All language subtitles for Law and Order S16E11 Bible Story.DVDRip.NonHI.en.UNVSL

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.

Officer, officer.

Whoa, whoa, street cleaning, lady,
I already started writing the ticket.

Look, look what I
found, from a Chumash.

It's a shanda, I
tell you, a shanda.

Yeah, I'm sure it is.

People say it can't happen
again, but look at this!

You've got to do something!

Look, lady, why don't you call
the precinct, and somebody might...

Oh, looks like blood on there.

Where'd you get these?

There's one! There's some,
there's some! Get it, get it!

What the hell? Stop him!

Are you crazy?

Gently, gently, treat them gently.
Get them all. Get all of them!

Those pages are
from a holy book.

Central, this is 2-7 Charlie.

Let me get some Traffic Control
down here at Hester and Eldridge.

Stay right there.

Central, 2-7 Charlie again.

Make that a bus and
a supervisor, forthwith.

I checked his vitals then I
called for a supervisor and a bus.

Well, was anybody
around the building?

Are you kidding? There was like a mob
of people out here chasing those pages.

What the hell happened to them?

They scattered when
the RMPs showed up.

And nobody said anything
about what happened?

They wouldn't even
give me any names.

They were really pissed
off, though. Thanks.

I live right around the
corner from the shul.

I walk by here every day.

And when you came by here this morning,
did you notice anything suspicious?

The pages! Thrown all over the
ground where everybody can walk!

Well, did you see anybody
fighting around here?

Nobody fighting.

We need more police
in this neighborhood,

so things like this
never happen anymore.

Yes, ma'am. The sergeant will make sure
you get home safe, all right? Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Blunt force trauma to the
head. Looks like a fractured skull.

When? About an hour or two.

He's still warm.

Any ID or a wallet?

Nothing in his pockets. Uh, I didn't
want to move him till you had a look.

Okay, let's roll him.

It's Hebrew.

Wow, must have been
some special book.

Fasten your seat belt.

Ah, this is a Polish edition
of the Hebrew Torah.

The Old Testament.

Looks like it's 60
or 70 years old.

And all that damage
was done recently?

Yeah, the tearing is fresh.

Uh, see, paper is organic
so when it oxidizes...

Beck, Beck... How fresh is
the blood on these pages?

It's brand-spanking
new. Matches the victim's.

But the test on the saliva
won't be back for a few days.

Saliva? Somebody spit on it?

Uh-huh. Is that a crime?

Murder is.

Okay, but how do you
know if the dead guy

was trying to protect
the book or rip it up?

Your John Doe's
in his late 20s, fit.

From his tan line, it's probably a
good bet that he works outdoors.

Any prison tats? Aryan
Brotherhood stuff?

No, clean as a baby.

According to the Old Testament,

it's blasphemy to
mark your body.

Well, somebody marked
him, with something heavy.

It shattered his temporal bone,

subdural hematoma killed him.

These bruises on his shoulder...

Yeah, he's got half a dozen
defensive wounds on his arms, too.

Fending off whoever
was waling on him.

You mind if I take a look?

Knock yourself out.

Well, there's one clue.

Our John Doe is not circumcised.

My constituents want
answers, information.

Anything. This was blasphemy!

And I'd be happy to work
with you, Councilman...

Have you seen what's
going on Delancey Street?

Orthodox men
are blocking traffic!

Our Hate Crime Task
Force and Community Affairs

have already been notified.

You better get some boots on the
ground before there's a riot out there.

You know what, Councilman?

It's also your responsibility
to keep the people calm!

Easier done if their
concerns were taken seriously

by the police, the FBI...

We're not ready to
call this terrorism.

What is it, then?

Have you spoken to
the Palestinian man

working at the Laundromat
on Grant Street?

Fadi Abu Libdeh?

He harasses the congregation
walking to that synagogue on Saturdays.

He says things to the children!

Look, him being rude

doesn't tie him to
this desecration.

There was an arson at the Cultural
Center on Forsythe Street last year.

The police called
him in for questioning.

Was there an arrest? No!

These people have lived in peace

on the Lower East
Side for 100 years.

The Arabs opened up businesses,

now there's graffiti
on the temples,

insults, a fire!

We'll talk to them.

You better! Or I'm going to raise
hell like you've never seen before.

Wow.

With all due
respect, Lieutenant,

what does a Arab have to
do with a dead white guy?

Well, this wasn't
some random murder.

It's connected to that book.

Figure out how.

Who's saying these
things about me?

Do you yell insults
at them or not?

I have no interest
in these people.

Arabs, get out of
here! Get out of here!

I can see you're all
good friends down here.

This is our store, I
do laundry, that is all.

Well, what about
the fire last year?

I was cleared, 100%!

Isn't this the flag of Hamas?

It is a wall calendar.

What does it mean to you?

Tells me what day it is!

And maybe how you
feel about Jewish people?

It's just a calendar.

So it wouldn't spike
your blood pressure

if I threw it in the gutter?

I may have a political
disagreement Yeah, what's up?

With the people who
illegally invaded my homeland,

whose soldiers slaughter...

If you have any involvement

with the dead person
at the synagogue,

let's get in front of it now.

He's no one I know. I
heard it was a white guy.

Okay, thanks. His
name's Jeffrey Kilgore.

For Jeffrey Kilgore,
Alhamdu-lillah.

But I have nothing
to do with this.

Excuse me.

Jeffrey Kilgore?

Yeah, the prints came back. His last
known was Patchogue, in Suffolk County.

He did a bullet a few years
back for commercial burglary.

Let's put a pin in this guy

and see if anyone at
synagogue knows Kilgore.

Detectives, this is Father
Royce and Imam Adjani.

Sir.

Father. Sir.

They came to offer their support

in this terrible time.

We were hoping
that we can ask you

some questions privately, Rabbi.

If you need anything, Rabbi.

Let's all pray that
cooler heads prevail.

Mmm-hmm.

Rabbi, this is the man that was
killed outside your synagogue.

His name is Jeffrey Kilgore.

I've never seen
this man in my life.

Why would he come here
and defile our shul like this?

Our more immediate concern is
why somebody would murder him.

But surely it's no coincidence that he
died holding a book from our sanctuary.

This goes to a
much larger issue!

Would you mind if we saw the
place where the book was kept?

After the incident, I found several
torn pages scattered about here.

Exodus, Chapter 3.

Moses and the burning bush.

Are you a religious
man, Detective Green?

I was raised that way.

So, what can you tell
us about this bible?

It's a Chumash, it's
a copy of our Torah,

which we read from
during the services.

It's the lifeblood
of our people.

This one belonged to Barry Speicher,
who's the president of our congregation.

He kept it on the
bamah, right by his chair.

Was this sanctuary in use
yesterday morning, Rabbi?

Morning prayers
ended about 8:30.

No one else in the building?

Oh, there were quite a few
people upstairs. Teachers, children,

the girls in the synagogue office
are on, too, but not down here.

The man easily could have walked
in here without anybody seeing him.

So anybody could just
walk through the front door?

We don't lock up until
after evening service.

We had a guard
about five years ago,

when that neo-Nazi shot at the
Jewish school children in California.

Thankfully, that's
not what this is about.

But it was a man
sending a message.

We must always be vigilant.

My father smuggled that
Chumash out of the Warsaw Ghetto.

He would have been shot on
sight if he was caught with it.

He hid it in a hayloft while he
was on the run from the Nazis.

Thirty-five years later,
he went back to Poland,

he found it right
where he left it.

My father passed
away eight years ago.

I've read from that Chumash
almost every day since.

Listen,

do you know this man?

His name's Jeffrey Kilgore.

No, is he the one who
destroyed my book?

You haven't seen him
around the neighborhood at all?

No.

Have you talked to the
man who shouts insults?

The Palestinian? So far
we can't tie him to Kilgore.

How about to everything else that's
happened in this neighborhood recently?

It's enough already.

Our congregation has been on
the Lower East Side since 1928.

Maybe it's time to move on.

Well, we'll let you know if there's
any new developments, all right?

So, where's the smart
money? Somebody inside

the building who
caught Kilgore in the act?

Or somebody in the neighborhood
who saw him coming out.

What do you suggest, Detective?

I say due diligence on Jeffrey Kilgore
before we point any more fingers.

You a relative? Girlfriend.

We're sorry for
your loss, Miss...

Uh, Kayla Watson.

Miss Watson, what did
your boyfriend do for a living?

He was a mason.

Stone walls,
patios, stuff like that.

This doesn't make any sense.

They said on TV that
Jeff tore up a Jewish bible.

Did he belong to any
clubs or political groups?

Political groups?

People who might not think
too kindly of Jewish people.

Jeff didn't have
anything against them.

I mean, the ones he worked for
would try to get out of their bills

and say that he
didn't do the work right.

But not all of them,
just sometimes.

Like the rich ones
in the Hamptons.

What was he doing
in the city on Tuesday?

I don't know.

Did he have any
friends or family there?

No.

He hated New York. He wouldn't
even go there to collect from a client.

Some guy owed him money,
and he sent me to pick it up.

Who did you pick up from?

I don't know his name.

I just met him on a corner,
he gave me cash, $2,500.

What did this guy look like?

Shorter than Jeff,
in his 30s or 40s.

A Jewish guy.

How do you know he was Jewish?

I heard him talk, he was
definitely a New York Jew.

So, did this man Kilgore belong
to some anti-Semitic organization?

We have no evidence of that.

Rabbi, we're going to want to speak
to the people that were here at the time.

Why? You think somebody
saw this and didn't come forward?

The man was killed on
your doorstep, Rabbi.

You're saying you think
it was someone here?

Actually, we're going to need
the names and the addresses

of all the members
of your congregation.

That's out of the question.

We're not going to supply the government
with a list of people who worship here.

We're investigating
a murder, Rabbi.

What the Rabbi's trying to
say is we're not authorized

to disseminate personal
information like that.

You either help
us solve this crime,

or we're going to bring it to the attention
of the District Attorney's office.

Go ahead. You're just
here looking for a scapegoat.

Michael, I'll call you back.

This was just faxed to
me from the mayor's office.

It's a subpoena duces tecum
to the Beth Tefiloh Synagogue

for the names and addresses of any and
all current members of the congregation.

We needed to provide the
police with a finite list of suspects.

It's a demand for a
list of Jews, Alexandra.

Sure, but if the murder
scene was at a church,

we'd be asking for
a list of Christians.

Well, how about exercising
a little historical sensitivity?

These aren't storm
troopers, Arthur,

they're police officers
investigating a homicide.

I'm getting calls from here
to Tel Aviv on this case.

I want you to back off,
withdraw the subpoena,

and tell the detectives
to come up with Plan B.

The synagogue's
newsletter says that there's

over 100 families
in the congregation.

Whose names we have no
access to, thanks to the D.A.'s office.

And they won't get us a search
warrant for the synagogue.

And the Rabbi has decided not
to let us back into the building.

We're hitting brick
walls left and right.

Well, are you sure
Kilgore was paid to do this?

When are we absolutely
sure of anything?

The only political cause Kilgore had
were some posters from NASCAR.

And nobody owed him that
kind of money from masonry.

Okay, but why would someone
retain his services for this?

Well, maybe someone who had
something against the congregation?

Or a particular member.

Well, the book holds sentimental
value for the congregation's president.

So, if it's not political,
maybe it's personal.

Talk to Barry Speicher, again.

Barry's downtown at a
Preservation Committee hearing.

I'm his partner, Eric Speicher.

You're his brother? Cousin.

Are you guys here about
Uncle Daniel's book?

Well, and the murder.

What a thing, huh?
Makes me sick.

The whole
congregation's up in arms.

Was your partner here
on Tuesday morning?

He got in around 10:00. Why?

He seem okay to you?

Yeah. Everything was cool.

Did he have any ongoing
problems with anybody?

Business disputes? Uh,
tenant-landlord types of thing?

We hire a management
firm for that.

Keep it arm's-length,
so it's pretty low-key here.

Ben-Daniel's a family company, as
you can probably tell from the name.

Ben and Daniel are your fathers?

Yeah. It's a little old-fashioned,
but we'd never change it.

How about Barry's personal life?

Fine, as far as I know.

Uh, Barry did have some issues in his
first marriage, but that was years ago.

What kind of issues?

His first wife couldn't
have children.

But Rachel's made him very happy.
Five rug-rats, unless I missed one.

I lived in Philadelphia when
my husband and I first met.

We married nine years ago.

Wow, you do have a lot of kids.

Uh, do you remember
what time your husband

left the house last
Tuesday, Mrs. Speicher?

Uh, he was gone by 7:30. He
always goes to morning services.

That takes, what, about an hour?

Except for Tuesdays, he stays for
a Talmud study with Rabbi Geller.

Now, do you have any ideas who
would want to destroy this prayer book?

Why would I know
about any of this?

Wasn't it somebody
off the street?

Has your husband had any difficulties
recently? Maybe with his first wife?

I wouldn't really know.
Barry's a good provider.

Our life was fine until
that man mutilated...

Did Barry tell you where
that Torah was from?

I don't want my children
to know that kind of hatred.

Tell me you guys
have something for me.

Barry Speicher's
financial records,

so far the guy's a Boy Scout.

But we can put him at the
temple at the time of the murder.

His charge accounts
look spotless,

there's contributions to a half-a-dozen
Jewish charities every month,

and flowers to his
wife every Friday.

He's either a saint or a sinner.

Hey, check this out. This is
his personal bank account.

$400 withdrawals from the same ATM
every Thursday night, like clockwork.

Cash for the weekend, the
Orthodox don't bank on their Sabbath.

No, but the location's not
Speicher's normal stomping ground.

It's 545 West 23rd.

545? I handled a double
homicide at a hotel next door.

It's a "gentleman's club."

Four Benjis buys a
whole lot of lap dances.

Or something even better.

A regular girl. We're missing
a piece on Barry Speicher.

Catch him away from his
rabbi, we might be able to fill it in.

Is Barry here yet?

Barry who? Barry Speicher.

He asked us to meet him
here. Never heard of him.

Maybe we should take
this conversation out front

so everyone can see how
much you're enjoying yourselves.

Barry had to make a shiva call.

This is about his
Chumash, isn't it?

Our holy book was defiled.
Someone should be held accountable.

What do you know about it?

Just that it happened. And
the goy responsible is dead.

So why did Barry miss
this little celebration?

I'm serious. He's really
making a shiva call.

And he wouldn't skip this obligation
to cry on his girlfriend's shoulder?

There's no girlfriend. He just
comes in to relax, like the rest of us.

The rebbes say, a happy
husband makes a happy marriage.

Which Barry has. His only
flaw is being too trusting.

Should learn to put a lock on his
building so things like this don't happen.

His building? The synagogue?

He owns it. Him and his cousin.

It's not a secret.

Our congregation rents this
property from the Speichers' company.

Ben-Daniel Realty?

They've been charging
us the same rent

since Daniel and Ben
bought this place in 1952.

Which is what?

$800 a month.

For the whole building?

We couldn't afford to operate
here if we had to pay market rent.

The Speichers could
get a hundred times that.

Evicting your own synagogue must
get you in trouble with the man upstairs.

It's forbidden by the Talmud.

It's quite a mitzvah
that Barry is doing for us.

How about Eric?

Eric...

After his Uncle Daniel died,
Eric stopped coming to services,

he doesn't even buy a
seat on the High Holy Days.

I tried talking to him
about it, he's not interested.

Look, I already told
you everything I know.

Yeah, like you said you were
still a member of the congregation.

I never said that.

You led us to believe that.

Are you accusing my
husband of misleading you?

We're accusing him of lying.

I think we should continue
this conversation at the precinct.

Then let's go. Eric...

Look, don't worry, baby. This is
all just a big misunderstanding.

Let me go clear it up.

Why did you make it seem like
you gave a damn about that book?

You think I don't care?

My Uncle Daniel and my
father were Holocaust survivors.

This is the holiest
book in our religion.

Which you don't
even use anymore.

I'm sorry, are you
attacking my beliefs now?

Don't get all high and
mighty with us, sit down.

Now, we know you don't go to
synagogue, and we know how you're living.

You'll like this.

Oh...

You want to tell us about the
home that you own in Southampton?

Home of the Muffies
and the Maxwells?

That was 20 years ago, okay?
There are plenty of Jews there now.

And I'm sure they
all used the same

ex-burglar that you
used to build your patio.

We're going to bring in Kilgore's
girlfriend from Long Island.

Maybe you've met her before?

I might have, I know
people in construction.

Last week, at 86th and Columbus?

Okay, okay.

I paid Kilgore to go to the
synagogue and mess up the book.

Why?

The synagogue got
tagged a few times.

There'd been a lot of problems in
the neighborhood with the Arabs.

Barry's been threatening to sell the
building and move the congregation,

but he won't get
off his ass and do it.

You used this as a
prod to get him to sell it?

You know what we got
offered for that building recently?

$15,000,000.

So you paid somebody
to destroy the bible?

It's a book!

It's a book you just said your
cousin's father saved from the Nazis!

Oh, please! You know,
Barry's religion is all about him.

He loves to sit up there on
that bamah and feel important.

Every Rosh Hashana, he'll brag
to anybody who'll listen about how

he's leaving the business
and moving to Israel.

Yeah, well, guess what?

After five years of hearing
that crap, I got tired of waiting.

So you sent Kilgore there
to get his head beaten in?

It wasn't supposed
to happen like that.

How'd you work
this out with Kilgore?

Barry's in a study group
on Tuesday mornings.

I called his cell phone to tell him
there was an emergency at work.

So he'd be the
one to find the book.

I had no idea
anybody would get hurt.

Beside your cousin?

Beside my cousin.

You're interrupting, Detectives.

We have a warrant, Rabbi,
we need to see Mr. Speicher.

We're in the middle of
Ma'ariv, can't this wait? No.

What happened? We
had a talk with your cousin.

We found blood on the
umbrella stand in the coatroom.

That bastard did
this, didn't he?

You're under arrest for the
murder of Jeffrey Kilgore.

Can we please take this outside?

Too much has
happened in here already.

"Docket number 57503.
People v. Barry Speicher.

Charge of Murder in
the Second Degree."

How do you plead, Mr. Speicher?

Not guilty.

Co-owner of a real estate firm,
president of his congregation,

he looks like a pretty
good bail risk to me.

But he does have
contacts in Israel.

You want to hold
that against him?

Mr. Speicher had
an obvious motive

and an exclusive opportunity
to commit this crime.

The police recovered an
umbrella stand from Beth Tefiloh

with traces of the victim's blood and
the defendant's fingerprints all over it.

Along with God-knows-who else's.

Let me remind the court that
the so-called victim in this incident

was a burglar who desecrated
the holiest Judaic text.

License to murder him
in the street, Mr. Malloy?

Whoever killed Mr. Kilgore
was obviously responding

to the severest
form of provocation.

Perhaps justifiably so.

Uh, for the record,

my client intends to
testify at the grand jury.

I'm sure Ms. Borgia
can arrange that.

I won't set a parade for
you yet, Mr. Speicher.

Turn over your passport,
I'll set bail at $250,000.

Barry Speicher made
bail right after arraignment.

I booked some time in the
grand jury to present the case.

Your sense is that Speicher's
grand jury notice isn't a bluff?

It sounds like a prelude to
some kind of justification defense.

"I was protecting a book."

More like, "I was
protecting our faith."

From his cousin's
blasphemy-for-hire.

You weren't in the courtroom, Jack.
This isn't playing like a family dispute.

Speicher's some kind of hero.

Speicher's justification
defense won't hold water.

Inside the courtroom, maybe.

Have we had any plea
discussions with Malloy?

None.

Well, set something up.

What are you looking for?

Man one. Sentence
somewhere near the minimum.

I don't know if that'll
do it for me, Arthur.

These cousins have
done a lot of damage.

Well, you don't have to tell me!

That's why we need to
do some fence-mending.

I got my best suit dry-cleaned!

I was expecting to be at the
grand jury tomorrow with my client.

You may still have a
chance to wear it, Mr. Malloy,

but I thought we should explore
whether there's any common ground

before we throw
down the gauntlet.

The only common ground
for my client is a dismissal.

Do you think you should walk
away scot-free, Mr. Speicher?

I'm not a criminal.

You beat somebody to death.

Are you a religious
man, Mr. McCoy?

That's beside the point.

I don't think you can fully wrap your
head around what happened here.

Then talk to me, Mr. Malloy.

Imagine finding someone
defiling the place where you pray.

Mutilating the
cornerstone of your faith.

I would be very upset,
but that doesn't...

Spare me the sanctimony!

We all know Mr. Speicher
isn't a Boy Scout.

This isn't just about
faith, this is about family!

Kilgore trashed
his father's legacy.

If that's your defense, you're
doing a disservice to your client.

The justification statute doesn't
cover a bible, or a memory.

It's about defending
an actual human being.

But I think that we
can all agree that

Mr. Speicher acted in
the heat of the moment!

He hammered Kilgore with
the 10-pound marble base

of an umbrella stand and
left him to bleed to death!

And I admit that,
but he had the book.

So, what does the bible you defended
deem appropriate, Mr. Speicher?

A free pass?

Of course not.

Because maybe the book is
more precious than a human life!

So if I'm found guilty,
how much time could I do?

On murder two, 25-to-life.

I have a wife, I
have five children

whose bar mitzvahs
I'll miss, weddings...

A plea to manslaughter would
solve most of those problems.

You'll recommend the minimum?

Five years, straight time.

Today only.

I guess that's fair.

When do you want to
calendar Speicher's sentencing?

Give him a month or two
to get his affairs in order.

She insisted on speaking
to you, Alexandra.

I'm Barry Speicher's wife.

I know, what can I do
for you, Mrs. Speicher?

My husband told me he's
going to jail for five years?

He agreed to it, it
was a plea bargain.

My husband is a good
man, a family man.

I'm sure that he is.

And now, because he can't work,
we have to sell the synagogue.

I'm sorry about that.

What about the congregation?

I don't know what's
going to happen.

But his cousin, yeah, he
got everything he wanted.

First, he sent that man into our
shul, paid him to use our Chumash

like toilet paper.

That's our religion,
Miss Borgia.

And for doing that to his own
people, you know what Eric gets?

$7,000,000!

That's all I want to say.

He hired a man
to mutilate a book.

That doesn't translate
into a homicide!

Kilgore died because Eric
Speicher's actions placed him in peril.

It's manslaughter.

He could foresee that his cousin
was going to fly into a violent rage?

That was his stated purpose.

Without the homicide!

You were out of the fire, now you
want to jump back into the frying pan.

Kilgore's dead
because Eric Speicher

aimed the most powerful
gun he could find at him!

Religious fervor.

The nitroglycerine
of the 21st century.

That's what makes me so nervous.

A Torah's been desecrated, and the only
people who are going to jail are Jewish!

What Eric Speicher
did is unconscionable.

If we can't go after the
bad guys, what's the point?

I'm all for going
after the bad guys

if we've got a legal
theory to hang our hat on!

I'll tell you what,

I'll handle the law if you'll
handle the political fallout.

Then we can remind ourselves
how noble our motives were,

as we're both sitting around
waiting for outplacement counseling.

Manslaughter? Oh, you are
pulling this one so far out of your...

It's textbook recklessness.

Your client should have considered the
consequences when he retained Kilgore

to burglarize a synagogue
and desecrate a family bible.

Look, I admit I
did a terrible thing.

Never mind that a man was
killed, you nearly started a race riot.

I never thought it
would turn out like that.

Have you read the front page of
a newspaper lately, Mr. Speicher?

You used religious paranoia
to shake down your cousin.

And the bottom line is
you acted out of greed!

You think it's that simple?

From where I sit,
it's about $7,000,000.

I've been treated like garbage,
because I won't buy into what they believe.

My father had to pay my Uncle
Daniel to make me a partner.

My holier-than-thou cousin, he
wouldn't even come to my wedding!

His family won't eat
what my wife makes,

they bring their own
food and paper plates...

Eric... Why? No!

Why do I have to live
my life by their rules?

You can live any way
you want to, Mr. Speicher,

you don't have to savage
other people's values!

All this self-righteous
hand-wringing,

"Oh, my father's sacred book,

"he saved it from the
Nazis." Please. Okay?

My Uncle Daniel was a
hondler, a businessman,

he survived on his wits.

In the Warsaw Ghetto, he would
have traded that book for three potatoes!

And desecrating your cousin's bible
was going to get you your three potatoes.

I thought maybe they'd
get scared and move.

And a part of me just wanted
to lash out against Barry.

But...

I never expected...

This.

So, what can you
do for us, Mr. McCoy?

The same thing we do for a
drunk driver who causes a fatality.

Reckless manslaughter.

Six years.

But I didn't kill anybody!

That's why we have trials.

We'll call you to the
stand last, Mr. Speicher.

We'll put in all the pieces
with our other witnesses,

but then you'll
tie it all together.

Okay.

You'll have to be totally truthful
about what you did to Jeff Kilgore.

I have no problem with that, as
long as I get to say what Eric did.

We'll get most of that in
through the other witnesses,

your testimony is primarily
to establish Eric's motive.

Can I tell how he
hated our religion?

Facts, Mr. Speicher.

That the only reason he
ever set foot in Beth Tefiloh

was so my father would give
him a piece of the business?

We want to focus on
your strained relationship.

Can I testify about the time that
son-of-a-bitch threatened to kill me?

Look, Mr. Speicher. You
can't come off like a hothead.

The whole idea here is that even
though you've killed somebody,

you've also been victimized
by your cousin's actions.

It wasn't just me.

Can I tell about all the arguments
we had over the synagogue?

Let's go over these
things one by one.

Jeff asked me to go into the city and
pick up some money some guy owed him.

Did he say what for?

A job. He was supposed
to get $2,500 up front.

What instructions did Jeff
give you for the meeting?

Just to go to the corner
of 86th and Columbus.

The guy would know what I'd
look like and he'd give me the cash.

And did you go there?

Yeah.

Do you see the man you
met that day in the courtroom?

Yeah.

Him. The defendant.

Did Mr. Speicher say
anything to you at that time?

To make sure I tell Jeff that the
job needs to be done on Tuesday

at 9:30 or else he wouldn't
get the rest of the money.

He set up my
boyfriend to be killed!

A group of men from our congregation
meet every Tuesday morning at 8:45

for Talmudic study.

Barry Speicher was
one of the group.

How long do these
sessions last, Rabbi Geller?

An hour.

So Barry Speicher would
leave every Tuesday at 9:45?

Usually. But this morning,

he had a call on his
mobile phone, at 9:30.

He said it was an emergency,
and he had to leave.

People's D.

Do you recognize
this book, Rabbi?

Yes, that was Barry's Chumash.

He kept it in the sanctuary.

Are you aware of the
history of this book?

Yes, it belonged to
Barry's father, Daniel,

who was also a member of the
congregation before he passed away.

And how did his father
come by this book?

You traveled with Daniel Speicher to
Poland to retrieve this book, didn't you?

I traveled with Daniel
to Poland in 1978, yes.

Could you please
elaborate, Rabbi?

We drove to a
village near Warsaw

called, uh, Glogowek.

Daniel had passed
through there in 1943

as he was running
away from the Nazis.

We went to find where
he hid the Chumash.

Daniel had wrapped it in canvas,

so he was very sure
that it would still be there.

But when we drove
down that road,

the farm was gone.
It was a tire factory.

Why didn't you ever
mention this before, Rabbi?

I've wrestled with this since
the Chumash was destroyed.

I know how hard
it's going to be.

But with everything
that's happened,

I think it's finally time for the
congregation to know the truth.

So where did this
book come from?

It was purchased in a bookshop in
Warsaw before Daniel and I left Poland.

No one knew about this till
now, not even his own family.

Why did you go along
with this deception?

How do I explain this
to you, Mr. McCoy?

The bible is full of stories
that may be apocryphal.

Do we believe that
Methuselah lived 900 years?

Or that Moses
parted the Red Sea?

Their truth is in the inspiration
that we gather from them.

And this particular book
inspired a lot of people.

Even if it isn't the same book,

it's just a symbol
of our survival.

And I don't see
what's wrong with that.

Big surprise in there, any
second thoughts, Jack?

None.

Your client was acting under the
assumption the book was genuine.

Look what this religious
stuff does to people.

Wasn't it enough that
my uncle survived?

Why'd he have to come
home with a fake book?

I don't know, Mr. Speicher, but
none of it justifies what you did.

As I was leaving the
synagogue that morning,

I saw the torn pages of
a Chumash on the floor.

Then I heard pages ripping,

then I saw a man tearing
apart my father's book.

What did you do?

I screamed at him,
"What are you doing?"

He ran toward the door
with the book in his hands,

I picked up a... Umbrella
stand and went after him.

What then, Mr. Speicher?

He got outside, and I
started swinging at him.

I hit him several times
and he fell to the ground.

Which is where you left him?

Lying on the book. I...

Took the umbrella stand and
put it back in the coatroom.

And I got in a cab.

Without telling
anybody or getting help?

I was too angry and
scared to think straight.

Did your cousin Eric know how
much this book meant to you?

Mr. Speicher?

I killed Jeffrey Kilgore,

not Eric, I did. I'm
going to prison for it.

This trial shouldn't
be happening.

At the time of this incident,

how was your business
relationship with your cousin?

It was fine, really,
not bad at all.

Weren't you having
a heated dispute

about the building which housed
the Beth Tefiloh synagogue?

Objection, leading.

Sustained.

Did Eric ever threaten
you because of this?

Objection! No, he never did.

Could we have a 30-minute
recess, Your Honor?

Take an hour, Mr. McCoy, I
think you're going to need it.

What's going on, Mr. Speicher?
You're committing perjury!

You're trying
to put Eric in jail,

I'm the one who did this.

You know perfectly well
he set everything in motion.

You've blamed him yourself!

Well, I don't anymore. Not now.

Because the book isn't real?

Because my father lied to me.

Your cousin didn't know
that when he hired Kilgore.

He used your religious faith
as a weapon against you!

Ha, well, I'll say
one thing about Eric,

he was smart enough to
put his faith into something

that he could get his hands on.

You're better than
that, Mr. Speicher!

No, I'm not.

I wouldn't sell the building
to teach him a lesson.

We're exactly alike, we ripped
each other's throats out over a lie.

I killed a man. For what?

Now, see, I just can't
go through with this now.

It isn't your decision,
Mr. Speicher.

A man was murdered, and everyone who
was involved has to be held responsible.

But it's too late.

The people who are really
responsible are all dead.

Can I go now?

Without Barry Speicher's
testimony, you can't prove motive.

What little case you had
jumped the paddock fence.

I still have enough
to go to a jury.

Well, I'd dismiss the manslaughter
count, salvage a burglary conviction.

And forget that Eric Speicher masterminded
the events which led to a man's death?

It was a reach from the outset.

One supported by the law.

There are other
concerns besides the law.

Politics?

Credibility with a jury.

Which reminds me, I intend to file
perjury charges against Barry Speicher.

No, you won't.

We're not going to prolong this
battle royal with the Speichers.

This isn't a vendetta, Arthur.

We're lucky that the only
casualty here was an accomplice!

Well, sometimes
criminals get lucky.

And we don't charge them
with what almost happened.

And when the next provocateur
desecrates a mosque...

To make a political statement
or insult a family member?

It doesn't matter why you
yell fire in a crowded theater.

In this day and age, you can't
use religion as a provocation!

This is exactly the kind of situation
where you need to send a message.

Not everything fits your
little orthodoxy, Jack.

Interesting choice of words.

You're practicing your
own form of fundamentalism!

Now, I gave you some
lead, it's time to reel it in.

Arthur!

Or do I have to tear up a copy
of McKinney's to make my point?

Your Honor,

due to the recantation of
crucial facts by this witness,

I move to withdraw
his previous testimony

and have it stricken
from the record.

Is that true, Mr. Speicher?

Yes.

I take it you won't
oppose this, Ms. Quaid?

Of course not.

Motion's granted.

But we will proceed to verdict
with the burglary charge.

Ladies and gentlemen,
have you reached a verdict?

We have, Your Honor.

Please rise, Mr. Speicher.

On count of burglary in the
third degree, how do you find?

We find the defendant,
Eric Speicher, guilty.

Can I have one second?

I'm sorry.

With the hate enhancement
on his burglary conviction,

Eric Speicher's facing the
same time as his cousin.

I suppose there's some
rough justice in that.

Very rough.

They're asking the judge to send
them to the same correctional facility.

Talk about family values.

It took a shredded bible and a
homicide to bring this bunch together.

And a lie.