Law & Order: Organized Crime (2021) s02e17 Episode Script

In the nation's largest city, the vicious and violent members of the underworld are hunted by the detectives of the Organized Crime Control Bureau.
These are their stories.
My father, he took a bullet to save another cop's life.
That's who he was.
- So what's the Brotherhood? - We look after each other.
I want you to keep an eye on Van Aller.
Those two women that got gunned down the other night.
The lawyer and her client.
She found out about the Brotherhood.
Van Aller was scared out of his mind that Donnelly would find out.
Derrick's my brother.
He doesn't know I'm a cop.
When the operation is over, I plan to tell him.
The Albanians are gone.
So are the Italians.
I've outmaneuvered, outplayed, outlasted all my rivals.
But I can't shake this feeling of betraying these people.
Tell me about this world of feeling for you.
- What lives there? - My father.
Your dad and his partner, they get ambushed by this hothead kid who's unarmed.
Your dad's partner shoots the kid.
- Dead? - Dead.
Major screw up.
They gotta justify the shooting.
So your dad has his partner shoot him in the leg.
Got a damn Combat Cross.
- New ADA? - Keller Shapiro.
The district attorney's new handpicked ankle biter.
Sergeant Bell.
Where's the proof that Frank Donnelly is running a criminal enterprise out of the 3-7? We're still building a case.
Everything's not buttoned up yet.
You got one dead cop who committed a murder.
Wrong, we do have a dead cop, whose name, by the way, is Matthew van Aller, but he committed two murders and tried to pin it on a member of the Marcy Killers, which is actually what this taskforce is being tasked with investigating, the Marcy Killers.
So why not investigate them and leave your fellow cops alone? IAB asked Detective Stabler to investigate Donnelly and the Brotherhood.
Oh.
That's who you are.
Then do this quietly, and do it fast.
- I need solid proof - Counselor? Thanks for dropping by, but like the sergeant said, we're in the middle of compiling our documentation to prove, in fact, that they are a gang.
But in the meantime, we'll just work quietly and quickly.
Get me audio and video.
I'm reluctant to put you on the stand.
They'd rip you apart after, uh, what's-his-name.
The man who murdered my wife? What do you think? Wear a wire? Absolutely not.
Donnelly's too savvy for that.
There is a better way at this, but we only have one chance to get it right.
Flip someone.
Sweet ride.
Yeah, tricked out.
Solar battery, double-padded saddle, custom pegs.
Ugh, you're making your "something is wrong" face.
What's wrong? Well, now that you mention it, would you mind digging into a cold case for me? Say the word.
What's the case? My father, Joe Stabler, he received a Combat Cross.
Just, I wanna know about the circumstances surrounding that scene.
Cold case with family resonance, I'm down.
Yeah.
Thanks, I owe you.
Yeah.
Hey, we should ride some time.
- It's on my bucket list.
- You just said you owe me.
I told you, little king, you gotta trust me on this.
We move this key, next time we get three.
Damn, bro, what about the Marcy Killers? Those clowns are done.
Webb's gone soft.
- Old man's lost his grip.
- Says that scar.
This is the best he can do? We've got nothing to worry about.
You sure talk a lot, Chopper, for someone who's got nothing to say.
I'm just trying to make it out there.
Same as you.
Your side hustle cutting into Marcy Killer business? That's how you, uh, trying to make it? This ain't gotta be a thing.
One of y'all ain't gonna make it out of here today.
Whoa, this ain't got nothing to do with me.
I know.
I know.
Just Chopper.
Get outta here, dude.
Now, I thought I'd made it clear with your second strike that there wasn't gonna be a third.
Didn't I say that? Huh? You've really lost your mind, old man.
Hmm.
So listen, I got this CI up on Mother Gaston Boulevard.
Her boyfriend's a small-time pot dealer.
But apparently he hit the lottery 'cause he's waving all kinds of cash around the neighborhood.
So we gonna bust him or rob him? We're gonna bust him then rob him.
Pot dealer? Is it worth it? Forget about the pot, man.
The cash.
- It's free cash, baby.
- Cash is cash.
Now you're catching on.
Have you been checking in with the guys? What with the Van Aller thing? I'm a little worried about Carling.
Carling? No, no, no.
Don't worry about Carling.
I'll tell you who you should be worried about.
Worry about Santos.
'Cause that guy, he's shaky.
So I want you to keep an eye on him, all right? We have a 10-39-P in progress - at 7537 Pitkin Avenue - Unbelievable.
Son of a bitch is at it again.
Unbelievable.
Uh, 2-4, we'll take that.
You know the address? Yeah, I know the address.
Mr.
and Mrs.
Oswald.
Wait till you see the husband.
This guy's a piece of work.
Hang on.
NYPD, open up.
Mrs.
Oswald, Detective Donnelly.
- You remember me? - I didn't mean to call.
It was an accident.
Well, all the same, we'd like to take a look around.
Everything's fine, honestly.
I'm fine.
You can go.
Step away from the door.
- It's okay, it's okay.
- Ah! Okay, okay, it's all right.
We're not gonna let anyone hurt you, okay? - Okay? - What's gonna happen to him? We're gonna take him to the precinct and book him this time, okay? All right? Do you have somebody you can call? You don't have to call anybody.
- I'll be right back.
- Don't count on it, dirtbag.
I'm gonna get you sent to urgent care, okay? Have somebody look at those cuts and bruises.
And I'm gonna send a friend of mine over there.
Her name's Melinda.
Okay? She's a victim services advocate.
- All right? - Mm-hmm.
Okay.
So let's go sit down.
I'll call and make sure somebody is on their way.
So much for the Mother Gaston job, huh? Hey, man.
This is better.
Come on, let's go.
Dad.
Dinner's here.
Oh, good.
Okay.
Is that Papa Joe's? Yeah, I think so.
Let's eat.
You see all of this, Isaiah? Huh? The rewards of my blood, sweat, and tears.
I did what I had to do for my family.
I did it all for our family.
And I'd do it all again.
And when my body is gone, our legacy will be lasting.
Well, in order for your legacy to be everything that you just promised our grandson, I'm gonna need your body here for a while longer.
We have work to do.
Is that what you've been eating the whole time I was gone? Greasy takeout? You know, hospital food's better than this crap.
Let me help you with that.
I can do it myself, please.
There, you see? Grandma's still got it.
How come we never talk about Papa Joe? What's there to talk about? Why don't we just have dinner? What do you want to know, honey? Just wanna know why we never talk about him.
Hey, Mama, what can we do as a family to make your reentry a little smooth? Uh, well, for one thing, you could not steal my meds.
Thank you for this food and for all the gifts that you've given to those around this table.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Amen.
So in your sermon, you said that you came up in Brooklyn.
Do your folks still live there? They passed away a while back.
Yeah, sadly the Rileys haven't been whole for quite some time, which makes this especially sweet for me and my sister.
- Isn't that right, Carmen? - Yeah, sure.
All the more reason to welcome you to this table.
May this be the first of many.
- Hear, hear.
- Cheers.
Cheers.
- I'ma go do some homework.
- Sit down.
We stay at the table until everyone's finished.
I'll tell you something about your grandfather.
If your father ever rolled his eyes at him like you just did, he'd box his ears.
Really? Like, literally? Yeah, literally.
Just smack him right upside the head.
- And if he ever sassed him - Mama, enough.
He'd shove a big bar of soap in his mouth.
Eli, go do your homework.
Leave your phone.
Thanks, Grandma.
So hey, listen, I want you to think about my idea to endow a charitable foundation and free medical clinic at the church.
I don't have to think about it.
You two just tell me when you want to get started.
Well, thank you so much for having us for dinner.
- Thank you.
- Good night.
- All right, good night.
- Good night.
Yeah, that charity foundation? That's not happening.
What are you talking about? Do you have any idea where their money comes from? I see.
So their money's only good when you're lining your own pockets with it? Look, just don't go blowing up our spot talking to them about Mom and Dad, okay? Promise me.
Why is Eli suddenly so interested in your father? I don't know.
He was a good cop, wasn't he? What kind of question is that? Well, you know, his Combat Cross.
What's the story behind that? Well, that was the pride of our family.
Yeah, I know.
I've heard that.
And I've heard the story a thousand times.
He threw himself in front of a bullet to save his partner.
But what's the, uh you know, what's the story? How would I know? What do you remember? Just that they called me and told me he was in the hospital.
And, you know, that's it.
That's all they tell me.
I don't know, is he alive or dead or what? But they don't tell me.
Well, they never do.
It was just, you know, "Don't tell Bernie anything.
She can't handle it.
Don't tell her your secrets either.
She can't keep a secret.
God forbid you tell her your secrets".
- Mama? - "Don't tell her that he's Cheating".
"Don't tell her that he's suspended".
Mama? - Mama? - What? Huh? He got suspended? Who? Pops.
Your husband, Joe.
Joe never got suspended.
No.
And don't you question your father.
Your father was a good man.
He would never do anything to shame his family.
And don't question him.
If you question your father, he's gonna do something much worse than box your ears.
He'll.
.
he'll do worse than he did to that perp.
Jessie Santos.
Transferred to the 3-7 a few years ago.
Wife Rosaria and one kid, eight.
He applied to take the Sergeants' Exam - but never followed through.
- Do you know why? Nothing in his department records.
His socials are bare bones, and I can't touch his bank records without a subpoena, but he took a bunch of trips to Boston last year and paid for them with Venmo.
Maybe an affair? Or an addiction problem.
There are several payments to a rehab center gift shop.
Get the information to Stabler.
Yep.
Hey, what's up, man? You got it? Hey, Santos.
- Hey.
- What you doing here, man? Gonna ask the same thing about you.
I had a online date.
It was a bust.
- Yeah, yeah.
- Yeah, it was what it was.
What you doing? You moonlighting? Yeah, I work private security.
Hmm.
Good gig? Look, if you need some money, man, you that's what the Brotherhood's for.
It's not enough.
Okay? Okay.
Jessie, what's going on? See that cab over there? - It's the sign.
- Yeah? Got a detail assignment on a jeweler in town for the convention.
Carries a million dollar's worth of diamonds home in a briefcase every night.
- Promise not to say anything? - I would never do that.
Those diamonds? It's cubic zirconium.
Same weight as the real diamonds.
By the time the guy notices, he'll be halfway across the continental U.
S.
Need a wingman? The diamonds are fake.
He's gonna swap them out for the real ones tonight at that big jewelry show.
- At the convention center.
- Yeah.
It's one of the biggest diamond conventions in the world.
I mean, the plan is it's pretty good, I just don't know how he thought he was gonna pull it off by himself.
So he offered to cut you in? Yeah, that's how afraid he is of Donnelly.
Strict rule, no outside hustles from the Brotherhood.
Donnelly's smart.
Guys go out on their own, they get sloppy.
That's why he hasn't gotten caught.
So maybe we can bug Santos's car to get him on record.
Let's get our friend Shapiro to get us a warrant.
Right? Hey, Jet? The Right, sorry.
Uh, IAB ran a joint investigation with the 2-7.
Three witness accounts corroborated your father's story.
Officially, it was a good shooting.
Thanks.
His father? Well, I think the church needs to evolve.
I believe in trusting in the conscience of our parishioners.
And if your faith urges you to baptize young Jackson Bell Bullock, I support you fully.
I remember a time when Ezekiel wasn't so progressive.
Well, the truth is, I have a sister Carmen.
She's helped me to open my heart to LGBTQ folks.
- Carmen? - Oh, Pastor Riley.
This is too funny.
I think we've met your sister.
Does she work for Congressman Leon Kilbride? - She does.
- What are the chances? I think this is meant to be.
Why would it be meant to be? I got offered the job.
I was a public defender, but I took time off when I got pregnant.
Now I'm ready to go back to work.
And I was up for a job at Congressman Kilbride's old firm.
Amazing.
- Congratulations.
- Yeah, congratulations, baby.
Why didn't you tell me? Well, the offer just came in this morning.
You were at work.
Uh, you haven't taken the job yet, have you? Not yet.
Do you have a problem with it? I just, I wonder if Jack is still too young.
We have discussed this, Ayanna.
He loves Marguerite.
I'm Mommy, you're Mama, she's Miga.
That sounds like MAGA.
Okay.
Look, can we just take a second and think about it? I have done nothing but think about it.
This is a dream job for me.
And frankly, I'm hurt that you don't support it.
So how are we supposed to recognize this guy? He's a pot dealer.
He'll have a manbun and fanny pack.
That's 40% of the people in here, man.
Yeah.
- You know what's sad? - Hmm? This used to be a cop bar.
- Yeah? - Yeah, yeah.
This was the place my dad, your dad, their whole crew, this is where they used to hang out.
You know, do their thing.
What does that mean, "do their thing"? You know.
Do business.
Take care of each other.
Yep.
I don't think that was my pop.
What are you talking about? It was all of them back then.
You know, they worked the streets.
And if, you know, streets offered up a little, they took it and put it in their pocket, you know? Nah, I don't I just I don't think so, you know? I lived with the guy.
Every day of my life, he basically said man's got two things.
His word and his reputation.
He might've said it, but he didn't live it.
Hey, Frank? You don't know my old man.
Okay.
But I knew my old man.
And I know what he taught me.
Okay? The only people looking out for cops are other cops.
They put their lives on the line night and day.
If there was a little taste to be had, they felt they earned it.
It was true then, it's true now.
Oh, that reminds me.
I got a present for you.
Found this the other day.
Look at that.
My old man and your old man back in the day.
Hmm.
This guy ain't gonna show.
We'll come look for him another time, all right? Mm.
Yeah, your pops was a good-looking guy.
What happened to you? Just hung up with Shapiro.
He approved us for the wire.
What about an arrest? No arrest yet.
Wire first.
So what's our next move? Stabler and I came up with a plan.
We'll be at Nolan's coffee shop on 61st.
Maldonado, you're on the street.
Stabler and Santos will be inside.
Your job is to keep them from seeing the van.
Copy.
Cho, can you get us inside the van? Once we're in range, I'll hack the Bluetooth key fob.
I can pop the lock as soon as they're inside.
Jet, you plant the listening device.
In, what, 60 seconds? - No pressure.
- Let's do this.
I'll call Stabler.
He's meeting the client at 7:00, but I'll get him to that coffee shop that we talked about beforehand.
You sure? Yeah, I'm sure.
Okay, Jet needs time to place the wire.
Can you keep him busy? Yeah, I'll keep him busy.
Don't worry about that.
Look, I gotta go.
You okay? Yeah.
Are you? When are you going to stop investigating yourself? - What? - You're nothing like him.
Elliot, you're a good man.
All right, man, let's go.
Quick in and out.
In and out.
It's go time.
Pulling up now.
What do you want? I'm good.
Just get whatever.
- Coffee? - No, no, no, I'm good.
Copied his code, you're in.
What are you doing? I'm ordering.
I gotta figure out what I want.
Um, give me a double espresso.
Sure.
Yo, Santos, hey, hey.
What time you got? - We're close.
- What do you got? We got 30 minutes.
We gotta get moving, man.
Jet, talk to me.
I'm almost there.
Just gotta make sure the wire's secure.
Okay, as soon as Maldonado gets there and puts the parking ticket on the windshield, you gotta get outta there.
Copy that.
- All right, here it comes.
- Jesus Christ.
- Can I get you anything else? - We're good, we're good.
Thank you so much.
Smell that.
Smell that.
Yeah, it's good.
It's good.
- It's good.
- It's beautiful.
All right, that's for you.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Hold on, come here, come here, come here, come here.
Just give me a second.
Santos, relax, relax.
Uh Have to get outta there.
Jet, it's not connected.
There's no connection.
Hey, let's go.
- We gotta go.
- I know we gotta go.
Don't rush me.
Um I don't know if I want sugar.
Power's on, I don't oh.
- Hey, man, hey.
- Go get, excuse me Yo, I'm right here.
It's going down.
Going down.
It's going down.
Get outta there.
How about now? We got it.
Get outta there.
Mmm.
- That's it? - That is it.
Awesome.
Thank you.
He's coming.
- I'm not done yet.
- All right.
They're coming out.
They're coming out.
- Hey, he's coming.
- Always ready, my man.
Hey.
No.
No.
Oh, no.
- Hey! - Hey, hey - Hey! - Come here, come here.
Relax.
What are you doing? It's bad, man.
It's gonna be in the system.
Hey, now, don't worry about that.
- I'll take care of this.
- Yeah? Yeah, relax.
All right.
So I'm gonna be honest with you.
I've never done a diamond heist before.
What do we stand to score? Clifton Hurley is carrying at least a million dollars' worth of rocks.
But we're fencing to a middleman, - so we'll clear half that.
- Wow.
Hurley? That's the client? Diamond broker from Zurich.
Been his security detail the last three nights.
But tonight, I drive him from the convention center straight to the airport where he's catching a plane to Dubai.
You and me, we gotta take care of business before we get him to that car.
All right.
Here are your credentials.
This includes a layout of the convention center.
On the second floor, there's an atrium.
When I see you downstairs in the lobby, I'm gonna give him this - Uh - How you doing? Jesus.
Frank.
Nice night for a heist, huh? Now you know I got eyes and ears all over this city.
Let me ask you guys something, I'm a generous guy, right? - Definitely.
- Yeah.
Bring you in on every piece of action that I have.
I treat you with respect.
- We respect you, Frank.
- Yeah, Frank.
And how do I get treated in return? I get treated whew, in a very disrespectful fashion.
And I gotta tell you guys something.
It hurts.
- Didn't mean no disrespect - It hurts.
Didn't mean no disrespect, Frank.
I just wanted to keep things breezy.
You wanted to keep things breezy? What the hell's that supposed to mean? Trying to plan a job behind my back? Trying to cut out the one guy in this city who's pulled more heists than than anyone? - Keep talking, Donnelly.
- Is that breezy to you? It's not breezy.
It's stupid.
Yeah.
Stupid.
Run your plan down for me, genius.
I was just telling Stabler that every night I carry a bottle of water for Hurley.
He has a heart condition and takes his pills exactly at 8:00 every night.
Keeps an alarm set on his watch.
Stabler's another dealer.
At 7:58, he'll be across the lobby on his way to the elevator with these.
Just as I hand Hurley the bottle of water, take his meds.
I put niacin in it.
Hurley won't know what hit him.
He's gonna get stomach cramps.
Think he's gonna vomit.
Blood pressure will tank.
Rush him to the restroom, passes out, and I do the switch.
Who's the buyer? Buyer's an importer from Santiago.
While I drive Hurley in a company car I'm gonna meet him down in a warehouse on Canal.
I'll show him the product.
If he likes it which he should cash, man, all cash.
Yeah.
Guess what? I'm in.
Frank, you were never out.
- Right? - Yeah.
- See you inside.
- All right, see you inside.
- Yep.
- I'll be there.
You did good.
It was a smart move to bring me in.
That's what partners are for.
And speaking of Santos, man, this ain't right.
What he did ain't right.
Hey, let me just explain something to you though.
It's way more complicated than you think it is.
Okay.
You know his daughter, Sara? She has leukemia.
Yeah, he's been shuttling her back and forth between here and this fancy clinic in Boston to get treatment.
His insurance is completely maxed out.
Just the most innocent, beautiful little girl.
Holloman Pediatric Cancer Hospital.
It's a block away from the rehab center.
I know, he keeps it very quiet.
Well, Frank Donnelly has a heart.
Who would've thought? Stay sharp, brother.
- All right? - Yeah.
Let's hit it.
Car is waiting outside, Mr.
Hurley.
We have a 55-minute drive to the airport, allowing for traffic.
We have plenty of time.
Very good.
- Do you have the water? - Of course.
Hey, you you okay, Mr.
Hurley? Um, where's the restroom? I'm feeling nauseous.
Here, let me take you.
It's not working.
What what are you talking about? - It's not working? - It's not working.
You told me the left index finger.
I did? I, uh, I think I meant to say the ring finger.
Well, you also told me that we got three chances - before the locks seize up.
- It's the ring finger.
Sorry, closed.
Closed for service.
Jessie.
I don't know what to tell you.
It's the ring finger.
Hey! Sorry, there's another bathroom down the east wing by the elevator.
Closed.
Yes.
Hurry.
- Hurry up.
- Shh! Hello? Closed there's another restroom on the east elevator.
Sorry, closed.
Come on.
Mr.
Hurley? Mr.
Hurley? Sir? Sir? Hey.
You may have hurt you you okay? Mr.
Hurley? You're good.
It's all good.
- Hey.
- What are you doing here? Give me the stuff.
What do you mean, "give me the stuff"? I'm supposed to give it to the buyer.
I know.
Santos doesn't know what the hell he's doing.
I got a new buyer, a better fence.
- That wasn't the plan.
- This is a new plan.
I'm taking over.
Come on.
Give it to me and just walk away, okay? Bye.
All right, Mr.
Hurley.
We're good.
Good on time.
We're gonna get you to the airport, okay? - We're still good.
- Something's not right.
- I wanna go back inside.
- Hey, hey, hey.
NYPD.
NYPD.
What's the problem here? This man is trying to rob me.
- What? - Yes.
Okay, you.
You stay there.
What's your name, sir? Clifton Hurley.
Mr.
Hurley, you just wait in the car here.
- All right? - What about him? I'm gonna go back, and I'm gonna talk to him.
Figure out what's going on.
Okay? Change of plans.
Give me the keys.
Come on.
Screw.
Come on, hurry up.
Okay, Mr.
Hurley.
Where are you taking me? I'm taking you to the airport.
No, I want to go to the police station.
I said I want to go to the police station.
- I have to make a full report.
- About what? That you fainted in the men's room? No.
I was robbed.
I said I was robbed.
- Sir, you were not robbed.
- Sir, listen to me.
These are not my diamonds.
- I think you're a little groggy.
- They were switched I'm not groggy.
- Don't tell me how I feel.
- You These are not my diamonds.
I don't know what you're talking about.
I was drugged, and I was robbed.
Listen, when we get to the airport I'm not going to the airport.
Okay? I'm not going anywhere.
- I want out of this car.
- Okay, just relax, sir.
- I want you to relax.
- Let me out of this car! - Calm down.
- Don't tell me to calm down.
- You where are my diamonds? - Hey, hey, hey.
You know something.
Where are my diamonds? - Relax.
- Stop the car.
- Enough, enough, enough.
- Hey, let me out! Come on, hey.
- You know what? - Let me out! Hey! Hey! What are you doing, man? Give me the what are you - But you had the diamonds.
- Yeah, then Donnelly took them.
He told me there was a change of plan.
Hey, Jet? Santos was supposed to take Hurley to the airport last night.
Ah, well, according to the flight manifest, - Hurley missed his plane.
- Different flight, maybe? No, nothing on record.
I also checked CBP.
All right, what about the hotel? He checked out last night before he went to the convention center.
I ran DAS surveillance footage to see if he came back there for any reason.
But I got nothing.
All right, let's focus on Santos.
What time does he clock in today? Tonight, working the graveyard.
We'll put out a missing persons alert for Hurley.
See if he turns up anywhere.
In the meantime, we're waiting for Shapiro to review our wiretap and see if it meets his threshold to bring Santos in.
Oh, you look so good.
That's a happy day.
There you go.
My parents would have been so proud.
Tell us more about your parents.
What did they do? Oh, well, my father, he was actually Sorry, I didn't realize.
I didn't know you were having a meeting.
We just established the Cassandra and Preston Webb Community Health Clinic at Ezekiel Baptist Church.
- The Lord is good.
- Yes, he is.
- Amen.
- Amen.
This is unexpected.
What did you want to pray about? I'm praying I'm doing the right thing with what I'm about to tell you.
You shouldn't have taken money from those people.
We've already talked about this, Carmen.
You can't put yourself above Preston Webb.
Especially not when you work for him.
I don't work for him.
I'm undercover.
Say what? Like Daddy was.
I'm a police officer.
I'm investigating Webb.
Since when? Six years.
I came out of the academy, went right undercover.
Joined a gang called the Marcy Killers.
- You know who they are? - Yeah, sure, yeah.
I've heard about them.
The Marcy organization, Preston Webb? Yeah.
I know.
And I've heard all the rumors.
Look, Daddy Daddy wouldn't've wanted this.
He never wanted any of his kids to do what he did.
Our father was killed in the line of duty.
Do you know who killed him? Jessie Santos.
Come in.
You know, I didn't know your father all that well.
He was half a generation ahead of me, just like I'm half a generation ahead of you.
I understand that.
But you were there when he got that.
In the department.
Right? I take it you've heard the stories.
What stories? People talk a lot of crap.
They talk too much.
- It's better to shut your mouth.
- Are they true? Tell me what you've heard.
His partner Gus Hansen shot a kid, unprovoked, and my father staged his own shooting to cover it up.
Your dad was a loyal partner.
Courageous.
That was his reputation.
He'd be the first one to show if backup was needed.
Why won't you answer the question? Because I don't know the answer.
But I know this.
When your dad came up, this city was desolate.
Bankrupt.
Crime-riddled on almost every block in every neighborhood.
The police department was broken.
All right, out-manned, out-gunned, and underpaid.
These were tough men in a tough situation.
And they were doing the best they could.
Was there corruption? Of course there was.
Were there bad cops? Absolutely.
That is the world that your father was working in.
It was a dangerous time.
Why would he give that to me? Look, this much I know.
As difficult as Joe was in many ways, he was a great cop in his day.
Well, you see, I'm guessing that your father gave you this medal as a kind of act of contrition for him.
Maybe.
His way of saying, "You do better.
You honor this cross and all that it's meant to represent".
Elliot.
We've all done things that we're not proud of.
You're telling me.