All language subtitles for Target The Corruptors - S01E28 - The Blind Goddess

Tonight's story deals
with one of the cruelest

of rackets yet devised by the corruptors.

Its victims may be your wife and child.

For if you should die today,

the legal machinery that
you believe will protect your

loved ones may very
well be used against them.

This is J.J. Dolan.

Representative of many legal
pirates who would plunder your estate

in the very court that is
supposed to protect widows and orphans.

And this is Judge Andrew LeRoy,
who appointed him as administrator.

Judge LeRoy is an
honored member of the bench.

The money you leave your wife and
child could find its way into his court.

If so, much of it will stick to his hands.

The outmoded probate codes make
it possible for legal thieves to

pick the pockets of a corpse with
the full protection of the law.

And this is one of the
destined victims, Ann Buckman,

an orphan who has just lost her
father. Now helpless and alone,

She will shortly be placed like
a sacrificial lamb on the altar

of one of the corrupted high
priests of the legal profession.

The events involving Anne's
ordeal began a week after the funeral,

with the landing of a private plane.

What's the matter with that guy?

I told him not to take that approach.

He's gonna crash for sure.

He's trying to say something.

He's drunk.

What do you know?

He's a judge.

Target, the Corrupters.

Hello, Andrew. Your call came just in
time as I was leaving the hospital.

How's the damage, Judge?

Coming along. Now they
can see what I mean is

repercussions from
flying under the influence.

You knocked the
Russians off the front page.

Reporters loading up any? Well,

you know how they distort facts for
the sake of headlines. The truth is,

I wasn't drunk. What'd you smell of
when they pulled you off the plane?

Perfume? 86 proof? All
right, I had a drink.

But I took something for my cold,
too, and the two just didn't mix.

Even one drink before taking off. What
were you celebrating, and who with? Alec,

my private life is no
concern of the party's.

Judge, you lived wrapped in
cellophane. You've got no private life.

You lost it the minute we got you
elected. I can hardly forget that.

Do you know what the
papers would do to you?

If they learned why a
judge was flying regular

like airmail to a certain beach resort.

Alec, it may be impossible
for you to understand this,

but there's some things in a
man's life he can't give up.

For anything.

That's a big statement.

Considering where you could
go with the party back of you.

And you're on the way. Now, the
boys appreciate the way you play ball.

Now, they may run you for pitcher
next at the city hall. And after that,

the governor's mansion. Who knows?

So why let some girl... I'm sorry, Alec.

Discretion aside, gentlemen,
and which of us can cast a stone?

But there's something else we want to
see you about. Something even more urgent.

We've each of us got to come up with
another $100,000 in that land deal.

Another $100,000?

An overcall.

Sorry.

But you were sure we wouldn't
have to come up with any more money?

If we could bring in another partner.

Surely there's someone you can find.

No one we can trust. You
wouldn't want it to get around that

you had the inside word on
where the airport was going in,

which is why we took an option
on all the acreage around it.

But I couldn't come up with another cent.

A hundred thousand.

Every penny I've got is tied up in
that deal, including all I could borrow.

You've got company, Judge.

We each have to kick in another
hundred grand, no matter how.

R, all of us lose everything.

Now, I'm sure you and I are good losers,

but I don't think Alec here
would take it philosophically.

60 days, Judge.

That's all we've got.

I'll get it. That must be Daddy.

How's my little girl?

Half out of her mind worrying
about you. I phoned the hospital,

but they said you'd gone.

Well, I managed to bribe
my way out this afternoon.

Where's your mother?

Shopping.

I hope she gets back late so
we can have some time together.

It's so wonderful having
you home. I never told you,

but the whole time you were away,

I used to have dreams night after
night that you were never coming back,

that you'd been killed in that crash.

Remember what I used to tell you
about dreams when you were a little girl?

Never to trust them.

But now you're home, it'll be
like old times, just the two of us.

Until the right man comes along?

I'll be a little old lady by
then, waiting for someone like you.

There's a Mr. Paul Marino waiting to see
you, Judge. He says it's very important.

Marino? I'm a newspaper man. I
apologize for dropping in without calling,

I didn't want to run the risk of being
turned away again. I don't remember.

Oh, at least half a dozen times
while you were in the hospital.

Oh, yes, but then I wasn't seeing anyone.
This is my daughter, Carol. Miss LeRoy.

Hello.

If you'll excuse me, I'll go help the
maid ruin what might have been a nice dinner.

What can I do for you, Mr. Marino?

If it has anything to
do with the accident,

I have nothing to add to the statement
I've already given to the patient. No,

this concerns something
else. No, please be brief.

I've just come home from the hospital,
and I've got a lot of... Oh, I won't be long.

All I want is the answer
to a few simple questions.

Well, when a man tells me that,
I know I'm in for a long siege.

Doesn't that depend on his defenses?

Defenses?

Judge, I may be very naive,

but I've always regarded the legal
profession as one of the higher callings of men,

because it protects something sacred,
the commandments of God by which we live.

Any member of the legal
profession should be above reproach,

but particularly a judge, do you agree?

Of course.

Just what are you implying?
The day after your accident,

when your name hit the headlines, I
received this letter from a Mrs. Frances Travis.

Name sound familiar?

No. Her husband's estate was
probated through your court.

Well, there's so many estates.

If I had to remember every
heir, this one should ring a bell.

You declared her mentally incompetent
to handle her affairs and appointed

a special administrator in the
absence of an executor named in the will.

Oh, yes.

She charges in this letter that
the administrator was a thief.

That he sold off our property
at a price way below its market

value to a company called the
Sterling Investment Corporation.

And that you not only approved the
sale, but the exorbitant court fees.

What's your version of it, Judge?

My version?

Well, surely after speaking to this
woman who's obviously mentally ill,

you can't give any credence
to such malicious slander.

But I haven't spoken with her.

Mrs. Travis is beyond rich.

Well, I suggest you find her.

I found her.

Finally.

This will be in tomorrow's papers.

That's Mrs. Travis.

In the city morgue.

They fished her out of the river.

Apparently, she had taken her own
life shortly after mailing that letter.

I'm sorry to hear that.

But she wasn't the only
one left destitute after her

husband's estate had
passed through your court.

As a result of this letter, I did a
little digging into the probate records.

I found any number of widows
and orphans in similar straits.

Are you accusing me
of... Of milking estates.

Of appointing the same
administrator time and time again.

Of granting him big fees.

So that there's little or
nothing left for the heirs.

Just who do you think you are to
presume to tell a judge how to run his court?

What kind of a judge are you talking
about? One that twists the law like a pretzel?

You self-appointed muckraker.
I've known men like you before.

And where are they now?
Gone with the tabloid rags.

And speaking of the law, if
you dare to print one word of

those slanderous
allegations. I'll print it, all right.

When I can take you into court, Judge.

Mr. Dolan to see you, sir.

Have him come in.

Mrs. Dolan?

Do you mind dropping me off?

Stop in, Laredo.

I see the judge has introduced me.

You're a newspaper man. In your
job, you gotta dig dirt to live,

so you came to dig in the judge's garden.

Want some advice?

Well, you're gonna get
it anyway. It's free.

When you take on a judge, it's
like that kid with a slingshot.

How many can knock over a
biggie with just a pebble?

That's all your typewriter can bat when
you take on the law itself. Just pebbles.

Why so solicitous, Mr. Dilder?

J.J.

It's an unfriendly world, Mr. Moreno.

Does it cost you to act friendly?

Maybe I don't feel very
friendly toward a man whose name keeps

coming up with nauseating
regularity of appropriate records.

A special administrator
appointed by Judge Leroy.

Man does a good job, gets a repeat.

Oh, you must do a very good
job indeed, Judge Ignace.

Remember her?

Mrs. Travis.

She landed in the river after you and
Judge Leroy left her penniless. Now look,

the two of you gobbled up
everything her husband left.

But did you only take a
little bite and pass the

rest of it on to the
judge under the table?

This is where you get off.

I can't say it was a
pleasure to meet a human

scavenger, Mr. Dolan.
Good night, Mr. Marino.

Here it is. Read it to me, will you?

Answering your query regarding
estates filed for probate last year,

our figures show
approximately 150,000 estates involved,

total value exceeding over $11 billion.

State Recording Company, San Diego.

What they didn't tell
us is that every year,

hundreds of millions of dollars never
find their way to the rightful heirs.

This will give me the
lead paragraph of my column.

I want you to dig up
everything you can on J.J. Dolan.

Who's Dolan? Judge LeRoy's pilot fish.

I want a complete rundown.

From the cradle to the
carnation in his lapel.

Check.

Maybe through him we'll be able to find
out who the shark is going to bite next.

I'm J.J. Dolan.

Oh, yes. Won't you come in?

Thank you.

I'm Miss Larkey, her companion.

And this is Mr. Dolan.

My condolences.

The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away.

Miss Buckman, I've been appointed
administrator of your father's estate.

This was done because he
didn't name someone to

take over after the one
he appointed passed on.

He didn't have anyone else but his
brother, and now Anne is completely alone.

Judge Leroy thought I should see if
there was anything I could do for you.

She thanks you for your kindness.

She's praying for her father.

Oh God, full of
compassion, grant perfect rest.

Beneath the sheltering wings of thy
presence unto the soul of my father.

May he repose in peace.

Amen.

It must have come as a
terrible shock to find

out that his only child
was born a deaf-mute.

I remember like it was yesterday.

When he came and told me, he cried like
a baby. And then he wouldn't believe it.

And when I came to his house, he'd
hold her in his arms, and he'd say,

God will make her talk and sing and laugh,

cry and hear like any
other baby in time, in time.

God had other ideas.

What could Buckman do?

He had to go along.

A man like that must have
been obsessed with the idea

of leaving his child
provided for after he was gone.

Particularly after a
mother died, no family.

That's all he worked for, all his life,
just to leave her a little something.

Just what did he leave her?

It's all there across the way.

Here.

Fifteen years ago, a for sale
went up on those empty lots.

You could have them for peanuts.

But who wanted dirt to pay taxes on?

Buckman.

Buckman had a vision.

That dirt in America would be like gold.

I'm happy to say he
didn't follow my advice.

He bought with his last penny,

and he kept them all through the
years so that when they were sold,

his little girl could
live off the interest.

If she gets it.

Why?

Something wrong?

I don't want to alarm you, but
Anne's estate's in jeopardy.

Jeopardy?

Buckman will turn over in his grave.

A man works and slaves all his
life so his little girl shouldn't

have to come to
strangers for a piece of bread.

Where are the courts?
The lawyers? Where? Where?

Paul, you know what
you're asking? He's a thief.

And I know who his next victim
is. He also happens to be a judge.

And for one judge to move against another,

what happened to that
idealistic young lawyer I used to know?

Lean in body and pure in
principle. Okay, okay, don't rub it in.

So I lost the girly figure, along
with your sense of right and wrong.

Look, a man comes in here to
relax and get away from...

You know what Leroy is up to, and
you're willing to walk away from it.

Why pick on me to go after him?

Because of the best judge I know.

And from what I've learned
about the probate racket,

it takes quite a boy with a
legal lance to... Oh, wait a minute.

The vast majority of probate judges
and attorneys are men of integrity.

I know that, but what are
you and the other honest

members of the bar doing about the Laroys?

Don't you understand
that by your very silence

you condone the
thieves in your profession?

Have you ever tried to get one
doctor to testify against another doctor?

You think it's any easier to put
judge against judge? All right,

leave it in the club.
The people need to believe

in the integrity of the professional man.

If you destroy their faith,
you do more harm than good.

Stop trying to weasel out of it, Walter.

Are you going to help me
kick Leroy off the bench?

Get me the evidence, and
I'll move to impeach Leroy.

I met the heir last night. I went out
to the house, get acquainted as usual.

And the eventual guardian, Miss Lockie?

She looks like she knows
from nothing either, legally.

Then what's wrong?

I'm begging off, Judge.

I want no part of this one.
Please, hand it to somebody else.

Why?

It's just not for me, that's all.

You never turned down an
administrator's fee before.

Well, I'm doing it this
time. I want to know why.

Why?

Because a man has to look
in a mirror. That's why.

You'd be surprised how many mirrors there
are when you don't want to see yourself.

All right, so an estate passes through,
and some of it sticks to our fingers,

but to stick your hand in up to the elbow.

When a man's worked hard all his life
to take care of his kid after he's gone,

and that kid's deaf and dumb. A mute? Yes.

Reads lips, uses sign language.

That's how she hears and
speaks. Been that way all her life,

according to Miss Lockie.

Her mother died at birth.

Now with her father
gone, she's got no one.

No one except this woman
who raised her and who's got

to be supported by the
estate or she'll have to quit.

And you know where
that'll leave the girl, Judge.

Alone, without money,
nobody to take care of her.

Thank you for your past favors,
Judge, but I've got to sit this one out.

Bye.

Daddy?

Nothing, Andrew. I
suppose Daddy isn't hungry.

I believe your father can
answer for himself, Carol.

As Carol says, I'm not hungry.

Something happened today
in court to upset you?

Or was it something out of court?

You know, Daddy, how he
worries about everything.

Must you always answer
for your father, Carol?

Well, can't you see he
doesn't feel like talking, Mother?

Does he ever? Marion.

I think Carol's old
enough to realize what...

Where are you going?

I've got an important meeting.

Good night.

That's right. Run off to
your important meeting.

Mother, please.

Can't you see something terrible's
worrying Daddy, weighing on his mind?

What's the big emergency, Judge?

I want you to know I won't be
able to raise the money in time.

You'll have to make other arrangements.

But we told you, we can't
lay it off or bail you out.

You can have my share.

I'm willing to lose everything. You're
willing? How come? Well, I have no choice.

No?

From where I sit, do you know what I see?

That 100 grand practically in your wallet.

The Buckman estate.

You think it landed in
your court by accident?

By the way, the party needs
a contribution of 30 grand.

Haven't I done enough?

One favorite deserves another.

I can't touch the assets of that estate.

The heir's a minor. The
guardian's an old lady.

You appointed the
special administrator in the

absence of an executor
named in the will. The law.

Do you need a better setup?
The administrator's resigned.

J.J. resigned? Even he couldn't stomach
it. The legatee's an 18-year-old girl,

a deaf-mute. She has no living relative.

Look, I appreciate your
sentiment, Judge. Believe me, I do.

I've got children of my own.

But since when can you afford... It
isn't a question of sentiment, but humanity.

Humanity?

You want to bleed? Bleed for us.

Everything I've got except what's on
my back is in that deal. I'm sorry,

but a man has to draw the line somewhere.

Well, you drew it too late, Judge.

A day too late. After
you hung out your shingle

and called yourself an attorney at law.

What kind of an attorney were you?

Right from the start, you
used the law to chase a buck.

Right or wrong, never
counted, only lining your pockets.

What did the law ever mean to you
but knowing how to get around it?

So don't suddenly develop a
conscience at our expense.

We picked you for judge at the
probate court, but not by accident.

You had special
qualifications built in from way back.

You've still got them.

You'll handle that estate.

You'll sell off the assets, and you'll
come up with your share of the deal.

Because we're not going to let you
ruin us. It's as simple as that.

It's still my court.

If I don't admit the will to probate,
you can't touch a penny of her assets.

You'll admit it, because
every man has something

he cares more about
than a thing called honor.

With some, it's a wife.

With others, it's a
sweetheart, a daughter.

You run along, Judge.

You'll be having company tonight.

JJ will bring the signature.

Hello, little miss.

Thank you.

Where's your friend? Oh, she's gone out?

Well then, how did you hear...

Uh, I don't... Oh, when you
press the button... I see.

Thank you.

I have a paper here for her to sign.
Now, if you'll just tell me where she is.

I mean, if you'll write it.

You don't know?

Oh.

Oh, I don't mind if I do.

No, thanks.

I think I'll run along now.
Just tell her I was here.

Thank you.

Goodbye.

I can't, Judge. I can't go through with
it. I don't want to hear any details.

Please, Judge.

Get me off the hook.

The quickest way for both of
us is to dispose of the estate.

I'm going to admit the
will to probate tomorrow.

Pick up the court
order, enabling you to sell

the assets in your
capacity as administrator.

There's $5,000 in cash. Leave that
alone. Just dispose of the property.

Three commercial lots worth $150,000.

Have them appraised at
$20,000 and sell them to

the Sterling Investment
Company for that amount.

You'll get the usual legal protection.

Maybe she hasn't got the $130,000,
but at least she's got $25,000 left.

It's something, isn't it, Judge?

I mean, well, she's not out
in the wet with no umbrella.

Good night.

Good night.

The only thing, Judge,
I keep asking myself,

what happens when the umbrella gives out?

What's a girl who hasn't anyone left
in the world who can't speak or hear?

What's she going to do? It'll
rain an awful lot. Good night.

How utterly vile can you be?

Shut up.

Stealing $150,000 from
a poor, helpless girl.

I said shut up.

Oh, no, I won't.

I'm going to stop you somehow.

Will you please stay out of
things you don't understand?

What is there to
understand? Andrew, you're a thief.

Stealing money from a
handicapped girl. I heard everything.

I can depend on you for
that. You're always snooping.

And who's given me reason?
Done things behind my back.

Maybe if you'd been a wife instead of
someone who poisons the air I breathe.

Oh, you wouldn't have gone
to another woman, is that it?

Well, say it, as if I don't know the
real reason for that private plane and

where you go off to every chance you
get and why you need all that money.

You don't know what you're talking about.

Her $130,000 will pay
for a lot of her time.

Just because you wear the ring,
what do you know about being a wife?

As much as you know about being a husband.

You started it right, didn't you?

Tricking me into marrying you by
swearing you were going to have a baby.

Yes, I loved you that much.

You loved me by not letting me forget
who helped put me through law school,

who had to work while I
tried to get started.

It was only in your mind.

I never said that.

You had other ways to remind me.

When this is over,
you'll get your settlement.

Out of whose blood? That of a death mute?

You woke me quarreling.

Go back to your bed.

You go to bed, Mother. I
said go back to your bed.

Why don't you leave Daddy
alone? Why do you hound

him every minute he's
home? Just leave him alone.

With the help of Judge Walter Mason,

my assistant and I had
been digging up records

of estates Judge Leroy had picked clean.

Shocking was the human
wreckage we discovered.

Widows had been dispossessed of their
homes for want of adequate support,

orphans had been declared wards of the
court, and then had been state institutions.

Many were shattered by
their sudden change in fortune.

The record was all there to lay before the

Bar Association and the District Attorney.

But suddenly we had to move fast, for
the Buckman will was filed for probate.

When did Mr. Dolan come to see her?

A few days ago.

He seemed like such a nice man.

Well, fortunately, there was
nothing he could do until today, when Mr.

Buckman's will was filed.

Fortunately?

He couldn't sell any of the assets, but
now he can with the approval of the court.

And if history repeats
itself in Judge LeRoy's court,

Anne will see very little of
the money her father left her.

But it's terrible.

I thought the court was supposed
to protect widows and orphans.

Well, there's nothing automatic
about it like so many people assume.

If an estate falls into the
hands of a crooked judge,

he can rip into it like a barracuda.

And the law helps enough.

By making it complicated for people
to hand on their money to their heirs.

So complicated that any number of
people can join in the funeral feast.

Lawyers, crooked
administrators, tax appraisers,

who get a percentage of the
appraisal, court-appointed guardians.

Now, luckily, Anne's father
named you guardian in his will.

Otherwise, Judge Leroy could have
sent in another shark for the kill.

Believing there's nothing
a crooked judge finds more

appetizing than handling
the estate of a minor.

Or should I say, mishandling.

What am I to do, Mr. Marino?

Anne has no one but me.

And I don't even know a lawyer.

No lawyer can do
anything right now. Not until

they've made their move. Then they will.

Now, in the meantime, I want
you to do exactly what I say.

Hello, Miss Buckman. Thank you.

And good afternoon to you, Miss Lockie.

Oh, hello, Mr. Dolan.

Glad to find you in this time.

Judge Leroy wants you to sign a paper.

Just routine when you're the guardian.

A lot of wherefores and whereases.

If you don't mind, I'll sign it later.

It just takes a minute.

I was just... How long
does a signature take?

Well, I wanted to read it first.

Oh, that fine print?

You don't want to ruin your eyes.

Well, if I'm going to be her guardian,
and I know Mr. Buckman wanted me to.

Certainly, that's what it says
in the will. You're the guardian.

Then the least I can do for Anne
is read what I sign in her behalf.

Miss Larkey, I'm with you. And I
mean with you. But don't you trust me?

It is not a matter of trusting, Mr. Dolan.

Well, if not me, then the judge.

You don't think a judge
would ask you to sign something

that wasn't grade A for the little lady?

I'm sure he wouldn't.

Well, then why hold up the
wheels? Keep the court on the ropes.

Mr. Dolan.

J.J. to my intimates.

I have to run to the
market before it closes.

I'll call you just as soon as I send.

Miss Larkey, you don't mind if I
stay here and wait for you, do you?

Oh, no, no.

I won't be long.

Yes, please.

Well, I'm waiting for
it, Judge. Don't press it.

You said you wanted it signed. Yes, but
I don't want her to suspect anything.

It'll complicate matters no end.
All right, I'll play it by ear.

That must be her. She's
back. Well, let me know. I will.

Well, that didn't take very
long, but remember me? Hello, Ant.

What are you doing here?

Getting set to bury you.

And Judge LeRoy.

What are you talking about?

Waiver of claim against
administrator for sale of assets, for one thing.

Routine.

What's the big rush in selling?

She has enough to live on for a while.

She can't eat land, so we've
got to convert it to cash.

Put the cash to work.

How much cash?

Whatever I can get for it.

From the Sterling Investment Corporation?

That's where it'll end up, won't it?

Like the estate of Mrs. Travis and
all the others you had appraised.

It's way below their market value.

Look, Moreno, I've got to
account to the court, but not to you.

You'll account to the court, all right.

But not Leroy's.

And you'll wind up in front of the
grand jury unless you turn state's witness.

You're just fishing, Marino.

I'm not about to bite.

I've been appointed
administrator legally. I'm moving

right along to the
letter, not an inch off.

Now, look.

Don't hand me that letter of the law.

Feeding off a shark like Leroy.

Take a look at who you're
going to eat alive this time.

Now cut out your tongue and
fill your ears with cement.

So that you can't say a
word or hear a thing.

And you'll know her world.

The girl you're pushing into the river.

Now!

I didn't want to. I tried to
beg off. They wouldn't let me.

I got sick every time they sent me
out on one of these graveyard jobs.

Who do you mean, they?

Big shots down at the campaigners.

After all the years I worked for the
party, this is the way they pay me off.

The judge tosses me a
bone after every funeral.

Isn't that one way
politicians have to pay off hacks?

By using probate judges to hand out jobs?

At the expense of dead men?

Which is why neither
party has ever kept its

promise to put an end
to the probate swindle.

Sure, but I always got
the short end of the stick.

Judges, the lawyers, they walk
off fat. You are handed big fees,

right out of the
estates. Sure, but who sees it?

If I don't kick back to the
judge, the party grabs it.

I made enough
contributions to elect everybody

all the way back to George Washington.

And if you don't believe it, just
take a look at my IOU bank account.

You gonna give me back the waiver?

I've made a photostudded copy.

I figured I got to take it back, you know.

I'll need your help.

I'm sure when I get ready to go to the DA,

he'll see to it you're
giving up your protection.

You know something, Marino? I
feel like I just took a shower.

Sign? Nope.

And don't send me back again.

I'm taking a walk from the funeral feasts.

Like I told you before,
there are an awful lot of

mirrors when a man
doesn't want to see himself.

Bye, Judge.

Goodbye, J.J.

Yeah?

Alec, this is Judge Leroy.

Oh, hello, Judge.

Looks like I'll need a replacement for JJ.

JJ quit again?

That's right. Now, why
would he do a thing like that?

I don't know, but I'll need
another administrator. No problem.

But JJ, the years the party fed him.

Must have been a matter of conscience,

difficult as that may be for us to
understand. You're wrong, Judge. I understand.

JJ had a visitation, but
he wasn't doing right.

Knowing that the resignation of J.J.

Dolan would only result in the
appointment of another administrator,

would also do the bidding of Judge Leroy,

I had the property that was left
to Ann Buckman properly appraised

early the following morning in
order to block the inevitable sale.

That's what the papers say.

Breakfast, Judge?

What do you say? Two hours of the papers.

A man slipped in the tub.

A fatal accident.

You want to donate to his funeral?

You were afraid he'd expose your
probate ring, so you had him murdered.

Judge, let's not forget who's
with us at the trough. No more.

You won't involve me in murder. But
you are involved, up to your gullet.

Do I have to explain the law to you?

I'm resigning.

I'm sorry, we can't accept it.

And I want you to know I've made a
complete statement and put it in my vault

with instructions that be sent to the
district attorney in event of my death,

however accidental that may appear to be.

Judge, believe me, I
understand your moral predicament.

You went into the
probate court because it's the

biggest source of income to the
legal profession. That's a fact.

Just don't die in this
country. You can't afford it.

But no system, however bad,

could function for a
minute unless it had people

who were willing to sell their souls.

You sold yours when you
thumbed your nose at the canon

of judicial ethics of the
American Bar Association.

Whatever I did, murder was no part of it.
No? A woman throws herself in the river.

That's not murder.

There's more than one way of
giving a push. And the others?

Dying of slow want?

That sits easy on your conscience?

I'm not here to have
you act as my confessors.

Judge, we still have a deal on.

The deadline holds.

I won't go through with it,
and you won't dare expose me.

You'll go through with it.

Really, Mr. Marino, I haven't the
faintest idea who you're talking about.

You never heard of Mr. Dolan?

I've already told you.

I'm sure he was murdered.

What on earth has that got to do with me?

He was associated with
Judge Leroy in a probate ring.

I'm flattered by the
company you think I keep.

Not think.

I happen to know Judge Leroy is, to
say the least, a good friend of yours.

Since it wouldn't do
me any good to deny it,

Do you mind telling me how you know the
deep, deep secrets in my little black book?

I wouldn't put your relationship
with Judge LeRoy in that category.

Oh, thank you.

What then?

Well, whatever else is involved,
certainly an element of business entered into it.

Oh, I'm mercenary, too.

No, I'd say Judge LeRoy was.

When he named you as one of
the principal stockholders

of the Sterling Investment Corporation,

the other two were his
former law partners,

whom he evidently felt he
could trust as much as you.

Well, now, assuming that you are
right... It's in the state corporation records.

Is there anything wrong in
being trusted by a judge?

Maybe you never knew this,

but that corporation was used to
buy our properties out of estates.

Estates appraised at far
below their fair market value

by a probate ring acting in
collusion with... I don't believe it.

You're lying.

He'll have every opportunity to prove it.

In the meantime, you can
give him a message from me.

Tell him not to move against the Buckman
estate, or I'll nail him to the bench.

Yes?

Hello? Oh, Andrew.

Who is this?

Dorothy.

Is it all right to
talk? I must talk to you.

Yes, sir. Go ahead, but
make it quick. What's wrong?

Miss Marino was just here to see me.

Yes, I know.

What do you want?

He wanted to know about a Mr.
Dolan. He says he was murdered.

Murdered? Andrew, do you know him?

Yes, he did some work for me.

But what kind of work?

Probate, of course.
Will you control yourself?

Control myself?

Mr. Marino says he was associated
with you in stealing from estates.

You can't blame all that on me.

Oh, darling.

What are you doing spying on Daddy?
I want you to listen to your father.

I won't spy on him. I want
you to know your father.

I only know I love you.

And I love you.

And no matter what you've done,
Or how much you've involved me.

Oh, darling, it's only
you I'm worried about.

Please don't do anything else
that will get you into more trouble.

Dorothy listened.

Marino says you're not to
move against the Buckman estate.

Or he'd nail you to the bench.

Now, Carol, do you understand?

I've known about this woman for years.

Your father closed the door between us.

And no matter what I
did, He wouldn't open it.

Even now, when he's in
so much trouble, I would

go to him if he would
let me. I would go to him.

Everything's going to be
all right. Now stop worrying.

How can it ever be all right?

You're too young to understand.

Carol?

Carol?

Carol?

What do you think they'll do next, Andrew?

Marino's lawyer will
file an extraordinary writ

to prevent the final
disposition of the estate.

The appellate court is
certain to approve it.

Then the true ownership of the Sterling
Investment Corporation will come out,

and they'll drag your name
through the mud along with mine.

I told you before, I
don't care about myself.

I do, very much.

And if you knew what was going to
happen, why did you go through with it?

I'd gone too far to turn back.

But you could have resigned anything.

I tried.

And they wouldn't let you?

They had to have my share of the estate.

How could they stop you from resigning?

They have ways.

And you can be sure
they'll let me be crucified.

And then go on to the next judge
who'll work hand in hand with it.

I'm not trying to justify myself,

but it's not uncommon for a judge
to pay tribute to the party that

elected him by handing out
probate business and fat estate fees.

I know a judge in Chicago who
appointed over 700 guardians in nine months,

and not one of them were needed.

And four of his political
friends handled over 40% of the cases.

Do you think I'm alone in this?

I know, Andrew, but they're
going to make an example of you.

Yes.

Yes, it'll get to the district
attorney, and I'll be impeached.

Darling, and for what?

What corrupts any of us?

Do we really know? Is
there any one answer?

What are we going to do?

I'm going to find a hole
and try and bury myself.

Andrew, take me with
you. I want to go with you.

The disappearance of Judge
Leroy circumvented his impeachment.

But the evidence I was able to furnish the

district attorney enabled him to apprehend

other members of the probate ring in the
course of the investigation which followed.

The appellate court
ordered the assets of the

Buckman estate returned
to its rightful owner.

The story you have just
witnessed is fiction,

but we feel it serves to
point up the fact that the

law must serve the
people, not the corruptors.