Wiseguy (1987–2009): Season 1, Episode 17 - Squeeze - full transcript
When Mel Profitt's armaments deals go sour, he sends Vinnie back East to set up a narcotics import distribution deal with the mob.
(uptempo rhythmic music)
- [Narrator] Tonight on Wiseguy.
- Vincenzo!
(midtempo instrumental music)
(phone rings)
- [Roger] Yeah.
- [Herb] It's Herb.
I've secured the collapse
of Mel Proffit's largest
legitimate enterprise.
Now the ball's in
your court, LoCocco.
You man enough to serve?
- [Henry] Mr. Proffit,
we have a problem.
- I'm in this office
one day a month,
now what is it that
was so important
it couldn't wait till
the executive meeting?
- [Henry] Catanga
canceled the phantoms.
- A negotiating ploy.
Catanga took the delivery
of a half a dozen
retooled Soviet Suhkois.
- From who?
- From Egypt, and
the snafus continue.
Sirig dumped the Sakorsky deal.
Kurr canceled the harpoons.
The Palmyria turid tam chassis
hybrid order was voided
by Kasavubu this morning.
- He's under siege!
- It was his last
official action
before an up close and
personal with a cluster bomb.
- [Mel] This is sabotage!
Somebody's undermining my work!
- [Henry] Don't you
raise your voice to me!
(intercom buzzes)
- [Mel] Would you ask my sister
to come in here right now?
- So this is it, eh?
- All day.
- [Mel] I'm not
being unreasonable.
Wars don't wait
for better prices.
- Forget it.
- This is sabotage!
- [Henry] I have no control!
- This is Mel's home base
for his legitimate business.
Comes here once a
month and chews out
all the former big shots
he new employs as lackees.
- So what are we doin' here?
- Window dressin'.
The entourage.
- I mean, what's
going on here, Henry?
- Business is being
systematically dismantled
by outside forces.
- What outside forces?
- CIA, KGB, the
Mossad, who knows?
I've asked contacts,
I'm being stonewalled!
- Turn back the orders.
- Not possible!
Delivery's been accepted,
escrow is cleared,
the ordnance is
bought and paid for
as far as the
manufacturer's concerned.
- I said turn 'em back!
- They don't want them back!
- You stupid bastard!
I'm holding a billion
dollars in notes!
You have any idea what
the carrying charges are?
- Let go of me!
- I'll kill ya!
- Stay back!
- No, no, Susan!
Susan!
- I'm warning you!
- No!
Stay back!
- You're destroying me!
(Henry groans)
- Mel!
- Henry, you dirty venal pig!
- Mel!
- We've lost everything!
At the forefront of my
demise, goodbye, Henry!
(Henry yells)
(suspenseful music)
- Vinnie, Roger, quick!
- Ah!
- Go!
No, no, put me down!
You're fired!
Put me down, you are fired!
You're all fired, kill him, Rog!
- [Susan] Get him out of here!
- [Mel] You're
dead, you are dead!
You are all dead!
- Mel.
- You can't hide from me, Henry!
- Mel!
- I'll eat your children!
Kill him Roger, kill him!
- [Roger] Get back to work.
- It's gone, it's all gone.
- Leave us a lone.
- Oh no, it isn't a secret.
It's my necessity.
I live with a weakness,
so what, Susan?
I mean, so what.
Please let go of me.
(Mel laughs)
You all right, Roger?
- Yeah, I think I sprained it.
(ominous music)
- I've removed
myself from business.
And as a result, we're
about to lose everything.
- We're still in control, Mel.
- We're up against the
wall in arms sales.
- Nobody knows white
powder like you, Mel.
- I've let it go to seed.
The middlemen are
independent now.
- They'd fight for it.
- The source, Mel.
- Yes.
The source.
Why, there is still
power in this shaman.
I have respect with
suppliers that no man has!
I gave you one of these once.
Unknown forces rule more
absolutely than the truth.
Vinnie, you still connected?
- You're always connected.
- High up, top Don?
- Why?
- Arrange a meeting.
- I need a reason.
- Because I pay you.
- No, no.
I need a reason that
means something to them.
- Latin Americans, Asians.
They cut into their drug trade.
I can get it back for 'em.
I can supply them
from the source.
Now you arrange a meeting.
- Mel, you can't take
these people lightly.
- My life depends on them.
Roger, everything got canceled.
I need to know why to combat it.
(door knocks)
- Vince.
- Hey, Frank.
- How you doin'?
Uh, this Lillah Warfield,
she's with State.
A friend.
- Hi, Vinnie.
- [Vincent] How
you doin', Lillah?
- Great.
- So uh, please, sit down.
- [Vincent] Thanks.
- So.
Well.
- Mel's had some major
deals collapse this morning.
Seems he went off the deep end,
tried pushin' this
guy named Halpert
off a 30-story balcony.
- Henry Halpert, retired
general, regular army.
Profitt's front man in
the munitions business.
- He could've conducted World
War II with this hardware.
- Not easy ordnance to replace.
- Mm-mm, every buyer got
replacement hardware.
- This makes me nervous.
- Yeah, makes Mel edgy too.
Force him back to
his first love.
You know, he wants me to set
up a meeting with the family.
- Are you serious?
- Yeah, he's scramblin'.
See his power's in the
drug trade at the source.
And he's got this mystical thing
about guys controlling
poppy fields.
Look, he gave me
this thing, too.
Here.
- True to form.
- What?
- Charismatic leader,
a cultist, genius IQ.
That same corporeal
stew gave us.
Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot.
They become isolated
by their own intellect,
reach out to the dark places
for answers they can't
find anywhere else.
- Now he wants to meet the mob.
- Yeah, well now might
be a time to move on him.
He's very prone to
mistakes right now.
With him in the states,
we'll have jurisdiction.
- Mob's had a major
facelift, Vinnie.
Guys on top are
third generation.
They inherited the worst
of their family's traits
coupled with the
best of educations.
They're MBA gangsters, they
don't honor thy father,
they honor the leverage buyout.
This is a whole new ballgame.
- Yeah, sounds
just like Profitt.
I wanna hold onto it, Frank.
Nice meetin' you, Lillah.
- Take care of yourself, Vinnie.
- Thanks.
- Vinnie.
- Yeah?
- No hidden agendas.
- Like what?
- I may be a homesick.
- Frank, it's not gonna
interfere with my work.
You got any names for me?
- Michael Brod,
Brandon Castellano.
Manhattan based via Brooklyn.
They haven't been around long
enough to lock down power.
- Never heard of 'em.
- [Frank] They
probably heard of you.
- That's it?
- These are new players, Vince.
We don't know what
they think of you,
this could be dangerous.
- Well how 'bout you, Frank?
You a homesick?
- This is not what
it looks like.
- Hey, I don't make judgments.
I understand the
need for intimacy.
- It started out that way,
now we're just friends.
- Okay.
(midtempo rock music)
(airplane whooshes)
(engine hums)
Pick me up at eight
in the morning.
Hello?
Hi, Ma!
- Vincenzo!
- How are you?
(Mom speaks in foreign language)
- How'd it go?
- Tried to throw
Halpert off a balcony.
- (laughs) That's great, we
pushed him into a corner.
- Yeah, maybe we
pushed too hard.
Loss of that munitions
deal really affected Mel,
he might snap for good.
- He's gonna see us
a shining knights.
He'll swallow the bait
hook, line and sinker.
When are you gonna
feed it to him?
- After the spaghetti.
- What?
- We sent Terranova to New York
to cut a deal with the boys.
If Mel fills their pipeline
with his drug contacts,
the mob'll end up pullin'
his rear end out of a sling.
- Terranova's a button man,
the men at the top
aren't gonna trust
hundreds of millions of dollars
to a nickel and dime
contract killer.
- You underestimate Terranova.
If he puts this deal
together, Mel won't need us.
- Terranova isn't that good.
- I wish I was as certain.
- You worry like an old woman.
- If Mel puts together the
source suppliers of cocaine
in the outfit,
he'll be the most valuable
man in South America.
He won't need to own an island
because we will have
given him a continent.
- Never happen.
- I need to know
everything about Terranova.
- Ah come on, Roger,
it's a waste of my time.
- It's gonna be a
waste of you, Herb,
if I get any surprises.
(arrow click)
(reel zips)
- Oh.
I'm so happy you're home.
- Ma, what's with the brownies?
- I'm making them for
the senior center.
People who used to be my
neighbors live there now,
all alone.
Their families abandoned
them in their old age,
and some of their
children are rich,
but refuse to care for them.
You and Pete are not like that.
- Ah, well.
- Ah, he'll be disappointed.
You should've told
us you were coming.
- I'm sure he wouldn't give
up his trip to the Vatican
on my account.
You know, he must
be pretty special
to be asked to a delegation
to meet the Pope.
But you're pretty special, too.
(Mom laughs)
- Oh no!
Vincenzo, what happnened to you?
- It's nothin', Ma.
It's nothing.
- Nothing?
- It's nothing.
- Vincenzo.
What happened?
- I got shot.
- Oh my god.
- But it's all right
now, Ma, I'm okay.
It's all over with.
- Why don't I know about this?
- I didn't want you
to worry about it.
- You don't tell your family?
Vincenzo.
What if you died without
letting me say goodbye?
I want you to quit this work.
I want you to stop.
- Ma, I'm not gonna
get hurt anymore.
- Why not?
Every time you go to a new
job, you make new enemies.
How do you know
they won't hurt you?
- All right, I'll
think about it.
Maybe after this time.
- Oh, my sweet boy.
This time may be the last time.
Please.
- Okay, Ma.
I love you.
(traffic hums)
Hi, my name's Mr.
Terranova, I'm here to see--
- Mr. Terranova.
- Yeah.
- Mr. Castellano's
expecting you.
May I take your coat?
- [Vincent] No thanks.
- It's policy.
More polite than frisking.
- [Vincent] Okay.
- Thank you, follow me.
- Mr. Terranova,
Brandon Castellano.
- How you doin'?
- This is Michael Brod.
- How are you?
- Hi.
- Sit down.
- Thank you.
- So what can we do for you?
- I have a business proposition.
- Well, we appreciate your
interest in our company,
but we generally recruit
from our alma maters.
- I'm not even sure Mel
Profitt went to college.
I'm sorry.
- What's Mel Profitt
got to do with it?
- I represent Mel Profitt.
Take it easy.
- Wait a second, Vince.
We haven't heard your proposal.
- I thought I wasn't wearin'
the right college tie.
- Sorry, Vince.
I didn't see past your
Atlantic City reputation.
- Mel Profitt needs
an organization
capable of handling
all his Asian
and South American imports.
- All of it.
- That is correct.
- How can we be certain
you speak for Mr. Profitt?
- Watch how little
I give a damn.
(door thuds)
- He can't possibly
represent Mel Profitt.
- If he does,
we just kissed away a
couple of billion dollars.
(suspenseful electronic music)
- We have to take
this to Aiuppo.
Come on, Terranova,
this better be good.
(traffic hums)
(suspenseful electronic music)
(knife taps)
Don Aiuppo, this is
Vinnie Terranova.
- Don Aiuppo.
- Terranova, two Rs?
- Yeah, right next
to each other.
- I like names with
two Rs or two anything.
I got two Ps in Aiuppo.
I make the most of them.
Tell me about yourself.
How'd you get those
pretty blue eyes?
You like garlic in your sauce?
- Yeah, of course, who doesn't?
- The bean sprout brothers.
Where are your parents, Vinnie?
- My mother lives about two
miles from here, my father died.
- You take care of her, or
is she in some nursing home?
- She's my mother.
- I believe you treat
business like family.
There are ways of
being righteous
and ways of being don't
even belong under my shoes,
(speaks foreign language)
it's my philosophy.
- Don Aiuppo, it's
the only philosophy.
See suppliers lost respect
for the distribution chain,
and that's who cut
into your business.
- It hurt all of us,
this loss of loyalty.
- Well Mel Profitt
can correct that.
He can provide constant
reliable product.
- The problem with
trafficking drugs
is that too many people
with too few brains
make too much money too quickly.
Productivity suffers.
Now if Mel Profitt can
deliver quality tonnage
on a consistent basis,
well we can reduce costs.
Reduce man power.
- I've always measured wealth
in the number of
people loyal to me.
I don't know that
I want this deal.
- If we stand this on its
merits, it's very strong.
- Why does Mel Profitt suddenly
wanna do business with us?
We always been here, why now?
- I think to join forces with
an equal is reason enough.
- Thank you, Vincenzo, gracie.
You're very, very polite.
I will need a premium pay
to handle distribution.
- We can arrive at what's fair
with a little number crunching.
Why do we have to hondle?
- [Mel] I don't wanna
think about anything.
- This is not the picture
I described to Aiuppo.
This is Roosevelt in Yalta.
- Mel.
Pull out of it.
- [Susan] Vinnie
needs to talk to you.
- Talk leads to empty emotions.
Avoid talk, you must
always avoid talk.
- So, where do you think Mel is?
- I've seen him
like this before.
He'll be fine in New
York, he'll own Aiuppo.
- Susan, come on, look at him!
- You guys do your job,
and he'll do his, okay?
(suspenseful music)
Mel, wake up.
(crickets chirp)
- Nothing, Profitt's
a blank slate.
- Check LoCocco.
- Look at this.
LoCocco was a hero 15 years ago.
Congressional Medal of
Honor, Purple Heart.
- And then he drops outta sight.
Where'd he go?
- The VA hospital?
- That's pretty
good, check it out.
(keys click)
- Whoops, separate clearance.
I won't be able to get
in till tomorrow morning.
- Lillah.
- Yeah?
- You were right about my wife.
- Oh?
- She came back home.
Probably get away from her
mother as much as anything.
- I'm glad.
You'll work things out.
- If I ever get back to Jersey.
I really like you, Lillah.
- I really like you, too, Frank.
I wish to God you were single.
- Will you settle for dinner?
- Yeah.
I could do that.
Listen um, maybe we should
try to track this LoCocco guy
through associations
like military buddies.
(somber electronic music)
(door buzzes)
(keys click)
- [Woman] Mr. Profitt, the
jet is now ready for boarding.
(people chatter)
- Terranova's an undercover
operative for the OCB.
Take him out.
- Are you sure you're
up to this now?
(suspenseful music)
(midtempo electronic music)
(doors thud)
- We're not gonna be able to
get an elevator in this place.
- Well at least we won't
be hurtin' for security.
Secretary of Defense or
somebody speakin' here.
The place is crawlin'
with secret service.
- Hey hey, be careful with that.
Look, you make sure these
get to the right rooms.
Let's go.
- Mel, Mel.
Susan won't be able to
attend this meeting.
Aiuppo is old school.
Women are either
Madonnas or whores,
neither of which can go
to a business meeting.
- Then to hell with him.
- Mel, it's all right.
It's okay, really.
- You sure?
- Yeah, no problem.
I'll just go shopping.
(gentle electronic music)
- Don Aiuppo.
Mel Profitt, Roger LoCocco,
Brandon Castellano,
Michael Brod.
- Sit.
Vino.
It's not vintage, but I like it.
- Well, that's what matters.
- Mr. Profitt, what
matters to you?
Money aside.
What are your interests?
- I like velocity, I like to
feel that I'm always moving.
- I like standing still.
Or sometimes walking slowly.
To watch life, race by
life, you cheapen it.
And a man who cheapens
life is dangerous.
- Successful businessmen
are generally
dangerous to somebody.
It isn't intent, necessarily.
It's just the way
the world works.
- What is this?
- It's a small part of a
greater world I care about.
I hope it brings you joy.
It's from the ruins of the
church at Castelvetrano.
(Don Aiuppo speaks
foreign language)
- The church of my father.
It fell in the earthquake.
Nothing left but rubble.
- And faith.
I looked in that eye, that
simple eye carved in that stone
over 400 years ago,
I felt renewed.
- We don't talk business now.
Now we eat.
Your soul comes from the
tragedy of your childhood, Mel.
You are an immigrant.
- We have something in common.
- We should talk about
having business in common.
- Yes, but I'm afraid
what Mel wants from us,
we are unable to provide.
Our organization was
crippled a year ago
by the federal government.
This would go a long way
to rebuilding business,
but I'm afraid you are
taking a risk with us.
I would advise a
friend to think twice,
and you are becoming a friend.
- Why don't you boys
go smoke a cigar?
- So you, you are
gonna quadruple our
drug operation, eh?
- Yes I am.
- Why?
- I overextended myself
in a munitions business.
I lost several deals that
cost me an arm and a leg.
While I was overextending, I
ignored the drug trafficking.
My middlemen cut into
a piece of my pie.
I was stupid.
Coming to you is an act
of coming to my senses.
I can deliver on this deal
because it's the business I
know best and because I need it.
- Ah.
I was expecting a
truckload of crap.
I had no intention
of doing this deal.
I wasn't expecting
honesty. (laughs)
(Mel laughs)
- Smooth as silk, isn't he?
- He has his moments.
- But you heard
Roger, personnel.
- [Don Aiuppo] (laughs)
So you like redheads, huh?
- Mulatto.
- I don't know any
red-headed Mulattos. (laughs)
You get a cab.
Mel and me are
goin' to Sophia's.
- At your age?
You'll have a heart attack.
- Hey, what's good
enough for a Rockafeller
is good enough for me.
(midtempo electronic music)
- Looks like we're in business.
- Probably not an FBI
guy left in Washington.
- It's been a real
button-down evening.
I feel like I've been
awake for three weeks.
(Vincent sighs)
(suspenseful music)
(Vincent sighs)
(suspenseful music)
(explosion booms)
(uptempo marching band music)
I still get goosebumps
when I hear that.
- (sighs) Yeah.
- Should we wait up for 'em?
- You pulled it off, Herb.
Profitt's doing business with
some old olive oil salesman
named Aiuppo.
I told you not to
dismiss Terranova.
Now Profitt's gonna
get his legs back up
if this deal goes through.
You've got to kill
it at the source.
- Roger, calm down, just
calm down all right?
I'll take care of it, just
tell me where and when.
I'll make sure the plane
never leaves the ground.
And what about Terranova?
- Sends his love.
- Did you take care of him?
Did you take care of him?
- I'm not taking out
a brother in arms.
- Roger, he could jeopardize
this whole operation.
He's gotta go!
- He's here for the OCB.
If I've got a problem,
I'm funneling it to him.
He can take out the problem
as part of his objective,
he can be a tool.
- Yeah, he's a tool
we can't control.
He's gotta go!
- I've made my decision, Herb.
You do this behind my back,
you send somebody else,
I'm going to kill you,
over a four or five day period.
(suspenseful electronic music)
(door knocks)
- All right, all
right, I'm comin'.
(door pounds)
- Is Mel in here?
- No, he's with Aiuppo.
- You left him alone with them?
- He insisted.
Actually, they left us
alone, they went partying.
- He's unstable, Vinnie,
they could kill him.
- They looked pretty
happy when they left.
- Well where'd they go?
(Vincent groans)
Where'd they go?
- They went to a bordello.
You okay?
- You're telling me the truth?
- (chuckles) Yeah.
(Susan laughs)
You think that's funny,
you should see Aiuppo.
- Oh god.
Are we in business?
Does Mel have
something to focus on?
- Yeah, I think so.
- What do you think
Mel's doing right now,
right this very second?
Show me, Vinnie.
Show me exactly what
you think Mel is doing.
(rhythmic electronic music)
(traffic hums)
- What are you doin' here?
- You did it, Vince.
And here it is, $100,000 and
more where that came from.
Rudy wants you to stay
for the first shipment.
- Rudy?
- Don Aiuppo.
Now the first plan'll
be in in two days.
I want you to escort
Castellano's men to the site.
Now once it's in,
you can come home.
There's no need to stay
to collect the payment.
Oh and Vince, you
did a damn good job.
- Wait a minute, whoa,
whoa, wait a minute.
What if something
gets fouled up?
- Now what's to foul up?
Plane comes in,
you leave, simple.
No money exchanges hands.
- Mel?
- We'll be in Long Island
for a couple of days.
Roger wants me to buy a bank
in some banana republic.
- See you, Vince.
(traffic hums)
(coins clink)
- Silla Hardware,
Mike Terranova.
- Day code, USA
Entertainment section.
Meter, spleen, Connors.
- Hey, Vince.
- Tell McPike I'm the
guarantee on a dope shipment
due to land at an old airstrip
in Lakewood, New Jersey
around 8a.m. Friday.
I'm a sittin' duck on this
one, I need protection.
- Are are gonna take it down?
- No, I don't want to.
Profitt's in Long Island.
If we're gonna get him,
it's either gotta be
the smack or the money.
- We gotcha covered.
You watch your backside, son.
(birds chirp)
- Well, this is no good.
The plane's over an hour late.
- Yeah?
- Is Terranova with you?
- Yeah.
- Hold him, he's ours.
I just got word the plane
never left the ground.
We're being had, put
Terranova on the phone.
- Terranova.
(birds chirp)
- All right, you set yourselves.
Nobody fire without my word.
- What's going on, here?
- The plane never left.
- I don't know
anything about that.
- [Brandon] Well you
better learn quick.
- You haven't lost
a cent on this deal.
- I made promises
to wholesalers.
You're chipping at my
business from the inside.
You're making me out a liar.
- I'm the one with
the gun to his head!
- I've made promises I
gotta break because of you,
so until you right this deal,
your whole family's
got a gun to its head.
- You stay away from my family!
- My family now.
Make the deal, or
you're an orphan.
(guns fire)
- Who fired?
- [Man] Not us!
(gun fires)
(uptempo electronic music)
(engine revs)
(engine revs)
- I'm doin' 90 miles an hour.
- I'm right with ya.
- [Vincent] Tie me to Frank.
- Yeah, hang on.
Yeah, he's comin' through.
- Yeah?
- You coulda killed me!
- I didn't give that order.
- You gotta pick up
Castellano and Brod.
- Vince.
- Frank you got it?
- Vinnie?
Vin?
- Frank?
Frank!
- Vinnie!
(tires screech)
- Hey, Ma?
Ma?
What are you doing here?
- Covering your butt,
what's the panic?
- Castellano
threatened my family.
(suspenseful electronic music)
- She's not here.
- [Michael] Where we goin'?
- She's supposed to be
bringing some baked goods,
so we look for an old lady
draggin' a shopping
cart full of brownies.
(engine revs)
- He was here lookin'
for her, let's go.
(man speaks in foreign language)
- Terranova?
- Yes?
- It's your son, Vinnie.
There's been an accident.
(tires screech)
But I can take you to him.
- Oh, oh!
(glass clatters)
(punches thud)
(Brandon groans)
Vinnie!
(punches thud)
Stop it!
Vinnie!
(punches thud)
Vincenzo!
- That man was on
his way to hurt you.
- The Lord protects me.
- Ma, these men don't
listen to the Lord.
- Either does my son.
I saw my own son like
an animal, a savage.
Something no more than a beast.
I feel so responsible.
I remember your first step.
That little boy,
how did he grow up
to become so ugly?
Vincenzo, I die a
little every day
knowing the evilness
of the men you fight.
How much more of me will die
knowing that
somehow, in some way,
you have become one of them.
- Mom, I haven't.
(fist pounds)
(door creaks)
(traffic hums)
(people chatter)
I thought you were
an honorable man.
- Castellano gave
you a tough time.
- Did he do it for you?
- He did it because he's
(speaks in foreign language).
Both of them.
I'm sorry.
To go after your mother,
I would kill him myself.
You forgive me, Vinnie?
- Yeah.
- You know, Vincenzo,
the world that I found
had no room for me, so
I had to create my own.
Me and men like me.
We spilled blood to do that,
to do something important,
which was to feed and
protect our families.
Today, our grandchildren
remember only how
to spill blood,
they don't even know why.
You know, when I first
met you, Vincenzo,
I saw something I had
not seen in 30 years.
- Yeah, what's that?
- Myself.
If you wanted to.
You could be Don.
(suspenseful electronic music)
(door knocks)
- How is he?
- [Susan] Catatonic.
- Mel?
Mel, I want you to know
I had nothin' to do with
this deal goin' sour.
- We know that, Vinnie.
- I guess I feel responsible
for Castellano's behavior.
- Mel?
Mel, your bust is here.
It kills me to
see him like this.
Sometimes I think he's
never gonna come out of it.
Vinnie, don't.
- Mel.
- Mulatto devil woman.
- What is that?
- Mulatto devil woman.
Mulatto devil woman.
- It worked, Herb.
Deal collapsed,
now Profitt can't even
do business with the mob.
- You wanted delivery
stopped at the source,
I took care of it.
- What a trooper.
- It didn't happen without cost.
I know owe a heavy favor for
keeping that plane grounded,
are you making it worthwhile?
- He's in a fugue state, Herb.
He's mumbling Melthusian mantras
and cursing some
downtown hooker.
He's as prepped and he's
ready as he's ever gonna be.
Ball's in your court, Buckwheat.
You man enough to serve?
(apple crunches)
(midtempo electronic music)
- [Narrator] Tonight on Wiseguy.
- Vincenzo!
(midtempo instrumental music)
(phone rings)
- [Roger] Yeah.
- [Herb] It's Herb.
I've secured the collapse
of Mel Proffit's largest
legitimate enterprise.
Now the ball's in
your court, LoCocco.
You man enough to serve?
- [Henry] Mr. Proffit,
we have a problem.
- I'm in this office
one day a month,
now what is it that
was so important
it couldn't wait till
the executive meeting?
- [Henry] Catanga
canceled the phantoms.
- A negotiating ploy.
Catanga took the delivery
of a half a dozen
retooled Soviet Suhkois.
- From who?
- From Egypt, and
the snafus continue.
Sirig dumped the Sakorsky deal.
Kurr canceled the harpoons.
The Palmyria turid tam chassis
hybrid order was voided
by Kasavubu this morning.
- He's under siege!
- It was his last
official action
before an up close and
personal with a cluster bomb.
- [Mel] This is sabotage!
Somebody's undermining my work!
- [Henry] Don't you
raise your voice to me!
(intercom buzzes)
- [Mel] Would you ask my sister
to come in here right now?
- So this is it, eh?
- All day.
- [Mel] I'm not
being unreasonable.
Wars don't wait
for better prices.
- Forget it.
- This is sabotage!
- [Henry] I have no control!
- This is Mel's home base
for his legitimate business.
Comes here once a
month and chews out
all the former big shots
he new employs as lackees.
- So what are we doin' here?
- Window dressin'.
The entourage.
- I mean, what's
going on here, Henry?
- Business is being
systematically dismantled
by outside forces.
- What outside forces?
- CIA, KGB, the
Mossad, who knows?
I've asked contacts,
I'm being stonewalled!
- Turn back the orders.
- Not possible!
Delivery's been accepted,
escrow is cleared,
the ordnance is
bought and paid for
as far as the
manufacturer's concerned.
- I said turn 'em back!
- They don't want them back!
- You stupid bastard!
I'm holding a billion
dollars in notes!
You have any idea what
the carrying charges are?
- Let go of me!
- I'll kill ya!
- Stay back!
- No, no, Susan!
Susan!
- I'm warning you!
- No!
Stay back!
- You're destroying me!
(Henry groans)
- Mel!
- Henry, you dirty venal pig!
- Mel!
- We've lost everything!
At the forefront of my
demise, goodbye, Henry!
(Henry yells)
(suspenseful music)
- Vinnie, Roger, quick!
- Ah!
- Go!
No, no, put me down!
You're fired!
Put me down, you are fired!
You're all fired, kill him, Rog!
- [Susan] Get him out of here!
- [Mel] You're
dead, you are dead!
You are all dead!
- Mel.
- You can't hide from me, Henry!
- Mel!
- I'll eat your children!
Kill him Roger, kill him!
- [Roger] Get back to work.
- It's gone, it's all gone.
- Leave us a lone.
- Oh no, it isn't a secret.
It's my necessity.
I live with a weakness,
so what, Susan?
I mean, so what.
Please let go of me.
(Mel laughs)
You all right, Roger?
- Yeah, I think I sprained it.
(ominous music)
- I've removed
myself from business.
And as a result, we're
about to lose everything.
- We're still in control, Mel.
- We're up against the
wall in arms sales.
- Nobody knows white
powder like you, Mel.
- I've let it go to seed.
The middlemen are
independent now.
- They'd fight for it.
- The source, Mel.
- Yes.
The source.
Why, there is still
power in this shaman.
I have respect with
suppliers that no man has!
I gave you one of these once.
Unknown forces rule more
absolutely than the truth.
Vinnie, you still connected?
- You're always connected.
- High up, top Don?
- Why?
- Arrange a meeting.
- I need a reason.
- Because I pay you.
- No, no.
I need a reason that
means something to them.
- Latin Americans, Asians.
They cut into their drug trade.
I can get it back for 'em.
I can supply them
from the source.
Now you arrange a meeting.
- Mel, you can't take
these people lightly.
- My life depends on them.
Roger, everything got canceled.
I need to know why to combat it.
(door knocks)
- Vince.
- Hey, Frank.
- How you doin'?
Uh, this Lillah Warfield,
she's with State.
A friend.
- Hi, Vinnie.
- [Vincent] How
you doin', Lillah?
- Great.
- So uh, please, sit down.
- [Vincent] Thanks.
- So.
Well.
- Mel's had some major
deals collapse this morning.
Seems he went off the deep end,
tried pushin' this
guy named Halpert
off a 30-story balcony.
- Henry Halpert, retired
general, regular army.
Profitt's front man in
the munitions business.
- He could've conducted World
War II with this hardware.
- Not easy ordnance to replace.
- Mm-mm, every buyer got
replacement hardware.
- This makes me nervous.
- Yeah, makes Mel edgy too.
Force him back to
his first love.
You know, he wants me to set
up a meeting with the family.
- Are you serious?
- Yeah, he's scramblin'.
See his power's in the
drug trade at the source.
And he's got this mystical thing
about guys controlling
poppy fields.
Look, he gave me
this thing, too.
Here.
- True to form.
- What?
- Charismatic leader,
a cultist, genius IQ.
That same corporeal
stew gave us.
Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot.
They become isolated
by their own intellect,
reach out to the dark places
for answers they can't
find anywhere else.
- Now he wants to meet the mob.
- Yeah, well now might
be a time to move on him.
He's very prone to
mistakes right now.
With him in the states,
we'll have jurisdiction.
- Mob's had a major
facelift, Vinnie.
Guys on top are
third generation.
They inherited the worst
of their family's traits
coupled with the
best of educations.
They're MBA gangsters, they
don't honor thy father,
they honor the leverage buyout.
This is a whole new ballgame.
- Yeah, sounds
just like Profitt.
I wanna hold onto it, Frank.
Nice meetin' you, Lillah.
- Take care of yourself, Vinnie.
- Thanks.
- Vinnie.
- Yeah?
- No hidden agendas.
- Like what?
- I may be a homesick.
- Frank, it's not gonna
interfere with my work.
You got any names for me?
- Michael Brod,
Brandon Castellano.
Manhattan based via Brooklyn.
They haven't been around long
enough to lock down power.
- Never heard of 'em.
- [Frank] They
probably heard of you.
- That's it?
- These are new players, Vince.
We don't know what
they think of you,
this could be dangerous.
- Well how 'bout you, Frank?
You a homesick?
- This is not what
it looks like.
- Hey, I don't make judgments.
I understand the
need for intimacy.
- It started out that way,
now we're just friends.
- Okay.
(midtempo rock music)
(airplane whooshes)
(engine hums)
Pick me up at eight
in the morning.
Hello?
Hi, Ma!
- Vincenzo!
- How are you?
(Mom speaks in foreign language)
- How'd it go?
- Tried to throw
Halpert off a balcony.
- (laughs) That's great, we
pushed him into a corner.
- Yeah, maybe we
pushed too hard.
Loss of that munitions
deal really affected Mel,
he might snap for good.
- He's gonna see us
a shining knights.
He'll swallow the bait
hook, line and sinker.
When are you gonna
feed it to him?
- After the spaghetti.
- What?
- We sent Terranova to New York
to cut a deal with the boys.
If Mel fills their pipeline
with his drug contacts,
the mob'll end up pullin'
his rear end out of a sling.
- Terranova's a button man,
the men at the top
aren't gonna trust
hundreds of millions of dollars
to a nickel and dime
contract killer.
- You underestimate Terranova.
If he puts this deal
together, Mel won't need us.
- Terranova isn't that good.
- I wish I was as certain.
- You worry like an old woman.
- If Mel puts together the
source suppliers of cocaine
in the outfit,
he'll be the most valuable
man in South America.
He won't need to own an island
because we will have
given him a continent.
- Never happen.
- I need to know
everything about Terranova.
- Ah come on, Roger,
it's a waste of my time.
- It's gonna be a
waste of you, Herb,
if I get any surprises.
(arrow click)
(reel zips)
- Oh.
I'm so happy you're home.
- Ma, what's with the brownies?
- I'm making them for
the senior center.
People who used to be my
neighbors live there now,
all alone.
Their families abandoned
them in their old age,
and some of their
children are rich,
but refuse to care for them.
You and Pete are not like that.
- Ah, well.
- Ah, he'll be disappointed.
You should've told
us you were coming.
- I'm sure he wouldn't give
up his trip to the Vatican
on my account.
You know, he must
be pretty special
to be asked to a delegation
to meet the Pope.
But you're pretty special, too.
(Mom laughs)
- Oh no!
Vincenzo, what happnened to you?
- It's nothin', Ma.
It's nothing.
- Nothing?
- It's nothing.
- Vincenzo.
What happened?
- I got shot.
- Oh my god.
- But it's all right
now, Ma, I'm okay.
It's all over with.
- Why don't I know about this?
- I didn't want you
to worry about it.
- You don't tell your family?
Vincenzo.
What if you died without
letting me say goodbye?
I want you to quit this work.
I want you to stop.
- Ma, I'm not gonna
get hurt anymore.
- Why not?
Every time you go to a new
job, you make new enemies.
How do you know
they won't hurt you?
- All right, I'll
think about it.
Maybe after this time.
- Oh, my sweet boy.
This time may be the last time.
Please.
- Okay, Ma.
I love you.
(traffic hums)
Hi, my name's Mr.
Terranova, I'm here to see--
- Mr. Terranova.
- Yeah.
- Mr. Castellano's
expecting you.
May I take your coat?
- [Vincent] No thanks.
- It's policy.
More polite than frisking.
- [Vincent] Okay.
- Thank you, follow me.
- Mr. Terranova,
Brandon Castellano.
- How you doin'?
- This is Michael Brod.
- How are you?
- Hi.
- Sit down.
- Thank you.
- So what can we do for you?
- I have a business proposition.
- Well, we appreciate your
interest in our company,
but we generally recruit
from our alma maters.
- I'm not even sure Mel
Profitt went to college.
I'm sorry.
- What's Mel Profitt
got to do with it?
- I represent Mel Profitt.
Take it easy.
- Wait a second, Vince.
We haven't heard your proposal.
- I thought I wasn't wearin'
the right college tie.
- Sorry, Vince.
I didn't see past your
Atlantic City reputation.
- Mel Profitt needs
an organization
capable of handling
all his Asian
and South American imports.
- All of it.
- That is correct.
- How can we be certain
you speak for Mr. Profitt?
- Watch how little
I give a damn.
(door thuds)
- He can't possibly
represent Mel Profitt.
- If he does,
we just kissed away a
couple of billion dollars.
(suspenseful electronic music)
- We have to take
this to Aiuppo.
Come on, Terranova,
this better be good.
(traffic hums)
(suspenseful electronic music)
(knife taps)
Don Aiuppo, this is
Vinnie Terranova.
- Don Aiuppo.
- Terranova, two Rs?
- Yeah, right next
to each other.
- I like names with
two Rs or two anything.
I got two Ps in Aiuppo.
I make the most of them.
Tell me about yourself.
How'd you get those
pretty blue eyes?
You like garlic in your sauce?
- Yeah, of course, who doesn't?
- The bean sprout brothers.
Where are your parents, Vinnie?
- My mother lives about two
miles from here, my father died.
- You take care of her, or
is she in some nursing home?
- She's my mother.
- I believe you treat
business like family.
There are ways of
being righteous
and ways of being don't
even belong under my shoes,
(speaks foreign language)
it's my philosophy.
- Don Aiuppo, it's
the only philosophy.
See suppliers lost respect
for the distribution chain,
and that's who cut
into your business.
- It hurt all of us,
this loss of loyalty.
- Well Mel Profitt
can correct that.
He can provide constant
reliable product.
- The problem with
trafficking drugs
is that too many people
with too few brains
make too much money too quickly.
Productivity suffers.
Now if Mel Profitt can
deliver quality tonnage
on a consistent basis,
well we can reduce costs.
Reduce man power.
- I've always measured wealth
in the number of
people loyal to me.
I don't know that
I want this deal.
- If we stand this on its
merits, it's very strong.
- Why does Mel Profitt suddenly
wanna do business with us?
We always been here, why now?
- I think to join forces with
an equal is reason enough.
- Thank you, Vincenzo, gracie.
You're very, very polite.
I will need a premium pay
to handle distribution.
- We can arrive at what's fair
with a little number crunching.
Why do we have to hondle?
- [Mel] I don't wanna
think about anything.
- This is not the picture
I described to Aiuppo.
This is Roosevelt in Yalta.
- Mel.
Pull out of it.
- [Susan] Vinnie
needs to talk to you.
- Talk leads to empty emotions.
Avoid talk, you must
always avoid talk.
- So, where do you think Mel is?
- I've seen him
like this before.
He'll be fine in New
York, he'll own Aiuppo.
- Susan, come on, look at him!
- You guys do your job,
and he'll do his, okay?
(suspenseful music)
Mel, wake up.
(crickets chirp)
- Nothing, Profitt's
a blank slate.
- Check LoCocco.
- Look at this.
LoCocco was a hero 15 years ago.
Congressional Medal of
Honor, Purple Heart.
- And then he drops outta sight.
Where'd he go?
- The VA hospital?
- That's pretty
good, check it out.
(keys click)
- Whoops, separate clearance.
I won't be able to get
in till tomorrow morning.
- Lillah.
- Yeah?
- You were right about my wife.
- Oh?
- She came back home.
Probably get away from her
mother as much as anything.
- I'm glad.
You'll work things out.
- If I ever get back to Jersey.
I really like you, Lillah.
- I really like you, too, Frank.
I wish to God you were single.
- Will you settle for dinner?
- Yeah.
I could do that.
Listen um, maybe we should
try to track this LoCocco guy
through associations
like military buddies.
(somber electronic music)
(door buzzes)
(keys click)
- [Woman] Mr. Profitt, the
jet is now ready for boarding.
(people chatter)
- Terranova's an undercover
operative for the OCB.
Take him out.
- Are you sure you're
up to this now?
(suspenseful music)
(midtempo electronic music)
(doors thud)
- We're not gonna be able to
get an elevator in this place.
- Well at least we won't
be hurtin' for security.
Secretary of Defense or
somebody speakin' here.
The place is crawlin'
with secret service.
- Hey hey, be careful with that.
Look, you make sure these
get to the right rooms.
Let's go.
- Mel, Mel.
Susan won't be able to
attend this meeting.
Aiuppo is old school.
Women are either
Madonnas or whores,
neither of which can go
to a business meeting.
- Then to hell with him.
- Mel, it's all right.
It's okay, really.
- You sure?
- Yeah, no problem.
I'll just go shopping.
(gentle electronic music)
- Don Aiuppo.
Mel Profitt, Roger LoCocco,
Brandon Castellano,
Michael Brod.
- Sit.
Vino.
It's not vintage, but I like it.
- Well, that's what matters.
- Mr. Profitt, what
matters to you?
Money aside.
What are your interests?
- I like velocity, I like to
feel that I'm always moving.
- I like standing still.
Or sometimes walking slowly.
To watch life, race by
life, you cheapen it.
And a man who cheapens
life is dangerous.
- Successful businessmen
are generally
dangerous to somebody.
It isn't intent, necessarily.
It's just the way
the world works.
- What is this?
- It's a small part of a
greater world I care about.
I hope it brings you joy.
It's from the ruins of the
church at Castelvetrano.
(Don Aiuppo speaks
foreign language)
- The church of my father.
It fell in the earthquake.
Nothing left but rubble.
- And faith.
I looked in that eye, that
simple eye carved in that stone
over 400 years ago,
I felt renewed.
- We don't talk business now.
Now we eat.
Your soul comes from the
tragedy of your childhood, Mel.
You are an immigrant.
- We have something in common.
- We should talk about
having business in common.
- Yes, but I'm afraid
what Mel wants from us,
we are unable to provide.
Our organization was
crippled a year ago
by the federal government.
This would go a long way
to rebuilding business,
but I'm afraid you are
taking a risk with us.
I would advise a
friend to think twice,
and you are becoming a friend.
- Why don't you boys
go smoke a cigar?
- So you, you are
gonna quadruple our
drug operation, eh?
- Yes I am.
- Why?
- I overextended myself
in a munitions business.
I lost several deals that
cost me an arm and a leg.
While I was overextending, I
ignored the drug trafficking.
My middlemen cut into
a piece of my pie.
I was stupid.
Coming to you is an act
of coming to my senses.
I can deliver on this deal
because it's the business I
know best and because I need it.
- Ah.
I was expecting a
truckload of crap.
I had no intention
of doing this deal.
I wasn't expecting
honesty. (laughs)
(Mel laughs)
- Smooth as silk, isn't he?
- He has his moments.
- But you heard
Roger, personnel.
- [Don Aiuppo] (laughs)
So you like redheads, huh?
- Mulatto.
- I don't know any
red-headed Mulattos. (laughs)
You get a cab.
Mel and me are
goin' to Sophia's.
- At your age?
You'll have a heart attack.
- Hey, what's good
enough for a Rockafeller
is good enough for me.
(midtempo electronic music)
- Looks like we're in business.
- Probably not an FBI
guy left in Washington.
- It's been a real
button-down evening.
I feel like I've been
awake for three weeks.
(Vincent sighs)
(suspenseful music)
(Vincent sighs)
(suspenseful music)
(explosion booms)
(uptempo marching band music)
I still get goosebumps
when I hear that.
- (sighs) Yeah.
- Should we wait up for 'em?
- You pulled it off, Herb.
Profitt's doing business with
some old olive oil salesman
named Aiuppo.
I told you not to
dismiss Terranova.
Now Profitt's gonna
get his legs back up
if this deal goes through.
You've got to kill
it at the source.
- Roger, calm down, just
calm down all right?
I'll take care of it, just
tell me where and when.
I'll make sure the plane
never leaves the ground.
And what about Terranova?
- Sends his love.
- Did you take care of him?
Did you take care of him?
- I'm not taking out
a brother in arms.
- Roger, he could jeopardize
this whole operation.
He's gotta go!
- He's here for the OCB.
If I've got a problem,
I'm funneling it to him.
He can take out the problem
as part of his objective,
he can be a tool.
- Yeah, he's a tool
we can't control.
He's gotta go!
- I've made my decision, Herb.
You do this behind my back,
you send somebody else,
I'm going to kill you,
over a four or five day period.
(suspenseful electronic music)
(door knocks)
- All right, all
right, I'm comin'.
(door pounds)
- Is Mel in here?
- No, he's with Aiuppo.
- You left him alone with them?
- He insisted.
Actually, they left us
alone, they went partying.
- He's unstable, Vinnie,
they could kill him.
- They looked pretty
happy when they left.
- Well where'd they go?
(Vincent groans)
Where'd they go?
- They went to a bordello.
You okay?
- You're telling me the truth?
- (chuckles) Yeah.
(Susan laughs)
You think that's funny,
you should see Aiuppo.
- Oh god.
Are we in business?
Does Mel have
something to focus on?
- Yeah, I think so.
- What do you think
Mel's doing right now,
right this very second?
Show me, Vinnie.
Show me exactly what
you think Mel is doing.
(rhythmic electronic music)
(traffic hums)
- What are you doin' here?
- You did it, Vince.
And here it is, $100,000 and
more where that came from.
Rudy wants you to stay
for the first shipment.
- Rudy?
- Don Aiuppo.
Now the first plan'll
be in in two days.
I want you to escort
Castellano's men to the site.
Now once it's in,
you can come home.
There's no need to stay
to collect the payment.
Oh and Vince, you
did a damn good job.
- Wait a minute, whoa,
whoa, wait a minute.
What if something
gets fouled up?
- Now what's to foul up?
Plane comes in,
you leave, simple.
No money exchanges hands.
- Mel?
- We'll be in Long Island
for a couple of days.
Roger wants me to buy a bank
in some banana republic.
- See you, Vince.
(traffic hums)
(coins clink)
- Silla Hardware,
Mike Terranova.
- Day code, USA
Entertainment section.
Meter, spleen, Connors.
- Hey, Vince.
- Tell McPike I'm the
guarantee on a dope shipment
due to land at an old airstrip
in Lakewood, New Jersey
around 8a.m. Friday.
I'm a sittin' duck on this
one, I need protection.
- Are are gonna take it down?
- No, I don't want to.
Profitt's in Long Island.
If we're gonna get him,
it's either gotta be
the smack or the money.
- We gotcha covered.
You watch your backside, son.
(birds chirp)
- Well, this is no good.
The plane's over an hour late.
- Yeah?
- Is Terranova with you?
- Yeah.
- Hold him, he's ours.
I just got word the plane
never left the ground.
We're being had, put
Terranova on the phone.
- Terranova.
(birds chirp)
- All right, you set yourselves.
Nobody fire without my word.
- What's going on, here?
- The plane never left.
- I don't know
anything about that.
- [Brandon] Well you
better learn quick.
- You haven't lost
a cent on this deal.
- I made promises
to wholesalers.
You're chipping at my
business from the inside.
You're making me out a liar.
- I'm the one with
the gun to his head!
- I've made promises I
gotta break because of you,
so until you right this deal,
your whole family's
got a gun to its head.
- You stay away from my family!
- My family now.
Make the deal, or
you're an orphan.
(guns fire)
- Who fired?
- [Man] Not us!
(gun fires)
(uptempo electronic music)
(engine revs)
(engine revs)
- I'm doin' 90 miles an hour.
- I'm right with ya.
- [Vincent] Tie me to Frank.
- Yeah, hang on.
Yeah, he's comin' through.
- Yeah?
- You coulda killed me!
- I didn't give that order.
- You gotta pick up
Castellano and Brod.
- Vince.
- Frank you got it?
- Vinnie?
Vin?
- Frank?
Frank!
- Vinnie!
(tires screech)
- Hey, Ma?
Ma?
What are you doing here?
- Covering your butt,
what's the panic?
- Castellano
threatened my family.
(suspenseful electronic music)
- She's not here.
- [Michael] Where we goin'?
- She's supposed to be
bringing some baked goods,
so we look for an old lady
draggin' a shopping
cart full of brownies.
(engine revs)
- He was here lookin'
for her, let's go.
(man speaks in foreign language)
- Terranova?
- Yes?
- It's your son, Vinnie.
There's been an accident.
(tires screech)
But I can take you to him.
- Oh, oh!
(glass clatters)
(punches thud)
(Brandon groans)
Vinnie!
(punches thud)
Stop it!
Vinnie!
(punches thud)
Vincenzo!
- That man was on
his way to hurt you.
- The Lord protects me.
- Ma, these men don't
listen to the Lord.
- Either does my son.
I saw my own son like
an animal, a savage.
Something no more than a beast.
I feel so responsible.
I remember your first step.
That little boy,
how did he grow up
to become so ugly?
Vincenzo, I die a
little every day
knowing the evilness
of the men you fight.
How much more of me will die
knowing that
somehow, in some way,
you have become one of them.
- Mom, I haven't.
(fist pounds)
(door creaks)
(traffic hums)
(people chatter)
I thought you were
an honorable man.
- Castellano gave
you a tough time.
- Did he do it for you?
- He did it because he's
(speaks in foreign language).
Both of them.
I'm sorry.
To go after your mother,
I would kill him myself.
You forgive me, Vinnie?
- Yeah.
- You know, Vincenzo,
the world that I found
had no room for me, so
I had to create my own.
Me and men like me.
We spilled blood to do that,
to do something important,
which was to feed and
protect our families.
Today, our grandchildren
remember only how
to spill blood,
they don't even know why.
You know, when I first
met you, Vincenzo,
I saw something I had
not seen in 30 years.
- Yeah, what's that?
- Myself.
If you wanted to.
You could be Don.
(suspenseful electronic music)
(door knocks)
- How is he?
- [Susan] Catatonic.
- Mel?
Mel, I want you to know
I had nothin' to do with
this deal goin' sour.
- We know that, Vinnie.
- I guess I feel responsible
for Castellano's behavior.
- Mel?
Mel, your bust is here.
It kills me to
see him like this.
Sometimes I think he's
never gonna come out of it.
Vinnie, don't.
- Mel.
- Mulatto devil woman.
- What is that?
- Mulatto devil woman.
Mulatto devil woman.
- It worked, Herb.
Deal collapsed,
now Profitt can't even
do business with the mob.
- You wanted delivery
stopped at the source,
I took care of it.
- What a trooper.
- It didn't happen without cost.
I know owe a heavy favor for
keeping that plane grounded,
are you making it worthwhile?
- He's in a fugue state, Herb.
He's mumbling Melthusian mantras
and cursing some
downtown hooker.
He's as prepped and he's
ready as he's ever gonna be.
Ball's in your court, Buckwheat.
You man enough to serve?
(apple crunches)
(midtempo electronic music)