All language subtitles for Law and Order S02E21 Silence.DVDRip.NonHI.en.UNVSL

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 offenders.

These are their stories.

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.

Do you think I would
discuss this with my sister?

- Sally's a therapist.
- The problem is not
with the big head, Jesse.

You're being childish.

You folks hear
Howard this morning?

He was really goin'
off on some poor broad.

You mind?

Driver: Look out!

Man: What the
hell are you doing?

Cop: 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 10th Avenue.

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.

16th District. He's a
long way from home.

20, 40, 60, 80...

83 bucks and a
full deck of plastic.

- Too busy to rob him.
- Disgruntled voter?

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

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

Vogel attended a benefit

for the New York Women's
Foundation at the Democratic Club.

The doorman remembers him
leaving, by himself, a little after 10:30.

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

Now if anybody saw this hit, they
didn't stay around to tell us about it.

Word's out... maybe
some witness will show up.

Right, and maybe I'll
grow wings and learn to fly.

I sat on a panel
last year with Vogel.

Safe schools, juvenile
violence, that kind of thing.

A lot of grandstanding,
but not Vogel.

I'm telling you, this guy
is one of the good ones.

Sometimes the good guys
step on the wrong toes.

The family's been
in politics a long time.

There's bound to
be some sore losers.

Well, I want this one
in the win column.

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

the victim had a number of blunt-force
wounds across the front of his body.

Started out just
wanting to hurt him.

In for a dime or a dollar, it
doesn't make much difference now.

We have a dorsal wound
beginning in the upper right quadrant.

One upward thrust.

The blade entered the abdominal
cavity just under the ribcage,

proceeded up through the kidney
and transected the renal vein.

Logan: Two heartbeats
and he's gone.

- Rodgers: The bleeding's
all internal... no pain, no stain.
- Cerreta: Mark of a craftsman.

Jim pushed for literacy programs,
rights for elderly tenants...

Hardly anything you
would call controversial.

I know a couple of landlords
who might beg to differ.

He built bridges, not walls.

I ran his constituent
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 didn't practice that way. He
said, "Favors will get you in trouble."

- Cerreta: Was he ambitious?
- In right amounts, yes.

But nobody owned him.

Maybe they had
a short-term lease.

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.

A father is an easy touch.

In my family, we don't
write blank checks.

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.

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.

No, we don't think
robbery was a motive.

You're looking for a motive?

How about just
for the hell of it?

That's a popular one these days.

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...
This guy 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 the Vice
Squad had the wrong impression.

People come here to
feel safe, nothing more.

- And 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?

The past few weeks James was
talking about turning his life around.

- Taking the big step.
- The big step?

He was thinking of
coming out... of the closet.

He was wondering how
well he was going to handle it.

He was worried about
his family, his career.

He never expected it
would cost him his life.

What are you saying,
that this is a 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 can be a
matter of life and death.

You said he had been
thinking about coming

out, but he hadn't
actually hadn't done so.

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.

I'm sorry about what
happened to James Vogel.

I'm even sorrier he didn't come out
of the closet while he was still alive.

Stick around to watch you
do it for him, Mr. Barclay?

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?

James Vogel could
have been a role model.

Don't you think that
should've been 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.

Good, do you mind if
we see those letters?

If I were running a
public library, maybe.

The person who gave you those letters was
probably trying to blackmail James Vogel.

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

I gotta protect my sources.

We'll probably have to get a material
witness warrant and pull you in.

Which means you sit in a cell
until we get a look at 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.

Mr. Vogel, the more
open you are with us,

the easier this is going to be.

What do you mean?

We're already aware of your
son's sexual orientation, sir.

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
your son was not gay?

Of course he wasn't.

Those freaks in the West Village
would've liked nothing better

than to have claimed
James as one of their own.

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

but our information
does seem reliable.

Oh yes, I'm sure...
Reliable political sources.

We also suspect that your
son was being blackmailed.

- The $50,000.
- What about it?

We find it hard to
believe that you'd give him

all that money
without any questions.

- I told you, I trusted him.
- I understand that, but weren't
you concerned?

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

Cerreta: You didn't
ask him 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
PO 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.

He was 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 he was 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 James Vogel?

I put a personal
in "The Advocate."

He sent me a letter. We
started a little correspondence.

Mm-hmm. Casual correspondence?

Conversation... just like
two guys sitting at a bar.

We got the idea you talked about
more than just the latest scores.

So it went a little
deeper than that.

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

Man gets lonely.

You got a problem with that?

I got a problem when
a man gets 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.

Doesn't take long for a smart
guy like you to figure that out.

So smart that I'm taking
his shake-down money

and living in a dump like this.

Guy said he'd help
me get back on my feet.

I look stupid enough
to blackmail him?

Truth or Dare... You
ever play as a kid?

Stakes keep going up until someone opens
up their big mouth and steps right in.

The adult version starts
with an ad in the personals.

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?

As I recall, prisons keep records
of their prisoner's 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 are required to
submit outgoing mail to us

unsealed, for
inspection purposes.

We don't actually read
every word they write.

But you would keep a record
of 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.

He even taught some of our
high school equivalency classes.

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

Jeez, 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
is what got him there.

Yeah, well, 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, just said he
was a friend of Dwyer's.

I thought it might
have been him, but...

- Cerreta: Was the call collect?
- I don't... does it matter?

Inmates can only call collect.

No, I'm pretty sure it wasn't.

So what else did this
person say, Mr. Lingard?

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 come by to pick it up.

So 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?

Yeah, but this'll only take a
couple minutes of your time...

Yeah... thank you.

Uh-huh. Yes, sir, I do
appreciate your situation.

Well, if you could help
me, I cou... hello? He...

Mr. Harris makes 0-for-six.

Three of these guys are married.

You gotta 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.

We know that Dwyer had somebody
on the outside helping him out.

Yeah, would've had to talk to
'em before he got out of the pen.

What do you want to
do... phones or visitors?

Phones.

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

Called his wife in Binghamton
every Sunday night.

And 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
kinda late for appeals?

So why all the traffic?

The architect said the guy on
the phone was slick and pushy.

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 use the telephone?

What, are you worried
I'm overcharging him?

You ever talk to a Jay Lingard?

No, I never heard of him.

He's an architect. He was one of Harold
Dwyer's pen-pals while he was in prison.

Sorry, 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, what, my
client's somehow involved?

He did exchange
letters with Mr. Vogel.

What a coincidence.
I'm sure Mr. Vogel

also wrote his congressman on
occasion. Is he a suspect, too?

If there were indications
of blackmail, mm-hmm.

And Dwyer did all this when,

while he was in prison? He's
been out less than two weeks.

We think he had an
accomplice on the outside.

Clever boys.

Look, 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,
starts making noise.

Dwyer and Colson
look to shut him up.

Or they send the
letters to the magazine.

The word starts
getting out about Vogel.

The hit looks like
a gay bashing.

Only we can't connect
Colson to Vogel.

We could check his LUDs, but I
don't think he'd be stupid enough

to call somebody from his
own 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 come work for you?

You can shoot a
gun, you got a job.

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

Look, we play this by the
book, I gotta get a subpoena,

you gotta spend the day in
the precinct while I fill out forms.

Like I'd mind?

Like 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.

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.

Next time you get a
pickup order from Colson,

you call us... but that's
before you deliver the package.

You gotta find some other way.

I got... I got a schedule here.

Come on, sweetheart, you're
too busy to make one call?

Or maybe we just have to get a warrant
on every package that comes through here.

This isn't right.

I've cooperated plenty already.

Yeah, okay, then one
more time won't kill ya.

Cragen: The official line is,

Councilman Vogel was the unfortunate
victim of a common street mugging.

Anything else is speculation
we have no comment on.

If we make an arrest, this
story's gonna come out.

As long as it doesn't
come from us.

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

- This comes from Division?
- Right from the top.

Let me just guess... Edward
Vogel pays a little visit to the chief...

One five minute phone call.

What, he's doing his son a
favor by being ashamed of him?

How close are we on this?

Oh, look, we get a
hit on this delivery...

The courier service
called this morning.

They have a delivery for Colson
from an address in Kew Gardens.

Dwyer was writing to
a George Harris there.

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

We checked Dwyer's
alibi the night of the murder.

He says he got tanked
in some dive on Mulberry.

Barkeep remembers him
stumbling out at half-past midnight,

but he doesn't remember
when he came in.

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 right there?

- The warrant first.
- Cerreta: 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 have 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?

Sorry... privileged.

Only if the payments
were for legal fees.

Why the hell else
would he pay me?

I don't know...
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.

Karla?

He's right, you know.

We can't tie him to
anything, ditto on Dwyer.

Somebody gave Vogel's
letters to "Outword" magazine.

It'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.

We're asking for the
sources of your material.

I don't see the difference.

No protection of sources
equals no free press.

- The Supreme Court...
- Has never said that.

And I doubt if the
present court ever will.

I'm not merely asserting
my rights, Mr. Stone.

Freedom of the press
is the public's right.

If sources were fair game,

Anita Hill'd still be some
unknown professor in Oklahoma.

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

For contempt, fine. It's a
sacrifice I'm willing to make.

Stone: Not for contempt, sir.

For conspiracy to commit
blackmail and murder.

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.

Letters in your possession
were used to blackmail Mr. Vogel.

Stone: At a minimum,
you're withholding

crucial evidence to a
murder investigation.

At a 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?

Hey, I'm not about to get sued.

Experts compared
Vogel's handwriting.

- I want those letters.
- Do I have a choice?

If you want to avoid an indictment,
no, Mr. Barclay, you don't.

- Adam: How bad?
- Bad enough to not
want them published.

All written by Vogel?

And all mailed to
Dwyer in Ossining.

I figure Dwyer is the point man,
he gave the letters to Colson,

who then handled the blackmail.

Mm-hmm. 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.

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

Get someone to testify.

Man: I already
told the police...

I paid a legal bill in
cash. What's the big deal?

Stone: No big deal, if
it had just been once.

The courier says you sent packages
to Mr. Colson every other week.

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.

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 did you pay him?

It was supposed
to stop at 50,000.

Colson came back for more?

Colson, no... I never heard of.

It was just a voice
on the phone.

Said that it was gonna
cost me another 25.

Would you recognize that voice?

Well, there's no
need... I taped the call.

You know, just in case
anything happened.

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

We can subpoena you, sir.

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

You 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 to keep his secret.

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 closed the courtroom?

No press, no cameras.

We assure him his
identity remains secret.

Can you get a judge
to agree to that?

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.

So have Colson
and Dwyer arrested,

and let's hope we draw
a sympathetic judge.

Docket number 59422,

People versus 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.

Judge: Recommendation
on bail, Mr. Robinette?

500,000 on each.

It's excessive, Your Honor.

In this economy, Your Honor, the
State might as well ask for a million.

No way we can
raise that kind of cash.

This is America,
Counselor... Borrow.

Bail is set at 300,000 each.

Clerk: Docket number 60784...

Tomorrow, 2:30. Preliminary
conference, Judge Strelzik's chambers.

Closed courtroom?

You gotta 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, that's absurd.

Not when there's
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.

No way, Mr. Stone.

You told me complete anonymity.

Judge Strelzik will have
to know who you are.

There is 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?

The gag order, for
one. He'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."

Stone: And that was Mr. Dwyer?

Yes.

At first, it was just a
friendly correspondence...

About sports and current
events and that sort of thing.

Stone: What happened then?

He... 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
a 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.

Sir, did the persons
blackmailing you

ever threaten you
with physical harm?

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?

Your Honor, the only
issue relevant to this hearing

is whether the witness
is in physical danger.

He just said that he
wasn't even threatened.

In any case, Your Honor,
this witness has given

no evidence whatsoever
concerning my client.

The voice on this tape
is clearly identifiable.

Well, fine, let's hear it.

That alone is enough to give the
witness away, put him in jeopardy.

Is his name
mentioned on the tape?

No, it isn't... but your client could
easily recall the conversation.

For God sakes, Ben.

Peter Colson is an upstanding
member of the bar, he's not an animal.

Someone killed James Vogel,

and I'm not willing to let
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.

Yeah, it's amazing... A
bunch of lawyers get together,

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, at
minimum, we get him on extortion.

If Harris takes the stand.
This just landed on my desk.

A writ of prohibition?

Barclay, the editor of
"Outword" 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 gotta have
some pretty deep pockets.

The right to a public
trial is guaranteed

by both the Sixth and
the 14th Amendments.

This is a balancing
test, Your Honor.

That right weighed against the
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 a poten...

Of one overly paranoid
witness? Please.

A real person's life is
in jeopardy, Your Honor.

Surely that outweighs
any intangible benefits

to a general public which is
in no way affected by this case.

So we rewrite the First
Amendment, freedom of the press,

but 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, Your Honor.

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 God-given right to
peek in on the woes of others.

- Your Honor...
- 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 an open courtroom.

I can't win without him.

He wants to see Colson walk? No.

But he's entitled
to be a little selfish.

And I'll tell you what, I
don't know if I blame him.

What about the tape?

You can offer that into
evidence without his testimony.

Without authentication,
it's worthless, right?

He did give a sworn statement
in Judge Strelzik's chambers.

And he was cross-examined
by opposing counsel, but...

The transcripts never mentioned
his name. Are they admissible?

"CPL, Section 670-10:

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.

And screaming doesn't make
it inadmissible, Ms. Bowman.

We subpoenaed the
witness to testify, Your Honor,

but it seems he's
relocated, address unknown.

Attorney suspects that
he's gone out of state.

And I suspect we got major-league
manipulation goin' on here.

Strelzik: Then
you're free to appeal.

As far as I can see,
the requirements

of CPL 670 have been satisfied.

The witness' prior sworn
testimony can be read into evidence.

Harris's voice: I've already given
you $50,000. I can't afford any more.

Colson's voice: I don't really
give a damn. It's another 25,

or that closet door swings
wide open, my friend.

Now 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
several counts of larceny by extortion.

And it won't take a
major leap of faith

to construct a convincing
argument for murder two.

You're dreaming.

Well, if you want
something badly enough,

dreams have a
way of coming true.

Do you want to take
that chance, Counselor?

What are you offering?

If he didn't know about the
murder, 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.

Colson: Dwyer's
brainstorming. I was desperate.

The economy went south,
my business went with it.

I was in a hole...
Mortgage, child support.

Stone: How much did you collect?

Six guys, 50 grand each.

And you and Dwyer would
split it when he got out?

That was the plan.

My ex moved for an upward
modification of our settlement agreement.

I needed cash... I
didn't expect Dwyer

to be released until
at least September.

I came up short.

So you went back
to Vogel for more?

But he wasn't buying.
He had enough.

- And Dwyer took care of him.
- Stone: 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.

Robinette: We've
checked your bank records.

We know you made a
large cash withdrawal

the day before Jim was killed.

Stone: You knew all along.

- With your testimony, we could've
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,

and 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 Helen
Murphy's legal fees.

To open up a courtroom?
Doesn't make sense.

Think it through, Adam.

With the press in the courtroom,
there's no way George Harris testifies.

Without his testimony,
we can't go to trial.

And no one ever knows
that the boy was gay.

Vogel would rather see Dwyer and
Colson go free than tarnish his good name.

Adam: 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.

Ahh, that explains why
he's got a call in to me.

A subpoena?

Really, Adam.

Without your testimony,
the murder case disappears.

I'm familiar with how city
business is conducted.

Then 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

and nothing to do
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 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.

Mr. Vogel, isn't it true your
son borrowed $50,000 from you?

I can enter the bank
statements as evidence...

Yes, he was my
son. I lent him money.

And did he tell
you what it was for?

This is ridiculous. 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.

Were you proud of him?

Jimmy could have been mayor.

He was smart,
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...

After all the years of pain,
he didn't care anymore.

He told me it was
his life, not mine.

And they...

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.

Then what did Mr. Dwyer do?

Vogel: 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.

Strelzik: 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 that he loved his son.

And you don't think he did?

Acceptance before love, right?

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

It'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.