All language subtitles for Law.And.Order.S22E16.WEBRip.x264.Hi

- 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.

[tense music]

♪

[floorboards creaking]

- Hello?

[grunting]

[clattering]

- Detective.

- Oh, Detective. Welcome back.

- Yeah, good to be back.

Most part.
- Mm-hmm.

Vic looks familiar. Stabbed?

- There appear to be two wounds
on the side of the torso.

Based on the location, I'm
guessing punctured lungs.

- Looks like a cyclone
tore through here.

He put up a hell of a fight.
- Yeah.

Whoever the killer was, they
did not leave here unscathed.

Is that a Pulitzer?

- Awarded for local
reporting to Jacob Ackerman.

My dad used to
read him every day

when he covered the
city for "The Guardian."

No one reported like he did.
- Detectives.

Found the vic's phone
over there in the hallway.

He dialed 911.
Didn't press send.

- There's no sign
of forced entry?

- No, neighbor who called it in

said the door was wide
open when he got here.

- Thank you, Officer.

- What are you thinking?

- I'm thinking our vic saw
something through the window,

and then went outside
to check it out.

- He interrupts someone
vandalizing his house.

They have words.
It gets heated.

- Yeah, he goes back inside

to get his cell phone
to call the cops.

- Killer follows him
in. Fight ensues.

Ackerman ends up dead.

- [exhales sharply]

I read his website
every morning.

Only unbiased news source
you can find these days.

- Man was a legend.

Now, he's a headline.

[dramatic music]

♪

- I was taking Otto,
my dog, for a walk

when I saw someone bolt
like a bat out of hell

out of Jacob's house.

- Can you describe
the person you saw?

- I didn't get to see his
face. It all happened so fast.

- How about any details
on what they were wearing?

- A big ski jacket, and
they had a winter hat on.

- Can you describe the jacket?

- Like, dark green.

And it had really bright,
fluorescent orange accents.

- Could you tell if the
suspect was a man or a woman?

- Honestly, I
couldn't say for sure.

- How about height?

- I don't know.
Maybe 5'8 ", 5'9".

- Thank you so
much for your help.

If you remember anything
else, give us a call.

- Great, we're looking
for a shortish man

or a tallish woman.
- Yeah.

And if they were all bundled up,

the door cams aren't
gonna be much help.

- Sir, behind the tape.
- You have to let me through.

This is my father's house!
- Hey, sir?

Hey, sir. How can we help you?

- Who did that?

What's going on?

- Um, I hate to tell you this,
but there's been an incident.

And your father was attacked.
- Oh, my God.

- Unfortunately,
he didn't survive.

We're very sorry.
- I'm sorry.

- Oh, the son of a
bitch! I knew it!

- You knew it?

What do you mean? You
know who did this?

- Yeah, Lamar Cordell.

- The podcaster?

He prides himself on
being controversial.

- He's not controversial.
He's hateful.

He was pushing some
nonsense on his show

about the Jews being responsible

for the oppression
of Black people.

My father wrote an op-ed
calling him out over it.

- And I'm guessing Cordell
didn't take it too well.

- A few days ago, he
sent my father a DM

saying he was gonna do to him
what the Jews did to Jesus.

- Seriously?

Of course Ackerman
would weaponize his lies

to get the cops
to come after me.

[scoffs] Mm-mm-mm.

This is America, y'all, in 2023,

where the free-thinkers

who've red-pilled themselves
from the sheep, well...

- Will you just
answer the question?

Did you threaten
Jacob Ackerman's life?

- I am the victim here.

Look, Ackerman and his tribe

are trying to stop people from
learning the unsanctioned truth

of what they've done
to us, my brother.

- Oh, no.

I am not your
brother in this, OK?

Your brand of crazy,
that's all you.

- I hate to break the
news to you, buddy,

but when it comes
to being a victim,

Ackerman's definitely
got you beat.

- How's that?
- He was murdered this morning.

And you happened to
threaten to do that to him

three days ago, brother.

- Well, I didn't
mean it literally.

Look, I wasn't gonna kill him.

I was... I was saying I
was gonna make him a martyr

for his cause.

- Well, that clears that up.

- Look, the more
he and I fought,

the more people paid attention.

More attention brings in clicks,

and more clicks, more money.

Look, I don't believe
half the things I say.

But that's how the
game is played.

- Oh, so you're saying
you two were friends?

- No, I needed him.

Like I stated, he's
good for business.

- OK. Where were you
6:00 a.m. this morning?

- Here, like every other day.

- The keypad entry system
at the recording studio

confirms Lamar Cordell was there

at the time of the murder.
- So he's not our killer.

He's just a guy pretending
to want Ackerman dead

for clickbait.

- ME's report says
the knife used

to kill Ackerman likely
had a 7- or 8-inch blade

with a serrated edge.

- That's a hunting
knife. That's hardcore.

- Cordell might
not have believed

the anti-Jewish hate he spewed,

but his comments fired up
a lot of people who do.

I found a ton of online
hate directed at Ackerman.

- Fantastic.
Hundreds of suspects.

Love that.
- Gets worse.

Two days ago,
Ackerman was doxxed

by an anonymous poster on an
anti-Semitic Reddit thread.

Listed Ackerman's home address.

- Say what you want
about sticks and stones,

but words today can
definitely kill you.

- Forensics didn't find
a second blood type

at the crime scene,
but they did find

a partial print on
the spray paint can.

Belongs to a guy by the name
of Lucas Hobbs, 25 years old.

He's got plenty of priors too...

Aggravated assault,
harassment...

And a known association
with the Wolves of Vanguard.

- I'm guessing that's not a
nature enthusiast organization.

- No, it is a white
supremacist militia group.

- Lucas Hobbs, how you doing?

Hey, come on.

- Police!

- Oh, no. Not
today, sweetheart.

- [grunts]
- Get over here.

- Lucas Hobbs,
you're under arrest.

You have the right
to remain silent.

Anything you say...

- You think you can
stop us, but you can't.

This is a movement.

Revelation is coming.

- I think you mean
incarceration.

- Come on, we got
your fingerprints

on the spray paint can.

- So?

- So Ackerman come outside

while you were
defacing his property.

You guys have words?

- When did they, uh,
saddle you with him?

- About six months ago.

Dream come true.
Thanks for asking.

- Be careful.

Never trust one of
them with a gun.

- You know, I'm about this close

from letting you walk free

just so I can find
you in the street

and finish this conversation,
just you and me.

- Well, that's good with
me. You just let me know.

- As much as I would love
to see that conversation,

we're not gonna let you go.

So you either tell us
your side of the story

or we'll skip to the good part
when we charge you with murder.

- I told you already,
I didn't kill him.

I just tagged his house.

I wanted to expose how these
Zionists control the media.

- Yeah, but, you see, the
Zionist you were exposing

wound up dead.

- That's his problem, not mine.

I never even saw the guy.

Say what you want,

but I didn't kill
that Jew reporter.

[knocks at door]

- We got video of Hobbs

on the subway platform
near Ackerman's brownstone

boarding a Bronx-bound train

ten minutes before Ackerman's
neighbor called 911.

And he wasn't wearing
a green jacket,

as your witness described.

- So he's telling the truth.

- Yeah, it looks that way.

- Well, that clears
him of the murder,

but he's still guilty
of a hate crime.

- Book him on making graffiti
and criminal mischief

and anything else
you can think of.

- Happily.
- And start digging

into Ackerman's personal
and professional life,

and see if anything
else was going on

that might have made
somebody want to kill him.

- Jacob and I left
our newspaper jobs

five years ago to start Endnote.

Purer journalism without
the profiteering.

- Lofty mission. Tough
business model, though.

- Our business is doing well.

We're in the process of
selling a majority stake

to an investment firm in Sweden.

- And things between you
and Ackerman were good?

- Yeah. Yeah, of course.

I just... I just still haven't
processed that he's gone.

- You know, we read some
of the text messages

you sent to Ackerman last week.

You know, what did you
call him, a selfish prick?

- And an arrogant boomer.

And we know that Ackerman wanted

to pull the plug on the deal,
and that made you furious.

- So I shot off a bunch
of angry text messages.

We needed that deal.

- So why did Ackerman
try to tank it?

- Because he's a purist.

When Jacob heard
that the buyer wanted

to skew our coverage
to the far left,

reposition us as the liberal
"Fox News," he balked.

- But the good news for you is,

now that Ackerman is
out of the picture,

you're free to do whatever
you want with the company.

- I didn't kill Jacob.

- Just the same, where
were you yesterday morning?

- At home with my family.

It was my son's birthday.

- All right.

Can you think of anyone else

that might have a
problem with Ackerman?

Any confrontations?

Any threats that you know about?

- He has been a little
distracted the past few weeks.

- 'Cause of all the hate
he's getting online?

- Because he was spending a lot
of time with a younger woman.

- Jacob and I were
close for years.

He was the first person to
hire me right out of college.

He was my mentor.

- I understand you were
spending a lot of time

with him lately.
- Yeah.

We were working
together on an article.

- So your relationship
was strictly professional?

- Yes, absolutely.

- What were you two working on?

- Something really big.
- Big how?

- A few months ago,
six people died

in a fire in the
Myers-Hamilton House.

It's a public housing project.
- I remember that.

The fire doors didn't deploy
like they should have, right?

- And the official story

is that the fire
doors didn't activate

because of a
mechanical malfunction.

- But the unofficial story?

Apparently, Ackerman uncovered

that the fire doors
at the housing project

were supposed to be serviced

two months before
the fire broke out,

but that didn't happen

because the contractor the
city paid to do the work,

a company called SiteShield,
doesn't actually exist.

- What do you mean
it doesn't exist?

- Phony address.

The phone number listed
is to a florist in Queens.

$5 million was paid
out of a city budget

to a shell corporation.

- Meaning someone's embezzling
millions of dollars.

And as a result, six
people burn alive?

- Yeah.

- What if Ackerman
was getting close

to figuring out who was
behind the embezzling?

- Hell of a motive.

- And this reporter,

McAllister, she
know who's involved?

- She said that Ackerman
traced the money trail

back to Patricia
Simonian's office,

but she has no proof that
she was personally involved.

- Patricia Simonian?
As in the deputy mayor?

- Yeah, she hands out
the city contracts.

- Just got off the phone
with Simonian's assistant.

She hasn't been able to
reach her since Saturday...

The day before
Ackerman was murdered.

- All right, guys.

You got to find her.

[knocks at door]
- NYPD!

NYPD!

[door unlocks]

NYPD!

Police!

- Frank.

- [sighs] Yeah.

.

- Neighbors don't report seeing
or hearing anything unusual

the past few days.

Didn't see anyone coming or
going from the apartment.

- Well, I did see a
camera in the lobby.

Check with the building manager.

Have him pull footage
from the last four days.

Thanks.

- No sign of a break-in.

- So there's a chance
she knew her killer.

What you got?
- Cause of death

appears to be
blunt force trauma.

Something heavy. Multiple
blows to the head.

- Obviously, she's
been dead a while,

but any estimate on
exactly how long?

- It's been a couple days.

I mean, based on the signs
of putrefaction I'm seeing,

I'd say sometime late Saturday
night or early Sunday morning.

- That was before
Ackerman was killed.

Are you confirming
that she was killed

sometime before
6:00 a.m. Sunday?

- She's definitely been
here longer than that.

- Well, that rules her
out as Ackerman's killer.

These two murders
have to be connected.

- So Ackerman's investigating
the embezzlement of city funds,

and he suspects the deputy
mayor of being involved.

And then, somehow they both
end up murdered hours apart.

- Odds of this
being a coincidence?

- Zero.

- This is video from
Simonian's lobby

at 11:07 p.m., Saturday night.

- Oh, she let him in.

Look at their body
language. She knows him.

- Look at that
jacket, height, build.

The guy matches the description

of the suspect from the
Ackerman crime scene.

- Half an hour later, the
same person leaves alone.

And look, he's clearly
holding something.

- Likely the murder weapon.

- OK, so this confirms

we're looking for one
killer for both homicides.

And the question is, who's got
motive to murder both victims?

- Ackerman was
investigating SiteShield.

- And Simonian is the one who
approved the city-wide contract

for SiteShield.

- Julia McAllister was working
on the article with Ackerman.

If the killer knows that...

- OK, let's get her into
protective custody ASAP.

[door opens]

- We'll have an officer posted
outside the door at all times

and two officers in
a patrol car outside.

- How long do I
have to stay here?

- Until we find out
who's responsible

for the embezzlement.

- Whoever it is,
they're murdering

anyone they think
is connected to you,

which puts you in danger.

- I need to check on someone.

- Who might that be?

- When Jacob figured out
that the deputy mayor

might somehow be
involved with SiteShield,

I gave him the contact info

of someone I thought might
have some information,

someone who had come
through for me before.

- And why didn't you tell us
this yesterday when we spoke?

- I was protecting my source.

And I wasn't even sure if
Jacob had connected with them.

- If you tell us who they are...
- No.

They are an anonymous source.
That's the whole point.

Please, just let me make a call,

and I'll find out who
was behind SiteShield.

- So that's our embezzler.

[engine starts]

- Looks like he's heading north.

The 278 onramp's up ahead.

He could be making a run for it.

That looked like a
rolling stop to me.

[sirens blaring]

License and
registration, please.

- What did I do?

- You rolled through
that stop sign, sir.

License and registration.

- What are you...
- Please. Now.

That's quite a shiner you
got there, uh, Mr. Costa.

How'd you get that?
- Excuse me?

- Simple enough question.

- [scoffs] What the
hell's going on here?

- Step out of the vehicle.
- What?

- Step out of the
vehicle now, sir.

Hands on the roof.

[handcuffs clicking]

- I have no idea what
you're talking about.

- Don't lie to us, David.

We know you embezzled city money

and that you got into an
argument with Patricia Simonian

two days before
she was murdered.

- And unfortunately for you,

a third party overheard
that conversation.

- We know that you're the
one behind SiteShield,

and that makes you responsible

for the six people
who died in that fire.

- I've never even
heard of that company.

- Jacob Ackerman contacted

the deputy mayor
Saturday afternoon.

And she got spooked

that a reporter was
poking around, didn't she?

- And you realized that
she was a liability.

So you went over to
her place that night,

and you killed her.

- And then you went to
Ackerman's to finish the job.

But he put up a
fight, didn't he?

- I'm not gonna say another word

until my attorney gets here.

[knocks at door]

- That's fine, Dave.

Because you know what
that sound means?

It's the signal that we
got our search warrant.

[police radio chatter]

Find anything?

- No green jacket.

- You got to be kidding me.

- About?

- It's right out in the open.

- No way.

[whistles]

- Third from the top.

- He can't be that stupid.

Come on.

- There.

It's faint, but it's
definitely blood.

- Wow.

.

- David Costa and
Deputy Mayor Simonian

were co-conspirators in
an embezzlement scheme

that led directly to
the deaths of six people

in a public housing unit fire.

- And Jacob Ackerman was
working on an article

that would have
exposed their crimes,

so Costa killed Ackerman
and the deputy mayor

to keep the truth
from being discovered.

- And you have evidence
to back this up?

- DNA tests confirm
that blood on the knife

found at David Costa's
home belongs to Ackerman.

- And while they didn't
find a jacket or hat

that matches the
description of our witness,

they did find this on
Costa's social media.

It's the same jacket from
the surveillance footage.

- You can prove motive, means,

and you've got him in possession

of the murder weapon.
What's the problem?

- Well, our evidence in the
Ackerman case is strong.

But we don't have
much, if anything,

tying him to Simonian's murder.

- Then separate the cases.
[phone buzzes]

Hold off on Simonian's until
you have more evidence.

And in the meantime, move for
trial on the Ackerman case.

- Costa's attorney
just filed a motion.

They want to suppress
the murder weapon.

- It's our contention that the
search warrant in this case

was defective.

- Mr. Price, what
was the basis

for probable cause
in your affidavit?

- The defendant
has a clear motive,

and detectives observed
cuts and bruises on his face

during a routine traffic stop.

- Ah, yes, two seasoned
homicide detectives

suddenly morph
into traffic cops.

They pulled him over
for a rolling stop.

This is laughable.

The police circumvented my
client's constitutional rights

with a trumped-up, unverifiable,

alleged traffic violation.

- They were within their rights.

- No, they exploited
a technicality

and violated the
spirit of the law.

- I tend to agree.
It's an overreach.

And since the stop
is where they noticed

the cuts and bruises which in
turn led to the search warrant,

the knife is fruit of
the poisonous tree.

Defense's motion to
suppress is granted.

- You been able to find anything

in Costa's personal
finances that ties him

to the embezzlement?
- Negative.

And I've requested information
on SiteShield's account,

but the bank in Panama where
the company receives the funds

is citing the privacy
of their clients.

And we have no jurisdiction
to challenge it.

- Which is why Costa was
funneling the embezzled funds

through them in the first place.

You lost the murder weapon.

This was supposed to be
the case you could win.

- I still can.

Ackerman was on the verge

of exposing SiteShield's
responsibility

for the six deaths in
the Myers-Hamilton fire.

And as the person behind
the shell company,

David Costa had
the most to lose.

- Without documentation

tying Costa to the
shell corporation,

you can't even prove
he was involved

in the embezzlement scheme.

- I can do it through
Julia McAllister,

Ackerman's colleague.

She was writing the
article with Ackerman.

She can testify to how
he came to suspect Costa.

- Good.

But you still need to play
to the jury's emotions.

Remind them that the
defendant has a lot more

than just Jacob Ackerman's
blood on his hands.

- This was not an accident.

What happened to the people in
that building was horrific...

To be burned alive.

And the tragedy is their
deaths could have been avoided.

- Ms. McAllister, what did you
and Jacob Ackerman discover

in the course of your reporting
on the Myers-Hamilton fire?

- The city hired a
company called SiteShield

to install fire safety
doors in that building.

Turned out it was a
shell corporation,

and they never did the
work they were paid to do.

- How much were they paid?
- Over $5 million.

- And were you able to determine

who was behind SiteShield?

- Yes, I found a source

who had firsthand
knowledge of the situation.

- And what did the
source tell you?

- Objection.
Calls for hearsay.

- May I be heard?

- I'll see counsel in chambers.

Where are you going
with this, Mr. Price?

- The witness will testify
that she has a source

who told her that they
overheard a conversation...

- This is hearsay.
- Hold on.

What is the proffered testimony?

- The witness' source
overheard a conversation

between the defendant and
Deputy Mayor Patricia Simonian.

The defendant admitted that
he was behind SiteShield

and that he was aware

that Jacob Ackerman was
about to expose him.

- I agree with Mr. Hollins.

- It's an admission of guilt

by the defendant...
- Actually, Your Honor...

- And therefore, an
exception to the...

- This is double hearsay.
- Double?

- McAllister isn't even the one

who claims to have overheard
this so-called confession.

We have no proof this
source even exists.

- Can you verify who Ms.
McAllister's source is?

- Unfortunately, no, Your Honor.

The source only agreed to
speak with Ms. McAllister

under the promise of anonymity,

and she's exercising her
First Amendment right

to protect their identity.

- I understand that
puts you in a bind,

but I need confirmation
this person is real.

Without that, I can't allow
Ms. McAllister's testimony.

- I need the name
of your source.

I will do everything I can
to limit their exposure.

- And we can request
a closed-door hearing.

- I can't. I'm sorry.

- Ackerman was
your friend, right?

Your mentor.

And you're OK letting
his killer walk free?

- No, I'm not OK with that.

Not even close.

But I can't reveal my source.

I-I just can't.

Jacob would understand too.

He's the one who taught me
the importance of integrity.

You live and die as a journalist

based on your word.

I'm sorry.

I can't help you.

.

- Can you describe
the person you saw

running away from
Jacob Ackerman's home

on the morning of January 8th?

- He was wearing this
big, green puffy jacket.

- Was there anything
unique about the jacket?

- It had a bright, fluorescent
orange liner and hood.

- Mr. Fulcher, this is
a picture of David Costa

taken a week before the murder.

Is the jacket he's
wearing in this photo

the same as the one
you're describing?

- Yes, that's it. No question.

- Thank you. Nothing further.

- Mr. Fulcher, by
your own admission,

you never saw this
person's face, correct?

- Yes, that is correct.

- In fact, you told police

that you couldn't even tell
if the person that you saw

was a man or a woman.

- That's true.

- So what you saw was a
person in a ski jacket

running down the street.

- He or she was running out of
Jacob's home wearing that coat.

- But what you can't say
beyond a reasonable doubt

is that my client...

Had anything to do
with this murder.

- No, I guess not.

- No further questions.

The prosecution is making a
lot of noise about a jacket.

Do you, in fact, own a
green and orange parka?

- I did, but I donated
it to the Goodwill

a week before the murder.

- Your Honor, I'd like to offer
a receipt of this donation

and ask that it be
marked exhibit 12.

So you're not the person
Stephen Fulcher saw

fleeing the scene of
Jacob Ackerman's murder?

- Absolutely not.
I'd never even heard

of Jacob Ackerman
before I was arrested.

- Thank you.

- Your cell phone
location data puts you

within a 12-block radius of
Jacob Ackerman's brownstone

on the morning of the murder.

How do you explain that?
- I went out for a run.

- You live in Queens.

Jacob Ackerman lived
in the West Village.

- Well, I like to explore
different parts of the city.

- You familiar with a
company called SiteShield?

- Your Honor, we're venturing
into dangerous waters.

- Anything else, Mr. Price?

- The idea that
anyone would travel

over a body of water
and across two boroughs

to jog at 6:00 a.m.
on a Sunday morning,

it's ludicrous.

But I saw the jurors' faces.

They were entertaining it.

- No one likes the idea

of condemning a man
to life in prison.

Credible or not,

reason to doubt gives
them reason to acquit.

- I don't see how we
come back from this.

- Then maybe it's
time to reach out,

discuss a plea.
- Maybe not.

I just got a call
from an attorney

representing Lucas Hobbs.

- The neo-Nazi?

- The guy who spraypainted
Ackerman's brownstone

the morning of the murder.

- What did his lawyer want?

- I was watching the news,

and they did a
story on your trial.

I recognize that guy
you're prosecuting.

- You know David Costa?

- I saw him the
morning of the murder.

- [sighs] Where exactly
did this happen?

- On Ackerman's block,
just a few houses down.

After I tagged his
house, I was headed back

to the subway to go home,
and he bumped into me.

So I shoved him, told him
to watch where he was going.

- Mm, and you remember
what he looks like,

even though it was months ago?

- Yeah, I'm not gonna
forget his face.

He pulled a knife on me.

He said that if I knew
what was good for me,

I'd watch where I was going.

- What did this knife look like?

- Blade was about yay big.

The handle was kind of gold.

Had, like, pearl
and stuff all in it.

- You notice anything
else about the blade?

Um, did it have a straight edge?

- No, it was serrated.

- Why didn't you
mention this to police

when they questioned you?

- Because I'm not a snitch.

Not for free, anyway.

- My client is
currently being held

on an aggravated assault charge.

- We heard.

Attacked a Jewish woman
in broad daylight,

completely unprovoked.

- Mr. Hobbs maintains
his innocence.

And he would be happy
to help in your case

in exchange for
your help with his.

- What did you have in mind?

- A dismissal.

- He put a young
woman in the hospital,

and you want a free pass?

- That, or I don't testify.

- Are you certain Lucas Hobbs
is even telling the truth?

Did he really see the
defendant at the murder scene?

- His description of
the knife was spot-on.

And those details were
never made public,

so either he is omniscient

or he saw Costa
holding the knife

a block from the murder scene.

But, Jack, look at this.

Hobbs brutally assaulted
a 19-year-old Jewish woman

when he overheard her
speaking Hebrew with a friend,

and he wants all charges dropped

in exchange for his testimony.

- We're talking about a
murder case here, Nolan.

- Yeah, I understand that.

I was prepared to offer him

more leniency than he deserves.

But what he did,

he shouldn't be allowed
to walk away scot-free.

- This isn't about what he
deserves or doesn't deserve.

It's about getting justice
for Jacob Ackerman.

- At what expense?

Sarah Khahiri, the young
woman Hobbs attacked,

has a fractured spine from
when he stomped on her back.

She needs surgery to have
her jaw reconstructed.

- What happened to
her is horrific.

But she's still alive.

Mr. Ackerman is not.

- I'm just not comfortable

giving a neo-Nazi a
get-out-of-jail-free card.

I'm not.

Especially with all the
recent anti-Semitic attacks

and the hate out there,

there's a bigger picture
to take into account here.

- I have no more tolerance
for hate crimes than you do,

and I'm all for
adhering to principles,

but not to the exclusion of
trying to win a murder case.

- So you're demanding that
I put this racist, Hobbs,

on the stand?

- Can you win without him?

- I don't know, but I'm not sure

if it's worth winning like this.

- Tell that to
Jacob Ackerman's son

and the families of the six
people who died in that fire.

Maybe I'm just old-fashioned,

but if the cost of
convicting someone

responsible for eight deaths,
including three children,

is cutting a sweetheart deal
with a white supremacist,

I'd take that deal all day long.

But this is your case.

You're the one who needs
to live with your choices,

not me.

- And how can you be
certain, Mr. Hobbs,

that the man who
pulled a knife on you

right outside of Jacob
Ackerman's brownstone

that morning was the defendant?

- I got a really
good look at him.

He got right up in my face.

He was all amped up.

I could see it in his eyes that
he didn't just have a knife,

he was willing to use it.

- Nothing further
for this witness.

- Mr. Hobbs, you were initially
questioned by detectives

as a suspect in the
murder of Jacob Ackerman,

is that not correct?

- Yeah, but I didn't do it.

- But you didn't
mention anything to them

about seeing someone with
a knife that morning,

did you?

- No.

- So you knew
Ackerman got stabbed,

and you now are claiming
that you saw someone

brandishing a knife
outside his home,

but you didn't think that
information was pertinent?

- I don't really have the best
relationship with the police.

- Well, that's
putting it lightly.

In fact, you were charged

with vandalizing
Ackerman's house

with anti-Semitic graffiti,
isn't that correct?

- Yeah.

- And you've been charged

with several other crimes
since then, haven't you?

- Objection. The
witness is not on trial.

- Sustained.
- We'll try another way.

Um, Mr. Hobbs, are
you currently on trial

for the assault of a
19-year-old Jewish girl?

- I'm innocent.

- And is your
testimony here today

in exchange for the
district attorney

giving you a full
dismissal of that case?

- Yes, it is.

- I have no further questions.

- Any redirect, Mr. Price?

- Mr. Hobbs, you are a member
of the Wolves of Vanguard,

an organization
that's associated

with the neo-Nazi
party, correct?

- Yeah.

- So when someone kills

a prominent Jewish figure
like Jacob Ackerman,

if anything, you're more likely

to lie to protect them,
not incriminate them.

Isn't that fair to say?

- If I'm being real with you,

I hate that I'm testifying
against that guy.

I got no beef with him.

But I saw what I saw.

He was there, and
he had a knife.

[tense music]

♪

- Has the jury
reached a verdict?

- We have, Your Honor.

On the charge of murder
in the second degree,

we find the defendant,
David Costa...

guilty.

[indistinct chatter]

- Hey. It all worked out, huh?

I appreciate you keeping
up your end of the bargain.

- It was a one-time deal.

You commit any crimes
moving forward,

I will make sure
you are prosecuted

to the maximum
extent of the law.

- Good doing business with you.

- You made the right call.

- I'll see you tomorrow.

♪

[tense music]

♪

[wolf howls]