Original subtitles

** [man singing prayer]

[blows match out]

[reciting Hebrew prayer]

Your Honor, I'd like to make an application

for bail reduction.

My client, Lieutenant Finello,

has 12 years in the police department.

He's married 14 years.

Three children.

He has deep roots in the community.

** [singing Hebrew prayer]

The defendant, Mr. Finello,

has been arrested on a serious charge,

and, if convicted, could face a stiff prison sentence.

Your honor, we don't believe the D.A.

has a very strong case.

Therefore, my client has no reason to run.

[reciting Hebrew prayer]

[coughing]

Stevie?

I called Dr. Gottlieb again today.

He says Stevie's probably got that flu going around.

After considering the, uh,

defendant's work and home record,

I, um-- I find that he does have roots

in the community,

and I don't find any threat of flight.

We will adjourn this case for six weeks.

[gavel pounds]

Finello had an impeccable record

as a police officer.

Two years ago, your impeccable defendant

was busted back to the bag

and ended up pounding the pavement

for taking bribes from drug dealers in his precinct.

You hungry? My treat.

Big spender.

How many? Four.

Sauerkraut and mustard, please.

Well, if Finello had been taking bribes,

he would have been kicked off the force.

Give me a break.

Are you suggesting that two years ago

your office made a deal with a corrupt cop?

Here you go. Look, Bleakie,

this time it's different.

This time Finello was caught

with an eightball in one pocket

and $5,000 in the other.

The pocket of his tunic, for Christ's sake.

He was in uniform.

So make a tougher deal, but make a deal.

[coughs]

When was the last time he had aspirin?

About four hours ago. I'll get some.

If he's still running a fever on Monday,

you should bring him back to the doctor.

Yesterday, Herbie came over for a play date.

Do you want to tell Papa what happened?

You tell.

Herbie brought over a toy.

A tank.

After Herbie left,

I found it in Stevie's pocket.

In your pocket?

Herbie forgot it.

Herbie's got lots of action toys.

I don't have any. It's not fair.

Tomorrow, you give it back to Herbie, okay?

I'll tell him he forgot it.

Stevie, you tell him the truth.

Mmm.

You think the corruption stops with one precinct?

This is one thread. You pull on it, you unravel the whole fabric.

If they're all guilty, they all should get kicked off the force.

Spring cleaning? That's right.

Fifty, a hundred dirty cops? Nail them all?

That's right. With the mayor coming up for reelection.

I didn't hear you. Did you say "That's right"?

Did you say "That's right"?

[scoffs]

Cunningham doesn't give a fuck

about embarrassing the mayor.

How about you? Roy.

Your boss...

you think he's gonna be D.A. forever?

You think he's gonna protect you? He's out next November.

Oh, yeah? Who's gonna run against him?

His own party's gonna kill him,

and you are gonna be out in the woods.

What am I supposed to do?

You want to dodge the bullet?

I was a prosecutor once. I know what it takes sometimes

to track down witnesses.

Look, this is about right and wrong.

No.

It's about the election.

What's the matter?

[sighs]

This is Worth Street. I left my car here. Right here.

Maybe it was towed.

No. It's a legal spot.

Why would it be towed?

You son of a bitch.

You goddamn son of a bitch!

A vacation?

We'll see.

A full two weeks?

Two weeks? Sara.

It's not like when we were first married.

I'm the chief financial officer,

one of the vice presidents of the company now.

The sun, the beach.

It'll be good for Stevie.

It'll be good for you.

Virgin Gorda.

Two weeks?

I'll make arrangements on Monday.

Is it something from work?

It's always something from work.

Some problem.

It's nothing.

[Stevie, coughing] Papa!

Mama!

Sweetie?

His coat!

We can get a cab for the hospital!

He's burning up!

Here, put this on first.

[horn honks]

We need the doctor.

So does everybody in the room.

Fill out this form. If you have insurance,

just write the name of the company

and their telephone number.

You don't understand, mister--

Don't forget to put the area code first.

This is an emergency. They're all emergencies.

Just fill out the form and take a seat.

But my son.

Take a seat.

We'll call you when your turn comes.

But-- Harry.

They'll call us when it's our turn.

Did you reach Dr. Gottleib?

The answering service can't find him.

Who's covering?

A nurse practitioner named Shaw.

She said we should go to the emergency room.

Tell her we did.

Harry.

Gets his car towed,

then all of a sudden it's like--

Do you still play squash with the guy on Tuesdays?

Yeah, why not?

Hey, Clarke knows what's at stake.

He got his car towed. What's the big fucking deal?

And if he doesn't drop the charges?

He'll drop the charges.

You want odds?

This kind of stuff.

You want to be careful.

Evans.

[mutters] Evans!

Harry.

My son.

You Evans?

No, but my son--

Evans.

Please, miss.

Nurse Carrounbois.

Evans!

Please, if you'll just-- Security?

Sit him down.

I have to see a doctor.

Come on.

It's an emergency!

Harry.

How can you?

How can you smoke?

Oh, I'm-- I'm trying to stop.

No, with people dying,

how can you smoke?

I'm sorry, it's just we're so worried.

Mrs.-- Fertig.

Fertig.

My name is Harry Fertig,

and this is my son.

Cute kid. He needs help.

Mr. Fertig, I have been on duty

for 32 hours.

I haven't had two hours with my own son

in the last three weeks,

not even when he came down with the flu,

which is probably-- Please.

Dr. Gillett, you're here now.

Just look at him.

Mr. Fertig, the doctor's on his break.

Please, can't you just look at him?

[Carrounbois] When it's your turn. I beg you.

When it's your turn.

He's burning up!

Baruch Hospital.

Stevie?

Stevie.

Stevie?

My God.

Sara, he's not breathing.

He stopped breathing!

Stevie!

Stevie! Stevie, please!

Stevie, please breathe!

Harry!

[whispering] Oh, my God.

Oh, my God!

Parking illegally at a hydrant?

Parking in a hospital zone?

Too close to the curb?

Too far from the intersection.

Church zone? School zone?

I spend more time at the pound than I do at my kids' school.

How can you go along with this?

What's with you? You're whining about

a bunch of fucking parking tickets.

I'm trying to tell you you're gonna have worse problems

if Finello blows up in the administration's face.

I'll take care of these.

[Man] Last weekend, the long weekend.

Wife and kid are in Jersey visiting her sister,

and our pal Clarke is at loose ends.

You know, I half froze my ass out on that fire escape.

By the time the bimbo arrives, my fingers were so cold,

I could barely work the camera.

Your insurance--

in case Clarke is thinking of changing his mind.

He's not gonna change his mind.

You know,

I figure O'Donnell will be in court

makin' out your report card.

Mayor listens to O'Donnell.

I'll make you a bet.

Next year? You're District Attorney.

You send these things already?

To his office.

To his home.

Just like you told me.

Think it's worth it?

Well, let's talk about what's gonna happen

if Clarke doesn't play ball.

You think the mayor's gonna wrap his arms around him

and kiss him on the cheek?

If Clarke needs an excuse

to do what needs to be done,

I'm happy to give it to him.

The fucking guy should thank me.

These pictures--

I don't go into court to lose.

[Man] People of the state of New York

versus Louis Finello, docket number 95N427156.

Penal law 195.00.12.

Official misconduct.

Bribe receiving in the first degree.

Compounding a crime.

Your Honor, the people move to dismiss the charges

against the defendant, Louis Finello,

on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

That motion is granted.

Almost done. Ten minutes.

[gunshots]

[gunshots]

[gun cocks]

[gunshot]

That's all for today, Miss Brown.

First hearing at 10:00?

Fine.

[receiver clatters]

On the, um, Finello matter...

quite frankly, I thought the state

had a strong case.

You sound unhappy that Clarke dropped the charges.

Not unhappy.

Curious about why.

Perhaps he didn't think the case

was as strong as you do.

You are aware of the penalties

for obstruction of government administration,

tampering, official misconduct?

If it turned out there was any impropriety...

You've got a real future, Counselor.

Don't jeopardize it.

Because I care about you.

[Man on TV] Police still have no suspects

in the brutal slaying of Dr. Mason Gillett

in the men's room of Clement Hospital,

but sources close to the investigation

say that authorities are looking into

a possible connection with the murders

of two other Clement Hospital employees.

Janine Carrounbois, a nurse,

and Eric Malabar, a clerk,

were also shot this afternoon.

Miss Carrounbois, 38,

was killed in a compactor room

of her east side co-op.

Mr. Malabar, 47, was found dead

outside his Upper West Side apartment.

So far, police have ruled out

robbery as a motive,

and investigations are continuing.

When we come back,

more on the underground steam pipe explosion

that brought Midtown traffic to a standstill.

Congratulations, Roy.

They told me I'd find you here.

I was just leaving.

Well, look who's here.

The Bobbsey twins.

What the fuck's the matter with you?

What is the matter with you, anyway?

Let go of me!

Is that how you get off, Roy, huh?

Is that how you get your kicks, huh?

Hey, Roy, my wife opens the mail!

My wife found those fucking pictures!

Roy!

Oh, what did you do, huh?

[Roy] I thought Clarke gave up the booze.

[Man] Yeah, until yesterday in court.

You got the power to change lives, Roy.

Every time I've asked for a favor,

like this business,

every time I've asked you for something,

you come through.

What do you want now?

It's what you want, Roy.

What do I want, Cass?

You want a job.

I got a job.

You want a better job.

A job where you can have some real effect,

make some changes.

Did you run that by the mayor?

Mayor ran it by me.

What'd you have in mind?

Three years ago,

when Cunningham was running for D.A.,

some guys mentioned your name.

You said I wasn't ready.

You had more to learn.

How are those puppies doing, Sean?

Wife doesn't want them in the house.

Say you have a dog?

I'm not home enough.

Treat 'em right, you don't have to carry a gun.

The gun's easier to carry than a dog.

Everyone needs an edge. Sean's right, Roy.

I need a dog?

You need an edge.

Hold the sign to your chest.

Look straight ahead.

I'm worried, Cass. Worried about Clarke.

He isn't happy about dropping these Finello charges.

That jerkoff, the way he's hittin' the booze,

I don't think he cares.

Eh, I don't know.

I think he cares a lot.

What are you saying?

He's gonna ask who wanted the favor?

Are you threatening me?

I'm making a point.

Cunningham is a fucking hard-on..

Are you offering me Cunningham's job?

Cunningham's a fucking hard-on.

[laughs]

Five minutes late. I'm terribly sorry.

Roy, Jack Renoble.

Mr. Renoble, Roy Bleakie.

So glad you could make it, Mr. Bleakie.

Roy. Roy.

Mr. Renoble, nice to see you, sir.

Good to see you, Kevin.

Perrier, no ice.

Do you gentlemen need more time?

Uh, do you like fish, Roy?

The salmon tartar is excellent.

Three salmon tartar.

You'll like it. Trust me.

I was tied up in a meeting.

I'm putting together a group

to sponsor expanded library hours

for East Harlem and Morningside Heights.

When I was a kid, I practically lived

in the Bloomingdale branch.

Did you use the library much

when you were a boy?

The books I read when I was a kid,

you couldn't find them in a library.

Well, whatever you read,

you obviously got what you needed.

You've done very well for yourself.

You understand how things work,

but you've kept your conscience...

better than most.

Some people would consider that a liability.

Cass, here, probably considers that a liability.

Don't you, Cass?

I need your help, Roy.

You saw the papers this morning?

This article about the Clement Hospital murders?

The suspect,

the man who surrendered,

Harry Fertig.

Apparently, he took his son

into a hospital emergency room

and felt neglected by the staff.

Tragically, his son died.

And this crazy Fertig,

he goes on a rampage,

and he shoots a clerk, a nurse, and a doctor.

He's lost a son.

My company is paying for his defense.

He works for you.

He's my chief financial officer.

I've know Harry for nearly 20 years.

I would do anything to help.

He needs to be represented

by someone who has the capacity

to understand a very complex situation.

He shot three people in cold blood.

Not very complex.

Given Fertig's motive,

the kid's death,

I don't think the D.A.'s

going for the death penalty.

And here you are.

Prison would destroy him.

He needs help,

not punishment.

He pleads diminished capacity,

extreme emotional disturbance,

and he goes to a mental hospital.

Serve two to six, mm-hmm.

How's the salmon, Roy?

You were right. It's excellent.

This the lawyer? Mm-hmm.

[praying in Hebrew]

I'm sorry to interrupt your prayers.

The Vidui.

A confession.

I didn't know Jews had confession.

I'm sorry about your son.

Hope you don't mind if we get down to business.

You must be the lawyer Renoble sent.

You're close with Renoble?

I've worked for him for 20 years.

You know what the charges are?

I violated the sixth commandment.

In court, it's called homicide in the second degree.

In court, you can defend me.

Before God, there's no defense.

I'd like to leave God out of this for the moment.

That is impossible.

Mr. Fertig, you plead guilty,

you get life.

You plead not guilty

by reason of diminished capacity--

Meshuggener.

I'm sorry?

Crazy.

All right. Crazy.

The judge remands you to an institution.

You get rehabilitated.

You're out in two, three years at the most.

They gave me a...

psychiatric evaluation.

I read the report.

The psychiatrist thought I was a--

Paranoid schizophrenic.

I want another evaluation.

I understand that at your arraignment

you had a court-appointed lawyer,

who, perhaps, did not take you through this

as thoroughly as I intend to.

Now, you say you want another evaluation.

Or another lawyer.

How many lawyers do you intend to go through?

As many as I have to

until I find one who will represent me--

I'm trying-- ...as I want to be represented.

Mr. Fertig, be realistic.

Realistic.

Realistically, what sane man

would not want to take revenge

on people who caused his son to die?

What sane man would want to serve hard time if he didn't have to?

If I claim I killed because I was crazy,

then I'm just another murderer.

You will serve some time, Mr. Fertig.

But not take responsibility?

I want to take responsibility

to honor my son.

They didn't care about my son.

I'm sorry.

My son, Stevie...

he was only five years old.

The day before he died,

he stole a friend's toy.

A tank.

He wanted to return it the next day

to make amends.

He never got the chance.

Do you have children, Mr. Bleakie?

Mr. Fertig.

Do you have children?

No.

My parents survived Auschwitz.

My grandparents, great grandparents,

survived pogroms...

Egypt, Babylon, Rome.

Over 3,000 years, my line, my blood,

we endured.

I wanted to see my son grow up.

Learn the piano. Play ball.

Watch him read the Torah on his bar-mitzvah.

Go to college.

Get married.

I'll never have grandchildren, Mr. Bleakie.

Now it all ends...

...with me.

I murdered three people.

I want to make amends.

I want to plead guilty.

This is Judge Crossland.

Hey. It's me.

I just met this guy, Fertig.

[Judy] And?

Well, I got a problem.

He wants to plead guilty.

Roy, this is not one to fuck up.

[buzzer]

Yes?

I'm Roy Bleakie.

I'm your husband's lawyer.

Come in.

Oh. My cousins.

They were just leaving.

Excuse me.

He was obsessed with justice.

With people who were not brought to justice.

Every day, he'd take the newspaper

and find... terrible stories.

Police corruption.

Political scandal?

Medical malpractice?

He wanted to know why people had to suffer...

why God allowed evil in this world.

He would say,

"Why did this happen to Stevie?

Why didn't God take me?"

He talked to himself all the time.

The other tenants,

they finally got the super to...

keep Harry away.

Were you afraid of him?

Have you heard from his family?

His mother and father are dead.

He has no brothers or sisters.

What about his colleagues?

Have you heard from Jack Renoble?

Mr. Renoble?

He sent flowers.

I'm very, very sorry about your son.

He died of appendicitis.

If the doctor hadn't turned us away--

Can you understand my husband's...

Rage?

Despair.

I was going to say despair.

Did you know that your husband

had killed them, Mrs. Fertig,

before he was arrested?

Not until he got home.

We called the police then.

Are you ashamed of what he did?

I'm not like Harry, Mr. Bleakie.

No one's like Harry.

It's hard to live up to him.

He killed three people.

And is ready to pay for his crimes.

[Roy] A defendant sits in your courtroom.

They got a shitty lawyer, so he's convicted.

He decides to kill everyone on the jury.

Kills you, too.

That's nutty, Judy.

That's got nothing to do with God.

Do you believe in God?

Judy?

Do you?

I'll tell you everything I know about God.

There is a God.

And He or She

is about to give me my shot.

Mmm.

Have you read the newspapers lately?

"Clement Hospital Killer Weeps For Slain Son."

Everyone who has ever been ignored or mistreated

by a hospital or any bureaucracy

understands what Fertig did.

The defendant is the only one

that wants a guilty verdict here.

I get Fertig off...

I'm a hero.

Fertig...

the wife,

the little boy,

the dead doctor,

[laughs] the nurse,

the clerk...

you know what they are?

All of them?

They're the District Attorney's office. Mmm...

[Woman] D.A. Cunningham's office.

Sorry, he's in a meeting.

[Assistant D.A.] Lying in wait?

Multiple victims?

There's every element here of a capital case.

If a Puerto Rican in the Bronx

shot up the staff at Montefiore,

he'd get the death penalty.

For crying out loud.

Fertig was out of his mind.

If you don't play the death card with Fertig,

you will never be able to play it again.

Every black and Puerto Rican in the city will--

[Man] All right, Liz. We've heard this already.

What do you say, Elliott?

They killed his son.

Right?

[Radio reporter] We're here live at the D.A.'s office,

moments away from an announcement

on the Clement Hospital triple-murder case.

I say no way he gets the death penalty, man.

Rich Jew? No way.

He a man of color, they'd fry his ass.

[Radio reporter] Following D.A. Cunningham,

the mayor will make a statement.

[Guard] Sit your ass down.

Are you okay?

[sighs]

What's the matter?

Don't you know what happened?

They're not going for the death penalty.

I heard the guards talking.

I don't understand. I thought that would be good news.

Please go.

The D.A. is not going for the death penalty,

Mr. Fertig, because you turned yourself in.

You showed remorse.

How long have you been a lawyer?

How long?

20 years, maybe.

Something like that.

They tell me you're a good lawyer.

What makes a good lawyer?

You get your clients off.

No matter what.

Yeah.

Have you ever wanted two things at the same time?

You want to be free, be with your wife,

and you want to serve your sentence.

You think I like being in prison, Mr. Bleakie?

I think you're a complex man, Mr. Fertig.

I'm a very simple man, Mr. Bleakie.

It's the world that's complex.

And because we live in a complex world,

we're forced to make choices,

and sometimes, the choices...

...the choices...

I wanted to avenge my son's death. I...

...did not...

...want to, um...

Kill the three people responsible?

Sometimes, I think the world is nothing but sorrow.

The District Attorney is surprised I feel remorse.

Of course I feel remorse. Why wouldn't I feel remorse?

I'm sorry for you.

You're sorry for me? Why?

You really want to do what's right, don't you?

You really want to do the right thing?

People think it's hard to do the right thing.

It's not hard to do the right thing, Mr. Bleakie.

It's hard to know what the right thing is.

Once you know...

Once you know what's right...

...it's hard not to do it.

When you shot those people...

you knew.

Murder two, the death penalty-- you knew.

You knew.

I knew.

I get it.

They killed your son, you killed them,

the state kills you.

Except the state won't kill you,

so the state's more merciful than you. Is that it?

Please go.

Is that it?

You want to be a martyr?

I want to be a good man.

You murdered three people.

A good man is not without sin.

He admits...

and expiates his sin.

Please go.

Please go.

I'll tell you right now.

He's advertising.

You want to sell the American public on something?

Advertise.

And your client, Fertig?

That's all he's doing, advertising.

He's got an idea that he wants to sell.

Responsibility.

It may be an extreme form of advertising,

but is it in the American tradition?

Oh, yeah.

Going all the way back to John Wilkes Booth.

A little extreme, yes.

Effective?

Well, your client's been on the front page

every day.

Is he insane?

In fact, given what he wants to do,

I'd say he's a genius.

Is that what you're gonna say on the stand?

This retainer you sent me,

I assume that, uh,

whoever's paying your fee is also covering this?

That's right.

$25,000.

You run a clinic.

Long-term psychiatric care

for deprived children.

You receive no federal, state,

or...local funds.

In court,

I'd like to prove Mr. Fertig not guilty

by reason of insanity.

Mr. Bleakie?

You're very persuasive.

[phone rings]

Roy Bleakie's office.

Hey, it's me.

What time is Shabbos?

15, 20 minutes.

I don't think you have time to convert.

What if I just... dropped by?

[Assistant] Just get there before she lights the candles.

[buzzer]

[speaking Hebrew]

Blessed are You, Ruler of the Universe,

who has sanctified us with your commandments

and commanded us to kindle the Sabbath lights.

[Sara] When Stevie died,

it was like God had turned away from me.

Just like Harry did.

Does Harry believe that God turned away from him, too?

Harry would never believe that...

could never believe that.

You're sure of that?

If he ever thought God had turned away...

He was waiting for a sign from God.

Silence was the sign.

God telling Harry he had to right the wrong.

So Harry thinks he's God's avenging angel?

I didn't say that.

You care about your husband very much, don't you?

Since Stevie's death, Harry won't let me near him.

I want to hold him, but...

he won't touch me.

My aunt thought I should leave him.

Why didn't you?

I went to our rabbi, Rabbi Gordon,

who told me to pray, but I couldn't.

When I met my husband, I was only 22.

He wanted a family more than anything.

In all the years before Stevie was born,

Harry couldn't understand why we couldn't have a child.

Did you think about adopting?

Harry wanted a child of his own.

There are other ways.

The doctor suggested artificial insemination,

a donor, but Harry...

When the doctors gave up...

...I even thought of going with another man...

...to have a child...

...secretly.

Excuse me.

Guard?

Guard?

Could I have a pen, please, and a piece of paper?

** [piano]

[indistinct chatter]

I knew that that little fuckin' weasel Cunningham

wasn't gonna go for the death penalty.

And Fertig?

He'll be like the others?

The minute they don't get the death penalty,

they go for that insanity tap dance.

Who'd want to spend his life in jail?

[Cass] And that's the beautiful part, Roy,

is your friend walks.

And we get to use the D.A.'s decision against him in November.

We're gonna beat him with the stick he gave us.

And it works quite well.

Judy, when we were out in Bridgehampton,

what were you telling me?

Uh, the legal definition of insanity?

Legally, to prove somebody's crazy,

you have to show that they did not understand

the consequences of their acts.

You mean if he didn't know the people he shot would die?

No. If he didn't know it was wrong.

The Times says he's claiming it wasn't wrong.

Isn't that right, Jack?

It was wrong to get caught.

[laughs]

That's so cynical.

Cynicism is just reality with the volume turned up.

A cynic is just an idealist who's been disappointed.

But he wanted to get caught.

Didn't he, Jack?

You worked with him, Jack.

Why would he want that?

Because he killed those people.

I mean, maybe he is sane, as he claims.

He killed three people, he knows it's wrong, he wants to accept

the consequences.

What are you saying, Roy?

Fertig isn't crazy? Is that what you're saying?

I hope that's not what you're saying, because if you are--

Cass, Cass, Cass.

Roy's just--

Harry Fertig is an extraordinarily decent man,

so I'm not surprised he feels that way.

He always did the right thing.

After dinner, it was just, um,

Meg Renoble, Cass's wife, and me.

Meg started crying.

She has breast cancer.

She needs a mastectomy.

6 weeks, I'll be 42.

It's my birthday.

Don't worry about Renoble.

You'll get Fertig off.

Fertig doesn't want to get off.

I mean, why-- why is Renoble helping him? What does he care?

What difference does it make to him if Fertig pleads guilty,

if he pleads not guilty?

'Cause they've known each other for--

I think it's about something else.

Don't complicate it, Roy. This is a no-brainer.

Don't rock the boat.

Will you come up?

You don't have to spend the night.

Just an hour... so I can get to sleep?

I can't.

[ring]

[ring]

Hello.

[sighs] When?

Where are you now?

He attempted suicide a couple hours ago,

and they brought him here to the hospital

about an hour ago.

How is my husband?

He's just down at the end of the hall.

How is he?

They sedated him.

[weeps]

There's a guard with him.

[crying]

You've got to calm down.

Before you go in there and see him,

you've got to calm down.

Listen to me.

What your husband has done--

this may sound awful--

but it could be the perfect thing

for his defense.

Listen to me. You don't want him

to spend the rest of his life in jail.

You're the only one

who can make him understand.

Harry?

Harry? Hmm?

Sara.

Who let her in here?

Darling. Out.

Get her out!

[speaking Hebrew]

[speaking German]

[speaking German]

I don't want you coming here.

A moment of doubt.

A moment of doubt?

I tried to--

To what?

Tried to what?

To understand why this happened to me.

To you?

Happened to you?

Stevie was my son!

Don't you think I suffered, too?

This happened to us.

To us Harry,

to us.

I loved him as much as you did.

And what are we left with, our grief?

No. With each other.

And then you go and do this.

It was a sin against God. I meant you no harm.

Against God?

Meant me no harm? [snickers]

What's happening to me?

Mr. Bleakie?

That's right.

Are you Mr. Fertig's lawyer?

Yes, I am.

They found this in his cell.

Thank you.

I'll make arrangements for him

to stay in the hospital until the trial.

I should get us a cab.

Do you mind if we walk a little?

I can't breathe.

No.

In Hartford, where I grew up,

whenever a boy wanted to take me out,

he'd have to come to the house for dinner first.

This was in the 70s.

I mean, the kids I went to school with were taking drugs.

They were going off on weekends together.

[Sara] My parents were afraid. They were afraid of my friends.

They-- They were afraid of everything.

I grew up afraid.

Even after my parents died, I was afraid.

When I met Harry at shule,

he had such...

certainty...

about the world,

about himself.

He made me feel safe.

That's why I married him.

He made me feel safe.

And now...

I don't feel safe anymore.

Are you all right?

I've talked your ear off.

You've been very patient, very kind.

I don't get a chance to talk like this very much.

Well, it's been a long night.

Can I...come in for a coffee?

I don't think so.

I don't...think so.

[softly] I want to help you.

[Sara] Coffee's ready.

Oh.

I'm sorry.

It's all right.

It's tickets to the symphony,

the ballet, the theater.

All the shows you've seen.

No.

All the shows we didn't see...

'cause Harry was too busy working.

One birthday, I...

wrapped it up and gave it to him.

Work was very important to Harry.

Work and Stevie.

What about you?

What are you gonna do...

now that your son is gone?

Well, Harry thought that we would--

Forget about Harry.

What about you?

What do you want?

I don't know.

[crying]

I don't know.

It's all right.

What am I gonna do?

It's all right.

[softly] What am I gonna do?

[whispers] It's all right.

[draws tearful breath]

It's not your fault.

It's not...your fault.

[sighs]

Please...

...don't go.

It's okay.

It's okay.

Mmm...

[Sara] There you are.

[chuckles]

So, do we pretend this never happened?

I don't know.

What we did was wrong.

Yeah.

I'm not sorry.

What are you thinking?

I want to kiss you.

Aren't you rushing the hour a little?

Been home yet?

Presbyterian?

Huh?

Bleakie.

That's Scotch-Irish, right?

I don't make you for a Catholic,

so I figure you got to be a Presbyterian.

My parents were. Mm-hmm.

You were baptized. Hmm?

They weren't religious, no.

Really.

It's funny.

Any Catholic can baptize anyone.

With anything.

With, uh, bourbon for instance.

If there's no water and...

if it's emergency.

This is an emergency?

Yeah, I think it is.

You're baptized, you go to heaven.

You want to go to heaven, don't you, Roy?

No. Look--

Wait a minute.

What's the harm?

I mean, if there is no heaven, all you get is a little damp.

Okay. Okay.

You want to baptize me?

Baptize me.

Not what I want.

Do you want to be baptized?

Is that your true intention?

Yes.

Yes, I want to be baptized.

I baptize thee

in the name of the Father and of the Son

and of the Holy Spirit.

Oh, uh, I forgot to tell you.

Now that you've been baptized...

you can also go to hell.

[water running]

[telephone rings]

[ring]

[message machine beeps]

[Sara] Roy, are you there?

Roy, it's Sara. Please call me.

[Sara] When Stevie was a baby,

I used to walk here every day

past the Alice in Wonderland statue,

the dairy,

the zoo.

I've always loved the zoo.

The polar bear-- Gus--

all day, he would swim

over and over in the same pattern,

compulsively.

[laughs]

They finally had to send him

to a bear psychiatrist.

It's a true story.

So we get a bunch of people to testify. You know.

Roy.

This psychiatrist will say that he's gotta be crazy

if he wants to go to jail if he doesn't have to.

Roy.

What happened last night?

I'm sorry.

Don't apologize.

Look at me.

No.

Look at me.

I'm 38 years old.

I'm not like Harry. I'm not a saint.

I'm a woman.

I'm still a young woman.

I've lost my son. I've lost my husband.

And what do I have left?

I don't want my life to be over.

You should go home.

You don't want this...

really.

You think I want to spend

the rest of my life in prison?

Then don't.

If you get me off, everything that happened,

everything I did has no meaning. It's just murder.

Well, what do you call it? Justice.

Revenge!

Justice.

They're responsible for my son's death.

I'm responsible for theirs.

You don't know what it's like.

[sighs]

You think you're the only one

that ever lost somebody that you care about?

My father shot himself when I was a kid.

He was younger than I am now.

I was your son's age.

You deny me my right to plead guilty, you deny God.

I don't want to hear any more about God.

If you don't want to save yourself,

you don't have to.

I'll get a court order to commitment.

You won't even stand trial,

but you are going to cooperate.

You are going to plead not guilty, and do you know why?

Do you know why?

Sara.

You want to go ahead and sacrifice yourself,

go ahead, but you're not gonna sacrifice her.

What right do you have telling me

what I should or should not do?

If you're in jail, what's gonna happen to her?

What right do you have to judge me?

Don't you think she misses her son?

When my son was born...

...he was so small, I held him in one hand.

This hand.

This hand.

And he looked up into my face, and he smiled.

And I felt that this--

this is what I was born for--

to be this boy's father.

What about being a husband?

Your wife... she's lost her son.

And now she's gonna lose her husband.

You...are her husband.

My wife. I never...

It's not that I didn't love her.

I loved her, Mr. Bleakie.

It's just that being in love

and having a successful marriage

are two different things entirely.

I knew how to be a father.

I didn't know how to be a husband.

Mr. Bleakie, please understand. We go through life,

we have our losses,

and we all suffer losses.

We all pray for the same thing...

...that we don't suffer the loss

that we cannot put behind us.

What happened to my son,

I can never put it behind me.

I wanted to die

because I can never put this behind me.

But if this is what God demands...

It looks that way.

What do you want me to do?

[telephone rings]

[assistant] Roy Bleakie's office.

Get me O'Donnell, would ya?

Right.

[ring]

Roy Bleakie's office. Can you hold, please?

I tracked down that cabbie that drove Fertig from the hospital.

Uh-huh. Yeah.

[intercom beeps]

[Woman] O'Donnell on line two.

He's willing to make a statement.

Really.

Cass.

Yeah. Fertig agreed.

Right. Couldn't be better.

I'll call Renoble.

Okay.

Hey, Mel, come on. Congratulate me.

I'm gonna be the next D.A.

Yeah. Look, Roy--

Hold that thought. I gotta run.

[sighs]

** [jazz]

[Judy] Hello, Jack. Isn't that lovely?

Good seeing you.

Timmy. Nice to see you.

[British accent] As I was saying,

before one of the veterans...

I don't see Jack.

Don't see him. Supposed to be here.

[Man] Yo, Cass.

Hi, Andy, hi.

Andy Havighurst, Roy Bleakie.

Roy, good to see you.

Monster state planner. This guy's a genius.

Nice to meet you.

Fucked my ex-wife big time.

[laughs]

Jacob?

Jacob, Roy Bleakie. Hi, Cass.

Jacob Federman.

Hi. Pleasure to see you.

Excuse us.

Senior partner, Federman, Swain.

Oh, hi. Hey, Myra, Myra.

Sandy, how are you?

Myra, this is Roy Bleakie.

Myra's president of the Neal Foundation.

Oh. Very nice to meet both of you.

Nice to see you again. Okay.

What's the Neal Foundation?

Fuck, I don't know.

Roy? Roy Bleakie?

I thought you'd never get here.

Come here. Excuse me one moment.

I want to introduce you to someone.

This is Maynard Dubois.

Roy.

This is your night, Roy.

[chuckles] Thanks.

Stop by tomorrow or the next day.

We got a lot to talk about.

The mayor just arrived.

Hi. Hi.

Right in here.

I want to show you where to...

Roy?

Can I have a word with you?

Oh, yeah, sure. I'm sorry.

I was a friend of your dad.

Uh, Ozone Park Democratic Club.

If he could only see you tonight.

Your dad'd be proud, Roy.

Real proud.

[doorbell beeps]

[intercom] Yeah.

Mel, it's Roy.

You got time for a walk?

Sure.

20, 25 years in prison.

How old's her husband now, 51, 52?

When he comes out, do the math.

He'll be 75.

She'll be 60, 65 years old.

Is that what she wants?

She says to me, "What do I have left?

I don't want my life to be over."

If her husband goes to prison,

her life is over. I'm saving her.

I'm saving him.

I'm the one who's gonna get him off.

People come up to me at parties.

They congratulate me.

The mayor wants to meet me.

They want to put me up for office.

I'm gonna be fuckin' the D.A.

I'm gonna be a good D.A.

I'm gonna be a goddamn good D.A.

What's the matter with that?

What is wrong with that?

Nobody said anything's wrong with that.

Sorry to bother you.

The son of a friend died recently.

I don't know any prayers. I'm not Jewish.

I've never been very religious.

I'm just here

visiting my wife's grave.

She died 15 years ago.

She was the religious one in the family.

I see.

I'd like to help you.

It's right over here.

[saying prayer in Hebrew]

[continues praying]

[hesitating]

That's all I can remember.

That's fine.

Thank you. I appreciate it.

[Assistant] Don't forget your 1:00 with Dr. Saperstein.

On the Fertig case?

Right.

[sighs] You okay?

Yeah.

Anything I should know?

No.

What happened to you last night?

I went to Elaine's. I looked around for you.

You never showed up.

The mayor was there, Renoble, other judges--

I've got an appointment.

Everyone, my friends, colleagues.

They all wanted to talk to you.

We've waited for this.

We?

Oh. Oh, I get it.

Now the D.A.'s office is in your hand,

you're gonna cut me loose?

What are you saying?

That I had to deliver Fertig

to get the D.A.'s office?

Don't do this to me, Roy.

[elevator rings]

I got a little surprise for ya.

I just might plead him guilty.

[scoffs]

In here, sir.

Glad you could make it.

My God. [chuckles] Ah.

[Renoble] Quite a view, isn't it?

Mmm.

You like that painting?

By Frederic Church, Hudson River School.

Aurora Borealis, 1865.

My wife found it.

She trained as an art historian at Smith.

When she graduated, she spent a year in Florence.

And the Violetta.

Length, 71 feet.

She was built as a racer in 1978.

She sleeps eight.

What are you doing in the middle of May?

We're taking a little cruise.

You know George and Sarah Patakos?

He owns the oil tankers.

They'll be coming along.

And Patsy Colbert.

And Mae Whitney.

Lovely girl.

26. Just got out of a terrible marriage.

We're trying to cheer her up.

Maybe you could help us.

Sounds lovely.

This is for you.

$100,000.

For your campaign...

...for District Attorney.

I don't think I can accept this.

You're a good man, a man of conscience.

Jack, in the Fertig case--

I heard you're considering a guilty plea.

How did you hear that?

Are you sure it's in Fertig's best interest?

It's what he wants.

He's a troubled man.

Did you see this?

The treasure of my collection.

An unpublished essay by Thoreau,

the only copy in existence.

It took me six months

to check out its provenance

to make sure it was the real thing.

Ever thought of publishing it?

When I bought it, Columbia University contacted me

and said I had an obligation

to culture-- no, to civilization

to publish it,

to share it.

But I want the only copy.

When I buy something,

I expect it to be as advertised.

Cass O'Donnell assured me that you were...

The real thing.

Reliable.

You want your money back?

By the way, this check is drawn

on your personal account.

When I buy something, it's mine--

Just like Fertig's legal fees. ...to do with what I want.

You're planning to plead Fertig guilty.

That's a mistake.

Jack, I don't think you understand.

A mistake for him,

and a mistake for you.

I'm paying you $100,000

plus your regular retainer

for Fertig's not-guilty plea.

Not guilty

because he's insane.

You said you wanted me to dig up some shit on Renoble.

Here, this guy.

Some reporter who was covering

Renoble's highway beautification projects.

A pro bono up near Catona.

An internal memo from the reporter to the editor.

I got a friend at The Times.

Now, that reporter,

he wanted to investigate that project,

but suddenly, he gets too busy.

Some journalism grant,

the Neeman Fellowship at Harvard.

Renoble has influential friends.

Fertig knows something, Mel.

Something about that project

that could hurt Renoble.

And a murder conviction isn't enough

to taint Fertig as a witness.

So long as he's sane,

Fertig's testimony is acceptable.

Our Neeman fellow.

Jack Renoble.

Well, I know what most people know about him.

He liked my work at The Times.

[Roy] You're back at The Time now, right?

Yeah. Editorial.

Did Renoble do that for you, too?

H.L. Mencken, Liebling.

Great newspapermen.

I.F. Stone. They said he couldn't be bought.

You've got a lot of his books here.

He's one of my heroes.

Renoble's highway beautification project.

Route 684, Catona.

Why did you drop that investigation?

What investigation?

At the paper, they said you were checking the project out.

Right before you got your, uh, Neeman.

You know, fellas...

I'm busy.

You got a lot of awards here. God.

National Writer's Foundation,

American Society of Science Writers.

Mmm.

Nothing since your, um...

Neeman.

[laughing] I mean, Christ, a Neeman.

A guy with your talent, you shoulda held out for at least a Pulitzer.

Get the fuck outta here.

What kind of shit has he gotten into?

[knock on window]

What do you want to know?

[Reporter] I got a tip from a trucker up in Niag.

He owns his own company.

He sold the fill for Renoble's project.

His name is William Defeo.

But you won't get much.

He's half dead.

[Defeo] What was it, a couple, three years back?

Most of my work was local,

but this once I got a visit from some lawyer.

I guess he was from the city.

Said he represented some company.

Wanted me to move all his fill

for landscaping.

A company called... what was it?

Anyway, two weeks they give us.

I said, "That's impossible."

They said, "It don't matter. We'll cover it."

They were willing to pay a lot,

a lot of overtime.

I hired extra guys.

I never asked myself, "What's the hurry?"

I found out the fill was contaminated

with toxins, pesticides, P.C.B.s.

I saw a printout.

Must have been 15, 16 different kinds.

Five guys workin' for me that job.

We were grading the fill,

breathing it in.

Three are sick...

dying.

Me, too.

Bone cancer.

Zarus Group.

That was the company's name.

Coffee's ready.

And guess what.

The highway this fill was being used to landscape

goes right through the Crotin Reservoir.

The levels of contamination in the water,

it's not a lot.

Still, when it rains,

all that poison runs into the New York City water supply.

You subpoena documents, they shred 'em.

You get soil samples,

and after three years,

even if you find toxins,

they say somebody else

dumped them on the site.

How are you gonna prove

Renoble is responsible?

Strange.

You don't hear it, do you?

What?

Nothing.

No birds, no sounds.

Everything's dead.

Who is William Defeo?

Mr. Bleakie, why do you--

Who is William Defeo?

Defeo?

Catona?

The highway beautification project?

Catona...

What do you know about Zarus Group?

Zarus Group?

I read that on a piece of paper on your desk.

What were you doing reading my papers?

"Numbers too high." What did that mean?

What were you doing at my desk?

"Numbers too high."

An accounting discrepancy. That's all.

It had to do with fill

for some landscaping on a highway.

It should have cost us $340 per truckload.

Instead, we were being paid over $5,000 a load.

Probably somebody punched the wrong numbers

into a spreadsheet.

Tell me about Zarus Group.

Mr. Bleakie, I don't understand--

Please.

Zarus Group.

One of Renoble's subsidiaries.

We ran a few projects through it.

The highway beautification project? Mm-hmm.

What else?

Alternate energy.

Refrigeration.

What else?

Well, uh, Renoble wanted me

to do a... feasibility study

for a filtration plant

to filter the city's water supply.

If the city water degrades any further,

the federal government mandates filtration.

We don't filter now?

No. They only treat the water.

They don't filter it. Why not?

We don't need it.

It's an extreme measure.

$8 billion to build a system.

$8 billion?

And $500 million a year to operate.

And you would get that contract?

We're the only ones big enough.

And Renoble and the mayor are friends.

So if the water supply degrades enough,

the city is mandated to spend $8 billion in contracts?

For starters.

Why?

You really don't know, do you?

You really don't know.

[man chuckles]

Let's go.

What's this?

Your suicide note... to Sara.

They found it in your cell. They gave it to me.

I didn't give it to her because if I had, I...

You all right?

What was it you told me?

People think it's hard to do the right thing.

It's not hard to do the right thing.

It's hard to know what the right thing is.

But once you know...

Once you know--

Once you know what is right,

then it's hard not to do it.

I slept with your wife.

I know.

She told me.

A good man is not without sin.

He admits.

And expiates... his sin.

I need you to do something for me.

What do you want?

All my life, I've been certain

that what I've done...

I've been sure that I've done what I had to do.

I guess in some ways, I'm like your husband.

In some ways.

I can't help you.

Sometimes in life we want something.

We want it so badly...

...and we don't get it.

We get something else instead, and we find out

that that's what we needed all along.

You'd better go.

You have to go.

All rise.

Court is in session.

The honorable Seth Dunbar presiding.

People of the State of New York vs. Harry Fertig.

Indictment number 2814-99.

Charge is murder in the second degree.

Mr. Prosecutor, are you ready to proceed to a disposition?

Yes, Your Honor.

Application, counselor?

Your Honor, at this time,

my client has authorized me to enter a plea of guilty

to three counts of murder in the second degree.

Do you understand that a plea of guilty

is the same as a conviction after trial?

Yes, I do.

You are charged

with three counts of murder in the second degree

in that on, uh... November the 3rd,

with intent to cause the deaths

of Mason Gillett,

Janine Carrounbois,

and Eric Malabar,

you caused their deaths.

Are these charges true?

Yes, they are, Your Honor.

[Judge Dunbar] All right.

We will now adjourn this matter

for a period of two weeks

for pre-sentencing investigation.

Your Honor.

My client wishes to waive the pre-sentencing investigation.

[courtroom murmurs]

Defendant is ready for sentencing?

Your Honor, defense counsel

is free to argue anything he wants about sentencing,

but-- Your Honor.

...these are horrendous murders

for which there can be no rational justification. Your honor--

The defense may try to claim that--

Why don't we hear what the defense has to say...

before you object to it?

Proceed.

Thank you, Your Honor.

Your Honor, my client would like to make a statement.

Wouldn't you rather wait?

Up until this time, you apparently

haven't gotten into any trouble.

Maybe the pre-sentencing report, testimony of neighbors

and fellow workers

could help you reduce your sentence.

I would like to make a statement.

Proceed.

Your Honor, I killed Dr. Mason Gillett,

Janine Carrounbois,

and Eric Malabar.

I killed them because they...

...they would not help my son.

They were too busy.

They didn't care.

I killed them to show the world that they must care.

I know...what I did was a crime.

No, worse than a crime. It was a sin against...

God.

Against...God's law.

Pick up any children's Bible

like the one I used to read to Stevie.

Remember how I'd sit on his bed

and read from his children's Bible?

[Judge] Mr. Fertig.

Because I wanted him

to grow up to be a good man.

[tearfully] A good man.

[Judge Dunbar] Will the defendant please rise?

Stevie, my son--

Please get up, Mr. Fertig.

And in his children's Bible, remember, Sara,

there were pictures of God making the heavens,

parting the waters.

God, an old man,

a white robe, with a white beard...

[Man] Let's go, sir.

Make no images.

Remember the Sabbath.

Honor thy father and mother.

Honor thy mother. Your Honor?

[Judge Dunbar] Remove the defendant.

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Thou shalt not steal.

Thou shalt not bear false witness.

Thou shalt not covet.

Thou shalt not kill.

Thou shalt not kill!

Forgive me. Sara!

[door closes]

We will adjourn till 2:00 this afternoon for sentencing.

I don't know what to say.

You were magnificent!

You don't say he's crazy.

You sh he's crazy. [laughs]

He pleads guilty, but he's crazy.

You had me worried.

Now all we do is bring in our psychiatrist to testify.

That was quite a performance.

Congratulations.

Not hungry?

No.

You want me to wrap it up, take it home?

I'm fine.

...scene in court today when Harry Fertig,

the former chief financial officer of Renoble Enterprises

and the defendant in the Clement Hospital murders

of Dr. Mason Gillett, Janine Carrounbois,

a nurse, and Eric Malabar, a clerk,

broke down in court today, falling to his knees

and sobbing in front of his wife...

[continues, indistinct]

[no vocal audio]

Yes.

And the toxins seeped into the reservoir

so that Washington would mandate filtration.

He put $8 billion into his pocket initially

and then $500 million a year...

...to run the plant.

Why are you telling me this?

You just handed me the election.

Renoble belongs in jail.

Everything you need to prosecute him is here.

Is the defendant ready for sentencing?

Your Honor, I have a statement.

Proceed.

Thank you, Your Honor.

As you can tell from this morning's session,

my client is distraught with grief.

He loved his son.

That's clear.

He loved his son.

And he talked about his crime.

Crime is a matter of legality,

something against the law,

against human law.

Get a good enough lawyer, and you can escape punishment.

I've been a lawyer for a few years now.

Invariably, during a case,

I end up teaching my client something about the law--

small "L"-- as in New York State law.

This case has been different, however,

in that I have had the opportunity

to learn about the law from a client--

law with a capital "L," as in God's law.

God's law.

The best lawyer in the world

can't get you off, plead you down...

cut a deal.

Very often in our work,

we satisfy the letter of the law--

man's law--

but not the spirit of the law,

God's law.

The case provides us with the unique opportunity

for these two ideas

to come together.

Isn't it odd

that people who want to tell the truth

during these proceedings are often viewed as insane?

Usually, when someone is arrested for murder,

the first thing we expect them to do is to deny it

or plead insanity.

Anything but to claim responsibility

or to tell the truth.

My client

wants to tell the truth.

He says, "I shot three people--

"Gillett, Carrounbois, Malabar.

"I shot them willfully and deliberately.

I shot them because they killed through their neglect."

My client says that if you want to hold the power

of life and death in your hand,

if you choose to be a doctor or a nurse,

if you choose that terrible obligation,

you must be responsible.

That's what my client believes.

That's why he killed them.

And he admits it.

He admits that he killed them.

The moment he says that,

the moment he tells the truth, everybody jumps back

and says, "Whoa. He is crazy."

He tells the truth. He must be crazy.

By pleading insanity, you claim you're crazy.

By telling the truth, you prove it.

Objection!

Overruled.

Let me take this a step further.

Do I look crazy to you?

What if I were to tell you

that I was hired to defend my client

in order to persuade him to plead insanity

so that any subsequent testimony

he might give in a courtroom would be tainted--

Objection, Your Honor!

...by his insanity plea.

Overruled!

And what if I told you

that if I succeeded

and he pleaded insanity, certain

people would help me to advance my career

to become D.A.?

Objection!

[murmuring]

Counsel,

approach the bench.

Your Honor,

defense counsel has already demonstrated

that one of the people at his table is insane.

Is he going for two out of three?

Counselor, you seem to be

headed down an uncertain path.

Will it take you

where you want to go?

Yes, Your Honor.

Objection overruled.

[murmuring]

Thank you, Your Honor.

Your Honor, this afternoon,

District Attorney Elliott Cunningham

will file charges against Jack Renoble,

Renoble Enterprises,

and Zarus Group,

a Renoble subsidiary in State Supreme Court

under article 71-2714

of the environmental conservation law

endangering public health, safety, or the environment

in the first degree,

a criminal charge, a class "C" felony

that carries with it a sentence of 4 1/2 to 15 years in prison.

My client Harry Fertig will be called upon

to testify in that case,

something that certain people

have gone to great lengths to prevent.

And because no matter how distraught

my client has appeared, he is not insane,

his testimony will be valid.

My client knows the difference

between right and wrong,

understands the consequences of his acts,

and he is prepared to pay for his crimes,

as all of us should be prepared to pay for ours.

Thank you.

Please stand.

The court finds you guilty of all charges

and sentences you to 25 years to life.

This court is adjourned.

Thank you.

[reporters shouting questions]

Bleakie! I want to talk to you!

Hey!

[reporter] The Renoble allegations--

[second reporter] ...the District Attorney, sir.

Schmuck.

Bleakie!

Do you plan to appeal?

[overlapping shouts]

Why did you cop a plea?

You all right?

Yeah.

Why did you do it?

It's the one thing I couldn't put behind me.

See ya.

Closed Captioned By J.R. Media Services, Inc. Burbank, CA

** [man singing prayer]