Law & Order Special Victims Unit s04e05 Episode Script
Disappearing Acts
In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous.
In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
She's the COO now.
You need to watch your ass.
If Amanda wants to fire me, not much I can do about it.
Fight back, Mark.
She humiliates you in front of everybody, treats you like her personal assistant.
File a complaint with Human Resources.
And I'll still be out of a job.
I'm serious.
Hey, what the hell happened here? You smell that? Yeah.
It's like a urinal.
Is that what I think it is? Oh, my God! It's Amanda.
Who did this to you? Perineal bruising and tearing from rape and sodomy.
Friction burns around the neck, wrist and ankles, and a scalp laceration from being struck with a sharp object.
The wound's deep but not serious.
Any fluids present? No, he wore condoms.
Your lab should find lubricant in the specimen.
She say anything? Not to me.
But maybe the other officers will have her statement now.
It's Exam Room 3.
You have the right to an attorney.
If you cannot afford an attorney Detective Stabler, SVU.
What's going on? FBI.
This is a rape victim in our jurisdiction.
Not our concern.
At the moment, she's under arrest.
Ms.
Curry, do you understand your rights as I've read them to you? Why are you guys doing this to me? I was attacked and raped.
Do you understand your rights? Yes.
Look, we have to get Ms.
Curry's statement.
There's a rapist out there.
We'd like to get a description.
You can do that in federal lockup, but it's gonna take a while to process her.
What are the charges? Securities fraud, violating interstate and international banking laws, money laundering for a criminal enterprise and tax evasion.
Where the hell's our witness? You know how the Feds are.
They just love to flex their muscles.
They usually work with us, so why the stall? Where are they? Lockup Two.
I think we're about to find out.
Assistant US Attorney Claudia Williams.
My apologies for the delay.
Where's Ms.
Curry? Outside.
I wanted to talk to you first.
You cannot interrogate the prisoner about the federal case against her or anything relating to it.
Well, what if her criminal affiliations directly relate to the attack? Well, if Ms.
Curry's business associates were involved, she'd be in the morgue.
Money laundering's a RICO charge.
So she's in bed with organized crime.
We talking LCN or the Russians? Stop fishing, Detective Stabler.
Well, if you'd just share a little bit, I wouldn't have to.
There's too much at stake.
We're not interested in your case.
We're trying to find a rapist, but we can't do that if you obstruct justice.
Well, until you file a 61, I'm not obstructing anything.
And unless I allow you access, you won't be able to do that.
So, what's it gonna be? Oh, I guess we'll just bend over.
I'll be right outside.
I wouldn't have it any other way.
Thanks a lot.
Ms.
Curry, have a seat please.
Where should I start? Well, why don't you start by taking us through your day? Gym, work, lunch, work, meeting, work.
Where do you work out? It's called Workout Studio.
Couple of blocks from the office.
Did you go out for lunch? No, I ate at my desk.
Delivered? My assistant went out and got it.
When were you attacked? Around 11:00.
I was in my office crunching the next quarter projections for an emergency meeting.
Anybody else around? Everyone left hours before.
That's why when I heard the noise, I went looking.
But as soon as I opened up my door, this man rushed me, and after that, it was lights out.
Can you describe him? Not really.
I just got a glimpse.
White, average height.
Any distinguishing marks? Anything you can remember? No.
Did he say anything? Yeah.
That it was payback.
I thought he was going to kill me.
Okay, is it possible that the people you're accused of working for might have been trying to send you a message? Could be.
They're brutal, vicious men.
But they don't make a move without Sergei's say so.
He would've cut my throat That's enough.
Get her out of there.
Good news is we got enough urine to test.
If we're lucky, there'll be some DNA in it.
Perp gave her a golden shower? Rape took place on the table.
Found footprints where he stood over her.
Making the humiliation complete.
Yeah.
The bad news is there's too many prints and fibers.
This kind of building security, maybe our perp actually works here.
Or pretended to.
We found a cleaning crew jumpsuit stuffed under the reception desk.
What company? Atlas.
The great thing about criminals, no matter how smart they think they are, they're not smarter than me.
You found traces of seminal fluid.
Not a drop.
But we did find a few short and curlies that didn't belong to the victim.
Okay, so we got DNA.
Matching two other rape cases, both in Brooklyn.
Also, your perp suffers from diabetes.
How do you know that? We found glucose but no ketones in the urine.
I'd say he's a middle-aged onset diabetic who's not taking his meds or doesn't know that he's sick.
Based on what? The level of sugar's pretty high, and juvenile diabetics learn early on that if they forget an insulin injection, it can prove fatal.
Our serial rapist started with two Brooklyn targets.
The first victim, Petra Ivankov, was raped six months ago.
Worked as a stripper at the Volga Club, a known front for the Russian mob.
Mob boss Sergei Perlman's girlfriend.
She got smoked after talking to Brooklyn SVU about her rape.
They were probably scared she was gonna slip pillow talk.
Number two is Perlman's baby sister, Tatiana.
She died of uterine cancer three months ago.
Blitz attacked after a chemo treatment.
Took a pretty bad beating.
Our guy is definitely losing control and escalating.
Our victim, Amanda Curry, raped, beaten and sodomized.
What did Brooklyn say about the Russian connection between their two victims? I mean, why choose these women if not trying to get at Perlman somehow? Did they even talk to this guy? Organized Crime Bureau shut them down.
Wouldn't let them near him.
Completely stalled their investigation.
Sergei's a major player.
If we're looking for someone with a grudge, it's gonna be a long list.
What about physical evidence other than the DNA? The lab's still working on print elimination.
But they found a discarded cleaning crew jumpsuit from Atlas Janitorial.
The supervisor mentioned a car blocking the service entrance, so we checked the outside cameras.
The way they were positioned, you can't see much.
All we saw was a late model Ford Focus, Jersey tags.
We can only make out "JLQ.
" What about cameras inside? Well, they're in the stairwells and they're outside, so female employees feel safe working late.
I say we check out the Russian angle.
Knock on a few doors in Brighton Beach, see what shakes loose.
Well, the Feds will be all over us before we ask the first question.
Well, we do have a job to do.
Before we declare war, there is another connection.
Both our victim and the stripper belonged to the same gym.
Workout Studio was listed in her file.
What about Perlman's sister? Well, nothing was in her file.
Brooklyn probably didn't ask because she was dying of cancer.
Okay, here it is.
All three women had recent memberships.
We had sent out a promotional mailer to businesses and local residents.
What's all this about? An assault.
You're kidding.
When did they start their memberships? Within the last year-and-a-half.
They know each other? They work out together? I never saw them with each other.
We're gonna need a list of all your members and all your male employees.
We have about and just 10 on full-time staff.
Who owns the club? My father.
You have any employees Just my dad.
Everyone else is under 30.
What capacity does he work in? I run the place.
Dad just looks over the books.
Makes sure we have what we need.
How often does he come in here? Wait a second.
Dad doesn't interact with our clients.
He wouldn't even know them.
What kind of car does he drive? A Focus.
Plate's a match.
Still not enough for a warrant.
I'm Peter Sipes.
My son called.
He tells me you have questions.
Mr.
Sipes, if it's all right with you, we'd like to do this down at our precinct.
Am I under arrest? Not yet.
I can assure you I didn't assault anyone.
Then you got nothing to worry about.
I don't see why you had to drag me down here for this.
I've done nothing wrong.
Gregory.
It's Mike from LA.
I thought you were dead.
You're drunk.
I don't know you.
I swear, you got a twin out there, you know that? Take it easy.
Can I get you something to drink? Soda, if you have it.
I thought you diabetics had to control your sugar intake.
Maybe you'd like some water? I don't know what you're talking about.
Where were you the night before last? At my job.
I'm the shift supervisor at a packaging plant in East Orange.
So you own a gym and you work? Well, it's not a chain like Bally's, Detective.
What shift do you work? I work from 10:00 p.
m.
To 6:00 a.
m.
You drive to work? What's this really about? Rape, Mr.
Sipes.
I did not rape anybody.
Then you'll be willing to let us take a mouth swab.
Make this whole thing go away.
You want my DNA, you're gonna have to get a warrant.
We don't have enough for a judge, but I don't want to cut this guy loose.
Let's do a voice lineup.
I'll keep the suspect on ice until then.
Well, we know how well those hold up in court.
Well, it doesn't matter.
Amanda Curry picks this guy's voice out of the six, we got enough for a warrant.
The AUSA is not gonna let us just take her prisoner for a ride.
I'll have Cabot pave the way.
Sorry.
Amanda Curry's not here.
She get transferred to another facility? Nope.
Does it say where she is? I don't even know who she is.
There is no record of an Amanda Curry in the system.
But that's impossible.
We interviewed her in that cell yesterday.
I don't know who the hell you talked to, but no one was processed through here by that name.
She's gone.
Metropolitan Correctional claims they never even heard of her.
I got a call from the US Attorney's office with assurances.
As soon as we make an arrest, they will produce Amanda Curry for trial.
How are we supposed to do that without the cooperation of our complaining witness? We ran the rape suspect's prints off the coffee mug.
We got zip.
No arrests, no record.
So we checked the property rolls, the tax rolls, city permits.
Seems that Peter and his son have consecutive Social Security numbers.
How's that possible? A few years back, a couple got pinched in Delaware for running a stock scam.
The entire family had consecutive numbers.
They'd been relocated in the Witness Protection Program.
It's gotta be WITSEC.
That's run by US Marshals, which would explain the US Attorney's interest in this case.
There was a drunk cuffed out in the corridor.
He recognized our suspect.
He called him Gregory.
And then he just waves it off like it was an honest mistake.
We should talk to him.
Find out who Peter really is.
We do that, we'll blow a protected witness's cover.
All right, you and Munch sit this drunk down, and after that, put him in our holding pen for the duration.
Who we looking for? I'll go ask the desk sergeant.
You know, if our rapist is a protected witness how are we gonna get around the Feds? We won't have to.
You commit a crime in the program, you go to prison.
Sammy the Bull is serving We'll check Peter's alibi, see if he was working his shift, but he's still testifying, they're not gonna hand him over.
Michael Kerring, get up.
You got company.
Whatever it is, I didn't do it.
You have an interesting résumé, Michael.
Shoplifting, a few B and E's and purse snatching.
I'm not very good at it or I wouldn't keep getting pinched.
So I know I can't help you.
What do you guys do here, anyway? We catch rapists, pedophiles and murderers.
Damn.
Well, in that case, I can honestly say that whatever it is, I didn't do it.
I am no short eyes.
I have never touched a woman that I didn't have to pay for.
Slow your roll, moron.
We're just looking for some background.
We brought a guy in on a rape beef, and we're told you were friends.
Turns out he's got a couple of aliases we want to check.
I don't know anybody like that.
You saw him right out there in the hallway.
You called him Gregory.
I was drunk.
It couldn't have been him.
He's been dead for years.
Who's dead? Gregory.
Rossovitch.
He used to run with some serious hitters, in way over his head.
Who did he run with? Russians in West Hollywood.
Pulling gas tax, Medicaid fraud, shipping bootleg vodka, kidnapping, the whole nine.
If he was that big time, how'd you know him? I used to be a gas jockey.
They put me in charge of pumping hijacked diesel.
How'd he die? Car bomb.
Was that really him? Don't tell me.
I don't want to know.
What's the problem? They put a heavy contract out on Gregory.
You open this up, you're asking for trouble.
Why'd they want him dead? I heard he was spilling his guts to the Feds.
Bodies were dropping all over the place.
Friends, business associates.
They even killed his parents.
That's when I moved East.
Guess I didn't go far enough.
Looks like we're too late.
Hi.
Lynn Moody.
You folks interested in seeing the house? Actually we're interested in the whereabouts of the owner.
Oh.
That I can't tell you.
I only got the listing last night.
Who hired you? Claudia Williams.
When I got here, there was a moving crew in overdrive.
Cleaned the entire house out in under four hours.
I've never seen anything like it.
I don't suppose I can convince you to let me do the talking? What's there to talk about? Either the AUSA hands over our suspect or she goes to jail for obstruction.
We want her cooperation.
Peter wasn't at work the night of the rape.
We've got a warrant for his blood.
What else do we need? You can go in now.
Thank you for taking the time to see us, Ms.
Williams.
Claudia.
How can I help you? Tell us the whereabouts of Peter Sipes, we'll get out of your hair.
No.
What do you mean, no? You're harboring a rapist, Counselor, and using federal tax dollars to do it.
Was there a trial that I don't know about, Detective Stabler? We have a warrant for Peter Sipes' blood, duly signed by a superior court judge.
I'll have it drawn and delivered to your lab.
Is that amenable? The evidentiary chain has to be followed.
We draw the blood, not you.
Now we're splitting hairs.
Is Gregory Rossovitch, aka Peter Sipes, that important to your case that you're willing to let him skate on three class B felonies? The DOJ does not condone criminal behavior.
Okay.
Then why'd you move him? Because he told us he was recognized by someone in your precinct.
Most of what we now know about the mob comes from Peter's testimony, and he is an invaluable asset, and we will protect him at all costs.
At the expense of three women who were raped and brutalized by the man that you are now shielding from justice.
If he did do that, he will go to prison, but I think you have the wrong man.
Where's Amanda Curry? Unavailable to you.
How is she connected to Peter Sipes? All of the victims lead back to the Russian mob.
Do you really think that's a coincidence? What is Peter's motive? Why would he rape these women? You can tell by the extent of the damage that he's escalating.
Does somebody have to die for you to care? I know what you're up against.
But if, for one second, I thought that my witness was responsible, I'd turn him over.
Why are you protecting this guy? Two hundred and fifty-seven murders, all ordered by Sergei Perlman.
Policemen, businessmen, because they wouldn't pay extortion.
Even children, butchered for fear they might grow up and seek revenge.
We've solved almost half, and we've connected California to New York through Peter Sipes.
Does that answer your question? Can she really stop us? No, but she can slow us down.
Hinder our investigation.
You know, I don't care who that woman works for.
We can't let her do that.
Claudia Williams is doing her job.
She has an obligation to protect her witnesses.
We have an obligation to protect innocent women.
So whose side of the fence you gonna sit on? You seem awfully sure Peter Sipes is guilty.
What are we supposed to think? It can't be easy losing your identity, starting over.
These people cost him his past, they're threatening his survival.
I'm just not so sure he would jeopardize his last line of defense against the very people who want him dead.
What you're saying is then that organized crime takes precedence over rape.
Arguments can be made for both.
Alex, we don't have that luxury.
We're working with a serial rapist here.
And the next woman, I'm telling you, he's gonna kill her.
I will file a habeas in the morning.
If Claudia Williams cannot produce the body, the judge is going to find her in contempt.
The People request habeas corpus, Your Honor.
A warrant was issued for a blood sample for a rape suspect who is a federally protected witness.
He has been made unavailable by the United States Attorney's office.
I made an offer to have the blood drawn by the FBI lab and delivered to the police.
The case isn't federal.
It falls under the jurisdiction of the city and county of New York.
Special circumstances.
Our witness was recognized.
Objection.
Peter Sipes is a suspect in three brutal rapes.
He is not a witness.
Nevertheless, he was spotted at a local precinct by a former acquaintance and had to be moved immediately.
How can we settle this amicably? The AUSA is in contempt of state law, Your Honor.
Either she produces the suspect or she should sit in a cell until she does.
She's made an excellent point.
Why shouldn't I give her what she wants, Claudia? You know what I'm up against.
Perlman has eyes everywhere.
I have made every effort to cooperate.
I mean, what difference does it make who takes the blood? Chain of evidence.
How can we be sure it's the suspect's unless we actually draw it? Objection.
I'm offended by the implication.
Who else would the blood come from? Mistakes are made all the time.
If that's true, then I'm more inclined to trust a federal lab facility with greater resources than your own.
Four vials of O negative belonging to Peter Sipes, as promised.
Yeah, and how can we be sure this isn't your blood? Signed affidavits by the FBI lab technicians stating location, time and subject.
Or will you argue conspiracy now? No, I'm hoping you just bend the law and don't actually break it.
I had the blood tested.
I wanted to make sure that my trust was not misplaced.
And what did you find? I included the lab report with the affidavits.
I figured you'd want to test it yourself.
Don't try to tell us the DNA doesn't match.
Fine, but Peter Sipes is cleared, and you still have a rapist out there.
Does our lab report match the FBI results? Yes, it does.
Peter Sipes is innocent.
But his Y-chromosome matches the DNA in the rape kit.
Which means one thing.
His son, Gavin Sipes, is our rapist.
Well, this time the AUSA should turn him over without a fight.
I don't think she'd do anything without one.
Gavin Sipes is a protected witness by default because of his father's testimony.
Just go reason with Ms.
Williams and close this file.
And if that doesn't work? Arrest her.
What do you want now? Your office said you'd be here.
What happened? Well, as far as I can tell, a recent immigrant refused to pay her protection fee.
There are two bodies.
Innocent bystander.
You can see now what I'm up against.
So what do you need? Gavin Sipes.
You sure? DNA doesn't lie.
Gavin a diabetic? Yes.
Hand him over.
Gavin left our program and our protection.
I don't have him.
Since when? Since we moved his father and he refused to go.
Said he had enough running to last him for a lifetime.
Didn't you find that strange? No.
Protectees exit the program all the time.
You know, we can't force them to join, we can't stop them if they want to leave.
Plus, he's an adult now.
Children leave when they grow up.
So at least let us talk to Peter.
He'll know where his son is.
It wouldn't do any good.
They've severed all contact.
From now on, all phone calls and visits are coordinated and monitored by the Marshal's Service.
Claudia, Gavin's not going to stop, and I hope you're not hiding him for Daddy's sake.
Now, why would I do that? To keep your witness happy and talking.
Look for bad habits.
Gavin has a gambling problem.
But you didn't hear that from me.
Gavin has racked up a lot of debt.
$10,000, $20,000 at a time.
So far, Peter has paid about $100,000 in debts to Atlantic City.
How can he afford that? Well, he can't.
They're behind in the gym lease and the rentals of the equipment.
Check this out.
New Jersey house has three mortgages on it.
Yeah.
$600 and $700 charges on credit cards.
All at the same restaurant? You're sure about that? Okay, thanks.
Vice says the place is a known front for an underground gambling club downtown.
People can pay off their debts by charging it to credit cards for wine and filet mignon dinners.
Russian restaurant? No, it's Italian.
Now, the LUDs from Jersey, look at that, a lot of calls from downtown.
The last payment was made a while ago.
Maybe they're not too happy about that.
NYPD, Benson, Stabler.
Move aside.
Detectives, I'm Joe Tucci.
Tell me how I can help you.
Close down.
This is an illegal club.
You're not from Vice.
Vice? I don't need to be from Vice to ruin your day.
Causing you trouble sounds like fun to me.
I'm gonna make the call, get the ball rolling.
Now, what can I do to make this right? Please.
Gavin Sipes.
He likes poker.
He likes it a lot.
But he's not very good at it.
You found a lot of money coming your way.
Must've made you mad when it stopped.
Sometimes people need convincing.
Yeah? So what'd you do? You called Peter up? Threatened his son's life? You watch too many movies.
Dead men don't pay up.
All right, come on, stop screwing around.
Come on, tell me what you need.
When's the next payment, who's making it? Peter called.
He's worried about his kid.
He's due here later to talk over terms.
Well, what's he so worried about if you're such a nice guy? I'm a businessman.
Peter understands that.
His kid seems like the type to try to skip.
I had to make it clear to the old man, his boy walks into any gambling joint anywhere in this country, I'll know.
It won't be pleasant.
How much does he owe? and still counting.
We're just gonna stick around and wait till Dad shows up, if you don't mind.
My son didn't do this.
You knew he was guilty after we talked to you.
He's the diabetic.
We need to know where he is right now.
This is all my fault.
He stays out there, the next woman could die.
I wish I knew where he was.
Attacking these women, gambling debts.
He's in so deep, I don't know how to fix it.
How old was he when you went into the program? Eleven.
We were moved five times in 10 years.
Every time, he had to learn a new name.
New lies for his past, fit into a new school.
He missed so much that finally he just quit trying.
How can a little boy grow up to be a man when he has no idea who he really is? What happened to his mother? Anna? Died.
That was before we came into the program.
In fact, she was the reason why I approached the Feds.
The Russians murdered her? Punishment for skimming.
I used to be a chemist.
I was approached by the Mikaelian Organizatsya for a smuggling scam.
They moved millions of gallons of grain alcohol to Europe disguised as mouthwash.
I taught them how to extract the blue dye.
It was very successful.
And then it was gas tax, Medicaid fraud and extortion.
But you're the one who got greedy, so why kill your wife instead of you? Anna handled the money.
When she was caught stealing from the family, they killed her for it.
They were willing to do that to their own flesh and blood, what were they going to do to me and my son? So that's how you got involved.
You married into it.
We met during the vodka scam.
After we married, I I rose very quickly to vory v zakonye.
What does that mean? I'm what's known as a thief-in-law.
Then there's about 500 eagles.
The rest are lieutenants, counselors.
All in all, there's about mostly assimilated and accent free.
Not as organized as the Italians, but getting there.
So why did Gavin target those women? How did he even know who they were? I told him everything about the Russians here, in Florida and in California.
I kept a record of everybody I ever did business with.
Names, people I met.
He deserved to know the truth about what his mother and I did, what he'd sacrificed his life for.
Peter, the mob's gonna wise up pretty soon, if they haven't already.
He's targeting their women.
Now, what do you think they're gonna do to him? They're not gonna do anything.
He's gonna hide.
I cut him off.
I'm broke.
I can't pay his bills anymore.
Which means he's a dead man.
He's got an addiction.
He can't lay low for long.
If you love him, turn him in.
The Marshals are bringing him to me today.
Supervised visit, before they move me one more time.
All I ask is that you don't hurt my son.
Here's the warrant.
I've notified the locals in Connecticut, you'll be in their jurisdiction.
Get any calls from the US Attorney's office? No, nothing.
So much for cooperation.
We'll be able to take custody as soon as the US Marshals pull up with our rapist.
All right, just keep it clean.
I don't want some fight with the Feds over injuries.
We're gonna leave.
We'll get a two-hour jump.
I'm here till it's done.
Car.
That's him.
Let's go.
Dad! Oh, my God.
Dad! No! Dad! Drop it! Do it now! NYPD.
Drop the gun! Drop it! I said drop it.
Hold up.
We're cops.
I don't give a damn.
Drop it or I'll drop you.
Both of you, on the ground.
Move! You, too.
On the ground.
Get their guns and cuff them.
Oh, God.
I already told you what happened.
Tell it to me again.
How'd you get the address? Peter Sipes gave it to me.
Then it's convenient for you he's dead since we can't corroborate your story.
Yeah, that's one way of looking at it.
No, that's how it is.
Well, this is crazy, and I'm due a phone call.
Who else did you talk to? No one.
Who else besides the gambling club owner, Joe Tucci? I already answered the question.
Did you interrogate a Michael Kerring? We did.
Were you aware that he was a criminal associate from California who knew Sipes' identity? Yes.
And yet you still pursued him, even though you knew the deceased to be a federally protected witness and that you were endangering his life.
Is that correct, Detective? We were pursuing a rape suspect, Gavin Sipes.
His father gave us the address.
We were there to do our job.
And yet two men are dead.
One a Deputy US Marshal with a wife and three children.
How much do you make a year? It depends on overtime, but why don't we say $68,940.
Must be hard to make ends meet with a family of six.
I'm a cop.
And the NYPD has a history of being squeaky clean.
I want my phone call.
We can hold you for up to 72 hours without giving you one.
Fallout from 9l11.
Who else did you talk to? I'm done talking.
Charge me or let me go.
Have a seat.
You know we had nothing to do with the hit.
I'm not confessing, so why don't you just let me go? You think I don't use these tactics myself? I can make you sit down, Detective Stabler.
Up to you.
You are officially under investigation by the FBI.
Your police jackets and your financial records have been subpoenaed.
New York Police Department has been duly notified.
Internal Affairs is running a concurrent investigation into the matter.
This is a witch hunt and you know it.
You lost a witness so you need someone to blame.
Two men are dead.
I told you to back off.
You didn't.
You pay.
You can't connect us to these murders.
We had nothing to do with it.
You could've sold the information, or your bush league tactics could have led the killers there.
Either way, you're culpable.
Yeah? How? Michael Kerring.
He ID'd Peter Sipes.
He's in lockup in our squad room.
Not anymore.
They took him away yesterday for his arraignment.
He is now serving 30 days in Rikers for shoplifting, where he has access to phone privileges and the general population.
If Michael Kerring ratted out Sipes, we're not responsible.
I disagree.
Now if you don't mind, I'm busy.
Yeah, we're not done yet.
You arrest Gavin Sipes? You read him his rights? No.
Then bring him on in here.
Now.
I can't.
I sent him to your precinct hours ago.
Gavin Sipes, he processed? Three counts rape in the first degree.
Just waiting on transport to the Tombs.
How you holding up? Denied my civil liberties, treated like some skell, suspected of conspiracy to commit murder.
But, you know, I think I've hit bottom.
IAB was here digging for dirt.
I think I spoke too soon.
How bad is it? US Attorneys get a lot of leeway to make their cases.
The burden of proof rests mostly on the defendants.
But we did nothing wrong.
As law enforcement officials, you were well aware of the risks and you disregarded them for your own benefit.
Claudia could argue that sensitive information was passed on to the criminal element.
Why would we do that? What's our motive? They don't need to prove motive.
In your zeal to show up federal officers, a witness and a US Marshal are dead.
That's all a jury needs to hear.
If the Feds can't make a criminal case, you're still gonna have to face the brass.
And they could boot you.
I'm not just handing over my tin without a fight.
I don't expect you to.
We gotta find out who killed Peter Sipes to clear our name.
Munch, what do we have on your witness, Michael Kerring? Did he talk to anybody at Rikers? He made some calls.
To who? One to Brighton Beach.
Go sit him down.
Shake him up if you have to.
Don't sweat it.
We got your back.
Who else do we think could have pulled this off? That guy at the club had a lot of muscle.
And access to professional hitters.
I didn't do anything wrong.
Phone call went to a woman named Beana Wolfman in Brighton Beach.
Yeah.
She's my girlfriend.
I begged her to get me out of here.
She refused.
She said she was tired of wasting her money on me.
Smart girl.
So what's the problem? You talk to her and she'll tell you.
We already did.
Then why the third degree? Ms.
Wolfman works in a restaurant that's owned by the mob.
Turns out she has to because she's here illegally.
What better way to get her out from under than to pass on some valuable information? You don't know what you're talking about.
The Organizatsya does not work that way.
Then explain it to us.
They don't leave loose ends.
If I had talked, someone in here would've killed me already.
Hey, step back.
You wanted me to set you up with some chips, you just had to ask.
You're a generous guy there, Joe.
What gives? Send some of your boys to do a little house cleaning? Like what? Like murder.
Peter Sipes was killed yesterday.
It wasn't me.
I think it was.
You had about 400,000 reasons to kill him.
You don't know what you're talking about.
The account's been closed.
Oh, just like that, it's closed? Yeah, the debt was paid in full not an hour after you left.
By who? Gavin Sipes.
In cash.
You wanna get off me now? How's your glucose level? You need some insulin? I got time.
What's your real name? Nikolai.
Nikolai.
It fits you.
Names are important.
I've had several.
I was Joshua for a while.
David, Daniel.
I was even a Thomas for a whole nine days.
Why such a short time with Thomas? I screwed up.
I forgot our cover story.
So for once, I just told the truth.
How old were you when that happened? Thirteen.
Everyone was upset.
My dad, the Marshals, the attorneys.
They told me it cost a fortune to move us.
If I kept running my mouth, it would get us killed.
That's a hell of a lot of guilt for a kid.
Childhood's the time to make mistakes.
Not in the program.
When we first went in, Dad would sit against the window with a gun.
He never slept.
He'd have panic attacks, so we didn't go out.
I used to ask him why, why we lived like that, and all he'd say was "someday.
" When did he finally come clean? When I got my GED.
We moved around so much, I couldn't even get a lousy high school diploma.
I had to take a test with a bunch of losers, pretending that it was gonna change our lives.
Well, maybe he wanted you to be proud of him for doing the right thing, to let you know that your sacrifice meant something.
What he wanted was for me to make him feel better about screwing me out of a future.
Is that when you decided to get even? Get even for what? For getting screwed by your parents.
Especially your mother.
You can't hold a grudge against the dead.
Oh, sure you can.
She died on you before you could vent your anger.
Your mother betrayed you.
Both your parents betrayed you.
No.
No? So why are you raping innocent women in some local mob boss's life? Innocent? Yeah.
Petra was a stripper, living off the proceeds of Sergei's victims.
His sister, Tatiana, decided where the illegals would work off their debts.
And Amanda was washing off the blood from their money.
Those bitches lost their innocence way before I was even born.
Just too easy, though, huh? Raping those women couldn't even the score.
Nothing could make up for those lost years, could it? Is that why your father had to die? I don't know what you're talking about.
Sure, you do.
What better way to get back at your old man than to turn him over to the very people that he's testifying against? That's not how it happened.
No? Then why call a butcher shop in Brighton Beach? Why call the house in Connecticut where your father is staying, if not to make sure that he was home? I didn't have the money, and he wouldn't give me any more.
What was I supposed to do? They were gonna kill me.
Yeah, and now we will.
Murder of a law enforcement officer is an automatic needle.
I didn't think that they were gonna kill him.
Sergei said he just wanted to talk to Dad.
You talked to Sergei Perlman yourself? I met with his lieutenant.
I was there when he called him, and I spoke to Sergei on the phone.
That's them.
Claudia's not here.
Where the hell are they? We gotta take them.
Sergei Perlman.
Are you Sergei Perlman? Yes.
You're under arrest.
Step back, please.
You're under arrest for the murders of Peter Sipes and Deputy US Marshal Raymond Lee.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
You have the right to an attorney.
If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you.
Do you understand these rights? Stabler.
Heads up.
Watch your back, watch your back.
You arrest Sergei Perlman? He's in Central Booking now.
We're gonna have to vacate the charges.
We're gonna have to let him walk.
Yeah.
What happened? Shooter entered the courtyard masking as a guard.
Opened fire with an automatic weapon.
Russian? No ID, but I'd bet my life on it.
Sergei had to buy the information on Gavin's transfer in order to pull this off.
He had to get it from someone inside.
Probably.
What's your next move? That's just it, Detective.
I don't have one.
Claudia.
If you need anything
In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
She's the COO now.
You need to watch your ass.
If Amanda wants to fire me, not much I can do about it.
Fight back, Mark.
She humiliates you in front of everybody, treats you like her personal assistant.
File a complaint with Human Resources.
And I'll still be out of a job.
I'm serious.
Hey, what the hell happened here? You smell that? Yeah.
It's like a urinal.
Is that what I think it is? Oh, my God! It's Amanda.
Who did this to you? Perineal bruising and tearing from rape and sodomy.
Friction burns around the neck, wrist and ankles, and a scalp laceration from being struck with a sharp object.
The wound's deep but not serious.
Any fluids present? No, he wore condoms.
Your lab should find lubricant in the specimen.
She say anything? Not to me.
But maybe the other officers will have her statement now.
It's Exam Room 3.
You have the right to an attorney.
If you cannot afford an attorney Detective Stabler, SVU.
What's going on? FBI.
This is a rape victim in our jurisdiction.
Not our concern.
At the moment, she's under arrest.
Ms.
Curry, do you understand your rights as I've read them to you? Why are you guys doing this to me? I was attacked and raped.
Do you understand your rights? Yes.
Look, we have to get Ms.
Curry's statement.
There's a rapist out there.
We'd like to get a description.
You can do that in federal lockup, but it's gonna take a while to process her.
What are the charges? Securities fraud, violating interstate and international banking laws, money laundering for a criminal enterprise and tax evasion.
Where the hell's our witness? You know how the Feds are.
They just love to flex their muscles.
They usually work with us, so why the stall? Where are they? Lockup Two.
I think we're about to find out.
Assistant US Attorney Claudia Williams.
My apologies for the delay.
Where's Ms.
Curry? Outside.
I wanted to talk to you first.
You cannot interrogate the prisoner about the federal case against her or anything relating to it.
Well, what if her criminal affiliations directly relate to the attack? Well, if Ms.
Curry's business associates were involved, she'd be in the morgue.
Money laundering's a RICO charge.
So she's in bed with organized crime.
We talking LCN or the Russians? Stop fishing, Detective Stabler.
Well, if you'd just share a little bit, I wouldn't have to.
There's too much at stake.
We're not interested in your case.
We're trying to find a rapist, but we can't do that if you obstruct justice.
Well, until you file a 61, I'm not obstructing anything.
And unless I allow you access, you won't be able to do that.
So, what's it gonna be? Oh, I guess we'll just bend over.
I'll be right outside.
I wouldn't have it any other way.
Thanks a lot.
Ms.
Curry, have a seat please.
Where should I start? Well, why don't you start by taking us through your day? Gym, work, lunch, work, meeting, work.
Where do you work out? It's called Workout Studio.
Couple of blocks from the office.
Did you go out for lunch? No, I ate at my desk.
Delivered? My assistant went out and got it.
When were you attacked? Around 11:00.
I was in my office crunching the next quarter projections for an emergency meeting.
Anybody else around? Everyone left hours before.
That's why when I heard the noise, I went looking.
But as soon as I opened up my door, this man rushed me, and after that, it was lights out.
Can you describe him? Not really.
I just got a glimpse.
White, average height.
Any distinguishing marks? Anything you can remember? No.
Did he say anything? Yeah.
That it was payback.
I thought he was going to kill me.
Okay, is it possible that the people you're accused of working for might have been trying to send you a message? Could be.
They're brutal, vicious men.
But they don't make a move without Sergei's say so.
He would've cut my throat That's enough.
Get her out of there.
Good news is we got enough urine to test.
If we're lucky, there'll be some DNA in it.
Perp gave her a golden shower? Rape took place on the table.
Found footprints where he stood over her.
Making the humiliation complete.
Yeah.
The bad news is there's too many prints and fibers.
This kind of building security, maybe our perp actually works here.
Or pretended to.
We found a cleaning crew jumpsuit stuffed under the reception desk.
What company? Atlas.
The great thing about criminals, no matter how smart they think they are, they're not smarter than me.
You found traces of seminal fluid.
Not a drop.
But we did find a few short and curlies that didn't belong to the victim.
Okay, so we got DNA.
Matching two other rape cases, both in Brooklyn.
Also, your perp suffers from diabetes.
How do you know that? We found glucose but no ketones in the urine.
I'd say he's a middle-aged onset diabetic who's not taking his meds or doesn't know that he's sick.
Based on what? The level of sugar's pretty high, and juvenile diabetics learn early on that if they forget an insulin injection, it can prove fatal.
Our serial rapist started with two Brooklyn targets.
The first victim, Petra Ivankov, was raped six months ago.
Worked as a stripper at the Volga Club, a known front for the Russian mob.
Mob boss Sergei Perlman's girlfriend.
She got smoked after talking to Brooklyn SVU about her rape.
They were probably scared she was gonna slip pillow talk.
Number two is Perlman's baby sister, Tatiana.
She died of uterine cancer three months ago.
Blitz attacked after a chemo treatment.
Took a pretty bad beating.
Our guy is definitely losing control and escalating.
Our victim, Amanda Curry, raped, beaten and sodomized.
What did Brooklyn say about the Russian connection between their two victims? I mean, why choose these women if not trying to get at Perlman somehow? Did they even talk to this guy? Organized Crime Bureau shut them down.
Wouldn't let them near him.
Completely stalled their investigation.
Sergei's a major player.
If we're looking for someone with a grudge, it's gonna be a long list.
What about physical evidence other than the DNA? The lab's still working on print elimination.
But they found a discarded cleaning crew jumpsuit from Atlas Janitorial.
The supervisor mentioned a car blocking the service entrance, so we checked the outside cameras.
The way they were positioned, you can't see much.
All we saw was a late model Ford Focus, Jersey tags.
We can only make out "JLQ.
" What about cameras inside? Well, they're in the stairwells and they're outside, so female employees feel safe working late.
I say we check out the Russian angle.
Knock on a few doors in Brighton Beach, see what shakes loose.
Well, the Feds will be all over us before we ask the first question.
Well, we do have a job to do.
Before we declare war, there is another connection.
Both our victim and the stripper belonged to the same gym.
Workout Studio was listed in her file.
What about Perlman's sister? Well, nothing was in her file.
Brooklyn probably didn't ask because she was dying of cancer.
Okay, here it is.
All three women had recent memberships.
We had sent out a promotional mailer to businesses and local residents.
What's all this about? An assault.
You're kidding.
When did they start their memberships? Within the last year-and-a-half.
They know each other? They work out together? I never saw them with each other.
We're gonna need a list of all your members and all your male employees.
We have about and just 10 on full-time staff.
Who owns the club? My father.
You have any employees Just my dad.
Everyone else is under 30.
What capacity does he work in? I run the place.
Dad just looks over the books.
Makes sure we have what we need.
How often does he come in here? Wait a second.
Dad doesn't interact with our clients.
He wouldn't even know them.
What kind of car does he drive? A Focus.
Plate's a match.
Still not enough for a warrant.
I'm Peter Sipes.
My son called.
He tells me you have questions.
Mr.
Sipes, if it's all right with you, we'd like to do this down at our precinct.
Am I under arrest? Not yet.
I can assure you I didn't assault anyone.
Then you got nothing to worry about.
I don't see why you had to drag me down here for this.
I've done nothing wrong.
Gregory.
It's Mike from LA.
I thought you were dead.
You're drunk.
I don't know you.
I swear, you got a twin out there, you know that? Take it easy.
Can I get you something to drink? Soda, if you have it.
I thought you diabetics had to control your sugar intake.
Maybe you'd like some water? I don't know what you're talking about.
Where were you the night before last? At my job.
I'm the shift supervisor at a packaging plant in East Orange.
So you own a gym and you work? Well, it's not a chain like Bally's, Detective.
What shift do you work? I work from 10:00 p.
m.
To 6:00 a.
m.
You drive to work? What's this really about? Rape, Mr.
Sipes.
I did not rape anybody.
Then you'll be willing to let us take a mouth swab.
Make this whole thing go away.
You want my DNA, you're gonna have to get a warrant.
We don't have enough for a judge, but I don't want to cut this guy loose.
Let's do a voice lineup.
I'll keep the suspect on ice until then.
Well, we know how well those hold up in court.
Well, it doesn't matter.
Amanda Curry picks this guy's voice out of the six, we got enough for a warrant.
The AUSA is not gonna let us just take her prisoner for a ride.
I'll have Cabot pave the way.
Sorry.
Amanda Curry's not here.
She get transferred to another facility? Nope.
Does it say where she is? I don't even know who she is.
There is no record of an Amanda Curry in the system.
But that's impossible.
We interviewed her in that cell yesterday.
I don't know who the hell you talked to, but no one was processed through here by that name.
She's gone.
Metropolitan Correctional claims they never even heard of her.
I got a call from the US Attorney's office with assurances.
As soon as we make an arrest, they will produce Amanda Curry for trial.
How are we supposed to do that without the cooperation of our complaining witness? We ran the rape suspect's prints off the coffee mug.
We got zip.
No arrests, no record.
So we checked the property rolls, the tax rolls, city permits.
Seems that Peter and his son have consecutive Social Security numbers.
How's that possible? A few years back, a couple got pinched in Delaware for running a stock scam.
The entire family had consecutive numbers.
They'd been relocated in the Witness Protection Program.
It's gotta be WITSEC.
That's run by US Marshals, which would explain the US Attorney's interest in this case.
There was a drunk cuffed out in the corridor.
He recognized our suspect.
He called him Gregory.
And then he just waves it off like it was an honest mistake.
We should talk to him.
Find out who Peter really is.
We do that, we'll blow a protected witness's cover.
All right, you and Munch sit this drunk down, and after that, put him in our holding pen for the duration.
Who we looking for? I'll go ask the desk sergeant.
You know, if our rapist is a protected witness how are we gonna get around the Feds? We won't have to.
You commit a crime in the program, you go to prison.
Sammy the Bull is serving We'll check Peter's alibi, see if he was working his shift, but he's still testifying, they're not gonna hand him over.
Michael Kerring, get up.
You got company.
Whatever it is, I didn't do it.
You have an interesting résumé, Michael.
Shoplifting, a few B and E's and purse snatching.
I'm not very good at it or I wouldn't keep getting pinched.
So I know I can't help you.
What do you guys do here, anyway? We catch rapists, pedophiles and murderers.
Damn.
Well, in that case, I can honestly say that whatever it is, I didn't do it.
I am no short eyes.
I have never touched a woman that I didn't have to pay for.
Slow your roll, moron.
We're just looking for some background.
We brought a guy in on a rape beef, and we're told you were friends.
Turns out he's got a couple of aliases we want to check.
I don't know anybody like that.
You saw him right out there in the hallway.
You called him Gregory.
I was drunk.
It couldn't have been him.
He's been dead for years.
Who's dead? Gregory.
Rossovitch.
He used to run with some serious hitters, in way over his head.
Who did he run with? Russians in West Hollywood.
Pulling gas tax, Medicaid fraud, shipping bootleg vodka, kidnapping, the whole nine.
If he was that big time, how'd you know him? I used to be a gas jockey.
They put me in charge of pumping hijacked diesel.
How'd he die? Car bomb.
Was that really him? Don't tell me.
I don't want to know.
What's the problem? They put a heavy contract out on Gregory.
You open this up, you're asking for trouble.
Why'd they want him dead? I heard he was spilling his guts to the Feds.
Bodies were dropping all over the place.
Friends, business associates.
They even killed his parents.
That's when I moved East.
Guess I didn't go far enough.
Looks like we're too late.
Hi.
Lynn Moody.
You folks interested in seeing the house? Actually we're interested in the whereabouts of the owner.
Oh.
That I can't tell you.
I only got the listing last night.
Who hired you? Claudia Williams.
When I got here, there was a moving crew in overdrive.
Cleaned the entire house out in under four hours.
I've never seen anything like it.
I don't suppose I can convince you to let me do the talking? What's there to talk about? Either the AUSA hands over our suspect or she goes to jail for obstruction.
We want her cooperation.
Peter wasn't at work the night of the rape.
We've got a warrant for his blood.
What else do we need? You can go in now.
Thank you for taking the time to see us, Ms.
Williams.
Claudia.
How can I help you? Tell us the whereabouts of Peter Sipes, we'll get out of your hair.
No.
What do you mean, no? You're harboring a rapist, Counselor, and using federal tax dollars to do it.
Was there a trial that I don't know about, Detective Stabler? We have a warrant for Peter Sipes' blood, duly signed by a superior court judge.
I'll have it drawn and delivered to your lab.
Is that amenable? The evidentiary chain has to be followed.
We draw the blood, not you.
Now we're splitting hairs.
Is Gregory Rossovitch, aka Peter Sipes, that important to your case that you're willing to let him skate on three class B felonies? The DOJ does not condone criminal behavior.
Okay.
Then why'd you move him? Because he told us he was recognized by someone in your precinct.
Most of what we now know about the mob comes from Peter's testimony, and he is an invaluable asset, and we will protect him at all costs.
At the expense of three women who were raped and brutalized by the man that you are now shielding from justice.
If he did do that, he will go to prison, but I think you have the wrong man.
Where's Amanda Curry? Unavailable to you.
How is she connected to Peter Sipes? All of the victims lead back to the Russian mob.
Do you really think that's a coincidence? What is Peter's motive? Why would he rape these women? You can tell by the extent of the damage that he's escalating.
Does somebody have to die for you to care? I know what you're up against.
But if, for one second, I thought that my witness was responsible, I'd turn him over.
Why are you protecting this guy? Two hundred and fifty-seven murders, all ordered by Sergei Perlman.
Policemen, businessmen, because they wouldn't pay extortion.
Even children, butchered for fear they might grow up and seek revenge.
We've solved almost half, and we've connected California to New York through Peter Sipes.
Does that answer your question? Can she really stop us? No, but she can slow us down.
Hinder our investigation.
You know, I don't care who that woman works for.
We can't let her do that.
Claudia Williams is doing her job.
She has an obligation to protect her witnesses.
We have an obligation to protect innocent women.
So whose side of the fence you gonna sit on? You seem awfully sure Peter Sipes is guilty.
What are we supposed to think? It can't be easy losing your identity, starting over.
These people cost him his past, they're threatening his survival.
I'm just not so sure he would jeopardize his last line of defense against the very people who want him dead.
What you're saying is then that organized crime takes precedence over rape.
Arguments can be made for both.
Alex, we don't have that luxury.
We're working with a serial rapist here.
And the next woman, I'm telling you, he's gonna kill her.
I will file a habeas in the morning.
If Claudia Williams cannot produce the body, the judge is going to find her in contempt.
The People request habeas corpus, Your Honor.
A warrant was issued for a blood sample for a rape suspect who is a federally protected witness.
He has been made unavailable by the United States Attorney's office.
I made an offer to have the blood drawn by the FBI lab and delivered to the police.
The case isn't federal.
It falls under the jurisdiction of the city and county of New York.
Special circumstances.
Our witness was recognized.
Objection.
Peter Sipes is a suspect in three brutal rapes.
He is not a witness.
Nevertheless, he was spotted at a local precinct by a former acquaintance and had to be moved immediately.
How can we settle this amicably? The AUSA is in contempt of state law, Your Honor.
Either she produces the suspect or she should sit in a cell until she does.
She's made an excellent point.
Why shouldn't I give her what she wants, Claudia? You know what I'm up against.
Perlman has eyes everywhere.
I have made every effort to cooperate.
I mean, what difference does it make who takes the blood? Chain of evidence.
How can we be sure it's the suspect's unless we actually draw it? Objection.
I'm offended by the implication.
Who else would the blood come from? Mistakes are made all the time.
If that's true, then I'm more inclined to trust a federal lab facility with greater resources than your own.
Four vials of O negative belonging to Peter Sipes, as promised.
Yeah, and how can we be sure this isn't your blood? Signed affidavits by the FBI lab technicians stating location, time and subject.
Or will you argue conspiracy now? No, I'm hoping you just bend the law and don't actually break it.
I had the blood tested.
I wanted to make sure that my trust was not misplaced.
And what did you find? I included the lab report with the affidavits.
I figured you'd want to test it yourself.
Don't try to tell us the DNA doesn't match.
Fine, but Peter Sipes is cleared, and you still have a rapist out there.
Does our lab report match the FBI results? Yes, it does.
Peter Sipes is innocent.
But his Y-chromosome matches the DNA in the rape kit.
Which means one thing.
His son, Gavin Sipes, is our rapist.
Well, this time the AUSA should turn him over without a fight.
I don't think she'd do anything without one.
Gavin Sipes is a protected witness by default because of his father's testimony.
Just go reason with Ms.
Williams and close this file.
And if that doesn't work? Arrest her.
What do you want now? Your office said you'd be here.
What happened? Well, as far as I can tell, a recent immigrant refused to pay her protection fee.
There are two bodies.
Innocent bystander.
You can see now what I'm up against.
So what do you need? Gavin Sipes.
You sure? DNA doesn't lie.
Gavin a diabetic? Yes.
Hand him over.
Gavin left our program and our protection.
I don't have him.
Since when? Since we moved his father and he refused to go.
Said he had enough running to last him for a lifetime.
Didn't you find that strange? No.
Protectees exit the program all the time.
You know, we can't force them to join, we can't stop them if they want to leave.
Plus, he's an adult now.
Children leave when they grow up.
So at least let us talk to Peter.
He'll know where his son is.
It wouldn't do any good.
They've severed all contact.
From now on, all phone calls and visits are coordinated and monitored by the Marshal's Service.
Claudia, Gavin's not going to stop, and I hope you're not hiding him for Daddy's sake.
Now, why would I do that? To keep your witness happy and talking.
Look for bad habits.
Gavin has a gambling problem.
But you didn't hear that from me.
Gavin has racked up a lot of debt.
$10,000, $20,000 at a time.
So far, Peter has paid about $100,000 in debts to Atlantic City.
How can he afford that? Well, he can't.
They're behind in the gym lease and the rentals of the equipment.
Check this out.
New Jersey house has three mortgages on it.
Yeah.
$600 and $700 charges on credit cards.
All at the same restaurant? You're sure about that? Okay, thanks.
Vice says the place is a known front for an underground gambling club downtown.
People can pay off their debts by charging it to credit cards for wine and filet mignon dinners.
Russian restaurant? No, it's Italian.
Now, the LUDs from Jersey, look at that, a lot of calls from downtown.
The last payment was made a while ago.
Maybe they're not too happy about that.
NYPD, Benson, Stabler.
Move aside.
Detectives, I'm Joe Tucci.
Tell me how I can help you.
Close down.
This is an illegal club.
You're not from Vice.
Vice? I don't need to be from Vice to ruin your day.
Causing you trouble sounds like fun to me.
I'm gonna make the call, get the ball rolling.
Now, what can I do to make this right? Please.
Gavin Sipes.
He likes poker.
He likes it a lot.
But he's not very good at it.
You found a lot of money coming your way.
Must've made you mad when it stopped.
Sometimes people need convincing.
Yeah? So what'd you do? You called Peter up? Threatened his son's life? You watch too many movies.
Dead men don't pay up.
All right, come on, stop screwing around.
Come on, tell me what you need.
When's the next payment, who's making it? Peter called.
He's worried about his kid.
He's due here later to talk over terms.
Well, what's he so worried about if you're such a nice guy? I'm a businessman.
Peter understands that.
His kid seems like the type to try to skip.
I had to make it clear to the old man, his boy walks into any gambling joint anywhere in this country, I'll know.
It won't be pleasant.
How much does he owe? and still counting.
We're just gonna stick around and wait till Dad shows up, if you don't mind.
My son didn't do this.
You knew he was guilty after we talked to you.
He's the diabetic.
We need to know where he is right now.
This is all my fault.
He stays out there, the next woman could die.
I wish I knew where he was.
Attacking these women, gambling debts.
He's in so deep, I don't know how to fix it.
How old was he when you went into the program? Eleven.
We were moved five times in 10 years.
Every time, he had to learn a new name.
New lies for his past, fit into a new school.
He missed so much that finally he just quit trying.
How can a little boy grow up to be a man when he has no idea who he really is? What happened to his mother? Anna? Died.
That was before we came into the program.
In fact, she was the reason why I approached the Feds.
The Russians murdered her? Punishment for skimming.
I used to be a chemist.
I was approached by the Mikaelian Organizatsya for a smuggling scam.
They moved millions of gallons of grain alcohol to Europe disguised as mouthwash.
I taught them how to extract the blue dye.
It was very successful.
And then it was gas tax, Medicaid fraud and extortion.
But you're the one who got greedy, so why kill your wife instead of you? Anna handled the money.
When she was caught stealing from the family, they killed her for it.
They were willing to do that to their own flesh and blood, what were they going to do to me and my son? So that's how you got involved.
You married into it.
We met during the vodka scam.
After we married, I I rose very quickly to vory v zakonye.
What does that mean? I'm what's known as a thief-in-law.
Then there's about 500 eagles.
The rest are lieutenants, counselors.
All in all, there's about mostly assimilated and accent free.
Not as organized as the Italians, but getting there.
So why did Gavin target those women? How did he even know who they were? I told him everything about the Russians here, in Florida and in California.
I kept a record of everybody I ever did business with.
Names, people I met.
He deserved to know the truth about what his mother and I did, what he'd sacrificed his life for.
Peter, the mob's gonna wise up pretty soon, if they haven't already.
He's targeting their women.
Now, what do you think they're gonna do to him? They're not gonna do anything.
He's gonna hide.
I cut him off.
I'm broke.
I can't pay his bills anymore.
Which means he's a dead man.
He's got an addiction.
He can't lay low for long.
If you love him, turn him in.
The Marshals are bringing him to me today.
Supervised visit, before they move me one more time.
All I ask is that you don't hurt my son.
Here's the warrant.
I've notified the locals in Connecticut, you'll be in their jurisdiction.
Get any calls from the US Attorney's office? No, nothing.
So much for cooperation.
We'll be able to take custody as soon as the US Marshals pull up with our rapist.
All right, just keep it clean.
I don't want some fight with the Feds over injuries.
We're gonna leave.
We'll get a two-hour jump.
I'm here till it's done.
Car.
That's him.
Let's go.
Dad! Oh, my God.
Dad! No! Dad! Drop it! Do it now! NYPD.
Drop the gun! Drop it! I said drop it.
Hold up.
We're cops.
I don't give a damn.
Drop it or I'll drop you.
Both of you, on the ground.
Move! You, too.
On the ground.
Get their guns and cuff them.
Oh, God.
I already told you what happened.
Tell it to me again.
How'd you get the address? Peter Sipes gave it to me.
Then it's convenient for you he's dead since we can't corroborate your story.
Yeah, that's one way of looking at it.
No, that's how it is.
Well, this is crazy, and I'm due a phone call.
Who else did you talk to? No one.
Who else besides the gambling club owner, Joe Tucci? I already answered the question.
Did you interrogate a Michael Kerring? We did.
Were you aware that he was a criminal associate from California who knew Sipes' identity? Yes.
And yet you still pursued him, even though you knew the deceased to be a federally protected witness and that you were endangering his life.
Is that correct, Detective? We were pursuing a rape suspect, Gavin Sipes.
His father gave us the address.
We were there to do our job.
And yet two men are dead.
One a Deputy US Marshal with a wife and three children.
How much do you make a year? It depends on overtime, but why don't we say $68,940.
Must be hard to make ends meet with a family of six.
I'm a cop.
And the NYPD has a history of being squeaky clean.
I want my phone call.
We can hold you for up to 72 hours without giving you one.
Fallout from 9l11.
Who else did you talk to? I'm done talking.
Charge me or let me go.
Have a seat.
You know we had nothing to do with the hit.
I'm not confessing, so why don't you just let me go? You think I don't use these tactics myself? I can make you sit down, Detective Stabler.
Up to you.
You are officially under investigation by the FBI.
Your police jackets and your financial records have been subpoenaed.
New York Police Department has been duly notified.
Internal Affairs is running a concurrent investigation into the matter.
This is a witch hunt and you know it.
You lost a witness so you need someone to blame.
Two men are dead.
I told you to back off.
You didn't.
You pay.
You can't connect us to these murders.
We had nothing to do with it.
You could've sold the information, or your bush league tactics could have led the killers there.
Either way, you're culpable.
Yeah? How? Michael Kerring.
He ID'd Peter Sipes.
He's in lockup in our squad room.
Not anymore.
They took him away yesterday for his arraignment.
He is now serving 30 days in Rikers for shoplifting, where he has access to phone privileges and the general population.
If Michael Kerring ratted out Sipes, we're not responsible.
I disagree.
Now if you don't mind, I'm busy.
Yeah, we're not done yet.
You arrest Gavin Sipes? You read him his rights? No.
Then bring him on in here.
Now.
I can't.
I sent him to your precinct hours ago.
Gavin Sipes, he processed? Three counts rape in the first degree.
Just waiting on transport to the Tombs.
How you holding up? Denied my civil liberties, treated like some skell, suspected of conspiracy to commit murder.
But, you know, I think I've hit bottom.
IAB was here digging for dirt.
I think I spoke too soon.
How bad is it? US Attorneys get a lot of leeway to make their cases.
The burden of proof rests mostly on the defendants.
But we did nothing wrong.
As law enforcement officials, you were well aware of the risks and you disregarded them for your own benefit.
Claudia could argue that sensitive information was passed on to the criminal element.
Why would we do that? What's our motive? They don't need to prove motive.
In your zeal to show up federal officers, a witness and a US Marshal are dead.
That's all a jury needs to hear.
If the Feds can't make a criminal case, you're still gonna have to face the brass.
And they could boot you.
I'm not just handing over my tin without a fight.
I don't expect you to.
We gotta find out who killed Peter Sipes to clear our name.
Munch, what do we have on your witness, Michael Kerring? Did he talk to anybody at Rikers? He made some calls.
To who? One to Brighton Beach.
Go sit him down.
Shake him up if you have to.
Don't sweat it.
We got your back.
Who else do we think could have pulled this off? That guy at the club had a lot of muscle.
And access to professional hitters.
I didn't do anything wrong.
Phone call went to a woman named Beana Wolfman in Brighton Beach.
Yeah.
She's my girlfriend.
I begged her to get me out of here.
She refused.
She said she was tired of wasting her money on me.
Smart girl.
So what's the problem? You talk to her and she'll tell you.
We already did.
Then why the third degree? Ms.
Wolfman works in a restaurant that's owned by the mob.
Turns out she has to because she's here illegally.
What better way to get her out from under than to pass on some valuable information? You don't know what you're talking about.
The Organizatsya does not work that way.
Then explain it to us.
They don't leave loose ends.
If I had talked, someone in here would've killed me already.
Hey, step back.
You wanted me to set you up with some chips, you just had to ask.
You're a generous guy there, Joe.
What gives? Send some of your boys to do a little house cleaning? Like what? Like murder.
Peter Sipes was killed yesterday.
It wasn't me.
I think it was.
You had about 400,000 reasons to kill him.
You don't know what you're talking about.
The account's been closed.
Oh, just like that, it's closed? Yeah, the debt was paid in full not an hour after you left.
By who? Gavin Sipes.
In cash.
You wanna get off me now? How's your glucose level? You need some insulin? I got time.
What's your real name? Nikolai.
Nikolai.
It fits you.
Names are important.
I've had several.
I was Joshua for a while.
David, Daniel.
I was even a Thomas for a whole nine days.
Why such a short time with Thomas? I screwed up.
I forgot our cover story.
So for once, I just told the truth.
How old were you when that happened? Thirteen.
Everyone was upset.
My dad, the Marshals, the attorneys.
They told me it cost a fortune to move us.
If I kept running my mouth, it would get us killed.
That's a hell of a lot of guilt for a kid.
Childhood's the time to make mistakes.
Not in the program.
When we first went in, Dad would sit against the window with a gun.
He never slept.
He'd have panic attacks, so we didn't go out.
I used to ask him why, why we lived like that, and all he'd say was "someday.
" When did he finally come clean? When I got my GED.
We moved around so much, I couldn't even get a lousy high school diploma.
I had to take a test with a bunch of losers, pretending that it was gonna change our lives.
Well, maybe he wanted you to be proud of him for doing the right thing, to let you know that your sacrifice meant something.
What he wanted was for me to make him feel better about screwing me out of a future.
Is that when you decided to get even? Get even for what? For getting screwed by your parents.
Especially your mother.
You can't hold a grudge against the dead.
Oh, sure you can.
She died on you before you could vent your anger.
Your mother betrayed you.
Both your parents betrayed you.
No.
No? So why are you raping innocent women in some local mob boss's life? Innocent? Yeah.
Petra was a stripper, living off the proceeds of Sergei's victims.
His sister, Tatiana, decided where the illegals would work off their debts.
And Amanda was washing off the blood from their money.
Those bitches lost their innocence way before I was even born.
Just too easy, though, huh? Raping those women couldn't even the score.
Nothing could make up for those lost years, could it? Is that why your father had to die? I don't know what you're talking about.
Sure, you do.
What better way to get back at your old man than to turn him over to the very people that he's testifying against? That's not how it happened.
No? Then why call a butcher shop in Brighton Beach? Why call the house in Connecticut where your father is staying, if not to make sure that he was home? I didn't have the money, and he wouldn't give me any more.
What was I supposed to do? They were gonna kill me.
Yeah, and now we will.
Murder of a law enforcement officer is an automatic needle.
I didn't think that they were gonna kill him.
Sergei said he just wanted to talk to Dad.
You talked to Sergei Perlman yourself? I met with his lieutenant.
I was there when he called him, and I spoke to Sergei on the phone.
That's them.
Claudia's not here.
Where the hell are they? We gotta take them.
Sergei Perlman.
Are you Sergei Perlman? Yes.
You're under arrest.
Step back, please.
You're under arrest for the murders of Peter Sipes and Deputy US Marshal Raymond Lee.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
You have the right to an attorney.
If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you.
Do you understand these rights? Stabler.
Heads up.
Watch your back, watch your back.
You arrest Sergei Perlman? He's in Central Booking now.
We're gonna have to vacate the charges.
We're gonna have to let him walk.
Yeah.
What happened? Shooter entered the courtyard masking as a guard.
Opened fire with an automatic weapon.
Russian? No ID, but I'd bet my life on it.
Sergei had to buy the information on Gavin's transfer in order to pull this off.
He had to get it from someone inside.
Probably.
What's your next move? That's just it, Detective.
I don't have one.
Claudia.
If you need anything