All language subtitles for Law & Order (1990) - S02E21 - Silence (720p WEB-DL x265 ImE)_track3_[eng]

In the criminal justice system,
the people are represented

by two separte
yet equally important groups:

The police,
who investigate crime,

and the district attorneys,
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

( horns honking,
car alarm blaring )

MAN:
It doesn't bother you at all,
does it?

To you it's like talking
about a new pair of shoes.

For God's sake,
she's family.

Would I discuss this
with my sister?

Sally's a therapist.

The problem is not
with the big head, Jessie.

You're being childish.

You folks hear Howard
this morning?

He went off
on some poor broad.

You mind?

DRIVER:
Look out!

( tires screeching )

MAN:
What the hell you doing?

( horns honking )

POLICE OFFICER:
All right, keep back, folks.

Mikey.

Yeah.

No see and no hear.

Eight million people,
and you die alone.

What's the morning headline?

MAN:
"Man Kisses Tenth Avenue."

The kiss of death.

But his face wasn't crushed
from a knife wound.

He must have come
from that bridge.

Let's see
what we got.

And the winner is...
James Vogel.

Whoa.

Make that Councilman Vogel.

The 16th District is
a long way from home.

20, 40, 60, 80...

83 bucks
and a full deck of plastic.

Too busy to rob him.

A disgruntled voter?

Or a contributor who wasn't
getting his money's worth.

It's a hell of a way
to leave office.

Captioning sponsored by
NBC/Universal

Vogel attended a benefit
for the New York Women's

Foundation
of the Democratic Club.

The doorman says he left
by himself after 10:30.

Five minutes later,
a half gainer off the high dive.

If anybody saw this,
they didn't stay to tell.

Maybe some witness
will show up.

Maybe I'll grow wings
and learn to fly.

I sat on a panel
last year with Vogel--

safe schools, juvenile violence.

Lot of grandstanding,
but not Vogel.

This guy
is one of the good ones.

Good guys can step
on the wrong toes.

In politics, there's bound
to be some sore losers.

I want this one
in the win column.

In addition to the impact wounds
from the fall and the car

he had blunt-force wounds
across the front of his body.

Started out
just wanting to hurt him.

And for a dime or a dollar,

doesn't make
much difference now.

We have a dorsal wound,
one upward thrust.nt--

The blade entered
the abdominal cavity

under the rib cage,
the kidney,p through

and transected
the renal vein.

LOGAN:
and he's gone.

Internal bleeding--
no pain, no stain.

CERRETA:
Mark of a craftsman.

WOMAN:
for literacy programs,

rights for elderly tenants--

hardly anything
you'd call controversial.

A few landlords
might beg to differ.

He built bridges,
not walls.

I ran his constituents office
for eight years.

I do not know a single enemy
that he didn't win over.

What about allies?

Did he owe any favors?

He said favors
get you in trouble.

CERRETA:
Was he ambitious?

In right amounts, yes,
but nobody owned him.

Maybe they had
a short-term lease.

Now, here are two deposits
to his money market account.

One was eight months ago.

This one three months ago.

It's a total of 50 grand.

Did he win the lotto?

I wouldn't know
where that came from.

Well, we've got
the bank number.

If they're checks

we'll go
to the issuing account.

My hunch?

Wherever it's from,
lotto would have been better.

I lent him the money.

The father is an easy touch.

CERRETA:
In my family,
we don't write

blank checks.

VOGEL:
He asked
and I gave.

If he'd wanted me to know
what it was for,

he would have told me.

Maybe he told your wife?

Judith passed away
six years ago.

LOGAN:
Was there
anyone else

he might have confided in--
maybe a girlfriend?

James kept his own counsel.

I don't see what this money
has to do with his death.

Some piece of filth held him up.

Robbery wasn't the motive.

And you're looking for a motive?

How about
just for the hell of it?

That's a popular one
these days.

Or someone just doesn't like
the look on his face.

My family worked damn hard

to improve the quality of life
in this city, and this...

this is how they pay us back.

Vogel wasn't exactly a tightwad.

Tapped into his stash
every other Friday.

$5,000 a month.

In cash.

Except for
the last couple of weeks.

Plenty of money left

but no cash withdrawals.

Well, whatever
he was paying off,

he changed his mind.

In hock
to the bank of broken legs?

I can't see how.

He was a monk.

He covered the basics
with his salary.

He paid his credit cards
every month like clockwork.

Maybe he's a sports nut.

No. Bookies collect
in cash, not bodies.

Mullen's, in Soho.

Charges every...

week.

Didn't vice do a number on them
a year ago?

Your colleagues in vice probably
got the wrong impression.

People come here to feel safe,
nothing more.

Vogel was a regular?

Who is and who isn't
is nobody's business.

Unless it's a police matter,
Mr. Drotos, which this is.

He was already
halfway there anyway.

How's that?

James was talking about
turning his life around--

taking the big step.

The big step?

Coming out of the closet.

He was wondering how well
he would handle it.

He worried
about family, career.

He never expected
to lose his life.

What are you saying,
that this is gay bashing?
In the past year--

just the ones
that were reported--
30, 40 beatings.

Staying in the closet
isn't a matter of conceit.

Sometimes it's a matter
of life and death.

been thinking
You said he had

about coming out

but he hadn't
actually done so yet.

Someone was going
to do it for him.

Outing's a specialty.

James got a call
from them last week.

They were preparing
an article.

MAN:
I'm sorry

about what happened
to James Vogel.

I'm even sorrier
he didn't come out

while he was
still alive.

Or stick around
to watch you do it for him?

Outing is an act of
self-defense, Detective.
We're at war.

The more of us that come out,
the stronger we are.

Well, who are you at war with?

Vogel could have been
a role model.

Shouldn't that be

his decision?

I didn't target the man,
but when the information

lands on my desk,
I can't ignore it.
Are you so sure

the information
is reliable?

There's documentation--

personal letters
in Vogel's hand.

May we see those letters?
If I were running a
public library, maybe.

The person who gave them to you
probably blackmailed Vogel.

Much as I'd like to believe you,
the answer is still no.

my sources.
I got to protect

Then we get

witness warrant.
a material

And you sit in a cell
until we see those letters.

Then I'd better pack
my toothbrush.

As soon as you get your warrant,
let me know.

I met with his colleagues
on occasion.

That's about it.

James moved out
when he was 18.

I haven't kept track
of his friends

in a long time.

What about
intimate friends?

Did he ever talk
about them?

There was
a girl or two at Columbia.

CERRETA:
Uh, Mr. Vogel,

the more open you are,
the easier this is going to be.

What do you mean?

We're already aware

of your son's
sexual orientation.

Do you know how many years

we've been subjected
to rumors like that?

Once you're in office,
everyone takes shots at you.

So you're saying
that your son was not gay?

Of course he wasn't!

Those freaks in the West Village

would have liked to claim James
as one of their own.

I don't know how close
you were with your son,

but our information
seems reliable.

Oh, yes, I'm sure.

Reliable political sources.

We also suspect that your son
was being blackmailed.

The $50,000.

What about it?

It's hard to believe you gave
him that without questions.

I told you I trusted him.

But weren't you concerned?

VOGEL:
I assumed he had some problem
to take care of.

CERRETA:
You didn't ask any specifics?

VOGEL:
He was 41 years old.

I respected his privacy.

Or maybe
you just didn't want to know.

Your son ever mention
anybody named Harold?

No.

Addressed "James V.,"
Signed "Harold."

Letters dating back
a year and a half.

It's definitely
not business.

Look at the return
P.O. box Ossining.

State penitentiary.

Your son's pen pal
is a long-term resident.

Harold Dwyer:
served six years in Ossining

for grand larceny
and assault.

Released
two weeks ago.

Hobbies include mail fraud,
forgery,

receiving of stolen goods.

In 1983 Dwyer impersonated
a police officer

and stole two Porsches
out of the impound.

Plenty of moxie.

Basic requirements
for blackmail and murder.

Anything in the letters
he wrote to Vogel?

Nothing he'd lose sleep over.

Sounded like one of Vogel's
rehab projects.

Do you think Mr. Dwyer

would think of himself
as a project?

Nickel and change
is a long stretch.

Checkers and Oprah
only eat up so much of it.

You look for things to do.

Like pen pals?

Like pen pals.

How did you meet Vogel?

I put a personal
in The Advocate.

He sent me a letter.

We started a little...
correspondence.

Mm-hmm. Casual correspondence?

Conversation.

Like guys sitting at a bar.

We got the idea

you talked about more
than the latest scores.

So? It went a little deeper
than that.

Whose idea was it to take it
in that direction, yours?

A man gets lonely.

You got a problem with that?

I got a problem
when he's greedy.

What are you talking about?

Vogel's money
buys your silence.

Come on.

I didn't even know
his last name.

You knew
his mailing address.

You knew he was vulnerable.

A smart guy like you
can figure that out.

So smart that I'm taking
his shakedown money

and living in a dump like this.

The guy said he'd
help me get on my feet.

I look stupid enough
to blackmail him?

Truth or dare--
you ever play as a kid?

Stakes go up until someone
opens their mouth and steps in.

The adult version starts
with a personal ad.

Vogel bites, Dwyer plays him
till the prose turns purple.

And the trap slams shut.

You think Vogel's
the only one who got caught?

Prisons keep records of their
prisoners' correspondence.

Aside from his family
and legal representation,

Harold Dwyer
maintained a correspondence

with several other people.

Did you inspect
his incoming mail?

Only for contraband.

What about outgoing letters?

Were the contents examined?

You mean read?

Prisoners submit outgoing mail
to us unsealed for inspection.

We don't read
every word they write.

But you would record
the people he wrote to.

As a matter of routine,

along with his visitors,
phone calls.

We'll take copies
of everything you have.

Harold Dwyer
was a model prisoner.

Even taught some high school
equivalency classes.

Didn't expect him
to get in trouble so soon.

Geez, what a shock.

Six correspondents, all male,
all in the New York City area.

I saw his personal
in The Advocate.

I felt sorry for him.

Every con has a sob story.

I was curious.

Dwyer's letters
were very clever,

not what I expected
from someone in jail.

CERRETA:
Being clever
got him there.

I told myself
at least he's not a murderer.

So you wrote.

And he started sending me
these raunchy letters--

wanted me to respond.

I wasn't into it.

I stopped writing.

That it?

A few weeks later
I get a call at home.

No name.

Said he was Dwyer's friend.

I thought it might be him,
but...

Was the call
collect?

I don't... does it matter?

Inmates can only call collect.

No.

I'm pretty sure it wasn't.

What else did he say?

He told me

that he had the letters
that I wrote to Dwyer.

Did he threaten you?

Not directly.

He was slick--

slick and kind of pushy.

He wanted money--
$5,000 a month.

He said he'd have
a courier pick it up.

You agreed to pay him?

Oh, please.

I told him to get lost.

Even though he had your letters?

Hey, I'm gay.

If he wants to broadcast it,
what do I care?

This will only take

a couple of minutes
of your time...

Thank you.

Yes, sir, I do appreciate
your situation.

If you could help me,
I... Hello?

Mr. Harris makes oh-for-six.

Three of these guys are married.

You got to love blackmail.

No one points the finger at you

for the same reason
they're paying you off.

Maybe we can get
the blackmailers

to point the finger
at each other.

Dwyer had somebody
on the outside helping him.

Would have had to talk
to him before he got out.

Do you want to do
phones or visitors?

Phones.

Can't say Dwyer
didn't make an effort.

Called his wife in Binghampton
every Sunday night.

Twice a month he had visits
from a Lisa Torres.

Even money on which one got
the flowers on Valentine's.

Don't rule out his lawyer.

Dwyer saw him
once a week.

He was already
convicted.

And isn't six years
late for appeals?

So why all the traffic?

The architect said

the guy on the phone
was slick and pushy.

A lawyer, slick and pushy?

Mr. Dwyer has legal problems
dating back 15 years.

It keeps me very busy.

Ossining is a good
hour and a half away.

You never used the telephone?

What, are you worried
i'm overcharging him?

You ever talk
to a Jay Lingard?

I never heard of him.

He's an architect--

one of Dwyer's pen pals
while he was in prison.

I don't get the connection.

What about James Vogel?

I'm sure you've heard of him.

Vogel. You mean the councilman
who was mugged.

So someone would like us

to believe.

And you think

my client's somehow involved?

He exchanged letters
with Mr. Vogel.

What a coincidence.

I'm sure Mr. Vogel
wrote his congressman.

Is he a suspect?

If there were indications
of blackmail, mm-hmm.

Dwyer did all this when,
in prison?

He's been out
less than two weeks.

We think he had an accomplice
on the outside.

Clever, boys.

You want to play
"I got a secret,"

you play with my lawyer.

Name's Bowman.

She's in the phone book.

Vogel was paying out
five grand a month,

then one day he stops.

He wants out.

He starts making noise.

Dwyer and Colson
look to shut him up.

So they send the letters
to the magazine

and word gets out
about Vogel.

The hit looks
like a gay bash.

Only we can't
connect Colson to Vogel.

We could check his LUD's,
but I don't think

he'd call somebody
from his office that
he's blackmailing.

What are you looking at?
Mailroom.

Lingard mentioned a courier.

I know the routine.

I blab to you,
Mr. Colson finds out,

then what,
i work for you?

You can shoot a gun,
you got a job.

Yeah? You know where
I'd point it first?

We play by the book,
I got to get a subpoena

you spend a day
in the precinct.

Like I'd mind.

You'd lose a day's pay.

Nice. This how you
get dates, too?

Mr. Colson
has a regular service.

Comes by once a week.

Bringing what?

Packages.

What do you think,
they're transparent?

They go up to his office.

He signs for them.

What's the name
of the service?

Yeah, sure,
he has an account here.

Uh, three or four pickups
every other Friday or so.

Pickups from where?

It depends.

Upper Manhattan,
Brooklyn, Jersey.

What about a James Vogel
in Park Slope?

Is this guy Colson

in some kind of trouble?

Do you really care?

He tips.

Most don't.

Here.

No name on the pickup order.

But we did do Park Slope

every other week
until last month.

The next time you get

a pickup order from Colson,
you call us,

but that's before you
deliver the package.

Find some other way.

I got a schedule here.

Come on, sweetheart,

you're too busy
to make one call?

Maybe we need a warrant

on every package
that comes through.

This isn't right.

I've cooperated plenty already.

Yeah, okay.

Then one more time
won't kill you.

The official line is,
Councilman Vogel

was the unfortunate victim
of a street mugging.

Anything else is speculation
we have no comment on.

this story's
If we make an arrest,

gonna come out.

Long as it doesn't come from us.

What are we hiding,
the fact that he was gay?

This comes from division?

Right from the top.

So Edward Vogel pays a visit
to the chief...

One five-minute phone call.

He's doing his son a favor
by being ashamed?

How close are we on this?

We get a hit
on this delivery...

The courier has a delivery
for Colson from Kew Gardens.

to a certain
Dwyer was writing

George Harris over there.

We're waiting for a call
on the delivery time.

We checked Dwyer's alibi.

He says he got tanked
in some dive on Mulberry.

Barkeep remembers him
stumbling out

half past midnight,
but not when he came in.

( phone rings )

What?

Yeah.

Cerreta.

Okay. Thanks.

Courier service will be
at Colson's in 20 minutes.

Get going.
I'll cover the warrant for you.

Mr. Colson, did you
just receive a package

from B&C Couriers?

What is this all about?

Is that it there?

The warrant first.

It's on its way.

Do you want to wait,

or do you want
to open it yourself?

Would you please accompany us
to the precinct?

I asked my client about
a delinquent bill.

He says send
a messenger.

I had no idea...
There's nothing illegal

about getting paid
in cash, Detective.

That depends on the source,
Counselor.

We'd like to help you
with this investigation,
but any communication

between attorney
and client,

including payment practices,
are confidential.

James Vogel--
did he pay you in cash, too?

BOWMAN:
Sorry--

privileged.

Only if payments
were for legal fees.

Why the hell else
would he pay me?

Blackmail comes to mind.

You obviously don't have
enough evidence to arrest me,

which means you don't have
enough to insult me either.

Carla.

He's right, you know.

We can't tie him
to anything.

Ditto on Dwyer.

Somebody gave
Vogel's letters

to Out Word magazine.

That's fair to cloudy.

The editor's on a high horse
called the First Amendment.

His mouth is shut.

25 years might convince him
to reconsider.

You think he's involved
in the murder?

No. But he doesn't know that.

STONE:
We're not asking you

not to publish,
Mr. Barclay--

just the sources
of your material.

I don't see the difference.

No protection of sources
equals no free press.

The Supreme Court...
ROBINETTE:
Has never said that.

STONE:
And I doubt

if the present court ever will.

I'm not merely asserting
my rights.

Freedom of the press
is the public's right.

If sources were fair game,
Anita Hill would still be

some unknown professor
in Oklahoma.

You're looking
at jail time, Mr. Barclay.

For contempt-- fine.

I'll make that sacrifice.

STONE:
Not for contempt, sir.

For conspiracy
to commit blackmail and murder.

( chuckles ):
You have got to be kidding!

I'm sorry, sir.

I lost my
sense of humor

when I saw the photographs
of James Vogel.

I had nothing to do with that.

ROBINETTE:
Letters you had

were used
to blackmail Mr. Vogel.

STONE:
At a minimum,

you're withholding evidence
to a murder investigation.

At maximum, you're part
of the conspiracy.

Principles go a long way,
Mr. Barclay,

but if I were you,
I'd ask myself, are they worth

25 years
in prison?

The letters showed up
on my desk, anonymously.

And you didn't verify them?

I'm not about to get sued.

Experts compared
Vogel's handwriting.

I want them.

Do I have a choice?

If you want
to avoid an indictment,

no, you don't.

SCHIFF:
How bad?

Bad enough
to not want them published.

All written by Vogel?

ROBINETTE:
Mailed to Dwyer
in Ossining.

Dwyer's the point man,
he gave the letters to Colson

who then handled the blackmail.

What about
the murder?

Maybe Vogel got tired
of paying him,

threatened
to turn him in.

Blackmail is thin.

Murder...

The letters to Dwyer.

Cash payments
to Dwyer's attorney.

Still, unless one of the people
making those payments talks,

it all adds up to nothing.

His father, Ed Vogel,

was the first one who asked

that I run for this office.

There was a time when a nod
from him carried weight.

Get someone to testify.

HARRIS:
I already told
the police

I paid a legal bill
in cash.

What's the big deal?

STONE:
No big deal if it
were just once.

The courier says
you send packages

to Mr. Colson
every other week.

Uh, we spoke to Harold Dwyer,
Mr. Harris.

I was in pro ball
close to 11 years--

nine of them in the bigs.

This company hired me
for a reason.

They bought an image.

See...

I was not a Bobby Bonilla,
Mr. Stone.

I need this job.

STONE:
You paid Mr. Dwyer

and Mr. Colson
to keep your secret?

I paid them to keep my life.

I have two sons.

Every year they come with me

to the Cubs
Alumni Day.

How much you pay them?

It was supposed to stop
at $50,000.

Colson came back for more?

Colson I never heard of.

It was just
a voice on the phone.

Said that it
would cost me another 25.

Would you recognize that voice?

Well, there's no need.

I... I, uh, taped the call,
you know,

just in case
anything happened.

There's no way I'm going
to say any of this in public.

We can subpoena you, sir.

I'd rather go to jail,
Mr. Stone.

STONE:
Your son was not
the only victim

of this blackmail
scheme, Mr. Vogel.

We've located
one other.

And he'll testify?

He's paid Colson
a lot of money.

He doesn't plan

on going public now.

In other words,

without this witness,
you can't go to trial.

I'm sorry.

What if we close the courtroom,
no press, no cameras?

Assure him his identity
will remain a secret?

Can you get a judge

to agree to that?

Well, typically, no,
but this witness was

a part of the same
blackmail scheme,

and given what happened
to your son...

We can certainly argue
his life's in danger.

Have Colson
and Dwyer arrested.

Let's hope we draw
a sympathetic judge.

Docket number 59422.

People v. Peter Colson
and Harold Dwyer.

One count each--
murder in the second degree.

One count each-- grand larceny
in the second degree.

Parties ready to plead?

Not guilty,
Your Honor.

Not guilty.

Mr. Robinette?
Recommendation on bail,

$500,000 on each.

It's excessive,
Your Honor.

In this economy, Your Honor,

the state might as well
ask for a million.

We can't raise
that kind of cash.

This is America, Counselor.

Borrow.

Bail is set at $300,000 each.

Tomorrow at 2:30.

Preliminary conference.

Judge Strelzik's chambers.

Closed courtroom?

You've got
to be kidding, Paul.

I just got my hair done.

Keep the reporters out
of the courtroom?

Fine. I don't care.

But withholding the name
of a witness is absurd.

Not when there's a risk
of retaliation.

One man is already dead,
Your Honor.

How can I prepare
a proper cross-examination

when I don't know anything
about the witness?

Tomorrow morning, 10:30,
in my chambers

I want to hear
what this witness has to say.

HARRIS:
No way, Mr. Stone.

You told me complete anonymity.

Judge Strelzik has
to know who you are.

There's no way
around that.

The judge
we're not worried about.

It's Colson's lawyer.

She'll be there, right?

So what's to prevent her

from revealing
George's identity?

STONE:
With a gag order,
for one.

You'll be a John Doe.

Do you want
to go on paying

for the rest of your life,
Mr. Harris?

I answered an ad
in a magazine--

"Prisoner lonely,
please write."

was Mr. Dwyer?
And that

Yes. Um...

at first, it was just
a friendly correspondence

you know, about sports
and current events

and that sort of thing.

What happened then?

He, um, wanted me
to get...

more graphic.

And did you?

Yes. He was a prisoner.

I felt sorry for him.

But it was all a con.

After about
a half dozen letters,

they started asking
me for money--

$50,000 over
five months.

And then they wanted more.

I have it recorded on tape.

Is this the tape?

Yes.

BOWMAN:
Sir,

did the persons blackmailing you

ever threaten you
with physical harm?

No, no.

And the person
who contacted you

for money-- did he have a name?

He never used it.

So you were
just assuming

it was Peter Colson.

STONE:
The only issue

relevant to this hearing
is whether the witness

is in physical danger.

BOWMAN:
He just said he wasn't

even threatened.

In any case, this witness

has given no evidence

concerning
my client.

The voice

on this tape
is clearly identifiable.

Fine. Let's hear it.

That is enough
to give him away,

put him in jeopardy.

Is his name mentioned?

No, but your client
could easily recall

the conversation.

For God sakes, Ben.

Peter Colson is an upstanding
member of the bar--

not an animal.

Someone killed James Vogel,

and I'm not letting
it happen to another life.

I'll listen to the tape alone.

You'll have my decision
tomorrow morning.

Closing a courtroom--

congratulations--
minor miracle.

It's hardly a burning bush.

Colson's lawyer didn't
put up much of a fight.

I guess she didn't want

the press feasting
on his reputation.

Lawyers get together and toss

the First Amendment's right
to free press down the toilet.

Maybe it's the best way
to protect

the Sixth Amendment's
right to a fair trial.

With Harris on the stand,
we get extortion.

If harris
takes the stand.

This just landed
on my desk.

A writ of prohibition?

Barclay, the editor
of Out Word magazine--

he's challenging
the closed courtroom

on behalf of the media.

How much con law
do you remember?

Not enough.

A 50-page brief
written in support

by Helen Murphy,
Esquire.

The First Lady
of First Amendment law?

Barclay's got to have
some deep pockets.

The right to a public trial
is guaranteed

by both the Sixth
and the 14th Amendments.

This is a balancing
test-- that right

weighed against
the potential harm

to this
particular witness.

MURPHY:
And the people's
right to know.

Does the first amendment

suddenly not exist, Mr. Stone?

This urgency
to inform the public

as to the facts
of this particular case

cannot outweigh the rights...

Of one overly paranoid witness?
Please.

A real person's life
is in jeopardy.

Surely that outweighs
any intangible benefits

to a general public

not affected by this case.

So we rewrite
the First Amendment--

freedom of the press only
when it affects the majority?

Your Honor...

We are not asking

that the 11:00 news be allowed
to wheel in a camera crew.

Why the hell not?

I empathize
with your witness, Mr. Stone,

but there's a heavy
burden you must meet

to deprive
the voyeuristic public

of their right to peek in
on the woes of others.

Now, if your witness
is in that much danger,

don't put him on the stand.

I'm sorry,
Counselor, but...

freedom abhors
secret proceedings.

Your client may quote me

on that, Ms. Murphy.

Petitioner's motion

is granted.

The trial will be open

to the press.

I tried, Ben.

I really did.

But George will not
testify in open court.

I can't win without him.

He wants to see
Colson walk?

No, but he's entitled
to be a little selfish.

And I don't know
if I blame him.

What about the tape?

Offer that into evidence
without his testimony.

Without authentication
it's worthless.

He did give

a sworn statement
in judge's chambers.

And he was cross-examined

by opposing counsel, but...

BREWER:
Transcripts never
mentioned his name.

Are they admissible?

C.P.L. section 6-70-10.

"Testimony given pursuant
to a conditional examination

"is admissible
when the witness

"is unable
to attend the trial

"because of death, illness,
incapacity, or is outside

"the state and cannot
with due diligence be brought

before the court."
Interesting.

This is outrageous!

It's unethical,
not to mention prejudicial!

Screaming doesn't make it

inadmissible.

We subpoenaed the witness
to testify,

but it seems he's relocated.

Address unknown.

His attorney suspects

he's gone out of state.

And I suspect

we got major league manipulation
going on.

JUDGE STRELZIK:
You're free to appeal.

The requirements of C.P.L. 6-70
have been satisfied.

The witnesses
prior sworn testimony

can be read into evidence.

HARRIS ( on tape ):
I've already given you $50,000.

I don't really give a damn.
COLSON:

or that closet door
It's another 25,

swings wide open, my friend.

The messenger will be there

tomorrow at 5:00.

First of all, you've got
to get a jury to buy it.

After the judge instructs them

about the weight
this evidence should be given.

Your client will be convicted
of larceny by extortion.

It won't take
a major leap of faith

to construct
a convincing argument

for murder two.
You're dreaming.

If you want something enough

dreams have a way
of coming true.

Want to take that chance,
Counselor?

What are you offering?

about the murder
If he didn't know

and he gives us Dwyer,
grand larceny three.

It was all Dwyer.

I never wanted
to kill the guy.

You were part
of the blackmail?

Dwyer's brainstorming.

I was desperate.

The economy went south,
my business went with it.

I was in a hole--
mortgaage, child support.

How much
did you collect?

Fifty grand each.

You and Dwyer

would split it?

My ex moved for
an upward modification

of our settlement agreement.

I needed cash.

I didn't expect Dwyer's release
until September.

I came up short.

You went back to Vogel for more?

But he wasn't buying.

He had enough.

Dwyer took care of him.

You're still
an accomplice.

I need more than your testimony
to convict.

You want corroboration?

You talk to the old man.

What?

Dwyer made a house call.

He talked to Edward Vogel?

Daddy paid the bill directly.

That's when junior
went ballistic

and said he'd turn us in.

Next thing I knew

I was reading about it
in the Post.

That son of a bitch.

And you
believed him?

Any reason
i shouldn't?

He's admitted to
blackmail, for one.

your bank records.
We've checked

You made
a large withdrawal

the day before
Jim was killed.

You knew all along.

With your testimony

we could have gone to trial
three weeks ago.

Watch your tone, sir.

I pick up the phone

and your license
to be holier

than everybody else
on this planet

can be used to wallpaper
the sewer.

Your son is dead, sir.

You're protecting his killers.

That's my business,
Mr. Stone,

and I intend
to keep it that way.

Good day, gentlemen.

The bastard's done everything
he can to stop us.

It's his son.

I can't believe...

He paid Murphy's legal fees.

To open up
a courtroom?

Doesn't make sense.

Think it through.

With the press in the courtroom,

there's no way
George Harris testifies.
Without his testimony,

we can't go to trial.

No one ever knows
that the boy was gay.

He'd rather see Dwyer
and Colson go free

than tarnish his good name.
Sure,
political necessity.

You don't survive
as long as he did

without keeping
your hamper closed.

It's about to open up.

I served him

with a subpoena.

Ah, that explains
why he's got a call into me.

A subpoena?

Really, Adam.

Without
your testimony

the murder case disappears.

I'm familiar with
how city business is conducted.

You're probably
also aware

that my office doesn't service
anyone's personal agenda.

Not anyone's?

16 Years ago, I pulled
your name out of a hat.

Save the backroom marker crap;
it's too late for that.

What you did had nothing to do
with my getting this office

or with my keeping it.

Fine.

A favor, then, for a friend.

Call off the dogs.

I keep this picture of Jim
on my desk.

Graduation day, Columbia.

He's standing there
with his arms around his mother.

Damn it, Adam, he looks
just like everybody else.

I've spent my life
protecting him.

From what?

Your shame put the knife
into Dwyer's hand,

and there's no way

I'm going to let that
keep him out of jail.

I've known you for 25 years, Ed,

and I'm telling you now,
you don't testify tomorrow,

you're going to go to jail
for contempt.

Mr. Vogel, when did you first
make contact

with the defendant Harold Dwyer?

Permission to treat this witness
as hostile, Your Honor?

Go ahead, Mr. Stone.

Isn't it true
that your son

borrowed $50,000 from you?

I can enter the bank statements
as evidence...

Yes, he was my son.

I lent him money.

Did he say what it was for?

ridiculous.
This is

Your Honor, this witness
has nothing to offer.

We can hold you
in contempt, sir.

Did you love your son,
Mr. Vogel?

Yes.

Very much.

You proud of him?

Jimmy could have been mayor.

He was smart
and everybody liked him.

I thought it would be best
if we kept it all quiet.

Quiet about what?

That he was gay.

I would have paid any amount.

At first,
Jimmy went along with it.

He wanted me to be proud.

I mean...

he didn't want me
to be embarr...

embarrassed.

After all the...

( clearing throat )

after all the years of pain

he didn't care anymore.

He told me it was his life,
not mine.

They asked him for more money
and Jimmy refused.

And then what happened?

The defendant, Mr. Dwyer,
came to me.

50 Grand
or it's all over the news.

And you paid him?

Yes... yes.

How did your son
react to that?

He was angry.

He called
Mr. Dwyer

from my office

and said he'd go to the police

if Dwyer
didn't return the money.

Well, then what did
Mr. Dwyer do?

He said he'd been in jail
for six years

and there was no way

he was going back.

The next day, they found Jimmy.

Will the defendant please rise?

On the first count
of the indictment

grand larceny
in the second degree

how do you find?

We find the defendant guilty.

On the second count
of the indictment

murder in the second degree,
how do you find?

We find the defendant guilty.

Deep down, Ed Vogel truly
believes he loved his son.

You don't think
he did.

Acceptance before love,
right?

A son is not merely an extension
of his father's ego.

That's a law
of nature.

Sons go to extremes
to please their fathers.

My father wanted me
to be a doctor.

I went so far as
to study organic chemistry.

What happened?

I grew up.

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