All language subtitles for Law & Order s03e04 The Corporate Veil.eng

(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 offenders.

These are their stories.

[Bell ringing]

[Children chattering]

??[music playing on radio]

Mrs. Feffer says
my hands are too small.

I say
your mouth's too big.

She says maybe I should
switch to the clarinet.

Proves my point.

Next year I get
to be in the band.

[People chattering]

[Bicycle bell rings]

[Exclaims]

Should put you in
the corner at Shea, huh?

I'd go for a hell of a lot
less than $29 million.

Guy's a bum.
What's he at, 2.20?

Hey, he's better
than the last guy they had, huh?

Least he could do
is break a leg.

He can't hurt
the team from the DL.

Cindy Jo started
the flute last year.

Mrs. Gelfand says
she can be in the band.

They get uniforms.

Learn to sing
and we can all retire.

No! My music.

We gotta go back.

[Roberto choking]

Roberto?

[Brakes screeching]

[Horn blaring]

(man)
Somebody call an ambulance. 911.

You all right?
Sit down, okay.

You okay?
You in any pain?

Check the driver.

Did you see it?

Must have been
going 40.

Kid's name is
Roberto Martinez.

Guys from Al are
down at the scene.

His kid sister said
he passed out.

My guess,
drunk out of his mind or drugged out.

Call the family.

Did you do
the accident?

Bystanders,
bumps and bruises.

What about
the Martinez kid?

Not his lucky day.
DOA.

You do his blood?

No alcohol, no drugs.

His sister said
he passed out.

That's consistent.

The kid had a heart attack.

Hello?

[Woman chattering
on PA system]

[Siren wailing]

Roberto is dead,

and there's nothing
you can do?

Mrs. Martinez,
it's most unfortunate.

The hospital said

your son died of
a heart attack.

(Fischel)
Of course he had a heart attack.

He had a pacemaker
that wasrt won'th the plastic

it was wrapped in.

Pacemaker?

The kid was, what, 16?

18.

What, it's only illegal
to kill minors these days?

Roberto had
a heart condition.

Some quack sticks
a do-da in his chest,

the thing misfires,
and he's dead.

I'm really very sorry,

but if there was
a crime here, Mr. Fischel,

then I don't see it.

Now if what
you're saying is true,

then your client can sue
the company that made the pacemaker.

(Fischel)
Excuse me, but, uh,

what law school
did you go to?

We're suing
the company for millions.

We're suing
the doctor for millions.

Mrs. Martinez here
wants a little justice.

You mean revenge,
don't you?

Why don't you just
work with us, okay, Counselor?

[Sighs]

Roberto didn't need
a pacemaker.

In my book,
that's unnecessary surgery.

The thing craps out,
and he's dead.

That's assault
and felony murder.

I thought he had
a heart condition.

Oh, it could have been
treated with drugs,

but then
the good doctor's fee

would have been
cut in half.

What is this
doctor's name?

Dr. Trevor Hellems.

He's on 87th.

Okay.

We'll check it out.

Thank you.

Mrs. Martinez.

Hey, Fischel,

what makes you such
a freaking humanitarian?

I get
this dirtbag indicted,

and the insurance company
settles on day one.

And this dirtbag
is guilty.

No, I didn't expect you,

but I certainly know
why you're here.

Peter Fischel.
Talk about sharks.

He's already
served you with papers?

(Hellems)
Yeah.

The mars the reason
a lot of doctors

I graduated with
are now driving cabs.

He's topped himself
this time,

calling in the infantry.

Well, he claims the surgery
on Roberto Martinez

was unnecessary.

I didn't know
they taught

supraventricular
tachycardia in law school.

That, uh, was
Roberto's problem.

An irregular heartbeat
that speeds up

now and again
from a normal 70

to as high as 200 beats
per minute.

And the pacemaker
controls that?

It's supposed to.

Is it possible
Roberto could have lived

without the pacemaker?

You saw what happened
when it didn't work.

Mr. Fischel contends
he could have been treated

just as effectively
with drugs.

Hmm. Some doctors
might agree,

but I'm of the school
that believes

you don't needlessly
subject young patients

to a lifetime of toxic drugs.

Yeah, but the drugs
don't usually break.

Neither do
BioNorm pacemakers.

Pacemaker technology has been
well-established for decades.

BioNorm Industries
is at the forefront.

My decision to
implant the device

was a sound medical decision,

no matter what
Mr. Fischel says.

And I guess I'll spend
the next six years

in court proving it.

[Children chattering]

(Cerreta)
Mrs. Martinez,

we spoke with
several specialists

and they have told us

that Dr. Hellems
did nothing illegal

when he operated
on Roberto.

If nobody did
anything wrong,

then why did they offer me
$50,000 this morning?

Who are "they"?

BioNorm. The company
that made the pacemaker.

Did you take it?

Roberto said

that when he
was a rich doctor,

he'd pay for Ana
to go to Juilliard.

$50,000 pays tuition.

They told me
that I had to sign a paper

agreeing not to say anything.

I want the world to know

that these people
killed my son.

[Car horn honking]

Could be
BioNorm has a heart.

This is corporate America,
not a Cub Scout troop.

You do a good deed,
your PR department

splashes it
all over the front page.

My old man
got a new ticker.

Got to listen to
my old lady screaming at him

for six more years.

And your point is?

These companies,

their job is
keeping people alive.

Yeah, and if they
screw up,

they ought to get
handed a pink slip.

Phil, one person out of
100,000 dies from taking penicillin.

That means
we shouldn't take it?

No, but what if
there's a chance the penicillin is bad?

One kid died, Phil.

One kid
that we know about.

And that scares
the hell out of me.

(Cleary)
Lawyers call it compensation.

I call it blackmail.

There's absolutely
nothing wrong

with the device
in that boy's heart.

(Logan)
So you examined it?

No, I didn't have to.

Look, whatever study
you want to go by,

our pacemaker's
one of the top three sellers in the world.

We've never had
any problem.

You offered
Mrs. Martinez $50,000.

Some might say
that's a solution

to a pretty big problem.

$50,000.

That would be
in my lawyer's pocket the first week.

There was an itch.
I tried to scratch it.

Mr. Cleary,
that's more than an itch.

The boy died.

Well, do you want me

to hop down in the grave
beside him?

Look, 35 years ago,

my old man owned
a greasy spoon in Corona.

An old lady slipped.
She broke her hip.

By the time
her gaggle of shysters got through with him,

he didn't have
a proverbial pot.

Now, there's no way

lightning strikes
my family twice.

If Roberto's pacemaker
didn't function,

he is entitled to...

Check your source,
Detective.

Peter Fischel said
it was a malfunction.

That's the first thing
those people always say.

What about the gag order?

I've got nothing against
Mrs. Martinez.

She seems like
a very nice person.

But if she goes on
Geraldo

and starts talking about
how her boy died

with one of my pacemakers
in his chest,

well, my whole company
goes down the crapper.

[Traffic humming]

So, you tell me,
who's worse,

the lawyers
or their clients?

Scrape the bottom
of any cesspool,

you'll find it
lined with JDs.

Everything works
until some lawyer says it doesn't.

And as Mr. Cleary
so elegantly opined:

"That's the first thing
those people always say."

That's seems a pretty astute
observation for somebody

who's never had
a legal problem.

Cleary said he never had
any problems

with his pacemakers,

not that he
never got sued.

Maybe we should get
the other side of the story.

[Beeping]

Sorry. As far as I can tell,
there's nothing

currently pending
against them.

A corporation
that's not getting sued?

There goes my faith
in America.

Well, they could still be
knee-deep in litigation.

You can sue
without going to court?

In civil cases,
the courts don't get involved

until one of the parties needs
a judicial determination.

So until then,
the court has no record.

If the case is settled,
the court may never know.

We have no way
of knowing

if BioNorm has
ever been sued.

You could
check with FDA.

They'll at least have
a record of complaints.

Sure, I've heard of them.

They make pacemakers,
insulin regulators.

Expanding daily.

Inside info,
they're goir public any day.

Any problems with
those pacemakers?

(Kenny)
Nothing dramatic.

Half a dozen
preliminary reports from doctors.

How about
malfunctioning pacemakers?

I don't have
any specifics.

They've never got
past the complaint stage.

Six pacemakers failed,
and you never followed up?

Excuse me,
but it was the doctors

who never followed up.

They file a complaint,
we send them the forms.

If the doctors don't respond,
we don't pursue the matter.

It's an election year,
gentlemen.

Everybody wants
to cut government spending.

Guess whose pocket is
the first to get picked?

Let me guess.
You, me, and everybody else.

We are understaffed,
underpaid.

The whole country's
screaming about

silicone breast implants,

Halcion, irradiated food.

Six pacemakers
that may have malfunctioned,

that's not a high priority.

So you just let it go.

Cross your fingers,
hope no one else dies.

We are not a policing agency.

(Cerreta)
We are.

Suppose you
just give us the numbers

of those doctors
who filed the complaints?

I hate to be
an iconoclast.

I thought you
were a cardiologist.

Some doctors actually care
about their patients.

Doctor, the FDA
says you filed a report

but never followed up
with the questionnaire.

Alan Stein.

At 35, he finished
his fourth marathon.

The only trouble was
he smoked two packs a day

and drank six cups of
black coffee before breakfast.

At 40, he developed
a heart flutter.

Irregular beating.

And at 45?

We'll never know.

I convinced him
of the benefits of clean living,

implanted a pacemaker.

He should have
lived to 80.

But his BioNorm
pacemaker misfired.

BioNorm bought
your silence?

Tracy, Alars wife,
and his 4-year-old, Ben,

they needed the money.

How much money
did Tracy need?

$250,000.
With a caveat.

I play Ralph Nader,
she gets nada.

But maybe
a few other people

would have been alive,
right, Doctor?

All six doctors had
filed complaints with the FDA.

All of their patients died

with BioNorm pacemakers
in their chests.

All the survivors
signed settlement agreements.

Which conveniently contain
non-disclosure statements.

(Logan)
Willie Sutton wasrt so good at covering his tracks.

Seven dead.

We could be talking
about mass murder here.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
They got sued, they settled.

Doesrt mean
they're out killing people.

Yeah, well, that's how
I felt till Cleary lied to us.

He said he'd never had
any trouble.

Tell a little lie,
tell a big one.

Take it from me,
Cleary is covering something.

You got 24
to find out what it is.

I wanted to leave a company
won'th something to my son.

Sue me.

(Cerreta)
No, we have something else in mind.

I already told you,
I didn't want

the bad press.
$50,000 was well won'th it.

Cut the crap,
Mr. Cleary.

We know about
the other cases.

This one's
different.

[Sighs]

All right, all right,

we tried to take care of it
ourselves.

We never sold a pacemaker
to the Martinez boy.

It sure as hell
said "BioNorm."

No, Dad said
we didn't sell it,

not that
we didn't make it.

When Fischel
served the papers,

I compared the serial numbers
to the one in the complaint.

We keep records,
in case there's a recall.

We sold that
particular device

to a Dr. Evelyn Stark

for her patient
Ethel Barnet.

And it got into
Roberto Martinez by magic?

Paper isn't the only thing

being recycled
these days, Detective.

Mother of God.

Are you saying
the boy had a used pacemaker?

Ah, the cheap bastards.

They lose a big Nassau
on the golf course

on Wednesday afternoon,

Thursday they
try to make it up

selling second-hand goods.

You got
nothing out of it?

Sure. The start of
an ulcer, a heartburn.

But why the offer
to Mrs. Martinez?

Well, we thought
we'd go public.

We didn't want it out

because people might think
we were involved.

Now that wouldn't look
very good on our offering memorandum.

We're doing our best to find
the guy who's doing this.

I talked to
Dr. Stark personally.

No comment.

Let me guess.
She talked to a lawyer.

That's great.
That's great.

[Clicks tongue]

(Stark)
No comment.

Translation:
I have nothing to say.

Under advice of counsel?

You blame me?

Cleary calls up
ranting and raving

about an 18-year-old boy
I've never heard of.

Tells me if his
company goes down,

I'm going down with it.

You never heard of
Roberto Martinez?

At the time of his death,

he was found
wearing a pacemaker

you had implanted
in a Mrs. Barnet.

Ethel Barnet?

I can't help you.

Oh, what in hell is this,
Doctor?

A patient kicks,
and you scavenge for parts?

Now these degrees are
supposed to do more

than buy you a Benz.

For your information,
Detective,

Mrs. Barnet is alive
and living in Short Hills.

Without
her pacemaker?

With a new pacemaker.
It's called progress.

Alden Little
Pharmaceuticals came up

with a programmable device

that was better suited
to Mrs. Barnet's needs.

No, I'm not interested
in that.

What about the old one?

I donated it
to Manattan Med.

Medical schools
are always looking

for pacemakers
as teaching devices.

There's a lot of
new scavengers born every year.

God, I know that I'm saying
more than I should.

That pacemaker
had a five-year life.

Ethel used it for three years.

I really thought
that I was helping.

Sweeney's delight.

Diseased livers,
kidneys, gall bladders,

whatever you want.

What about pacemakers?

Right here.

[Drawer opening]

Go through about 25 of these
each semester.

That's for a cardiology class
of maybe 12.

These baby De Bakeys

never seem to get it right
the first time.

They all make it
into class?

Sure. Where else
they gonna go?

Rumors. Something
about a black market.

I got work to do.

You may also
have time to serve.

[Sighs]

Look, six years
down the road,

these punks get
their MD plates

and they double-park
their 'vettes

while they're having
their bagels and coffee.

Me? My transmission
goes out,

the kid needs braces.

I needed a couple
of extra bucks, okay?

Who's it gonna hurt?

You'd be surprised.

Selling school property.

Minimum,
that's what, larceny?

Hey, we get a lot of
donations here, pal.

Not all of them
are fit for use,

if you know what I mean.

Wait a minute.
You sell the rejects?

Hey, who'd you
sell it to, Billy?

Salesman.
Uh, Jeff Suiter.

Uh, seemed like
a nice guy.

Throws me
a couple of hundred, uh,

tells me we're not
breaking any laws.

Where can we find
Mr. Suiter?

Uh, he's a detail man.

Uh, an independent.

Uh, deals goods for
half a dozen companies.

Look, I only did it
a couple of times.

Yeah, right.

Mum wanted a doctor.

Only, little Jeffrey
was more interested

in orgasms
than organic chemistry.

[Chuckles]

But you can't escape
the wrath of motherhood

so I spent
four forgettable years south of the border.

You're a doctor?

I graduated
from medical school, yeah.

El Doctoro, no way.
Never passed the Board.

Seems like
you did all right.

Well, Mum went into labor
under a lucky star.

No offices, no nurses,
no malpractice premiums.

Just a small warehouse
downtown.

I keep six figures per,

hawking medical products
for up-and-comers.

I think you mean
used products, don't you?

New, used.
Doesrt matter to me.

Maybe it matters
to the consumer.

A kid died because of
one of your retreads.

I think they call that
"assumption of risk."

He knew you were selling him
second-hand goods?

If I didn't tell him,
I'd be breaking the law.

Look, I recondition them,
I sterilize them.

Mayo Clinic
couldn't tell the difference.

You're telling me
this is legal?

Nobody likes it,
but the legislature

never got around to
making it illegal.

Too busy debating
the pooper-scooper law.

As long as the purchaser knew
what he was getting,

it's all kosher.

And if the purchaser
didn't know?

It's fraud.

If he didn't know,
and it killed him?

Could be
depraved indifference.

Maybe the seller's
guilty of murder two.

Unfortunately,

the purchaser is unavailable
for questioning.

But the mother isn't.

Before Roberto was born,
we only prayed

that he'd be
healthy and happy.

Our prayers
were half-answered.

My sister's son
was two years older.

Roberto wore
his shoes and his dungarees.

But when it came
to my sors health,

I wanted the best.

So you didn't know

that he was getting
a used pacemaker?

We're poor.
We're not stupid and uncaring.

Dr. Hellems...

Killed Roberto.

Mr. Fischel was right.

For the wrong reason,
yes.

Yes. I knew.

(Logan)
So, what is it, kickbacks?

(Cerreta)
Mrs. Martinez said you never told her.

She had no medical insurance,
no money.

I did what I thought
was best.

Well, you're just
a regular Dr. Schweitzer.

I happen to be
a very good doctor.

I do not appreciate...

Every day you see
an article

about doctors
inflating costs.

We're crooks.
We're the enemy.

I tried to save
the woman some money

and keep her son alive.

Well, there were
always the drugs.

We've been through that.

I did what was
in the best interests

of my patient.

Well, it looks like
you did wrong.

No reason that pacemaker
should have failed.

Why?
Because Suiter said so?

Because I tested it myself.

That model pacemaker
has a life of five years.

The expiration date
on the battery was

three years from now.

I did not do anything wrong.

Then why the sealed lips
the first time we came here?

Mrs. Martinez's lawyer

had already started
to drag me through court.

Did you want me to
put bullets in his gun?

(Logan)
Hellems knew what he was buying,

so Suiter's
in the clear.

Maybe not.

Here,
you want one?

Come on, these are
very good for you.

No, I'll stick with
what Mother Nature gave me.

Mmm.

This pacemaker
had a life of five years.

That first cardiologist,
Dr. Stark,

said it was in Mrs. Barnet
for three years.

That's right.
And Hellems said

that when he implanted it
in Roberto,

it had three years
left till expiration.

How's your arithmetic?

I know that three plus three
equals murder two.

[Keyboard clicking]

Last year we paid the bum
$130,000 in commissions.

Still he's picking
our pockets.

The expiration date, please?

Here we go.

Oh, well, no wonder
the kid's dead.

Expiration date,
last December.

I mean, that's malpractice.

The doctor
who implanted...

Didrt know.

What do you mean,

Suiter changed
the expiration date?

That's exactly
what I mean.

That stupid bastard
killed the boy.

(Logan)
Gentlemen, don't get up.

All that's missing
is a hunchback named lgor.

What the hell's the...
Can I help you?

Matter of fact,
you can.

Turn around,
put your hands together.

(Cerreta)
Jeffrey Suiter, you're under arrest

for the murder of
Roberto Martinez.

You have the right
to remain silent.

Anything you do say can
and will be used against you

in a court of law.

I want to see my lawyer.

I'm shocked.

"Docket Number 594223.

"People v. Jeffrey Suiter.

"Charges are murder
in the second degree,

grand larceny in
the third degree."

The charges are bogus,
Your Honor.

The state is wasting
the court's time.

I'm grateful for
your concern, Ms. Adler.

Does your client
wish to make a plea?

Uh, not guilty,
Your Honor.

Color me surprised.

Mr. Robinette?

Request bail of $250,000.

Now, Ms. Adler,
why don't you tell me

all about
the unconscionability of the state's position.

My client has
a business to run, Your Honor.

He works
on commission.

Risk of flight
is less than minimal.

Personally,
I can't understand why anyone

would want to leave
our fair city.

Bail is set at $100,000,
cash or bond.

Mars creativity

expands proportionately
to his greed.

Stone's Law?

(Stone)
No one ever went Chapter 11

scamming his neighbor
out of a buck.

Used pacemakers.
God forgive us.

And an attorney's creativity
expands geometrically

to the heinousness
of his client's crime.

Adler's moving to
quash the indictment.

Says we failed to present
evidence of causation.

I like my law
better than yours.

(Adler)
No one is disputing the fact

that the pacemaker
malfunctioned.

And I'm certainly
not arguing

that the malfunction
didn't cause

Roberto Martinez's death.

Mr. Suiter changed
the expiration date.

Neither the doctor
nor the patient were informed.

Thank you for
the play-by-play, Ben,

but if you'd read
my papers,

you'd see I'm talking
about cause and effect.

Or rather,
the lack thereof.

The boy died.

But not because
the battery failed.

Wait, was the gizmo
on the fritz or not?

If I may,
Your Honor.

Ms. Kenny's
with the FDA.

She examined
the pacemaker in question.

Ms. Kenny?

Nothing lasts forever.

We require
expiration dates on pacemakers

to prevent
overuse of batteries.

In real life,
that little rabbit with the drum

eventually goes kaput.

[Sighing]
Please, Ms. Adler.

The date on the device
earmarks battery life

and nothing else.

Is there a point to this?

Mr. Martinez's
pacemaker failed, yes,

but not because
the battery was dead.

It failed
because the leads,

the wires that get
woven into the heart,

were corroded.

The battery sent
the proper current.

The heart never received it.

This corrosion,

could it have been
the result of the recycling?

No, no.

Mr. Suiter should have seen

that those leads
were corroded.

This isn't a car battery,
Mr. Stone.

These are
very delicate wires.

Sometimes corrosion is evident
on visual inspection,

but with this
particular device,

you would have to
run conductivity tests.

And if he didn't
run those tests,

then he was reckless.

I've surveyed the industry.

Not one manufacturer
runs conductivity tests

in the normal course
of business.

Wait a minute.

This thing worked
for three years

in the Barnet woman?

That is no indication.

When a corroded lead
will malfunction

is at best a crap-shoot.

(Adler)
The bottom line is

my client's behavior was not

the cause-in-fact
of Roberto's death.

He changed the dates.

So we'll plead to fraud.

Your Honor,
given some time...

(Judge Bertram)
Give it up, Ben.

You can't fight
with the FDA.

I'm dismissing

with respect to
the murder charges.

You come up with
something else,

feel free to re-indict.

He's playing three-card Monte
with people's hearts,

and the best
we can do is fraud.

Suiter is going to
enter a guilty plea.

A lenient judge,
two years, tops.

Our expert confirmed
the FDA's findings.

The corrosion was unrelated
to the recycling.

Yeah. Now, are you
saying that these wires

were bad
to begin with?

No way of telling.

I see.

(Schiff)
Well, if it was a manufacturing defect,

if the pacemaker
was originally sold

with defective leads,

we just might have
a case against BioNorm.

A civil case.

We've got
one bad apple.

At most,
it's negligence.

Not necessarily.

We know that BioNorm settled
at least six other suits.

Find out if those other apples
had corroded wires.

When I was a kid,

I used to look up at
buildings like this

and dream about
meeting a prince

and living in a penthouse.

My prince showed up,
Mr. Robinette.

His name
was BioNorm.

I'm sorry,
but there is no way

that I'm going to turn back
into being a frog.

Part of
your settlement was

a non-disclosure
agreement?

Uh-huh.

I keep quiet,
I keep all this.

The terms of your settlement
may be covering up a crime.

So you're going to arrest me
for obstruction?

I dated an attorney
for three years.

Look, all I know

is that my dad's
pacemaker didn't work.

I don't even know
what a lead is.

Your father died,
and you didn't care why?

My dad was no hero,
okay?

The best thing
he ever did was to die

with one of those gizmos
attached to his ticker.

I don't know
about you,

but I like Park Avenue

a hell of a lot more
than Canarsie.

One day, a man
from BioNorm shows up.

Offers me $250,000.

I settle faster than
you can say "gold card."

Excuse me,
Mr. Stone?

This just
came in for you.

Talked to
all six families.

All the pacemakers
were purchased

around the same time.
They all failed.

Because of
corroded leads?

Nobody ever
pinpointed why.

The lawsuits
were settled

before anybody
checked them out.

Oh, sure, every good lawyer
always files a complaint

before he knows
what the case is all about.

BioNorm paid
almost $2 million in hush money.

Makes you think
they had something to hide.

If it was the knowledge
of corroded leads

then they were acting
with depraved indifference

to human life,

and that's seven counts
of murder two.

Tough to prove.

It's gonna take
a smoking gun.

Let's find one.

[Machine beeps]

O.P.P.
Other people's parts.

We don't really
manufacture anything.

We assemble, we package,
we market the hell out of it.

Where do you
get the leads?

Singapore,
Thailand, Hong Kong,

whoever's
the flavor of the month.

Four years ago?

I had eggs over easy
with sausage.

Anything before that,
I'd have to consult my diary.

I assume
the company keeps one?

You'd have to talk to
the purchasing agent.

Four years ago,
that'd be Mrs. Cleary.

The chairmars wife?

Time was this
was a mum-and-pop.

You requested a new
typewriter ribbon,

you got it
the same century.

[Clattering]

(Steven)
Yeah, Mum was

the VP in charge of
purchasing back then.

That was the good old days,
she calls it.

I guess the, uh, view
on the way up the mountain

is a lot better than
the view from the top.

When did she
leave the job?

A couple
or three years ago.

Dad thought that

she ought to enjoy
the fruits of his labor.

My guess is that
he thought she was out of her league

as soon as we got heavy
into medical technology.

You didn't always
make pacemakers?

We used to be called
the Ebbets Company.

Grandpa was
a Dodger fan.

Your dad
inerited the company?

No, my mum.

See, her dad
started the company

when he was still
at Erasmus Hall.

He, uh, fixed radios
in his bedroom.

Then he graduated,
got into manufacturing.

About the most
sophisticated product

was, uh, an alarm
with a snooze button.

A far cry from pacemakers.

No, no, see,
that was all Dad.

See, uh, he married Mum,
moved the company

across the river,
changed the name.

Boom! We're grossing
$40 million a year.

Not bad for
a hash-slinger's son

with an MBA
from City College.

Uh, no, see, uh,

back then we werert
buying wholesale.

I can't tell you who
manufactured the leads.

We bought them
from an importer

called
Asian Pacific Trading.

(Steven)
You're on the wrong track, Mr. Robinette.

I was a techie on
the assembly line.

I checked
all those leads myself.

I assure you,
everything was fine.

[Car horn honking]

Asian Pacific Trading.

A DBA for a guy
named Ziesel.

You check him out?

Gone with the wind
three years ago.

No wonder
Steven Cleary was happy

to give you his name.

We'll never know
who manufactured the leads.

Unless some other
pacemaker company

purchased leads from
Asian Pacific Trading.

(Miller)
We may not be the biggest,

but there isn't
one medical journal

that doesn't rate
our pacemakers the best.

Do you manufacture
your own parts?

Well, everything essential.

The, uh, supporting cast
we contract out.

Like leads.

Yeah, we're high tech.
Why waste time and money

making little wires,
you know?

This week we're buying
from Boyette in Akron.

Four years ago,
you ever do business

with an Asian
Pacific Trading?

[Chuckles]

A crook named Ziesel.
Took me for $50,000.

New kid on the block.
Prices you could die for.

Imported, uh, leads
made in Singapore.

You know what company
manufactured those leads?

CJL Electronics.
Usually a good company.

What I figure happened
was, uh,

a shipload of
duds landed stateside

and they pawned them off on
Asian Pacific for very little.

Then Ziesel
dumped them on me.

Let me guess.
They were corroded.

Yeah,
the shrink-wrapping stank.

Sea air will do it
every time.

Most of them were useless.

Did you use
the ones that werert?

Be like playing
Russian roulette

with people's lives.
I tossed them.

We tried to sue
Asian Pacific,

but they were
nowhere to be found.

And everyone
in the business

knew these leads
were defective?

Uh, Ziesel told me
it was a one-shot deal.

One package ship
filled with leads,

and I was the only one
won'thy of his generosity.

Lucky me.
The only sucker in town.

Unfortunately, you werert.

You mean someone else
bought them?

Worse.
Someone else used them.

Five companies
bought wire leads

imported by
Asian Pacific Trading.

One boatload,
all garbage.

It was a scam.
Each manufacturer

thought that he was
the only one getting the deal.

Uh-huh.

But BioNorm is
the only company

that actually used

the corroded wires.

Depraved indifference.

Shut the bastards down.

It's not that easy.

Are you telling me
that Cleary didn't know

what was going on?

Roger Cleary

was all bottom lines
and check books.

He didn't even set foot
on the manufacturing floor.

Mrs. Cleary was the VP,

but she wouldn't
know a corroded lead from a toaster oven.

[Grunts]

Somebody had to
authorize their use.

(Stone)
As far as we can tell, it's Steven, the kid.

He's an electrical engineer.

He admitted
doing the inspection.

Only, at the time,
he was just a technician.

Hardly a high
managerial agent.

So, under the statute,

we can't prosecute
the corporation.

Kid takes the blame,
the company's insulated.

Yeah, if I had
a cover like that,

I'd never catch cold.

So, Steven Cleary
did cause BioNorm

to act recklessly.

The corporate veil.

It protects them
from civil liability.

But that doesn't stretch
to our side of the street.

So let's indict him
for murder two.

Do you think
that Steven Cleary

acted on his own?

Well, I'm gonna
shake the family tree,

see what falls out.

(Judge Sirkin)
"Docket Number 581739.

"People of
the State of New York v. Steven R. Cleary.

Charge is murder in
the second degree."

Do we have a plea,
gentlemen?

Motion to dismiss
the charges, Your Honor.

A little out of
our neighborhood,

aren't we, Mr. Berkley?

Well, BioNorm has
been a corporate client

for the last decade.

We intend to institute

malicious
prosecution charges.

Well, I'm happy for you.

But read the sign
on the door, sir.

This is
the criminal part.

Only two choices
on our menu.

Not guilty.

Application, Mr. Robinette?

Bail in the amount
of $250,000, Your Honor.

So be it.

This isn't even
your party, Ben.

This is a corporate matter.

We should be
in civil court.

(Stone)
When seven people end up dead, Richard,

I send out
engraved invitations.

Ah. He was working on
the assembly line,

for crying out loud.

There's no way
he's criminally liable.

He is if he
caused a corporation

to perform a criminal act.

Penal code, section 2025.

Look, the kid was
six months out of MIT.

Now, do you
actually think

that he had
the authority to cause

the corporation
to do anything?

He okayed the use
of defective wires.

Seven people died.

All right,
reality, fellows.

There is no way
that you are gonna get

the evidence of
the first six cases admitted.

And the jury
will see the seventh

as simple negligence.
Period.

What you call
simple negligence,

the jury may call
depraved indifference to human life

and the penal code calls that
murder in the second degree.

The sole reason for
the malfunction

was that the device
had corroded leads.

The electrical impulse
generated by the battery

never reached
the boy's heart.

And in your expert opinion,

what was the cause
of the corrosion?

Most probably
it was exposure during shipping.

Thank you.

[Gavel pounding]

Now, tell me,
Ms. Kenny,

in your role
as FDA inspector,

did you approve
BioNorm's pacemaker?

(Kenny)
I inspected the design proposal

and the prototype.
Both were first-rate.

First-rate.
Did you ever follow up?

Did you make random checks,
for example?

That's not feasible.

No, it's not feasible,

but it would be prudent,
wouldn't it?

In a perfect world,
but...

Yes, but this isn't
a perfect world, is it, Ms. Kenny?

People make mistakes.
People make mistakes.

Even some kid
working on an assembly line

in a pacemaker factory.

Objection.

Keep the meditations
to a minimum, Counselor.

Sustained.

No more questions.

(Miller)
We've been in the pacemaker business

for over 20 years.

This Asian Pacific Trading
comes along

and offers to
sell us wire leads

at a quarter of the price
of our usual supplier.

Well, what can I say?

Of course,
I bought them.

Uh, did you use

these wire leads
in your pacemakers?

No way.
They come off the boat,

I can see myself
that half of them are corroded.

And I haven't been
20l20 for 20 years.

(Stone)
But did you use the other half?

Absolutely not.

The components were garbage,
and that's where they went.

Wasrt that expensive?

Well, we're in
the medical business.

Market share's not won'th
killing people.

(Stone)
How does your market share

compare to
that of BioNorm's?

Theirs is growing.
Ours isn't.

Would you
explain that?

You buy cheap,
you sell cheap.

They've been undercutting
our prices for years.

Thank you.

I suppose you read

the medical journals,
Mr. Miller?

Yes.

Now, have you ever read
an article questioning

the quality of
BioNorm's products?

No.

No. Do you have any
first-hand knowledge

of any of
BioNorm's instruments malfunctioning?

Other than this one, no.

No. So perhaps, sir,

BioNorm has
a better market share

because BioNorm builds
a better mousetrap.

I was purchasing agent
for BioNorm Industries

until the summer of 1988.

Then you were
responsible for purchasing

wire leads for BioNorm

from the Asian
Pacific Trading Company,

is that correct?

It's been a long time.

Do you recognize
this document?

Lt-it's a purchase order
for 500 gross of wire leads

from Asian Pacific Trading.

(Stone)
Is that your signature?

Yes.

I move to have this

admitted into evidence,
Your Honor.

Call it
"People's 17."

Mrs. Cleary, did you
inspect the wire leads

that BioNorm purchased from
Asian Pacific Trading Company?

Only to determine
if the quantity was correct.

Anything more,
I wouldn't know.

Thank you.

Our products are
the best on the market.

The settlement offer
was a business decision,

pure and simple.

It's more cost-effective
to nip a nuisance suit in the bud.

A nuisance?

A boy died

because your company
used defective components,

and you call it
a nuisance?

I didn't know
anything about that.

Did you personally
inspect the leads, sir?

Well, it's not
my area of expertise.

You hired someone to do it?

That's right.

Whom did you hire
to inspect the leads

purchased from
Asian Pacific Trading Company?

[Chuckling]
No, sir.

No way you get me to help you
convict my own son.

Excuse me, sir,
I think you just did.

Objection.

(Steven)
I inspected the leads very carefully

in order to weed out
the bad ones.

And you feel you have
sufficient expertise

to distinguish
good leads from bad?

(Steven)
I'm an electrical engineer.

I've been dealing
with wires my whole life.

Your degree in
electrical engineering

is from MIT,
isn't that right?

My parents
started contributing

to the alumni fund
the day I was born.

And even with this expertise
and a very careful inspection,

a single bad wire
got through.

Yeah, I'm... I'm sorry. I...

I, you know, I did my best.

L... I did everything that...

I have no idea
how this happened.

A single bad wire,
Mr. Cleary?

What about
the six other...

Objection!

Your Honor,
may we approach?

Your Honor, six other
pacemakers

manufactured
at the same time all failed.

You have
no proof of that.

They settled
those cases

before anyone
could find out what happened

and if the jury
knew this...

They'd be prejudiced.

Defense objection
is sustained.

Berkley's good.

(Robinette)
Good enough to convince the jury

it was
an isolated mistake.

Steven Cleary looks negligent,
not criminal.

What Steven Cleary did
was criminal.

Why he did it...

He can go to hell and back
for his father,

but I'm not so sure
the reverse is true.

Unfortunately, Roger Cleary
is not on trial.

Maybe it's not
so unfortunate.

Steven said his parents
started contributing

to the MIT alumni fund
the day he was born.

But he also said his father
went to City College at night.

Like mother, like son, huh?

Exactly.

Get Steven Cleary in here.

Well, so what
if she did go to MIT?

It has nothing to do
with your case.

You mean "cases."

Mrs. Cleary has a B.S.
In electrical engineering.

It certainly qualifies her
to inspect wire leads.

She's a Vice President

capable of authorizing
their use.

We're going after
the corporation

and your mother.

Well, if you're so confident,
why are we here?

Steven, we know your mother
put you up to this.

If you testify against her,
we can work something out.

Steven, let's go.

I'll have your mother
arrested

when she arrives
at the courthouse.

People have died, Steven.

I know you didn't
look them in the eye

when you killed them,
but they're just as dead.

Ben.

Why are you taking
the fall for her?

Look, my mother...

Steven, come on.

Okay.

You'll testify against her?

No, I want a deal
for me and my mother.

I'll testify
against my father.

We spent days sorting out
all the bad ones.

You and your mother?

We thought
we got them all.

After the first person died,

we ran conductivity tests

on all the pacemakers
remaining in stock.

A lot of the wire leads

that we thought
were good, werert.

We... we begged my father
to recall all the pacemakers

that used
Asian Pacific leads.

And he refused?

He was too busy
building an empire.

You know,
my father promised me

that all this
would go away.

That I'd have
the best lawyers.

He told me
I owed it to the family.

So, people
are walking around

with time bombs
in their chests.

(Robinette)
And at least seven exploded.

You cut a deal?

Man one.
He does the minimum.

Man one...

Adam.

It's the only way he'll talk.
He turns on the mother,

the mother
turns on the father.

His testimony alone
is useless.

She denies it,
we all go home.

(Robinette)
She'll let him take the rap alone?

[Grunts]

Today is different
from yesterday.

He said
she had knowledge.

Just because the boy says
she had technical knowledge,

doesn't mean that she knew
what the hell was going on.

The lawyer tells the jury,

the kid is a rat in a trap
looking for a scapegoat.

Steven Cleary
is on the edge.

We push him
a little harder.

(Robinette)
Only he's already got a deal.

For the death of
Roberto Martinez.

We still got
six other deaths to deal with.

Let's get the boy
and his mother in here tomorrow morning.

This is crap.

You werert invited, sir,
and unless you're a lawyer,

I'd appreciate it
if you keep quiet.

This is my family,
my business.

If you had any proof,

you would have
charged them before.

Before, we didn't
have Stevers testimony

as to the cause of
the other deaths.

Five counts
of murder two.

Minimum on each,
25 years.

Oh, my God!

He's bluffing.

He's trying to drive
a wedge between us.

Mrs. Cleary,
I can and I will prosecute

your son to
the fullest extent of the law.

I'm offering you a chance
to salvage your sors life.

We can beat this, Annette.

Don't let him destroy us.

You did that yourself,
Roger, four years ago.

(Stone)
If you confirm Stevers testimony,

I can offer you both a deal.

(Cleary)
God, Annette, think of what this means.

My business,
everything I've worked for.

Your business?
You were nothing.

My father...

Your father
fixed toasters.

He worked for me.

That's right, Dad.
He worked for you.

We all worked for you.

And here we are.

Just look
what you've done for us.

Mrs. Cleary?

[Sighs]

What do I need to do?

You.

You couldn't keep
your mouth shut.

Two years in jail,

you could have
walked out a wealthy man.

All right, Mr. Stone,
I'm a businessman.

I've made deals before.

What are you offering?

I'm not a businessman,
Mr. Cleary.

I'm offering you nothing.

If he's smart,
he pleads guilty

and begs the court
for mercy in sentencing.

Six counts of murder two?
Even with a lenient judge

he dies of old age and still
owes the state 50 years.

What amazes me is that

he almost convinced his son
to do 25-to-life.

Must have given him
quite a lecture

on family values.

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