Original subtitles

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.

[Dance music plays]

Sean, cheers.

Or not.

Thanks.

This glass is empty.

Last chance.

Good food, rich people to schmooze.

Could be new clients.

No, not tonight.

I know what I'll do.

I'll get some liquor.

Dan? Open bar.

See ya.

Sean...cheers.

[Camera shutter clicking]

Looks like this one got four in the chest.

This one's got one in the head,

and a gun in his hand.

Murder-suicide?

Subscription to gay new york.

Could be a love triangle.

Neighbors heard otper foum this morning

when he came to fix the faucet.

Did he say who's who?

Todd stewart is the one on the lease.

Sean witt moved in around six months ago.

And this one was new.

Camping out on the couch.

Hey.

That's military.

Dan pressman, eleventh armored cavalry.

Just back from iraq.

Maybe he came back,

found his guy shacking up with another man.

So they let him sleep on the couch till he snaps.

They're sorry now.

We moved in, todd baked a cake

and came over to introduce himself,

like it was the 1950s or something.

Well, if it was the '50s,

him and sean wouldn't be living together.

They weren't living together.

I mean, todd was gay, but sean was straight.

Very straight.

He had a lot of friendly conversations with my boobs.

[Chuckles]

Um, what about dan?

The soldier crashing on the couch?

Where was he looking?

(Kim) I don't know.

I think he was a friend of sean's

from, like, junior high.

He only showed up a couple of weeks ago.

(Sara) Some girl came looking for him yesterday.

I got the vibe that she was more than a friend.

She had some of his mail from his old address,

and she left it with me.

Show me?

(Gwen) Dan was my fiance--

ex-fiance.

I asked him to move out three weeks ago.

Do you mind if we ask why?

Um, the drinking, for starters.

He would just sit in my apartment.

He left the army six months ago.

He went on one job interview...Drunk.

He ever do anything that made you think

he might be suicidal?

He saw a lot of terrible things over there.

[Crying]

Here, have a seat.

Okay...

So when he left your place

he moved in with his old friend, sean.

Mm-hm.

Who was living with todd...

Who was gay.

Would dan have a problem with that?

I don't think so.

He knew how to say no.

Oh, besides, I went over there one time,

and all todd could talk about

did he mention a name?Y that he was seeing.

He called him the mvp.

Some kind of inside joke.

Look,

sean was dan's friend,

and todd took him in when I threw him out.

He would never hurt them.

Turns out our gay love triangle

has two straight guys in it.

Plus your murder-suicide doesn't have a suicide.

M.e.'s report.

The spread of powder residue

on dan pressman's scalp

indicates the weapon was at least two feet from his head,

plus there's a partial print on the weapon

that doesn't match any of the victims.

Then someone staged the crime scene.

Yeah, after killing three people.

Who's your prime target?

Let's see, we got sean witt,

the financial planner

with a string of one-night stands.

We've got

dan pressman, angry war veteran

who liked to drink;

and todd stewart.

He was a gay lawyer.

Well, who had the most bullets in him?

(Tanya) Todd did environmental law.

He was suing the national parks service

for letting in dirt bikes.

They don't kill people over stuff like that.

What about his personal life?

Any trouble with boyfriends?

(Tanya) He didn't talk about it at the office.

He ever mention the mvp?

Todd didn't follow sports.

What about his day yesterday?

Anything unusual?

Meetings,

phone calls.

Here's his schedule.

We bill in 15-minute increments.

There's a blank half hour at three.

Yeah.

He was on the phone. Personal call.

Made him late for a meeting, and todd was never late.

Is this the phone number he called?

(Tanya) I don't know.

But when I came in to get him for the meeting,

he told the person, "I'll see you tonight"

before he hung up.

So who did he see last night?

Lots of people.

He went to a political fundraiser.

We've been told the government is bad.

That politicians are useless, or dishonest.

But government is only as bad as you, the people,

allow it to be.

I used to think business was exciting.

But politics, campaigning,

it's like the living heart of america

beating in your hands.

That sounds terrible, doesn't it?

Yeah.

We understand you organized

last night's fundraiser?

I'm doing three a week.

Tomorrow night's melanie carver for u.s. senate.

Thousand dollars a ticket.

Last night, mr. Vargas.

An event for jim gilles, state assemblyman.

Fascinating man.

Very authentic.

And todd stewart was there.

He was a gilles supporter.

I couldn't believe it when I saw the news.

Did you see who mr. Stewart was talking to?

I don't know.

I was talking to everybody myself.

I did see him talking to the candidate.

Probably about the gay marriage bill.

Gilles is from a very conservative district.

He had to vote against it.

I don't imagine that went over well with todd.

Considering todd was--

yeah, we know.

And this was an argument?

It did seem a little intense.

Gilles has been under all kinds of pressure

since he went independent.

He's a swing vote in the assembly.

That's why they call him the mvp.

It's a tragedy.

I just saw him last night.

He donated to my campaign.

Was that the full extent

of your relationship?

Excuse me?

Was that the full extent

of your relationship?

Yes.

We chatted at one or two campaign events.

Yeah, see, the thing is,

we heard your chat last night was...

A little intense.

We barely spoke last night.

What is it you want to know from me?

Did you know mr. Stewart was gay?

I accept donations from people of all sexual persuasions.

Would you mind telling us

where you were at 8:30?

My hotel.

I went there from the fundraiser.

I wasn't feeling well.

That would be the hotel...

Victoria.

Anyone see you?

Do I need an alibi?

Let me make something very clear.

I am not gay.

We weren't asking all that.

But now you know.

Don't you have some murders to solve?

[Car door closing]

He just lost my vote.

It's hard to keep a secret these days. [Dialing cell phone]

"Jim gilles gay," search.

(Lyle) It's just rumors, of course.

But you put them on your website.

Well, of course.

That's what the internet is for.

Didn't you go to school?

Gilles is not the only queen in the castle, you know.

Legislatures are the new gay bars.

How did you hear gilles was gay?

I'm sorry, gorgeous.

A journalist never reveals her sources.

What did they say?

I mean, was he involved with somebody?

If he was, they broke up.

After that gay marriage vote, I'd dump his ass.

You don't actually know anything, do you?

I know that gilles' district

is on staten island, ten miles away,

and yet he stays in a hotel in manhattan.

Which one is it this time?

The victoria.

It's a dump.

But conveniently located across from hellman's.

The department store?

So what, he's gay 'cause he likes to shop?

Yes.

But not in the store.

In the men's room.

(Green) Gilles says he barely knew todd stewart.

But that long phone call

that stewart made the day he died

was to gilles' private phone number.

Well, maybe they were having a conversation

about campaign contributions.

Gilles also said

he got back to his hotel by 8:30.

A desk clerk saw him get in after midnight.

So gilles is in the closet

having an affair with todd stewart.

Then he votes against gay marriage,

stewart doesn't like that, he argues with gilles,

he's thinking of calling a political reporter...

So out comes assemblyman gilles,

down goes his reelection.

So gilles takes care of him,

the roommates walk in, wrong place, wrong time.

Well, yeah, but...

Your whole theory is built on one assumption.

That gilles is secretly gay.

Well, he's staying across the street

from the cruising capital of midtown.

[Exhales]

Okay.

Well, the only way to find out

if gilles actually takes advantage

of that men's room...

Come on.

Unless you wanna slip into something sexy,

and buy the guy a drink,

you need to start arguing

about who goes on stall duty.

[Clears throat]

(Man) Oh, my god.

It's done.

Sir, could you please come out of the stall?

(Man) Uh...I'm not finished yet.

Yeah, I think you are.

(Green) You're under arrest for public indecency.

You can wash your hands, if you want.

This is harassment.

I just had to go to the bathroom.

Yeah, right.

So you walk to a department store?

Your hotel didn't have indoor plumbing?

[Exhales]

Please, I have a wife.

I have children. Right.

And you don't want them to read in the papers

that you're gay.

Not to mention your constituents.

That's what todd stewart threatened you with, isn't it?

I barely knew todd stewart.

(Lupo) We just ran the credit card

from your wallet.

You used it to send gift baskets to todd stewart.

Thank yous for donating to my campaign.

(Green) Yeah, you also used it for...

A double room at a resort on nantucket.

The same weekend todd stewart was there.

So it looks like you two

were thanking each other's brains out.

[Exhales]

All right, we were...Friends.

It's crazy to think that I killed him.

You were arguing with him at the fundraiser.

We did argue during the day on the phone.

But I told you the truth about the fundraiser.

We-- we barely spoke.

Todd knew I had to be discrete.

So where were you at 8:30?

The truth this time.

I was...

With another friend.

We were together until 1:00 am.

(Green) Hey.

Gilles' friend confirms his alibi.

And he wants to know

when he can meet lups in the bathroom.

And mr. Gilles' prints

don't match the partial on the gun.

Yeah, so basically we just played

"smear the queer" with an innocent man.

Well, I'll call him

and tell him we lost his arrest record.

It never happened.

(Green) So if he's telling the truth now,

our witness was wrong

about todd stewart arguing with gilles at the fundraiser.

Well, your witness made a mistake or he's lying.

Who is he?

Victor vargas, he's a businessman.

Big contributor to gilles, as well as melanie carver

and a bunch of other congressmen.

How big?

(Green) Millions.

He's what they call a "bundler."

The law says that a person can only donate

a couple of thousand dollars to a campaign.

A person like vargas

gathers all the small amounts into one big, fat pile.

He's still not answering his phones.

So you have the donor records for mr. Gilles? Yeah.

They should list the home addresses of the contributors.

(Lupo) This can't be the address.

This is the address, bro.

I wonder what kind of penthouse

our millionaire lives in.

(Lupo) Excuse me.

Does this building have a penthouse number one?

Apartment one.

It's not much of a penthouse.

We're looking for a man named victor vargas.

He gave this address. Oh, victor.

He stays with me sometimes.

He's not here right now.

I don't know where he is.

(Green) What's your name, sir?

Michael calderon.

W-Wait.

I saw your name

on a list of campaign contributors

to a state assemblyman named gilles?

Yeah, I like him.

Yeah.

You and your family gave $20,000.

I don't remember exactly.

What's your relationship with victor vargas?

Friends.

My son works in his jewelry business.

Victor's helped us out with all kinds of things.

Why don't you people just leave him alone?

Has somebody been looking for mr. Vargas, besides us?

No.

(Green) You know, allowing somebody

to make a campaign contribution

in your name is a felony.

We can go through your financial records.

And immigration.

This guy.

He told me to tell victor to give him a call.

Josh pearlberg?

Mandala capital.

(Pearlberg) I met the son of a bitch

at a "save the planet" benefit.

He was arm in arm with melanie carver,

so I figured he was cool.

Hey, do you actually know bob dylan?

(Pearlberg) I financed one of his concert tours.

I used to know a good investment

when I saw one.

So you invested with victor vargas.

Oh, yeah.

Bridge financing for his semiprecious stones.

Amethyst, aquamarine, topaz.

They're huge on columbus avenue.

Vargas buys them in brazil.

Gets a discount for cash,

but doesn't get paid 'til they get to new york.

So I put up the cash for a 40% return in 60 days.

It sounds too good to be true.

That's what I thought.

So I put a toe in, $75,000 and it worked.

So I invested a half a million.

Worked again.

Then $20 million.

Then there was a problem.

(Pearlberg) Many problems.

Shipping delays,

customs issues,

the dog ate my letter of credit...

Then vargas stopped returning my calls.

Who was that?

(Green) It was sean witt,

todd stewart's roommate.

We were looking at the wrong victim.

Witt managed investments for a small circle of clients,

and he put five million of their dollars

into aztec gemstones limited.

A victor vargas company?

Yeah, buried under several layers

of corporate names, but yeah.

He reels in suckers by paying back

their initial investment with other suckers' money.

And they believe he's respectable,

because they see him with prominent politicians.

And he pumps up his importance

with the politicians by donating extra funds

through fronts like michael calderon.

And the more money he steals,

the more respect he buys.

The more money he can steal, it's beautiful.

And sean witt was on to him.

Well, that's just what we're gonna ask vargas.

It's almost time for his melanie carver fundraiser.

See you later.

(Vargas) No.

Bigger.

Grander. Presidential.

[Green whistling] Detectives.

You're on my "to do" list.

It's just been crazy

getting everything perfect for tonight.

I wish melanie were here.

I'd introduce you.

You are...Supporters?

Yeah, I love a woman in a pantsuit.

Look, we need to talk to you about sean witt.

You never mentioned yesterday

that he did business with you.

I didn't think it mattered.

Met him through todd stewart.

I didn't know him well.

Well enough for him to give you

five million dollars.

It was an investment.

Yeah, we hear some of your investments

don't work out too well.

We talked to josh pearlberg.

Josh.

Did you like the beard?

[Chuckles]

He's so...

Impatient, like a child.

I guess waiting for $20 million

can make a person nervous.

I don't mean to be rude,

but I have to deal with some last-minute rsvp's.

I think we finally heard from jack mccoy.

Do you know the new district attorney?

Where were you at 8:30 that night?

At the event. It was my party.

It ended at 8:00. There was clean-up.

And I met franklin slater there.

Lieutenant governor candidate.

Incredibly dynamic.

Have you heard him speak?

No.

Look, I really have to find the chef.

This may be new york city,

but I don't do chopped liver.

Lups, let him go.

This vase is coming with us.

I'm giving the flowers to my mom.

Don't report me to iab.

[Chuckles] What are you gonna do for us?

Give you good news.

That's why I exist.

A thumbprint on the vase

is consistent with the partial on the murder weapon.

Consistent? But not a slam dunk?

But a perfect match for this.

I ran it through the system.

Coral gables, florida, 1996.

Victor montero was convicted of defrauding investors

in an imports racket.

(Lupo) Montero? That's our boy.

How long did he serve?

Zero.

Jumped bail before sentencing.

There's an open bench warrant.

What's that?

Inquiry report.

Someone accessed this record three days ago.

Sean witt made the inquiry.

He hired a commercial search service.

He knew about vargas.

(Lupo) Yeah, and it looks like

vargas knew he knew.

Sean's luds show a call to his cell phone

owned by aztec gemstones

two hours before he was killed.

He wanted his money back, but vargas had a better idea.

(Green) He knows we're sniffing around.

Is it enough to arrest him for the murders?

Doesn't need to be.

We've got a fugitive warrant.

Melanie...

You look like you're ready

to rule the world.

I love you too, victor.

So...

How much are we raising tonight?

(Lupo) Excuse me ma'am.

Would you step aside, please?

Victor vargas, you're under arrest.

Hands behind your back, please.

Victor, is there something you should be telling me?

Yes, remind the manager

to set up the rope for the vip section.

You honor, this is a misunderstanding.

Actually, it's pretty clear.

Mr. Vargas is being held

pursuant to a bench warrant from florida,

where he failed to show up for sentencing

after being convicted for fraud.

It was a dispute over a small amount of money.

It was cleared up years ago.

Well, someone forgot to tell the state of florida.

Pending the extradition application, people request

the defendant be remanded to the custody

of the department of correction.

My client is entitled to bail. He has ample means.

(Rubirosa) The only reason that he is here now

is because he skipped out on bail before.

We don't even know his real name.

Is it vargas or montero?

It's victor vargas montero.

The latin custom is to put one's mother's name

after one's father's.

Fascinating.

Bail is set at $3 million.

We'll reconvene on extradition in the morning.

[Taps gavel]

All I can say, jack,

is that in his dealings with me,

victor vargas has displayed nothing but decency

and integrity.

You weren't with him in florida

ten years ago, melanie.

I don't know what happened there.

But he certainly isn't acting like a fugitive.

He's had his picture taken with me a hundred times.

For what it's worth.

See you next sunday.

It's on my calendar.

You a melanie man, jack?

Compared with the alternative...

Did she happen to mention that victor vargas

raised more than $2 million for her campaign?

Public information, connie.

What happened with vargas?

(Rubirosa) Bailed himself out.

Posted $3 million in 30 minutes.

Probably money he swindled from josh pearlberg.

If that's true,

this is gonna break a lot of politicians' hearts.

Letters of support from a dozen public servants.

I gather mr. Vargas

is important to all of them.

There's nothing here from franklin slater.

Should there be?

Vargas was one of his biggest donors.

Vargas

told the police he was with slater

around the time of the murders.

Find out why mr. Slater

isn't jumping on the "we love vargas" bandwagon.

(Slater) Yeah, I picked up victor

after the gilles fundraiser.

He met with me and my people,

and then I took off for upstate.

I just came back for this debate.

Which starts in 16 minutes.

I'm supposed to be practicing my witty ad libs.

Well, I'll try not to keep you.

Listen, exactly when and where

did you pick mr. Vargas up?

At the fundraiser.

A little before 9:00.

What's this about?

A triple homicide.

Homicide? Mm-hm.

Victor?

[Laughing]

No.

I think he might kill for a chance

to sleep in the lincoln bedroom, but otherwise...

Well, it happened the night you saw him.

Listen, is there

anything out of the ordinary that you noticed?

Well, victor was jazzed.

But he's always jazzed when he's around a candidate.

And when I picked him up, the fundraiser just ended.

Was there anyone else at the restaurant?

Some waiters cleaning up.

Look, victor got in my car, we drove to my meeting

with a quick stop at peter elliot.

Why?

Victor ran in to buy a clean shirt.

He said he'd been sweating.

(Max) Mr. Vargas is a regular.

Everything custom.

One arm is slightly longer.

Do you remember that night?

Of course.

He called ahead

and I told him I'd wait for him.

Does he usually buy emergency shirts

at closing time?

No, but I did once sell a tuxedo

to a young man on the way to his wedding.

We had to staple the cuffs--

uh, I'm sorry.

Did mr. Vargas tell you

why he needed a shirt just then?

He wanted to look good.

He always likes to look good.

What didn't look good about the way he was?

Cocktail sauce.

A spot right here.

He didn't want to walk around like that.

Cocktail sauce?

The timeline works.

The fundraiser ended at 8:00.

Vargas said he stayed to clean up.

But he could have slipped out.

The victims only lived a few blocks away.

So he went over there,

killed them,

got back in time to meet slater.

And then went to peter elliot

when he realized there was blood on his shirt.

It's more than we had before.

And I don't like him running around free.

Well, his hearing on the florida extradition

starts in 20 minutes.

Screw florida.

Let's arrest him for murder.

What is this?

A motion to recover the $3 million

mr. Vargas posted with the court yesterday.

(Judge) That was his bail.

That wasn't his to give.

That money was stolen from my client, mr. Pearlberg.

It belonged to him.

(Judge) Actually,

as of six minutes ago,

it belongs to the state of new york,

since mr. Vargas failed to appear.

Ms. Standish,

do you have any idea

as to your client's whereabouts?

He assured me he'd be here.

Your honor, I move the bail be revoked

and a bench warrant issued forthwith.

We already have one bench warrant,

how many bench warrants do we need?

[Knocking]

Come in.

Josh pearlberg?

I got a package for sylvia standish.

And michael cutter.

Yeah, thanks.

(Mccoy) "So sorry for all the trouble...

"Pledge full compensation to my investors...

"Just have to fly to south america

to straighten things out."

It's the politest notice

of jumping bail I've ever seen.

I've been looking at flight manifests,

and there is no record of victor vargas

or victor montero.

But a michael calderon

bought a one-way ticket to rio de janeiro

on avianza airlines.

Flight 17.

When does it leave?

45 minutes ago.

Well, you're not in south america.

No.

Did you give victor vargas your passport?

No! Do you know where he is?

I haven't seen him.

[Rattling]

Who's back there?

Move.

Hey.

What?

(Lupo) Can you stand up?

I'm all right.

(Green) Mr. Vargas, please stand up.

Get up, mr. Vargas.

Tell the congressman I'm sorry I'm late.

Come on.

[Cell phone dialing]

Need an ambulance at 4023 park avenue.

(Vargas) No, I'm fine.

I'm fine.

Melanie.

I knew you'd believe in me.

Hey, hey.

Hey.

Docket number 14267,

people against victor vargas.

Three counts of murder in the second degree.

(Judge) Plea?

Not guilty.

(Judge) Don't bother asking for bail.

No problem, your honor.

I'd advise you to let your attorney speak.

She's not my attorney.

I'm firing her.

I want to represent myself.

Your honor, I don't believe that's wise.

The defendant has been hospitalized.

There was a suicide attempt.

It was an accidental overdose of a painkiller.

I can bring a note from my doctor.

There's more to defending yourself

than being in good health, mr. Vargas.

I did attend law school.

We have no record of that.

It was under another name.

And I was disbarred for stealing client funds,

t thk I remember enough.

[Door buzzing]

If you're looking for a deal--

why would I want a deal?

(Cutter) Then what are we doing here?

I'm giving you a chance

to get out of this gracefully.

[Chuckles]

You are full of surprises, aren't you?

Your whole history as a crook.

It's all relevant to this case.

Everyone's gonna know exactly who you are.

So I've been a bad boy,

but what have you got against me for murder?

A partial fingerprint?

A red spot on a vanished shirt?

(Rubirosa) Your lies to the police.

Your proximity to the crime.

(Cutter) Not to mention

your four-star motive.

What?

Sean witt was worried about a few million dollars.

Why would I kill him?

I could have just repaid him.

I have the money.

Hm.

Because you stole it from other investors.

(Vargas) Exactly.

You're making my point.

Maybe you should testify for me.

(Cutter) Was the car heated?

Yes, it was pretty warm.

But mr. Vargas kept his coat buttoned, anyway.

Yes.

As if he was

concealing his shirt until he could buy a new one.

Yes.

How are you, franklin?

Objection. Relevance?

He might not think it's important, but I do.

Do you have a question, mr. Vargas?

(Vargas) Yes.

What did sean witt say when he called you

a few hours before he was murdered?

Objection. Assumes facts not in evidence.

Excuse me.

Mr. Slater, did sean witt call you

on the day he was murdered?

Yes.

You didn't mention that call to the authorities, did you?

No.

Is that because it gave you a motive to kill mr. Witt?

Surely I'm entitled to offer other theories of the crime.

Only if they have some evidentiary basis.

That's what I'm trying to get to.

I'll allow you some latitude, mr. Vargas.

Don't abuse it.

What did sean witt say when he called?

He said that I shouldn't spend the money

that you'd donated to my campaign.

Because I'd stolen it from him and he wanted it back?

Something like that, yes.

How much had I brought in to your campaign?

I don't know offhand.

If I said it was more than a million dollars,

would you believe it?

Yes.

(Vargas) At that point in your campaign,

could you have given up more than a million dollars?

If I had to.

You would have had to cancel

advertisements,

travel, polling--

I would have had to cut back somewhere.

(Vargas) And would it have helped

or hurt your chances of being elected

if it came out

that your major fundraiser was a crook?

Think I'm about to find out.

But if mr. Witt was silenced,

none of those bad things would happen, would they?

No more questions.

Mr. Slater,

did you murder sean witt?

No.

Then why didn't you mention

that phone call to the authorities?

I believe we've just heard some of the reasons.

Now I see that that was an error in judgment.

Yes. Thank you.

By the way,

I've got the rest of my witness list ready.

I've been subpoenaed to testify by victor vargas.

There is a limit

to what I can discuss with you, melanie.

If I say the wrong thing, call a cop.

Oh, can't you make this go away?

If the judge approved your subpoena--

i don't mean the subpoena.

I mean the trial.

That turd, vargas.

It's a triple murder.

We don't sweep those under the rug.

He has to be crazy, right?

He tried to kill himself.

Send him to a mental institution.

He's not pleading insanity.

No, his defense is that I did it.

Or franklin slater, or one of the other candidates

he so generously backed.

Jack, have you heard of a group

called new yorkers for good government?

They want you to run for a full term

at the next election.

They do? Mm-hm.

They admire the fact that you're not a politician.

So they want me to become one.

[Laughing]

Ironic, isn't it?

If you want to continue your fight for truth and justice,

you will have to get elected.

I'll consider it when the time comes.

Victor vargas

already considered it.

He thinks you're his kind of guy.

He's contributed $10,000

to new yorkers for good government.

You could be next on his witness list.

Maybe you murdered sean witt.

Melanie, vargas isn't proving anything.

He's flailing.

And bringing down good people, jack.

We're not monsters.

We want to do good things, just like you.

So I should ship him to a mental institution

without a trial?

This isn't communist russia, melanie.

Truth and justice.

There's nothing I can do.

(Melanie) Sean witt never called me.

I didn't know you'd swindled him,

and I didn't know the truth about you.

Are you sure he didn't call?

I'd given more of his money to you

than I did to slater.

I thought that you were a wealthy businessman

with wealthy friends.

That's what you told me.

So you had no idea I wasn't telling the truth.

No.

I showed up out of nowhere.

If you'd done a simple internet search,

you would have found out that five years ago

victor vargas did not exist.

Objection, the defendant is testifying.

Sorry.

Did you run a background check on me?

There didn't seem to be any reason to.

Because I'd brought $2 million into your campaign?

Is that why there wasn't any reason?

Because you seemed to fit in.

You liked to talk about politics.

You even gave me a memo that you wrote

on health insurance for immigrants.

Did you know the addresses I gave you

didn't check out?

No.

Did you know I brought your campaign

$24,000 from the family of a janitor?

No.

(Vargas) What's your iq?

I don't know.

What universities did you attend?

Princeton, harvard, london school of economics.

(Vargas) You knew, didn't you?

Isn't that why you didn't check me out?

You knew, but didn't want to see the proof,

because you wanted my money.

Objection.

And you didn't want anyone else

to see the proof, either.

If sean witt was going to blow the whistle,

that was a problem for you!

(Cutter) Objection!

Sustained.

(Vargas) The district attorney is protecting you, isn't he?

Isn't jack mccoy your political ally, your friend?

(Judge) That's enough, mr. Vargas!

Take your seat.

Mr. Cutter?

No questions.

You didn't even cross-examine?

The accusation is outrageous.

Really?

How many people think hilary clinton

had vincent foster murdered over whitewater?

I didn't want to dignify that kind of thinking

by asking her to deny it.

You could have made some effort. (Cutter) Sure, I also

could have asked her "how could you possibly be

as dumb as you're pretending to be?"

But I didn't think that was gonna help either.

(Rubirosa) Vargas is right, isn't he?

About the money.

It's all about the money.

They call it "free speech,"

but apparently it's very expensive.

He is right.

Nobody wanted to know.

So nobody wanted sean witt to tell.

Now you're making vargas's case.

Why didn't he run when he jumped bail?

He could have made it to south america.

(Cutter) He's such a good con man

he conned himself.

He thinks he can beat us.

Maybe now, but what was he thinking

when he tried to commit suicide?

Ths the victor vargas you want the jury to see.

Thank you very much for coming.

So going over your man cutter's head, eh?

Because of what I said about you and melanie?

Just need to take one phone call

before we talk.

It wasn't personal, mr. Mccoy.

I'd be proud to support you in the next election.

I'm really... A tremendous admirer.

Thank you.

If you wanna freshen up while you wait.

I'm sure it's not too pleasant being in jail.

(Woman) Victor?

Melanie?

How'd you--?

Mccoy.

Just like you said, victor.

He's pulling the strings.

Trying to protect you.

He was.

Now he's protecting himself.

You've got him in a bind.

He has political ambitions.

He says he doesn't.

You know better.

You know what it's like.

You've linked me to you and to these murders.

You've linked him to me.

In order to preserve his squeaky clean image

now he has to come after me.

He's going to indict my campaign

as a corrupt enterprise,

for knowingly accepting stolen money.

That's not what I wanted.

But that is what you said I did.

I had to defend myself.

This is the end

of my political career, victor.

I thought you genuinely admired me.

I do.

I thought you genuinely wanted to help.

I read your memo about health insurance,

it has some excellent ideas.

You think so?

Yes.

Yes! Please, victor...

Do the right thing.

Not just for me, but for the people of new york,

of this country.

Everything that I want to do,

everything that we want to do,

it's not gonna happen because of these lies

that you're telling.

I'm sorry.

I really am.

I'm sorry.

But it's part of the game.

You understand.

It's like you said.

Mm.

(Vargas on a tape) I'm sorry.

But it's part of the game, you understand.

It's like you said.

What was part of the game, mr. Vargas?

That was a trick.

She tricked me.

(Cutter) Why shouldn't she?

You accused her of murder.

But that was just a game.

Right?

Why don't you play what came after on the tape?

There is no more. That's where it ends.

Do you really believe melanie carver,

or any candidate you supported

killed sean witt and his roommates?

No.

(Cutter) Because you did.

Isn't that right?

No.

Because sean witt was gonna expose your fraud

and send your politician friends

running from you like the plague.

They weren't friends. They were my cover.

They made me seem legitimate.

(Cutter) Just your cover?

Well, then all you had to do

was show up at their parties with a checkbook.

You didn't have to write a memo

about health insurance for immigrants.

That was part of playing the role.

(Cutter) We just heard the tape.

Mr. Vargas, there's no role left to play.

But you're still discussing

your ideas with the candidate.

She brought it up.

(Cutter) And you enjoyed it.

Are you denying it was interesting

to be discussing public policy

with a possible future president

of the united states?

No. Of course it was.

Of course it was.

But sean witt was gonna take that away from you.

I didn't have to kill him.

I could have just paid him back.

How?

Josh pearlberg was on to you.

Your investor pool was drying up.

I had other potential investors.

But sean witt didn't wanna wait to get his money back.

I only needed a few days.

But he didn't believe you, did he?

Because he knew better, so you shot him

as his roommates walked in at the wrong time,

so you shot them too.

No.

Because he was gonna bring it all

to an end!

Your hobnobbing with political superstars.

The imaginary life you'd come to believe in.

It wasn't imaginary.

She liked me.

You heard her.

She was tricking you. You just said so.

But she didn't have to say that.

You believed your own lie that you mattered

to them. It wasn't a lie.

That's why you killed them.

They liked me! They really did.

That's why you tried to kill yourself!

Tell them, melanie.

You liked me.

Tell them you liked me.

(Melanie) Guilty.

Guilty, guilty.

Congratulations, jack.

I was just wondering,

our little bathroom tape,

it didn't completely nail him,

but he fell apart anyway.

He was off his game.

Borderline personality, jack.

And your man cutter played him just right.

Vargas said something

about the rest of the tape.

But there was no rest of the tape.

Did you stop it?

[Laughing]

The primary's next tuesday.

Don't forget to vote.

Captioning by gabriela at captionmax www.Captionmax.Com