Law & Order (1990) s02e22 Episode Script
The Working Stiff
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.
Good morning, Mr.
McFadden.
Mr.
McFadden? So, Eduardo, - what time did you punch in? - 5:30.
And you let him in when? No, no, Mr.
McFadden's always the first one here.
I think 4:00 or something.
He has his own key.
Cerreta: Mikey.
Oh, wonderful.
Taped trigger, taped butt.
- Serial numbers filed? - Sure.
Of course.
Why should it be easy? The vic's wallet and keys, Detective.
He had over a grand in 20s on him.
- Not a robbery.
Not an amateur.
- So it's a hit.
Maybe the Mafia plays the stock market.
McFadden let himself into this joint every morning according to the porter.
No security guard.
No witnesses.
Walter Fairlee, Detective.
- Is there anything I can help you with? - Yeah.
What was Mr.
McFadden doing here at 4:00 in the morning? Checking the "DAXIE.
" That's the German stock exchange.
- Marshall had a lot of international interests.
- And what about enemies? Ours is a competitive business.
But everybody loved him, right? - Everybody respected what he accomplished.
- Which was? Which was overcoming his humble beginnings and amassing a net worth in the hundreds of millions.
This is a terrible moment for our company.
Excuse me.
I guess the moment's over.
Exactly what business was Mr.
McFadden in? Like America, his business was business.
He bought companies, he sold companies.
Actually, he was one of the only mergers and acquisition experts to emerge from the '80s with his assets and his reputation still intact.
Your boss had more degrees than a thermometer.
Well, all of them honorary.
Mr.
McFadden never finished high school.
Has anyone notified the family? No one to call.
His wife, Ann, passed away six years ago.
Cancer.
Dwight Corcoran, a former ambassador to England.
Mr.
McFadden had many friends in high places.
We'll need a list of all of them.
Were any of them close to him? Mr.
McFadden was a private person.
All I knew of his life was what I read in the papers.
"Marshall McFadden, the king of the takeover, son of a Yorkshire coal miner, strikes it rich in the new world.
" This guy bought up companies like I buy six-packs.
Only after he recycled the waste it was worth a lot more than when he bought it.
Net worth nine figures.
Anything from ballistics? The bullet matches the.
38 we found in the garbage.
No prints.
The FBI's running an argon scan on what's left of the serial number.
You know, these takeover guys, they buy up a company, spit out the pits.
- People get hurt.
- Get this hostile takeover, McFadden acquires a company, Evans and Black.
Well, when the smoke clears, Guy standing on the assembly line, I don't know, is it worth killing over? What about the guy sitting in the executive crapper? After the takeover, McFadden replaced the entire board of directors.
White collars can get pretty dirty waiting on the unemployment line.
Old days, when I ran the Brooklyn plant, I put in 10 hour days, six days per.
- And now? - McFadden closes the plant.
Now it's mornings at my Quotron and afternoons at the club.
How much did he pay for the company? The papers say around That much and he shuts it down? Evans and Black was worth 700.
The Brooklyn plant was the company's prodigal son.
It hadn't shown a profit in 10 years.
Some divisions get closed, some get sold.
That's what takeover's all about.
Just like a chop shop.
You know, these takeover guys, McFadden, Pickens you ask me, press has given them all a bad rap.
They're calling them sharks, barracudas.
- They're not? - They're more like angels.
They trim the fat.
Less waste, more profit.
Correct me if I'm wrong, Mr.
Reynolds after the takeover, McFadden threw you and the rest of the board out on the street.
Yes, but we landed very gently.
Golden parachutes.
I walked away with close to seven mill.
All thanks to McFadden, huh? They should carve his face on a mountain.
'90s Horatio Alger.
- Get canned, walk away a rich man.
- High school physics.
There was no such thing as spontaneous generation.
Reynolds and all his cronies at the top are making a lot of money, it's got to come from somewhere.
- Guys at the bottom? - My Uncle Sal and ink at Pylon Printing in Queens.
The owner sells out to a German corporation.
- Your Uncle Sal was history.
- No medical, no pension.
He's 68 years old and all he's got to show for it is purple fingernails.
- And no golden parachute.
- Let's go see what happened to the working stiffs.
Fairlee: Excuse me.
Now, you can't just confiscate documents without a warrant.
- Why not? - McFadden's the victim, not the suspect, right? Of course.
I just thought you Don't think.
Cooperate.
Over there.
I got to hand it to the guy, he made it, but he sure as hell wasn't afraid to spend it.
A real philanthropist.
On this Evans and Black deal his lawyers collected close to two mil.
Wow.
Maybe they earned it.
Listen to this.
Memo from his attorneys re: Brooklyn plant.
"Collective bargaining agreement with Local 8157 expires November 30th.
It would, therefore, be ill-advised to cease operations prior to December 1st.
" McFadden was going to close that Brooklyn plant from the get-go.
Screw the union with a legal stamp of approval.
His father worked for the coal mines.
You'd think he'd have a little sympathy for the grunts.
Boy, they sure had some for him.
This is a letter from the union agreeing to rollback all the salaries by 15%.
To McFadden? No, to the loan department at the Bank of the Five Boroughs.
" in order to induce the Bank to finance the acquisition of Evans and Black, Inc.
By Marshall McFadden.
" Signed, Edward Palmieri, President of Guild of American Industrial Workers.
So he gets the union to close the deal then he bites them on the butt? All's fair in M & A.
That letter from the union, who did you say signed it? Palmieri.
Palmieri.
Palmieri.
Last month, a check drawn on the account of Ann McFadden Cancer Foundation payable to Edward G.
Palmieri in the amount of 100,000 smackeroos.
Wow.
You think this Palmieri moonlights as a cancer specialist? McFadden gets the union to agree to future rollbacks.
Company looks more profitable.
More attractive for the bank.
It's all kosher.
Except McFadden never intended to sign a new contract with the union.
He planned on shutting down the plant in Brooklyn - as soon as the union contract expired.
- It was all a con.
And the head of the union is running point.
A mook named Palmieri pocketed 100 Gs from McFadden's charitable foundation.
Fellas, what's wrong with this picture? McFadden is making Palmieri rich and he's going to kill the golden goose? But this is a guy who would sell out the rank and file.
It doesn't make him a killer.
Well, if the stakes get high enough.
Maybe there's a history between McFadden and Palmieri.
Unions keep records.
A subpoena might help.
Well, how does a subpoena duces tecum sound? It means lay your cards on our table.
You want documents, you got documents.
My client is merely satisfying the subpoena.
We asked for documents relating to the union's dealings with Marshall McFadden.
Not the history of the world parts one and two.
Come on, Counselor.
The duces tecum was specific.
"Dukis" my tuckus.
You wanna know something, you talk to me.
All right.
Tell us about the agreement to roll back union bennies when McFadden took over.
The old owners were living in the dark ages.
They hold onto the company, the Brooklyn plant goes right down the crapper.
The Brooklyn plant goes into Chapter 11 and the union is out on the street.
And where I come from, something is better than nothing.
Yeah, Eddie agreed to the rollback, the bank likes the deal.
So everybody's happy.
Yeah, until the limey stabs us in the back.
Us? Looks like you did all right.
What, are you implying something? $100,000 payable to your client from McFadden's foundation.
That was for consulting.
Look, we don't even care about the payment.
What we're concerned with is why the payer is dead.
Wait a minute, you guys think that I My union's got The Brooklyn plant canned, what, a couple of hundred? It's not worth my time.
Eddie, whose time is it worth? Are you charging me with something? Cragen: No, no, we're not.
But maybe the US Attorney's office would be interested in those consulting fees.
Boys who worked the plant, had a couple of hotheads there.
Unemployment bennies are running out.
Some of them have nothing left to lose.
Pedaski, DVorkin, Vilanis and Black.
Man: Closed meeting, fellas.
Oh, yeah? We won't go in, we'll just listen at the doorway.
Speaker: nothing we can do about unemployment benefits.
Local 8157, official business.
Get lost.
Shield 9215, ditto.
Speaker: We are scheduled to meet with department of labor reps the first of the month.
Everything takes time.
My recommendation is therefore to work with the Economic Development Council and the State Insurance Commissioner - to save what - The Insurance Commissioner wouldn't know a tool and dime maker from a cheeseburger.
You want the floor, Simon? What happened to our pension plan shouldn't ever, ever, have happened in this country! We paid into it for 40 years, and now that policy in your hand you may as well wipe your ass with it.
It's useless! Man: You tell him, Simon! You tell him! Let's hear it for the rank and file.
We trusted the politicians, the managers, and those clowns on 52nd Street with their expensive suits that we paid for with our dues! We all know you want to overthrow Palmieri, Simon.
Overthrow nothing! How about throwin' him in the East River?! That's right! You tell him! So, Mr.
Vilanis, what happened to your pension plan? Before McFadden closed the plant, he took our contributions, invested them in junk bonds.
The market today, we're lucky to get Were you serious back there about dumping the union heads in the river? Yeah, right.
I shot McFadden in the back, too.
- In the head.
- In the head! I wish.
You serious? Well, at this point, you're the best we have.
You have an alibi, Simon? Well, I was drinking in Nooch's in Red Hook till closing time, probably.
Same as most nights.
Are you sure about that? Either there or St.
Eligius Hospital in Brooklyn.
Every other Thursday's party time at the clinic.
Oh here we go.
The old owners, they got their ounce of flesh, definitely.
But they also offered us a 99-year lease at 150 per month.
Those were the good old days.
Then McFadden and his bean counters got into the act.
First thing they did was discover $120 million in hidden assets, i.
e.
20 buildings just like that one.
But you had a lease? or until there was no longer an Evans plant in Brooklyn.
He closes shop, he's got a lot of real estate.
Up there.
Top floor.
Only two bedrooms, but we raised three kids and we got along somehow.
Today it's luxury condos for the upwardly mobile exec.
Hell, he just tossed you people out, huh? Naturally we couldn't come up with the down payment.
Now the economy's down the john, even the yuppies can't afford the luxury.
The McFaddens of the world leave a lot of wreckage behind.
You don't know the half of it.
Your doctor, Simon? My doctor? Dr.
Bergman.
You mind if we talk to him? Her.
Her.
Go ahead.
She's a laugh a minute.
Alveolar carcinoma of the right lung.
Logan: Which is? Consolidation of the air spaces.
It's a tumor lung cancer.
What's that from, two packs a day? Could be.
Could also be 30 years of breathing in God knows what chemicals floating around that factory.
- And the prognosis? - Cough.
Profuse sputum, often blood streaked.
Untreated, a patient can survive up to nine months.
With treatment the overall survival rate is still less than 10%.
- Damn.
- That's the good news.
Bad news is, I doubt Mr.
Vilanis can afford to keep up the chemo much longer.
- But insurance would cover it.
- Sure, if he had it.
Excuse the pun, but his life savings is saving his life.
Or prolonging it, anyway.
And he certainly doesn't seem like the kind of guy who rolls over CD's for a living.
Treatment's expensive.
How much longer can it last? Thursday night, was he here? The man's prompt.
Checked in at 8:00.
Cerreta: And what, out by 9:00? Does this look like Lennox Hill? This is a clinic.
First come, first serve.
Thursday was busy.
I saw Mr.
Vilanis at 11:30.
So Vilanis left the clinic at 12:30.
He hops into a cab, blows McFadden away at 5:00.
- What's the problem? - The man is dying.
Which means he has nothing to lose.
McFadden took his job, his money, his house, his health.
Sounds like McFadden deserved it.
Well, your guy Vilanis is not exactly St.
Thomas either.
Four months ago, assault.
Vilanis was arrested for tossing an egg at McFadden.
- Charges were dropped, but - But what? McFadden died of egg shells in the brain? There's also a weapons charge in Brooklyn.
That was four years ago, Donnie.
I think we're spinning our wheels with Vilanis.
We're hassling this poor little guy while these rich yahoos are laughing all the way to the bank.
Well, unless you got something better, why don't you check out the charges in Brooklyn? If it's not too much trouble, take Robin Hood here with you.
Vilanis, Simon J.
, arrested 1988 for CPW three.
Knocked down to prohibited use of a weapon.
Judge gave him a conditional discharge.
Apparently, it's an Easter Sunday tradition with your Greek Orthodoxes.
A few ouzos and they're taking a few shots at the moon.
Not realizing what goes up must come down.
Stupid, but in this case, a misdemeanor.
He had a permit.
Could I have the serial number? Yeah.
AJ739921.
Smith and Wesson, .
38 caliber.
Thanks, Art.
Let's hope that Simon's Smith and Wesson is in his bedside table next to Gideon.
- I was half in the bag.
- But an egg? Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.
A message to McFadden.
You should have seen that egg it was dripping down his face.
You sure you want to fire one of those up? This has nothing to do with it.
It's that damn air in the plant.
Well, maybe if you talk to a lawyer, huh? That's another part of the conspiracy.
That shyster on Madison, he saw me coming.
$5,000 non-refundable retainer.
"A case like this," he said, "must be worth So I write him a check.
And? The guy gets in a cab and he goes out to the plant with his expert.
He comes back, he says to me, "Sorry, no case.
" "Why?" "Because what you got could have been caused just by breathing the air in Brooklyn.
" That's it? He sent me a bill for the cab.
Simon, your gun do you mind if we have a look at it? If you can find it.
It disappeared a couple of weeks ago.
Thursday the 23rd, my night to get chemo.
And you reported it, I hope.
Reported it? This is the third time they broke into this dump.
The first time they broke in, they took my television set.
The cops came out, they said, "It's too bad.
" The next time they broke in, they took my record player, the cops didn't even show up.
The third time Cerreta: What do you say we go down to the station? Maybe somebody turned it in.
Maybe you get lucky.
Yeah, maybe I'll win the lottery.
Logan: We'll just go have a little talk with the super, okay? Detective Mike Logan.
Sorry to bother you.
Did you see anybody suspicious hanging around Mr.
Vilanis' apartment two weeks ago Thursday? No.
No? You're positive? - Yeah.
- He never sees anything till the first of the month.
Then his eyesight improves.
It's worth a shot, but if he really did kill McFadden, you think he's going to identify his own gun? He's an honorable man, you never know.
Right.
He was George Washington in a previous life? - Come on, Phil.
- We're up.
Listen, I don't have to tell you, a lot of guys are dying to talk.
We'll see.
Take your time.
It looked like this.
I don't know.
But mine never had any tape.
Make sure, Simon.
He's not sure.
Not yet.
Well, maybe this will help.
The FBI retrieved six of the eight filed off serial numbers.
It's his gun, for sure.
I think you better tell your friend to call a lawyer.
And Phil, don't forget to read him his rights.
Oh, Simon.
I'm getting behind here, Counselor.
May I ask why Mr.
Vilanis refuses to enter a plea? He wants to represent himself.
I hate pro se cases.
Did he bring his own soapbox, or does he expect the Court to provide one? Robinette: The People aren't thrilled either, Judge.
By the time he learns the rules of procedure, we'll all have gray hair.
Meaning what? He's stalling? Always a good tactic.
Mr.
Vilanis can't afford to stall.
- He's dying of lung cancer.
- I've read his file, Miss Cantwell.
I'm going to enter a not guilty plea on the defendant's behalf.
I'd appreciate it if you'd act as the man's ad hoc advisor.
Of course.
I suggest ROR.
The man needs chemotherapy every Thursday.
Any arguments, Paul? Schiff: What's the problem? Vilanis' that sick, take a plea.
Get it over with.
You don't think I tried? You got enough to convict, or what? Stone: Motive, ample opportunity.
The brokerage firm was so unsecured, he could have strolled right in.
- Plus, the FBI ballistics report.
- Get a trial date.
- Get it over with quick, easy.
- It may not be that easy.
I used to pick up my grandfather and bring him home after his chemo treatments.
Yeah.
And? All he could do afterwards was puke his guts out and fall into bed.
Let me talk to the man.
I checked with Dr.
Bergman at St.
Eligius, Simon.
She said the floor was jammed that night, the night McFadden was hit.
She didn't get around to you till almost midnight.
I shouldn't be talking to you without a lawyer.
You're representing yourself, Simon, remember? - You're your own lawyer.
- Oh, yeah.
And then she gave you a dose of doxorubicin.
- Yeah.
- And a 120 milligrams of cisplatinum? - Oh, yeah.
- That's heavy chemotherapy.
Way too heavy to then go out and stalk somebody and then shoot him.
So what's the story? What's with this pro se nonsense? I want my day in court to show what that bastard did to us.
But you didn't kill McFadden.
Nope.
But I'd make a hell of a scapegoat.
Me and my big mouth.
When your gun was stolen, did they break in, or what? Somebody picked the lock or Or had a key.
Listen, I pay 900 bucks a month for this dump.
Who could afford to hand out spare keys? You okay? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
When your health insurance crapped out, wasn't there anyone you could turn to? The Labor Department.
Occupational illness.
But I wasn't their number one priority, shall we say.
Robinette: It's not just Simon Vilanis.
A couple hundred workers had their health plans gutted.
We're well aware of that.
And Mr.
Vilanis' tragic story is also well known to us.
You can stonewall him.
Don't try it with me.
- He told you that? - Yeah.
- Figures.
- I don't know if you've heard, but the man's in a lot of trouble.
That's what I'm trying to say.
He thinks no one listens to him, but far from it.
- Okay, you listen.
- Listened.
I turned our investigation over to the Justice Department for prosecution.
Who at Justice? Fella named Cousins in the bank fraud division.
He got involved because McFadden used the workers' health fund to finance one of his takeovers.
- He and some bank he had in his pocket.
- What bank? Bank of the Five Boroughs.
But you'd better talk to Cousins.
If you can find him.
Last I heard, they shut down his office.
Budget cut.
When was that? When he was this close to indicting McFadden.
We talking bank fraud or murder? Or don't we know anymore? I'm looking for a connection.
Apparently, the victim was about to be indicted.
Apparently? What's going on? Robinette: The case is getting bigger.
McFadden was the classic '80s shark.
He'd go after old companies that were failing, take whatever was worth salvaging.
In this case, it's the worker's housing, health and pension funds.
Which he then invested into high-risk bonds that took a nosedive.
After that, he would dump the company and the lending institution would write off the loss.
Sure.
Someone at the bank was profiting from the takeover.
Who? The lender was the Bank of the Five Boroughs.
These are the officers.
Adam? - What? - I know that bank.
Dwight Corcoran is the chairman.
Governor Corcoran? Former Secretary of State, Ambassador to England? - That Corcoran? - That Corcoran.
He and I cut our teeth together in politics right out of law school.
Why isn't his name listed as an officer of the bank? The man is 68.
I doubt if he's in there counting bills every day.
Well, what happened, I guess, is someone got wind of McFadden's pending indictment, figured he'd panic, take a plea.
Schiff: Only Justice would be privy to that information.
Someone at the bank got nervous.
This murder could have been pre-emptive.
Robinette: We find the leak at Justice and we squeeze him to find the killer.
Yeah, where is that Justice investigator now? Cousins his name? Doing pro bono work down on Liberty Street.
I've called there twice, he's never in.
Try him again.
I'll see what I can find out from the other end.
You leave the Justice Department, you can get hired on Park Avenue.
Yeah, sure.
I can represent banks.
I'm an expert, after all.
I'll take widows and orphans hurt by exploding toasters.
Maybe I don't sleep better, but at least I like getting out of bed in the morning.
Who was in bed with Marshall McFadden? Half of official Washington.
They stay under the covers together? I'd hear about a file at the IRS.
"Whoops.
Misplaced.
" Comptroller of the Currency, they treat me like I was stealing silverware.
I thought you had compiled sufficient evidence.
I was ready to indict McFadden with eight counts of bank fraud.
Next thing I knew, they were changing the locks on my office door.
They? They.
Told me it was budgetary.
Before you were shut down, who was on your staff? I'll need names, addresses.
Ben Turner, he moved over to HUD.
Kevin Morehead, he's at Trott & Donovan, Park Avenue.
Mike McNeer, I hear, maybe a monastery.
You got this wrong.
Nobody in my office told anybody we were indicting McFadden.
Let's hope so.
Did we ever back a winner? We backed you for Governor.
That was a hell of a lot different than backing.
Without your brilliant political strategies, I'd have never seen Albany.
Don't act so modest.
If you'd run my second campaign, maybe I wouldn't have been a one-term wonder.
Made your mark in other ways.
The road less traveled.
No regrets here.
Then why the sudden turn into banking? Maybe this is a battle I can win.
You know, our contemporaries, they're not just the captains of industry.
- They're the generals.
- Envy? Ridiculous.
With your record, they're gonna be naming junior high schools after you.
My children, their children.
When my time has come, I'd like to give them more than a folded American flag.
The bank asked me to sit on the board.
My name to them it's worth a lot of money.
Dwight, is there anything I should know about your bank's business? Adam, we've been friends for more than four decades.
If there was anything believe me, you'd be the first to know.
Thank you.
I've done complete bios on everyone involved in the McFadden investigation.
Rappoport and McNeer have no apparent connection to anyone at the bank.
And Morehead? Inherited his blue blood from his old man who's currently the senior partner at Tyler & Jones.
And guess who ran their international department back in the early '70s? - Dwight Corcoran? - Whose biggest client at the time was a young British upstart named Marshall McFadden.
I want Mr.
Morehead in my office first thing tomorrow morning.
So there was a leak.
What is this, slow news day around here? You're the only one who was privy to the pending indictment of McFadden and connected to Dwight Corcoran.
Stone: We know what you did, Mr.
Morehead.
The only remaining issue is how many years you'll spend in prison.
Wait a minute.
Even if I did speak out of school, your office has no jurisdiction in that area and you know it.
You don't understand.
We are charging you as an accomplice to murder.
- You can't do that.
- Yes, I can, sir.
And I most definitely will.
Full immunity.
State and Federal.
How you work it out is your problem.
You got to keep this in perspective.
It was the crazy '80s.
Banks were floating loans to every creep in a three-piece suit.
Five Boroughs was no different.
in failed loans since '82.
Only someone at Five Boroughs was making a lot of money because of the bad loans to McFadden.
- I never thought it was Corcoran.
- Then why the leak? I grew up believing that Dwight Corcoran was a good man, and I wanted to let him know that he was being investigated so he could disassociate himself from the bank.
I never thought I had nothing to do with any murder.
You look like the messenger who's afraid he's gonna be killed.
I'm afraid the message might kill the recipient.
Well? Paul connected one of the staff lawyers in Cousins' office with one of the bank officers, all right.
Apparently, the man's father was Corcoran's law partner back in the '50s.
He told Corcoran about the pending indictment on McFadden? I'm afraid so, Adam.
Don't be.
"No fear, no favor.
" You know, that's an old liberal muckraker's campaign slogan.
As a result of these preliminary findings, my office will begin a full scale investigation of fraud in the banking industry.
We're specifically targeting what may amount to nearly $700 million worth of fraudulent loans.
That concludes my statement.
I'm ready for questions.
I've heard that the Bank of the Five Boroughs might be a target of your investigation.
Could you comment? Any bank within the jurisdiction of this office might be a target.
Do you have specific information about the Five Boroughs? Yes.
Will you also be targeting individual bank officers? Yes.
How far up the ladder are you prepared to go? The investigation will go wherever it goes.
Governor Corcoran is chairman of the Five Boroughs, is he not? That's our understanding.
Isn't it true you have a long-standing relationship with the Governor? Yes.
Friendship is no guarantee of immunity.
Friends doesn't mean he'll get preferential treatment.
You want your own lecture, Adam? It's not about the conflict of interest.
It's about the appearance of conflict.
The press already has you and Corcoran joined at the hip.
And why throw fuel on the fire? We recuse ourselves, the Appellate Division appoints a special prosecutor.
Recusal's mandatory only if there's a business relationship with the defendant.
Dwight was my friend.
My friend and my political ally.
Still, we don't recuse, we may compromise the perceived integrity of this office.
Not if we convict the son of a bitch.
Get me a smoking gun.
Start at the bottom.
Somebody broke into Vilanis' apartment that night.
Well, were you home that night or not? No, I wasn't home.
You told the police you didn't see anything suspicious.
If you weren't here, how'd you see anything at all? Lying to the police is a felony.
It's called obstruction.
All right.
There was a guy.
He said he was a buddy of Vilanis, you know, from the union.
What did he want? He said Vilanis sent him over to get some things from his room.
Some papers for their meeting.
And you let him in? He had a union button, you know, on his jacket.
You see him take anything out of the room? I wasn't paying attention.
You pay attention to what he looked like? He had black hair, cowboy boots.
You know, with the metal tips.
He was a piece of work.
- You want some juice? - No, thanks.
Well, it sounds like Joey Boots.
That's Joey Palmieri, the Hoboken cowboy.
Palmieri? Any relation to Eddie Palmieri, the head of the union? Are you suggesting there's nepotism in Local 8157? That's Eddie Palmieri's cousin.
His whacko cousin.
He takes orders from Eddie? He's supposed to work for the union, but a little arm twisting and a little leg breaking, Joey's your man.
Why? What did he do now? That's still an open question.
You guys are nuts.
Vilanis is nuts.
All that hackin' knocked his screws loose.
You deny you were in his room? - Sure I deny it.
- You work for Local 8157? - Is that correct, Mr.
Palmieri? - That's right.
And you take orders from your cousin, Eddie Palmieri? I take orders from the rank and file.
Just what do you do for the rank and file, sir? I promote union solidarity and discipline.
You're both Palmieris.
Don't give us that.
He is my cousin, he's not my Siamese twin.
His life does not concern me.
He breaks in, steals a gun, uses the gun to kill a guy who's lining your pockets it'd concern me.
Joey Boots killed McFadden.
We know that.
And we also know that he took orders from you.
Wait a minute.
You got proof Joey offed the guy, I'll testify against him myself.
As for the money, we already told the cops.
- It's totally above board.
- McFadden pays you McFadden gave me shinola.
It was his wife's foundation.
- I did some consulting.
- You expect me to believe that? - You sold out your union.
- I tried to save my union.
There's a recession going on.
We make cutbacks or we walk the streets.
The letter to the bank was legit.
The payment was legit.
And you want my cousin Joey? Why don't you give him a migraine for a change?! The union boss was the link.
Eddie Palmieri facilitated deals between McFadden and Corcoran's bank.
Not enough.
I want a smoking gun.
His cousin was the trigger man.
I want a smoking gun with fingerprints! What about the payment $100,000? The check was made out to Palmieri personally.
Unfortunately, he's still sticking by his consulting story.
Then we need more.
A check signed by McFadden himself, that's not enough? No.
Well, it wasn't McFadden himself.
It was a foundation, remember? The Ann McFadden Foundation.
The what? The Ann McFadden Foundation for Cancer Research.
I gave them a $1,000 every year for five years.
That foundation.
One year, we were on the banquet committee together.
Him? Dwight Corcoran.
Trustee of the Foundation.
He had to approve all checks.
So it was Corcoran who paid Palmieri, not McFadden.
Then that money had to be for the hit.
And no way Corcoran wants to do heavy jail time.
A little push, he'll give us the Palmieris.
That's exactly what I want you to tell Palmieri.
You want us to deal Eddie and Joey? I want Corcoran.
So you cajoled Mr.
Vilanis' landlord into letting you in, and then what? Then I found the guy's gun.
I taped the handle and the trigger and stuck it in my pocket.
Back home, I filed the numbers down.
Stone: And you used the gun to kill Mr.
McFadden, right? That's right.
Why did you use Mr.
Vilanis as your scapegoat? The guy had a big mouth.
Everybody in the union knew he hated McFadden, 'cause he took over the company and ran it into the ground and all.
And? Plus he's dying of cancer, so what the hell? What's he gonna care, right? Who paid you to do the hit? My cousin Eddie.
Tell me, Mr.
Palmieri, do you recognize People's Exhibit 37-M? Yes, I do.
It is a check for $100,000 made out to you and drawn from the account of the Ann McFadden Foundation.
Is that right? Yeah, that's right.
On the books it was supposed to pay for my union people to set up the tables and stuff for the annual banquet.
The Foundation's annual banquet? Yeah, that's right.
Mr.
Corcoran had the check signed by the secretary.
Objection! Outside the scope of the witness' knowledge, Your Honor.
Stone: Let me rephrase the question.
How did this check get into your hands, sir? I was having dinner at Park's Steak House, and Mr.
Corcoran came in and joined me for dessert.
Then what happened? He gave me the check.
He told me to take care of the problem that we had discussed earlier.
What problem? McFadden's indictment.
He said if McFadden goes down he'll name names, and we'll all go down with him.
- So the check wasn't for setting up tables? - What, are you kidding? It was to kill Marshall McFadden, right? Objection! Withdrawn.
Stone: Tell me, Mr.
Palmieri, why did Mr.
Corcoran pay you $100,000? You know.
It was to kill the English guy McFadden.
Thank you.
Mr.
Corcoran, can we get a statement from you? George, bring him around the back stairs.
Thank you, Adam.
Thank you.
I could use a friend.
Always did, Dwight.
That was always the problem.
These are their stories.
Good morning, Mr.
McFadden.
Mr.
McFadden? So, Eduardo, - what time did you punch in? - 5:30.
And you let him in when? No, no, Mr.
McFadden's always the first one here.
I think 4:00 or something.
He has his own key.
Cerreta: Mikey.
Oh, wonderful.
Taped trigger, taped butt.
- Serial numbers filed? - Sure.
Of course.
Why should it be easy? The vic's wallet and keys, Detective.
He had over a grand in 20s on him.
- Not a robbery.
Not an amateur.
- So it's a hit.
Maybe the Mafia plays the stock market.
McFadden let himself into this joint every morning according to the porter.
No security guard.
No witnesses.
Walter Fairlee, Detective.
- Is there anything I can help you with? - Yeah.
What was Mr.
McFadden doing here at 4:00 in the morning? Checking the "DAXIE.
" That's the German stock exchange.
- Marshall had a lot of international interests.
- And what about enemies? Ours is a competitive business.
But everybody loved him, right? - Everybody respected what he accomplished.
- Which was? Which was overcoming his humble beginnings and amassing a net worth in the hundreds of millions.
This is a terrible moment for our company.
Excuse me.
I guess the moment's over.
Exactly what business was Mr.
McFadden in? Like America, his business was business.
He bought companies, he sold companies.
Actually, he was one of the only mergers and acquisition experts to emerge from the '80s with his assets and his reputation still intact.
Your boss had more degrees than a thermometer.
Well, all of them honorary.
Mr.
McFadden never finished high school.
Has anyone notified the family? No one to call.
His wife, Ann, passed away six years ago.
Cancer.
Dwight Corcoran, a former ambassador to England.
Mr.
McFadden had many friends in high places.
We'll need a list of all of them.
Were any of them close to him? Mr.
McFadden was a private person.
All I knew of his life was what I read in the papers.
"Marshall McFadden, the king of the takeover, son of a Yorkshire coal miner, strikes it rich in the new world.
" This guy bought up companies like I buy six-packs.
Only after he recycled the waste it was worth a lot more than when he bought it.
Net worth nine figures.
Anything from ballistics? The bullet matches the.
38 we found in the garbage.
No prints.
The FBI's running an argon scan on what's left of the serial number.
You know, these takeover guys, they buy up a company, spit out the pits.
- People get hurt.
- Get this hostile takeover, McFadden acquires a company, Evans and Black.
Well, when the smoke clears, Guy standing on the assembly line, I don't know, is it worth killing over? What about the guy sitting in the executive crapper? After the takeover, McFadden replaced the entire board of directors.
White collars can get pretty dirty waiting on the unemployment line.
Old days, when I ran the Brooklyn plant, I put in 10 hour days, six days per.
- And now? - McFadden closes the plant.
Now it's mornings at my Quotron and afternoons at the club.
How much did he pay for the company? The papers say around That much and he shuts it down? Evans and Black was worth 700.
The Brooklyn plant was the company's prodigal son.
It hadn't shown a profit in 10 years.
Some divisions get closed, some get sold.
That's what takeover's all about.
Just like a chop shop.
You know, these takeover guys, McFadden, Pickens you ask me, press has given them all a bad rap.
They're calling them sharks, barracudas.
- They're not? - They're more like angels.
They trim the fat.
Less waste, more profit.
Correct me if I'm wrong, Mr.
Reynolds after the takeover, McFadden threw you and the rest of the board out on the street.
Yes, but we landed very gently.
Golden parachutes.
I walked away with close to seven mill.
All thanks to McFadden, huh? They should carve his face on a mountain.
'90s Horatio Alger.
- Get canned, walk away a rich man.
- High school physics.
There was no such thing as spontaneous generation.
Reynolds and all his cronies at the top are making a lot of money, it's got to come from somewhere.
- Guys at the bottom? - My Uncle Sal and ink at Pylon Printing in Queens.
The owner sells out to a German corporation.
- Your Uncle Sal was history.
- No medical, no pension.
He's 68 years old and all he's got to show for it is purple fingernails.
- And no golden parachute.
- Let's go see what happened to the working stiffs.
Fairlee: Excuse me.
Now, you can't just confiscate documents without a warrant.
- Why not? - McFadden's the victim, not the suspect, right? Of course.
I just thought you Don't think.
Cooperate.
Over there.
I got to hand it to the guy, he made it, but he sure as hell wasn't afraid to spend it.
A real philanthropist.
On this Evans and Black deal his lawyers collected close to two mil.
Wow.
Maybe they earned it.
Listen to this.
Memo from his attorneys re: Brooklyn plant.
"Collective bargaining agreement with Local 8157 expires November 30th.
It would, therefore, be ill-advised to cease operations prior to December 1st.
" McFadden was going to close that Brooklyn plant from the get-go.
Screw the union with a legal stamp of approval.
His father worked for the coal mines.
You'd think he'd have a little sympathy for the grunts.
Boy, they sure had some for him.
This is a letter from the union agreeing to rollback all the salaries by 15%.
To McFadden? No, to the loan department at the Bank of the Five Boroughs.
" in order to induce the Bank to finance the acquisition of Evans and Black, Inc.
By Marshall McFadden.
" Signed, Edward Palmieri, President of Guild of American Industrial Workers.
So he gets the union to close the deal then he bites them on the butt? All's fair in M & A.
That letter from the union, who did you say signed it? Palmieri.
Palmieri.
Palmieri.
Last month, a check drawn on the account of Ann McFadden Cancer Foundation payable to Edward G.
Palmieri in the amount of 100,000 smackeroos.
Wow.
You think this Palmieri moonlights as a cancer specialist? McFadden gets the union to agree to future rollbacks.
Company looks more profitable.
More attractive for the bank.
It's all kosher.
Except McFadden never intended to sign a new contract with the union.
He planned on shutting down the plant in Brooklyn - as soon as the union contract expired.
- It was all a con.
And the head of the union is running point.
A mook named Palmieri pocketed 100 Gs from McFadden's charitable foundation.
Fellas, what's wrong with this picture? McFadden is making Palmieri rich and he's going to kill the golden goose? But this is a guy who would sell out the rank and file.
It doesn't make him a killer.
Well, if the stakes get high enough.
Maybe there's a history between McFadden and Palmieri.
Unions keep records.
A subpoena might help.
Well, how does a subpoena duces tecum sound? It means lay your cards on our table.
You want documents, you got documents.
My client is merely satisfying the subpoena.
We asked for documents relating to the union's dealings with Marshall McFadden.
Not the history of the world parts one and two.
Come on, Counselor.
The duces tecum was specific.
"Dukis" my tuckus.
You wanna know something, you talk to me.
All right.
Tell us about the agreement to roll back union bennies when McFadden took over.
The old owners were living in the dark ages.
They hold onto the company, the Brooklyn plant goes right down the crapper.
The Brooklyn plant goes into Chapter 11 and the union is out on the street.
And where I come from, something is better than nothing.
Yeah, Eddie agreed to the rollback, the bank likes the deal.
So everybody's happy.
Yeah, until the limey stabs us in the back.
Us? Looks like you did all right.
What, are you implying something? $100,000 payable to your client from McFadden's foundation.
That was for consulting.
Look, we don't even care about the payment.
What we're concerned with is why the payer is dead.
Wait a minute, you guys think that I My union's got The Brooklyn plant canned, what, a couple of hundred? It's not worth my time.
Eddie, whose time is it worth? Are you charging me with something? Cragen: No, no, we're not.
But maybe the US Attorney's office would be interested in those consulting fees.
Boys who worked the plant, had a couple of hotheads there.
Unemployment bennies are running out.
Some of them have nothing left to lose.
Pedaski, DVorkin, Vilanis and Black.
Man: Closed meeting, fellas.
Oh, yeah? We won't go in, we'll just listen at the doorway.
Speaker: nothing we can do about unemployment benefits.
Local 8157, official business.
Get lost.
Shield 9215, ditto.
Speaker: We are scheduled to meet with department of labor reps the first of the month.
Everything takes time.
My recommendation is therefore to work with the Economic Development Council and the State Insurance Commissioner - to save what - The Insurance Commissioner wouldn't know a tool and dime maker from a cheeseburger.
You want the floor, Simon? What happened to our pension plan shouldn't ever, ever, have happened in this country! We paid into it for 40 years, and now that policy in your hand you may as well wipe your ass with it.
It's useless! Man: You tell him, Simon! You tell him! Let's hear it for the rank and file.
We trusted the politicians, the managers, and those clowns on 52nd Street with their expensive suits that we paid for with our dues! We all know you want to overthrow Palmieri, Simon.
Overthrow nothing! How about throwin' him in the East River?! That's right! You tell him! So, Mr.
Vilanis, what happened to your pension plan? Before McFadden closed the plant, he took our contributions, invested them in junk bonds.
The market today, we're lucky to get Were you serious back there about dumping the union heads in the river? Yeah, right.
I shot McFadden in the back, too.
- In the head.
- In the head! I wish.
You serious? Well, at this point, you're the best we have.
You have an alibi, Simon? Well, I was drinking in Nooch's in Red Hook till closing time, probably.
Same as most nights.
Are you sure about that? Either there or St.
Eligius Hospital in Brooklyn.
Every other Thursday's party time at the clinic.
Oh here we go.
The old owners, they got their ounce of flesh, definitely.
But they also offered us a 99-year lease at 150 per month.
Those were the good old days.
Then McFadden and his bean counters got into the act.
First thing they did was discover $120 million in hidden assets, i.
e.
20 buildings just like that one.
But you had a lease? or until there was no longer an Evans plant in Brooklyn.
He closes shop, he's got a lot of real estate.
Up there.
Top floor.
Only two bedrooms, but we raised three kids and we got along somehow.
Today it's luxury condos for the upwardly mobile exec.
Hell, he just tossed you people out, huh? Naturally we couldn't come up with the down payment.
Now the economy's down the john, even the yuppies can't afford the luxury.
The McFaddens of the world leave a lot of wreckage behind.
You don't know the half of it.
Your doctor, Simon? My doctor? Dr.
Bergman.
You mind if we talk to him? Her.
Her.
Go ahead.
She's a laugh a minute.
Alveolar carcinoma of the right lung.
Logan: Which is? Consolidation of the air spaces.
It's a tumor lung cancer.
What's that from, two packs a day? Could be.
Could also be 30 years of breathing in God knows what chemicals floating around that factory.
- And the prognosis? - Cough.
Profuse sputum, often blood streaked.
Untreated, a patient can survive up to nine months.
With treatment the overall survival rate is still less than 10%.
- Damn.
- That's the good news.
Bad news is, I doubt Mr.
Vilanis can afford to keep up the chemo much longer.
- But insurance would cover it.
- Sure, if he had it.
Excuse the pun, but his life savings is saving his life.
Or prolonging it, anyway.
And he certainly doesn't seem like the kind of guy who rolls over CD's for a living.
Treatment's expensive.
How much longer can it last? Thursday night, was he here? The man's prompt.
Checked in at 8:00.
Cerreta: And what, out by 9:00? Does this look like Lennox Hill? This is a clinic.
First come, first serve.
Thursday was busy.
I saw Mr.
Vilanis at 11:30.
So Vilanis left the clinic at 12:30.
He hops into a cab, blows McFadden away at 5:00.
- What's the problem? - The man is dying.
Which means he has nothing to lose.
McFadden took his job, his money, his house, his health.
Sounds like McFadden deserved it.
Well, your guy Vilanis is not exactly St.
Thomas either.
Four months ago, assault.
Vilanis was arrested for tossing an egg at McFadden.
- Charges were dropped, but - But what? McFadden died of egg shells in the brain? There's also a weapons charge in Brooklyn.
That was four years ago, Donnie.
I think we're spinning our wheels with Vilanis.
We're hassling this poor little guy while these rich yahoos are laughing all the way to the bank.
Well, unless you got something better, why don't you check out the charges in Brooklyn? If it's not too much trouble, take Robin Hood here with you.
Vilanis, Simon J.
, arrested 1988 for CPW three.
Knocked down to prohibited use of a weapon.
Judge gave him a conditional discharge.
Apparently, it's an Easter Sunday tradition with your Greek Orthodoxes.
A few ouzos and they're taking a few shots at the moon.
Not realizing what goes up must come down.
Stupid, but in this case, a misdemeanor.
He had a permit.
Could I have the serial number? Yeah.
AJ739921.
Smith and Wesson, .
38 caliber.
Thanks, Art.
Let's hope that Simon's Smith and Wesson is in his bedside table next to Gideon.
- I was half in the bag.
- But an egg? Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.
A message to McFadden.
You should have seen that egg it was dripping down his face.
You sure you want to fire one of those up? This has nothing to do with it.
It's that damn air in the plant.
Well, maybe if you talk to a lawyer, huh? That's another part of the conspiracy.
That shyster on Madison, he saw me coming.
$5,000 non-refundable retainer.
"A case like this," he said, "must be worth So I write him a check.
And? The guy gets in a cab and he goes out to the plant with his expert.
He comes back, he says to me, "Sorry, no case.
" "Why?" "Because what you got could have been caused just by breathing the air in Brooklyn.
" That's it? He sent me a bill for the cab.
Simon, your gun do you mind if we have a look at it? If you can find it.
It disappeared a couple of weeks ago.
Thursday the 23rd, my night to get chemo.
And you reported it, I hope.
Reported it? This is the third time they broke into this dump.
The first time they broke in, they took my television set.
The cops came out, they said, "It's too bad.
" The next time they broke in, they took my record player, the cops didn't even show up.
The third time Cerreta: What do you say we go down to the station? Maybe somebody turned it in.
Maybe you get lucky.
Yeah, maybe I'll win the lottery.
Logan: We'll just go have a little talk with the super, okay? Detective Mike Logan.
Sorry to bother you.
Did you see anybody suspicious hanging around Mr.
Vilanis' apartment two weeks ago Thursday? No.
No? You're positive? - Yeah.
- He never sees anything till the first of the month.
Then his eyesight improves.
It's worth a shot, but if he really did kill McFadden, you think he's going to identify his own gun? He's an honorable man, you never know.
Right.
He was George Washington in a previous life? - Come on, Phil.
- We're up.
Listen, I don't have to tell you, a lot of guys are dying to talk.
We'll see.
Take your time.
It looked like this.
I don't know.
But mine never had any tape.
Make sure, Simon.
He's not sure.
Not yet.
Well, maybe this will help.
The FBI retrieved six of the eight filed off serial numbers.
It's his gun, for sure.
I think you better tell your friend to call a lawyer.
And Phil, don't forget to read him his rights.
Oh, Simon.
I'm getting behind here, Counselor.
May I ask why Mr.
Vilanis refuses to enter a plea? He wants to represent himself.
I hate pro se cases.
Did he bring his own soapbox, or does he expect the Court to provide one? Robinette: The People aren't thrilled either, Judge.
By the time he learns the rules of procedure, we'll all have gray hair.
Meaning what? He's stalling? Always a good tactic.
Mr.
Vilanis can't afford to stall.
- He's dying of lung cancer.
- I've read his file, Miss Cantwell.
I'm going to enter a not guilty plea on the defendant's behalf.
I'd appreciate it if you'd act as the man's ad hoc advisor.
Of course.
I suggest ROR.
The man needs chemotherapy every Thursday.
Any arguments, Paul? Schiff: What's the problem? Vilanis' that sick, take a plea.
Get it over with.
You don't think I tried? You got enough to convict, or what? Stone: Motive, ample opportunity.
The brokerage firm was so unsecured, he could have strolled right in.
- Plus, the FBI ballistics report.
- Get a trial date.
- Get it over with quick, easy.
- It may not be that easy.
I used to pick up my grandfather and bring him home after his chemo treatments.
Yeah.
And? All he could do afterwards was puke his guts out and fall into bed.
Let me talk to the man.
I checked with Dr.
Bergman at St.
Eligius, Simon.
She said the floor was jammed that night, the night McFadden was hit.
She didn't get around to you till almost midnight.
I shouldn't be talking to you without a lawyer.
You're representing yourself, Simon, remember? - You're your own lawyer.
- Oh, yeah.
And then she gave you a dose of doxorubicin.
- Yeah.
- And a 120 milligrams of cisplatinum? - Oh, yeah.
- That's heavy chemotherapy.
Way too heavy to then go out and stalk somebody and then shoot him.
So what's the story? What's with this pro se nonsense? I want my day in court to show what that bastard did to us.
But you didn't kill McFadden.
Nope.
But I'd make a hell of a scapegoat.
Me and my big mouth.
When your gun was stolen, did they break in, or what? Somebody picked the lock or Or had a key.
Listen, I pay 900 bucks a month for this dump.
Who could afford to hand out spare keys? You okay? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
When your health insurance crapped out, wasn't there anyone you could turn to? The Labor Department.
Occupational illness.
But I wasn't their number one priority, shall we say.
Robinette: It's not just Simon Vilanis.
A couple hundred workers had their health plans gutted.
We're well aware of that.
And Mr.
Vilanis' tragic story is also well known to us.
You can stonewall him.
Don't try it with me.
- He told you that? - Yeah.
- Figures.
- I don't know if you've heard, but the man's in a lot of trouble.
That's what I'm trying to say.
He thinks no one listens to him, but far from it.
- Okay, you listen.
- Listened.
I turned our investigation over to the Justice Department for prosecution.
Who at Justice? Fella named Cousins in the bank fraud division.
He got involved because McFadden used the workers' health fund to finance one of his takeovers.
- He and some bank he had in his pocket.
- What bank? Bank of the Five Boroughs.
But you'd better talk to Cousins.
If you can find him.
Last I heard, they shut down his office.
Budget cut.
When was that? When he was this close to indicting McFadden.
We talking bank fraud or murder? Or don't we know anymore? I'm looking for a connection.
Apparently, the victim was about to be indicted.
Apparently? What's going on? Robinette: The case is getting bigger.
McFadden was the classic '80s shark.
He'd go after old companies that were failing, take whatever was worth salvaging.
In this case, it's the worker's housing, health and pension funds.
Which he then invested into high-risk bonds that took a nosedive.
After that, he would dump the company and the lending institution would write off the loss.
Sure.
Someone at the bank was profiting from the takeover.
Who? The lender was the Bank of the Five Boroughs.
These are the officers.
Adam? - What? - I know that bank.
Dwight Corcoran is the chairman.
Governor Corcoran? Former Secretary of State, Ambassador to England? - That Corcoran? - That Corcoran.
He and I cut our teeth together in politics right out of law school.
Why isn't his name listed as an officer of the bank? The man is 68.
I doubt if he's in there counting bills every day.
Well, what happened, I guess, is someone got wind of McFadden's pending indictment, figured he'd panic, take a plea.
Schiff: Only Justice would be privy to that information.
Someone at the bank got nervous.
This murder could have been pre-emptive.
Robinette: We find the leak at Justice and we squeeze him to find the killer.
Yeah, where is that Justice investigator now? Cousins his name? Doing pro bono work down on Liberty Street.
I've called there twice, he's never in.
Try him again.
I'll see what I can find out from the other end.
You leave the Justice Department, you can get hired on Park Avenue.
Yeah, sure.
I can represent banks.
I'm an expert, after all.
I'll take widows and orphans hurt by exploding toasters.
Maybe I don't sleep better, but at least I like getting out of bed in the morning.
Who was in bed with Marshall McFadden? Half of official Washington.
They stay under the covers together? I'd hear about a file at the IRS.
"Whoops.
Misplaced.
" Comptroller of the Currency, they treat me like I was stealing silverware.
I thought you had compiled sufficient evidence.
I was ready to indict McFadden with eight counts of bank fraud.
Next thing I knew, they were changing the locks on my office door.
They? They.
Told me it was budgetary.
Before you were shut down, who was on your staff? I'll need names, addresses.
Ben Turner, he moved over to HUD.
Kevin Morehead, he's at Trott & Donovan, Park Avenue.
Mike McNeer, I hear, maybe a monastery.
You got this wrong.
Nobody in my office told anybody we were indicting McFadden.
Let's hope so.
Did we ever back a winner? We backed you for Governor.
That was a hell of a lot different than backing.
Without your brilliant political strategies, I'd have never seen Albany.
Don't act so modest.
If you'd run my second campaign, maybe I wouldn't have been a one-term wonder.
Made your mark in other ways.
The road less traveled.
No regrets here.
Then why the sudden turn into banking? Maybe this is a battle I can win.
You know, our contemporaries, they're not just the captains of industry.
- They're the generals.
- Envy? Ridiculous.
With your record, they're gonna be naming junior high schools after you.
My children, their children.
When my time has come, I'd like to give them more than a folded American flag.
The bank asked me to sit on the board.
My name to them it's worth a lot of money.
Dwight, is there anything I should know about your bank's business? Adam, we've been friends for more than four decades.
If there was anything believe me, you'd be the first to know.
Thank you.
I've done complete bios on everyone involved in the McFadden investigation.
Rappoport and McNeer have no apparent connection to anyone at the bank.
And Morehead? Inherited his blue blood from his old man who's currently the senior partner at Tyler & Jones.
And guess who ran their international department back in the early '70s? - Dwight Corcoran? - Whose biggest client at the time was a young British upstart named Marshall McFadden.
I want Mr.
Morehead in my office first thing tomorrow morning.
So there was a leak.
What is this, slow news day around here? You're the only one who was privy to the pending indictment of McFadden and connected to Dwight Corcoran.
Stone: We know what you did, Mr.
Morehead.
The only remaining issue is how many years you'll spend in prison.
Wait a minute.
Even if I did speak out of school, your office has no jurisdiction in that area and you know it.
You don't understand.
We are charging you as an accomplice to murder.
- You can't do that.
- Yes, I can, sir.
And I most definitely will.
Full immunity.
State and Federal.
How you work it out is your problem.
You got to keep this in perspective.
It was the crazy '80s.
Banks were floating loans to every creep in a three-piece suit.
Five Boroughs was no different.
in failed loans since '82.
Only someone at Five Boroughs was making a lot of money because of the bad loans to McFadden.
- I never thought it was Corcoran.
- Then why the leak? I grew up believing that Dwight Corcoran was a good man, and I wanted to let him know that he was being investigated so he could disassociate himself from the bank.
I never thought I had nothing to do with any murder.
You look like the messenger who's afraid he's gonna be killed.
I'm afraid the message might kill the recipient.
Well? Paul connected one of the staff lawyers in Cousins' office with one of the bank officers, all right.
Apparently, the man's father was Corcoran's law partner back in the '50s.
He told Corcoran about the pending indictment on McFadden? I'm afraid so, Adam.
Don't be.
"No fear, no favor.
" You know, that's an old liberal muckraker's campaign slogan.
As a result of these preliminary findings, my office will begin a full scale investigation of fraud in the banking industry.
We're specifically targeting what may amount to nearly $700 million worth of fraudulent loans.
That concludes my statement.
I'm ready for questions.
I've heard that the Bank of the Five Boroughs might be a target of your investigation.
Could you comment? Any bank within the jurisdiction of this office might be a target.
Do you have specific information about the Five Boroughs? Yes.
Will you also be targeting individual bank officers? Yes.
How far up the ladder are you prepared to go? The investigation will go wherever it goes.
Governor Corcoran is chairman of the Five Boroughs, is he not? That's our understanding.
Isn't it true you have a long-standing relationship with the Governor? Yes.
Friendship is no guarantee of immunity.
Friends doesn't mean he'll get preferential treatment.
You want your own lecture, Adam? It's not about the conflict of interest.
It's about the appearance of conflict.
The press already has you and Corcoran joined at the hip.
And why throw fuel on the fire? We recuse ourselves, the Appellate Division appoints a special prosecutor.
Recusal's mandatory only if there's a business relationship with the defendant.
Dwight was my friend.
My friend and my political ally.
Still, we don't recuse, we may compromise the perceived integrity of this office.
Not if we convict the son of a bitch.
Get me a smoking gun.
Start at the bottom.
Somebody broke into Vilanis' apartment that night.
Well, were you home that night or not? No, I wasn't home.
You told the police you didn't see anything suspicious.
If you weren't here, how'd you see anything at all? Lying to the police is a felony.
It's called obstruction.
All right.
There was a guy.
He said he was a buddy of Vilanis, you know, from the union.
What did he want? He said Vilanis sent him over to get some things from his room.
Some papers for their meeting.
And you let him in? He had a union button, you know, on his jacket.
You see him take anything out of the room? I wasn't paying attention.
You pay attention to what he looked like? He had black hair, cowboy boots.
You know, with the metal tips.
He was a piece of work.
- You want some juice? - No, thanks.
Well, it sounds like Joey Boots.
That's Joey Palmieri, the Hoboken cowboy.
Palmieri? Any relation to Eddie Palmieri, the head of the union? Are you suggesting there's nepotism in Local 8157? That's Eddie Palmieri's cousin.
His whacko cousin.
He takes orders from Eddie? He's supposed to work for the union, but a little arm twisting and a little leg breaking, Joey's your man.
Why? What did he do now? That's still an open question.
You guys are nuts.
Vilanis is nuts.
All that hackin' knocked his screws loose.
You deny you were in his room? - Sure I deny it.
- You work for Local 8157? - Is that correct, Mr.
Palmieri? - That's right.
And you take orders from your cousin, Eddie Palmieri? I take orders from the rank and file.
Just what do you do for the rank and file, sir? I promote union solidarity and discipline.
You're both Palmieris.
Don't give us that.
He is my cousin, he's not my Siamese twin.
His life does not concern me.
He breaks in, steals a gun, uses the gun to kill a guy who's lining your pockets it'd concern me.
Joey Boots killed McFadden.
We know that.
And we also know that he took orders from you.
Wait a minute.
You got proof Joey offed the guy, I'll testify against him myself.
As for the money, we already told the cops.
- It's totally above board.
- McFadden pays you McFadden gave me shinola.
It was his wife's foundation.
- I did some consulting.
- You expect me to believe that? - You sold out your union.
- I tried to save my union.
There's a recession going on.
We make cutbacks or we walk the streets.
The letter to the bank was legit.
The payment was legit.
And you want my cousin Joey? Why don't you give him a migraine for a change?! The union boss was the link.
Eddie Palmieri facilitated deals between McFadden and Corcoran's bank.
Not enough.
I want a smoking gun.
His cousin was the trigger man.
I want a smoking gun with fingerprints! What about the payment $100,000? The check was made out to Palmieri personally.
Unfortunately, he's still sticking by his consulting story.
Then we need more.
A check signed by McFadden himself, that's not enough? No.
Well, it wasn't McFadden himself.
It was a foundation, remember? The Ann McFadden Foundation.
The what? The Ann McFadden Foundation for Cancer Research.
I gave them a $1,000 every year for five years.
That foundation.
One year, we were on the banquet committee together.
Him? Dwight Corcoran.
Trustee of the Foundation.
He had to approve all checks.
So it was Corcoran who paid Palmieri, not McFadden.
Then that money had to be for the hit.
And no way Corcoran wants to do heavy jail time.
A little push, he'll give us the Palmieris.
That's exactly what I want you to tell Palmieri.
You want us to deal Eddie and Joey? I want Corcoran.
So you cajoled Mr.
Vilanis' landlord into letting you in, and then what? Then I found the guy's gun.
I taped the handle and the trigger and stuck it in my pocket.
Back home, I filed the numbers down.
Stone: And you used the gun to kill Mr.
McFadden, right? That's right.
Why did you use Mr.
Vilanis as your scapegoat? The guy had a big mouth.
Everybody in the union knew he hated McFadden, 'cause he took over the company and ran it into the ground and all.
And? Plus he's dying of cancer, so what the hell? What's he gonna care, right? Who paid you to do the hit? My cousin Eddie.
Tell me, Mr.
Palmieri, do you recognize People's Exhibit 37-M? Yes, I do.
It is a check for $100,000 made out to you and drawn from the account of the Ann McFadden Foundation.
Is that right? Yeah, that's right.
On the books it was supposed to pay for my union people to set up the tables and stuff for the annual banquet.
The Foundation's annual banquet? Yeah, that's right.
Mr.
Corcoran had the check signed by the secretary.
Objection! Outside the scope of the witness' knowledge, Your Honor.
Stone: Let me rephrase the question.
How did this check get into your hands, sir? I was having dinner at Park's Steak House, and Mr.
Corcoran came in and joined me for dessert.
Then what happened? He gave me the check.
He told me to take care of the problem that we had discussed earlier.
What problem? McFadden's indictment.
He said if McFadden goes down he'll name names, and we'll all go down with him.
- So the check wasn't for setting up tables? - What, are you kidding? It was to kill Marshall McFadden, right? Objection! Withdrawn.
Stone: Tell me, Mr.
Palmieri, why did Mr.
Corcoran pay you $100,000? You know.
It was to kill the English guy McFadden.
Thank you.
Mr.
Corcoran, can we get a statement from you? George, bring him around the back stairs.
Thank you, Adam.
Thank you.
I could use a friend.
Always did, Dwight.
That was always the problem.