Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–…): Season 1, Episode 13 - Disrobed - full transcript

In the criminal justice system,

sexually based offenses are
considered especially heinous.

In New York City, the
dedicated detectives

who investigate
these vicious felonies

are members of an elite squad

known as the
Special Victims Unit.

These are their stories.

Oh, God. Oh, God.

(police siren blares)

Nice view.

Yeah, at night, too.



- You've been here at night?
- Yeah, you know, on a case.

A case of what?

Okay, well, like... Like
a date with a friend.

- What friend is that?
- A guy, this buddy
of mine. A pal.

Uh-huh. What?

- Who found the body?
- Two uniforms
in a sector car saw him.

- You got prints?
- Half of Manhattan
handled this door.

Ah, valet parking.

You ever take your "friend" to a
place where there's valet parking,

hand the keys to your
hoopti over to some stranger?

That's funny.

What do we got? (groans)

Point blank to the jaw,

upward trajectory...
Looks like a 9 mm.



Ow! Somebody
wanted to make a point.

Is this too nice for the
perp to have left behind?

Maybe it's the victim's.

I don't suppose you found the gun
that comes with this lovely holster?

- Nothing in the car.
- No, we didn't find the weapon.

Of course not, that
would make it too simple.

- You got an ID on the body?
- You're gonna love this one.

- Whoa! Judge Warren Varella.
- What?

I want you to seal this crime scene
tighter than an accountant's ass.

(theme music playing)

Cragen: Time of death?

Cassidy: M.E. places it last
night between 8:00 and 11:00.

- Primetime.
- Where are we on
the judge's last knowns?

Well, he arrived
at work at 9:30,

went into conference until
11:00, then took a long lunch.

Afternoons he often
spent at the library...

Told his secretary
he needed time alone.

To think deep, legal thoughts behind the
wheel of his Caddy, fly open to the breeze.

- Did he make it
home last night?
- According to his wife, no.

Last time she saw him he
was pulling out of his driveway

with a coffee mug
on top of the car.

She ran a half block to stop him
but it fell off, shattered, and so is she.

Did she worry when
he didn't come home?

She's not talking.

What was he doing on a
pier in the middle of the night?

Nice neighborhood, not
known for hookers or trannies.

I hear it's a swell
place for grope-a-thons.

No, it was a full
moon. It was beautiful.

I don't think he's the type
to watch the moon rise.

So does Your Honor
have a girlfriend?

Maybe his wife caught him
cheating on her, blew off his unit,

and just to make sure he was
listening, removed his brain.

I don't think that's the part he
would have missed had he lived.

- Any LUDs?
- He had a cell phone,
but the batteries were dead.

- Do you think he tried
to call for help?
- We'll see.

Could it have been a hit?

If it was a hit, they would
have shot him in only one head.

Yeah, but given the lower
wound, maybe disenchanted lover.

Or a payback from a sex
offender he'd sentenced.

Judge Varella was
licensed to carry.

- What did he own?
- He owned a 9 mm
Sig Sauer model 229.

- Nice gun.
- Yeah, unless it's
being used on you.

- What kind of slugs
did you recover?
- Cassidy: 9 mm.

So it sounds like the rounds came
from his own gun. Where's the gun?

Presumably under the
pier in several feet of water.

One slug recovered from the rocker
panel, second from the victim's jaw.

- Where's the wife?
- Benson: In seclusion.

The family lawyers won't
let us talk to her till tomorrow.

Look, people, our asses are
flappin' in the wind on this one.

I've been briefed by the head
of the Criminal Justice Bureau,

I've fielded 30 or more calls
today already from press.

DCPI is swamped. They
want me to make a statement.

"Saintly judge found in
love-nest with hooker."

This was one of our guys...
He's tough on sex offenders.

You know that women's
shelter over on Houston...

"Together We're Safe"... he made
that happen. He cut the ribbon.

Benson, Stabler, check out
the office, follow the politics.

Munch, Cassidy, check
out any recent parolees.

Hey. Hey, got a sec?

One. I'll get the car.

Okay.

I'm sorry, does he...

No, I don't think so... we
don't discuss our private lives.

- Kind of like us, right?
- Right.

So? Noth... nothing.

Okay.

Know anyone who
wanted Judge Varella dead?

That'd be about 2,000 convicts.

Any one of them could
have put a hit out on him,

or done it themselves once
they were out for good behavior.

- What about something
more personal?
- Meaning what?

A business relationship.

He had a few blue-chip
stocks, but otherwise,

the business of the
court was his whole life.

- Did he have a girlfriend?
- No, definitely not.

- No?
- Look, I heard
about the other bullet...

The one in his...

He sentenced lots
of sex offenders.

We have a whole file
of threats on his life.

Mm-hmm, any of
them recently paroled?

Help yourself. I hope
you find who did this.

So do we. No.

I'd still be flipping burgers
at the Hamburger Heaven

if it weren't for Judge
Varella. Excuse me.

I never had a judge before.

Nervous? Nah.

Which shot came
first, head or...

Genitals... Tremendous
loss of blood.

So the guy's sitting behind the
wheel of his Caddy, bleeding out.

- How long?
- Minute, maybe two.

Then the head
shot... Close range?

Second shot was fired
from maybe a foot away.

The perp must've really
enjoyed watching this guy suffer.

That or the perp couldn't
decide what to do.

There's something else... he ejaculated
a few minutes before he was shot.

Anything else along
those lines... hair, fiber?

Saliva on his glans...
Put a rush on it for DNA.

Plus malate,

microcrystalline
wax, red dye #21.

- Which is?
- Cherry-glow lipstick.

The killer orally copped him?

I think the weeping widow
has had enough time to grieve.

When we notified
you yesterday, you...

I still can't believe
this is happening.

You said that your husband
didn't come home that night.

He didn't.

Were you worried?

He always works late. I'm
used to going to sleep alone.

And when he wasn't
there in the morning?

Well, he's always gone
to the office before I get up.

It doesn't appear that you
spend any time with your husband.

You're not married, are you?

No.

Was the judge satisfied at home?

What are you saying?

We have reason to believe
his attacker was a woman.

That's hard to believe.
He was a friend to women.

Ma'am, was your husband
seeing another woman?

(gasps)

I loved my husband.

Is this necessary?

Benson: Yes, it is.

Can you tell us where
you were the night he died?

I was at the club.

- And where did
you go after the club?
- Then I came home alone.

Ma'am, was your
husband having an affair?

If Warren were having an affair,

well, I'd be the last
to know, wouldn't I?

She said she'd be the last
to know? I don't believe her.

- Women always know.
- Why do you think it's an act?

Hillary Clinton as
Tammy Wynette,

standing by your man till
the end of his term in office.

There's always
something in it for them.

Like the woman said,
you're not married, are you?

Protecting the judge's good name...
maybe it's about protecting his pension.

'Splain it to me, Lucy.

- Supposing it was a hit... some mob deal gone bad.
- Okay.

Public officials commit a
felony, they lose their pension.

She loses the judge's
death benefits? Maybe.

Who's next on
the list of friends?

- Excuse me, Emily Waterbury?
- Yes?

My partner and I are from
the Special Victims Unit.

- Yes?
- This is about Judge Varella.

Oh, terrible tragedy, terrible
news... we're all in shock.

We're giving his
murder a full-court press.

I'm sure you are. Thank you.

Oh-oh... You are
the Deputy Director

of the Women's Action
Committee... is that right?

It's just a title. I lobby for women's
movements up in Albany, basically.

Benson: How well did
you know Judge Varella?

Not very well personally, but
we all respected him very much.

- "We all?"
- Yes, the Women's Movement.

We lost a great
champion in Judge Varella.

Yeah, we know...
"Together We're Safe."

The governor asked me to come
down to help in the memorial service.

If there's anything that you
need in your investigation

his office will
make it available.

- What about his enemies?
- What about them?

Anyone want him
dead up in Albany?

You're joking!

What do you mean?

I would check out the
wife-beaters and the rapists

that he put away
first, if I were you.

Thanks for the advice.

- Call me any time.
- We will.

Munch: So the mother
has a stripper perform

at her kid's sweet 16 party
dressed as... get this... a cop.

Yeah, what was her defense?

Some crap about how the strip
tease is a religious ceremony.

See, I wanted to have my bar
mitzvah at the Mustang Ranch,

but that sacred ritual's considered
"contributing to the delinquency of a minor."

- Yeah, strippers, hookers... come on, what's up with that?
- In what sense of "what's up?"

Paying for sex...
It's just so pathetic.

- One way or another,
you pay, my friend.
- Not me.

You're young, you're
reasonably good-looking,

in a choir-boyish sort of way.

So yippy skippy, you're getting
laid. Just keep it to yourself, okay?

What do you mean by that?

In the office... don't ask, don't
tell, don't mope and don't leer.

There's nothing goin' on between
me and whoever in the office.

Yeah, whatever. Great, fine.

Here's a triple murder
from 1962, guy still goes up

for parole every two
years... Denied last week.

Your box has the most
recent parolees in it, right?

Yeah... Green, Melendez and Yee.

One's a child molester and
then repeat drug offenders.

Varella kept records on all his courtroom
outbursts. Read those names again.

- Which, the ones paroled?
- Yeah.

Green, Melendez and Yee.

Ah, Melendez.

"D. Melendez has been
identified as a potential danger

after audible threats
toward judge, bailiff

and a District Attorney
during sentencing."

- You got a first name?
- Yeah, Delfino.

The Dolphin.

- Look, I didn't call you guys.
- You bitch, I didn't touch you!

- I didn't call them!
- Munch: Go, go, go!

Stay away from her! Get down!

Yeah, you didn't
do nothing! Shut up!

- (woman crying)
- I didn't do nothing!

- Get off!
- Yeah, you're a real saint!

Don't you be comin' back here
expecting to sleep in my bed!

I got plenty a' beds
and I don't need yours!

There's a lot of cots
where you're goin', all right?

Hey, back off
tough guy! Come on!

I thought she was
messin' with me.

She's the one who filed the TRO, so
it looks like you were messin' with her.

- We made up.
- Where were you Tuesday night?

You know a judge
named Warren Varella?

Nah. Nah?

Funny, you threatened
him in open court.

Got it right here.

- I was mad.
- You?

I didn't do nothin' to his fat
ass. What's he whining about?

Dead men don't whine. You've been
picked up on weapons charges before.

You're a tech nine man, huh?

If I still had a gun, it
wouldn't be no nine mil...

No style... you buy 'em
at gun shows and Kmart.

They're for the Columbine
crowd. I got imagination.

'Fino, we're just messing with
you, but at least we now know

that your favorite weapon's
the heat-seeking missile.

Let's try this one more time.
Where were you Tuesday night?

It was parenting classes.

You can check it out!

Okay, your kid breaks
curfew, what do you do?

Whoa, what's curfew?

Why were you paroled?

We've been checking you out
and you threatened to kill the judge

at your parole hearing, and
three days later you're out.

- Ask my accountant.
- Very funny.

Not to me, it
wasn't. 2,226 bucks.

Lawyers aren't cheap...
What'd you expect?

No, not to my lawyer...
To that fat judge.

So you bribed the
judge? Of course.

That's very original, Delfino.

He said I had to give
to some charity, or else!

- Bye-bye.
- I didn't do nothin'.

Of course you did... you
failed the parenting midterm.

LUDs show judge's last cell
phone call was to Albany...

Office of some chick
named Emily Waterbury?

That "chick" is the Director of
the Women's Action Committee.

Deputy Director, who claims
she didn't even know the judge,

except by his
sterling reputation.

Why is she gonna lie? She's gotta know
how easy it is to trace cell phone calls?

Why would Delfino lie
about bribing the judge?

Maybe Delfino's
telling the truth.

Munch and I'll check out
the bribe tip... other ex-cons.

Emily: I can't possibly keep track
of the 400 phone calls I get a day.

Even from a judge moments
before he was shot to death?

I didn't put that together until
now... some procedural thing.

- This is weird.
- What is?

We're from New York City and you're treating
us like we're the hicks from upstate.

That's silly.

Even the dumbest detective
knows how to run a computer search.

I'm not following you.

- You worked
for Judge Varella, right?
- What, that "Judge Varella?"

Mm-hmm, and thanks to him and his recommendation,
you can now afford these lovely suits.

I don't know what
you're talking about.

Some little computer
glitch brought back

a number of your
old... "boyfriends."

Drug charges, hooking.

I was under 18, I wasn't
hooking, and they were boyfriends.

Those charges
have been expunged.

So the judge gave
you a fresh start.

What we want to know
is what he got from you.

Sexual favors?

- Come on, this was politics.
- Stabler: Politics?

Emily: Politics is
picking up the phone

and getting a guy who really has
been rehabilitated out of prison,

so that he can support
his wife and family

and get them off of
welfare. Is that a crime?

Benson: No...

but bribery is.

We need to see all of Judge
Varella's appointment books,

financial transactions and any
charities that he may have been a part of.

"Together We're Safe."

He also mentored at a junior
college out in Suffolk County

helping teen mothers
find clerical jobs.

He was involved in
dozens of organizations.

We're gonna need
those records, also.

- But why?
- We're not sure yet.

You're barkin'
up the wrong tree.

Judge Varella was the
last of the good guys.

I know judges who use calling cards to
phone their wives from their chambers

just to avoid the hint
of any impropriety.

I know housewives who call the
plumber on the pay phone... so?

So, was he cheating on his wife or
was he taking money for parole? Or both?

We cross-referenced his
cases and his charities...

He's got dozens of donations
for two, three thousand at a time.

We got $2,226 from
a Delfino Melendez?

Yeah... to a women's shelter.

Cragen: What, "Together
We're Safe?" So?

They're all from the wives and
girlfriends of guys the judge sent away.

And now they're out?

Wow, 4.7 million in one year.

That's pretty good
for a fledgling charity.

Fledgling... I'm impressed.

Yeah, that's right, I'm
a real dope, aren't I?

You know what I did
last night? I looked it up

and I memorized it just
so I could impress you.

Okay, this governor's aide or
whatever she is... Miss Watergate?

- Miss Watergate was Mo Dean.
- Emily Waterbury.

Waterbury,
Watergate... whatever.

The guy's a jerk,
but he's our jerk,

so let's follow the money.

Cassidy, can I talk
to you for a minute?

- Sorry about that, Captain.
- About what?

You know, out there,
that personal stuff.

What personal stuff?
You mean with Munch?

No, with Benson and...

Brian, I'm raggin' you, okay?

This is not the principal's
office, you're not in trouble.

What's that?

It's a statement I taped from a complaining
witness back when I was in Homicide.

A sex crime? Yeah.

A little girl. On
the tape she's nine.

That was seven years ago.

The mother's boyfriend molested
the girl and then killed the mother.

Every once in a while I try to talk to
the kid, you know, see how she's doing.

Yeah, and how is she doing?

Not that well.

Not that well at all.

She lives out in Queens.

Yeah.

Before we start, these
are the ground rules.

I don't answer any
questions about what I do at...

Relax, we're not
interested in you.

This is a homicide
investigation.

The two constants so
far are sex and money.

And you followed
the money to me.

That's right.

Judge Varella would get
donations out of his parolees.

All right, Miss Waterbury,
let's just stop, okay?

We're not going to get
anywhere with euphemisms.

We're not talking about donations,
we're talking about bribes, right?

They'd beaten and raped women.

He convinced them that if they
gave money to the women's shelter,

that it'd help their image.

PR for rehabilitated
rapists... great.

And you would turn these
"donations" into bribes

for the parole board, that it?

When the judge would
call me and say yes or no

on a certain parole vote,
they were in his pocket.

Okay.

So what was in it
for Judge Varella?

The sex.

They were on the take.

They didn't care about
those women on their knees.

- Tyrell ain't here.
- We're not looking for him,
we're looking for you.

- Me... what'd I do?
- Do you know a Judge
named Varella?

Yeah, I talked to him 'bout
Tyrell. He said he'd help me.

Pig made me go down...
While I'm pregnant!

The judge told you if you had
sex with him, he'd let Tyrell out?

Nah, he was just so
cute, I did it for free!

Yeah, that's what
I just been sayin'.

- Then why didn't you complain?
- He's a judge... who's
goin' believe me?

Was a judge. Where
were you Tuesday night?

Upstate, visiting Tyrell.

I didn't get home
till almost midnight.

Check the prison records.
Tyrell's got three kids to support...

I go there to remind him.

Then how'd you make a new
one with no conjugal visits?

"Immaculate conception."

"Hello, and welcome
to 'Parole Fone.'

If you're paying
with sex, press one.

To make a donation to a
phony charity, press two."

But the charity's good... it's
the donations that are phony.

It was also a great place for
the Judge to troll for women.

Three of them had
stayed at the TWS shelters.

Okay, so we've got everything...
Motive, means and opportunity.

What we don't have is a
killer. Let's get back to the pier.

Maybe somebody
remembers something.

It never ends, does it?

Medical waste, or wasted medic?

You be the judge.

Hey.

I got nothin'.

Munch: We're not here
to borrow a cup of smack.

Hey, you sleep here?

No.

No? You come here
to practice T'ai Chi?

Were you here
last Tuesday night?

I dunno, what's today?

It's the night that it was cold.

It's always cold.

There was a man shot
over there in a black Seville.

I know. What'd you see?

I heard the
pops... two of 'em...

And then a lady in a
uniform got out of the car.

What kind of uniform?

Blue.

Blue? Well, that
narrows it down.

Now I can call my captain, and tell him
thanks to you, we've solved the crime.

Hey, would you
relax a little bit?

(boat horn blaring)

- Woman: Her hair was longer.
- Jeffries: Okay.

What about her nose?

Why don't we focus on
the nose, okay? Here.

- I really don't know. I can't remember.
- Got a minute?

She have any idea
on the uniform?

- Cop? Bus driver?
- Catholic school girl,
convict... no.

- She's got no idea.
- We have almost as much
as we had without a witness.

The press found out we have a witness.
I got a call from the Governor's office.

- We gotta move
on this... keep digging.
- Okay.

- You guys talk to the parole
board members yet?
- No.

We've been going
over recent paroles.

The latest round of "Let's Make A Deal"
was with a convict named Roger Silver.

Two of the board members are
corrupt according to Emily Waterbury.

Well, what do you say
you talk to the third?

The parole board voted twice in a row to
keep him in. Why is this guy getting out?

Who? Roger Silver.

Let me see. Mm-hmm.

- Somebody went to bat for him.
- Judge Varella.

It was a simple
game of phone tag.

A guy was up for parole,

the judge called his
contact in Albany.

- Stabler: Emily Waterbury?
- I guess so.

She would call the parole board's deputy
assistant, who would then say yea or nay.

It was two jerks to one.

- Were they getting kickbacks?
- I don't know.

- Oh, come on.
- This is going to the Attorney
General's office, you know.

I chose not to know... you have to
understand it is two against one here.

I serve on this board...

We meet only once
a month for a day.

I get paid $20,000
a year for this.

It's not much...
A political plum...

But it keeps my
kids in junior high.

Roger Silver...
Spouse: Gina Silver,

occupation: flight attendant,
Inter-Continent Airlines.

They have nice blue uniforms.

Why don't you get out of here? I'll check
her out... you're never gonna make dinner.

I'll be surprised if they haven't
changed the locks on me.

Benson: Uh-huh. Next week?

Great. Thank you
so much. Bye-bye.

Hey. Good morning.

Gina Silver... she and Judge Varella
traded phone calls for two years.

And long ones, too...
72 minutes, 39 minutes.

A card-carrying member of Judge
Varella's fellatio-for-parole program?

Roger Silver denied
parole in 1997,

again in '98, and one
year later... same thing.

- And now?
- And now he's due
out for parole next week.

You can't tell me that after he
nearly kills her, she still loves him?

I don't get it either, but
it happens all the time.

Thanks.

(doorbell buzzes)

Yes?

I'm Detective Benson.
This is Detective Stabler.

We need to talk to you about your
relationship with Judge Warren Varella.

Mom, can I borrow
your purple sweater?

Yes. Go back with Grandma, I
need to talk with these people.

I met him a few years ago
at "Together We're Safe."

I volunteer at a
few of their rallies.

- You "met him"?
- He was an acquaintance.

You trade phone calls
with "acquaintances"

four times a week for
two and a half years?

- We had coffee a few times.
- Stabler: A lot of coffee.

- Can we do this somewhere else?
- Yeah, we can... we've got
a car right outside.

- Do I need a lawyer?
- That's up to you, Mrs. Silver.

Mom, what's going on?

Honey, go back and do
your geometry homework.

- I'll explain later.
- Mom, is it Dad?

- Mom, is it Dad?!
- No, honey, it's about me.

It's gonna be all right. We'll
have your mom back in a while.

Mmmm, she looked
different in a uniform.

Take a good look,
starting with number one.

She could be number two.

But she also kinda
looks like number three...

and four. Cragen: Thank you.

And-and five.

Could number five please
turn to the side again?

Too bad you weren't
at the grassy knoll.

You have to let her go.

Let her go. Why?

Because her attorney
said we have to.

All right, I'm asking.

She's got a kid at home.

And dirty fingerprints on a door handle
isn't exactly a slam dunk, evidence-wise.

No, it isn't.

But cherry-glow lipstick on the late
Judge Varella's shriveling manhood is.

That, plus saliva. We take
one swab of your client's mouth,

one DNA test...
That's your slam dunk.

We know what Judge
Varella was doing.

Now we just need
to hear it from you.

He called me from the office that
morning and said to meet him at the pier.

Did you know what that meant?

Yes.

So tell us.

Was that all he said?

Yeah.

Look, Gina, let's save
ourselves some time here.

We've got all these old
calls... An hour and 10 minutes,

39 minutes, 42 minutes...

One-way phone sex and
then he'd want to confide in me.

About what?

Who was on the take
in what department...

He went on and on.

So when he said,
"Meet me at the pier"?

It meant that the parole board
was about to vote on my husband,

and I...

I had to pay my annual dues.

Cash, or...

On my knees.

So I did.

But then he starts saying,
"Actually, Gina, I have to end this.

I can't jeopardize my position."

His position?

What about my position?

Stabler: So he wanted
to end the relationship?

Relationship? Hardly...
I was humiliated.

I started to cry... he just rolled his
eyes, said I was embarrassing him.

But, Gina, why
didn't you just leave?

I kept my part of the deal... I
needed him to make that phone call.

You needed the
phone call to Albany.

Yeah.

And he did chit-chat about
the weather, yadda, yadda.

And he says, "Oh,
the Roger Silver case?

Wife's request denied."

Then what happened?

Then he hung up the phone,
he looked at me and he said,

"Satisfied? I made the call."

And then he laughed.

He... laughed.

I knew he kept a gun for
protection behind the seat.

That's when you
shot him, isn't it?

We need for you to write it
down for us, Gina, tell us why.

I told you why.

Stabler: He was a jerk, he used you,
and then he was going to dump you.

We understand that, but
why go to those lengths

to get back an abusive husband?

We don't get that.

Oh my God.

I didn't have sex with the
judge to get my husband out.

I did it to keep him in.

I remember the case...
Attempted murder.

She had a restraining order,
which he continually violated.

What the hell is this?

Those are the
impressions of chair legs.

He broke a chair over her back and
then used the legs to burst her spleen,

bust her ribs and give
her the nice tattoos.

He told the arresting
officers she did it herself.

I would've loved to have
heard that explanation.

I'll never forget it.

Yeah. Well, still.

I mean, if it were up to me, I'd
be lenient on her... man two, max.

Because she's a
battered wife? Yeah.

The trouble is, he's a
judge... That makes it federal.

A dirty judge, using sex to
influence the justice system.

You gotta hate that.
Plus the hypocrisy.

All that women's issue
stuff, while using and abusing.

You know, if I could, I
would exhume the body

and kick his ass.

But it's all moot now.

You'd still have to face a sympathetic
jury when the shooter goes to trial.

Send your people up there to
meet the husband, just to prepare.

I tried to stop her.

But she just kept
hitting herself.

And the ball-peen
hammer? Don't tell me...

You were cleaning
it and it just went off.

(chuckles)

Pretty and smart...

Nice combination.

You married, Detective?

Why don't you play "The
Dating Game" with someone

who shares your
clinical diagnosis?

We're here to talk to
you about Judge Varella.

Oh, sure... Warren?

He's dead.

It's too bad.

Did your wife mention
a relationship with him?

Oh, now I get it.

Yeah, I called her
before my parole hearing.

I wanted to speak to Jillian.

But Gina told me thanks
to her buddy, the judge,

I'd never see my daughter again.

I guess she was
wrong, wasn't she?

(door buzzes)

Tell Gina I want what's mine.

Tell that little bitch if she
wants to fly the friendly skies,

she'd better not
make any trouble.

(door buzzes)

Happy New Year, Marcus!

- What the hell is this?!
- 42 cases that are now
your problem.

Cases of what?

It's better than scotch. A
fellatio-for-parole scandal.

Probably keep you busy till
the end of the next millennium.

This has to do
with Judge Varella?

Oh, you're quick... But
not as quick as he was.

He had the bright idea to charge
for the oral favors he received.

How you comin' on the killer?

We're close. We're
talkin' to the donors.

Yeah, uh-huh. Well,
what about the feds?

Uh-huh. Right. She's
gonna need protection.

Mm-hmm, all right.

Well, let's put it out there.

Benson: Gina Silver?

Yeah.

We're not gonna be
charging her at this time.

Why? What?

All your fine detective work...

I dumped it on the Attorney
General and they're very interested.

Of course they are,
because it's an election year.

Well, suddenly, our
dead judge and his cronies

are a very hot topic in Albany...
At least with the other party.

Don't tell me... the Attorney General
needs a tour guide up the food chain.

They offered her
immunity if she would flip,

and her lawyer jumped
at the opportunity.

I can't believe this.

It's a kind of a whack to justice
here, Elliot... she ran out of options.

So has every junkie that's
ever robbed a liquor store!

She shot a judge,
not once, twice...

Once in the head,
once in the shorts!

She walks because some sex-for-parole
scandal is worth a few votes?

- You call me cynical.
- Look, we can always
re-arrest her later.

I have my orders,
and you have yours,

and that is to walk
the paperwork on a 343

to criminal court
before she's arraigned.

Otherwise, the deal is off.

- That's in a half an hour.
- Well, then you better make
that "run it over."

I can't believe I'm free to go.

My daughter will be so relieved.

You're not really free, Gina.

Benson: Look, here's the deal.

Yes, you're temporarily
immune from the prosecution,

thanks to the Attorney
General's office, but Gina,

that's only because they
have bigger fish to fry.

You're going to contact the
other players, get 'em talking.

If the government feels they're
not getting their money's worth,

you can be arrested at any time.

They're money's worth?
They're not paying me.

That's between you and the
government. We just want to make sure

that you understand what
you're getting yourself into.

If the information is no good,

you won't be seeing your
daughter till she's a grown woman.

Another thing... the DA's office
will be arranging for detectives

to be following you and
watching your apartment.

- She lives
in Washington Heights.
- Mm-hmm.

Yeah, so?

That's the three-three.

- What does that mean?
- 33rd precinct.

Excellent cops, but they're dealing with
one of the highest crime rates in the city.

Meaning they'll be
too busy to protect me?

Meaning that forget
the whole new identity

and a raised ranch in the 'burbs
crap, Gina. That's only in the movies.

This is called "special attention" and
you'll be getting as much as you need.

A squad car will go by your
house on a regular basis.

If there's a problem, then precinct
cops will respond as quickly as they can.

- Other than that...
- Other than that I'm on my own.

Stabler: Look, Gina, we're
just foot soldiers in all of this.

And the guy you killed, he was
a seriously flawed human being,

but he put away the
same people that we do.

Maybe you're getting one
over on us, maybe not...

Either way, it doesn't
mean we have to like it.

Okay.

So, what do I do, wear
a wire or something?

No, you're going to
do a little pretext work.

- You know what you're
going to do?
- I think so.

Let's make sure.

If you need more time to rehearse then
we'll wait... that's better than blowing it.

I'm ready. Okay.

This is Detective Elliot Stabler of
the Special Victims Unit in Manhattan.

I am calling from 212-555-0171.

This time is 4:23 p.m.,
the 12th of January.

I am now dialing the direct line

of target number one
of the parole board.

It's ringing.

Hello, is this Al... Is
this Adam Peterson?

Yes, I'm a friend
of Judge Varella's.

Oh, we'll get to that.

Let's just say that I was an
integral part of his operation,

and now that he's
gone, I want his cut.

I think you do... I think you
know exactly what I mean.

Are you still there?

Good, because if
you don't talk to me,

then I'm going
to talk to the FBI.

That was the three-three.
Your special attention location?

- Yeah, what about it?
- Her husband's got her.

- Hey, Brian.
- Hey, Captain.

I take it you saw her?

Yeah, I saw her.

You know, when she
called, I knew it wasn't good.

I knew she had to talk to
somebody cool, you know.

I mean, somebody
she could relate to.

(clears throat)

There was this guy in
the hood that she liked,

a guy named Vince.

She went down to
Coney Island to see him.

You know, the whole "under the
boardwalk, down by the sea" thing?

After Vince did her...

his whole set wolf-packed her...

Seven, eight guys...

She's not sure.

Which is bad enough,
Captain, but it...

It just gets worse.

They left her there...

by herself in the cold...

wrapped up in a beach towel.

It was after dark,

and she couldn't walk.

She just, you know,
sat there in what was left

of her... clothes,

and this guy comes along...

and asks her if she
needs some help,

and she says, "Yes, please.

Thank you."

And this guy, this...

this good Samaritan, he...

he...

Okay.

I think Benson and Stabler
can take it from here.

- No, I can handle this.
- I know you can, Brian,
I know you can.

Or you could transfer out.

Where?

There's an opening in Narcotics.
The captain's a friend of mine.

You could do a lot
of good over there.

It wouldn't...

Wouldn't what?

It wouldn't be like this, Brian.

Cassidy, what's up?

Whatever.

You know, my generation
pioneered that succinct abstraction,

but "whatever," to
me, means diddly.

Okay, I'm outta here.

For good, you mean?

Maybe you should...
You're a sweet guy, Bri...

The stuff here is
too weird for you.

Captain said I could
go over to Narcotics,

play cowboy, beat
up on some people.

It's not a bad idea, seriously.

I saw the way you
were with that junkie...

You got outta her
what most guys can't.

Ah, it's just like...
Sex crimes? Come on.

I still feel embarrassed
buying rubbers at a drugstore.

Think about it...

Popping dealers,
conspiracy, stake-outs.

All right.

Later.

Okay, Brian.

Take it easy. Okay.

Hey, is she still alive?

The ink wasn't dry on
the son of a bitch's release

before he makes
a beeline for her.

- What set it off?
- A dirty clothes hamper.

He drags her down to the laundry
room, he says he's gonna kill her.

- You call hostage negotiation?
- Yeah, 20 minutes ago.

But I wouldn't
wait if I was you.

Yeah, we got 'em.

Roger?

Whoa! Okay.

Let's just relax now,
huh, whaddaya say?

I just wanna talk with you.

Will you let me talk
with you there, Roger?

Put the gun down and just talk.

There you go. Just
leave it right there.

All right, here I am.

Just relax... let's talk.

That's all I want to do.
I just wanna talk to you.

This is what you got, okay?

Not a good situation...
Three guns, small room.

Let's just relax, all right?

Just... let's take a moment.

Let's be calm, okay?

This is mine.

Stabler: Okay. All right.

Help me out here, Roger, okay?

Just step away from
her, and drop your gun.

(screams)

(panting)

(theme music playing)