Original subtitles

Narrator: In the criminal justice system, the people are represented

by two separate yet equally important groups--

the police who investigate crime,

and the district attorneys who prosecute the oflenders.

These are their stories.

PA: Dr. Silvennan, please report to radiology.

Dr. Silverman to radiology.

Bypass triage. Straight to ER.

Exam room six.

Exam room three. Don't forget your paperwork.

Exam room five, please.

PA: Nurse Lacotter to Admissions. Nurse Lacotter to Admissions.

Gunshot wounds before sprained ankles.

Go on, sit down. Go on.

Rhonda,

Luther Vandross. Next week at the Garden.

Oh, Lucas, your mother's gonna love that.

You're missing something wonderful, Rhonda.

I know, the concert.

Nurse James, did you send me a myocardial?

- Who else is gonna send him? - He's got indigestion.

Huh-uh. Not for two days he don't.

Now you run on back there and stick him on the EKG.

Now.

PA: Mr. Hagerty, please report to nurses' station 12.

Mr. Hagerty, please report to nurses' station 12.

Rhonda!

Oh my God!

Call the code.

PA: Code Blue, ER. Dr. Orton, exam area, stat.

Code Blue, ER. Dr. Orton, exam area, stat.

- Man #1: Let's move it. - Man #2: Get Dr. Bardon.

This baby's stone cold.

PA: Dr. Herrera, you're needed in maternity.

Dr. Herrera, you're needed in maternity.

Phil.

Somebody left the box after 10:30, janitor's Iast sweep.

And you got a perfect ID, right?

Yeah, “I saw a white guy put the box down at 11:00.“

“I saw a woman put it at 10:30.“

She was tall and he was a midget. You know what.

Well, we got prints off the box. Maybe we'll get lucky.

The chart. Body's ready to pick up.

What do you think, Doc?

I'm an intern, not a pathologist.

Hazard a guess.

I been in ER for a week. Don't quote me on this.

He froze to death.

That doesn't make sense.

This is a clean, well-dressed baby--

- not a homeless kid. - How do you know?

You can't keep a kid clean, dress him in clean clothes if you don't have a home.

Otherwise healthy, no signs of exposure.

He must've been covered.

What's a kid like that doing out in the cold?

What's any kid doing out in the cold?

PA: Maintenance, please call nurses' station five.

( theme music plays )

There are no babies reported missing.

The prints on the box were partials.

And smudged.

Don't they take babies' footprints?

They put them on the birth certificates. Something cute for the parents.

The hospital keeps them a couple of months, throws them away.

Great.

So somebody walked in there,

left a box with a baby in it and we got no witnesses?

You don't go to the ER to watch the scenery.

That baby was left on the floor like trash. Nobody even noticed.

Okay.

You got a photo of the kid?

Let's assume whoever left him lives in the neighborhood.

We could start with day care. There's three churches, two community centers.

Talk about a haystack.

It beats ringing every doorbell on the Lower East Side.

Oh, yeah. We used to take babies before the federal cutbacks.

- What do you call these? - Toddlers.

So you tell me.

Better to pay for a few more fighter planes

or to take care of kids?

What about the churches?

Well, there is a church-- St. Julia's over on East 12th,

they had a day care for babies.

But let me ask you something,

do you know a woman who doesn't work?

I mean, what are we supposed to do with our kids?

I'll see you tomorrow.

This kid asleep or dead?

Do you recognize the face?

What a beautiful world. This the one they found under the West Side Highway?

Could you just take a closer look at the picture, ma'am?

We put them on the waiting list at this age but...

I'm not gonna be able to recognize a face.

I got to check out these kids.

I turn around five seconds, somebody'll snatch one of them.

So what do we got?

We got the baby, the box and the clothes.

Let's check out the bunny suit.

Gragen: Okay, so where does that leave us?

Bunny suits were manufactured and shipped from Taiwan

to a single wholesaler. It was last year's big item.

All right, so the one the baby was wearing, was that new?

Wholesaler had 30 cartons left from last season.

Went to a job lot guy on Warren Street.

Job lot shipped 20 cartons all over Jersey.

One carton each to 10 different stores in the city

and three to the Lower East Side.

There's only a dozen suits to a box.

Down from 1,000 doorbells to 10 stores. I call that progress.

Unless, of course, it's a gift from an aunt in Jersey.

It's unbelievable.

The lady at the church asks,

“Is this the one from the West Side Highway?“

This wants to know if this is the kid from Battery Park.

How many kids died this weekend?

Well, we got one more store down here.

This baby, I don't remember.

Wait, wait, wait a minute.

Come on. You looked at this picture all of two seconds.

You want to take a good look?

You had one carton. How many?

Six blue? Six pink? You sure he didn't get one?

You remember the lady.

No, I don't, Fernando. (speaking Spanish )

She bought the playpen, right?

We don't remember, Fernando. Nothing!

You know, we got a baby that's frozen to death,

I don't need your attitude.

Now, what about the playpen?

I took it home for her.

3rd Street, between A and B, two flights.

She said she was sorry she couldn't tip me.

3rd Street. Do you remember the number?

No, a lot of iron gates on both sides.

Tenement. A real pit.

Thank you.

Logan: You understand what I'm saying?

The woman with the baby. Okay?

Hennana-- no, that's sister--

hennana, y nir'ro a“ como se llama?

Ward. Ward.

Uh, first name? Primo? Primo?

Yo no sé.

You want to try for a description?

I'm doing the best I can with seventh grade Spanish.

Hey, Ward, es young, old, blanca, negra?

Si. Negra, veinte, veinte y uno. 23.

Black, 20, 21. She lives in 23.

It's a romance language.

(sighs)

Leave me in this wind tunnel, I'd freeze, too.

Left in a hurry.

They got out in a hurry. What are we looking at here?

Grackhead? I don't know.

Your guess is as good as mine.

The baby dies, she dumps it, just clears out.

Like it was nothing.

Anyone else home? In casa?

The lady in 3B. Fourth floor, nobody.

Oh, now you habla lnglés well, huh?

No. Not very good English.

Vamos.

I don't know nobody named Ward and I don't want to.

She lives right beneath you.

I knew the lady who used to live there, Mrs. Loftus.

I didn't like her either.

Noisy people and they had a noisy baby. Cried at night.

Well, that's what babies do.

Oh, tell me about it. I've had five of my own.

I'm sure they were very devoted.

- Anybody live over there? - It's empty.

- What about there? - No home.

But somebody lives there?

Aqui esta', Mr. Turner.

Is there a problem?

Should there be?

You don't look like you're from Con Ed.

Mr. Turner, Sergeant Cerreta, Detective Logan.

We're looking for a neighbor of yours.

A woman by the name of Ward?

I'm not your neighborly kind of guy.

You mind if we come in and just have a little chat?

You look like real nice people but it's kind of a mess.

I'd only invite my friends in.

Okay. The woman downstairs

on the second floor with the baby, have you seen her?

Lot of people took the buyout.

Landlord's offering four or five grand to leave. It's a real good deal.

Well, it's obviously not that good.

Oh, me? I'm on disability, bad back.

I pay $248.65 a month, rent controlled.

Logan: Bad back, huh?

Must give you trouble in the gym, right?

Oh, no. I like to work on myself.

Develop-- what do you call them? Compensatory muscles.

The 248, where do you send it?

Corman Equities. Over on 1st Avenue.

I'd let you in to get the exact address but--

Yeah, we know. You only invite your friends into the inner sanctum.

Remember the old song? “Where have all the investment bankers gone?“

Two bedrooms renting for the price of one.

Ward, Ward, Ward.

There's none here. Which building?

736 East 3rd, apartment 2B.

Oh, that building.

I was offering buyouts.

Figured I'd renovate

and get those hip Upper West Siders who want to live downtown.

But the way the economy is... you know...

You're looking for tenants with style?

That. A lot of cash.

Adele Loftus. 2B.

This lease goes back to the '50s.

We're looking for a young woman named Ward.

What can I tell you?

What can you tell me?

Loftus has a bargain, $230 a month.

Yeah, that building, bargain.

Thanks for your time, Miss Corman.

The Medical Examiner guarantees the kid was dead

at least two hours before anybody put him on the floor.

So what do we got?

A lease from the '50s, different last names,

are we going to turn up Miss Ward or what?

That building is half empty.

It's a dump. Why does it need a full-time super?

I don't know, Phil. Copper plumbing.

I mean, a couple ofjunkies could strip a brownstone faster than they could shoot up.

No Adele Loftus in the five boroughs.

Why do I doubt anyone in that building used an assumed name?

I checked Social Security. She died a year ago.

According to the city death certificates

she's buried at St. Stephen's, off of the BQE.

Well, if only the dead could talk.

They don't need to. Unless, God forbid, someone moved the body.

Somebody's paying to maintain the grave.

I've always liked graveyards.

Don't tell me-- a quiet, peaceful place

where you can contemplate your own insignificance.

No. Every spring my mother used to take us out to Grandma and Grandpa's grave.

It's an Old World thing.

She would plant flowers and wash the stone,

then she'd spread a tablecloth and we would have

a beautiful picnic with Grandma and Grandpa.

- You'd picnic on their graves? - What're we gonna picnic on some stranger's graves?

( panting ) Maintenance for Adele Loftus

was paid for by Charlayne Ward, Long Island City.

- Thank you. - And if you'd like to pay your respects,

Miss Loftus is buried in quadrant G-7.

I've marked it right on the map here.

- Thanks. Thanks a lot. - Okay.

Cerreta: Who is Adele Loftus?

Adele Loftus was our grandmama.

My sister Jackie took care of her before she died.

Your sister have any kids?

A little boy-- Henry.

Now, Charlayne, here we are, two police officers,

we're asking you about your sister and her son, and you don't seem too worried.

You don't even ask why.

When's the last time you talked to Jackie?

Jackie don't have no phone-- couldn't pay the bill.

Look, man, we ain't talked to her, okay?

Hell, we haven't even seen her.

Mike, did we ask if he'd seen her?

And she doesn't call? If I was in trouble, I'd want to talk to my only sister.

Look, man, Jackie did not call, okay?

Okay, here's what we can do.

I can leave Detective Logan here.

I'll go get a warrant, and when I come back we'll search the place.

Yeah, yeah, you know, we can pass the time.

Two, three hours, watch some TV, whatever. Does that sound like fun to you?

Or you can make it easy and just let us look around now.

You're about as far into my home as you're gonna be,

so why don't you just go on and get your warrant?

( door creaks open )

Jackie!

It's all right, Charlayne.

I did the wrong thing, so where else am I gonna go?

Does she look like she'd let her own son die?

Cerreta: She left him alone in that apartment.

I didn't-- I--

In other words, you sat there and watched him freeze to death.

- Detective-- - I had to go to work-- Mrs. Hilliard in the Village.

I was servin' at one of her parties

and Serena Price, the neighbor girl, she comes right after school.

Henry's never alone for long.

- Long enough to freeze to death. - Where's the father?

Truck driver, killed in an accident.

I thought Serena would be there.

I get home, I don't know,

around midnight,

and the apartment is dark, freezing cold

and Henry, he wasn't movin'.

- I took him right to the hospital. - And you left him there.

I was outta my head, okay?

I didn't mean to leave him there.

He was...

he was-- he was so cold.

I kept hopin', ya know?

I didn't know what to do.

Gentlemen, can we...?

She's responsible for that baby's death. Open and shut.

The only thing open and shut around here is your mind.

Let's be realistic.

The DA might go for endangering the welfare of a child.

The law says she has to exercise reasonable diligence.

The law says she had to knowingly, or intentionally,

or recklessly, or negligently cause harm.

I don't think any of those apply.

At the very least, we can hand the DA a solid case for negligence.

Has she talked to the babysitter since the boy died?

She was scared. She panicked.

We'll check her story.

With your busy schedule,

maybe you could squeeze it in before you indict her?

I'll talk to the DA.

Meantime she stays at Central Booking. Look, it beats Rikers.

She's a good mother. She loves Henry.

Were you supposed to be there, Serena?

I got stuck-- the subway comin' uptown.

It's not her fault. She feels bad enough as it is.

Serena: Jackie said she might have to leave. I have a key to the apartment.

The super says there's no way he opens the front door for a stranger.

Like that place is somethin' to protect.

You'd been there before?

He opened the door for me once.

But now he says he doesn't know me from Adam.

See, I told him about Henry, but he said Jackie and Henry were gone.

I thought Jackie must have been mad,

that she'd never want me to come back.

A black girl-- negra ser'rorita--

she's tryin' to get into the building.

- Yo no sé. - Here we go again.

Jackie Ward's babysitter-- she lives in the neighborhood.

She's a young black girl, about 16 years old.

Her name is Serena Price.

Excuse me.

Ohh, Mike...

look at this-- he bought out the whole hardware store.

Pretty cold, huh? Hace frio?

No heat. Since when?

The morning. I fix it tonight.

Yeah.

Six space heaters, and the furnace just went out this morning?

Maybe it goes out a lot.

If Jackie's telling the truth, it was off two days ago.

First time we were here-- was the heat on?

It felt like that, but the old lady on the third floor

had her hat and her coat on inside the apartment.

The building's half empty, the place is a wreck,

the landlady wants to renovate. You get a message from that?

The message I get is the landlord would be thrilled if her tenants left.

Maybe the heat was off accidentally on purpose.

( phone ringing )

736 East Third.

Owned by Iris Corman, Corman Equities.

Yeah, you got a contract on it?

Thank you.

Any changes in the amount over the last six months?

Thanks a lot. Listen, I'll be gettin' back to ya, okay? Thank you.

PetriIIo Oil.

Contracted to service the furnace,

no reports of trouble. But get this--

in the last six months, no change in oil consumption.

Colder in February than September.

You shut it down once in a while, you burn a lot less oil.

We prove harassment, Jackie Ward's behavior's gonna look a lot better.

You wanna make this stick?

Find somebody who was driven out.

The Department of Housing and Community Renewal--

they keep the leases on computer for four years.

And talk to Jackie Ward again,

'cause if she knew the heat was off she is still on the ropes.

Logan: Tell us about the building.

There was never that much heat ever.

Sometimes it was off an hour or two

and they just said it was an old furnace.

Did you complain?

It wasn't my lease. It was my grandmother's.

I complain, they find out she's dead, they'd get me out in a minute.

The law changed.

You lived there when she was alive, you're entitled to a lease.

I didn't know that.

I was scared we'd end up in a shelter.

What about the other tenants, the ones that left? Did they complain?

- What am I hearing? - I kept to myself.

All I know is, the Spanish guy takes over--

the new super-- and it gets worse.

He wouldn't do nothin'.

The heat was off intentionally?

We're trying to establish whether or not

the heat was turned off to harass the tenants.

Wait, wait, wait.

Wait.

You mean to tell me that they did this on purpose?

Iris Corman-- what a gem.

We got a whole desk devoted to complaints on her.

Hampton, cops are asking about Iris Corman.

Sweet Iris. Scum Landlord of the Year, three years running.

Lock her up and throw away the key.

Better yet, lock her in one of her own buildings.

No water, broken windows, floods.

Textbook on how to empty a place.

Is she trying to empty the place on East Third Street?

Look, I'm a city employee-- for me to accuse her--

why don't you take the records, make your own conclusions?

Moved out, September.

Really bad problems.

Water's coming down the bathroom walls.

The super turns the water off.

Two days later, the flood's gone, no hot water.

Do you think it was intentional?

Come on, I went down,

I tried to turn the water on. The basement was locked up.

A lot of buildings keep their boiler rooms locked.

Never before.

I took the buyout.

I had as much as I could take.

The lock on my door was broken.

I told the super, Tirado, he pretended he didn't understand.

- He's got trouble with English. - The trouble is he's alive.

I put a chair against the door, middle of the night, boom--

the door's down and that creep Turner, he's in my living room.

Now is he angry with the whole world, or is it just you?

Come on, that guy is a tenant like I'm the Queen of England.

I never saw him at night-- what, like he's sleeping somewhere else?

The heat goes off, I try to get it back on,

I gotta get past Turner. He's a thug, pure and simple.

This is Turner's sixth building for Iris Corman.

He clears out tenants. That's what he does.

He's got three priors-- assault and menacing.

Tenants trying to get heat.

We were thinkin' maybe depraved indifference, homicide, murder two.

- Wait a minute-- - There's another building.

Old lady gets pneumonia, lack of heat, she dies three months later.

No charges 'cause they can't tie 'em together.

I'll admit, charging Jackie Ward may be pointless,

but Tirado and Turner murder two? We have to prove intent.

Turner's been doin' this for years.

Which doesn't prove the heat was cut off deliberately the day the baby died.

Tirado didn't have six space heaters for no reason.

- They were all brand new. - That's a reach.

But maybe Tirado, okay?

Turner, we have no link to the Ward baby.

- Maybe we do. The babysitter-- - Serena Price.

You remember she said the super wouldn't let her in, that he didn't recognize her?

- You think Serena speaks Spanish? - Of course she doesn't.

It wasn't the super who kept her out, it was Turner.

- She talked to Turner. - Thank you, it's been bothering me. Huh?

Jose Tirado, step outside please.

You're under arrest for the murder of Henry Ward.

Turn around please. Put your hands behind your back. I know you've done this before.

- Where's Turner? - Turner no home.

Woman: Stop! Stop!

Stop!

Turner: The lock is broke. It has to be replaced.

- You're not the super. You're not replacing it. - Turner: You gotta--

Turner!

Just gimme an excuse.

- No way. - ( hammer thuds )

- You just got nailed. - ( handcuffs click)

Joseph Turner, you are under arrest for the murder of Henry Ward.

You have the right to remain silent.

Anything you say will be used against you in a court of law.

- Do you understand that? - Yes.

You have the right to an attorney.

Should you refuse that right, one will be...

You have to wonder how these people sleep at night.

The connection between morality and sleep.

I guess I missed that in law school.

Tossing little old ladies into the street.

Going for manslaughter, very admirable.

But how do you prove intent?

I aim a gun at you. Is that intent to harm?

It is if the gun goes off.

Why'd they cut off the heat? To cause harm so people would leave.

That's intent, and that's manslaughter.

- How do you sell it to a jury? - Stone: Turner's crimes have a common scheme.

I get his prior convictions admitted, the intent to harm is clear.

His record gets admitted as pattern crime.

On a bad day with a tired judge we can sell tickets to that.

Robinette: Maybe we get lucky. Roll the super on Turner,

get Turner's record admitted, he rolls on the landlord.

This Turner fellow's worked a long time for Iris Corman.

They hang together or they don't hang at all.

Thanks for your optimism.

I didn't say don't try.

Where are we, Cuba? This is justice?

Reckless endangerment one, if your client testifies against Mr. Turner.

The idea of responsibility here is not--

You think the charge is inflated? We're testing it with a jury.

- With no evidence. - One, Mr. Tirado has separate heat.

Two, he told police he ordered a furnace part. No order.

Three, the maintenance contractor said there was nothing wrong with the furnace.

Okay-- just a damn minute.

(speaking Spanish )

No, no, no-- tell him no one'll kill him.

Everybody knows what “muerto” means.

Reckless endangerment two, he does no time.

Who turned off the heat?

The feed pipe-- Turner, he pull it.

He say we get these people out, we get paid more money.

(speaks Spanish )

He wanted to fix the furnace.

Turner stopped him.

Obviously, Mr. Tirado is lying.

- That illiterate moron. The idea that I'm in-- - Joe, Joe, please, please.

Tirado is so credible? He's the super.

You make this crime a habit, Mr. Turner. Two prior assaults, menacing.

A jury sees this history--

Call Bellevue, make a reservation. You're out of your mind.

You couldn't bribe a judge to get that allowed.

It's not worth it, Mr. Turner.

Convicted this time, you don't do one or two years-- it goes up to 25.

Oh, heavy. You can see that I'm terrified.

Marc, tell him about the facts of life.

- ( chuckles ) - What, the birds? The bees? The penal law?

He knows them better than we do.

He has two felony convictions.

One more, he goes up as a persistent offender.

My first conviction was appealed.

I didn't serve a day until after my second conviction.

That counts as one offense, not two.

You convict me, I get six to 12.

I'm out in two years.

We're submitting a motion to have your prior convictions

admitted as evidence.

I'll bet it's beautifully written, Ben.

And it's worthless.

I'll see you in chambers.

You can't allow this.

The jury hears he attacked three tenants, they'll beg you to execute him in the courtroom.

Relax, Mr. Menaker. We don't have the death penalty anymore.

Sto n e : Three cases, virtually identical,

in which Mr. Turner assaulted tenants who were trying to restore the heat.

That's my point--

they're assault cases. They're not about heat.

Let me get this straight.

Making the buildings unlivable

is intent to cause injury-- that's the common scheme?

Yeah, but you're not gonna allow--

It's a novel theory... and I like it.

This court rules that Mr. Turner's previous crimes

may be introduced into evidence.

Thank you. Mm-hmm.

- Robinette: We thought Turner was a thug. - He's no saint.

The buildings Iris Corman owns? Turner owns 'em with her.

Not gonna put her away so quick.

Wants to protect his investments.

- That's not the only reason. - They own a house together--

600 grand, Sands Point.

They live in it together?

Love makes the world go 'round.

Also makes plea bargains difficult.

We convict, maybe he turns on Corman for a sentencing recommendation.

Yeah, and then she confesses. I wouldn't count on it.

Woman: Mr. Turner showed up in August.

I moved out a little after Christmas.

The incident when Mr. Turner assaulted you--

how did it begin?

I went to the boiler room, Turner's there screwin' in a lock.

I try to get into the room,

he smacks me across the face.

Did you sustain any injuries?

He split my lip-- I had six stitches. The vicious jerk!

- Objection! - Sustained.

The jury will disregard that remark.

I was standing at the front door of the building, pounding.

He wouldn't let me in.

Do you see him in the courtroom today?

Yeah, he's sittin' right over there.

Would the record show that she is indicating the defendant Joseph Turner?

Let the record so indicate.

Had you seen the man before?

Yeah, every time I went to take care of Henry.

I told him Henry was inside,

but this man, he said he didn't know me.

He said Jackie took Henry with her.

Thank you.

Your witness.

Ms. Price, how did you describe Mr. Turner to the police?

Well, I...

I-- I didn't.

Is that so?

Didn't you tell them that he was the building superintendent?

Yes.

But he's not.

Now, if you'd been there that often,

how come you didn't know that?

How was I supposed to know?

- He's there a lot, so I thought-- - So you didn't know who he was.

Now is it possible that he didn't know who you were?

Objection-- he's asking the witness what was in another person's mind?

Sustained.

(speaking Spanish )

I told Mr. Turner we had to turn the heat on.

I tried to open the door to the furnace room.

And what did Mr. Turner do?

(speaks Spanish )

( Tirado speaking Spanish )

Turner said to leave the furnace off.

I was going to turn it on but he pulled me away.

Stone: Mr. Tirado, in the past,

did you help Mr. Turner at all... to harass other tenants?

( Translator speaking Spanish )

(speaks Spanish )

Translator: Yes, I did.

I thought it would only take a few minutes, he'd be fine.

How long was Henry alone?

Seven hours.

When you left, what was the temperature in the apartment?

I had a sweater on, but it was okay, it wasn't too cold.

And when you returned?

I could see my breath in the air.

Thank you. No further questions.

Mrs. Ward, I know this is very difficult,

so I only have a few questions.

Now you testify that you didn't call the apartment because you had no phone.

Did you think of calling a neighbor?

I didn't know them too well.

No one in the neighborhood?

No, I pretty much kept to myself.

Did you think of calling Serena Price's mother?

I mean, just to make sure that Serena was, in fact,

taking care of Henry?

I didn't think of that, no.

So then who's really responsible for Henry's death?

- Stone: Objection! - Withdrawn.

No further questions.

Will the defendant please rise?

The People versus Joseph Turner,

on the sole count of the indictment,

the charge of manslaughter in the second degree, how does the jury find?

We find the defendant guilty.

Judge: I thank the jury for their service. Short date for sentencing.

Your Honor, the People request a pre-sentencing conference

at which Mrs. Jacqueline Ward will be permitted to address the Court.

The Court will consider the People's request.

The Court is adjourned.

There's a reason I want you there.

I want you personally to ask for the max.

It won't affect the sentence.

Whatever Turner and Corman are paying Marc Menaker,

he's earning every dime.

- What's that? - A juror, number seven--

he's white, but he speaks fluent Spanish.

There's some question about Tirado's testimony--

a mistranslation-- I don't know how serious it is.

Menaker probably called every juror.

Desperate, but clever. Asking for a mistrial?

I talked to Judge Barry's clerk. He'll probably get it.

Son of a bitch!

“Turner said leave the furnace off.

I was going to turn it on, but he pulled me away.“

That's not an accurate translation.

Well, how far off is it? What would be accurate?

I-- I misheard. I got the verb wrong.

It shouldn't have been “pulled" away.

He said “ordered" away.

Menaker: It's the heart of the pattern crime issue, Judge.

In previous cases Mr. Turner was violent, but not this time.

If a juror translated it for them, we will never know what they thought.

At the worst, it's a minor linguistic difference.

Judge: Maybe.

Mr. Norman, you discussed this with the other jurors?

I told them what I heard.

He said “ordered," not “pulled."

Mr. Norman, do you know why we sequester juries?

Before the trial began,

I said the jury mustn't consider evidence

not heard in the courtroom.

Now, you told the jurors something only you heard.

But I only told them what he really said.

That's true, you did.

No blame here.

It's a mess, gentlemen.

It's a mistrial.

And the People will have to re-try Mr. Turner.

We got a conviction once, we'll get it again.

- Every jury is different. - They're not stupid.

I'll put your client away and he'll serve the max

if I have to show up for every parole hearing myself.

If it ever gets that far.

We're not taking a deal, unless you give us Iris Corman.

Same crime, same evidence, same conviction.

I'm moving to have Turner's records excluded from the second trial.

- It won't happen. - If I were you, I would take a look

at what the Appellate Division has been doing lately.

Suppose you win the second trial-- you'll never survive an appeal.

Mr. Turner will take reckless endangerment two.

Misdemeanor. In his dreams.

What looks better on the news at 6:00? His dreams, or yours, hmm?

It's a bluff. It's a hustle.

And it's a possibility. Menaker's no fool.

If the jury doesn't hear of Turner's record, we don't get a conviction.

They will hear Turner's record. And it'll stand on appeal.

Yeah, I'd like to play poker with you--

leave the table with your clothes.

Six of your jurors told reporters

that they convicted because of Turner's record--

not because they believed intent to harm the baby.

Court of Appeals gonna like that?

Maybe we give Turner reckless endangerment one if Corman'll plead, too.

Great. A child is dead and you're offering a D felony?

Offer it to Turner on two conditions:

Corman pleads, they both sign a consent decree

not to harass tenants in the future.

It's still a walk. It stinks.

I don't believe this! You want me to plead guilty?

She hasn't even been charged.

If we don't get a deal, we'll take Mr. Turner to trial

and work on getting Ms. Connan indicted.

You have some nerve. I can't even heat a building for what those tenants are paying.

If the rent laws didn't let people live there forever, that baby'd still be alive.

- None of us'd be here. - Iris, please.

I don't believe this. It's not your fault, it's the rent laws?

For destroying the value of my property, yeah.

I oughta sue that Jackie Ward.

I mean, I'm sorry about her baby,

but she wasn't even a legal tenant.

- The hell she wasn't. - Okay, that's enough.

- You knew the law when you bought that building. - Round one, that's it, over.

You can't believe we meant to hurt that kid.

Did you care one way or the other?

You got nothin', and if Tirado hadn't rolled on me--

Maybe Jose Tirado's memory won't be so clear this time.

- Iris, enough. - His testimony's on the record.

- He'll maybe change his testimony. - Shut up.

- Are you admitting you threatened a witness? - No, she is not.

Maybe he'll say that the DA forced him to make up a story.

That's an E felony, you know that?

No, she didn't say a word. They didn't mean it.

None of this happened.

- She blamed the rent laws? - Stone: For the death of a baby.

You'll be lucky to touch her and she knows it.

We may have just drawn inside straight.

For two years, Corman rings up so many complaints, they can't record them fast enough.

A year ago, all of a sudden, no more complaints.

Attack of bad conscience.

No, their housing inspector changed.

So?

This new inspector's pretty generous.

16 complaints against Corman.

All of them resolved in her favor.

What, bribes?

Let's chase the money, see if we can prove it.

-You got 15 minutes. - We're both on the same side.

- I live in a small world. - Don't we all?

Who inspects Iris Corman's buildings?

Albert Boxer.

Does he take bribes?

I didn't hear that question.

February 1990, you were covering Corman's buildings.

Why'd you change assignments?

My wife works for Merchant Bank, she's in at 6:00.

New schedule-- I could take the kids to school.

Iris Corman ever offer you a bribe?

She hinted.

I stopped her before she had a chance.

Suppose she pulls out a couple hundred bucks,

maybe before I know what happens, I start thinkin' about new snow tires.

Albert Boxer, is he buying new snow tires?

I don't know you. I was never here.

Inspector Boxer used to take $100 a week from his checking account.

11 straight months he didn't withdraw a dime.

That doesn't prove he took bribes.

His wife paid for groceries by check for three years.

The past 11 months? Every week she paid cash.

So they live on cash. Iris Corman's not stupid.

She's not gonna give him checks.

What if somebody offered Boxer a bribe?

- And? - He takes it.

We turn him against Corman.

You got a place to do this?

I'll find one.

Set it up.

Testing, one, two.

Where the hell's Profaci?

Phil, you can play the landlord.

No, we were both at DHCR. Boxer might have seen us.

( cell phone rings )

Yeah, Stone. Uh-huh.

Oh, great.

Profaci's caught in traffic.

Boxer's on the way.

Paul, take-- take your coat off.

Cerreta: Yeah, and your tie.

- Hey, I can't do it. - Well, you're all we got.

All right. Great.

( dog barking )

Boxer: You don't look like your name is Gagliardi.

He manages my building. Home with the flu.

Simpson, Lewis.

Mr. Simpson, Inspector Boxer.

Boxer: You got heat in your building? We 've had two complaints.

Robinette: Boiler's off" we 're having it fixed.

You've been having it fixed for two days.

I should take a look, I have to write a summons.

Wait, is that necessary? A summons?

It is the law.

It'll be fixed tomorrow.

It's not workin' today.

Come back tomorrow.

Maybe I don't have to.

What would stop you?

Boxer: Think of somethin'.

Wait till he asks.

Gimme a general idea, a suggestion.

I'm sure you're pretty familiar with the neighborhood.

Ballpark?

500.

Five? 250.

Guess I'm gonna have to write that summons.

- Three. 300. - Cash, now.

Albert Boxer, you're under arrest for bribe receiving.

- Hey, come on, you can't do this. - You bet your ass we can.

-( Boxer groans) - You have the right to remain silent.

- Do you understand that? - Gimme my coat back, man.

It's entrapment. You offered a bribe.

You can lead a horse to water, you can't make him steal it.

He solicited a bribe, it's on tape.

It's a D felony. Two years at Clinton.

You look a little outta shape for two years hard time.

C'mon, Ben, no judge is gonna give him two years.

Come on, I didn't kill anybody.

So I look the other way for a few days,

so the temperature was 50“ inside, not 70.

20, not 50.

A baby froze to death.

Stone: I'll make it easy on you. Here's what you're gonna do.

You're gonna plead to a misdemeanor,

you're not gonna fight the city about your pension,

you'll testify against every landlord and super you ever took a bribe from.

Or you're gonna go to jail.

Who do you want first?

Iris Corman.

Sto n e : We live in a time...

when greed is glorified.

Anything is acceptable.

We must decide where to draw the line.

We must decide when greed

has gone far enough to be called murder.

The People will prove that the defendants...

Iris Corman and Joseph Turner...

turned off the heat

in an apartment building they owned.

The People will prove that their acts demonstrated...

a recklessness...

that led to the death of a 10-month-old baby.

The People will show

that they willfully, knowingly,

and without a shred of concern

for the consequences of their acts,

placed the value of their real estate

above the value of a human life.

A baby died--

a boy named Henry Ward.

And they didn't shoot him, they didn't strangle him,

they didn't run over him with their car.

In fact, they never even met him.

But they did kill him.

Now, putting the defendants

Iris Corman and Joseph Turner in jail

will not bring Henry Ward back to his mother.

Putting them in jail, however,

is the only remedy we have.

( theme music plays )