All language subtitles for Law & Order (1990) - S02E22 - The Working Stiff (720p WEB-DL x265 ImE)_track3_[eng]

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 offenders.

These are their stories.

Good morning, Mr. McFadden.

Mr. McFadden?

( indistinct
radio transmissions )

MAN:
Give me another shot of that.

So, Eduardo, what time
did you punch in?

5:30.

And you let him in when?

No, no, Mr. McFadden's
always the first one here.

I think 4:00
or something...

and he has
his own key.

CERRETA:
Mikey?

Oh, wonderful.

Taped trigger,
taped butt.

Serial numbers filed?

Sure.

Of course.
Why should it be easy?

The vic's wallet
and keys, Detective.

He had over a grand
in 20's on him.

Not a robbery.
Not an amateur.

So it's a hit.

Maybe the Mafia

plays the stock market.

McFadden let himself
in here every morning

according to the porter.

No security guard.

No witnesses.

Walter Fairlee, Detective.

Anything I can
help you with?

Why was Mr. McFadden here
at 4:00 in the morning?

Checking the Daxie--

that's the German
stock exchange.

Marshall had a lot of
international interests.

What about enemies?

Ours is a competitive business.

But everybody
loved him, right?

Everybody... respected
what he accomplished.

Which was?

Which was overcoming
his humble beginnings

and amassing a net worth
in the hundreds of millions.

This is a terrible moment
for our company.

( stock exchange bell rings )

Excuse me.

( clamoring voices )

I guess
the moment's over.

Captioning sponsored by
NBC/Universal

Exactly what business

was Mr. McFadden in?

Like America,

his business
was business.

He bought companies.

He sold companies.

He was one of the only
mergers and acquisition experts

to emerge from the '80s

with his assets and reputation
still intact.

Your boss had more degrees
than a thermometer.

They're all honorary.

Mr. McFadden
never finished high school.

Has anyone notified the family?

No one to call.

His wife, Ann,

passed away
six years ago.

Cancer.

Oh, Dwight Corcoran.

A former ambassador
to England.

Mr. McFadden had many friends
in high places.

We'll need a list.

Were any of them

close to him?

Mr. McFadden
was a private person.

All I knew of his life
was what I read in the papers.

"Marshall McFadden,
king of the takeover,

"son of a Yorkshire
coal miner,

strikes it rich
in the New World."

He bought companies
like I buy six-packs.

Only after
he recycled the waste

it was worth more
than when he bought it.

Net worth,
nine figures.

Anything from ballistics?

The bullet matches the .38
we found in the garbage.

No prints.

The FBI is running

an argon scan on what's left of
the serial number.

Takeover guys buy up a company,
spit out the pits.

People get hurt.

18 months ago, hostile takeover.

McFadden acquires a company:
Evans & Black.

When the smoke clears,
480 people are looking for work.

A guy standing on
the assembly line--

is it worth killing over?

What about the guy sitting
in the executive crapper?

After the takeover

McFadden replaced
the entire board of directors.

White collars
can get pretty dirty

waiting on
the unemployment line.

Old days, when I ran
the Brooklyn plant,

I put in ten hours
a day, six days per.

And now?

McFadden closes the plant.

Now it's mornings
at my quotron

and afternoons
at the club.

How much did he pay
for the company?

Papers say around
$700 million.

And he shuts it down?

Evans & Black was worth 700.

The Brooklyn plant was
the company's prodigal son.

Hadn't shown a profit
in ten years.

Some divisions get closed,
others sold.

That's what takeover's
all about.

Like a chop shop.

These takeover guys--

McFadden, Pickens--

the press is giving them
a bad rap.

They're calling them
sharks, barracudas.

They're not?

They're like angels.

They trim the fat.

Less waste, more profit.

Correct me if I'm wrong,
Mr. Reynolds.

After the takeover

McFadden threw you
and the board out.

Yes, but we landed very gently.

Golden parachutes.

I walked away
with close to seven mil.

All thanks to McFadden, huh?

They should carve his face
on a mountain.

'90s Horatio Alger.

Get canned,
walk away a rich man.

High school physics.

There is no such thing
as spontaneous generation.

Reynolds and his cronies
are making money.

It's coming
from somewhere.

The guys at the bottom.

My Uncle Sal--
40 years of sweat and ink

at Pylon Printing
in Queens.

The owner sells out to
a German corporation.

Your Uncle Sal
is history.

No medical,
no pension.

He's 68 years old

and all he's got
to show for it

is purple fingernails.

And no golden parachute.

Let's go see what happened
to the working stiffs.

FAIRLEE:
Excuse me.

You can't confiscate documents
without a warrant.

Why not?

McFadden's the victim,
not the suspect.

Of course, I just
thought...

Don't think.

Cooperate.

Over there.

Got to hand it to him.

He made it

but he wasn't afraid
to spend it.

A real philanthropist.
On this Evans & Black deal

his lawyers collected
close to two mil.

Maybe they earned it.

Listen to this.

Memo from his attorneys
"RE: Brooklyn plant.

"Collective bargaining
agreement with Local 8157

"expires November 30.

"It would therefore
be ill-advised

"to cease operations

prior to December 1."

McFadden was closing
that Brooklyn plant

from the get-go.

Screw the union
with legal approval.

His father worked
for the coal mines.

You'd think he'd have
sympathy for the grunts.

They sure had some for him.

This is a letter
from the union

agreeing to roll back
all the salaries by 15%.

To McFadden?

No, to the loan department

at Bank of the Five Boroughs.

"In order to induce the bank
to finance the acquisition

"of Evans & Black, Inc.
by Marshall McFadden.

"Signed: Edward Palmieri,

president of Guild
of American Industrial Workers."

He gets the union
to close the deal

then bites them
on the butt?

All's fair in M & A.

That union letter--
who did you say signed it?

Palmieri.

Palmieri.

Palmieri.

Palmieri.

Last month, a check
drawn on the account

of Ann McFadden
Cancer Foundation,

payable to Edward G. Palmieri

in the amount of
100,000 smackeroos.

Wow.

Do you think this Palmieri

moonlights as
a cancer specialist?

McFadden gets the union
to agree to future rollbacks.

Company looks
more profitable.

More attractive
to the bank.
It's all kosher.

Except McFadden never intended
to sign a new contract.

He planned on
shutting down the plant

when the union
contract expired.

It was a con.

And the union head
is running point.

A mook named Palmieri
pocketed 100 g's

from McFadden's
charitable foundation.

Fellas, what's wrong
with this picture?

McFadden is making Palmieri rich

and he's gonna kill
the golden goose?

This guy would
sell out the rank and file.

It doesn't make him a killer.

If the stakes
get high enough...

LOGAN:
All right.

Maybe there's a history
between McFadden and Palmieri.

Unions keep records.

A subpoena might help.

Well, how does a subpoena
duces tecum sound?

Means lay your cards

on our table.

You want documents,
you got documents.

My client is merely satisfying

the subpoena.

We asked for documents

relating to the union's
dealings with McFadden,

not the "History
of the World,

parts one and two."

The duces tecum was specific.

Duces my tuches. You want to
know something, you talk to me.

Tell us about the agreement
to roll back union bennies

when McFadden took over.

The old owners lived
in the Dark Ages.

They hold on, the Brooklyn plant
goes down the crapper.

If the Brooklyn plant
goes Chapter 11,

the union's
on the street.

Where I come from

something is better
than nothing.

Eddie agreed
to the rollback.

The bank likes the deal.

Everybody's happy.

Until the limey stabs us
in the back.

Us?

Looks like you did all right.

Are you implying something?

$100,000, payable

to your client
from McFadden's foundation.

Uh, that was for consulting.

We don't really care
about the payment.

What we're concerned with

is why the payer
is dead.

Wait a minute.

You guys think that I...?

My union's got 10,000 members.

10,000members.

The Brooklyn plant canned--
what?--

a couple hundred?

It's not even worth my time.

Eddie, whose time is it worth?

You charging me with something?

CRAGEN:
No, no, we're not

but maybe
the U.S. Attorney's Office

would be interested in
those consulting fees.

The boys who worked the plant--

got a couple of hotheads there.

Unemployment bennies
are running out--

some of them
have nothing left to lose.

Podosky, Dborkin,
Vilanis, and Black.

MAN:
...the Department of Labor.

My hands are tied.

Closed meeting, fellas.

We won't go in.

We'll just listen
at the doorway.

about unemployment benefits.
There's nothing we can do

Local 8157,
official business.

Get lost.

Shield 9215.

Ditto.

MAN:
We are scheduled to meet

with Department of Labor reps

of the month.
the first

gentlemen.
Everything takes time,

My recommendation is, therefore,

to work with the Economic
Development Council

and the state
insurance commissioner...

The insurance
commissioner

wouldn't know

a tool-and-die maker
from a cheeseburger.

( laughing )

You want the floor, Simon?

What happened
to our pension plan

shouldn't ever, ever
have happened in this country!

We paid into it
for 40 years, and now...

that policy in your hand?

You may as well wipe your arse
with it.

It's useless!

( cheers of agreement )

Let's hear it
for the rank and file.

politicians, managers,
We trusted

and those clowns on 52nd Street
with their expensive suits

that we paid for with our dues!

to overthrow Palmieri, Simon.
We all know you want

Overthrow nothing.

How about throwing him
in the East River?

That's right!

You tell 'em!

So, Mr. Vilanis,

what happened
to your pension plan?

Before McFadden
closed the plant

he took our contributions,
invested them in junk bonds.

With the market today,

we're lucky to get
ten cents on the dollar.

Were you serious,
back there,

about dumping the union heads
in the river?

Yeah, right.

I shot McFadden
in the back, too.

In the head.

In the head!

( coughing )

I wish.

Are you serious?

At this point,
you're the best we have.

You have
an alibi, Simon?

I was drinking over at Nooch's
in Red Hook

till closing time, probably.

Same as most nights.

Are you sure
about that?

Either there,

or St. Eligius Hospital
in Brooklyn.

Every other Thursday's
party time at the clinic.

Oh...

here we go.

The old owners,

they got their ounce
of flesh,
definitely,

but they also offered us
a 99-year lease

at 150 per month.

150 bucks?

Those were the good old days.

Then McFadden
and his bean counters

got into the act.

First thing they did
was discover $120 million

in hidden assets-- i.e.,

20 buildings just like that one.

But you had a lease.

99 years...

or until there was no longer
an Evans plant

in Brooklyn.

He closes shop,

he's got a lot of real estate.

Up there, top floor.

Only two bedrooms,
but we raised three kids

and we got along somehow.

Today, it's luxury condos
for the upwardly mobile exec.

He just tossed
you people out, huh?

Naturally,
we couldn't come up

with the down payment.

Now the economy's down the john.

Even the yuppies
can't afford the luxury.

The McFadddens of the world
leave a lot of wreckage behind.

You don't know the half of it.

Your doctor, Simon.

My doctor?

Dr. Bergman.

You mind
if we talk to him?

Her. Her!

Go ahead.

She's a laugh a minute.

Alveolar carcinoma
of the right lung.

CERRETA:
Which is?

Consolidation
of the air spaces.

It's a tumor--
lung cancer.

Is that from
two packs a day?

Could be.

Could also be 30 years
of breathing in chemicals.

The prognosis?

Cough, profuse sputum,
often blood-streaked.

Untreated, a patient
can survive up to nine months.

With treatment,
the overall survival rate

is still less
than ten percent.

Damn.

That's the good news.

I doubt he can afford
the chemo much longer.

But insurance
would cover it.

If he had it.

Excuse the pun,

but his life savings
is saving his life--

or prolonging it,
anyway--

and he doesn't seem like a guy

who rolls over CDs
for a living.

Treatment's expensive.
How much longer can it last?

Thursday night--
was he here?

The man's prompt.

Checked in at 8:00.

CERRETA:
Out by 9:00?

Does this look like Lenox Hill?

This is a clinic,
Detective.

First come,
first serve.

Thursday was busy.

I saw Mr. Vilanis at 11:30.

So Vilanis left the clinic
at 12:30.

He hops into a cab,
blows McFadden away at 5:00.

What's the problem?

The man is dying.

Which means
he has nothing to lose.

McFadden took his job,

his money,
his house, his health.

Sounds like McFadden
deserved it.

Yeah, well, your guy Vilanis

is not exactly
St. Thomas, either.

Four months ago-- assault.

Vilanis was arrested
for tossing an egg at McFadden.

Charges were dropped, but...

But what?
McFadden died

of eggshells
in the brain?

There's also
a weapons charge in Brooklyn.

That was four years ago,
Donny.

I think we're spinning our
wheels with Vilanis. We're
hassling this little guy

while these rich yahoos
are laughing all the
way to the bank.

Unless you got
something better,

check out the charges
in Brooklyn,

and if it's not too much trouble

take Robin Hood
with you.

Vilanis, Simon J.,
arrested 1988 for CPW Three.

Knocked down
to prohibited use of a weapon.

Judge gave him
a conditional discharge.

It's an Easter Sunday tradition
with Greek Orthodoxes.

A few ouzos and they're
taking shots at the moon.

Not realizing
what goes up comes down.

Stupid, but in this case,
a misdemeanor.

He had a permit.

Could I have
the serial number?

Yeah.

A-J-7,
3-9-9-2-1.

Smith and Wesson,
.38 caliber.

Thanks, Sarge.

Now let's hope that Simon's
Smith and Wesson

is in his bedside table
next to Gideon.

I was half in the bag.

But an egg...

Well, it seemed like
a good idea at the time.

A message to McFadden.

You should have seen that egg...

dripping down his face.

( deep, hacking cough )

You sure you want
to fire one of those up?

This has nothing
to do with it.

It's that damn air
in the plant.

36 years.

Maybe if you talked
to a lawyer...

That's another part
of the conspiracy.

That shyster on Madison,
he saw me coming.

$5,000 nonrefundable retainer.

"Case like this," he said,

"must be worth ten million,
minimum."

So I write him a check.

And?

The guy gets in a cab

and goes out to the plant
with his expert.

He comes back, he says to me,
"Sorry. No case."

"Why?"

"Because what you got
could have been caused

just by breathing the air
in Brooklyn."

That's it?

He sent me a bill for the cab.

Simon, your gun--

do you mind if we
have a look at it?

If you can find it.

It disappeared
a couple of weeks ago.

Thursday, the 23rd.

My night to get chemo.

And you reported it, I hope.

Reported it?

This is the third time
they broke into this dump.

The first time they broke in,
they took my television set.

The cops came out,
they said, "It's too bad."

The next break-in,

they took my
record player.

The cops didn't even show up.

The third time...

go down to the station?
What do you say we

Maybe somebody turned it in.

Maybe you'll get lucky.

Maybe I'll win the lottery.

So we'll just go
have a little talk,

with the super, okay?

Detective Mike Logan.

Sorry to bother you.

Did you see
anybody suspicious

hanging around
Mr. Vilanis's apartment

two weeks ago Thursday?

No.

No? You're positive?

Yeah.

He never sees anything
till the first of the month.

Then his eyesight improves.

It's worth a shot

but if he really
did kill McFadden

you think he's going
to identify his own gun?

He's an honorable man.
You never know.

Right. He was George
Washington in a previous
life? Come on, Phil.

We're up.

I don't have to tell you.

A lot of guys
are dying to talk.

We'll see.

Take your time.

It looked like this.

I don't know, but mine
never had any tape.

Make sure, Simon, huh?

He's not sure--
not yet.

Yeah? Well,
maybe this will help.

The FBI retrieved
six of the eight filed-
off serial numbers.

It's his gun
for sure.

You better tell your friend
to call a lawyer,

and Phil, don't forget
to read him his rights.

Usually,
I'm half in the bag.

Oh, Simon...

( coughing )

JUDGE:
I'm getting behind here,
Counselor.

Why does Mr. Vilanis
refuse to enter a plea?

He wants
to represent himself.

I hate pro se cases.

Did he bring his own soapbox,
or does he expect the court

to provide one?

ROBINETTE:
The People
aren't thrilled.

By the time he learns
the rules of procedure,

we'll all have gray hair.

Meaning what?

He's stalling?

Always a good tactic.

Mr. Vilanis
can't afford to stall.

He's dying
of lung cancer.

I've read his file,
Miss Cantwell.

I'm going to enter a not guilty
plea on the defendant's behalf.

I'd appreciate it if you'd act
as the man's ad hoc advisor.

Of course,
and I suggest ROR.

The man needs chemotherapy
every Thursday.

Any arguments, Paul?

SCHIFF:
What's the problem?

If Vilanis is that sick,
take a plea, get it over with.

You don't think I tried?

You got enough
to convict or what?

Motive,
ample opportunity--

the brokerage firm was unsecured

plus the FBI
ballistics report.

Get a trial date.

Get it over with, quick, easy.

It may not be
that easy.

I used to pick up my grandfather
after his chemo treatments.

Yeah. And?

And all he could do afterwards
was puke his guts out

and then fall into bed.

Let me talk to the man.

I checked with Dr. Bergman
at St. Eligius, Simon.

She said the floor was jammed
the night McFadden was hit.

She didn't get around to you
till almost midnight.

I shouldn't be talking to you
without a lawyer.

You're representing yourself,
Simon, remember?

You're your
own lawyer.

Oh, yeah.

And then... she gave you
a dose of doxorubicin?

Yeah.

And 120 milligrams
of CIS-platinum?

Yeah.

That's heavy chemotherapy.

Way too heavy to go out

and stalk somebody

and then shoot them.

So what's the story?

What's with this
pro se nonsense?

I want my day in court

to show what that bastard
did to us.

But you didn't kill McFadden.

Nope, but I'd make
a hell of a scapegoat,

me and my big mouth.

When your gun was stolen,
did they break in or what?

Somebody picked the lock, or...

Or had a key.

Listen, I pay

900 bucks a month
for this dump.

Who could afford
to hand out spare keys?

You okay?

Yeah, yeah.

When your insurance
crapped out

wasn't there anyone
you could turn to?

The Labor Department--
occupational illness.

But I wasn't
their number-one priority,

shall we say?

It's not just Simon Vilanis.
Hundreds of workers had
their health plans gutted.

We're aware of that.

Mr. Vilanis's story
is known to us.

You can stonewall him,
but not me.

He told you that?

Yeah.

Figures.

The man's in trouble.

That's what I'm saying.

He thinks no one listens
to him, but far from it.

Okay, you listen.

Listened.

I gave our investigation

to the Justice Department
for prosecution.

Who at Justice?

Fellow named Cousins
in the Bank Fraud division.

McFadden used
the workers' health fund

to finance a takeover--

he and some bank
he had in his pocket.

What bank?

Bank of the Five Boroughs.

You'd better talk to Cousins,
if you can find him.

They shut down
his office--

budget cut.

When was that?

When he was this close
to indicting McFadden.

Are we talking bank fraud
or murder

or we don't know?

We're looking for a connection.

Apparently the victim
was about to be indicted.

Apparently?

What's going on?

is getting bigger.
The case

McFadden was
the classic '80s shark.

old, failing companies--
He'd go after

take whatever was worth
salvaging.
In this case,

the workers' housing, health and
pension funds.

Which he invested
in high-risk bonds that failed.

Then he dumped the company

and the lender
just wrote off the loss.

Sure.

Someone at the bank
was profiting from the takeover.

Who?

The lender was
the Bank of the Five Boroughs.

These are
the officers.

Adam?

What?

I know that bank.

Dwight Corcoran is the chairman.

Governor Corcoran,
former Secretary of State,

Ambassador to England--
that Corcoran?

That Corcoran.

He and I cut our teeth together
in politics,

right out of law school.

Why isn't he listed
as a bank officer?

The man is 68.

I doubt if he's in there
counting bills

every day.

What happened, I guess,

is someone heard
of McFadden's pending indictment

and figured he'd panic
and take a plea.

Only Justice would be privy
to that information.

Someone at the bank
got nervous...

This murder
could have been preemptive.

at Justice,
We find the leak

squeeze him,
and find the killer.

Where is
that Justice investigator?

Cousins is his name?

Doing pro bono work
on Liberty Street.

I've called there twice.

He's never in.

Try him again.

I'll see what I can find out
from the other end.

You leave
the Justice Department,

you can get hired
on Park Avenue.

Sure. I can represent banks.
I'm an expert, after all.

I'll take widows and orphans
hurt by exploding toasters.

Maybe I don't sleep better,

but at least I like getting
out of bed in the morning.

Who was in bed
with Marshall McFadden?

Half of official Washington.

They stay under
the covers together?

I'd hear about a file
at the IRS--

Whoops, misplaced.

Comptroller of Currency--

they treated me like
I was stealing silverware.

I thought you had
sufficient evidence.

I was ready
to indict McFadden

with eight counts
of bank fraud.

Suddenly, they were changing
the locks on my office door.

"They"?

They.

Told me
it was budgetary.

Before you were shut down,
who was on your staff?

I'll need names, addresses.

Ben Turner.
He moved over to HUD.

Kevin Morehead at Trott
and Donovan, Park Avenue.

Mike McNeer, I hear...
maybe a monastery.

You got this wrong.

Nobody in my office told anybody
we were indicting McFadden.

Let's hope so.

40 years, Adam.

Did we ever back a winner?

We backed you
for governor.

Hell of a lot
different than backing.

Without your brilliant
political strategies,

I'd have never seen Albany.

Don't act so modest.

If you'd run
my second campaign,

maybe I wouldn't have been
a one-term wonder.

You made your mark
in other ways.

The road less traveled?

No regrets here.

Then why the sudden
turn into banking?

Maybe this is a battle
I can win.

Our contemporaries--

they're not just
the captains of industry.

They're the generals.

Envy? Ridiculous.

With your record,

they're going to be naming
junior high schools after you.

My children,
their children--

when my time has come,

I'd like to give them more
than a folded American flag.

The bank asked me
to sit on the board.

My name-- to them,
it's worth a lot of money.

Dwight, is there anything
I should know

about your bank's business?

Adam, we've been friends
for more than four decades.

If there was anything,

believe me,
you'd be the first to know.

Thank you.

I've done complete bios

on everyone involved
in the McFadden investigation.

Rappoport and McNeer
aren't connected to the bank.

And Morehead?

Inherited his old man's
blue blood,

who is currently the senior
partner at Tyler and Jones.

Guess who ran their
international department,

in the early '70s?

Dwight Corcoran.

Whose biggest client
at the time

was a young British upstart
named...

Marshall McFadden.

I want Mr. Morehead in my office
first thing tomorrow morning.

So there was a leak.

What is it, a slow news day?

You're the only one
who was privy

to the pending indictment
of McFadden

and connected
to Dwight Corcoran.

We know what you did,
Mr. Morehead.

The only remaining issue

is how long
you'll spend in prison.

Wait a minute.

Even if I did
speak out of school,

your office has no jurisdiction
and you know it.

You don't understand.

We are charging you
as an accomplice to murder.

You can't do that.

Yes, I can, sir,

and I most definitely will.

Full immunity,
state and federal.

How you work it out
is your problem.

You got to keep this
in perspective.

It was the crazy '80s.

Banks were floating loans

to every creep
in a three-piece suit.

Five Boroughs was no different.

200 million in failed loans
since '82.

Someone there was making money

because of the bad loans
to McFadden.

I never thought it was Corcoran.

Then why the leak?

I grew up believing

that Dwight Corcoran
was a good man.

I wanted to let him know
that he was being investigated,

so that he could disassociate
himself from the bank.

I never thought...

I had nothing
to do with any murder.

You look like
the messenger

who's afraid
he's going to be killed.

I'm afraid the message
might kill the recipient.

Well?

Paul connected one of the staff
lawyers in Cousins' office

with one of the bank officers,
all right.

Apparently, the man's father

was Corcoran's law partner
back in the '50s.

And he told Corcoran

about the pending indictment
on McFadden.

I'm afraid so, Adam.

Don't be.

No fear, no favor.

You know, that's an old liberal
muckraker's campaign slogan.

As a result of these
preliminary findings,

my office will begin
a full-scale investigation

of fraud
in the banking industry.

We're targeting what may amount

to nearly $700 million worth
of fraudulent loans.

That concludes my statement.

I'm ready for questions.

I've heard that the Bank
of the Five Boroughs

might be investigated.

Could you comment?

Any bank
within our jurisdiction

might be a target.

Do you have information
about the Five Boroughs?

Yes.

Will you also target
individual bank officers?

Yes.

How far up the ladder
are you prepared to go?

The investigation will go
wherever it goes.

Isn't Governor Corcoran
chairman of the bank?

That's our understanding.

Don't you have
a relationship with him?

Yes. Friendship
is no guarantee of immunity.

"Friends" doesn't mean he'll
get preferential treatment.

Do you want your own lecture?

It's not about
conflict of interest,

but the appearance
of conflict.

The press has you
joined at the hip.

Why throw fuel on the fire?
We recuse ourselves,

the appellate division
appoints a special prosecutor.

Recusal is mandatory
only if there's

a business relationship
with the defendant.

Dwight was my friend
and my political ally.

Still, if we don't recuse
we may compromise

the perceived integrity
of this office.

Not if we convict
the son of a bitch.

Get me a smoking gun.
Start at the bottom.

Somebody broke into
Vilanis's apartment that night.

ROBINETTE:
Well? Were you home
that night or not?

No, I wasn't home.

You told the police

you didn't see
anything suspicious.

If you weren't here,

how did you see
anything?

Lying to the police
is a felony.

It's called obstruction.

All right, there was a guy.

He said he was a buddy
of Vilanis.

You know, from the union.

What did he want?

He said Vilanis
sent him over

to get some things from
his room, some papers
for their meeting.

And you let him in?

He had a union button,
you know, on his jacket.

Did he take anything
out of the room?

I wasn't paying attention.

You pay attention
to what he looked like?

He had black hair

and cowboy boots--

you know,
with the metal tips.

He was a piece of work.

( coughing )

You want some juice?

No, thanks.

Well, it...
it sounds like Joey Boots.

That's Joey Palmieri,
the Hoboken cowboy.

Any relation
to Eddie Palmieri?

The head of the union?

Are you suggesting
there's nepotism

in local 8157?

( chuckles )

That's Eddie Palmieri's
cousin--

his wacko cousin.

He takes orders from Eddie?

He's supposed to work
for the union.

With a little arm-twisting
and a little leg-breaking,

Joey's your man.

Why? What did he do now?

That's still an open question.

JOEY:
You guys are nuts.

Vilanis is nuts. All
that hacking knocked
his screws loose.

Do you deny

you were in his room?

Sure I deny it.

You work
for Local 8157,

is that correct?

That's right.

And you take orders

from your cousin,
Eddie Palmieri?

I take orders
from the rank and file.

Just what do you do
for the rank and file, sir?

I promote union solidarity
and discipline.

You're both Palmieris.

Don't give us that.

He is my cousin,
not my Siamese twin.

His life does not concern me.

He breaks in, steals a gun,

uses the gun to kill the guy
who's lining your pockets.

It would concern me.

Joey Boots
killed McFadden.

We know that.

We also know that he
took orders from you.

You got proof
Joey offed the guy,

I'll testify
against him myself.

As for the money,
it's totally above board.

McFadden pays you...

PALMIERI:
McFadden gave me shinola.

It was his wife's foundation.
I did some consulting.

You expect me to
believe that, Eddie?

You sold out your union.

I tried to save it.

There's a recession.

We had to make cutbacks.

The letter to the bank was
legit, the payment was legit.

You want my cousin Joey?

Why don't you give him a
migraine for a change?

The union boss was the link.

Eddie Palmieri facilitated deals

between McFadden
and Corcoran's bank.

Not enough--
I want a smoking gun.

His cousin was
the trigger man.

I want a smoking gun
with fingerprints.

What about the payment--
$100,000?

The check
was made out to Palmieri.

He's still sticking
by his consulting fee story.

Then we need more.

A check signed by McFadden--
that's not enough?

No.

It wasn't McFadden himself.

It was a foundation, remember?

The Ann McFadden Foundation.

The what?

The Ann McFadden Foundation

for Cancer Research.

I gave him $1,000
every year for five years.

That foundation...

one year, we were
on the banquet committee.

Him?

Dwight Corcoran--

trustee of the foundation.

He had to approve all checks.

So it was Corcoran
who paid Palmieri, not McFadden.

The money had to
be for the hit.

No way Corcoran wants

to do heavy jail time.

A little push,
he'll give us the Palmieris.

That's exactly what I want you
to tell Palmieri.

You want us
to deal Eddie and Joey?

I want Corcoran.

So you cajoled
Mr. Vilanis's landlord

into letting you in.

And then what?

Then I found the guy's gun...

taped the handle and the trigger

and stuck it
in my pocket.

Back home, I filed
the numbers down.

STONE:
And you used the gun to kill
Mr. McFadden, right?

That's right.

Why did you use

Mr. Vilanis as your scapegoat?

The guy had a big mouth.

Everybody in the union knew
he hated McFadden,

'cause he took over the company
and ran it into the ground.

And?

Plus he's dying of cancer,
so what the hell?

What's he going
to care, right?

Who paid you to do the hit?

My cousin Eddie.

Tell me, Mr. Palmieri,

do you recognize
People's Exhibit 37-M?

Yes, I do.

It is a check for $100,000,

made out to you

and drawn from the account

of the Ann McFadden Foundation,
is that right?

Yeah, that's right.

On the books, it was supposed
to pay for my union people

to set up the tables and stuff

for the annual banquet.

The foundation's annual banquet?

Yeah, that's right.

Mr. Corcoran had the check

signed by the secretary.

Objection. Outside the scope
of the witness' knowledge.

Let me rephrase
the question.

How did this check get
into your hands, sir?

Well, I was having dinner
at Park's Steak House

and Mr. Corcoran came in
and joined me for dessert.

Then what happened?

He gave me the check.

He told me
to take care of the problem

that we had discussed earlier.

What problem?

McFadden's indictment.

He said if McFadden
goes down,

he'll name names

and we'll all go down
with him.

So the check wasn't
for setting up tables.

You kidding?

Marshall McFadden, right?
It was to kill

Objection.

Withdrawn.

Tell me, Mr. Palmieri,

why did Mr. Corcoran
pay you $100,000?

You know.

It was to kill the English guy,
McFadden.

Thank you.

MALE REPORTER:
Mr. Corcoran, could we get
a statement from you?

( reporters clamoring )

SCHIFF:
Norwich...

bring him around
the back stairs.

Thank you, Adam.

Thank you.

I could use a friend.

You always did, Dwight.

That was always the problem.

What is your reaction
to the decision?

Captioning sponsored by
NBC/Universal

Captioned by
access.wgbh.org oup at WGBH