All language subtitles for Law.and.Order.S02E22.The.Working.Stiff.1992.DVDRip.x264-TVV_track4_[eng]-en

Narrator:
In the criminal justice system,
the people are represented

by two separate yet
equally important groups--

the police
who investigate crime,

and the district attorneys
who prosecute the oflenders.

These are their stories.

Good morning,
Mr. McFadden.

( knocking )

Mr. McFadden?

So, Eduardo,

- what time
did you punch in?
- 5:30.

And you let him in when?

No, no,
Mr. McFadden's always
the first one here.

I think 4:00 or something.

He has his own key.

Cerreta: Mikey.

Oh, wonderful.

Taped trigger,
taped butt.

- Serial numbers filed?
- Sure.

Of course.
Why should it be easy?

The vic's wallet
and keys, Detective.

He had over a grand
in 205 on him.

- Not a robbery.
Not an amateur.
- So it's a hit.

Maybe the Mafia plays
the stock market.

McFadden let himself into
this joint every morning

according to the porter.
No security guard.

No witnesses.

Walter Fairlee,
Detective.

- Is there anything
I can help you with?
- Yeah.

What was Mr. McFadden
doing here at 4:00
in the morning?

Checking the “DAXIE.”
That's the German stock exchange.

- Marshall had a lot
of international interests.
- And what about enemies?

Ours is a competitive business.

But everybody
loved him, right?

- Everybody respected
what he accomplished.
- Which was?

Which was overcoming
his humble beginnings

and amassing a net worth
in the hundreds of millions.

This is a terrible moment
for our company.

- (bell rings)
- Excuse me.

(phones ringing, shouting)

I guess the moment's over.

( theme music plays )

Exactly what business
was Mr. McFadden in?

Like America, his business
was business.

He bought companies,
he sold companies.

Actually, he was one of the only
mergers and acquisition experts

to emerge from the '80s with his assets
and his reputation still intact.

Your boss had more degrees
than a thermometer.

Well, all of them honorary.

Mr. McFadden never finished high school.

Has anyone notified
the family?

No one to call.

His wife, Ann,
passed away six years ago.

Cancer.

Dwight Corcoran,
a former ambassador to England.

Mr. McFadden had many friends
in high places.

We'll need a list
of all of them.

Were any of them
close to him?

Mr. McFadden
was a private person.

All I knew of his life
was what I read in the papers.

“Marshall McFadden,
the king of the takeover,

son of a Yorkshire coal miner,

strikes it rich
in the new world.“

This guy bought up companies
like I buy six-packs.

Only after he recycled
the waste

it was worth a lot more than when
he bought it. Net worth-- nine figures.

Anything
from ballistics?

The bullet matches
the .38 we found in the garbage.

No prints. The FBI's
running an argon scan

on what's left
of the serial number.

You know,
these takeover guys,

they buy up a company,
spit out the pits.

- People get hurt.
- Get this--

18 months ago,
hostile takeover,

McFadden acquires a company,
Evans and Black.

Well, when the smoke clears,

480 people are looking for work.

Guy standing
on the assembly line,

I don't know,
is it worth killing over?

What about the guy sitting
in the executive crapper?

After the takeover, McFadden replaced
the entire board of directors.

White collars can get
pretty dirty

waiting on
the unemployment line.

Old days, when I ran
the Brooklyn plant,

I put in 10 hour days,
six days per.

- And now?
- McFadden closes the plant.

Now it's mornings
at my Quotron

and afternoons
at the club.

How much did he pay
for the company?

The papers say around
700 million.

That much
and he shuts it down?

Evans and Black
was worth 700.

The Brooklyn plant
was the company's prodigal son.

Some divisions get closed,
some get sold.

That's what takeover's
all about.

Just like a chop shop.

You know, these takeover guys,
McFadden, Pickens--

you ask me, press has given them
all a bad rap.

They're calling them sharks,
barracudas.

- They're not?
- They're more like angels.

They trim the fat.

Correct me if I'm wrong,
Mr. Reynolds--

after the takeover,
McFadden threw you

and the rest of the board
out on the street.

Yes, but we landed
very gently.

Golden parachutes.

I walked away with close
to seven mill.

All thanks
to McFadden, huh?

They should carve his face
on a mountain.

'90s Horatio Alger.

- Get canned,
walk away a rich man.
- High school physics.

There was no such thing
as spontaneous generation.

Reynolds and all his cronies
at the top are making a lot of money,

it's got to come
from somewhere.

- Guys at the bottom?
- My Uncle Sal--

40 years of sweat
and ink

at Pylon Printing
in Queens.

The owner sells out
to a German corporation.

-Your Uncle Sal was history.
- No medical, no pension.

He's 68 years old and all he's
got to show for it is purple
fingernails.

- And no golden parachute.
- Let's go see what happened
to the working stiffs.

Fairlee:
Excuse me.

Now, you can't just confiscate
documents without a warrant.

- Why not?
- McFadden's the victim,
not the suspect, right?

Of course.
I just thought you--

Don't think.
Cooperate.

Over there.

I got to hand it to the guy,
he made it,

but he sure as hell
wasn't afraid to spend it.

A real philanthropist.
On this Evans and Black deal

his lawyers collected
close to two mil.

Wow.
Maybe they earned it.

Listen to this.

Memo from his attorneys
re: Brooklyn plant.

“Collective bargaining
agreement

with Local 8157
expires November 30th.

It would, therefore,
be ill-advised

to cease operations prior
to December 1st.“

McFadden was going to close
that Brooklyn plant from the get-go.

Screw the union
with a legal stamp of approval.

His father worked
for the coal mines.

You'd think he'd have
a little sympathy for the grunts.

Boy, they sure had
some for him.

This is a letter
from the union agreeing

to rollback
all the salaries by 15"/.,.

To McFadden?

No, to the loan department

at the Bank
of the Five Boroughs.

“...in order to induce the Bank
to finance the acquisition

of Evans and Black, Inc.
by Marshall McFadden.“

Signed, Edward Palmieri,

President of Guild
of American Industrial Workers.

So he gets the union
to close the deal

then he bites them
on the butt?

All's fair in M & A.

That letter
from the union,

who did you say
signed it?

Palmieri.

Palmieri.

Palmieri.

Palmieri.

Last month, a check drawn
on the account

of Ann McFadden
Cancer Foundation

payable to Edward G. Palmieri
in the amount

of 100,000 smackeroos.

Wow.

You think
this Palmieri moonlights

as a cancer specialist?

McFadden gets the union
to agree to future rollbacks.

Company looks more profitable.

More attractive for the bank.
It's all kosher.

Except McFadden
never intended

to sign a new contract
with the union.

He planned on shutting down
the plant in Brooklyn

- as soon as the union
contract expired.
- It was all a con.

And the head of the union
is running point.

A mook named Palmieri--
pocketed 100 Gs

from McFadden's
charitable foundation.

Fellas, what's wrong
with this picture?

McFadden is making
Palmieri rich

and he's going to kill
the golden goose?

But this is a guy who would
sell out the rank and file.

It doesn't make him
a killer.

Well, if the stakes
get high enough.

Maybe there's a history
between McFadden and Palmieri.

Unions keep records.

A subpoena might help.

Well, how does a subpoena
duces tecum sound?

It means lay your cards
on our table.

You want documents,
you got documents.

My client is merely
satisfying the subpoena.

We asked
for documents relating

to the union's dealings
with Marshall McFadden.

Not the history of the world
parts one and two.

Come on, Counselor.
The duces tecum was specific.

“Dukis“ my tuckus.
You wanna know something,
you talk to me.

All right.
Tell us about the agreement

to roll back union bennies
when McFadden took over.

The old owners were living
in the dark ages.

They hold onto the company,

the Brooklyn plant
goes right down the crapper.

The Brooklyn plant goes
into Chapter 11

and the union is out
on the street.

And where I come from,
something is better than nothing.

Yeah, Eddie agreed
to the rollback,

the bank likes the deal.
So everybody's happy.

Yeah, until the Iimey stabs us
in the back.

Us? Looks like
you did all right.

What, are you implying
something?

$100,000 payable
to your client

from McFadden's
foundation.

That was for consulting.

Look, we don't even care
about the payment.

What we're concerned with
is why the payer is dead.

Wait a minute,
you guys think that I--

My union's got
10,000 members.

10,000 members!

The Brooklyn plant canned,
what, a couple of hundred?
It's not worth my time.

Eddie, whose time
is it worth?

Are you charging me
with something?

Cragen:
No, no, we're not.

But maybe
the US Attorney's office

would be interested
in those consulting fees.

Boys who worked
the plant,

had a couple
of hotheads there.

Unemployment bennies
are running out.

Some of them have
nothing left to lose.

Pedaski, DVorkin,
Vilanis and Black.

Man:
Closed meeting, fellas.

Oh, yeah?
We won't go in,

we'll just listen
at the doorway.

Speaker:
...nothing we can do
about unemployment benefits.

Local 8157, official business.
Get lost.

Shield 9215, ditto.

Speaker:
We are scheduled to meet
with department of labor reps

the first of the month.
Everything takes time.

My recommendation is therefore
to work with the Economic
Development Council

and the State
Insurance Commissioner

- to save what--
- The Insurance Commissioner

wouldn't know a tool and dime maker
from a cheeseburger.

( laughter )

You want the floor, Simon?

What happened to our pension plan
shouldn't ever, ever,

have happened
in this country!

We paid into it for 40 years,

and now that policy
in your hand--

you may as well wipe
your ass with it.

- It's useless!
- ( applauding)

Man:
You tell him, Simon!
You tell him!

Let's hear it
for the rank and file.

We trusted the politicians,
the managers,

and those clowns on 52nd Street
with their expensive suits

that we paid for with our dues!

( cheering )

We all know you want
to overthrow Palmieri, Simon.

Overthrow nothing!

How about throwin' him
in the East River?!

- ( cheering )
- That's right! You tell him!

(truck horn blows)

So, Mr. Vilanis,
what happened to your
pension plan?

Before McFadden closed
the plant,

he took
our contributions,

invested them in junk bonds.
The market today,

we're lucky to get
10¢ on the dollar.

Were you serious back there about
dumping the union heads in the river?

Yeah, right. I shot McFadden
in the back, too.

- In the head.
- In the head!
(laughs, coughs)

I wish.
You serious?

Well, at this point,
you're the best we have.

You have an alibi, Simon?

Well, I was drinking
in Nooch's in Red Hook

till closing time,
probably.

Same as most nights.

Are you sure
about that?

Either there or St. Eligius Hospital
in Brooklyn.

Every other Thursday's
party time at the clinic.

Oh...

here we go.

The old owners,
they got their ounce
of flesh, definitely.

But they also offered us
a 99-year lease at 150 per month.

150 bucks?
Those were the good old days.

Then McFadden
and his bean counters got into the act.

First thing they did
was discover

$120 million
in hidden assets,

i.e. 20 buildings
just like that one.

But you had a lease?

99 years--

or until there was no longer
an Evans plant in Brooklyn.

He closes shop,

he's got a lot
of real estate.

Up there.

Top floor.

Only two bedrooms,

but we raised three kids
and we got along somehow.

Today it's luxury condos
for the upwardly mobile exec.

Hell, he just tossed
you people out, huh?

Naturally we couldn't come up
with the down payment.

Now the economy's
down the john,

even the yuppies
can't afford the luxury.

The McFaddens of the world leave
a lot of wreckage behind.

You don't know
the half of it.

Your doctor, Simon?

My doctor?
Dr. Bergman.

You mind
if we talk to him?

Her. Her.

Go ahead.

She's a laugh a minute.

Alveolar carcinoma
of the right lung.

Logan: Which is?

Consolidation
of the air spaces.

It's a tumor--
lung cancer.

What's that from,
two packs a day?

Could be.
Could also be 30 years

of breathing in God knows what
chemicals floating around that factory.

- And the prognosis?
- Cough. Profuse sputum,
often blood streaked.

Untreated, a patient can survive
up to nine months.

With treatment the overall survival rate
is still less than 10"/.,.

- Damn.
- That's the good news.

Bad news is, I doubt Mr. Vilanis
can afford to keep up the chemo
much longer.

- But insurance would cover it.
- Sure, if he had it.

Excuse the pun, but his life savings
is saving his life.

Or prolonging it, anyway.

And he certainly doesn't seem
like the kind of guy

who rolls over CD's
for a living.

Treatment's expensive.
How much longer can it last?

Thursday night,
was he here?

The man's prompt.
Checked in at 8:00.

Cerreta:
And what, out by 9:00?

Does this look like
Lennox Hill?

This is a clinic.
First come, first serve.
Thursday was busy.

I saw Mr. Vilanis
at 11:30.

So Vilanis left
the clinic at 12:30.

He hops into a cab,
blows McFadden away at 5:00.

- What's the problem?
- The man is dying.

Which means he has
nothing to lose.

McFadden took his job,
his money, his house, his health.

Sounds like McFadden
deserved it.

Well, your guy Vilanis

is not exactly
St. Thomas either.

Four months ago, assault.

Vilanis was arrested
for tossing an egg at McFadden.

- Charges were dropped, but--
- But what?

McFadden died of egg shells
in the brain?

There's also a weapons
charge in Brooklyn.

That was four years ago,
Donnie.

I think we're spinning
our wheels with Vilanis.

We're hassling
this poor little guy

while these rich yahoos
are laughing all the way to the bank.

Well, unless you got
something better,

why don't you check out
the charges in Brooklyn?

If it's not too much trouble,
take Robin Hood here with you.

Vilanis, Simon J.,

arrested 1988
for CPW three.

Knocked down to prohibited use
of a weapon.

Judge gave him
a conditional discharge.

Apparently,
it's an Easter Sunday tradition

with your
Greek Orthodoxes.

A few ouzos and they're taking
a few shots at the moon.

Not realizing what goes up
must come down.

Stupid, but in this case,
a misdemeanor.

He had a permit.

Could I have
the serial number?

Yeah.

M739921.

Smith and Wesson,
.38 caliber.

Thanks, Art.

Let's hope that Simon's
Smith and Wesson

is in his bedside table
next to Gideon.

- I was half in the bag.
- But an egg?

Well, it seemed like
a good idea at the time.

A message to McFadden.

You should have seen
that egg...

it was dripping down
his face.

(laughs, coughing)

You sure you want
to fire one of those up?

This has nothing
to do with it.

It's that damn air
in the plant.

36 years.

Well, maybe if you talk
to a lawyer, huh?

That's another part
of the conspiracy.

That shyster on Madison,
he saw me coming.

$5,000 non-refundable
retainer.

“A case like this,“
he said,

“must be worth
10 million minimum.“

So I write him a check.

And?

And?

The guy gets in a cab and he goes out
to the plant with his expert.

He comes back,
he says to me,

“Sorry, no case.“

“Why?"

“Because what you got
could have been caused

just by breathing
the air in Brooklyn.“

That's it?

He sent me a bill
for the cab.

Simon, your gun--

do you mind if we have
a look at it?

If you can find it.

It disappeared
a couple of weeks ago.

Thursday the 23rd,
my night to get chemo.

And you reported it,
I hope.

Reported it?

This is the third time
they broke into this dump.

The first time they broke in,
they took my television set.

The cops came out,
they said, “It's too bad.“

The next time they broke in,
they took my record player,

the cops didn't even show up.

The third time...

Cerreta:
What do you say we go down
to the station?

Maybe somebody turned it in.
Maybe you get lucky.

Yeah, maybe I'll win
the lottery.

Logan:
We 'll just go have a little talk
with the super, okay?

Detective Mike Logan.
Sorry to bother you.

Did you see
anybody suspicious
hanging around

Mr. Vilanis' apartment
two weeks ago Thursday?

No.
No?

mm

- Yeah.
- He never sees anything

till the first
of the month.

Then his eyesight
improves.

It's worth a shot,
but if he really did
kill McFadden,

you think he's going
to identify his own gun?

He's an honorable man,
you never know.

Right.
He was George Washington
in a previous life?

- Come on, Phil.
-We're up.

Listen, I don't have to tell you,

a lot of guys are dying to talk.

We'll see.

Take your time.

It looked like this.

I don't know.
But mine never had any tape.

( knocking )

Make sure, Simon.

He's not sure.
Not yet.

Well, maybe
this will help.

The FBI retrieved six
of the eight filed off
serial numbers.

It's his gun, for sure.

I think you better tell
your friend to call a lawyer.

And Phil, don't forget
to read him his rights.

( laughter )

Oh, Simon.

(coughing)

I'm getting behind here,
Counselor.

May I ask why Mr. Vilanis
refuses to enter a plea?

He wants
to represent himself.

(sighs)

I hate pro se cases.

Did he bring
his own soapbox,

or does he expect
the Court to provide one?

Robinette:
The People aren't
thrilled either, Judge.

By the time he learns the rules
of procedure, we'll all have gray hair.

Meaning what?
He's stalling?

Always a good tactic.

Mr. Vilanis can't afford to stall.

- He's dying of lung cancer.
- I've read his file, Miss Cantwell.

I'm going to enter
a not guilty plea

on the defendant's
behalf.

I'd appreciate it if you'd act

as the man's
ad hoc advisor.

Of course.

I suggest ROR.

The man needs chemotherapy
every Thursday.

Any arguments, Paul?

Schiff:
What's the problem?

Vilanis' that sick, take a plea.
Get it over with.

You don't think I tried?

You got enough
to convict, or what?

Sto n e :
Motive, ample opportunity.

The brokerage firm
was so unsecured,

he could have strolled right in.

- Plus, the FBI ballistics report.
- Get a trial date.

- Get it over with quick, easy.
- It may not be that easy.

I used to pick up
my grandfather

and bring him home after
his chemo treatments.

Yeah. And?

All he could do afterwards
was puke his guts out and fall into bed.

Let me talk to the man.

I checked with Dr. Bergman
at St. Eligius, Simon.

She said the floor
was jammed that night,

the night McFadden was hit.

She didn't get around
to you till almost midnight.

I shouldn't be talking
to you without a lawyer.

You're representing yourself,
Simon, remember?

- You're your own lawyer.
- Oh, yeah.

And then she gave you
a dose of doxorubicin.

- Yeah.
- And a 120 milligrams
of cisplatinum?

- Oh, yeah.
- That's heavy chemotherapy.

Way too heavy to then go out
and stalk somebody
and then shoot him.

So what's the story?

What's with
this pro se nonsense?

I want my day in court

to show what
that bastard did to us.

But you didn't kill McFadden.

Nope.

But I'd make a hell
of a scapegoat.

Me and my big mouth.

When your gun was stolen,

did they break in,
or what?

Somebody picked
the lock or...

Or had a key.

Listen, I pay 900 bucks
a month for this dump.

Who could afford
to hand out spare keys?

(coughing)

You okay?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

When your health insurance
crapped out,

wasn't there anyone
you could turn to?

The Labor Department.

Occupational illness.

But I wasn't their number one
priority, shall we say.

Robinette:
It's notjust Simon Vilanis.

A couple hundred workers had
their health plans gutted.

We're well aware of that.

And Mr. Vilanis' tragic story
is also well known to us.

You can stonewall him.
Don't try it with me.

- He told you that?
- Yeah.

- Figures.
- I don't know if you've heard,
but the man's in a lot of trouble.

That's what I'm trying to say.

He thinks no one listens
to him, but far from it.

- Okay, you listen.
- Listened.

I turned our investigation
over to the Justice Department
for prosecution.

Who at Justice?

He got involved because McFadden
used the workers' health fund

to finance one of his takeovers.

- He and some bank
he had in his pocket.
- What bank?

Bank of the Five Boroughs.

But you'd better talk
to Cousins.

If you can find him.

Last I heard,
they shut down his office.

Budget cut.

When was that?

When he was this close
to indicting McFadden.

We talking bank fraud
or murder?

Or don't we know
anymore?

I'm looking
for a connection.

Apparently, the victim
was about to be indicted.

Apparently?
What's going on?

Robinette:
The case is getting bigger.

McFadden was the classic
'80s shark.

He 'd go after old companies
that were failing,

take whatever was worth
salvaging.

In this case, it's the worker's housing,
health and pension funds.

Which he then invested into high-risk
bonds that took a nosedive.

After that,
he would dump the company

and the lending institution
would write off the loss.

Sure. Someone at the bank
was profiting from the takeover.

Who?

The lender was
the Bank of the Five Boroughs.

These are the officers.

Adam?

- What?
- I know that bank.

Dwight Corcoran
is the chairman.

Governor Corcoran?

Former Secretary of State,
Ambassador to England?

- That Corcoran?
- That Corcoran.

He and I cut
our teeth together... in politics

right out
of law school.

Why isn't his name listed
as an officer of the bank?

The man is 68.

I doubt if he's in there
counting bills every day.

Well, what happened,
I guess,

is someone got wind
of McFadden's pending indictment,

figured he'd panic,
take a plea.

Schiff:
Only Justice would be privy
to that information.

Someone at the bank
got nervous.

This murder could have
been pre-emptive.

Robinette:
We find the leak at Justice

and we squeeze him
to find the killer.

Yeah, where is that
Justice investigator now?

Cousins his name?

Doing pro bono work down
on Liberty Street.

I've called there twice,
he's never in.

Try him again.

I'll see what I can find out
from the other end.

You leave the Justice
Department,

you can get hired
on Park Avenue.

Yeah, sure.
I can represent banks.

I'm an expert,
after all.

I'll take widows and orphans hurt
by exploding toasters.

Maybe I don't sleep better,

but at least I like getting out of bed
in the morning.

Who was in bed
with Marshall McFadden?

Half of official
Washington.

They stay under
the covers together?

I'd hear about a file at the IRS.
“Whoops. Misplaced.“

Comptroller of the Currency,
they treat me like I was
stealing silverware.

I thought you had
compiled sufficient evidence.

I was ready
to indict McFadden

with eight counts
of bank fraud.

Next thing I knew, they were changing
the locks on my office door.

They?
They.

Told me it
was budgetary.

Before you were shut down,
who was on your staff?

I'll need names,
addresses.

Ben Turner,
he moved over to HUD.

Kevin Morehead,
he's at Trott & Donovan,
Park Avenue.

Mike McNeer, I hear,
maybe a monastery.

You got this wrong.

Nobody in my office told
anybody we were indicting
McFadden.

Let's hope so.

40 years, Adam.

Did we ever back a winner?

We backed you
for Governor.

That was a hell of a lot
different than backing.

Without your brilliant
political strategies,

I'd have never seen Albany.

Don't act so modest.

If you'd run
my second campaign,

maybe I wouldn't have
been a one-term wonder.

Made your mark in
other ways.

The road less traveled.

No regrets here.

Then why the sudden turn
into banking?

Maybe this is a battle
I can win.

You know,
our contemporaries,

they're notjust
the captains of industry.

- They're the generals.
- Envy?

Ridiculous.

With your record,

they're gonna be naming
junior high schools after you.

My children,
their children.

When my time has come,
I'd like to give them

more than a folded
American flag.

The bank asked me to sit
on the board.

My name-- to them it's worth
a lot of money.

Dwight, is there anything I should know
about your bank's business?

Adam, we've been
friends...

for more
than four decades.

If there was anything...

believe me,
you'd be the first to know.

Thank you.

I've done complete bios
on everyone involved

in the McFadden investigation.

Rappoport and McNeer have
no apparent connection
to anyone at the bank.

And Morehead?

Inherited his blue blood
from his old man

who's currently the senior partner
at Tyler & Jones.

And guess who ran their international
department back in the early '705?

- Dwight Corcoran?
- Whose biggest client at the time

was a young British
upstart named...

Marshall McFadden.

I want Mr. Morehead

in my office first thing
tomorrow morning.

So there was a leak.

What is this,
slow news day around here?

You're the only one
who was privy

to the pending
indictment of McFadden

and connected
to Dwight Corcoran.

Stone:
We know what you did,
Mr. Morehead.

The only remaining issue
is how many years you'll
spend in prison.

Wait a minute.

Even ifl did speak
out of school,

your office has no jurisdiction
in that area and you know it.

You don't understand.

We are charging you
as an accomplice to murder.

- You can't do that.
-Yes, I can, sir.

And I most
definitely will.

Full immunity.
State and Federal.

How you work it out
is your problem.

You got to keep this
in perspective. It was...

the crazy '80s.

Banks were floating loans
to every creep in a three-piece suit.

Five Boroughs
was no different.

200 million
in failed loans since '82.

Only someone at Five Boroughs
was making a lot of money

because of the bad loans
to McFadden.

- I never thought
it was Corcoran.
- Then why the leak?

I grew up believing
that Dwight Corcoran was a good man,

and I wanted to let him know
that he was being investigated

so he could disassociate himself
from the bank.

I never thought--

I had nothing to do
with any murder.

You look like the messenger
who's afraid he's gonna be killed.

I'm afraid the message
might kill the recipient.

Well?

Paul connected one
of the staff lawyers in Cousins' office

with one of the bank officers,
all right.

Apparently, the man's father

was Corcoran's law partner
back in the '50s.

He told Corcoran about
the pending indictment on McFadden?

I'm afraid so, Adam.

Don't be.

“No fear, no favor.“

You know, that's an old
liberal muckraker's campaign slogan.

As a result of these
preliminary findings,

my office will begin
a full scale investigation

of fraud
in the banking industry.

We 're specifically targeting

what may amount to nearly
$700 million worth of fraudulent loans.

That concludes
my statement.

- I'm ready for questions.
- ( shouting )

I've heard that
the Bank of the Five Boroughs

might be a target
of your investigation.

Could you comment?

Any bank within
the jurisdiction of this office

might be a target.

Do you have specific information
about the Five Boroughs?

Yes.

Will you also be targeting
individual bank officers?

Yes.

How far up the ladder
are you prepared to go?

The investigation
will go wherever it goes.

Governor Corcoran is chairman
of the Five Boroughs, is he not?

That's our understanding.

Isn't it true you have
a long-standing relationship
with the Governor?

Yes. Friendship is no guarantee
of immunity.

Friends doesn't mean
he'll get preferential treatment.

You want your own
lecture, Adam?

It's not about
the conflict of interest.

It's about the appearance
of conflict.

The press already
has you and Corcoran
joined at the hip.

And why throw fuel
on the fire?

We recuse ourselves,

the Appellate Division
appoints a special prosecutor.

Recusal's mandatory

only if there's a business relationship
with the defendant.

Dwight was my friend.
My friend and my political ally.

Still, we don't recuse,

we may compromise
the perceived integrity
of this office.

Not if we convict
the son of a bitch.

Get me a smoking gun.

Start at the bottom.

Somebody broke into
Vilanis' apartment that night.

Well, were you home
that night or not?

No, I wasn't home.

You told the police
you didn't see anything suspicious.

If you weren't here,
how'd you see anything at all?

Lying to the police
is a felony.

It's called obstruction.

All right.
There was a guy.

He said he was a buddy
of Vilanis, you know,
from the union.

What did he want?

He said Vilanis
sent him over

to get some things
from his room.

Some papers
for their meeting.

And you let him in?

He had a union button,
you know, on his jacket.

You see him take
anything out of the room?

I wasn't paying attention.

You pay attention
to what he looked like?

He had black hair,
cowboy boots.

You know,
with the metal tips.

He was a piece of work.

(coughing)

- You want some juice?
- No, thanks.

Well, it sounds
like Joey Boots.

That's Joey Palmieri,
the Hoboken cowboy.

Palmieri?
Any relation to Eddie Palmieri,
the head of the union?

Are you suggesting
there's nepotism

in Local 8157?

That's Eddie Palmieri's cousin.

His whacko cousin.

He takes orders
from Eddie?

He's supposed to work
for the union,

but a little arm twisting
and a little leg breaking,

Joey's your man.

Why?
What did he do now?

That's still
an open question.

You guys are nuts.
Vilanis is nuts.

All that hackin' knocked
his screws loose.

You deny you were
in his room?

- Sure I deny it.
- You work for Local 8157?

- Is that correct, Mr. Palmieri?
- That's right.

And you take orders
from your cousin, Eddie Palmieri?

I take orders
from the rank and file.

Just what do you do
for the rank and file, sir?

I promote union solidarity
and discipline.

You're both Palmieris.
Don't give us that.

He is my cousin,
he's not my Siamese twin.

His life does not
concern me.

He breaks in,
steals a gun,

uses the gun to kill a guy
who's lining your pockets--

it'd concern me.

Joey Boots killed McFadden.
We know that.

And we also know
that he took orders from you.

Wait a minute.

You got proof
Joey offed the guy,

I'll testify
against him myself.

As for the money,
we already told the cops.

- It's totally above board.
- McFadden pays you--

McFadden gave me shinola.
It was his wife's foundation.

- I did some consulting.
- You expect me to believe that?

-You sold out your union.
- I tried to save my union.

There's a recession going on.
We make cutbacks or we walk the streets.

The letter to the bank
was legit.

The payment was legit.
And you want my cousin Joey?

Why don't you give him
a migraine for a change?!

The union boss was the link.

Eddie Palmieri facilitated deals
between McFadden and Corcoran's bank.

Not enough.
I want a smoking gun.

His cousin was the trigger man.

I want a smoking gun
with fingerprints!

What about the payment--
$100,000?

The check was made out
to Palmieri personally.

Unfortunately,
he's still sticking by
his consulting story.

Then we need more.

A check signed
by McFadden himself,
that's not enough?

No.

Well, it wasn't
McFadden himself.

It was a foundation,
remember?

The Ann McFadden
Foundation.

The what?

The Ann McFadden Foundation
for Cancer Research.

I gave them a $1,000
every year for five years.

That foundation.

One year, we were on the banquet
committee together.

Him?

Dwight Corcoran.

Trustee
of the Foundation.

He had to approve
all checks.

So it was Corcoran
who paid Palmieri, not McFadden.

Then that money had
to be for the hit.

And no way Corcoran wants
to do heavyjail time.

A little push,
he'll give us the Palmieris.

That's exactly what
I want you to tell Palmieri.

You want us to deal
Eddie and Joey?

I want Corcoran.

So you cajoled Mr. Vilanis' landlord
into letting you in, and then what?

Then I found the guy's gun.

I taped the handle
and the trigger

and stuck it
in my pocket.

Back home,
I filed the numbers down.

Stone:
And you used the gun
to kill Mr. McFadden, right?

That's right.

Why did you use Mr. Vilanis
as your scapegoat?

The guy had a big mouth.

Everybody in the union
knew he hated McFadden,

'cause he took over
the company

and ran it into the ground
and all.

And?

Plus he's dying of cancer,
so what the hell?

What's he gonna care, right?

Who paid you to do the hit?

My cousin Eddie.

Tell me, Mr. Palmieri,

do you recognize
People's Exhibit 37-M?

Yes, I do.

It is a check for $100,000
made out to you

and drawn from the account
of the Ann McFadden Foundation.

Is that right?

Yeah, that's right.

On the books it was supposed
to pay for my union people

to set up the tables and stuff
for the annual banquet.

The Foundation's
annual banquet?

Yeah, that's right.

Mr. Corcoran had the check signed
by the secretary.

Objection! Outside the scope
of the witness' knowledge, Your Honor.

Stone:
Let me rephrase the question.

How did this check get
into your hands, sir?

I was having dinner
at Park's Steak House,

and Mr. Corcoran came in
and joined me for dessert.

Then what happened?

He gave me the check.

He told me to take care of the problem
that we had discussed earlier.

What problem?

McFadden's indictment.

He said if McFadden goes down
he 'll name names,

and we 'll all go down
with him.

- So the check wasn't
for setting up tables?
- What, are you kidding?

It was to kill
Marshall McFadden, right?

Objection!

Withdrawn.

Sto n e :
Tell me, Mr. Palmieri,

why did Mr. Corcoran

pay you $100,000?

You know.

It was to kill the English guy--
McFadden.

Thank you.

Mr. Corcoran,
can we get a statement from you?

( reporters shouting )

George, bring him around
the back stairs.

Thank you, Adam.
Thank you.

I could use a friend.

Always did, Dwight.

That was always
the problem.

( reporters shouting )

( theme music plays )