteban.'
"District Attorney Stone:
"" Why did you first
deny knowing that
"Mr. Esteban was Mr. Gaitan?'
"Alvaro: 'I was scared.
'Javier kills people.
I'm afraid he'll kill me. ""
That's all, Your Honor.
Thank you, Miss Thompson.
I instruct the jury to treat
this like any other testimony,
giving it no more or no less
weight than any other witness.
(judge) In The People v.
Javier Laureano Gaitan,
also known as Paolo Esteban,
as to the first count
of the indictment,
in the matter of Manuel Ortega,
on the charge of murder in the
second degree, how does the jury find?
We find the defendant guilty.
(judge) As to the second
count of the indictment,
in the matter of Natalie Ortega,
on the charge of murder
in the second degree,
how does the jury find?
We find the defendant guilty.
Sentencing hearing
to be scheduled,
but I'd say to the defendant,
on the record so far,
you're going to
prison for a long time,
and when you get there
you can be Esteban or Gaitan
or for all I care you can call
yourself Nelson Rockefeller.
Court is adjourned.
If he wants to talk
about drug dealers,
he can have parole in 25 years.
He talks about dealers, the
cartel will get him in Attica.
[gun firing]
[women screaming]
[people screaming]
[grunting]
Tell me you're not
glad to see Gaitan dead.
Frank, I'm an
officer of the court.
Even if I were, I
couldn't say so.
I read in the paper
they would let him go.
He buys his way out in Colombia
and he buys his way out here.
He brings a gun
to the courthouse.
That's premeditation.
That's murder two.
He was in grief over his son.
Will a jury be weeping over the
scum you painted as a monster?
I don't think the publicity
windmill's blowing in your direction.
His son was killed two
years ago. If that qualifies
as extreme emotional
disturbance, we just made new law.
Save the cost of a
trial, we'll take man one.
Christobal's son, 19.
Police report says Gaitan put
three bullets in the back of his head.
Maybe Frank Hoover has a point.
Terrific.
You don't like the
system. Go get a gun.
We can paint the
courthouse steps red.
(Schiff) A lot of people
would rather give him
a medal than a sentence.
Frank Hoover has a case for
extreme emotional disturbance.
I'm not hard-hearted,
but I don't get this one.
It's premeditated. It's wrong.
I'm not up on my
Catholic theology,
but is self-righteousness
a mortal or a venial sin?
You kill the man
who killed your son,
to a jury it doesn't matter
how premeditated it was.
Let him do 4 to 12.
Okay. Just as long as you
take the press conference.
With the court's permission, the
defendant wishes to plead guilty to
to the charge of
manslaughter in the first degree.
Mr. Robinette?
The People agree, with a
sentence of 4 to 12 years
as a condition of the plea.
(judge) Mr. Christobal.
Do you understand that you are
pleading guilty to manslaughter
in the death of Javier Gaitan?
Yes, I understand.
Tell the Court the
circumstances of the crime.
I have a picture
from the newspaper
when my son died on the street.
Sometimes at
night, I talk to him.
I hope he can hear
me from heaven.
(judge) Mr. Christobal, please,
I meant for you
to tell the Court,
how you carried out the crime.
I have a gun.
I loaded it before
I went to the court.
I didn't know if I
could shoot him,
but I wanted to.
What I did,
it's wrong.
The plea agreement
is so entered.
Your Honor, we ask the
Court to release Mr. Christobal
two days before
the final sentencing,
so he may say goodbye to his
family and put his affairs in order.
Mr. Robinette?
Mr. Christobal confessed
to a homicide, Your Honor.
And a terrible crime it is.
But you know what they say,
Mr. Robinette. Do unto others...
I'm going to lower
the bail to $100,000.
Can your client come up
with the bond, Mr. Hoover?
Yes, Your Honor.
He can have his two days.
(Stone) He shoots
someone in cold blood
and the court acts as
if he's doing us a favor.
It's two days. Let him sign
everything over to his wife
and kiss her goodbye.
We have a problem.
The gun dealer, Lobrano,
I had a call from his lawyer.
Lobrano says Christobal's
grieving daddy routine was an act.
He works for the same organization
that employed Mr. Gaitan.
The hit on Gaitan
was to shut him up.
Kim, Cragen, please.
Don, Ben Stone,
cover all the airports.
Any flight to Colombia.
Hell, anywhere in South America.
This isn't a freebie.
Until we turn up Christobal,
we've nothing to offer.
Hypothetically, when
do you find him...
If the testimony is useful?
We can discuss
parole recommendation.
I... I didn't know
until I saw him on TV.
I sold Christobal
a couple of pieces.
He works for them,
just like Gaitan.
Gaitan killed his son.
Rumors.
The kid was getting
chummy with the Feds,
it might've been
Gaitan, it might not.
Christobal's wife cleared out their
bank accounts before the hearing.
They're on a plane 40 minutes
after the plea was entered.
The cartel had to
get rid of Gaitan.
They were worried
that he'd make a deal.
You sometimes feel that
we're running in place?
[buzzer sounding]
Yes.
Mmm-hmm.
Mmm.
Not an accident?
Thanks.
The gun dealer was
in the yard at Rikers.
Had his throat cut.
Buenoventura was strangled
in the kitchen at Dannemora.
And Manuel Ortega's
mother fell out of a window.
What about the little girl?
She was picked up
at school by her uncle.
She doesn't have an uncle.
criminal justice system,
the people are represented by two
separate yet equally important groups:
the police who
investigate crime,
and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
How many times,
Manuel? I don't wanna go.
It's no longer an issue.
My mother will
take care of Felice.
Please, Manuel. It's
hot. It's uncomfortable.
I... I don't speak the language.
You loved it the first time.
You thought it was romantic.
I like chocolate-chocolate
chip, but not every night.
Happy birthday, Mom.
Happy birthday.
[people chattering]
I don't get it. I did
voice, dance, movement,
two callbacks for Guys and
Dolls. I still can't get a part.
Well, maybe you
don't have any talent.
Hey, hey, hey, that's
my crème brûlée.
I don't have any talent?
Who are you? Tom Cruise?
[gun firing]
[people screaming]
(Felice) Help! Mommy! No!
Daddy! No! Help!
(Felice) Help!
Mommy! No! Mommy! Daddy!
He came out of the
bathroom in a... in a raincoat.
Dark. Blue, maybe. Or, uh,
or... or black. It
could've been green.
What'd he look like?
I didn't see his face.
Okay, don't go home.
[police radio chattering]
I told you, I... I couldn't see
anything. I was reading the menu.
We didn't see anything either.
We? What about you, Mrs. Lawson?
He said we. It... it
happened very fast.
He came in the back door.
I mean, he came
from the kitchen.
No, he descended from
heaven on a silver chariot.
Room full of people,
guy comes in, he fires.
Is he sending a message?
I did it to them. I
can do it to you.
Close your eyes,
keep your mouth shut.
Natalie Ortega, 27.
She expired before
her library card.
Manuel Ortega, 28.
He's circling the
drain as we speak.
You think he's gonna make it?
He's breathing
through his chest.
[people chattering]
Mother, father,
daughter makes three.
Table's set for four.
They were expecting company.
Somebody had the good
fortune to miss dinner.
Five slugs. Mr. Ortega just
took a mortgage on his nine lives.
Is he gonna be able
to make his payments?
The hospital says if he lasts the
week he'll have something to say.
Come on, fellas. An automatic
weapon, rich Colombians.
Do we need a crystal ball?
Manuel Ortega has no
drug conviction record.
In fact, he has
no record. Period.
The wife?
Nada. Don't expect
anything from ballistics.
Soft-nosed slugs, .223s,
they turned to mush on impact.
You gotta be someone to
deserve this kind of firepower.
I have never seen Manuel
Ortega or the wife on page six.
The Ortega family. Anybody left?
Uniform just took
the kid to Grandma's.
We moved from Bogota.
It was too dangerous.
You know what
people say about us.
It's an unfortunate prejudice.
(Mrs. Ortega) If
you're suggesting
that my son was involved
in something illegal...
It wasn't exactly
hit-and-run, Mrs. Ortega.
Drug smugglers don't have MBAs
from the Tuck School, Detective.
And their wives
are not in the Junior League.
(Mrs. Ortega) It was a mistake.
At your daughter-in-law's
birthday party,
was there a fourth
guest expected?
How would I know?
Felice, honey, were your
parents expecting someone?
No.
Your son have a
job, Mrs. Ortega?
He worked the travel business.
Ramon Buenoventura.
It's a tragedy.
At least the girl wasn't...
Manuel was a good
worker, he was a good friend.
Fifth Avenue apartment.
He must've sold
a lot of tickets.
[laughing]
For six years, I was running widows
down to Miami Beach for Christmas.
Now we have 76 employees.
(Ramon) Manuel, he
thought big. I made big.
He didn't sell vacations,
he booked expeditions.
We are interested in
the business expeditions
from Bogota to New York.
I loved Colombia
and so did Manuel.
We watched our
country die for 20 years,
destroyed by drug trade.
A lot of profit came out of
that destruction, my friend.
What happened in Colombia
embarrassed Manuel.
He said that, if he... if he
thought it would make a difference,
he would go back
there and run for office.
But it wouldn't.
Our country is over.
How many saints are blown
away by an automatic weapon?
He's a disappointed patriot.
This was a political hit.
Travel agency, huh?
How do they move
their drugs? Telepathy?
Did you notice how
Manuel's mother
was clutching that little girl?
Like she was protecting her.
From us.
Do you think we need a
warrant for Manuel's apartment?
He's not a suspect.
He's a victim.
We search his apartment,
we're doing him a favor, right?
I like your thinking.
[laughing]
So Manuel not only takes care
of Mom, he takes care of himself.
Brand new Porsche.
Oh, yeah. I had one of those.
In a previous life.
Neighbor's. Took
it for a joyride.
If the old man had
been five minutes later,
I would've had
a juvenile record.
Mmm. Checking
account weekly deposits.
Very nice, $9,500 and change.
She gave to the Mount
Holyoke alumni fund.
He's a member of the City Club.
Fine upstanding citizens.
Yeah.
Well!
Travel agency customers,
names, phone numbers.
And all with the
international country code 57.
Round trips every
couple of weeks.
57.
A small South American
country with a northern coastline.
Yeah. How many times do you
visit your relatives, big daddy?
Looks like a toy.
They don't have one
of those in my sandbox.
Indictments? Okay. Thanks.
Manuel's customers,
all 22 of them
on the Fed's Christmas
list. All dealers.
Merry Christmas,
you're under arrest.
Unlicensed .38 derringer.
Barrel's too short for rifling.
I could trace a
telephone pole easier.
Doesn't a .38 raise
a flag with you?
My flag hasn't been
raised in weeks.
Well, this'll hoist your colors.
Three months ago, a
hit. A .38, close range.
Major dealer, Felix Arias.
Mr. Arias was
returning from Colombia.
Two shots in the back
an hour after he left JFK.
Personal weapon, same caliber.
Maybe our boy in the
hospital hit Mr. Arias.
You couldn't prove it in court
but it's not a common gun.
A .38? Come on.
Manuel's not the only guy
in this town to
carry protection.
It's not a stretch, Donny. Arias
gets blown away just after he lands.
Who knew he was
coming? His travel agent.
The cartel doesn't like family
members to settle disputes in public.
Manuel hits Arias,
they send a signal:
"Don't anybody do it again."
Hold your horses. Something
here sounds familiar.
Yeah, drug dealers shoot people.
No. There was a DEA circular.
Uh, here. Issued
about six weeks ago.
A source in Colombia says A cartel
hit man is on his way to New York.
They don't know the target.
"Javier Laureano
Gaitan, aged 24."
He looks like a young
Elvis. He shot 50 people?
He doesn't look old
enough to tie his shoes.
You want to call the Feds?
For advice only. It's
a homicide. It's ours.
Excuse me.
If our boy in the
hospital hits Arias
and Elvis came from Bogota for
revenge, aren't we missing something?
Manuel is still in the hospital.
And Elvis still has a job to do.
If Manuel goes belly up,
Elvis is on the next plane home.
Manuel dies, you prop him
up, put a piano in front of him.
Nobody knows about this. I
want two uniforms on his door.
We still got to turn up Elvis
before Manuel leaves the hospital.
Okay, Manuel
hits a major dealer.
There's no word on the street?
His mother hears nothing?
My mother's 73, she
knows what I spend for a suit.
Phil, your mother works
in the clothing business.
Manuel's mom has no record.
Are you telling me that she doesn't
know what he does for a living?
How does she pay for that
big Fifth Avenue apartment?
My son is very generous.
He must've been printing money.
His apartment, your apartment...
I bet you've a beach
house in East Hampton.
Sag Harbor.
My son is inspired by his
work and he's very successful.
Is he inspired enough to get rid
of a dealer named Felix Arias?
Suppose we ask your
granddaughter to look at some pictures.
Maybe she sees the
man who shot your son.
Not without my permission.
Did you ever hear of a
material witness order?
If you take Felice, they'll think
she knows something she does not.
I have a sudden
urge to see a judge.
(Mrs. Ortega) All right.
All right.
Felix Arias was
quite taken by Natalie.
His attentions were not welcome.
She would not submit.
He said they could
own him but not his wife.
I told him, "Don't
shoot anybody."
The birthday party, who
was the fourth for dinner?
Manuel's boss from
the travel agency.
I don't like being
reminded how old I am,
so I don't go to
birthday parties.
So we heard.
Listen, I am a
respectable businessman.
I belong to the
Chamber of Commerce
and to the Better
Business Bureau.
All right, maybe Manuel
invited me and I simply forgot.
How's your memory today? You
wanna dredge up the combination to this?
See, that's why
we left Colombia.
Because of these
kinds of police tactics.
You want some police
tactics? I'm gonna count to three.
Before I'm finished, you'll open
that safe, or I'll open it for you.
One, two, three.
Ramon Buenoventura, you're
under arrest for accessory to murder.
You have the right
to remain silent.
(Logan) Colombian passports
found in your client's safe.
U.S. visa stamp.
He doesn't look
like a consulate.
Come on, it's a
dinky federal rap.
Put your client in
a dinky federal cell.
Could I have the one
with the tennis courts?
The Feds say the passports
belong to Colombian hit squads.
One name is an alias used
last year by guess who?
Javier Gaitan.
Your client is Murder
Incorporated's travel agent.
You bought a ticket for the
guy who shot your pal Manuel.
We are talking about
conspiracy, murder two.
He didn't kill anybody.
Tell your client
the law, Counselor.
What is he talking about?
We don't need all the
conspirators to put one away.
The DA says the
Feds'll go along with us.
He gives us Gaitan, he
gets accessory, man one.
Look, I booked the
flights and that's all.
Under what name?
Esteban.
Paolo. But I really
didn't know who he was.
Where's Gaitan?
Look,
I really liked Manuel.
But you just don't
shoot their jefes.
You want to die, you
shoot yourself in the head.
Your Colombian clients, what
hotel do you book them into?
The Europa on Park Avenue.
For Elvis, why not the best?
If we had moved a little
faster, we'd have had him.
Did you expect him to order
room service and wait for us?
When he hears that Manuel
stops breathing, he'll get out.
If Manuel's mother
had cared about
who hit her son, we
might have something.
The only prints in the
hotel room were the maid's.
Two local calls from the room.
Sloppy, Elvis, sloppy.
Desperate. He botches a hit,
he knows there's a
welcoming committee at home.
Thank you very much.
Okay, he called Alvaro Graphics,
18th street and then six hours later,
Sandra Alvaro, 2120 Broadway.
Let's go.
Gaitan, Gaitan?
I had a temporary super.
Maybe he fixed my
washing machine.
You're gonna be doing laundry
upstate with this act, Sandra.
Mr. Gaitan called you
Wednesday afternoon.
I have the same number
as a scalper in Teaneck.
You forget to dial 201,
and you get my office.
He called you
Wednesday night at home.
(Cerreta) What do you think?
A warrant for her apartment,
we'll find Gaitan's dirty underwear.
[sighing]
He never told me what he did.
I wouldn't have
let him in if I knew.
I think she just said
she saw Mr. Gaitan.
That's how it sounds to
me. Thank you very much.
Sandra Alvaro, you are under
arrest for harboring a fugitive.
You have the right
to remain silent.
You didn't know.
Did you think he was in town
for the hardware convention?
10, 12 years ago, in
Bogota, I knew him as a boy.
Our parents played
tennis together.
I just gave him
a place to sleep.
Come on, he had an expensive
bed at the Europa Hotel.
Sandra, harboring a fugitive,
accessory to murder, that's a
long time away from your nice co-op.
But you help us, we'll get
you a very protected cell.
And we'll tell the DA
that you cooperated.
I don't know where he went.
But is he coming back?
[sighing]
He always calls first, a few
minutes before he comes.
He said to be home this
afternoon around 4:30.
Gaitan calls, two minutes later
he's at her place. Every time.
I don't think he rented a
cellular phone at the airport.
Pay phones.
We can't take this
guy on the street.
Broadway, that time of the
afternoon? He decides to run,
we're gonna have bodies
from 75th street to the Bowery.
Mike, call the phone company.
Have Alvaro's phone routed
to Rikers so she can answer.
I want six SWAT teams. Four inside
the courtyard, two across the street.
[telephone ringing]
Cragen.
When?
Well, what the...
No, it's all right,
Joey. Thank you.
Manuel Ortega
died 10 minutes ago.
Two reporters have
the story already.
If we don't get him
before the 6:00 news...
It's adios, Elvis.
[police radio chattering]
Bad manners. He's late.
Or he has a good nose
and he changed his mind.
What's he got out there?
A .38, a .22 and a chest
covered with Kevlar.
[phone ringing]
Yeah. Logan. Okay. Thanks.
Sandra just took the call.
And he's coming down from 78th.
He's checking the street.
He's watching his back.
(Nelson) He's at the arch.
He's entering the courtyard now.
He's coming toward the fountain.
So far, so good.
Wait a minute. He's
talking to the doorman.
He's looking around.
We should've left
the real doorman.
He'd have wet his pants.
(Nelson) Elvis is coming in.
Yes!
All right, hold on.
Let him get inside.
Here he comes. One,
two,
three.
Now.
[policemen yelling]
(officer) Freeze! Don't move!
[grunting]
My name is Paolo Esteban.
I am a citizen of Colombia.
I would like to call a lawyer.
Good. Let's go.
(Logan) What do you
mean you can't indict?
To start with, no witnesses,
no murder weapon.
Hold him on concealment.
He had a straight razor
when we picked him up.
Next time you buy razor
blades, we'll indict you.
But you have the DEA circular.
He claims it's not him.
(Cragen) Are we on
this tightrope alone?
Did you want us
not to pick him up?
I want enough
evidence to indict him.
So you can hold him
for what? 120 hours?
And apparently his name
is on a warrant in Paris,
and a warrant in
another jurisdiction
means that we can
hold him for 30 days.
Can you have the murder
weapon in that time?
A month? We'll nail him for
the Kennedy assassination.
Let's hope you can.
Gaitan is challenging
the 30 days.
Hearing's tomorrow.
Your Honor, a hearing in
prison, it's an affront to my client.
Your client goes in and out of
Colombian jails through a revolving door.
Gentlemen, please, can
we not have a fistfight?
Mr. Stone?
Ms. Alvaro, do you
recognize this man?
Paolo Esteban, I
knew him in Bogota.
Ms. Alvaro, you identified this
man as Javier Laureano Gaitan.
The police threatened me.
Police coercion.
This is heinous.
Judge, the DEA circular...
The DEA circular has
a hazy photograph.
He has a passport, Judge.
Mr. Gaitan has a
record in Colombia?
What about fingerprints?
The Colombian government are
trying to locate them, Your Honor.
Frankly, I'm tempted
to believe the DEA.
However, the French
warrant, Mr. Stone?
Mr. Manetti has a document
from the French embassy.
It's under challenge.
If it's not enforceable here,
you can't have the 30 days.
I'd love to let you hold him.
But he has the same
rights as any defendant.
Pursuant to CPL 180-80
The People have four
days to file an indictment
or you let him go.
Four days? Why don't we
throw darts at my computer?
We need a murder weapon.
Soft slugs, they mash like
potatoes. You try making a match.
Look at this. The CSU
sketch of the restaurant.
Check the position
of the shells.
What? He should've cleaned up?
CSU assumed he
moved left to right,
the shells ejected right,
he's out the back door.
What if he comes in the other
way, goes out the front door?
Are you learning the mambo
or is this leading somewhere?
No. What he is interested
in is the DEA circular,
which tells us that
Gaitan fires left-handed.
Exactly. If he fires left, he
doesn't want a gun that ejects right.
He might get hit by the shells.
So if it ejects left...
A .223 automatic. Who makes it?
"Steyr Aug Commando,
.223, Austrian.
"High velocity,
virtually no recoil.
Adjustable ejector.
Left or right."
Nobody waltzes through Customs
with a machine gun like that.
Think global, shop local.
We're looking for a hot-gun
dealer who sold a Steyr Aug.
Courtesy Firearms Division.
Every guy who sells artillery.
Four of them stocked Steyr
Augs, one time or another.
Call them.
So which con is
our new best friend?
Uh, a guy in Dannemora
named Tommy Bruno.
Oh, I know that guy.
I rousted him two
or three years ago.
The only thing I remember
is he's got a bad hairpiece.
I wouldn't know him
if he sat in my lap.
Well, you two guys
are his old customers.
He's in five to 15,
nobody can check.
Not a supplier in town
he hasn't dealt with.
Homework. Special
Investigations. Tommy's entire life.
Learn it before
you start calling.
I'm a friend of Tommy's.
Do I sound like a cop?
I need a good automatic.
(Logan) Yeah.
Yeah, I saw him last month
A Sig Sauer, a Steyr Aug.
Before he went into the hole.
Okay, is George there?
(Logan) What do you got?
(Cerreta) Yeah.
A semi? Oh.
Nah, no thanks.
I'll wait.
(Logan) But, hey, listen,
I'll give Tommy your best.
Uh-huh.
[whispering] 10 years ago,
they wouldn't even breathe
on an open line.
Dumber. Greedier.
George, how you doing?
Yeah, it's too bad
about Tommy, huh?
A Steyr Aug?
Yeah, you don't see
them around a lot.
How much?
That's pretty steep, but okay.
Tommy's new wife? Alice?
No, I was tight with Sonia.
Fat? That was number one, Enid.
Cash is no problem.
I like the Theodore
on 81st Street.
That's great.
I'll see you there.
Yeah. Goodbye.
This guy sold two
Steyr Augs this month.
Let's make sure we got somebody
good behind the desk clerk.
What are you going
for? A shine or a glare?
If he can't see
his face in them,
he's gonna think
something's wrong.
He's on his way up.
[knocking at door]
Gagliardi? Lobrano.
George Lobrano.
Tommy always used this place.
Tommy liked the
Bingham, 38th Street.
You know Tommy. Yeah, the
Bingham, nice place, very nice, yeah.
You got the money,
all the money?
Let me see it, I
gotta see it first.
Put it out here. Let
me see. Let me see.
[sighing]
$4,000, it better be here.
I don't like being
jerked around.
You're a dollar short,
I'm gonna get very upset.
You told me $3,500.
I meant $4,000,
that's what I meant.
Maybe I said $3,500,
I meant $4,000.
Gorgeous weapon,
cherry, numbers burned.
It's a giveaway, you
ought to be paying $4,000.
This is very fine, brand-new.
[panting]
What's the matter?
It's not okay?
You should like it.
You don't like it, you
ought to be paying more.
You got the extra $500, come
up with it now. It's a good buy.
It's fine. It's fine.
You want to be Mr. Ten Percent?
Here's your ten percent.
[groaning]
[grunting]
[grunting]
[screaming] Get
him off! Get him off!
Officer down! 524 East 81st!
Get a bus. Now!
[groaning] Phil?
30 years, I had a charmed life.
I never even fired.
[moaning]
I can't breathe.
I can't breathe.
Easy. Easy.
[woman chattering
over PA system]
There's a slug near his spine.
[sighing]
They don't know.
You can't see
through walls, Mike.
This guy was on
the astral plane,
he would've popped
Phil if he blinked funny.
[sighing]
We still have the
same problem. Lobrano.
The answer's no.
I'm not saying we'll
plead him, Mike,
but if he can identify Gaitan...
If the son of a bitch
had shot Stone,
would you even
think of pleading?
My partner might spend
the rest of his life on wheels!
You want Lobrano? Too bad.
You send Elvis back to Colombia.
Hey, Mike.
Why don't you head home?
I'll wait for Elaine.
You go home and get
some sleep. All right?
Man shot a cop.
The press is gonna
love us cutting a deal.
How old is Cerreta?
He must be close to 50.
50. That age, major surgery,
you don't recover so quick.
I'd like his wife to get a note
from this office.
Flowers to the hospital.
I'll take care of it.
So we don't plead the gun
dealer, maybe we don't need him.
Especially if we
don't go to trial.
20 people in that
restaurant, No ID.
We say he's Gaitan, they say
Esteban. Without fingerprints,
they can say he's Peter Pan.
State Department buys
dictators over breakfast.
They can't get prints
from the Colombian?
Billions of dollars, the cartel
is an underground nation.
They kill judges
down there for sport.
Adam, is there an agenda here?
(Schiff) The U.S.
Attorney's office did call.
They say that Gaitan can make
federal cases into the next century.
He'll get six months, testify
in three cases, and go home.
Adam, that is nuts. We
convict, the Feds get leverage,
and I think facing 25
years, he'd sell out anybody.
The Feds would like us to
talk to Gaitan. You'll do it.
What my client is saying
is he might consider a deal,
but he's not interested
in doing time.
Are you worried our jails are more
secure than Colombia's, Mr. Gaitan?
Hello, Ben, Planet
Earth calling.
He names drug dealers, who
can guarantee his safety? You?
The prison system?
Man one, three to nine.
No time. That's the deal.
Then we go to trial.
You can't be serious.
Maybe we should turn
him over to the Feds.
Since when did
you get so cautious?
A jury needs connections, Paul.
The gun, revenge, plane tickets.
I'd be listening to the
meaning of reasonable doubt.
We don't have any choice.
We have to use the gun dealer.
His own lawyer said
he never saw Gaitan.
Lobrano said, "I left
the gun in the car,
picked up the cash."
What's that testimony worth?
It is not a firm ID.
You gonna plead
him down for that?
It's better than nothing.
Before we do this, I
have to talk to Cerreta.
We're not here to talk
you into anything, Phil.
[panting]
Just came by to see me, huh?
How good is Lobrano's testimony?
It won't nail him.
Could help.
And Elvis could walk either way.
You don't have to do this, Phil.
They drop attempted murder, all
he gets is assault with a deadly.
[breathing deeply]
Mike.
I can walk, I can talk, I can...
All the important things.
This guy Lobrano's
gonna do time anyway.
Make the deal.
He asked for a Steyr Aug,
said he fired left-handed.
When you sell illicit firearms,
do you normally risk dealing with
people you've never seen before?
This Gaitan, he
has a reputation.
They say he's done
maybe 50, 60 people.
Do you want to
object, Mr. Manetti?
No objection, Your Honor.
He's talking about someone
named Gaitan, not my client.
Mr. Lobrano,
we have heard testimony
that Manuel Ortega
was killed with
a .223 automatic.
What caliber is the Steyr Aug?
That's a .223.
And how many guns have
you sold in your lifetime?
I would guess 200 or 300.
How many of those
were Steyr Augs?
15, 20 at the most.
Thank you, no further questions.
I begged my son not to
kill this man Felix Arias.
We both knew what would happen.
How did you know, Mrs. Ortega?
Objection. This
is all speculation.
She's telling us about her own
experience, Counselor. Overruled.
(judge) Mrs. Ortega?
I've known these
people my whole life.
I've seen them kill.
Have you ever heard of a man
named Javier Laureano Gaitan?
I've... I've heard of him.
Have you ever heard
him called anything else?
They call him,
they say El Diablo.
The Prince of Darkness.
Felix Arias, the
man your son killed,
did he ever mention Gaitan?
He told Manuel that if
he caused any trouble
that the Prince would come.
But your son shot Arias.
Manuel was young.
He was foolish.
Your witness.
Mrs. Ortega,
you testified that your
son knowingly consorted
with members of
the Colombian cartel.
(Manetti) Look at the defendant.
Do you recognize him?
I've never seen him before.
But if he was this Prince of
Darkness, as you call him,
shouldn't you be
able to identify him?
No one has seen Gaitan.
Mrs. Ortega, can you
testify that this man,
the defendant, killed your son?
No.
(Stone) 19 character
witnesses from Colombia.
Next they'll have a
doctor testifying that
his hand muscles are
too weak to fire a gun.
The character
witnesses, I promise you,
upstanding, elegant,
speaking perfect English.
He paid half a million dollars
to get out of Colombian jails.
What's 19 witnesses cost?
You wanna disallow it?
Judge Callahan's clerk says
we'll need the cancelled checks.
What about the girlfriend?
Her attorney says she'll
cooperate when it rains mud in July.
Mr. Gaitan throws
mud. Let's throw cement.
[sighing] The
harboring charge is crap.
She admitted it to a detective.
(Goldman) Plus
the "no bail" thing.
Did the Supreme Court do away
with civil rights while I was sleeping?
She is a flight risk, Sally.
She testifies,
five minutes later,
she might as well throw
herself under a subway car.
The woman wants to survive.
Fine. We're dropping all
charges, she can go home.
Guard?
He's in a hurry.
Press conference.
We're announcing a
new prosecution witness
expected to solidify our case.
(Stone) What's your
friend, Gaitan, gonna think
when you get out of jail?
This is not you, Ben.
This is definitely me, Sally.
When a cop gets shot building
a case, I want a conviction.
(Sandra) Please
don't do this to me.
[sighing]
I didn't know what he did.
Not till this time.
We can have a
stenographer in five minutes.
We'll depose her here.
[sighing]
You would've held
a press conference?
Glad I didn't have to decide.
[knocking at door]
Sally Goldman just called.
Please, don't tell me
Miss Alvaro died in her cell.
No, but her confidence did.
She made two
calls this afternoon.
Friends, I don't know who yet.
Says she'll deny
everything on the stand.
Says we forced her
to lie in the deposition.
If that's an accusation, I
suggest you make it elsewhere.
I'd be happier, if I didn't
have to make it anywhere.
When I cut corners, Ben, I
use a scalpel and not a saw.
And if you so much as
hint that I suborned perjury,
we'll be at the Disciplinary
Committee, all right,
but you'll be
facing the charges.
I'll see you in court.
You know what they
say about his clients.
Innocent until proven broke.
Maybe the woman
did get cold feet.
And maybe someone
put them in an ice bucket.
Sally Goldman says
Alvaro's calls to her friends,
no question, Gaitan got to her.
Goldman says? That's not proof.
Well, it's too bad we didn't
drop charges against her.
She leaves town, unavailable,
we could use her deposition.
Now, if we happen to let
her out and she left town...
No. But does she have to be
out of town to be unavailable?
(judge) What do you wanna do?
Have Alvaro declared unavailable as
a witness because she was threatened.
Rikers is a 45 minute
ride. That isn't available?
And I want her sworn statements
recorded as her testimony in the case.
Ben, we have a rule.
It goes back to English common
law. Maybe you've heard of it?
The defendant has a right
to confront the accuser.
Your Honor, last
summer, People v. Geraci.
The witness was intimidated.
The Court allowed
grand jury testimony
into the record
as trial testimony
even though the witness
was physically available.
I don't care what that
court did. It's wrong.
You can't have a witness
that I can't cross-examine.
Chris, save your theatrics
for the courtroom. Sit down.
In Geraci, Ben, they
had a taped phone call.
The witness said, "I will lie on the
stand." Ms. Alvaro didn't say that.
Her counsel was convinced
that she was intimidated.
Chris, this gives us
a parallel with Geraci.
Judge, you can't even
consider this. Of course I can.
That's why they give
me the black robe.
The witness was threatened.
The defendant waives his
right to cross-examination.
Fine, read her
statement into the record
and let her testify in rebuttal.
In rebuttal against herself?
This is a trial, not a circus.
This Court orders Ms. Alvaro's
sworn statement read into the record.
I will instruct the
jury she's unavailable.
You don't like it, Chris, we have
a remedy. It's called an appeal.
Maryann, study the deposition.
You're Sandra Alvaro.
(Maryann) "District
Attorney Stone:
"" Did he tell you why he
needed to stay at your apartment?'
"Alvaro:
'He said he shot two people.
He said he had to ride. ""
Excuse me, not
ride, it reads "hide."
"" He said he had to hide.'
"District Attorney Stone: 'Did he
tell you where he was calling from?'
"Alvaro: 'He said
the Europa Hotel.
"" He was using the
name Paolo Esteban.'
"District Attorney Stone:
"" Why did you first
deny knowing that
"Mr. Esteban was Mr. Gaitan?'
"Alvaro: 'I was scared.
'Javier kills people.
I'm afraid he'll kill me. ""
That's all, Your Honor.
Thank you, Miss Thompson.
I instruct the jury to treat
this like any other testimony,
giving it no more or no less
weight than any other witness.
(judge) In The People v.
Javier Laureano Gaitan,
also known as Paolo Esteban,
as to the first count
of the indictment,
in the matter of Manuel Ortega,
on the charge of murder in the
second degree, how does the jury find?
We find the defendant guilty.
(judge) As to the second
count of the indictment,
in the matter of Natalie Ortega,
on the charge of murder
in the second degree,
how does the jury find?
We find the defendant guilty.
Sentencing hearing
to be scheduled,
but I'd say to the defendant,
on the record so far,
you're going to
prison for a long time,
and when you get there
you can be Esteban or Gaitan
or for all I care you can call
yourself Nelson Rockefeller.
Court is adjourned.
If he wants to talk
about drug dealers,
he can have parole in 25 years.
He talks about dealers, the
cartel will get him in Attica.
[gun firing]
[women screaming]
[people screaming]
[grunting]
Tell me you're not
glad to see Gaitan dead.
Frank, I'm an
officer of the court.
Even if I were, I
couldn't say so.
I read in the paper
they would let him go.
He buys his way out in Colombia
and he buys his way out here.
He brings a gun
to the courthouse.
That's premeditation.
That's murder two.
He was in grief over his son.
Will a jury be weeping over the
scum you painted as a monster?
I don't think the publicity
windmill's blowing in your direction.
His son was killed two
years ago. If that qualifies
as extreme emotional
disturbance, we just made new law.
Save the cost of a
trial, we'll take man one.
Christobal's son, 19.
Police report says Gaitan put
three bullets in the back of his head.
Maybe Frank Hoover has a point.
Terrific.
You don't like the
system. Go get a gun.
We can paint the
courthouse steps red.
(Schiff) A lot of people
would rather give him
a medal than a sentence.
Frank Hoover has a case for
extreme emotional disturbance.
I'm not hard-hearted,
but I don't get this one.
It's premeditated. It's wrong.
I'm not up on my
Catholic theology,
but is self-righteousness
a mortal or a venial sin?
You kill the man
who killed your son,
to a jury it doesn't matter
how premeditated it was.
Let him do 4 to 12.
Okay. Just as long as you
take the press conference.
With the court's permission, the
defendant wishes to plead guilty to
to the charge of
manslaughter in the first degree.
Mr. Robinette?
The People agree, with a
sentence of 4 to 12 years
as a condition of the plea.
(judge) Mr. Christobal.
Do you understand that you are
pleading guilty to manslaughter
in the death of Javier Gaitan?
Yes, I understand.
Tell the Court the
circumstances of the crime.
I have a picture
from the newspaper
when my son died on the street.
Sometimes at
night, I talk to him.
I hope he can hear
me from heaven.
(judge) Mr. Christobal, please,
I meant for you
to tell the Court,
how you carried out the crime.
I have a gun.
I loaded it before
I went to the court.
I didn't know if I
could shoot him,
but I wanted to.
What I did,
it's wrong.
The plea agreement
is so entered.
Your Honor, we ask the
Court to release Mr. Christobal
two days before
the final sentencing,
so he may say goodbye to his
family and put his affairs in order.
Mr. Robinette?
Mr. Christobal confessed
to a homicide, Your Honor.
And a terrible crime it is.
But you know what they say,
Mr. Robinette. Do unto others...
I'm going to lower
the bail to $100,000.
Can your client come up
with the bond, Mr. Hoover?
Yes, Your Honor.
He can have his two days.
(Stone) He shoots
someone in cold blood
and the court acts as
if he's doing us a favor.
It's two days. Let him sign
everything over to his wife
and kiss her goodbye.
We have a problem.
The gun dealer, Lobrano,
I had a call from his lawyer.
Lobrano says Christobal's
grieving daddy routine was an act.
He works for the same organization
that employed Mr. Gaitan.
The hit on Gaitan
was to shut him up.
Kim, Cragen, please.
Don, Ben Stone,
cover all the airports.
Any flight to Colombia.
Hell, anywhere in South America.
This isn't a freebie.
Until we turn up Christobal,
we've nothing to offer.
Hypothetically, when
do you find him...
If the testimony is useful?
We can discuss
parole recommendation.
I... I didn't know
until I saw him on TV.
I sold Christobal
a couple of pieces.
He works for them,
just like Gaitan.
Gaitan killed his son.
Rumors.
The kid was getting
chummy with the Feds,
it might've been
Gaitan, it might not.
Christobal's wife cleared out their
bank accounts before the hearing.
They're on a plane 40 minutes
after the plea was entered.
The cartel had to
get rid of Gaitan.
They were worried
that he'd make a deal.
You sometimes feel that
we're running in place?
[buzzer sounding]
Yes.
Mmm-hmm.
Mmm.
Not an accident?
Thanks.
The gun dealer was
in the yard at Rikers.
Had his throat cut.
Buenoventura was strangled
in the kitchen at Dannemora.
And Manuel Ortega's
mother fell out of a window.
What about the little girl?
She was picked up
at school by her uncle.
She doesn't have an uncle.