The Defenders s01e04 Episode Script

Where did you get this one? - Hey, the billboard, buddy.
- No kidding.
Yeah, his sister said that he called her from an Oklahoma City jail - claiming that it's all just a mistake.
- Yeah, right.
Like he never wrote a check in Las Vegas.
Never.
Too scary.
Too many tats.
Too pervy.
There he is, Oklahoma.
Poor guy riding on a transport bus for two days.
Doesn't even know why he's here.
- Think he got any sleep? - Heh.
Doubt it.
- Oklahoma? - Leonard? - What? - Welcome.
- Leonard Jackson? - Uh-huh.
How we doing? I'm Pete Kaczmarek.
Nick Morelli.
We're your lawyers.
- My lawyers? How did you? - Your sister called us.
What is this? Check fraud? I never wrote a check.
How much do you owe, Leonard? Come on.
We don't have much time.
How much do you owe? You signed a marker in a casino and you didn't pay it back.
How much do you owe? Six million dollars.
Okay, Leonard, just keep your head down.
And, uh, we'll see you in there.
Okay.
- All right.
- Oh, boy.
- Call it.
- Heads.
Crap.
I hope you brought something to read.
Hello? Okay, Lisa, slow down.
Vinnie? My Vinnie? Mr.
Cerrato is with a Detective Markowitz.
I told him not to say anything until you got here.
- Good.
- But he already told P.
D.
They could search his house.
His wife is there and she let them in.
Get over there right away.
Make sure the cops stay with what's in sight, - and don't let them touch a thing.
- Got it.
All right, detective, I'm not comfortable with this so let's make it quick.
Your buddy's restaurant burns down and you don't wanna find out why? Okay, what kind of question is that? It's okay, Nick.
I wanna do everything I can here.
According to the alarm company, the fire started about 6 a.
m.
- When did you lock up? - It was a slow night.
I think I worked the books for about an hour.
So I guess about 2.
Did you go back? No, not till I got a call about the fire.
And at 6 you were what, asleep? No, I was with my buddy, Alan Falcone.
We were fishing on Lake Mead I think from about 4 a.
m.
That's early.
That's when the bass are hungry.
You fish a lot, Mr.
Cerrato? - What was that? - What? Come on, cut the crap.
It's okay, Nick.
Leave it where you found it, detective.
Without a warrant, this is a courtesy, not a search.
Mrs.
Cerrato, I'm Lisa Tyler with Morelli Kaczmarek.
I'll take care of this, all right? You have four restaurants, is that right? Mm-hm.
Must be tough in this economy.
Don't go there.
You wanna know my client's finances, call his accountant or him and I are out of here.
- So not to imply anything, just asking.
- Thank you.
How's business these days? It's tough.
I mean, I'm stretched but I'm making it meet.
- So you got debts? - Oh, that's not implying anything? - You're not helping.
- Come on.
Let's get out of here.
- It's okay, Nick.
I don't mind.
- I mind.
- All right.
- Hello? - Markowitz.
- What did he say? It was in plain sight, Nick.
Couple empty cans of paint thinner.
They're bagging it now.
We got trouble.
Crap.
Vinnie, give me your phone and your wallet.
- Why? - Vinnie Cerrato, you're under arrest for arson.
- Are you kidding? - You have the right to remain silent.
- Come on.
- You give up that right, - anything you say - I'll get you bailed out.
What was the phone call? You have the right to speak to an attorney.
- What happened? - If you can't afford one, one will be provided for you.
Do you understand these rights I've read? I'm gonna need you, Nick.
Back home I worked at Rayburn's.
I made 34,000 a year.
I played the lotto every week.
We all did.
And one day, I hit it.
Forty-seven million.
- Nice payday.
- Yeah.
Ha, ha.
Take a 25 million payout right off.
Gave away a bunch.
Donated to the church, charities.
Even bought cars for a couple strangers.
- Like Elvis.
- Ha, ha.
Oh, man, it was fun.
You got a dollar I can borrow? - Yeah.
- Hey.
So then, uh Yeah.
Oh, thanks.
- Then you came to Vegas.
- Yeah.
They put me up in a penthouse suite, drinks, hot wings, women everywhere.
It got to the point they were flying me out on private jets.
Just me, every couple weeks.
For free.
What was your game? Uh, started on roulette then moved to 21.
Oh, man.
Throwing down those big ten-grand purple chips was a kick, you know? At some point, it's just a color, you know? And then I run out of chips and they start shoving these markers in my face.
You understood that those markers were an advance from the casino with a promise to pay them back? Yeah.
Problem is I don't remember signing half of them.
I don't hold my alcohol so well.
I was signing anything they put in front of me.
Well, how much did they advance you? Almost 23 million.
Twenty-three million? It's crazy, right? I know.
It happened quick.
I piled up the markers faster than they could hit my bank.
Okay, uh Let me just get this straight.
You've already paid back 17 million? Yeah.
I know how it looks but, uh, I've always paid my bills and I've owed people money before.
But they never threw me in jail.
You ever hear of debtors' prison, Leonard? They got rid of it about 200 years ago as being inhumane.
Everywhere in the world except Nevada.
Well, I guess my sister can sell the truck.
How much is bail? No bail for you.
Murderers, rapists, child molesters and casino debtbeats, no bail.
I'll see what I can do to get you out.
All right, let's go.
He blew it all? - Forty-seven million dollars.
- Yep.
- That's a lot of dough.
- Mm-hm.
Hey, is he gonna be able to pay for this? This isn't exactly a charity case.
We need the money in this firm.
Don't worry about the money.
- Thank you.
- Morelli Kaczmarek.
Can't forget about money.
We're running a business.
Nick, its great marketing, okay? Future returns.
We're gonna be famous if we beat the casinos.
Ah, you're kidding yourself.
You can't beat the casino.
Yes, I can.
It's simple.
Casino finds rich rube.
Supplies him with booze.
Runs him into financial ruin.
Argue targeting, coercion, enablement.
The jury is gonna love this guy.
Jury's not gonna love a guy who blew $47 million, not in times like these.
This isn't some rich Kuwaiti whale.
The guy is a church-going truck mechanic who hit the Pick 6 and got robbed at roulette.
Where is it? He got drunk, Pete.
He was plied with alcohol.
All right, maybe enablement.
Maybe.
But coercion and targeting? You don't got a chance.
You're dead.
- All right, Nick, you're so sure? - Yeah.
I bet you 50 bucks I win this.
- I bet you two-fifty.
- Deal.
One last thing, where are my little coconutty cakey things? I fired them.
I fired the coconut cakey things, the doughnuts, the pies.
They're gone.
Out of here.
Executive order.
I'm on a diet.
I'm fat.
Nick, dieting, right now, really? We're kind of busy around here.
Unh, look, I gotta change my eating habits, man.
I gotta lose a little weight.
I gotta to be thinner if I'm gonna be on this dating scene.
I'm so big.
You're a big dude, Nick.
A lot of girls love big guys.
Yeah, big girls.
We have a partnership, okay? You deal with your mid-life issues and I get my coconutty cakey things.
I can't have that stuff around.
I'm gonna blow up like a tick.
All I'm saying is that a thinner Nick is an angry Nick.
- I am not angry! - You're hungry! Go eat something! Mr.
Cerrato just made bail.
Good.
You tell him to stay put.
I need to talk to him.
- Okay.
- The prosecution have a case? The guy's underwater on three of his restaurants.
So? If all they needed was bad loans, half the restaurants would be torched.
- What else? - Four empty cans of paint thinner.
Hey, he's got a legitimate reason to have those.
His wife is an artist.
Her paintings are in all his restaurants.
Yeah, I've seen those paintings.
He must really love her.
So far all they got is a junk arrest.
And according to Vinnie, he's got an alibi.
Lisa, come with me.
You, uh, Alan Falcone? - Are you the lawyer guy? - Yes.
Nick Morelli.
Thanks so much for meeting with me.
I appreciate it.
Hey, look, I'm sorry, I just got a truck down.
- Right.
- I got two guys call in sick today.
- You know these guys.
- Yeah.
You think when you own a business, you sit on your fat ass in a big couch.
- Now look at me.
- Yeah, I hear you.
Load this? Let me give you a hand.
I used to load my father's produce truck.
- Yeah? Where was that? - Chicago.
- I'm Detroit.
- Oh.
I knew we'd have a problem with each other.
Not if you don't talk football.
Yeah, or basketball, or hockey.
Jeez, what else is there to talk about? Well, uh, Vinnie.
So, uh, you and Vinnie, uh, you were fishing from 4:00 on? Well, we headed out for Mead around 4.
- Out on the lake by 5.
- Oh, all right.
So you and Vinnie been fishing a long time then? Going out every week for maybe seven years.
Wow, seven years.
That's a long time.
Well, here's the thing.
The state is gonna hammer you on Vinnie's alibi.
I just wanna make sure that, you know, we get the timeline straightened out.
And there's no perjury charges, you know? Chicago, what a place, huh.
Look, Vinnie Cerrato is a friend.
We fish.
That clear enough for you? That's great.
Shouldn't be a problem then, should it? Oh, there he is.
Here we go.
Oh.
Dropped something, buddy.
Poor guy.
I just get seasick just watching him.
Oh, is that Oklahoma? Eye-in-the-sky surveillance footage of Leonard at the Moroccan staggering around like the town drunk, just around 8.
Ugh.
Ooh, did he just bet his cell phone? Here we go.
Here we go, 2:37 a.
m.
The very helpful floor manager propping up Leonard's hand to sign a marker.
That's coercion.
No, that's hospitality.
Come on, it's grand larceny.
Look at the guy.
Pit boss is just doing his job.
Ooh.
That had to hurt.
What do you mean, "no?" No means no, Mr.
Kaczmarek.
This footage clearly shows that Mr.
Jackson was in no capacity to sign markers, Your Honor.
The casino may have liability if the patron drives drunk.
But if betting drunk was an offense, I think even you can see where that goes.
The footage is immaterial and prejudicial.
It does not get in.
They're holding up his hand, Your Honor.
The jury has to witness that.
If they were signing for him, you might have a case.
They aren't and you don't.
- I read Vinnie's file.
- Yeah? I mean, it's nuts they even charged your guy.
It's nearly impossible to pinpoint the exact origin.
Okay.
The flow pattern could be from methyl ethyl ketone, - petroleum disparates - Sparky.
Speak less nerd.
Heh, look, the burn marks and smoke residue - Okay, got that.
- Okay? - would be the same for any alcohol in the restaurant.
Look, the DA could say that there's your guy splashing paint thinner, an obvious accelerant.
But you could say, this bottle of high-proof brandy fell, also an accelerant.
Find it in any restaurant in town.
Oh, and the wife's paintings? - Right.
- Above the booths? Those would leave the same exact acetone trace as the paint thinner they say he used.
The cops had enough to make an arrest, barely.
But the evidence is so flimsy.
Trust me, the DA won't file it.
They can't win, not on this science.
- Here you are.
- Thank you.
Donovan? Hey, how you doing, pal? Well, so we're pals now, hm? Hey, come on.
You know what? You should dump that Cerrato case.
Donny, save yourself the headache.
He's got an alibi.
He's in the middle of Mead with a pillar of the community.
All right, I'll need something for my boss.
Hey, how about he gets this? He avoids a loss in court.
Oh, that's good.
Hmm.
- Is that one of those with jelly in it? - Mm-mm.
- Just a doughnut.
Want a bite? - Hey, just toss it.
- My doughnut? - No, no, the case, the Cerrato case.
Really, I'm telling you, save yourself the time, man.
- All right.
- It's a lock.
Oh-ho-ho, you're gonna love this.
- What? - Meet you at the morgue.
Salvage crew was working down in the basement of Cerrato's place.
- You got an ID on the guy? - No.
But whoever he was, he was working down in the cooler.
Or maybe thought it was a safe place to avoid the flames.
Either way, thing turned into an oven.
You can't tie this guy to my client - Chuck? - Yeah, your meat vendor, Charles Long.
They found what was left of him in the walk-in cooler at the restaurant.
No.
He was I made sure that I mean, no, he delivers on Thursdays.
He shouldn't have been there, Nick.
He was there, Vinnie.
He was there.
- They wanna charge you with murder.
- Murder? Somebody dies in the commission of a crime, you get murder.
- I didn't.
- It doesn't matter if you didn't mean to.
- It's still murder.
- Come on.
No.
All right, Chuck is a friend of mine.
Maybe he caught up with Come on, Vinnie, drop it, will you? It wasn't an accident.
I knew all along you burnt the damned place.
Nick, you gotta listen to me.
Tell me the truth starting now or I - You and I have been friends - Tell me the truth! Nick, you have to hear me out! I'm sorry, that I'm sorry.
- I didn't - Ahem.
I, uh Oh, God, I'm sorry.
All right.
I did the fire.
For the insurance.
I'm so sorry.
All right, Vinnie.
I know you didn't mean to hurt anybody.
But you gotta face this.
I'm sorry.
Can you still help me, Nick? Oh, Vinnie.
I can try.
Mr.
Jackson, you are aware that losing is likely when you gamble in a casino? Of course, but I didn't And you willfully assumed that risk when you began betting.
Well, I, uh - No.
I didn't - I'm sorry.
When you sat down at the blackjack table you saw no risk? What I meant was, when I was drunk, I wasn't really sure what I Did anybody make you drink alcohol, Mr.
Jackson? They don't make you but they attach a spout to your table.
Just yes or no, please.
Did anybody force you to drink alcohol? No, ma'am.
The state would like to present exhibits 1 A, B and C, Your Honor.
Do you recognize these, Mr.
Jackson? - They're my markers.
- Excuse me? They're my markers.
And could you please read the highlighted section of the top one? "I, Leonard Jackson, hereby acknowledge" Speak up please, Mr.
Jackson.
Okay.
"I, Leonard Jackson, hereby acknowledge that I'm being granted a line of credit from the Moroccan Club & Casino in the amount of $2 million.
And that I'm obliged to pay full restitution of this line of credit under penalty of law.
" And can you tell me the amount of the second marker? - Two million.
- And the third? Two million.
All those markers signed by you? - I didn't mean to sign these.
- Are those your signatures or not? Yes, ma'am.
So you admit a debt of $6 million owed to the Moroccan Club & Casino under penalty of law? Yes, but I paid off 17 million.
Well, then you're not a total deadbeat now, are you? Nothing further, Your Honor.
I'm sorry.
I know that was bad.
Ah, it's okay.
You told the truth and the jury saw your honesty.
That could be good.
Counselor.
Oh, who's the guy? He don't like me.
Moroccan Casino lawyer.
As long as he's not smiling, we're okay.
Hello.
No.
I don't care.
Hey, you're not listening to me, putz.
Yes, that was me banging the phone on my desk.
You want me to do it again? Hey, listen, you charge my client.
I have a right to know what you've got.
I want it today, putz.
Today, or I file with the judge.
Jerk! Vinnie? Unh, sons of bitches still haven't given me discovery.
I still can't believe he did it.
I promise you, Nicky, I ever burn this place down, I'll look around a bit and make sure you're not here.
Oh, thanks.
You're a real pal.
- What are you gonna do, plead it? - I don't know.
I can't have the guy's alibi go on the stand and lie, not if I wanna keep my license.
The dead guy, how does he get into Vin's place without him knowing? Ah, these guys deliver in the middle of the night sometimes, beat the traffic.
Vinnie gives them the keys.
There you go.
So the delivery guy, he did it.
Oh, Pete, that's awful.
Hang the arson on the dead guy? Well, you can't exactly hurt his feelings.
It's all you got.
- You're cold, dude.
- Heh.
You're a good man, Nicky.
I ever need a lawyer, I'm calling you.
If? How about you pay me for the last time you needed a lawyer? Pay your bills, Kaczmarek.
Oh-hoo, I threw a little piece of carrot.
Hey! That's your blood sugar right there.
Blood sugar? I'm fine! Zoey, get me a Get me a protein bar.
Do not go in there until he's been fed.
What's going on? Leonard's Vegas spending records.
His $23 million debt was with the Moroccan Casino.
But what's weird is he changed casinos.
He used to only gamble at the Florentine exclusively.
So why did Leonard stop going to the Florentine and switch to the Moroccan? I have an in at the Florentine.
Well, use it and get Lisa.
See what you can find out.
Now.
Leonard Jackson, do you know him? - Lenny.
- You know him.
Yeah, everybody knows Lenny.
Sweet guy.
Lousy player.
Yeah, he owes $6 million to the Moroccan.
But what's odd is before the Moroccan he always played here at the Florentine.
He dropped $12 million here in your hotel and yet he says you kicked him out.
He got tossed.
Mr.
Greene gave the order personally.
Johnny Greene, the owner? I don't understand.
Why would he ban someone just for losing? Lenny was a drunk.
And drunks are unreliable.
And his supply of money was limited as the Moroccan's finding out right now.
Hey, there he is right now.
Mr.
Greene, the smartest guy in town.
Okay, Johnny Greene at the Florentine Casino could be our ace in the hole.
The prosecution is gonna argue that a casino owes no obligation to intervene when a bettor is blind drunk.
But here, an owner, Johnny Greene, does exactly that.
He makes our case.
Yeah, if you can get him on the stand.
Exactly.
You think he won't dodge a subpoena? He'll avoid every member of this law firm.
Pete, we're taking on a casino.
That alone will blackball us and they'll post our pictures on every wall in town.
Really? That's so cool.
Well, not you, Zoey, so don't worry.
What? - He's on the move.
- All right, we're on it.
Excuse me, miss? Hi.
Do you have a second? Hello, sir.
Top of the afternoon to you.
Look at him, smartest guy in town.
So? Leave it to a woman.
- Mr.
Greene? - Oh.
Thank you, honey.
You've been served.
You should have seen his face.
I cannot wait to get that weasel on the stand.
You're gonna have to pay out.
Oh, come on, partner, you're toast.
I already spent the money.
- Not wise, partner.
- I'm gonna win this thing out.
Not a chance.
You're dead meat.
Keep calling me food, Nick.
- What now? - Coroner's report just came in.
It says Vinnie's delivery man was dead before the fire.
He was put into the cooler postmortem.
Police think Vinnie set the fire to destroy evidence of murder.
Oh, God.
Can this case get any worse? Oh, 20 minutes ago, they revoked Vinnie's bail.
Capital murder.
They want the death penalty, Nick.
Of course.
He was already dead before he was in the freezer? Yeah.
He was strangled, Vin.
They found no smoke in his lungs.
Thank God.
Hey, you know, you know, Vinnie, all the times I ate in your place, stories we told, the jokes, the laughs.
I thought I knew you.
You're gonna have to find a new lawyer.
- Nick.
No.
- Vinnie? - Nick, I didn't kill him.
- Vin.
That's the thing, I thought I did, but I didn't do it.
What? - It was Alan.
- Alan? I owed him 90 grand.
Alan Falcone.
Alan Detroit? Your alibi? He made me burn the place down for the insurance money.
He threatened to kill Angie if I didn't pay him back what I owed him.
He said he was gonna gut my wife like a trout if I didn't give him his money.
I know he'd do it.
Now I know he killed Chuck.
- This is no bull? - Chuck owed him money.
Alan wanted him to burn his meat company down same as me, only he wouldn't do it.
He knew you were gonna burn the place and he knew when? It was his idea.
He told me when.
Nick, he threatened my family.
And I just I didn't know what to do.
So you don't deny knowing Leonard Jackson and showering him with free rooms and lavish gifts? Of course not.
It's the way of Vegas.
You set them up in a luxury suite.
Reserve private betting tables.
Extend the lines of credit when he required.
At a certain point, you cut him off and ultimately ejected him from your casino? - Yes, that's right.
- Why? He paid his debts, $12 million.
He did, but he was gonna continue to lose.
And he was betting even bigger and foolishly.
More foolishly.
Isn't that exactly what you want? Well, in general, yes.
But in specific, not with him.
When you speak of an individual like Mr.
Jackson, you're speaking of Well, heh, to put it bluntly, dumb money.
They don't have any respect for it.
Okay, just to be clear, you ejected Mr.
Jackson because you felt he was incapable of continuing to pay back the large markers he was signing for? That's correct.
It's irresponsible of the gambler, but even more irresponsible of the casino to allow an individual like that play.
Thank you, Mr.
Greene.
Miss Hunt? Mr.
Greene, do you allow your patrons to gamble while drunk? Three hundred sixty-five days a year, including Christmas.
And if it had happened in your casino that Leonard Jackson had too much to drink and wound up owing the Florentine $6 million, what would you do? I would make him pay back every penny.
How? If I couldn't do it personally, I would be right here in this courtroom at your table, and happily, I might add.
Thank you, Mr.
Greene.
- Happily, my ass.
- Yeah, he got out of court.
Let's see how he's grinning when I prove coercion.
Lisa, I need you back here.
Come on.
Oh, I think Pete needs me to kind of stay.
Is that Nick? What is he saying? Is he calling you in? I need you.
Pete can handle it himself.
Come on, I got a little murder problem here.
- Here, let me talk to him.
- Well, I'll try to, but Let me talk to him.
You can't have her.
I need her.
What do you mean, you need her? I have no discovery here.
I got a murder case, all you got is a check fraud.
Come on, Sammy could have wrapped this thing up by now.
Give me a break, will you? - Have you eaten today? - I'm eating celery.
Celery? No.
Have protein.
Nobody likes skinny Nick.
- I like skinny Nick.
- What? - Girls like skinny Nick.
- What is it? - Come on.
I need her.
- I remember that guy.
Come on.
Protein? I need Lisa here.
Send her on over here.
I need her help.
All right, he's coming in.
Wait, right there.
There.
Him.
He works for Johnny Greene.
He's the executive assistant.
What is he doing at the Moroccan? Heh, classic handoff.
Oh, sure, that's Mr.
Guzmond from the Florentine.
Antonio.
And he took you to the Moroccan? After Greene banned me, I swore off Vegas.
Went back to Oklahoma.
And then Mr.
Guzmond shows up.
Says he has some friends that would love to have me.
I get to be king again.
He must have known I was itching because he had a jet waiting for me.
Oh, man, I love that jet.
Howdy.
If you're looking for Mr.
Greene, good luck.
He's in Macau.
Actually, I was looking for you.
I was wondering how Mr.
Greene felt about you moonlighting for other casinos? No idea what you're talking about.
Excuse me.
No idea? Because I happen to have surveillance footage of you and Leonard Jackson at the Moroccan.
I could show it to Mr.
Greene, see what he has to say.
You knew exactly what Leonard was and you exploited him.
So? We exploit people here, Mr.
Kaczmarek.
It's not exactly against the law.
No, no, no, look, look, look, I'm really looking forward to seeing how your boss is gonna react when he finds out that you've been delivering whales to other casinos.
You won't be able to get a job as a valet in Reno.
Get out of my way.
I can't testify.
I'll lose everything that way too.
One way or the other, Tony, you're gonna have to help my guy out.
There.
Thank you very much.
What? What are you standing around for? This is an office.
Should be working.
Come on, everybody in the kitchen.
All right, I just called our alarm company to find out what happens when you punch in a code to an alarm that's not set? Try to turn it off before it's been turned on? They think somebody's trying to break in.
It's not like I do it all the time.
What does this prove, exactly? Okay, Vinnie leaves the restaurant at 2 a.
m.
Okay? But he leaves the alarm off.
So when he comes back to light the fire at 5, he doesn't have to punch a code in, because it would leave evidence that he came back.
So? So I'm willing to bet that somewhere in those four boxes of discovery There's a record from Vinnie's alarm company that someone tried to disarm the alarm between 2 a.
m.
and 5 a.
m.
To go in to dump the body.
It couldn't have been Vinnie.
I'm thinking it's Alan Falcone.
Wow, that's so cool.
But how do you prove it? He can't.
Well, I got no choice than to put Alan Falcone on the stand to lie about the alibi.
Nick, you can't.
Oh, Pete, I have to.
Come on.
Nick, you can't put someone on the stand if you know they're lying.
You could be disbarred, right? Well, it's either that, or Vinnie lands on death row.
My license won't matter after that, anyway.
Straighten up.
If you wanna stay off the stand, you better look like you can't wait to swear in.
You sure this is going to work? It just did.
Hey.
We were informed of this witness just this morning, judge.
Judge, we just found this witness.
How is he pertinent, Mr.
Kaczmarek? Mr.
Guzmond has working knowledge of casino targeting.
And specifically, knowledge of Leonard Jackson and the Moroccan.
- We request time to investigate.
- I will save you the effort.
Mr.
Guzmond will tell you that he specifically targeted my client, traveling as far as Oklahoma to drag him back to Mr.
Briar's client, accepting cash kickbacks in the process.
Unethical, Kaczmarek, but it's not coercion.
It's sick is what it is.
And I can't wait to get that to the jury.
He's a casino host.
It's his job.
He's part of a conspiracy to rob Leonard Jackson.
- If I beat you, I'm not gonna stop - Mr.
Kaczmarek, the Moroccan Club & Casino cannot be seen going soft on debt.
But in order to save the court's valuable time, we would consider a settlement.
As long as we're seen to win.
We have precedent to consider.
I can't have every weekend gambler with a $10,000 marker screaming coercion.
I have to win, Mr.
Kaczmarek.
I have to crush you.
That can be arranged.
Oh, great.
Thanks for coming, Alan.
Really appreciate it.
- Hey, anything for Vinnie.
- Yeah, Vinnie.
Jesus, Vinnie.
Look, the trial's gonna be short.
They're gonna put an arson guy on, a detective.
Your alibi's basically my only defense.
So I'm gonna need to put you on the stand today.
- Is that okay? - No problem.
Okay.
Okay, great, so All right, I'm gonna start with asking you your name, - how you know Vinnie, how long.
- Sure.
And you're gonna testify that the two of you are good friends, and you go fishing every Wednesday morning for - Seven years.
- Oh, right, seven.
Right.
Wow, long time.
Get to know a guy pretty well, I guess, huh? Yeah.
Yeah, we get along good.
Hell, good enough to lend him $90,000, was it? - Well, what does that matter? - Oh, it doesn't.
Not to me, but the prosecution's gonna claim that Vinnie burned down his place, you know, for the insurance because he owed so much.
Right, right, right.
And I need the jury to know that the two of you were good friends.
So Vinnie wouldn't worry about what he owed you.
Yeah, yeah.
He wouldn't.
- I mean, I never sweated Vinnie.
- Okay, it's gonna be real easy.
I'll be in court, you're on the stand.
I'll say, "Mr.
Falcone, did you see Mr.
Cerrato the morning of October 3rd?" - Yep, we went fishing.
- All right.
Uh, what time of day was it? From around 4 in the morning to about 8 or 9.
Oh, good, because here's the thing: You know, they got evidence that says that someone was in the restaurant at 4:09 and it wasn't Vinnie.
Between you and me, security camera in East Vegas caught him buying a fuse at 4:20.
- Fuse? - Yeah, a candle.
He sawed off the last two inches and put it in a puddle of acetone.
Stupid plan.
He said it was yours.
- You know what? I think I'm done.
- Wait, wait, wait.
You gotta alibi for Vinnie.
I have no choice but to put Vinnie on the stand, and he's gonna say that you killed Chuck.
No, come on.
I don't wanna go that way, okay? That's not how I wanna play it.
The jury never buys, "The other guy did it," even when he did.
So, what do you want? I wanna get Vinnie off a murder that he didn't commit.
I need your alibi on the stand.
Look, Alan, no arson, no murder, everybody goes home.
Vinnie goes to jail, the insurance company doesn't pay.
You don't get paid.
I don't get paid.
Look, I get up there, how do I know you don't screw me? The judge finds out I put a perjurer on the stand, I lose my bar card and my career's over.
- All right, okay, I'll testify.
- Great.
- Let me know when I'm up.
- Okay, thank you so much.
But if you mess with me, I will kill your whole family.
And I think you know I'm capable.
Well, Detroit, actually, I don't.
And that's for the Red Wings stealing Chelios from the Blackhawks! Best defenseman we ever had.
There you go, detective.
- Oh, no, it's okay.
- No, no, take it.
Thank you.
So I'm paying them back with their own money? Important thing is the money is seen being paid back.
Doesn't matter where it comes from.
You already got tomorrow's headline sent off to the papers? Something like "Deadbeat Pays Back Moroccan Every Dime.
" Six million bucks, but I don't actually have a dime to get home.
Don't worry, I took care of it.
- Hey, Vinnie.
- Hey.
DA's offered a deal based on the tape.
Admit to the arson, and they'll drop the murder.
I got you two years in prison.
Is it my fault? Chuck? If I'd been man enough to say, "No, I won't burn it down"? Vin, Alan threatened the life of your wife.
You protected her.
I would have done the same thing.
So take the two years.
Take it like a man.
Then move on.
All right, I'll let them know.
Thank you.
All right, Vinnie.
I promise I'll never come back.
No Atlantic City.
No riverboats.
You work for a living, Leonard.
Right.
Obey the law.
But a little lotto can't hurt, right? No, a little lotto can't hurt.
- Can't hurt.
- Ha, ha.
- Good luck, Len.
Get on the plane.
- All right.
Oh, you arrive 6 million down, chained to a child molester, you leave debt-free on a private luxury jet.
Yeah, only in Vegas.
In the end, everybody wins.
Which reminds me, partner, you owe me 250 bucks.
What for? I didn't lose.
Not according to the paper.
You lost there.
Ah, Leonard.
How about I just buy you dinner, we call it even? How about a steak? Stone crab.
Joe's Stone Crab.
I could eat that stone crab all night long, won't gain a pound.
You're killing me.
You know how expensive that is? That's the point.
Besides, you can have half of it with me.
Come on.
You know what, Nicky? I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
It's always beautiful when you're buying.