Wiseguy (1987–2009): Season 2, Episode 10 - Postcard from Morocco - full transcript
David Sternberg's final act is to leave a letter incriminating Rick Pinzolo in a murder he witnessed, and Raglin desperately seeks to make the charges stick, as the OCB garment-center investigation draws to a disquieting close.
- [Announcer]
Tonight on Wiseguy.
- We said we were going
to be friends, David.
Why couldn't we
have had the time?
I've got $50,000
left to my name.
It's yours if you kill Pinzolo.
- I'm just curious as to
why you're going to jail
instead of turning me in.
- I like money.
- David Sternberg
never knew what hit him
when that hollow point
plowed through his eye,
but you will.
(uptempo theme music)
- David Sternberg wound
up with his brains
leaking all over the
Security Merchants Bank.
And Rick Pinzolo couldn't have
been more responsible for it
if he had pulled
the trigger himself.
- You tell me if I'm wrong.
David's the guy with
the gun, wasn't he?
- Pinzolo ruined his
father's business.
David was just trying
to get back his money.
You know that, Frank.
- I know the guard shot David.
I know you picked up his
gun and broke Pinzolo's jaw.
Four weeks ago you
looked like a guy who'd
get through this job without
experiencing a meltdown.
- Four weeks ago I never
heard of Vinnie Terranova
and I would've
been just as happy
to never hear your name again.
Working the field was a memory.
The more distant the better.
You damn near begged me
to take this job, Frank.
I didn't want it.
- No, but you took it.
You took it.
And you took the
emotional responsibility
that goes along with it.
And when you decided to
rearrange Pinzolo's face,
you abrogated that
responsibility
and probably blew an
investigation to nail
the biggest crime boss
in the Garment District.
- We've got a reasonable
insider trading case
against Pinzolo in
connection with the collapse
of RightWear stock.
RightWear is the retail
chain that handled the recent
shipment of dresses
manufactured by Eli Sternberg.
Those dresses weren't
treated with fire retardant
as prescribed by law.
One of them went up in flames
and a window dresser was killed.
The dresses were recalled,
RightWear stock plummeted,
and Eli Sternberg is in the
process of losing his company.
Pinzolo has, by
latest estimation,
made over 20 million selling
short on RightWear stock.
- What do you mean
reasonably good?
- It would be a lot
better if Carole Goldman
would testify against him.
- Pinzolo and Carole
Goldman were partners
on this whole deal.
She was the one who
orchestrated the takeover
of RightWear stock
by Chinese money
through opposition at
the brokerage house.
We've got her under surveillance
till we can serve
her with a warrant.
- Carole and David were cousins.
- It was Eli she was after.
She thinks 40 years ago he stole
the business from her father.
This was her payback.
(phone rings)
- I'll get it.
McPike.
Well, you boys are
doing a hell of a job.
We just tried to
serve Carole Goldman.
She skipped.
Probably in Brazil by now.
- Not yet.
She'll be at David's
funeral tomorrow.
- That's presuming she's
the sentimentalist you are.
Where are you going?
- [John] Try and find them.
- If you do, you
remember she thinks
you're working security for Eli.
She doesn't know you're a cop.
- Yes, sir.
- There's a deep, dark
hole inside John Raglin.
- The dissolution
of all corporations,
fictitious and bonafide,
in which you're the
sole stockholder,
and the transferal of
all assets into Swiss
and Cayman accounts could be
accomplished in three months.
- Got one week.
- Come on, Rick.
Just the filing alone.
The FTC, the SEC, the ICC.
- Hey, man.
I know the alphabet.
You got one week.
- We faced potential
FCC charges before
and we've handled them cleanly.
You've never even been indicted.
A liquidation the size
you're contemplating
will send up a red flag
in every financial market
from Wall Street to Rangoon.
You can't take it
with you, Rick.
At least not all at once.
- Fesco did.
- Yeah, and now he's a
man without a country.
- Patriotism is overrated.
What are you gonna do, Mike?
Are you gonna do this for me
or do I have to get
somebody else, huh?
- I've never seen you
scared before, Rick.
I never thought I would.
- Listen, when it comes to tax
law, you're fully conversed.
But when it come to the law of
averages, you're illiterate.
This has nothing
to do with fear.
It's prudent business.
You can only roll
sevens for so long.
Thank you, Mike.
(intercom buzzes)
Come on in, Steve.
It is vital that I speak with
Carole Goldman before I leave.
Almost as vital as getting
this hardware off my jaw.
My meeting with Raglin is
desirable, but not vital.
- It's like they both
disappeared, Rick.
- David Sternberg's
being buried tomorrow.
She'll be there.
- [Marty] Agent 5751,
Dayco sports section.
Court the ice.
- Hey, Marty.
How's it going?
- Pinzolo's about
to skip the country.
He's pressuring his lawyer
to liquidate his assets
within the week.
And he may try to grab Carole
at the Sternberg funeral.
- Did he say anything that
would prove culpability?
- Are you kidding?
- [Daniel] Think he
knows we're listening?
- Hard to say.
We should order up some
uniforms at that funeral.
The more conspicuous the better.
- I'm on it.
Catch you later, Marty.
Frank, yeah.
Have you heard
anything from Raglin?
(knocking on door)
- [John] Carole, open up.
It's me.
(knocking on door)
- I was being followed.
I had to get out of my place.
- Who's watching you?
- I don't know.
The police?
- I'll do that.
- Pinzolo's men, they're
after me, Raglin.
They're all after me.
(siren wailing)
- [John] What'd you call me for?
- For protection.
You didn't tell
anybody, did you?
- That's a stupid question.
- What, you think this is funny?
- No, but there's a
picturesque irony to it.
You set David up for Pinzolo,
your plan works like a charm,
and now Pinzolo is after you.
- My plan never included David.
- Come on, Carole.
People don't live in a vacuum.
You ruined his father
and didn't you think
a little piece of David was
gonna die in the process?
- David's funeral is tomorrow.
I have to be there.
- That's touching.
It's a beautiful sentiment.
- I was gonna set David
up in his own business
with the profits I made from
the offshore takeover
of RightWear.
Why?
Why did he try to take
on Pinzolo by himself?
- Because he loved his father.
As difficult as that is
for you to understand.
The word on the street
is the SEC is gonna file
insider trading charges on
Pinzolo on this RightWear deal.
Which means he's gonna
lay it all off on you.
Carole Goldman, the spider
woman of Wall Street.
- The deal was my
idea, I admit that.
And I used Pinzolo to
help me in North Carolina.
- He saw to it that the fire
retardant wasn't applied?
Well, then somewhere
there's a guy
who didn't push
the right button.
- They'll never find him.
- Does he know you know that?
Then there are only two
places on this planet
where he can't get to you.
One is where they're
putting David tomorrow.
- And the other?
- Witness Protection Program.
Go to the cops.
You testify against Pinzolo.
- I can't prove
he killed anyone.
- It'll get the ball rolling.
Maybe the feds can.
At least you'll be
safe in the program.
They'll relocate you,
give you a new history,
a new identity.
Everything.
- How do you know
so much about this?
- Half my relatives are in it.
- I have to see my father.
After I talk with him,
I'll call the police and
tell them I'll testify.
- It's the right move.
I'll go with you to
the funeral tomorrow.
- No.
- Pinzolo's gonna have his men
crawling all over that cemetery.
- I have to go alone.
- All right.
- Stay with me tonight.
Not to make love,
just stay with me.
(tense music)
- Rose.
- Our baby, Eli.
We're burying our baby.
- Rose, this is
my wife Catherine.
Catherine, this
is David's mother.
- I'm so sorry for your loss.
- Out of the depths I
cry unto you, oh Lord.
Hear my supplication.
Give me the eyes to see
that pain is not your will.
That somewhere
there weeps with me
one who knows the
suffering of my soul.
Grant me the strength to
endure what cannot be escaped.
And the courage to go on
without bitterness or despair.
Facing my life on
the tender memory
of your departed child David.
And on the abiding foundation
of your holy Torah.
Amen.
- We said we were going
to be friends, David.
Why couldn't we
have had the time?
I've got $50,000
left to my name.
It's yours if you kill Pinzolo.
- [Carole] Daddy, I've been
talking to you for an hour.
You haven't heard
a word I've said.
- Pinzolo made you
do what you did.
- It wasn't Pinzolo, it was me.
To destroy Eli was my idea.
I set the whole thing up.
- How?
- What do you mean how?
It's what I've
been trained to do.
I know every button to push.
- You wouldn't have pushed
them if it wasn't for me.
I let you ruin your life.
- Except for David, I'd do
it all again in a minute.
Eli stole your
business from you.
I've been fighting your war.
- It was a war
that didn't exist.
- Daddy, I was there.
I know that every time
you needed serious money,
you had to go to Eli.
I saw how you
agonized over that.
By saying it didn't happen
won't make the truth go away.
- Now you're not listening.
I'm to blame for
everything that happened.
It was my fault.
Eli didn't steal the business
from me, I gave it to him.
Gave it with my blessing.
Eli had the drive to do
things with the business
that I was scared to imagine.
I was better off in his hands.
It could grow and prosper.
I never had the head,
or the hunger, for that.
I was just a cutter.
A coward.
I didn't have the
courage to tell you
that there was no
reason to hate Eli.
I just stood by and let your
hate fester until it exploded.
- So it was all for nothing.
- Please, don't hate
me for being weak.
I'm sorry, baby.
(subdued music)
- You should've been on the horn
the minute you knew
where Carole Goldman was.
- She wanted to see her father
and she didn't want
to do it in custody.
She's talking to him right now.
- How the hell do you know that?
She probably jumped on a plane
the minute the funeral was over.
- If she leaves without
testifying, Pinzolo walks.
She wants him as much as we do.
- So you let her call the shots?
That is not the way we
work it around here.
- I've had it with your
rules and regulations, Frank.
I'm not your boy.
You can't pull on my leash
the way you do Terranova's.
He's with you for the
long haul, I'm not.
- Oh, so that justifies
you risking her life
and the case as well?
Let me tell you something.
You're trying to play God
and you don't have
the qualifications.
- I was trying to give
her a break, okay?
Right now everybody
in her family
is going through one
kind of hell or another.
- The only one I work up any
sympathy for is Eli Sternberg.
If I was in his shoes,
I'd leave a hole where
Pinzolo was standing.
I know you're trying
to do it your way.
You just consider the
consequences if your
way doesn't work.
- [Carole On Phone]
Rick, it's Carole.
I know you've been
looking for me.
- How do you know that?
- Because you're
too smart not to be.
- Is this call strictly
for purposes of flattery?
- [Carole On Phone] I have
something I have to tell you.
- [Rick On Phone] I'm listening.
- Well, I'd like to
tell you in person.
- I'll send my car for you.
- I'll get there myself.
And I won't be followed.
- I'm having the place swept
so I won't be
listened to either.
When can I expect you?
- When I get there.
(phone clicks)
- [Eli] Come on, come on.
- Eli.
Eli?
- Oh, Raglin.
Come on in.
My wife is leaving me.
- Why?
What happened?
- She just told me on the
way home from the funeral.
I said, now?
You're leaving me now?
She said your money's gone.
- I'm sorry.
- Well.
- There was another
woman at the funeral.
- That was David's mother Rose.
I wonder.
I wonder how different
things would've been
had I not forced
her out of my life.
- Eli, that's the past.
Look, this thing about Pinzolo.
- That was a mistake.
Sadness, like I'm feeling now,
makes a man do terrible things.
And when I asked you to kill
Pinzolo, that was one of them.
- Well, there's been
too much killing.
You've got to try to put
as much of this as you can
behind you and get on with
the rest of your life.
You're a strong man.
You can do it.
Why don't I take
you out to dinner.
- No, you go ahead.
I'm all right.
- Okay.
- Phil wanted me to
give this to you.
I don't know what it is.
- Goodnight, Eli.
- Goodnight, John.
(tense music)
- [David] John, on the
night of October 17th, 1969
Enrico Rick Pinzolo
committed murder.
His victim was a guy
named Fredric Domenico,
a drug dealer who operated
in Cranston, Rhode Island.
Rick and I were in
college dealing drugs
to supplement our allowances.
We drove to an area
called Signal Hill
on the outskirts of Cranston
to buy two pounds of
hash from Domenico.
Pinzolo tried to cheat
him, there was an argument,
and Pinzolo pulled
a gun and shot him.
We left his body where it fell
and we threw the gun in the pond
near the intersection of
Route 113 and Covenant Road.
In case something happens to me
do what you think best
with this information.
David Sternberg.
- We gonna talk business?
And if we are, does that mean
we have to put our shoes on?
- No.
Information has always
been more important to me
than formality.
I'm just curious as to
why you're going to jail
instead of turning
me in and walking.
- I like money.
Surprised?
- No.
Not by the sentiment.
It's just that you won't be
able to realize any profits
from your end of
the transaction.
The government will see to that.
- Well, I was hoping
you would help me out
in that department.
- Oh, really?
How?
- 50% of your RightWear profits.
(laughs)
- I don't think so.
- Are you not open for
any kind of negotiations?
- If I say yes, will you
change your mind again
about testifying?
- Do I really strike you
as being that mercurial?
- Just shrewd.
How does 33% sound?
- That as good as
it's gonna get?
- Mm-hmm.
- Then I guess we have a deal.
- Good.
I think that's a deal
we can both live with.
I'm very surprised, though,
that you didn't make
more of an issue
over your cousin.
- I'm sorry David's dead,
if that's what you mean.
But what can I do?
Even if blood is
thicker than water,
it thins when you compare it
to a payday like this one.
- It is unfortunate that
you're going to jail.
- You never seem
to worry about it.
All it takes is one
little slip, you know?
- Yeah, well.
To make sure that
slips don't happen,
you have to insulate yourself.
That way you take care of your
problems before they happen.
- The man in North Carolina,
the one who didn't
apply the retardant,
did he fall into that category?
Was he a potential problem?
You just snap your fingers
and everything is all right.
- I'm tired.
- Well, that's not fair.
You can sleep because
you know what happened.
I'll be pacing the floor just
sorting out the possibilities.
- I told a certain party
that I wanted him removed
and then they told
a certain party.
And so on, and so on,
and so on, and so on.
Until it was a fait accompli.
By the time it got
down to the actual hit,
I was just a rumor.
Sweet dreams.
(tense music)
(screams)
(grunting)
- I've left four messages.
Arnie has my number.
Phil.
Phil?
What are you doing?
- Amazing how much you
can collect over 40 years.
- What are you talking about?
- It's over, Eli.
- Elrose may be finished,
but we can start up again.
We can build up from nothing.
We did it before.
- I was never any
good at that, Eli.
Besides, I'm an old man now.
- Old doesn't mean anything
if you're still
willing to fight.
- Who are we gonna fight, Eli?
Each other?
You'd look at me,
you'd see David.
I'd look at you, I'd see Carole.
My child is alive, thank god.
But her career is ruined.
Eli, if we stayed together,
all we'd have is a
constant reminder
that the dreams we had for
our children were destroyed.
We destroyed those dreams.
We never acknowledged
that our children grew up
and could face the truth
about their fathers.
Maybe that's because
their fathers couldn't
face the truth about themselves.
- You're gonna leave me then,
after everything I did for you?
Well, go ahead.
Who needs ya?
I can start a new
business without ya.
Goodbye and good luck.
Get me Arnie and don't
tell me he's busy.
- They checked every flight
departure, bus schedule, trains.
- They should be
checking sewers,
building foundations,
and the East River.
Carole Goldman's dead.
- You don't know that.
- I know that.
I'm just saying what you're
afraid to admit to yourself.
If you'd have let us
take her into custody,
she'd be safe, we'd
have her testimony,
and the SEC would have what
it needs against Pinzolo.
- This is a big city.
There's no way Pinzolo could've
gotten to her that quickly.
- News flash, gentlemen.
There is no record of the murder
David Sternberg wrote about.
- Local and state
agree with that?
- According to computer records,
Freddie Domenico was DWI
and died in a one-car crash.
- That means Pinzolo got
to somebody up there.
- If Pinzolo can eradicate
a 20-year-old murder,
he can sure as hell
eradicate Carole Goldman.
- If she's dead, we're dead.
If there's no SEC case,
all we've got is a murder
weapon in the bottom of a pond
and I'm gonna find it.
- You're gonna find a
20-year-old murder weapon?
You're dreaming.
- What else do we have, Frank?
- We don't have a damn thing.
Go on, get in the car
and get out of here.
Get up there and see
what you can find.
You think she's dead?
- Hey, I'm a positive
thinker, Frank.
I'm positive.
(phone ringing)
Yeah, Sailor Hardware.
Mike Terranova.
What do you got for me, Marty?
Eli Sternberg just walked
into Pinzolo's building.
- You tell Marty to sit tight.
I'm on my way.
(door opens)
- Eli, what are you doing here?
Okay, look.
Now, that gun will
not be necessary.
Please, put the gun away
before somebody gets hurt.
Come on now.
- You want to live?
Beg me.
- What?
- Beg me.
- Okay.
I beg you.
- The great Rick
Pinzolo begging.
- Well, there doesn't
seem to be much else
that I can do in this
position, does there?
- David said coming to
you for money was madness.
- Come on.
Put the gun away, will ya?
- If I'd have listened to him,
he'd have still
been alive today.
- Could you please
put the gun away?
Please.
- Please?
Please?
When I came to you and I said
please, you're trucking
rates are killing me,
please meant nothing.
When David came to you and said
please, you're sucking the
life out of his future,
please meant nothing.
I buried my son yesterday and
I threw dirt on his coffin.
- You have my sympathy.
- I don't want your sympathy!
- Well, what do you want?
What do you want?
You want my life?
You got the gun.
- I don't want your sympathy!
- Well, what do you want?
- I want my son back.
I want David.
I want to watch you die.
- You want to watch me die?
Go ahead, pull the trigger.
(gun cocks)
(tense music)
- See, the difference
between you and me is,
I had to work for everything.
You never did.
Everything was given to you.
- When my father died, this
was a 100-truck business
and he still had grease
underneath his fingernails.
- Really?
Well, I'm gonna kill you, Rick!
- I don't think so.
If you don't believe me,
ask the man who just walked
in the door behind you.
- Mr. Sternberg,
do you remember me?
I'm Frank McPike from the
Organized Crime Bureau.
- Did you come here to watch
how I do your job for you?
(suspenseful music)
- You don't want to be a
part of this, Mr. Sternberg.
- This son of a bitch
got my son killed
and I'm gonna kill him!
- Yes, sir.
If you please give me the gun.
If you give me the gun,
we'll take care of
this the right way.
- [Eli] You had his whole
life to take care of him.
It should've been enough.
- It should've been,
but it wasn't.
Please, give me the gun.
- I suppose you're expecting
an expression of gratitude.
Huh, McPike?
- No, Ricky.
I'd rather see you
carried out in a body bag.
- Don't be bitter.
It's a terrible way
to live your life.
- I am bitter.
You gonna sit there and
hand out spiritual advice
or do you want to press charges?
- No, I don't want
to press charges.
Just get him out of here.
He's a harmless old man.
- It's not over, Rick.
(glass shatters)
- Pinzolo was mine.
He begged me to let him live.
He begged for the compassion
that he never
showed anyone else.
- Mr. Sternberg.
- I wanted him to die slowly
so I could watch his
life drain out of him.
- You know you're
confessing to premeditation?
- You're damn right I am.
- Then what stopped you?
- I don't know.
I used to be a fighter.
Coming up from
Flatbush, I had to be.
The Irish, the Italians.
I took 'em all on.
I used to be able to swing
a pipe at a guy's head
if it meant my own
survival and my family's.
What happened?
- Mr. Sternberg.
- Let me tell you something.
I was the toughest
momser on 7th Avenue.
I had no friends.
That was like a badge
of accomplishment.
- It's a tough business.
- It's guts, McPike.
Moxie.
All of your life you think
you got it in spades.
What kind of a
man have I become?
I didn't have the guts
to avenge my own son.
- Not having what it
takes to commit murder
is not my idea of
a character flaw.
We will get Pinzolo.
- For insider trading.
And maybe they'll
send him to that jail
with the tennis courts.
And when he gets out
he'll get a book deal
and a speaking tour
at the colleges.
- If we can find Carole
Goldman and get her to testify,
maybe we'll have a chance.
- You're gonna cut that
bitch a deal, aren't you?
I paid for her education and
she's using it to destroy
what took me a
lifetime to build.
I gave her a brilliant
career and she killed David.
McPike, do you have children?
- I have a son, Mr. Sternberg.
- He's precious
to you, isn't he?
How can you cut a deal with
people that killed my son?
Where's the justice?
- Sometimes I don't know, sir.
(subdued music)
The lifeguard told me
the divers found...
What happened in Rhode Island?
- They built a pizzeria there.
There's no murder case, Frank.
No weapon, no pond.
There's no nothing.
You think God ever feels
as helpless as I do now?
Or as guilty?
- You played it the way you
thought it should be played.
- So that's it?
- I know how much getting
Pinzolo meant to you.
I know how much
you wanted to win.
- It's not about Pinzolo
anymore or the win.
It's about me and the pressure
and seeing if I can
stand up to it this time.
Frank, I didn't leave Phoenix
because that reporter
got blown up.
Wyse and Abrams found out
we were onto their scam
and they grabbed me.
When I wouldn't
give 'em the names
of our undercover
people, they...
I won't bore you
with the details.
I gave 'em the names.
Mark O'Connell was
found dismembered
and rotting in the desert.
Manny Novato was garotted
and left in his front door.
His kids found him on
their way to school.
You know how the bureau handles
little embarrassments like that.
So they manufactured this
delayed stress syndrome
story of mine and put me in
the cryptography section.
I did my best, Frank, for
six years to live that lie.
But there hasn't been a
day that I haven't thought,
would they have given me up?
Would they have taken
the pain and died
and never said the
name John Raglin?
- I know, John.
- Since when?
- Since you're my friend.
I keep track of my friends.
- John, according to the
FAA, our pigeon's gonna fly.
He's filed a flight plan.
Pinzolo is leaving from
the Westchester Airport.
He's headed for Morocco.
- Morocco?
- The US doesn't have an
extradition treaty with 'em.
If he lands there,
he can stay forever.
- When's he leaving?
- 2300 hours.
John.
John Henry!
- 7th Avenue won't seem
the same without you.
- 7th Avenue won't be
the same without me.
- So long, Rick.
- Take it easy, man.
- Pinzolo!
(suspenseful music)
How's your jaw, Rick?
Healing up?
- What do you want?
(gun fires)
Hey, come on.
What do you want, Raglin?
How much do you want, huh?
Want 10% of my
RightWear profits?
You want 20?
I'll sign over Rimichi
Trucking to you.
What do you say?
You can control 7th Avenue.
- Careful, Rick.
Better not lose control.
That's what Carole told me.
If you're not in
control, you're nothing.
They pulled her body out
of the wetlands today.
- I had nothing to do with that.
What do you think?
We can come to some kind of
arrangement or what, huh?
(gun fires)
Come on!
- No, we can't.
- Anything you want, Raglin.
- There's no price
tag on this one, Rick.
You're responsible for too
much pain and too many deaths.
This time, you do not walk away
from the misery you caused.
- And that you
were a big part of.
Don't pretend that the.
- Shut up!
David Sternberg never
knew what hit him
when that hollow point
plowed through his eye,
but you will.
(tires squealing)
- It's the law, Raglin.
Now you're the one
who's got the problem.
Take him, McPike.
(gun fires)
This man has a gun.
Take it!
- Give it to me.
- No, Frank.
- Take the gun away!
- I want you to
think about this.
I want you to think
about your wife,
and I want you to
think about your son.
- Will you take
it, for God's sake?
- If you do this,
you're gonna exchange
one set of emotional
scars for another.
- Take the gun!
You're a cop!
- So am I!
(laughing)
- This is rich.
The two of you, cops?
I can't believe this.
And Terranova too?
A cop?
Oh, boy.
I have some friends who would be
very interested to know that.
All this impressive manpower
and you haven't come up with
one thing that'll stick.
- Then don't run away, Ricky.
- I'm not running,
I'm flying, McPike,
on the winds of change.
You ought to be able to
appreciate the poetry
in this situation, Raglin.
As an enforcer, you
were omnipotent.
As a cop, you're impotent.
But don't worry,
you'll get along fine.
Hatred is a nutritious emotion.
You could live off it for years.
Hey, Raglin!
I'll send you a postcard!
(gun fires)
- John!
(chuckles)
(tense music)
(siren wailing)
What am I supposed to tell 'em?
- Thought he had a gun, Frank.
Guess he didn't.
- John, I talked to
Internal Affairs.
The light was dim, he made
a threat and he moved,
we thought he had a gun.
We both thought he had a gun.
- You did that, Frank?
Thank you.
- Sometimes it
seems pretty gray.
- No.
No, not this time.
This time it was
black and white.
If Pinzolo had
gotten on that plane,
Terranova would've wound up as
dead as O'Connell and Novato.
And there'd be three
agents I hung out to dry.
No, this time it
was black and white.
- If you need some
time off, John,
I'll see to it that cryptography
gives you as much as you need.
- How about the rest of my life?
- When did you decide to quit?
- The second I
pulled that trigger.
- I'm gonna take my wife and son
to a stretch of beach somewhere.
And for the first time, Frank,
for the first time in six
years I can see a direction.
I don't know where
it's leading me,
but I sure as hell know what
it's taking me away from.
- Then I'll tell you something.
As long as you're
with the bureau,
there is always gonna
be some guy like me
that's asking you to answer
the bell one more time.
You don't stretch the
cord, you gotta cut it.
- After I see Eli Sternberg,
I'm taking out the scissors.
So long, Frank.
- John.
When you've got that
direction figured out,
will you let me know?
- Vaya con dios, Profesor.
- Hasta luego, mi amigo.
- Eli?
(subdued music)
Eli.
Pinzolo's dead.
The police killed him last night
as he was about to
leave the country.
It's over.
- I was thinking about my father
and how ashamed of him
I was of his accent,
of his clothes, the way he
never fit in in America.
Yet, he was a hundred
times more successful
than I could ever be.
He had his work.
He was married to my
mother for 58 years.
And he knew who he was.
For 40 years, I told
myself I was building
a business for others.
For David's mother
Rose, for David.
But that was a lie so I could
delude myself into thinking
that the accomplishments
were justified.
I lied to the only
person who believed it.
- You've still got
a lot of years left.
You could start over.
- Know who you are, John.
All the rest ain't worth a damn.
- Goodbye, Eli.
(uptempo theme music)
Tonight on Wiseguy.
- We said we were going
to be friends, David.
Why couldn't we
have had the time?
I've got $50,000
left to my name.
It's yours if you kill Pinzolo.
- I'm just curious as to
why you're going to jail
instead of turning me in.
- I like money.
- David Sternberg
never knew what hit him
when that hollow point
plowed through his eye,
but you will.
(uptempo theme music)
- David Sternberg wound
up with his brains
leaking all over the
Security Merchants Bank.
And Rick Pinzolo couldn't have
been more responsible for it
if he had pulled
the trigger himself.
- You tell me if I'm wrong.
David's the guy with
the gun, wasn't he?
- Pinzolo ruined his
father's business.
David was just trying
to get back his money.
You know that, Frank.
- I know the guard shot David.
I know you picked up his
gun and broke Pinzolo's jaw.
Four weeks ago you
looked like a guy who'd
get through this job without
experiencing a meltdown.
- Four weeks ago I never
heard of Vinnie Terranova
and I would've
been just as happy
to never hear your name again.
Working the field was a memory.
The more distant the better.
You damn near begged me
to take this job, Frank.
I didn't want it.
- No, but you took it.
You took it.
And you took the
emotional responsibility
that goes along with it.
And when you decided to
rearrange Pinzolo's face,
you abrogated that
responsibility
and probably blew an
investigation to nail
the biggest crime boss
in the Garment District.
- We've got a reasonable
insider trading case
against Pinzolo in
connection with the collapse
of RightWear stock.
RightWear is the retail
chain that handled the recent
shipment of dresses
manufactured by Eli Sternberg.
Those dresses weren't
treated with fire retardant
as prescribed by law.
One of them went up in flames
and a window dresser was killed.
The dresses were recalled,
RightWear stock plummeted,
and Eli Sternberg is in the
process of losing his company.
Pinzolo has, by
latest estimation,
made over 20 million selling
short on RightWear stock.
- What do you mean
reasonably good?
- It would be a lot
better if Carole Goldman
would testify against him.
- Pinzolo and Carole
Goldman were partners
on this whole deal.
She was the one who
orchestrated the takeover
of RightWear stock
by Chinese money
through opposition at
the brokerage house.
We've got her under surveillance
till we can serve
her with a warrant.
- Carole and David were cousins.
- It was Eli she was after.
She thinks 40 years ago he stole
the business from her father.
This was her payback.
(phone rings)
- I'll get it.
McPike.
Well, you boys are
doing a hell of a job.
We just tried to
serve Carole Goldman.
She skipped.
Probably in Brazil by now.
- Not yet.
She'll be at David's
funeral tomorrow.
- That's presuming she's
the sentimentalist you are.
Where are you going?
- [John] Try and find them.
- If you do, you
remember she thinks
you're working security for Eli.
She doesn't know you're a cop.
- Yes, sir.
- There's a deep, dark
hole inside John Raglin.
- The dissolution
of all corporations,
fictitious and bonafide,
in which you're the
sole stockholder,
and the transferal of
all assets into Swiss
and Cayman accounts could be
accomplished in three months.
- Got one week.
- Come on, Rick.
Just the filing alone.
The FTC, the SEC, the ICC.
- Hey, man.
I know the alphabet.
You got one week.
- We faced potential
FCC charges before
and we've handled them cleanly.
You've never even been indicted.
A liquidation the size
you're contemplating
will send up a red flag
in every financial market
from Wall Street to Rangoon.
You can't take it
with you, Rick.
At least not all at once.
- Fesco did.
- Yeah, and now he's a
man without a country.
- Patriotism is overrated.
What are you gonna do, Mike?
Are you gonna do this for me
or do I have to get
somebody else, huh?
- I've never seen you
scared before, Rick.
I never thought I would.
- Listen, when it comes to tax
law, you're fully conversed.
But when it come to the law of
averages, you're illiterate.
This has nothing
to do with fear.
It's prudent business.
You can only roll
sevens for so long.
Thank you, Mike.
(intercom buzzes)
Come on in, Steve.
It is vital that I speak with
Carole Goldman before I leave.
Almost as vital as getting
this hardware off my jaw.
My meeting with Raglin is
desirable, but not vital.
- It's like they both
disappeared, Rick.
- David Sternberg's
being buried tomorrow.
She'll be there.
- [Marty] Agent 5751,
Dayco sports section.
Court the ice.
- Hey, Marty.
How's it going?
- Pinzolo's about
to skip the country.
He's pressuring his lawyer
to liquidate his assets
within the week.
And he may try to grab Carole
at the Sternberg funeral.
- Did he say anything that
would prove culpability?
- Are you kidding?
- [Daniel] Think he
knows we're listening?
- Hard to say.
We should order up some
uniforms at that funeral.
The more conspicuous the better.
- I'm on it.
Catch you later, Marty.
Frank, yeah.
Have you heard
anything from Raglin?
(knocking on door)
- [John] Carole, open up.
It's me.
(knocking on door)
- I was being followed.
I had to get out of my place.
- Who's watching you?
- I don't know.
The police?
- I'll do that.
- Pinzolo's men, they're
after me, Raglin.
They're all after me.
(siren wailing)
- [John] What'd you call me for?
- For protection.
You didn't tell
anybody, did you?
- That's a stupid question.
- What, you think this is funny?
- No, but there's a
picturesque irony to it.
You set David up for Pinzolo,
your plan works like a charm,
and now Pinzolo is after you.
- My plan never included David.
- Come on, Carole.
People don't live in a vacuum.
You ruined his father
and didn't you think
a little piece of David was
gonna die in the process?
- David's funeral is tomorrow.
I have to be there.
- That's touching.
It's a beautiful sentiment.
- I was gonna set David
up in his own business
with the profits I made from
the offshore takeover
of RightWear.
Why?
Why did he try to take
on Pinzolo by himself?
- Because he loved his father.
As difficult as that is
for you to understand.
The word on the street
is the SEC is gonna file
insider trading charges on
Pinzolo on this RightWear deal.
Which means he's gonna
lay it all off on you.
Carole Goldman, the spider
woman of Wall Street.
- The deal was my
idea, I admit that.
And I used Pinzolo to
help me in North Carolina.
- He saw to it that the fire
retardant wasn't applied?
Well, then somewhere
there's a guy
who didn't push
the right button.
- They'll never find him.
- Does he know you know that?
Then there are only two
places on this planet
where he can't get to you.
One is where they're
putting David tomorrow.
- And the other?
- Witness Protection Program.
Go to the cops.
You testify against Pinzolo.
- I can't prove
he killed anyone.
- It'll get the ball rolling.
Maybe the feds can.
At least you'll be
safe in the program.
They'll relocate you,
give you a new history,
a new identity.
Everything.
- How do you know
so much about this?
- Half my relatives are in it.
- I have to see my father.
After I talk with him,
I'll call the police and
tell them I'll testify.
- It's the right move.
I'll go with you to
the funeral tomorrow.
- No.
- Pinzolo's gonna have his men
crawling all over that cemetery.
- I have to go alone.
- All right.
- Stay with me tonight.
Not to make love,
just stay with me.
(tense music)
- Rose.
- Our baby, Eli.
We're burying our baby.
- Rose, this is
my wife Catherine.
Catherine, this
is David's mother.
- I'm so sorry for your loss.
- Out of the depths I
cry unto you, oh Lord.
Hear my supplication.
Give me the eyes to see
that pain is not your will.
That somewhere
there weeps with me
one who knows the
suffering of my soul.
Grant me the strength to
endure what cannot be escaped.
And the courage to go on
without bitterness or despair.
Facing my life on
the tender memory
of your departed child David.
And on the abiding foundation
of your holy Torah.
Amen.
- We said we were going
to be friends, David.
Why couldn't we
have had the time?
I've got $50,000
left to my name.
It's yours if you kill Pinzolo.
- [Carole] Daddy, I've been
talking to you for an hour.
You haven't heard
a word I've said.
- Pinzolo made you
do what you did.
- It wasn't Pinzolo, it was me.
To destroy Eli was my idea.
I set the whole thing up.
- How?
- What do you mean how?
It's what I've
been trained to do.
I know every button to push.
- You wouldn't have pushed
them if it wasn't for me.
I let you ruin your life.
- Except for David, I'd do
it all again in a minute.
Eli stole your
business from you.
I've been fighting your war.
- It was a war
that didn't exist.
- Daddy, I was there.
I know that every time
you needed serious money,
you had to go to Eli.
I saw how you
agonized over that.
By saying it didn't happen
won't make the truth go away.
- Now you're not listening.
I'm to blame for
everything that happened.
It was my fault.
Eli didn't steal the business
from me, I gave it to him.
Gave it with my blessing.
Eli had the drive to do
things with the business
that I was scared to imagine.
I was better off in his hands.
It could grow and prosper.
I never had the head,
or the hunger, for that.
I was just a cutter.
A coward.
I didn't have the
courage to tell you
that there was no
reason to hate Eli.
I just stood by and let your
hate fester until it exploded.
- So it was all for nothing.
- Please, don't hate
me for being weak.
I'm sorry, baby.
(subdued music)
- You should've been on the horn
the minute you knew
where Carole Goldman was.
- She wanted to see her father
and she didn't want
to do it in custody.
She's talking to him right now.
- How the hell do you know that?
She probably jumped on a plane
the minute the funeral was over.
- If she leaves without
testifying, Pinzolo walks.
She wants him as much as we do.
- So you let her call the shots?
That is not the way we
work it around here.
- I've had it with your
rules and regulations, Frank.
I'm not your boy.
You can't pull on my leash
the way you do Terranova's.
He's with you for the
long haul, I'm not.
- Oh, so that justifies
you risking her life
and the case as well?
Let me tell you something.
You're trying to play God
and you don't have
the qualifications.
- I was trying to give
her a break, okay?
Right now everybody
in her family
is going through one
kind of hell or another.
- The only one I work up any
sympathy for is Eli Sternberg.
If I was in his shoes,
I'd leave a hole where
Pinzolo was standing.
I know you're trying
to do it your way.
You just consider the
consequences if your
way doesn't work.
- [Carole On Phone]
Rick, it's Carole.
I know you've been
looking for me.
- How do you know that?
- Because you're
too smart not to be.
- Is this call strictly
for purposes of flattery?
- [Carole On Phone] I have
something I have to tell you.
- [Rick On Phone] I'm listening.
- Well, I'd like to
tell you in person.
- I'll send my car for you.
- I'll get there myself.
And I won't be followed.
- I'm having the place swept
so I won't be
listened to either.
When can I expect you?
- When I get there.
(phone clicks)
- [Eli] Come on, come on.
- Eli.
Eli?
- Oh, Raglin.
Come on in.
My wife is leaving me.
- Why?
What happened?
- She just told me on the
way home from the funeral.
I said, now?
You're leaving me now?
She said your money's gone.
- I'm sorry.
- Well.
- There was another
woman at the funeral.
- That was David's mother Rose.
I wonder.
I wonder how different
things would've been
had I not forced
her out of my life.
- Eli, that's the past.
Look, this thing about Pinzolo.
- That was a mistake.
Sadness, like I'm feeling now,
makes a man do terrible things.
And when I asked you to kill
Pinzolo, that was one of them.
- Well, there's been
too much killing.
You've got to try to put
as much of this as you can
behind you and get on with
the rest of your life.
You're a strong man.
You can do it.
Why don't I take
you out to dinner.
- No, you go ahead.
I'm all right.
- Okay.
- Phil wanted me to
give this to you.
I don't know what it is.
- Goodnight, Eli.
- Goodnight, John.
(tense music)
- [David] John, on the
night of October 17th, 1969
Enrico Rick Pinzolo
committed murder.
His victim was a guy
named Fredric Domenico,
a drug dealer who operated
in Cranston, Rhode Island.
Rick and I were in
college dealing drugs
to supplement our allowances.
We drove to an area
called Signal Hill
on the outskirts of Cranston
to buy two pounds of
hash from Domenico.
Pinzolo tried to cheat
him, there was an argument,
and Pinzolo pulled
a gun and shot him.
We left his body where it fell
and we threw the gun in the pond
near the intersection of
Route 113 and Covenant Road.
In case something happens to me
do what you think best
with this information.
David Sternberg.
- We gonna talk business?
And if we are, does that mean
we have to put our shoes on?
- No.
Information has always
been more important to me
than formality.
I'm just curious as to
why you're going to jail
instead of turning
me in and walking.
- I like money.
Surprised?
- No.
Not by the sentiment.
It's just that you won't be
able to realize any profits
from your end of
the transaction.
The government will see to that.
- Well, I was hoping
you would help me out
in that department.
- Oh, really?
How?
- 50% of your RightWear profits.
(laughs)
- I don't think so.
- Are you not open for
any kind of negotiations?
- If I say yes, will you
change your mind again
about testifying?
- Do I really strike you
as being that mercurial?
- Just shrewd.
How does 33% sound?
- That as good as
it's gonna get?
- Mm-hmm.
- Then I guess we have a deal.
- Good.
I think that's a deal
we can both live with.
I'm very surprised, though,
that you didn't make
more of an issue
over your cousin.
- I'm sorry David's dead,
if that's what you mean.
But what can I do?
Even if blood is
thicker than water,
it thins when you compare it
to a payday like this one.
- It is unfortunate that
you're going to jail.
- You never seem
to worry about it.
All it takes is one
little slip, you know?
- Yeah, well.
To make sure that
slips don't happen,
you have to insulate yourself.
That way you take care of your
problems before they happen.
- The man in North Carolina,
the one who didn't
apply the retardant,
did he fall into that category?
Was he a potential problem?
You just snap your fingers
and everything is all right.
- I'm tired.
- Well, that's not fair.
You can sleep because
you know what happened.
I'll be pacing the floor just
sorting out the possibilities.
- I told a certain party
that I wanted him removed
and then they told
a certain party.
And so on, and so on,
and so on, and so on.
Until it was a fait accompli.
By the time it got
down to the actual hit,
I was just a rumor.
Sweet dreams.
(tense music)
(screams)
(grunting)
- I've left four messages.
Arnie has my number.
Phil.
Phil?
What are you doing?
- Amazing how much you
can collect over 40 years.
- What are you talking about?
- It's over, Eli.
- Elrose may be finished,
but we can start up again.
We can build up from nothing.
We did it before.
- I was never any
good at that, Eli.
Besides, I'm an old man now.
- Old doesn't mean anything
if you're still
willing to fight.
- Who are we gonna fight, Eli?
Each other?
You'd look at me,
you'd see David.
I'd look at you, I'd see Carole.
My child is alive, thank god.
But her career is ruined.
Eli, if we stayed together,
all we'd have is a
constant reminder
that the dreams we had for
our children were destroyed.
We destroyed those dreams.
We never acknowledged
that our children grew up
and could face the truth
about their fathers.
Maybe that's because
their fathers couldn't
face the truth about themselves.
- You're gonna leave me then,
after everything I did for you?
Well, go ahead.
Who needs ya?
I can start a new
business without ya.
Goodbye and good luck.
Get me Arnie and don't
tell me he's busy.
- They checked every flight
departure, bus schedule, trains.
- They should be
checking sewers,
building foundations,
and the East River.
Carole Goldman's dead.
- You don't know that.
- I know that.
I'm just saying what you're
afraid to admit to yourself.
If you'd have let us
take her into custody,
she'd be safe, we'd
have her testimony,
and the SEC would have what
it needs against Pinzolo.
- This is a big city.
There's no way Pinzolo could've
gotten to her that quickly.
- News flash, gentlemen.
There is no record of the murder
David Sternberg wrote about.
- Local and state
agree with that?
- According to computer records,
Freddie Domenico was DWI
and died in a one-car crash.
- That means Pinzolo got
to somebody up there.
- If Pinzolo can eradicate
a 20-year-old murder,
he can sure as hell
eradicate Carole Goldman.
- If she's dead, we're dead.
If there's no SEC case,
all we've got is a murder
weapon in the bottom of a pond
and I'm gonna find it.
- You're gonna find a
20-year-old murder weapon?
You're dreaming.
- What else do we have, Frank?
- We don't have a damn thing.
Go on, get in the car
and get out of here.
Get up there and see
what you can find.
You think she's dead?
- Hey, I'm a positive
thinker, Frank.
I'm positive.
(phone ringing)
Yeah, Sailor Hardware.
Mike Terranova.
What do you got for me, Marty?
Eli Sternberg just walked
into Pinzolo's building.
- You tell Marty to sit tight.
I'm on my way.
(door opens)
- Eli, what are you doing here?
Okay, look.
Now, that gun will
not be necessary.
Please, put the gun away
before somebody gets hurt.
Come on now.
- You want to live?
Beg me.
- What?
- Beg me.
- Okay.
I beg you.
- The great Rick
Pinzolo begging.
- Well, there doesn't
seem to be much else
that I can do in this
position, does there?
- David said coming to
you for money was madness.
- Come on.
Put the gun away, will ya?
- If I'd have listened to him,
he'd have still
been alive today.
- Could you please
put the gun away?
Please.
- Please?
Please?
When I came to you and I said
please, you're trucking
rates are killing me,
please meant nothing.
When David came to you and said
please, you're sucking the
life out of his future,
please meant nothing.
I buried my son yesterday and
I threw dirt on his coffin.
- You have my sympathy.
- I don't want your sympathy!
- Well, what do you want?
What do you want?
You want my life?
You got the gun.
- I don't want your sympathy!
- Well, what do you want?
- I want my son back.
I want David.
I want to watch you die.
- You want to watch me die?
Go ahead, pull the trigger.
(gun cocks)
(tense music)
- See, the difference
between you and me is,
I had to work for everything.
You never did.
Everything was given to you.
- When my father died, this
was a 100-truck business
and he still had grease
underneath his fingernails.
- Really?
Well, I'm gonna kill you, Rick!
- I don't think so.
If you don't believe me,
ask the man who just walked
in the door behind you.
- Mr. Sternberg,
do you remember me?
I'm Frank McPike from the
Organized Crime Bureau.
- Did you come here to watch
how I do your job for you?
(suspenseful music)
- You don't want to be a
part of this, Mr. Sternberg.
- This son of a bitch
got my son killed
and I'm gonna kill him!
- Yes, sir.
If you please give me the gun.
If you give me the gun,
we'll take care of
this the right way.
- [Eli] You had his whole
life to take care of him.
It should've been enough.
- It should've been,
but it wasn't.
Please, give me the gun.
- I suppose you're expecting
an expression of gratitude.
Huh, McPike?
- No, Ricky.
I'd rather see you
carried out in a body bag.
- Don't be bitter.
It's a terrible way
to live your life.
- I am bitter.
You gonna sit there and
hand out spiritual advice
or do you want to press charges?
- No, I don't want
to press charges.
Just get him out of here.
He's a harmless old man.
- It's not over, Rick.
(glass shatters)
- Pinzolo was mine.
He begged me to let him live.
He begged for the compassion
that he never
showed anyone else.
- Mr. Sternberg.
- I wanted him to die slowly
so I could watch his
life drain out of him.
- You know you're
confessing to premeditation?
- You're damn right I am.
- Then what stopped you?
- I don't know.
I used to be a fighter.
Coming up from
Flatbush, I had to be.
The Irish, the Italians.
I took 'em all on.
I used to be able to swing
a pipe at a guy's head
if it meant my own
survival and my family's.
What happened?
- Mr. Sternberg.
- Let me tell you something.
I was the toughest
momser on 7th Avenue.
I had no friends.
That was like a badge
of accomplishment.
- It's a tough business.
- It's guts, McPike.
Moxie.
All of your life you think
you got it in spades.
What kind of a
man have I become?
I didn't have the guts
to avenge my own son.
- Not having what it
takes to commit murder
is not my idea of
a character flaw.
We will get Pinzolo.
- For insider trading.
And maybe they'll
send him to that jail
with the tennis courts.
And when he gets out
he'll get a book deal
and a speaking tour
at the colleges.
- If we can find Carole
Goldman and get her to testify,
maybe we'll have a chance.
- You're gonna cut that
bitch a deal, aren't you?
I paid for her education and
she's using it to destroy
what took me a
lifetime to build.
I gave her a brilliant
career and she killed David.
McPike, do you have children?
- I have a son, Mr. Sternberg.
- He's precious
to you, isn't he?
How can you cut a deal with
people that killed my son?
Where's the justice?
- Sometimes I don't know, sir.
(subdued music)
The lifeguard told me
the divers found...
What happened in Rhode Island?
- They built a pizzeria there.
There's no murder case, Frank.
No weapon, no pond.
There's no nothing.
You think God ever feels
as helpless as I do now?
Or as guilty?
- You played it the way you
thought it should be played.
- So that's it?
- I know how much getting
Pinzolo meant to you.
I know how much
you wanted to win.
- It's not about Pinzolo
anymore or the win.
It's about me and the pressure
and seeing if I can
stand up to it this time.
Frank, I didn't leave Phoenix
because that reporter
got blown up.
Wyse and Abrams found out
we were onto their scam
and they grabbed me.
When I wouldn't
give 'em the names
of our undercover
people, they...
I won't bore you
with the details.
I gave 'em the names.
Mark O'Connell was
found dismembered
and rotting in the desert.
Manny Novato was garotted
and left in his front door.
His kids found him on
their way to school.
You know how the bureau handles
little embarrassments like that.
So they manufactured this
delayed stress syndrome
story of mine and put me in
the cryptography section.
I did my best, Frank, for
six years to live that lie.
But there hasn't been a
day that I haven't thought,
would they have given me up?
Would they have taken
the pain and died
and never said the
name John Raglin?
- I know, John.
- Since when?
- Since you're my friend.
I keep track of my friends.
- John, according to the
FAA, our pigeon's gonna fly.
He's filed a flight plan.
Pinzolo is leaving from
the Westchester Airport.
He's headed for Morocco.
- Morocco?
- The US doesn't have an
extradition treaty with 'em.
If he lands there,
he can stay forever.
- When's he leaving?
- 2300 hours.
John.
John Henry!
- 7th Avenue won't seem
the same without you.
- 7th Avenue won't be
the same without me.
- So long, Rick.
- Take it easy, man.
- Pinzolo!
(suspenseful music)
How's your jaw, Rick?
Healing up?
- What do you want?
(gun fires)
Hey, come on.
What do you want, Raglin?
How much do you want, huh?
Want 10% of my
RightWear profits?
You want 20?
I'll sign over Rimichi
Trucking to you.
What do you say?
You can control 7th Avenue.
- Careful, Rick.
Better not lose control.
That's what Carole told me.
If you're not in
control, you're nothing.
They pulled her body out
of the wetlands today.
- I had nothing to do with that.
What do you think?
We can come to some kind of
arrangement or what, huh?
(gun fires)
Come on!
- No, we can't.
- Anything you want, Raglin.
- There's no price
tag on this one, Rick.
You're responsible for too
much pain and too many deaths.
This time, you do not walk away
from the misery you caused.
- And that you
were a big part of.
Don't pretend that the.
- Shut up!
David Sternberg never
knew what hit him
when that hollow point
plowed through his eye,
but you will.
(tires squealing)
- It's the law, Raglin.
Now you're the one
who's got the problem.
Take him, McPike.
(gun fires)
This man has a gun.
Take it!
- Give it to me.
- No, Frank.
- Take the gun away!
- I want you to
think about this.
I want you to think
about your wife,
and I want you to
think about your son.
- Will you take
it, for God's sake?
- If you do this,
you're gonna exchange
one set of emotional
scars for another.
- Take the gun!
You're a cop!
- So am I!
(laughing)
- This is rich.
The two of you, cops?
I can't believe this.
And Terranova too?
A cop?
Oh, boy.
I have some friends who would be
very interested to know that.
All this impressive manpower
and you haven't come up with
one thing that'll stick.
- Then don't run away, Ricky.
- I'm not running,
I'm flying, McPike,
on the winds of change.
You ought to be able to
appreciate the poetry
in this situation, Raglin.
As an enforcer, you
were omnipotent.
As a cop, you're impotent.
But don't worry,
you'll get along fine.
Hatred is a nutritious emotion.
You could live off it for years.
Hey, Raglin!
I'll send you a postcard!
(gun fires)
- John!
(chuckles)
(tense music)
(siren wailing)
What am I supposed to tell 'em?
- Thought he had a gun, Frank.
Guess he didn't.
- John, I talked to
Internal Affairs.
The light was dim, he made
a threat and he moved,
we thought he had a gun.
We both thought he had a gun.
- You did that, Frank?
Thank you.
- Sometimes it
seems pretty gray.
- No.
No, not this time.
This time it was
black and white.
If Pinzolo had
gotten on that plane,
Terranova would've wound up as
dead as O'Connell and Novato.
And there'd be three
agents I hung out to dry.
No, this time it
was black and white.
- If you need some
time off, John,
I'll see to it that cryptography
gives you as much as you need.
- How about the rest of my life?
- When did you decide to quit?
- The second I
pulled that trigger.
- I'm gonna take my wife and son
to a stretch of beach somewhere.
And for the first time, Frank,
for the first time in six
years I can see a direction.
I don't know where
it's leading me,
but I sure as hell know what
it's taking me away from.
- Then I'll tell you something.
As long as you're
with the bureau,
there is always gonna
be some guy like me
that's asking you to answer
the bell one more time.
You don't stretch the
cord, you gotta cut it.
- After I see Eli Sternberg,
I'm taking out the scissors.
So long, Frank.
- John.
When you've got that
direction figured out,
will you let me know?
- Vaya con dios, Profesor.
- Hasta luego, mi amigo.
- Eli?
(subdued music)
Eli.
Pinzolo's dead.
The police killed him last night
as he was about to
leave the country.
It's over.
- I was thinking about my father
and how ashamed of him
I was of his accent,
of his clothes, the way he
never fit in in America.
Yet, he was a hundred
times more successful
than I could ever be.
He had his work.
He was married to my
mother for 58 years.
And he knew who he was.
For 40 years, I told
myself I was building
a business for others.
For David's mother
Rose, for David.
But that was a lie so I could
delude myself into thinking
that the accomplishments
were justified.
I lied to the only
person who believed it.
- You've still got
a lot of years left.
You could start over.
- Know who you are, John.
All the rest ain't worth a damn.
- Goodbye, Eli.
(uptempo theme music)