Law & Order (1990) s03e08 Episode Script
Prince of Darkness
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.
How many times, Manuel? I don't wanna go.
It's no longer an issue.
My mother will take care of Felice.
Please, Manuel.
It's hot.
It's uncomfortable.
L I don't speak the language.
You loved it the first time.
You thought it was romantic.
I like chocolate-chocolate chip, but not every night.
Happy birthday, Mom.
Happy birthday.
I don't get it.
I did voice, dance, movement, two callbacks for Guys and Dolls.
I still can't get a part.
Well, maybe you don't have any talent.
Hey, hey, hey, that's my crème brûlée.
I don't have any talent? Who are you? Tom Cruise? Help! Mommy! No! Daddy! No! Help! Help! Mommy! No! Mommy! Daddy! He came out of the bathroom in a in a raincoat.
Dark.
Blue, maybe.
Or, uh, or or black.
It could've been green.
What'd he look like? I didn't see his face.
Okay, don't go home.
I told you, I I couldn't see anything.
I was reading the menu.
We didn't see anything either.
We? What about you, Mrs.
Lawson? He said we.
It it happened very fast.
He came in the back door.
I mean, he came from the kitchen.
No, he descended from heaven on a silver chariot.
Room full of people, guy comes in, he fires.
Is he sending a message? I did it to them.
I can do it to you.
Close your eyes, keep your mouth shut.
Natalie Ortega, 27.
She expired before her library card.
Manuel Ortega, 28.
He's circling the drain as we speak.
You think he's gonna make it? He's breathing through his chest.
Mother, father, daughter makes three.
Table's set for four.
They were expecting company.
Somebody had the good fortune to miss dinner.
Five slugs.
Mr.
Ortega just took a mortgage on his nine lives.
Is he gonna be able to make his payments? The hospital says if he lasts the week he'll have something to say.
Come on, fellas.
An automatic weapon, rich Colombians.
Do we need a crystal ball? Manuel Ortega has no drug conviction record.
In fact, he has no record.
Period.
The wife? Nada.
Don't expect anything from ballistics.
Soft-nosed slugs,.
223s, they turned to mush on impact.
You gotta be someone to deserve this kind of firepower.
I have never seen Manuel Ortega or the wife on page six.
The Ortega family.
Anybody left? Uniform just took the kid to Grandma's.
We moved from Bogota.
It was too dangerous.
You know what people say about us.
It's an unfortunate prejudice.
If you're suggesting that my son was involved in something illegal It wasrt exactly hit-and-run, Mrs.
Ortega.
Drug smugglers don't have MBAs from the Tuck School, Detective.
And their wives are not in the Junior League.
It was a mistake.
At your daughter-in-law's birthday party, was there a fourth guest expected? How would I know? Felice, honey, were your parents expecting someone? No.
Your son have a job, Mrs.
Ortega? He worked the travel business.
Ramon Buenoventura.
It's a tragedy.
At least the girl wasrt Manuel was a good worker, he was a good friend.
Fifth Avenue apartment.
He must've sold a lot of tickets.
For six years, I was running widows down to Miami Beach for Christmas.
Now we have 76 employees.
Manuel, he thought big.
I made big.
He didn't sell vacations, he booked expeditions.
We are interested in the business expeditions from Bogota to New York.
I loved Colombia and so did Manuel.
We watched our country die for 20 years, destroyed by drug trade.
A lot of profit came out of that destruction, my friend.
What happened in Colombia embarrassed Manuel.
He said that, if he if he thought it would make a difference, he would go back there and run for office.
But it wouldn't.
Our country is over.
How many saints are blown away by an automatic weapon? He's a disappointed patriot.
This was a political hit.
Travel agency, huh? How do they move their drugs? Telepathy? Did you notice how Manuel's mother was clutching that little girl? Like she was protecting her.
From us.
Do you think we need a warrant for Manuel's apartment? He's not a suspect.
He's a victim.
We search his apartment, we're doing him a favor, right? I like your thinking.
So Manuel not only takes care of Mom, he takes care of himself.
Brand new Porsche.
Oh, yeah.
I had one of those.
In a previous life.
Neighbor's.
Took it for a joyride.
If the old man had been five minutes later, I would've had a juvenile record.
Mmm.
Checking account weekly deposits.
Very nice, $9,500 and change.
She gave to the Mount Holyoke alumni fund.
He's a member of the City Club.
Fine upstanding citizens.
Yeah.
Well! Travel agency customers, names, phone numbers.
And all with the international country code 57.
Round trips every couple of weeks.
A small South American country with a northern coastline.
Yeah.
How many times do you visit your relatives, big daddy? Looks like a toy.
They don't have one of those in my sandbox.
Indictments? Okay.
Thanks.
Manuel's customers, all 22 of them on the Fed's Christmas list.
All dealers.
Merry Christmas, you're under arrest.
Unlicensed.
38 derringer.
Barrel's too short for rifling.
I could trace a telephone pole easier.
Doesrt a.
38 raise a flag with you? My flag hasn't been raised in weeks.
Well, this'll hoist your colors.
Three months ago, a hit.
A.
38, close range.
Major dealer, Felix Arias.
Mr.
Arias was returning from Colombia.
Two shots in the back an hour after he left JFK.
Personal weapon, same caliber.
Maybe our boy in the hospital hit Mr.
Arias.
You couldn't prove it in court but it's not a common gun.
A.
38? Come on.
Manuel's not the only guy in this town to carry protection.
It's not a stretch, Donny.
Arias gets blown away just after he lands.
Who knew he was coming? His travel agent.
The can'tel doesn't like family members to settle disputes in public.
Manuel hits Arias, they send a signal: "Don't anybody do it again.
" Hold your horses.
Something here sounds familiar.
Yeah, drug dealers shoot people.
No.
There was a DEA circular.
Uh, here.
Issued about six weeks ago.
A source in Colombia says A can'tel hit man is on his way to New York.
They don't know the target.
"Javier Laureano Gaitan, aged 24.
" He looks like a young Elvis.
He shot 50 people? He doesn't look old enough to tie his shoes.
You want to call the Feds? For advice only.
It's a homicide.
It's ours.
Excuse me.
If our boy in the hospital hits Arias and Elvis came from Bogota for revenge, aren't we missing something? Manuel is still in the hospital.
And Elvis still has a job to do.
If Manuel goes belly up, Elvis is on the next plane home.
Manuel dies, you prop him up, put a piano in front of him.
Nobody knows about this.
I want two uniforms on his door.
We still got to turn up Elvis before Manuel leaves the hospital.
Okay, Manuel hits a major dealer.
There's no word on the street? His mother hears nothing? My mother's 73, she knows what I spend for a suit.
Phil, your mother works in the clothing business.
Manuel's mom has no record.
Are you telling me that she doesn't know what he does for a living? How does she pay for that big Fifth Avenue apartment? My son is very generous.
He must've been printing money.
His apartment, your apartment I bet you've a beach house in East Hampton.
Sag Harbor.
My son is inspired by his work and he's very successful.
Is he inspired enough to get rid of a dealer named Felix Arias? Suppose we ask your granddaughter to look at some pictures.
Maybe she sees the man who shot your son.
Not without my permission.
Did you ever hear of a material witness order? If you take Felice, they'll think she knows something she does not.
I have a sudden urge to see a judge.
All right.
All right.
Felix Arias was quite taken by Natalie.
His attentions were not welcome.
She would not submit.
He said they could own him but not his wife.
I told him, "Don't shoot anybody.
" The birthday party, who was the fourth for dinner? Manuel's boss from the travel agency.
I don't like being reminded how old I am, so I don't go to birthday parties.
So we heard.
Listen, I am a respectable businessman.
I belong to the Chamber of Commerce and to the Better Business Bureau.
All right, maybe Manuel invited me and I simply forgot.
How's your memory today? You wanna dredge up the combination to this? See, that's why we left Colombia.
Because of these kinds of police tactics.
You want some police tactics? I'm gonna count to three.
Before I'm finished, you'll open that safe, or I'll open it for you.
One, two, three.
Ramon Buenoventura, you're under arrest for accessory to murder.
You have the right to remain silent.
Colombian passports found in your client's safe.
U.
S.
Visa stamp.
He doesn't look like a consulate.
Come on, it's a dinky federal rap.
Put your client in a dinky federal cell.
Could I have the one with the tennis courts? The Feds say the passports belong to Colombian hit squads.
One name is an alias used last year by guess who? Javier Gaitan.
Your client is Murder Incorporated's travel agent.
You bought a ticket for the guy who shot your pal Manuel.
We are talking about conspiracy, murder two.
He didn't kill anybody.
Tell your client the law, Counselor.
What is he talking about? We don't need all the conspirators to put one away.
The DA says the Feds'll go along with us.
He gives us Gaitan, he gets accessory, man one.
Look, I booked the flights and that's all.
Under what name? Esteban.
Paolo.
But I really didn't know who he was.
Where's Gaitan? Look, I really liked Manuel.
But you just don't shoot their jefes.
You want to die, you shoot yourself in the head.
Your Colombian clients, what hotel do you book them into? The Europa on Park Avenue.
For Elvis, why not the best? If we had moved a little faster, we'd have had him.
Did you expect him to order room service and wait for us? When he hears that Manuel stops breathing, he'll get out.
If Manuel's mother had cared about who hit her son, we might have something.
The only prints in the hotel room were the maid's.
Two local calls from the room.
Sloppy, Elvis, sloppy.
Desperate.
He botches a hit, he knows there's a welcoming committee at home.
Thank you very much.
Okay, he called Alvaro Graphics, Sandra Alvaro, Let's go.
Gaitan, Gaitan? I had a temporary super.
Maybe he fixed my washing machine.
You're gonna be doing laundry upstate with this act, Sandra.
Mr.
Gaitan called you Wednesday afternoon.
I have the same number as a scalper in Teaneck.
You forget to dial 201, and you get my office.
He called you Wednesday night at home.
What do you think? A warrant for her apartment, we'll find Gaitars dirty underwear.
He never told me what he did.
I wouldn't have let him in if I knew.
I think she just said she saw Mr.
Gaitan.
That's how it sounds to me.
Thank you very much.
Sandra Alvaro, you are under arrest for harboring a fugitive.
You have the right to remain silent.
You didn't know.
Did you think he was in town for the hardware convention? I knew him as a boy.
Our parents played tennis together.
I just gave him a place to sleep.
Come on, he had an expensive bed at the Europa Hotel.
Sandra, harboring a fugitive, accessory to murder, that's a long time away from your nice co-op.
But you help us, we'll get you a very protected cell.
And we'll tell the DA that you cooperated.
I don't know where he went.
But is he coming back? He always calls first, a few minutes before he comes.
He said to be home this afternoon around 4:30.
Gaitan calls, two minutes later he's at her place.
Every time.
I don't think he rented a cellular phone at the airport.
Pay phones.
We can't take this guy on the street.
Broadway, that time of the afternoon? He decides to run, we're gonna have bodies from Mike, call the phone company.
Have Alvaro's phone routed to Rikers so she can answer.
I want six SWAT teams.
Four inside the courtyard, two across the street.
Cragen.
When? Well, what the No, it's all right, Joey.
Thank you.
Manuel Ortega died Two reporters have the story already.
If we don't get him before the 6:00 news It's adios, Elvis.
Bad manners.
He's late.
Or he has a good nose and he changed his mind.
What's he got out there? A.
38, a.
22 and a chest covered with Kevlar.
Yeah.
Logan.
Okay.
Thanks.
Sandra just took the call.
And he's coming down from 78th.
He's checking the street.
He's watching his back.
He's at the arch.
He's entering the courtyard now.
He's coming toward the fountain.
So far, so good.
Wait a minute.
He's talking to the doorman.
He's looking around.
We should've left the real doorman.
He'd have wet his pants.
Elvis is coming in.
Yes! All right, hold on.
Let him get inside.
Here he comes.
One, two, three.
Now.
Freeze! Don't move! My name is Paolo Esteban.
I am a citizen of Colombia.
I would like to call a lawyer.
Good.
Let's go.
What do you mean you can't indict? To start with, no witnesses, no murder weapon.
Hold him on concealment.
He had a straight razor when we picked him up.
Next time you buy razor blades, we'll indict you.
But you have the DEA circular.
He claims it's not him.
Are we on this tightrope alone? Did you want us not to pick him up? I want enough evidence to indict him.
So you can hold him for what? And apparently his name is on a warrant in Paris, and a warrant in another jurisdiction means that we can hold him for 30 days.
Can you have the murder weapon in that time? A month? We'll nail him for the Kennedy assassination.
Let's hope you can.
Gaitan is challenging the 30 days.
Hearing's tomorrow.
Your Honor, a hearing in prison, it's an affront to my client.
Your client goes in and out of Colombian jails through a revolving door.
Gentlemen, please, can we not have a fistfight? Mr.
Stone? Ms.
Alvaro, do you recognize this man? Paolo Esteban, I knew him in Bogota.
Ms.
Alvaro, you identified this man as Javier Laureano Gaitan.
The police threatened me.
Police coercion.
This is heinous.
Judge, the DEA circular The DEA circular has a hazy photograph.
He has a passport, Judge.
Mr.
Gaitan has a record in Colombia? What about fingerprints? The Colombian government are trying to locate them, Your Honor.
Frankly, I'm tempted to believe the DEA.
However, the French warrant, Mr.
Stone? Mr.
Manetti has a document from the French embassy.
It's under challenge.
If it's not enforceable here, you can't have the 30 days.
I'd love to let you hold him.
But he has the same rights as any defendant.
Pursuant to CPL 180-80 The People have four days to file an indictment or you let him go.
Four days? Why don't we throw darts at my computer? We need a murder weapon.
Soft slugs, they mash like potatoes.
You try making a match.
Look at this.
The CSU sketch of the restaurant.
Check the position of the shells.
What? He should've cleaned up? CSU assumed he moved left to right, the shells ejected right, he's out the back door.
What if he comes in the other way, goes out the front door? Are you learning the mambo or is this leading somewhere? No.
What he is interested in is the DEA circular, which tells us that Gaitan fires left-handed.
Exactly.
If he fires left, he doesn't want a gun that ejects right.
He might get hit by the shells.
So if it ejects left A.
223 automatic.
Who makes it? "Steyr Aug Commando, .
223, Austrian.
"High velocity, virtually no recoil.
Adjustable ejector.
Left or right.
" Nobody waltzes through Customs with a machine gun like that.
Think global, shop local.
We're looking for a hot-gun dealer who sold a Steyr Aug.
Courtesy Firearms Division.
Every guy who sells artillery.
Four of them stocked Steyr Augs, one time or another.
Call them.
So which con is our new best friend? Uh, a guy in Dannemora named Tommy Bruno.
Oh, I know that guy.
I rousted him two or three years ago.
The only thing I remember is he's got a bad hairpiece.
I wouldn't know him if he sat in my lap.
Well, you two guys are his old customers.
He's in five to 15, nobody can check.
Not a supplier in town he hasn't dealt with.
Homework.
Special Investigations.
Tommy's entire life.
Learn it before you start calling.
I'm a friend of Tommy's.
Do I sound like a cop? I need a good automatic.
Yeah.
Yeah, I saw him last month A Sig Sauer, a Steyr Aug.
before he went into the hole.
Okay, is George there? What do you got? Yeah.
A semi? Oh.
Nah, no thanks.
I'll wait.
But, hey, listen, I'll give Tommy your best.
Uh-huh.
they wouldn't even breathe on an open line.
Dumber.
Greedier.
George, how you doing? Yeah, it's too bad about Tommy, huh? A Steyr Aug? Yeah, you don't see them around a lot.
How much? That's pretty steep, but okay.
Tommy's new wife? Alice? No, I was tight with Sonia.
Fat? That was number one, Enid.
Cash is no problem.
I like the Theodore on 81st Street.
That's great.
I'll see you there.
Yeah.
Goodbye.
This guy sold two Steyr Augs this month.
Let's make sure we got somebody good behind the desk clerk.
What are you going for? A shine or a glare? If he can't see his face in them, he's gonna think something's wrong.
He's on his way up.
Gagliardi? Lobrano.
George Lobrano.
Tommy always used this place.
Tommy liked the Bingham, You know Tommy.
Yeah, the Bingham, nice place, very nice, yeah.
You got the money, all the money? Let me see it, I gotta see it first.
Put it out here.
Let me see.
Let me see.
$4,000, it better be here.
I don't like being jerked around.
You're a dollar short, I'm gonna get very upset.
You told me $3,500.
I meant $4,000, that's what I meant.
Maybe I said $3,500, I meant $4,000.
Gorgeous weapon, cherry, numbers burned.
It's a giveaway, you ought to be paying $4,000.
This is very fine, brand-new.
What's the matter? It's not okay? You should like it.
You don't like it, you ought to be paying more.
You got the extra $500, come up with it now.
It's a good buy.
It's fine.
It's fine.
You want to be Mr.
Ten Percent? Here's your ten percent.
Get him off! Get him off! Officer down! 524 East 81st! Get a bus.
Now! Phil? I had a charmed life.
I never even fired.
I can't breathe.
I can't breathe.
Easy.
Easy.
There's a slug near his spine.
They don't know.
You can't see through walls, Mike.
This guy was on the astral plane, he would've popped Phil if he blinked funny.
We still have the same problem.
Lobrano.
The answer's no.
I'm not saying we'll plead him, Mike, but if he can identify Gaitan If the son of a bitch had shot Stone, would you even think of pleading? My partner might spend the rest of his life on wheels! You want Lobrano? Too bad.
You send Elvis back to Colombia.
Hey, Mike.
Why don't you head home? I'll wait for Elaine.
You go home and get some sleep.
All right? Man shot a cop.
The press is gonna love us cutting a deal.
How old is Cerreta? He must be close to 50.
you don't recover so quick.
I'd like his wife to get a note from this office.
Flowers to the hospital.
I'll take care of it.
So we don't plead the gun dealer, maybe we don't need him.
Especially if we don't go to trial.
No ID.
We say he's Gaitan, they say Esteban.
Without fingerprints, they can say he's Peter Pan.
State Department buys dictators over breakfast.
They can't get prints from the Colombian? Billions of dollars, the can'tel is an underground nation.
They kill judges down there for sport.
Adam, is there an agenda here? The U.
S.
Attorney's office did call.
They say that Gaitan can make federal cases into the next century.
He'll get six months, testify in three cases, and go home.
Adam, that is nuts.
We convict, the Feds get leverage, and I think facing 25 years, he'd sell out anybody.
The Feds would like us to talk to Gaitan.
You'll do it.
What my client is saying is he might consider a deal, but he's not interested in doing time.
Are you worried our jails are more secure than Colombia's, Mr.
Gaitan? Hello, Ben, Planet Earth calling.
He names drug dealers, who can guarantee his safety? You? The prison system? Man one, three to nine.
No time.
That's the deal.
Then we go to trial.
You can't be serious.
Maybe we should turn him over to the Feds.
Since when did you get so cautious? A jury needs connections, Paul.
The gun, revenge, plane tickets.
I'd be listening to the meaning of reasonable doubt.
We don't have any choice.
We have to use the gun dealer.
His own lawyer said he never saw Gaitan.
Lobrano said, "I left the gun in the car, picked up the cash.
" What's that testimony won'th? It is not a firm ID.
You gonna plead him down for that? It's better than nothing.
Before we do this, I have to talk to Cerreta.
We're not here to talk you into anything, Phil.
Just came by to see me, huh? How good is Lobrano's testimony? It won't nail him.
Could help.
And Elvis could walk either way.
You don't have to do this, Phil.
They drop attempted murder, all he gets is assault with a deadly.
Mike.
I can walk, I can talk, I can All the important things.
This guy Lobrano's gonna do time anyway.
Make the deal.
He asked for a Steyr Aug, said he fired left-handed.
When you sell illicit firearms, do you normally risk dealing with people you've never seen before? This Gaitan, he has a reputation.
They say he's done maybe 50, 60 people.
Do you want to object, Mr.
Manetti? No objection, Your Honor.
He's talking about someone named Gaitan, not my client.
Mr.
Lobrano, we have heard testimony that Manuel Ortega was killed with a.
223 automatic.
What caliber is the Steyr Aug? That's a.
223.
And how many guns have you sold in your lifetime? I would guess 200 or 300.
How many of those were Steyr Augs? Thank you, no further questions.
I begged my son not to kill this man Felix Arias.
We both knew what would happen.
How did you know, Mrs.
Ortega? Objection.
This is all speculation.
She's telling us about her own experience, Counselor.
Overruled.
Mrs.
Ortega? I've known these people my whole life.
I've seen them kill.
Have you ever heard of a man named Javier Laureano Gaitan? I've I've heard of him.
Have you ever heard him called anything else? They call him, they say El Diablo.
The Prince of Darkness.
Felix Arias, the man your son killed, did he ever mention Gaitan? He told Manuel that if he caused any trouble that the Prince would come.
But your son shot Arias.
Manuel was young.
He was foolish.
Your witness.
Mrs.
Ortega, you testified that your son knowingly consorted with members of the Colombian can'tel.
Look at the defendant.
Do you recognize him? I've never seen him before.
But if he was this Prince of Darkness, as you call him, shouldn't you be able to identify him? No one has seen Gaitan.
Mrs.
Ortega, can you testify that this man, the defendant, killed your son? No.
from Colombia.
Next they'll have a doctor testifying that his hand muscles are too weak to fire a gun.
The character witnesses, I promise you, upstanding, elegant, speaking perfect English.
He paid half a million dollars to get out of Colombian jails.
What's 19 witnesses cost? You wanna disallow it? Judge Callahars clerk says we'll need the cancelled checks.
What about the girlfriend? Her attorney says she'll cooperate when it rains mud in July.
Mr.
Gaitan throws mud.
Let's throw cement.
The harboring charge is crap.
She admitted it to a detective.
Plus the "no bail" thing.
Did the Supreme Court do away with civil rights while I was sleeping? She is a flight risk, Sally.
She testifies, five minutes later, she might as well throw herself under a subway car.
The woman wants to survive.
Fine.
We're dropping all charges, she can go home.
Guard? He's in a hurry.
Press conference.
We're announcing a new prosecution witness expected to solidify our case.
What's your friend, Gaitan, gonna think when you get out of jail? This is not you, Ben.
This is definitely me, Sally.
When a cop gets shot building a case, I want a conviction.
Please don't do this to me.
I didn't know what he did.
Not till this time.
We can have a stenographer in five minutes.
We'll depose her here.
You would've held a press conference? Glad I didn't have to decide.
Sally Goldman just called.
Please, don't tell me Miss Alvaro died in her cell.
No, but her confidence did.
She made two calls this afternoon.
Friends, I don't know who yet.
Says she'll deny everything on the stand.
Says we forced her to lie in the deposition.
If that's an accusation, I suggest you make it elsewhere.
I'd be happier, if I didn't have to make it anywhere.
When I cut corners, Ben, I use a scalpel and not a saw.
And if you so much as hint that I suborned perjury, we'll be at the Disciplinary Committee, all right, but you'll be facing the charges.
I'll see you in court.
You know what they say about his clients.
Innocent until proven broke.
Maybe the woman did get cold feet.
And maybe someone put them in an ice bucket.
Sally Goldman says Alvaro's calls to her friends, no question, Gaitan got to her.
Goldman says? That's not proof.
Well, it's too bad we didn't drop charges against her.
She leaves town, unavailable, we could use her deposition.
Now, if we happen to let her out and she left town No.
But does she have to be out of town to be unavailable? What do you wanna do? Have Alvaro declared unavailable as a witness because she was threatened.
Rikers is a 45 minute ride.
That isn't available? And I want her sworn statements recorded as her testimony in the case.
Ben, we have a rule.
It goes back to English common law.
Maybe you've heard of it? The defendant has a right to confront the accuser.
Your Honor, last summer, People v.
Geraci.
The witness was intimidated.
The Court allowed grand jury testimony into the record as trial testimony even though the witness was physically available.
I don't care what that court did.
It's wrong.
You can't have a witness that I can't cross-examine.
Chris, save your theatrics for the courtroom.
Sit down.
In Geraci, Ben, they had a taped phone call.
The witness said, "I will lie on the stand.
" Ms.
Alvaro didn't say that.
Her counsel was convinced that she was intimidated.
Chris, this gives us a parallel with Geraci.
Judge, you can't even consider this.
Of course I can.
That's why they give me the black robe.
The witness was threatened.
The defendant waives his right to cross-examination.
Fine, read her statement into the record and let her testify in rebuttal.
In rebuttal against herself? This is a trial, not a circus.
This Court orders Ms.
Alvaro's sworn statement read into the record.
I will instruct the jury she's unavailable.
You don't like it, Chris, we have a remedy.
It's called an appeal.
Maryann, study the deposition.
You're Sandra Alvaro.
"District Attorney Stone: "'Did he tell you why he needed to stay at your apartment? ' "Alvaro: 'He said he shot two people.
He said he had to ride.
"' Excuse me, not ride, it reads "hide.
" "'He said he had to hide.
' "District Attorney Stone: 'Did he tell you where he was calling from? ' "Alvaro: 'He said the Europa Hotel.
"'He was using the name Paolo Esteban.
' "District Attorney Stone: "'Why did you first deny knowing that "Mr.
Esteban was Mr.
Gaitan? ' "Alvaro: 'I was scared.
'Javier kills people.
I'm afraid he'll kill me.
"' That's all, Your Honor.
Thank you, Miss Thompson.
I instruct the jury to treat this like any other testimony, giving it no more or no less weight than any other witness.
In The People v.
Javier Laureano Gaitan, also known as Paolo Esteban, as to the first count of the indictment, in the matter of Manuel Ortega, on the charge of murder in the second degree, how does the jury find? We find the defendant guilty.
As to the second count of the indictment, in the matter of Natalie Ortega, on the charge of murder in the second degree, how does the jury find? We find the defendant guilty.
Sentencing hearing to be scheduled, but I'd say to the defendant, on the record so far, you're going to prison for a long time, and when you get there you can be Esteban or Gaitan or for all I care you can call yourself Nelson Rockefeller.
Court is adjourned.
If he wants to talk about drug dealers, he can have parole in 25 years.
He talks about dealers, the can'tel will get him in Attica.
Tell me you're not glad to see Gaitan dead.
Frank, I'm an officer of the court.
Even if I were, I couldn't say so.
I read in the paper they would let him go.
He buys his way out in Colombia and he buys his way out here.
He brings a gun to the courthouse.
That's premeditation.
That's murder two.
He was in grief over his son.
Will a jury be weeping over the scum you painted as a monster? I don't think the publicity windmill's blowing in your direction.
His son was killed two years ago.
If that qualifies as extreme emotional disturbance, we just made new law.
Save the cost of a trial, we'll take man one.
Christobal's son, 19.
Police report says Gaitan put three bullets in the back of his head.
Maybe Frank Hoover has a point.
Terrific.
You don't like the system.
Go get a gun.
We can paint the courthouse steps red.
A lot of people would rather give him a medal than a sentence.
Frank Hoover has a case for extreme emotional disturbance.
I'm not hard-hearted, but I don't get this one.
It's premeditated.
It's wrong.
I'm not up on my Catholic theology, but is self-righteousness a mortal or a venial sin? You kill the man who killed your son, to a jury it doesn't matter how premeditated it was.
Let him do 4 to 12.
Okay.
Just as long as you take the press conference.
With the court's permission, the defendant wishes to plead guilty to to the charge of manslaughter in the first degree.
Mr.
Robinette? The People agree, with a sentence of 4 to 12 years as a condition of the plea.
Mr.
Christobal.
Do you understand that you are pleading guilty to manslaughter in the death of Javier Gaitan? Yes, I understand.
Tell the Court the circumstances of the crime.
I have a picture from the newspaper when my son died on the street.
Sometimes at night, I talk to him.
I hope he can hear me from heaven.
Mr.
Christobal, please, I meant for you to tell the Court, how you carried out the crime.
I have a gun.
I loaded it before I went to the court.
I didn't know if I could shoot him, but I wanted to.
What I did, it's wrong.
The plea agreement is so entered.
Your Honor, we ask the Court to release Mr.
Christobal two days before the final sentencing, so he may say goodbye to his family and put his affairs in order.
Mr.
Robinette? Mr.
Christobal confessed to a homicide, Your Honor.
And a terrible crime it is.
But you know what they say, Mr.
Robinette.
Do unto others I'm going to lower the bail to $100,000.
Can your client come up with the bond, Mr.
Hoover? Yes, Your Honor.
He can have his two days.
He shoots someone in cold blood and the court acts as if he's doing us a favor.
It's two days.
Let him sign everything over to his wife and kiss her goodbye.
We have a problem.
The gun dealer, Lobrano, I had a call from his lawyer.
Lobrano says Christobal's grieving daddy routine was an act.
He works for the same organization that employed Mr.
Gaitan.
The hit on Gaitan was to shut him up.
Kim, Cragen, please.
Don, Ben Stone, cover all the airports.
Any flight to Colombia.
Hell, anywhere in South America.
This isn't a freebie.
Until we turn up Christobal, we've nothing to offer.
Hypothetically, when do you find him If the testimony is useful? We can discuss parole recommendation.
L I didn't know until I saw him on TV.
I sold Christobal a couple of pieces.
He works for them, just like Gaitan.
Gaitan killed his son.
Rumors.
The kid was getting chummy with the Feds, it might've been Gaitan, it might not.
Christobal's wife cleared out their bank accounts before the hearing.
They're on a plane 40 minutes after the plea was entered.
The can'tel had to get rid of Gaitan.
They were worried that he'd make a deal.
You sometimes feel that we're running in place? Yes.
Mmm-hmm.
Mmm.
Not an accident? Thanks.
The gun dealer was in the yard at Rikers.
Had his throat cut.
Buenoventura was strangled in the kitchen at Dannemora.
And Manuel Ortega's mother fell out of a window.
What about the little girl? She was picked up at school by her uncle.
She doesn't have an uncle.
These are their stories.
How many times, Manuel? I don't wanna go.
It's no longer an issue.
My mother will take care of Felice.
Please, Manuel.
It's hot.
It's uncomfortable.
L I don't speak the language.
You loved it the first time.
You thought it was romantic.
I like chocolate-chocolate chip, but not every night.
Happy birthday, Mom.
Happy birthday.
I don't get it.
I did voice, dance, movement, two callbacks for Guys and Dolls.
I still can't get a part.
Well, maybe you don't have any talent.
Hey, hey, hey, that's my crème brûlée.
I don't have any talent? Who are you? Tom Cruise? Help! Mommy! No! Daddy! No! Help! Help! Mommy! No! Mommy! Daddy! He came out of the bathroom in a in a raincoat.
Dark.
Blue, maybe.
Or, uh, or or black.
It could've been green.
What'd he look like? I didn't see his face.
Okay, don't go home.
I told you, I I couldn't see anything.
I was reading the menu.
We didn't see anything either.
We? What about you, Mrs.
Lawson? He said we.
It it happened very fast.
He came in the back door.
I mean, he came from the kitchen.
No, he descended from heaven on a silver chariot.
Room full of people, guy comes in, he fires.
Is he sending a message? I did it to them.
I can do it to you.
Close your eyes, keep your mouth shut.
Natalie Ortega, 27.
She expired before her library card.
Manuel Ortega, 28.
He's circling the drain as we speak.
You think he's gonna make it? He's breathing through his chest.
Mother, father, daughter makes three.
Table's set for four.
They were expecting company.
Somebody had the good fortune to miss dinner.
Five slugs.
Mr.
Ortega just took a mortgage on his nine lives.
Is he gonna be able to make his payments? The hospital says if he lasts the week he'll have something to say.
Come on, fellas.
An automatic weapon, rich Colombians.
Do we need a crystal ball? Manuel Ortega has no drug conviction record.
In fact, he has no record.
Period.
The wife? Nada.
Don't expect anything from ballistics.
Soft-nosed slugs,.
223s, they turned to mush on impact.
You gotta be someone to deserve this kind of firepower.
I have never seen Manuel Ortega or the wife on page six.
The Ortega family.
Anybody left? Uniform just took the kid to Grandma's.
We moved from Bogota.
It was too dangerous.
You know what people say about us.
It's an unfortunate prejudice.
If you're suggesting that my son was involved in something illegal It wasrt exactly hit-and-run, Mrs.
Ortega.
Drug smugglers don't have MBAs from the Tuck School, Detective.
And their wives are not in the Junior League.
It was a mistake.
At your daughter-in-law's birthday party, was there a fourth guest expected? How would I know? Felice, honey, were your parents expecting someone? No.
Your son have a job, Mrs.
Ortega? He worked the travel business.
Ramon Buenoventura.
It's a tragedy.
At least the girl wasrt Manuel was a good worker, he was a good friend.
Fifth Avenue apartment.
He must've sold a lot of tickets.
For six years, I was running widows down to Miami Beach for Christmas.
Now we have 76 employees.
Manuel, he thought big.
I made big.
He didn't sell vacations, he booked expeditions.
We are interested in the business expeditions from Bogota to New York.
I loved Colombia and so did Manuel.
We watched our country die for 20 years, destroyed by drug trade.
A lot of profit came out of that destruction, my friend.
What happened in Colombia embarrassed Manuel.
He said that, if he if he thought it would make a difference, he would go back there and run for office.
But it wouldn't.
Our country is over.
How many saints are blown away by an automatic weapon? He's a disappointed patriot.
This was a political hit.
Travel agency, huh? How do they move their drugs? Telepathy? Did you notice how Manuel's mother was clutching that little girl? Like she was protecting her.
From us.
Do you think we need a warrant for Manuel's apartment? He's not a suspect.
He's a victim.
We search his apartment, we're doing him a favor, right? I like your thinking.
So Manuel not only takes care of Mom, he takes care of himself.
Brand new Porsche.
Oh, yeah.
I had one of those.
In a previous life.
Neighbor's.
Took it for a joyride.
If the old man had been five minutes later, I would've had a juvenile record.
Mmm.
Checking account weekly deposits.
Very nice, $9,500 and change.
She gave to the Mount Holyoke alumni fund.
He's a member of the City Club.
Fine upstanding citizens.
Yeah.
Well! Travel agency customers, names, phone numbers.
And all with the international country code 57.
Round trips every couple of weeks.
A small South American country with a northern coastline.
Yeah.
How many times do you visit your relatives, big daddy? Looks like a toy.
They don't have one of those in my sandbox.
Indictments? Okay.
Thanks.
Manuel's customers, all 22 of them on the Fed's Christmas list.
All dealers.
Merry Christmas, you're under arrest.
Unlicensed.
38 derringer.
Barrel's too short for rifling.
I could trace a telephone pole easier.
Doesrt a.
38 raise a flag with you? My flag hasn't been raised in weeks.
Well, this'll hoist your colors.
Three months ago, a hit.
A.
38, close range.
Major dealer, Felix Arias.
Mr.
Arias was returning from Colombia.
Two shots in the back an hour after he left JFK.
Personal weapon, same caliber.
Maybe our boy in the hospital hit Mr.
Arias.
You couldn't prove it in court but it's not a common gun.
A.
38? Come on.
Manuel's not the only guy in this town to carry protection.
It's not a stretch, Donny.
Arias gets blown away just after he lands.
Who knew he was coming? His travel agent.
The can'tel doesn't like family members to settle disputes in public.
Manuel hits Arias, they send a signal: "Don't anybody do it again.
" Hold your horses.
Something here sounds familiar.
Yeah, drug dealers shoot people.
No.
There was a DEA circular.
Uh, here.
Issued about six weeks ago.
A source in Colombia says A can'tel hit man is on his way to New York.
They don't know the target.
"Javier Laureano Gaitan, aged 24.
" He looks like a young Elvis.
He shot 50 people? He doesn't look old enough to tie his shoes.
You want to call the Feds? For advice only.
It's a homicide.
It's ours.
Excuse me.
If our boy in the hospital hits Arias and Elvis came from Bogota for revenge, aren't we missing something? Manuel is still in the hospital.
And Elvis still has a job to do.
If Manuel goes belly up, Elvis is on the next plane home.
Manuel dies, you prop him up, put a piano in front of him.
Nobody knows about this.
I want two uniforms on his door.
We still got to turn up Elvis before Manuel leaves the hospital.
Okay, Manuel hits a major dealer.
There's no word on the street? His mother hears nothing? My mother's 73, she knows what I spend for a suit.
Phil, your mother works in the clothing business.
Manuel's mom has no record.
Are you telling me that she doesn't know what he does for a living? How does she pay for that big Fifth Avenue apartment? My son is very generous.
He must've been printing money.
His apartment, your apartment I bet you've a beach house in East Hampton.
Sag Harbor.
My son is inspired by his work and he's very successful.
Is he inspired enough to get rid of a dealer named Felix Arias? Suppose we ask your granddaughter to look at some pictures.
Maybe she sees the man who shot your son.
Not without my permission.
Did you ever hear of a material witness order? If you take Felice, they'll think she knows something she does not.
I have a sudden urge to see a judge.
All right.
All right.
Felix Arias was quite taken by Natalie.
His attentions were not welcome.
She would not submit.
He said they could own him but not his wife.
I told him, "Don't shoot anybody.
" The birthday party, who was the fourth for dinner? Manuel's boss from the travel agency.
I don't like being reminded how old I am, so I don't go to birthday parties.
So we heard.
Listen, I am a respectable businessman.
I belong to the Chamber of Commerce and to the Better Business Bureau.
All right, maybe Manuel invited me and I simply forgot.
How's your memory today? You wanna dredge up the combination to this? See, that's why we left Colombia.
Because of these kinds of police tactics.
You want some police tactics? I'm gonna count to three.
Before I'm finished, you'll open that safe, or I'll open it for you.
One, two, three.
Ramon Buenoventura, you're under arrest for accessory to murder.
You have the right to remain silent.
Colombian passports found in your client's safe.
U.
S.
Visa stamp.
He doesn't look like a consulate.
Come on, it's a dinky federal rap.
Put your client in a dinky federal cell.
Could I have the one with the tennis courts? The Feds say the passports belong to Colombian hit squads.
One name is an alias used last year by guess who? Javier Gaitan.
Your client is Murder Incorporated's travel agent.
You bought a ticket for the guy who shot your pal Manuel.
We are talking about conspiracy, murder two.
He didn't kill anybody.
Tell your client the law, Counselor.
What is he talking about? We don't need all the conspirators to put one away.
The DA says the Feds'll go along with us.
He gives us Gaitan, he gets accessory, man one.
Look, I booked the flights and that's all.
Under what name? Esteban.
Paolo.
But I really didn't know who he was.
Where's Gaitan? Look, I really liked Manuel.
But you just don't shoot their jefes.
You want to die, you shoot yourself in the head.
Your Colombian clients, what hotel do you book them into? The Europa on Park Avenue.
For Elvis, why not the best? If we had moved a little faster, we'd have had him.
Did you expect him to order room service and wait for us? When he hears that Manuel stops breathing, he'll get out.
If Manuel's mother had cared about who hit her son, we might have something.
The only prints in the hotel room were the maid's.
Two local calls from the room.
Sloppy, Elvis, sloppy.
Desperate.
He botches a hit, he knows there's a welcoming committee at home.
Thank you very much.
Okay, he called Alvaro Graphics, Sandra Alvaro, Let's go.
Gaitan, Gaitan? I had a temporary super.
Maybe he fixed my washing machine.
You're gonna be doing laundry upstate with this act, Sandra.
Mr.
Gaitan called you Wednesday afternoon.
I have the same number as a scalper in Teaneck.
You forget to dial 201, and you get my office.
He called you Wednesday night at home.
What do you think? A warrant for her apartment, we'll find Gaitars dirty underwear.
He never told me what he did.
I wouldn't have let him in if I knew.
I think she just said she saw Mr.
Gaitan.
That's how it sounds to me.
Thank you very much.
Sandra Alvaro, you are under arrest for harboring a fugitive.
You have the right to remain silent.
You didn't know.
Did you think he was in town for the hardware convention? I knew him as a boy.
Our parents played tennis together.
I just gave him a place to sleep.
Come on, he had an expensive bed at the Europa Hotel.
Sandra, harboring a fugitive, accessory to murder, that's a long time away from your nice co-op.
But you help us, we'll get you a very protected cell.
And we'll tell the DA that you cooperated.
I don't know where he went.
But is he coming back? He always calls first, a few minutes before he comes.
He said to be home this afternoon around 4:30.
Gaitan calls, two minutes later he's at her place.
Every time.
I don't think he rented a cellular phone at the airport.
Pay phones.
We can't take this guy on the street.
Broadway, that time of the afternoon? He decides to run, we're gonna have bodies from Mike, call the phone company.
Have Alvaro's phone routed to Rikers so she can answer.
I want six SWAT teams.
Four inside the courtyard, two across the street.
Cragen.
When? Well, what the No, it's all right, Joey.
Thank you.
Manuel Ortega died Two reporters have the story already.
If we don't get him before the 6:00 news It's adios, Elvis.
Bad manners.
He's late.
Or he has a good nose and he changed his mind.
What's he got out there? A.
38, a.
22 and a chest covered with Kevlar.
Yeah.
Logan.
Okay.
Thanks.
Sandra just took the call.
And he's coming down from 78th.
He's checking the street.
He's watching his back.
He's at the arch.
He's entering the courtyard now.
He's coming toward the fountain.
So far, so good.
Wait a minute.
He's talking to the doorman.
He's looking around.
We should've left the real doorman.
He'd have wet his pants.
Elvis is coming in.
Yes! All right, hold on.
Let him get inside.
Here he comes.
One, two, three.
Now.
Freeze! Don't move! My name is Paolo Esteban.
I am a citizen of Colombia.
I would like to call a lawyer.
Good.
Let's go.
What do you mean you can't indict? To start with, no witnesses, no murder weapon.
Hold him on concealment.
He had a straight razor when we picked him up.
Next time you buy razor blades, we'll indict you.
But you have the DEA circular.
He claims it's not him.
Are we on this tightrope alone? Did you want us not to pick him up? I want enough evidence to indict him.
So you can hold him for what? And apparently his name is on a warrant in Paris, and a warrant in another jurisdiction means that we can hold him for 30 days.
Can you have the murder weapon in that time? A month? We'll nail him for the Kennedy assassination.
Let's hope you can.
Gaitan is challenging the 30 days.
Hearing's tomorrow.
Your Honor, a hearing in prison, it's an affront to my client.
Your client goes in and out of Colombian jails through a revolving door.
Gentlemen, please, can we not have a fistfight? Mr.
Stone? Ms.
Alvaro, do you recognize this man? Paolo Esteban, I knew him in Bogota.
Ms.
Alvaro, you identified this man as Javier Laureano Gaitan.
The police threatened me.
Police coercion.
This is heinous.
Judge, the DEA circular The DEA circular has a hazy photograph.
He has a passport, Judge.
Mr.
Gaitan has a record in Colombia? What about fingerprints? The Colombian government are trying to locate them, Your Honor.
Frankly, I'm tempted to believe the DEA.
However, the French warrant, Mr.
Stone? Mr.
Manetti has a document from the French embassy.
It's under challenge.
If it's not enforceable here, you can't have the 30 days.
I'd love to let you hold him.
But he has the same rights as any defendant.
Pursuant to CPL 180-80 The People have four days to file an indictment or you let him go.
Four days? Why don't we throw darts at my computer? We need a murder weapon.
Soft slugs, they mash like potatoes.
You try making a match.
Look at this.
The CSU sketch of the restaurant.
Check the position of the shells.
What? He should've cleaned up? CSU assumed he moved left to right, the shells ejected right, he's out the back door.
What if he comes in the other way, goes out the front door? Are you learning the mambo or is this leading somewhere? No.
What he is interested in is the DEA circular, which tells us that Gaitan fires left-handed.
Exactly.
If he fires left, he doesn't want a gun that ejects right.
He might get hit by the shells.
So if it ejects left A.
223 automatic.
Who makes it? "Steyr Aug Commando, .
223, Austrian.
"High velocity, virtually no recoil.
Adjustable ejector.
Left or right.
" Nobody waltzes through Customs with a machine gun like that.
Think global, shop local.
We're looking for a hot-gun dealer who sold a Steyr Aug.
Courtesy Firearms Division.
Every guy who sells artillery.
Four of them stocked Steyr Augs, one time or another.
Call them.
So which con is our new best friend? Uh, a guy in Dannemora named Tommy Bruno.
Oh, I know that guy.
I rousted him two or three years ago.
The only thing I remember is he's got a bad hairpiece.
I wouldn't know him if he sat in my lap.
Well, you two guys are his old customers.
He's in five to 15, nobody can check.
Not a supplier in town he hasn't dealt with.
Homework.
Special Investigations.
Tommy's entire life.
Learn it before you start calling.
I'm a friend of Tommy's.
Do I sound like a cop? I need a good automatic.
Yeah.
Yeah, I saw him last month A Sig Sauer, a Steyr Aug.
before he went into the hole.
Okay, is George there? What do you got? Yeah.
A semi? Oh.
Nah, no thanks.
I'll wait.
But, hey, listen, I'll give Tommy your best.
Uh-huh.
they wouldn't even breathe on an open line.
Dumber.
Greedier.
George, how you doing? Yeah, it's too bad about Tommy, huh? A Steyr Aug? Yeah, you don't see them around a lot.
How much? That's pretty steep, but okay.
Tommy's new wife? Alice? No, I was tight with Sonia.
Fat? That was number one, Enid.
Cash is no problem.
I like the Theodore on 81st Street.
That's great.
I'll see you there.
Yeah.
Goodbye.
This guy sold two Steyr Augs this month.
Let's make sure we got somebody good behind the desk clerk.
What are you going for? A shine or a glare? If he can't see his face in them, he's gonna think something's wrong.
He's on his way up.
Gagliardi? Lobrano.
George Lobrano.
Tommy always used this place.
Tommy liked the Bingham, You know Tommy.
Yeah, the Bingham, nice place, very nice, yeah.
You got the money, all the money? Let me see it, I gotta see it first.
Put it out here.
Let me see.
Let me see.
$4,000, it better be here.
I don't like being jerked around.
You're a dollar short, I'm gonna get very upset.
You told me $3,500.
I meant $4,000, that's what I meant.
Maybe I said $3,500, I meant $4,000.
Gorgeous weapon, cherry, numbers burned.
It's a giveaway, you ought to be paying $4,000.
This is very fine, brand-new.
What's the matter? It's not okay? You should like it.
You don't like it, you ought to be paying more.
You got the extra $500, come up with it now.
It's a good buy.
It's fine.
It's fine.
You want to be Mr.
Ten Percent? Here's your ten percent.
Get him off! Get him off! Officer down! 524 East 81st! Get a bus.
Now! Phil? I had a charmed life.
I never even fired.
I can't breathe.
I can't breathe.
Easy.
Easy.
There's a slug near his spine.
They don't know.
You can't see through walls, Mike.
This guy was on the astral plane, he would've popped Phil if he blinked funny.
We still have the same problem.
Lobrano.
The answer's no.
I'm not saying we'll plead him, Mike, but if he can identify Gaitan If the son of a bitch had shot Stone, would you even think of pleading? My partner might spend the rest of his life on wheels! You want Lobrano? Too bad.
You send Elvis back to Colombia.
Hey, Mike.
Why don't you head home? I'll wait for Elaine.
You go home and get some sleep.
All right? Man shot a cop.
The press is gonna love us cutting a deal.
How old is Cerreta? He must be close to 50.
you don't recover so quick.
I'd like his wife to get a note from this office.
Flowers to the hospital.
I'll take care of it.
So we don't plead the gun dealer, maybe we don't need him.
Especially if we don't go to trial.
No ID.
We say he's Gaitan, they say Esteban.
Without fingerprints, they can say he's Peter Pan.
State Department buys dictators over breakfast.
They can't get prints from the Colombian? Billions of dollars, the can'tel is an underground nation.
They kill judges down there for sport.
Adam, is there an agenda here? The U.
S.
Attorney's office did call.
They say that Gaitan can make federal cases into the next century.
He'll get six months, testify in three cases, and go home.
Adam, that is nuts.
We convict, the Feds get leverage, and I think facing 25 years, he'd sell out anybody.
The Feds would like us to talk to Gaitan.
You'll do it.
What my client is saying is he might consider a deal, but he's not interested in doing time.
Are you worried our jails are more secure than Colombia's, Mr.
Gaitan? Hello, Ben, Planet Earth calling.
He names drug dealers, who can guarantee his safety? You? The prison system? Man one, three to nine.
No time.
That's the deal.
Then we go to trial.
You can't be serious.
Maybe we should turn him over to the Feds.
Since when did you get so cautious? A jury needs connections, Paul.
The gun, revenge, plane tickets.
I'd be listening to the meaning of reasonable doubt.
We don't have any choice.
We have to use the gun dealer.
His own lawyer said he never saw Gaitan.
Lobrano said, "I left the gun in the car, picked up the cash.
" What's that testimony won'th? It is not a firm ID.
You gonna plead him down for that? It's better than nothing.
Before we do this, I have to talk to Cerreta.
We're not here to talk you into anything, Phil.
Just came by to see me, huh? How good is Lobrano's testimony? It won't nail him.
Could help.
And Elvis could walk either way.
You don't have to do this, Phil.
They drop attempted murder, all he gets is assault with a deadly.
Mike.
I can walk, I can talk, I can All the important things.
This guy Lobrano's gonna do time anyway.
Make the deal.
He asked for a Steyr Aug, said he fired left-handed.
When you sell illicit firearms, do you normally risk dealing with people you've never seen before? This Gaitan, he has a reputation.
They say he's done maybe 50, 60 people.
Do you want to object, Mr.
Manetti? No objection, Your Honor.
He's talking about someone named Gaitan, not my client.
Mr.
Lobrano, we have heard testimony that Manuel Ortega was killed with a.
223 automatic.
What caliber is the Steyr Aug? That's a.
223.
And how many guns have you sold in your lifetime? I would guess 200 or 300.
How many of those were Steyr Augs? Thank you, no further questions.
I begged my son not to kill this man Felix Arias.
We both knew what would happen.
How did you know, Mrs.
Ortega? Objection.
This is all speculation.
She's telling us about her own experience, Counselor.
Overruled.
Mrs.
Ortega? I've known these people my whole life.
I've seen them kill.
Have you ever heard of a man named Javier Laureano Gaitan? I've I've heard of him.
Have you ever heard him called anything else? They call him, they say El Diablo.
The Prince of Darkness.
Felix Arias, the man your son killed, did he ever mention Gaitan? He told Manuel that if he caused any trouble that the Prince would come.
But your son shot Arias.
Manuel was young.
He was foolish.
Your witness.
Mrs.
Ortega, you testified that your son knowingly consorted with members of the Colombian can'tel.
Look at the defendant.
Do you recognize him? I've never seen him before.
But if he was this Prince of Darkness, as you call him, shouldn't you be able to identify him? No one has seen Gaitan.
Mrs.
Ortega, can you testify that this man, the defendant, killed your son? No.
from Colombia.
Next they'll have a doctor testifying that his hand muscles are too weak to fire a gun.
The character witnesses, I promise you, upstanding, elegant, speaking perfect English.
He paid half a million dollars to get out of Colombian jails.
What's 19 witnesses cost? You wanna disallow it? Judge Callahars clerk says we'll need the cancelled checks.
What about the girlfriend? Her attorney says she'll cooperate when it rains mud in July.
Mr.
Gaitan throws mud.
Let's throw cement.
The harboring charge is crap.
She admitted it to a detective.
Plus the "no bail" thing.
Did the Supreme Court do away with civil rights while I was sleeping? She is a flight risk, Sally.
She testifies, five minutes later, she might as well throw herself under a subway car.
The woman wants to survive.
Fine.
We're dropping all charges, she can go home.
Guard? He's in a hurry.
Press conference.
We're announcing a new prosecution witness expected to solidify our case.
What's your friend, Gaitan, gonna think when you get out of jail? This is not you, Ben.
This is definitely me, Sally.
When a cop gets shot building a case, I want a conviction.
Please don't do this to me.
I didn't know what he did.
Not till this time.
We can have a stenographer in five minutes.
We'll depose her here.
You would've held a press conference? Glad I didn't have to decide.
Sally Goldman just called.
Please, don't tell me Miss Alvaro died in her cell.
No, but her confidence did.
She made two calls this afternoon.
Friends, I don't know who yet.
Says she'll deny everything on the stand.
Says we forced her to lie in the deposition.
If that's an accusation, I suggest you make it elsewhere.
I'd be happier, if I didn't have to make it anywhere.
When I cut corners, Ben, I use a scalpel and not a saw.
And if you so much as hint that I suborned perjury, we'll be at the Disciplinary Committee, all right, but you'll be facing the charges.
I'll see you in court.
You know what they say about his clients.
Innocent until proven broke.
Maybe the woman did get cold feet.
And maybe someone put them in an ice bucket.
Sally Goldman says Alvaro's calls to her friends, no question, Gaitan got to her.
Goldman says? That's not proof.
Well, it's too bad we didn't drop charges against her.
She leaves town, unavailable, we could use her deposition.
Now, if we happen to let her out and she left town No.
But does she have to be out of town to be unavailable? What do you wanna do? Have Alvaro declared unavailable as a witness because she was threatened.
Rikers is a 45 minute ride.
That isn't available? And I want her sworn statements recorded as her testimony in the case.
Ben, we have a rule.
It goes back to English common law.
Maybe you've heard of it? The defendant has a right to confront the accuser.
Your Honor, last summer, People v.
Geraci.
The witness was intimidated.
The Court allowed grand jury testimony into the record as trial testimony even though the witness was physically available.
I don't care what that court did.
It's wrong.
You can't have a witness that I can't cross-examine.
Chris, save your theatrics for the courtroom.
Sit down.
In Geraci, Ben, they had a taped phone call.
The witness said, "I will lie on the stand.
" Ms.
Alvaro didn't say that.
Her counsel was convinced that she was intimidated.
Chris, this gives us a parallel with Geraci.
Judge, you can't even consider this.
Of course I can.
That's why they give me the black robe.
The witness was threatened.
The defendant waives his right to cross-examination.
Fine, read her statement into the record and let her testify in rebuttal.
In rebuttal against herself? This is a trial, not a circus.
This Court orders Ms.
Alvaro's sworn statement read into the record.
I will instruct the jury she's unavailable.
You don't like it, Chris, we have a remedy.
It's called an appeal.
Maryann, study the deposition.
You're Sandra Alvaro.
"District Attorney Stone: "'Did he tell you why he needed to stay at your apartment? ' "Alvaro: 'He said he shot two people.
He said he had to ride.
"' Excuse me, not ride, it reads "hide.
" "'He said he had to hide.
' "District Attorney Stone: 'Did he tell you where he was calling from? ' "Alvaro: 'He said the Europa Hotel.
"'He was using the name Paolo Esteban.
' "District Attorney Stone: "'Why did you first deny knowing that "Mr.
Esteban was Mr.
Gaitan? ' "Alvaro: 'I was scared.
'Javier kills people.
I'm afraid he'll kill me.
"' That's all, Your Honor.
Thank you, Miss Thompson.
I instruct the jury to treat this like any other testimony, giving it no more or no less weight than any other witness.
In The People v.
Javier Laureano Gaitan, also known as Paolo Esteban, as to the first count of the indictment, in the matter of Manuel Ortega, on the charge of murder in the second degree, how does the jury find? We find the defendant guilty.
As to the second count of the indictment, in the matter of Natalie Ortega, on the charge of murder in the second degree, how does the jury find? We find the defendant guilty.
Sentencing hearing to be scheduled, but I'd say to the defendant, on the record so far, you're going to prison for a long time, and when you get there you can be Esteban or Gaitan or for all I care you can call yourself Nelson Rockefeller.
Court is adjourned.
If he wants to talk about drug dealers, he can have parole in 25 years.
He talks about dealers, the can'tel will get him in Attica.
Tell me you're not glad to see Gaitan dead.
Frank, I'm an officer of the court.
Even if I were, I couldn't say so.
I read in the paper they would let him go.
He buys his way out in Colombia and he buys his way out here.
He brings a gun to the courthouse.
That's premeditation.
That's murder two.
He was in grief over his son.
Will a jury be weeping over the scum you painted as a monster? I don't think the publicity windmill's blowing in your direction.
His son was killed two years ago.
If that qualifies as extreme emotional disturbance, we just made new law.
Save the cost of a trial, we'll take man one.
Christobal's son, 19.
Police report says Gaitan put three bullets in the back of his head.
Maybe Frank Hoover has a point.
Terrific.
You don't like the system.
Go get a gun.
We can paint the courthouse steps red.
A lot of people would rather give him a medal than a sentence.
Frank Hoover has a case for extreme emotional disturbance.
I'm not hard-hearted, but I don't get this one.
It's premeditated.
It's wrong.
I'm not up on my Catholic theology, but is self-righteousness a mortal or a venial sin? You kill the man who killed your son, to a jury it doesn't matter how premeditated it was.
Let him do 4 to 12.
Okay.
Just as long as you take the press conference.
With the court's permission, the defendant wishes to plead guilty to to the charge of manslaughter in the first degree.
Mr.
Robinette? The People agree, with a sentence of 4 to 12 years as a condition of the plea.
Mr.
Christobal.
Do you understand that you are pleading guilty to manslaughter in the death of Javier Gaitan? Yes, I understand.
Tell the Court the circumstances of the crime.
I have a picture from the newspaper when my son died on the street.
Sometimes at night, I talk to him.
I hope he can hear me from heaven.
Mr.
Christobal, please, I meant for you to tell the Court, how you carried out the crime.
I have a gun.
I loaded it before I went to the court.
I didn't know if I could shoot him, but I wanted to.
What I did, it's wrong.
The plea agreement is so entered.
Your Honor, we ask the Court to release Mr.
Christobal two days before the final sentencing, so he may say goodbye to his family and put his affairs in order.
Mr.
Robinette? Mr.
Christobal confessed to a homicide, Your Honor.
And a terrible crime it is.
But you know what they say, Mr.
Robinette.
Do unto others I'm going to lower the bail to $100,000.
Can your client come up with the bond, Mr.
Hoover? Yes, Your Honor.
He can have his two days.
He shoots someone in cold blood and the court acts as if he's doing us a favor.
It's two days.
Let him sign everything over to his wife and kiss her goodbye.
We have a problem.
The gun dealer, Lobrano, I had a call from his lawyer.
Lobrano says Christobal's grieving daddy routine was an act.
He works for the same organization that employed Mr.
Gaitan.
The hit on Gaitan was to shut him up.
Kim, Cragen, please.
Don, Ben Stone, cover all the airports.
Any flight to Colombia.
Hell, anywhere in South America.
This isn't a freebie.
Until we turn up Christobal, we've nothing to offer.
Hypothetically, when do you find him If the testimony is useful? We can discuss parole recommendation.
L I didn't know until I saw him on TV.
I sold Christobal a couple of pieces.
He works for them, just like Gaitan.
Gaitan killed his son.
Rumors.
The kid was getting chummy with the Feds, it might've been Gaitan, it might not.
Christobal's wife cleared out their bank accounts before the hearing.
They're on a plane 40 minutes after the plea was entered.
The can'tel had to get rid of Gaitan.
They were worried that he'd make a deal.
You sometimes feel that we're running in place? Yes.
Mmm-hmm.
Mmm.
Not an accident? Thanks.
The gun dealer was in the yard at Rikers.
Had his throat cut.
Buenoventura was strangled in the kitchen at Dannemora.
And Manuel Ortega's mother fell out of a window.
What about the little girl? She was picked up at school by her uncle.
She doesn't have an uncle.