Law & Order Special Victims Unit s06e22 Episode Script
Parts
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.
Isn't he going a little fast? Damn right, he is.
Hey, Billy, slow it down! You see how he's driving? Yeah.
You don't do that.
Billy thinks this is NASCAR, and he's Richard Petty.
Where's he going with that one? Since when do we do two cars at once? We don't.
He's showing off.
Billy, what are you doing? What the hell was that? I think it's a lady's head.
What've we got? Female, early to mid 20s.
Her head, left leg and right arm were in the car.
Dismemberment's not a sex crime.
This one might be.
I found traces of semen in her throat.
Guy didn't even let her gargle.
The head and extremities are barely decomposed.
Probably dead less than a day.
You get prints? He cut her hand off at the wrist.
Maybe he knew she'd be in the system, didn't want us to be able to ID her.
So why leave the head behind? Maybe the other parts are somewhere else.
He left us this.
Take a look.
Got ink.
"Leon.
" Could be her boyfriend? Or an ex.
One more thing.
See the surgical scar? From a knee replacement.
We can get the serial number from the prosthesis, trace her from that.
Any idea what was used to cut her up? I can't tell you the weapon but it was no hack job.
What do you mean? Each part was skillfully disarticulated at the joint.
By someone who knew exactly what they were doing.
Like a butcher.
Or a doctor.
So what are we dealing with here? Probably a sexual sadist.
What, because he had oral sex with her before he chopped her up? You sure it wasn't afterwards? It doesn't matter.
With a guy like this, the brutality is more arousing than the intercourse.
So he tortured her? I don't think so.
There's no coagulated blood on the cut points, which means he disarticulated her after he killed her.
You're a sadist, where's the fun in that? Could be some wacko who wanted to see how her parts work.
You know, like when a kid pulls the wings off a butterfly? Anything from Missing Persons? Nothing off the head's description.
We don't even have enough of an MO to feed to ViCAP.
All we know is this woman was murdered sometime in the last 24 hours.
Unless, this perp kept her parts in the refrigerator.
Or his stomach was full.
We got a Hannibal Lecter running around town? I doubt that he's a cannibal.
Well, where's the rest of her? Discarded somewhere else.
Or maybe he made a lamp shade out of her.
Like Ed Gein.
He made them out of his victims' skin.
We don't need to canvass any interior decorators.
What you got? The company that made the knee replacement, traced it to the VA up at Fort Hamilton.
You know I can't discuss a patient.
This one's dead, Doc.
VA says you replaced her knee.
You recognize her? Manette Combs.
Was it drugs? Why do you say that? Manette was in and out of detox a few times.
For what? Vicodin.
Manette did a tour of duty in Iraq.
Until her supply company was attacked by insurgents last year.
Army shipped her home with a knee full of shrapnel.
You put her on painkillers.
No, she needed them.
It alleviated the pain.
But she was already hooked.
When I stopped prescribing the Vicodin, she turned to heroin.
How do you know? She came in, high, begging for drugs.
I tried to talk her back into rehab.
That was the last time I saw her.
You have an address? Manette wasn't the same when she came home from the war.
I guess I knew this would happen.
Why is that? The Army was Manette's life.
Straightened her out after all the trouble that she had in high school.
She wanted to go back when she recovered.
But they gave her a medical discharge.
She never got over it.
When's the last time you saw her? Maybe six, seven months ago.
Do you know where Manette was living? She wouldn't tell me.
She didn't want me to go looking for her.
But I'm sure that she told her boyfriend.
Was his name Leon? Leon Shragewitz.
How'd you know? His name was tattooed on Manette's ankle.
I'm not surprised.
She was crazy about him and he really cared about her.
Leon live around here? No.
Williamsburg.
But he works over in the Bronx, at a kosher slaughterhouse.
He's a butcher.
You need to talk to Leon? What for? We think he may have witnessed an accident.
What kind of accident? How about letting us ask the questions? Leon called Sunday, said he was sick, didn't know when he'd be back.
Haven't seen or heard from him since, lousy shnorrer.
Well, maybe he really is sick.
It's the girlfriend.
Always has to leave early because of the girlfriend.
Can he come in late? Because of the girlfriend.
She's such a problem, why doesn't he just get rid of her? Okay, we're gonna need an address.
Stay here.
Looks like Leon had a little obsession for Manette.
Yeah, maybe a fatal attraction.
He's been missing a week.
She's chopped up and he's a butcher.
Think that's enough for a warrant? You find Leon, you tell him he's one day from being out of a job.
Police, Leon, we're coming in.
Looks like Leon took a powder.
Must've figured he did enough butchering for one week.
Place is awfully neat for a single guy.
Neat? He's compulsive.
Look at that.
This guy puts labels on his meat dishes, his dairy dishes.
Like he's gonna forget.
Labels here too, on every shelf.
You think Leon's got a little OCD? Or else he's just so rigid that he can't stand anything being out of place.
Including his women.
Observant men like Leon might have trouble dealing if someone disobeys God's laws.
You think he killed Manette because she put a dairy fork in the meat drawer? Manette had semen in her throat.
The Bible says that you're not supposed to spill your seed except to procreate.
So, if she tempted him and then he gave in, then maybe he hated himself so much that he took it out on her.
There's blood on these work boots.
The guy works in a slaughterhouse.
Blood may not be human.
Yeah, but the DNA on Leon's toothbrush should be.
None of the blood on Leon's boots is human.
And the DNA from his toothbrush doesn't match the semen from Manette Combs' throat.
So we got another guy in the picture who could've killed Manette.
Or maybe Leon murdered her after he caught her with somebody else.
Maybe whoever she was shooting up with.
Tox screen turned up opiates in her system.
Well, my money's still on Leon.
We just gotta find him.
I might be able to help you.
How? I ran the opiate sample from Manette through the gas-chromatograph mass spectrometer.
Took the signature, sent it to the lab for comparison.
With what? GC signatures from samples of vouchered drugs taken off the street.
Because heroin and cocaine are always cut with some other substance, the percentages show up differently on the graph.
Can we find out where Manette bought her last shot? Already did.
Heroin sold under the street brand name Shock and Awe.
Narcotics Task Force seized a couple of kilos last month in Crown Heights.
Can I help you, Officers? You know her? Nope.
We're not Narcotics.
Hey, I'm clean.
Tell you what.
If you don't start talking, you're really gonna see some shock and awe.
You know her? Name's Manette.
But I haven't seen her since last week.
Sell to her? She's got money.
Where'd she get her money? You know, works for a living.
She's a pro.
We like to think we're freeing these uptight Hasidic guys from their religious sexual oppression.
Doing God's work.
Any idea who the last oppressed soul is, that Manette worked on? It was me.
What happened? Yeah, I'll tell you what happened.
I pay her 20 bucks, we go into the alley, she does her thing, I'm zipping up and this crazy man runs up, and starts slapping her around.
Is this him? Yeah.
Anyway, she telling him to get lost and he's screaming at her, saying she got to come with him.
She tried to get away but he drags her towards Nostrand Avenue.
He been around since then? Yeah, like he never left.
All week, in and out of that synagogue across the street.
Put this on.
I look Jewish to you? Respect.
Leon Shragewitz? Yes.
Police.
We need you to come with us.
We met in the park.
I could tell that she needed help.
I told her that God could stop her suffering if she became observant.
When did you find out about the drugs? She was high one night when she came over.
Did that make you mad? She told me what happened to her in Iraq.
I felt sorry for her.
But not sorry enough to keep her around.
I wanted to marry her.
But first she had to be clean.
And she wasn't strong enough.
Or maybe she was too strong.
You couldn't control her.
And you like to be in control, don't you, Leon? That why you killed her? Or was it because you caught her going down on some skell? She made herself unclean by touching him.
So you chop her up.
What? What are you talking about? Leon, I want you to tell us where the rest of her is.
You You think I butchered Manette? I loved her.
Then why'd you kill her? She promised to stay clean, but she wouldn't stop using the drugs.
And then I saw what she was doing to that man.
It must've really pissed you off.
She had desecrated her body.
I pushed her.
She fell down the stairs into the subway and when I went to I went to check on her, she was dead.
I wanted to throw myself in front of a train.
But suicide is a sin.
When did this happen? Last Friday, around 4:00.
I swear to God, I swear to God I didn't mean to kill Manette.
Well, I've heard better stories.
I think he's telling the truth.
Why? Because he swore to God? Because he had less than an hour and a quarter to chop her up, take her to the junkyard in Inwood, and get back before Shabbos.
No way Leon's gonna be anywhere on Friday after sunset except in shul.
The 71 picked up a dead Jane Doe at the subway station at Nostrand and Eastern Parkway, last Friday, 4:40 in the afternoon.
In one piece.
Look, if Leon didn't butcher Manette, who did? Last week's subway Jane Doe? I performed the autopsy myself.
And she was all there? Physically, yes.
Cause of death? Heroin trip.
This girl didn't OD.
I mean, she tripped on the subway stairs because she was high.
Snapped her C1 and C2 vertebrae on the way down.
Damn junkie broke her neck.
Actually, someone did it for her.
There were no signs of strangulation.
No attack or defensive wounds.
Her boyfriend copped to helping her down the steps.
You ruled it accidental.
I stated we found no evidence of foul play.
So what happened? You pegged her as a homeless junkie and just didn't try to ID her? Of course we did.
Well, when you got her, she still had her fingers.
I mean, all you had to do was run her prints through the system.
She's a war veteran, Manette Combs.
They're on file.
That's impossible.
The first thing we do on a Doe is run prints.
You, personally? No, one of the assistants.
Mark Mogan had this one.
Where'd he send her? The same place we send all unclaimed bodies, Potter's Field.
Luckily, they hadn't buried her yet.
Saved us a bundle in exhumation fees.
Doesn't look like it was tampered with.
What's left of her remains have been in here over a week, you might want to use the VapoRub.
Let's hope the rest of her is in there.
Resting in pieces.
Someone at the Brooklyn M.
E.
's office sandbagged us.
Yeah, I'll bet his name is Mark Mogan.
Look, man, I just process 'em and ship 'em.
Does that process include leaving your semen in Manette Combs' severed throat? No! That's insane.
So is raping the dead.
Did you know abusing a corpse is a crime, Mark? I never abused anybody.
Three dozen unclaimed bodies you processed and shipped are being exhumed right now.
Why? To see what's in the caskets.
What's it gonna be? Some more violated corpses or just more beanie bodies? Listen, it's not what you're thinking.
Oh, you have no idea what I'm thinking.
I was performing a public service.
Yeah, even the dead need a little lovin'.
I only took junkies and bums.
They didn't contribute anything to the world while they were living, so I helped them contribute a little after they died.
By chopping them up? I didn't chop them up.
I donated them to science.
Donating, my ass! How much did you get? Two grand a body.
But the benefit to medical research Who'd you hawk them to? Who'd you hawk them to? Guy named Russ Bianco.
I call a number and he meets me.
You Bianco? Yeah.
Where's Mogan? He couldn't make it.
He knew I needed the cash.
Name's Elliot, I work in the morgue with him.
Yeah, you got a city ID? Fresh off the slab.
He's not an addict.
Nope.
That guy's in better shape than the stiffs Mark usually sends me.
Brain hemorrhage.
Tox screen, clean.
Sold.
Nice gig Mark's got going here.
How's your supply? Always looking for more.
Why? Well, my cousin works in the Manhattan morgue.
Make sure he's discreet.
You see something you think I'll like, give me a call.
All right.
You wanna give me a hand with this guy? Sure.
I'll bet he's got plenty of hands and other pieces stashed somewhere.
Maybe he's dipping them in wax and passing them off as sculptures.
What? It's a classic Vincent Price movie.
You got to see it.
I'd rather see where Bianco's hauling Mr.
Dead Body.
Hudson Medical School? Can't believe they'd hire a sleazoid like Bianco.
Looks like he's an outside contractor.
Does that jacket say UPS? It says APS.
Anatomical Procurement Services.
Cooler's too small for our body.
And he didn't have time to cut it up.
This is unacceptable.
The order was for 20 knees.
Well, your students will just have to share.
My students are surgeons getting CME credit in advanced arthroscopic techniques.
These people are not accustomed to sharing.
Actually, that won't be a problem.
I'm sorry, there is no auditing of this course.
We're not here to audit the course, we're here to audit the school supplies.
This medical school buys thousands of body parts.
I assure you, all the paperwork is in order.
Where do you think you're going, Frankenstein? Oh, I just make deliveries.
I don't know where they come from.
Russ Bianco, you're under arrest.
For what? For snatching bodies and selling the pieces.
Look, I didn't steal anything.
I work in the mortuary at St.
Mark's Medical Center, and I oversee the Anatomical Procurement Services.
Yeah, they confirmed that.
Okay, so we provide specimens to schools and researchers.
It's illegal to profit from the sale of body parts.
Look, we only charge for their transportation, storage and processing.
It is a vital, legal service and it's all above board.
As long as the bodies are donated, not paid for.
Who donated the body in the back of your van? I don't know, but I can get you the paperwork.
You have any paperwork on Manette Combs? Who? Manette wasn't an organ donor.
And she never willed her body to science.
And you bought her corpse from Mark Mogan at the Brooklyn M.
E.
's office, chopped her up, sold her parts and then dumped what you couldn't sell? I don't know what you're talking about.
That's not what you told me before.
Make sure he's discreet.
You see something you think I'll like, give me a call.
What? You set me up? Her face ring a bell? We found her head, her arm and a leg.
Where's the rest of her? Ask my lawyer.
Bianco doesn't have a stolen leg to stand on, does he? No, he ripped off donated bodies from his employer and then sold them.
And when he couldn't fill his orders, he bought a few stiffs from the City Morgue.
Yeah, where was he keeping them? St.
Mark's would have noticed the extra inventory, so he can't be storing his bodies there.
Just got Bianco's financials.
He's makes a hefty payment every month to Randy's Wine Locker.
Maybe he's an oenophile.
I don't know what that is, but I can tell you he doesn't spend anything on wine.
Those storage places are climate controlled.
You better call the M.
E.
Hands, feet, knees, heart, liver.
It's a one-stop chop shop.
It's just plain creepy.
This must be an unprocessed donor.
Scar on his back still has stitches.
Vertical incision parallel to the spine, avoiding the paraspinous muscle.
And for those of us that aren't doctors? His kidney was removed.
For some medical student to practice on.
We got a big problem here.
Yeah, trying to figure out who all these parts belong to.
I'm talking about this incision.
It started to heal.
How's that possible? This man was alive when Bianco took out his kidney.
Novak's waiting for your ruling so she can indict Russ Bianco for murder.
I don't think there was a murder.
John Doe here died of a pulmonary embolism.
Blood clot to his lung.
So taking out his kidney didn't kill him? Embolism can happen after any surgery.
Or butchery, by Bianco.
Bianco didn't operate.
Judging by the technique, the surgery was performed by a pro.
What was wrong with him? As far as I can tell, nothing.
Your victim had no signs of renal disease.
And no one matching his description had a kidney removed recently at any hospital in the Tri-State.
Well, the only reason I can think to remove a healthy kidney is to donate it.
Or to sell it on the black market.
You gotta be kidding me.
Bianco was selling parts from dead bodies.
Got to be a lot more money in live ones.
Sure he wasn't found in a hotel room in a bathtub full of ice? With a telephone next to him and a note to call 911? That's just an urban legend, Captain.
How we doing on John Doe's ID? Thomas Taylor, 34.
Took a collar for shoplifting last year.
No known address.
This much tooth decay, he hasn't seen a dentist in years.
He's probably homeless.
So Bianco was recruiting poor people off the street.
You got a desperate guy, Bianco offers him a couple grand, he'd sell his kidney and his mother's.
Then Bianco jacks up the price and flips it to some rich dude.
Yeah, another example of how the wealthy get better health care.
Well, people wouldn't be buying kidneys if there were enough donors.
You think selling organs should be legal? Why not? People can sell their blood, sperm and eggs.
Of course there's more where that stuff came from.
You only need one kidney to live.
There'd be more to transplant if people were allowed to sell them.
What about those who can't afford to buy one? Are their lives worth less because they're poor? Sixteen people in this country die every day waiting for a kidney, rich and poor.
We need a system that'll save more lives.
Well, until the laws change, we're gonna have to collar the surgeon and whoever bought John Doe's kidney.
Then start with the National Transplant Clearing Center.
Everyone on their list waiting for a kidney is a potential suspect.
A subpoena? These people are sick.
They have a right to privacy.
I'm sure the NTCC doesn't condone the sale of black market kidneys.
Of course not.
The most critical patients should be getting first crack at these organs, regardless of wealth.
How many people are we talking about? Five thousand in New York State waiting for kidney transplants.
Last year we had about a thousand donors.
What happened to the people who don't get one? Some died.
The lucky ones are still on dialysis, waiting.
We're doing our best to encourage more people to donate.
There you go.
Seven hundred names.
New York first.
John, you see who's at the top of the list? I saw.
Amy Solwey.
John.
I thought you were still in prison.
I got out three months ago.
How? Compassionate release.
I had the transplant, but rejected the kidney.
Guess the State didn't want to pay my hospital bill.
How did you find me? NTCC list.
Says you're next in line.
For once, the sicker I am, the better.
How sick? End stage renal failure.
And now, heart damage.
So any day now.
As soon as some perfectly healthy person with my blood type is murdered, or has a terrible accident.
Kind of hard to pray for.
The waiting's got to be rough.
Better than the alternative.
You ever think of going on the black market? You gonna bust me if I say yes? People say it's wrong to sell a kidney, but then, how come they pay everyone else? The transplant team, the NTCC, the hospitals? People who make the rules aren't dying.
Why did you come here? Because you have type A blood.
And we found a guy who died after selling his kidney on the black market.
Also type A.
I don't need his kidney.
I'm at the top of the transplant list.
You should be starting at the bottom.
I'm number 37.
Been waiting for five years.
But the sicker ones keep moving up the list past me.
You having any problems, Carmen? Not yet.
But I'd like to get off this thing and have a life.
In Peru you can get a kidney in 48 hours.
People line up around the block to sell them.
Surprised you're not on a plane right now.
I would be, if I had a hundred grand to pay for a transplant.
Here, I'll probably die waiting.
I've been waiting seven years and I'm sick of nurses and doctors and hospitals and praying.
A man of your means has other options.
Buy a kidney? No.
I've had a good life, no regrets.
I'd rather leave the money to my grandchildren.
But you'd know where to go if you changed your mind.
Everybody does.
We used to talk about it all the time in my dialysis group.
Can you give us a name? I could.
But it'd only be a rumor.
And I don't necessarily believe it's wrong.
Then why didn't you do it? Because we spent 90 grand on our wedding.
There's nothing left.
Now she's gonna die because I can't even afford to save her life.
Staying positive is better for Kyle.
And it looks like it's working.
How long's he been sick? Since he was three.
Kyle has Polycystic Kidney Disease.
We didn't know when we got pregnant, but James and I both carry an abnormal gene that causes PKD.
How long's Kyle been on the NTCC list? Two years.
But we just keep praying for a miracle.
So, anyone suddenly come into a kidney? The only folks who dropped off the transplant list, died.
John Doe's kidney could've gone into someone from out of town.
Let's focus on finding the surgeon and the next buyer.
James McGovern? He was debt free, so to speak, until two weeks ago.
McGovern took out a second mortgage, cash advances on his credit cards, and drained Kyle's college fund.
To the tune of $125,000.
Which was wired yesterday into the personal account of our favorite local body snatcher, Russ Bianco.
Okay.
I made a deal with James McGovern.
So you admit you sold him a kidney.
Did I say that? See, I don't think I said that.
If he wants to be a wiseass, let's let the Feds deal with him.
Well, they're gonna need someone to testify against me, so good luck.
You really enjoy playing God, don't you? I'm saving lives.
I'm a hero, man.
I'm the future.
I connect the needy with the need.
Yeah, you're a real humanitarian.
Using the poor as spare parts suppliers for people with money.
The donor gets paid, a dying person lives.
Everybody wins.
Especially you, after you get your cut.
Well, I'm not entitled? I assume all the risk.
Hey, it's business.
You know how many bodies I see come through my hospital mortuary each week? No.
Accident victims, kids with healthy, beautiful, transplantable organs that their loved ones won't sign a consent to donate.
That's their choice.
You wouldn't be saying that if it was your mother, or your wife, or your child that were dying.
You know, you'd be begging for my phone number.
Well, your number's up.
Feds'll be putting you away for 10 years, easy.
But give us your transplant surgeon, we'll see to it that you're home by Christmas.
Oh, man.
You guys didn't hear a word I said, did you? Guy thinks that he's the second coming.
Well, he's got a point.
Are you an organ donor? Yup.
I thought Jews had to be buried with all their body parts.
I figured the Big Guy'll give me a pass if I leave a piece of myself to help someone else.
What about you? I told Kathy I want to.
Did you check off that little box on your license? No.
Why? I don't know.
I know why.
You're afraid to face your own mortality.
Well, who isn't? We're all gonna die, Elliot.
The only question is when, and how.
What? Have you pulled Bianco's LUDs? Swell.
Fin? Yeah.
Amy Solwey's been calling Bianco.
Everyone who needs a kidney knows about Russ Bianco.
What's the big deal? Well, you called him a couple dozen times over the last two months.
You're at the top of the NTCC list.
What do you need a guy like that for? Insurance.
In case my next transplant doesn't work.
Really? Or is Bianco paying you to find buyers for his hot kidneys? I'd do it for nothing.
Going to jail for assisted suicide didn't teach you a damn thing, did it? Sure it did.
Now I help people live instead of die.
Amy, you're still breaking the law.
Arrest me.
We don't want you.
We want the surgeon who's performing the transplants.
He's saving lives.
Give us his name or you're going back to jail.
No jail's worse than living in the prison of a sick body.
You'll be living in both when they take your name off that transplant list.
That would never happen.
Look, when the NTCC finds out that you've been trafficking in black market kidneys, they're gonna cross you right off the list.
You'd let me die? Give us the surgeon's name.
We'll make sure no one knows that you were involved.
Oh, God, no.
No.
Please.
Mr.
McGovern, you're under arrest.
Stay with your son until we get back.
Please, you can't do this.
Where's Dr.
Robert Swan? In the O.
R.
This is my son.
Please.
You can't go in there, you'll contaminate the room.
Who the hell are you? Police.
Please stop what you're doing.
I have to close this man's incision and you have to get out before he gets infected.
Where's his kidney? Right there.
And it's going into Kyle McGovern.
No, it's not.
It's evidence.
And you're under arrest for trafficking in human body parts.
Now close him up.
I've got less than 24 hours to transplant that kidney.
Doctor, you're not transplanting anything.
Just please get changed.
I'm not going anywhere until that donor wakes up and Kyle McGovern is transferred to a hospital.
What happened to Kyle? He's in a hypertensive crisis, his blood pressure's through the roof.
He needs a kidney in the next few days.
He's still on the transplant list.
I have a kidney for this dying boy The law says that you can't save him this way.
Now, Doctor, please go check on your patients before we take you in.
That boy shouldn't have to suffer because of this, John.
NTCC decides who gets the organs.
Maybe they can work this out.
Okay, bring Swan and McGovern in once everything's under control.
I'm gonna tell the NTCC we've got a kidney.
We can't accept that kidney.
Why not? Our guidelines strictly forbid transplanting any organ that's been paid for.
These are extenuating circumstances.
Doesn't matter.
Using that kidney would irreparably tarnish our reputation.
Screw your reputation.
That kidney will save a child's life.
We have a hard enough time finding organs.
Word gets out we're accepting them from people who've been paid, the whole system would fall apart.
Everyone would want money.
So that's it.
You're just gonna turn your back on a healthy kidney.
I'm sorry, Detective.
But I have no choice.
John, the NTCC won't take it.
Doesn't matter.
Swan says Kyle's too unstable right now to take the transplant.
See you back at the squad.
Thanks for coming in.
Where are they? What are you talking about? Oh, I just spent the last 15 minutes looking for Munch, McGovern and the doctor.
They're not here? No.
I checked Interrogation, Interview, upstairs.
Only place I didn't try was the men's room.
You try Munch's cell? Yeah.
No answer.
You know, Dr.
Swan had to make sure Kyle and the donor were okay.
Maybe there's a problem? Come on.
What the hell's going on here? Casey, take Ms.
Solwey out to the car.
Leave her out of this! We didn't drag her into this.
John, relax.
Relax.
Why'd you bring her here? Amy's next on the transplant list.
That kidney would have been hers anyway.
You're doing what we're trying to stop, John.
That kidney was bought and sold.
Well, let's just throw it away.
She dies.
I know that you care about her.
But you can't do this.
If that was your son in there It's not my son in there.
We're not talking about my son! When you collar James McGovern, you tell him your son's life is worth more than Kyle's.
I gotta collar you, John.
You arranged this, Novak saw you here.
You don't think Swan's gonna give you up to get himself a better deal? Why would I do that? Did he ask you to put that kidney into Amy Solwey? He didn't, it was my idea.
I knew she needed a transplant.
You can arrest me now, Detective.
I'm ready to go.
Detective Munch brought you here tonight, didn't he? He's in a lot of trouble.
He did it for me.
I will never say that in court.
Read my lips, carefully.
John Munch never came to your apartment tonight.
He never brought you here.
In fact, you don't even know where this place is.
You got it? Yes.
Detective Stabler.
What are you doing here? Have you arrested Mr.
McGovern? Yes.
Then what's gonna happen to him? I have to hand him over to the FBI.
He'll probably go to prison.
For trying to save his son's life? Because he bought that kidney.
He had no choice.
His son will die without it.
I know why he did it.
But there's nothing I can do.
I gave you Dr.
Swan's name because I was afraid to die.
If Kyle McGovern dies, I'll live with that the rest of my life.
And so will you.
It's time to go.
Think we can stop by the hospital on our way downtown? I can't Kyle will panic if I'm not there when he wakes up.
I spoke with your wife.
She's at the hospital.
You don't understand.
When Kyle got sick, he asked me what happens when you die.
And I told him it was I told him it was peaceful, like going to sleep.
He was afraid to go to bed, so I promised him that I would be there to wake him up.
I have to be there.
Please.
Hey, Kyle.
Your mom's in the cafeteria.
Where's my Dad? He asked me to be here when you woke up.
Why didn't he come? Kyle, your dad loves you very much.
He'd do anything in the world to make you well again.
But he did something wrong Did he rob a bank or something? No.
No.
Did he hurt anybody? He broke the law He broke the law to get you a kidney.
He was just trying to help you.
So, why is that wrong? John, what you did took a lot of balls.
Yeah, well, I gotta be able to sleep at night.
I just came from the Federal Courthouse.
James McGovern is pleading out.
How much time did he get? Eighteen months.
No one should have to choose between obeying the law and watching their child die.
At least the judge postponed his surrender date for six weeks.
You mean, he gets to bury Kyle before he goes to prison.
No, John, maybe not.
The NTCC moved Kyle up to the top of the list.
What about Amy? She just went to the hospital.
Kid on a motorcycle cracked up doing 140 on the BQE.
The kidney's a match.
Hi, John.
Where are you going? Home.
Did something happen to the kidney? I don't want it.
Why not? Kyle McGovern's gonna die.
We'd both have a kidney if it wasn't for me.
If I turn it down, it goes to him.
You could die waiting for the next one.
I'll take my chances.
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.
Isn't he going a little fast? Damn right, he is.
Hey, Billy, slow it down! You see how he's driving? Yeah.
You don't do that.
Billy thinks this is NASCAR, and he's Richard Petty.
Where's he going with that one? Since when do we do two cars at once? We don't.
He's showing off.
Billy, what are you doing? What the hell was that? I think it's a lady's head.
What've we got? Female, early to mid 20s.
Her head, left leg and right arm were in the car.
Dismemberment's not a sex crime.
This one might be.
I found traces of semen in her throat.
Guy didn't even let her gargle.
The head and extremities are barely decomposed.
Probably dead less than a day.
You get prints? He cut her hand off at the wrist.
Maybe he knew she'd be in the system, didn't want us to be able to ID her.
So why leave the head behind? Maybe the other parts are somewhere else.
He left us this.
Take a look.
Got ink.
"Leon.
" Could be her boyfriend? Or an ex.
One more thing.
See the surgical scar? From a knee replacement.
We can get the serial number from the prosthesis, trace her from that.
Any idea what was used to cut her up? I can't tell you the weapon but it was no hack job.
What do you mean? Each part was skillfully disarticulated at the joint.
By someone who knew exactly what they were doing.
Like a butcher.
Or a doctor.
So what are we dealing with here? Probably a sexual sadist.
What, because he had oral sex with her before he chopped her up? You sure it wasn't afterwards? It doesn't matter.
With a guy like this, the brutality is more arousing than the intercourse.
So he tortured her? I don't think so.
There's no coagulated blood on the cut points, which means he disarticulated her after he killed her.
You're a sadist, where's the fun in that? Could be some wacko who wanted to see how her parts work.
You know, like when a kid pulls the wings off a butterfly? Anything from Missing Persons? Nothing off the head's description.
We don't even have enough of an MO to feed to ViCAP.
All we know is this woman was murdered sometime in the last 24 hours.
Unless, this perp kept her parts in the refrigerator.
Or his stomach was full.
We got a Hannibal Lecter running around town? I doubt that he's a cannibal.
Well, where's the rest of her? Discarded somewhere else.
Or maybe he made a lamp shade out of her.
Like Ed Gein.
He made them out of his victims' skin.
We don't need to canvass any interior decorators.
What you got? The company that made the knee replacement, traced it to the VA up at Fort Hamilton.
You know I can't discuss a patient.
This one's dead, Doc.
VA says you replaced her knee.
You recognize her? Manette Combs.
Was it drugs? Why do you say that? Manette was in and out of detox a few times.
For what? Vicodin.
Manette did a tour of duty in Iraq.
Until her supply company was attacked by insurgents last year.
Army shipped her home with a knee full of shrapnel.
You put her on painkillers.
No, she needed them.
It alleviated the pain.
But she was already hooked.
When I stopped prescribing the Vicodin, she turned to heroin.
How do you know? She came in, high, begging for drugs.
I tried to talk her back into rehab.
That was the last time I saw her.
You have an address? Manette wasn't the same when she came home from the war.
I guess I knew this would happen.
Why is that? The Army was Manette's life.
Straightened her out after all the trouble that she had in high school.
She wanted to go back when she recovered.
But they gave her a medical discharge.
She never got over it.
When's the last time you saw her? Maybe six, seven months ago.
Do you know where Manette was living? She wouldn't tell me.
She didn't want me to go looking for her.
But I'm sure that she told her boyfriend.
Was his name Leon? Leon Shragewitz.
How'd you know? His name was tattooed on Manette's ankle.
I'm not surprised.
She was crazy about him and he really cared about her.
Leon live around here? No.
Williamsburg.
But he works over in the Bronx, at a kosher slaughterhouse.
He's a butcher.
You need to talk to Leon? What for? We think he may have witnessed an accident.
What kind of accident? How about letting us ask the questions? Leon called Sunday, said he was sick, didn't know when he'd be back.
Haven't seen or heard from him since, lousy shnorrer.
Well, maybe he really is sick.
It's the girlfriend.
Always has to leave early because of the girlfriend.
Can he come in late? Because of the girlfriend.
She's such a problem, why doesn't he just get rid of her? Okay, we're gonna need an address.
Stay here.
Looks like Leon had a little obsession for Manette.
Yeah, maybe a fatal attraction.
He's been missing a week.
She's chopped up and he's a butcher.
Think that's enough for a warrant? You find Leon, you tell him he's one day from being out of a job.
Police, Leon, we're coming in.
Looks like Leon took a powder.
Must've figured he did enough butchering for one week.
Place is awfully neat for a single guy.
Neat? He's compulsive.
Look at that.
This guy puts labels on his meat dishes, his dairy dishes.
Like he's gonna forget.
Labels here too, on every shelf.
You think Leon's got a little OCD? Or else he's just so rigid that he can't stand anything being out of place.
Including his women.
Observant men like Leon might have trouble dealing if someone disobeys God's laws.
You think he killed Manette because she put a dairy fork in the meat drawer? Manette had semen in her throat.
The Bible says that you're not supposed to spill your seed except to procreate.
So, if she tempted him and then he gave in, then maybe he hated himself so much that he took it out on her.
There's blood on these work boots.
The guy works in a slaughterhouse.
Blood may not be human.
Yeah, but the DNA on Leon's toothbrush should be.
None of the blood on Leon's boots is human.
And the DNA from his toothbrush doesn't match the semen from Manette Combs' throat.
So we got another guy in the picture who could've killed Manette.
Or maybe Leon murdered her after he caught her with somebody else.
Maybe whoever she was shooting up with.
Tox screen turned up opiates in her system.
Well, my money's still on Leon.
We just gotta find him.
I might be able to help you.
How? I ran the opiate sample from Manette through the gas-chromatograph mass spectrometer.
Took the signature, sent it to the lab for comparison.
With what? GC signatures from samples of vouchered drugs taken off the street.
Because heroin and cocaine are always cut with some other substance, the percentages show up differently on the graph.
Can we find out where Manette bought her last shot? Already did.
Heroin sold under the street brand name Shock and Awe.
Narcotics Task Force seized a couple of kilos last month in Crown Heights.
Can I help you, Officers? You know her? Nope.
We're not Narcotics.
Hey, I'm clean.
Tell you what.
If you don't start talking, you're really gonna see some shock and awe.
You know her? Name's Manette.
But I haven't seen her since last week.
Sell to her? She's got money.
Where'd she get her money? You know, works for a living.
She's a pro.
We like to think we're freeing these uptight Hasidic guys from their religious sexual oppression.
Doing God's work.
Any idea who the last oppressed soul is, that Manette worked on? It was me.
What happened? Yeah, I'll tell you what happened.
I pay her 20 bucks, we go into the alley, she does her thing, I'm zipping up and this crazy man runs up, and starts slapping her around.
Is this him? Yeah.
Anyway, she telling him to get lost and he's screaming at her, saying she got to come with him.
She tried to get away but he drags her towards Nostrand Avenue.
He been around since then? Yeah, like he never left.
All week, in and out of that synagogue across the street.
Put this on.
I look Jewish to you? Respect.
Leon Shragewitz? Yes.
Police.
We need you to come with us.
We met in the park.
I could tell that she needed help.
I told her that God could stop her suffering if she became observant.
When did you find out about the drugs? She was high one night when she came over.
Did that make you mad? She told me what happened to her in Iraq.
I felt sorry for her.
But not sorry enough to keep her around.
I wanted to marry her.
But first she had to be clean.
And she wasn't strong enough.
Or maybe she was too strong.
You couldn't control her.
And you like to be in control, don't you, Leon? That why you killed her? Or was it because you caught her going down on some skell? She made herself unclean by touching him.
So you chop her up.
What? What are you talking about? Leon, I want you to tell us where the rest of her is.
You You think I butchered Manette? I loved her.
Then why'd you kill her? She promised to stay clean, but she wouldn't stop using the drugs.
And then I saw what she was doing to that man.
It must've really pissed you off.
She had desecrated her body.
I pushed her.
She fell down the stairs into the subway and when I went to I went to check on her, she was dead.
I wanted to throw myself in front of a train.
But suicide is a sin.
When did this happen? Last Friday, around 4:00.
I swear to God, I swear to God I didn't mean to kill Manette.
Well, I've heard better stories.
I think he's telling the truth.
Why? Because he swore to God? Because he had less than an hour and a quarter to chop her up, take her to the junkyard in Inwood, and get back before Shabbos.
No way Leon's gonna be anywhere on Friday after sunset except in shul.
The 71 picked up a dead Jane Doe at the subway station at Nostrand and Eastern Parkway, last Friday, 4:40 in the afternoon.
In one piece.
Look, if Leon didn't butcher Manette, who did? Last week's subway Jane Doe? I performed the autopsy myself.
And she was all there? Physically, yes.
Cause of death? Heroin trip.
This girl didn't OD.
I mean, she tripped on the subway stairs because she was high.
Snapped her C1 and C2 vertebrae on the way down.
Damn junkie broke her neck.
Actually, someone did it for her.
There were no signs of strangulation.
No attack or defensive wounds.
Her boyfriend copped to helping her down the steps.
You ruled it accidental.
I stated we found no evidence of foul play.
So what happened? You pegged her as a homeless junkie and just didn't try to ID her? Of course we did.
Well, when you got her, she still had her fingers.
I mean, all you had to do was run her prints through the system.
She's a war veteran, Manette Combs.
They're on file.
That's impossible.
The first thing we do on a Doe is run prints.
You, personally? No, one of the assistants.
Mark Mogan had this one.
Where'd he send her? The same place we send all unclaimed bodies, Potter's Field.
Luckily, they hadn't buried her yet.
Saved us a bundle in exhumation fees.
Doesn't look like it was tampered with.
What's left of her remains have been in here over a week, you might want to use the VapoRub.
Let's hope the rest of her is in there.
Resting in pieces.
Someone at the Brooklyn M.
E.
's office sandbagged us.
Yeah, I'll bet his name is Mark Mogan.
Look, man, I just process 'em and ship 'em.
Does that process include leaving your semen in Manette Combs' severed throat? No! That's insane.
So is raping the dead.
Did you know abusing a corpse is a crime, Mark? I never abused anybody.
Three dozen unclaimed bodies you processed and shipped are being exhumed right now.
Why? To see what's in the caskets.
What's it gonna be? Some more violated corpses or just more beanie bodies? Listen, it's not what you're thinking.
Oh, you have no idea what I'm thinking.
I was performing a public service.
Yeah, even the dead need a little lovin'.
I only took junkies and bums.
They didn't contribute anything to the world while they were living, so I helped them contribute a little after they died.
By chopping them up? I didn't chop them up.
I donated them to science.
Donating, my ass! How much did you get? Two grand a body.
But the benefit to medical research Who'd you hawk them to? Who'd you hawk them to? Guy named Russ Bianco.
I call a number and he meets me.
You Bianco? Yeah.
Where's Mogan? He couldn't make it.
He knew I needed the cash.
Name's Elliot, I work in the morgue with him.
Yeah, you got a city ID? Fresh off the slab.
He's not an addict.
Nope.
That guy's in better shape than the stiffs Mark usually sends me.
Brain hemorrhage.
Tox screen, clean.
Sold.
Nice gig Mark's got going here.
How's your supply? Always looking for more.
Why? Well, my cousin works in the Manhattan morgue.
Make sure he's discreet.
You see something you think I'll like, give me a call.
All right.
You wanna give me a hand with this guy? Sure.
I'll bet he's got plenty of hands and other pieces stashed somewhere.
Maybe he's dipping them in wax and passing them off as sculptures.
What? It's a classic Vincent Price movie.
You got to see it.
I'd rather see where Bianco's hauling Mr.
Dead Body.
Hudson Medical School? Can't believe they'd hire a sleazoid like Bianco.
Looks like he's an outside contractor.
Does that jacket say UPS? It says APS.
Anatomical Procurement Services.
Cooler's too small for our body.
And he didn't have time to cut it up.
This is unacceptable.
The order was for 20 knees.
Well, your students will just have to share.
My students are surgeons getting CME credit in advanced arthroscopic techniques.
These people are not accustomed to sharing.
Actually, that won't be a problem.
I'm sorry, there is no auditing of this course.
We're not here to audit the course, we're here to audit the school supplies.
This medical school buys thousands of body parts.
I assure you, all the paperwork is in order.
Where do you think you're going, Frankenstein? Oh, I just make deliveries.
I don't know where they come from.
Russ Bianco, you're under arrest.
For what? For snatching bodies and selling the pieces.
Look, I didn't steal anything.
I work in the mortuary at St.
Mark's Medical Center, and I oversee the Anatomical Procurement Services.
Yeah, they confirmed that.
Okay, so we provide specimens to schools and researchers.
It's illegal to profit from the sale of body parts.
Look, we only charge for their transportation, storage and processing.
It is a vital, legal service and it's all above board.
As long as the bodies are donated, not paid for.
Who donated the body in the back of your van? I don't know, but I can get you the paperwork.
You have any paperwork on Manette Combs? Who? Manette wasn't an organ donor.
And she never willed her body to science.
And you bought her corpse from Mark Mogan at the Brooklyn M.
E.
's office, chopped her up, sold her parts and then dumped what you couldn't sell? I don't know what you're talking about.
That's not what you told me before.
Make sure he's discreet.
You see something you think I'll like, give me a call.
What? You set me up? Her face ring a bell? We found her head, her arm and a leg.
Where's the rest of her? Ask my lawyer.
Bianco doesn't have a stolen leg to stand on, does he? No, he ripped off donated bodies from his employer and then sold them.
And when he couldn't fill his orders, he bought a few stiffs from the City Morgue.
Yeah, where was he keeping them? St.
Mark's would have noticed the extra inventory, so he can't be storing his bodies there.
Just got Bianco's financials.
He's makes a hefty payment every month to Randy's Wine Locker.
Maybe he's an oenophile.
I don't know what that is, but I can tell you he doesn't spend anything on wine.
Those storage places are climate controlled.
You better call the M.
E.
Hands, feet, knees, heart, liver.
It's a one-stop chop shop.
It's just plain creepy.
This must be an unprocessed donor.
Scar on his back still has stitches.
Vertical incision parallel to the spine, avoiding the paraspinous muscle.
And for those of us that aren't doctors? His kidney was removed.
For some medical student to practice on.
We got a big problem here.
Yeah, trying to figure out who all these parts belong to.
I'm talking about this incision.
It started to heal.
How's that possible? This man was alive when Bianco took out his kidney.
Novak's waiting for your ruling so she can indict Russ Bianco for murder.
I don't think there was a murder.
John Doe here died of a pulmonary embolism.
Blood clot to his lung.
So taking out his kidney didn't kill him? Embolism can happen after any surgery.
Or butchery, by Bianco.
Bianco didn't operate.
Judging by the technique, the surgery was performed by a pro.
What was wrong with him? As far as I can tell, nothing.
Your victim had no signs of renal disease.
And no one matching his description had a kidney removed recently at any hospital in the Tri-State.
Well, the only reason I can think to remove a healthy kidney is to donate it.
Or to sell it on the black market.
You gotta be kidding me.
Bianco was selling parts from dead bodies.
Got to be a lot more money in live ones.
Sure he wasn't found in a hotel room in a bathtub full of ice? With a telephone next to him and a note to call 911? That's just an urban legend, Captain.
How we doing on John Doe's ID? Thomas Taylor, 34.
Took a collar for shoplifting last year.
No known address.
This much tooth decay, he hasn't seen a dentist in years.
He's probably homeless.
So Bianco was recruiting poor people off the street.
You got a desperate guy, Bianco offers him a couple grand, he'd sell his kidney and his mother's.
Then Bianco jacks up the price and flips it to some rich dude.
Yeah, another example of how the wealthy get better health care.
Well, people wouldn't be buying kidneys if there were enough donors.
You think selling organs should be legal? Why not? People can sell their blood, sperm and eggs.
Of course there's more where that stuff came from.
You only need one kidney to live.
There'd be more to transplant if people were allowed to sell them.
What about those who can't afford to buy one? Are their lives worth less because they're poor? Sixteen people in this country die every day waiting for a kidney, rich and poor.
We need a system that'll save more lives.
Well, until the laws change, we're gonna have to collar the surgeon and whoever bought John Doe's kidney.
Then start with the National Transplant Clearing Center.
Everyone on their list waiting for a kidney is a potential suspect.
A subpoena? These people are sick.
They have a right to privacy.
I'm sure the NTCC doesn't condone the sale of black market kidneys.
Of course not.
The most critical patients should be getting first crack at these organs, regardless of wealth.
How many people are we talking about? Five thousand in New York State waiting for kidney transplants.
Last year we had about a thousand donors.
What happened to the people who don't get one? Some died.
The lucky ones are still on dialysis, waiting.
We're doing our best to encourage more people to donate.
There you go.
Seven hundred names.
New York first.
John, you see who's at the top of the list? I saw.
Amy Solwey.
John.
I thought you were still in prison.
I got out three months ago.
How? Compassionate release.
I had the transplant, but rejected the kidney.
Guess the State didn't want to pay my hospital bill.
How did you find me? NTCC list.
Says you're next in line.
For once, the sicker I am, the better.
How sick? End stage renal failure.
And now, heart damage.
So any day now.
As soon as some perfectly healthy person with my blood type is murdered, or has a terrible accident.
Kind of hard to pray for.
The waiting's got to be rough.
Better than the alternative.
You ever think of going on the black market? You gonna bust me if I say yes? People say it's wrong to sell a kidney, but then, how come they pay everyone else? The transplant team, the NTCC, the hospitals? People who make the rules aren't dying.
Why did you come here? Because you have type A blood.
And we found a guy who died after selling his kidney on the black market.
Also type A.
I don't need his kidney.
I'm at the top of the transplant list.
You should be starting at the bottom.
I'm number 37.
Been waiting for five years.
But the sicker ones keep moving up the list past me.
You having any problems, Carmen? Not yet.
But I'd like to get off this thing and have a life.
In Peru you can get a kidney in 48 hours.
People line up around the block to sell them.
Surprised you're not on a plane right now.
I would be, if I had a hundred grand to pay for a transplant.
Here, I'll probably die waiting.
I've been waiting seven years and I'm sick of nurses and doctors and hospitals and praying.
A man of your means has other options.
Buy a kidney? No.
I've had a good life, no regrets.
I'd rather leave the money to my grandchildren.
But you'd know where to go if you changed your mind.
Everybody does.
We used to talk about it all the time in my dialysis group.
Can you give us a name? I could.
But it'd only be a rumor.
And I don't necessarily believe it's wrong.
Then why didn't you do it? Because we spent 90 grand on our wedding.
There's nothing left.
Now she's gonna die because I can't even afford to save her life.
Staying positive is better for Kyle.
And it looks like it's working.
How long's he been sick? Since he was three.
Kyle has Polycystic Kidney Disease.
We didn't know when we got pregnant, but James and I both carry an abnormal gene that causes PKD.
How long's Kyle been on the NTCC list? Two years.
But we just keep praying for a miracle.
So, anyone suddenly come into a kidney? The only folks who dropped off the transplant list, died.
John Doe's kidney could've gone into someone from out of town.
Let's focus on finding the surgeon and the next buyer.
James McGovern? He was debt free, so to speak, until two weeks ago.
McGovern took out a second mortgage, cash advances on his credit cards, and drained Kyle's college fund.
To the tune of $125,000.
Which was wired yesterday into the personal account of our favorite local body snatcher, Russ Bianco.
Okay.
I made a deal with James McGovern.
So you admit you sold him a kidney.
Did I say that? See, I don't think I said that.
If he wants to be a wiseass, let's let the Feds deal with him.
Well, they're gonna need someone to testify against me, so good luck.
You really enjoy playing God, don't you? I'm saving lives.
I'm a hero, man.
I'm the future.
I connect the needy with the need.
Yeah, you're a real humanitarian.
Using the poor as spare parts suppliers for people with money.
The donor gets paid, a dying person lives.
Everybody wins.
Especially you, after you get your cut.
Well, I'm not entitled? I assume all the risk.
Hey, it's business.
You know how many bodies I see come through my hospital mortuary each week? No.
Accident victims, kids with healthy, beautiful, transplantable organs that their loved ones won't sign a consent to donate.
That's their choice.
You wouldn't be saying that if it was your mother, or your wife, or your child that were dying.
You know, you'd be begging for my phone number.
Well, your number's up.
Feds'll be putting you away for 10 years, easy.
But give us your transplant surgeon, we'll see to it that you're home by Christmas.
Oh, man.
You guys didn't hear a word I said, did you? Guy thinks that he's the second coming.
Well, he's got a point.
Are you an organ donor? Yup.
I thought Jews had to be buried with all their body parts.
I figured the Big Guy'll give me a pass if I leave a piece of myself to help someone else.
What about you? I told Kathy I want to.
Did you check off that little box on your license? No.
Why? I don't know.
I know why.
You're afraid to face your own mortality.
Well, who isn't? We're all gonna die, Elliot.
The only question is when, and how.
What? Have you pulled Bianco's LUDs? Swell.
Fin? Yeah.
Amy Solwey's been calling Bianco.
Everyone who needs a kidney knows about Russ Bianco.
What's the big deal? Well, you called him a couple dozen times over the last two months.
You're at the top of the NTCC list.
What do you need a guy like that for? Insurance.
In case my next transplant doesn't work.
Really? Or is Bianco paying you to find buyers for his hot kidneys? I'd do it for nothing.
Going to jail for assisted suicide didn't teach you a damn thing, did it? Sure it did.
Now I help people live instead of die.
Amy, you're still breaking the law.
Arrest me.
We don't want you.
We want the surgeon who's performing the transplants.
He's saving lives.
Give us his name or you're going back to jail.
No jail's worse than living in the prison of a sick body.
You'll be living in both when they take your name off that transplant list.
That would never happen.
Look, when the NTCC finds out that you've been trafficking in black market kidneys, they're gonna cross you right off the list.
You'd let me die? Give us the surgeon's name.
We'll make sure no one knows that you were involved.
Oh, God, no.
No.
Please.
Mr.
McGovern, you're under arrest.
Stay with your son until we get back.
Please, you can't do this.
Where's Dr.
Robert Swan? In the O.
R.
This is my son.
Please.
You can't go in there, you'll contaminate the room.
Who the hell are you? Police.
Please stop what you're doing.
I have to close this man's incision and you have to get out before he gets infected.
Where's his kidney? Right there.
And it's going into Kyle McGovern.
No, it's not.
It's evidence.
And you're under arrest for trafficking in human body parts.
Now close him up.
I've got less than 24 hours to transplant that kidney.
Doctor, you're not transplanting anything.
Just please get changed.
I'm not going anywhere until that donor wakes up and Kyle McGovern is transferred to a hospital.
What happened to Kyle? He's in a hypertensive crisis, his blood pressure's through the roof.
He needs a kidney in the next few days.
He's still on the transplant list.
I have a kidney for this dying boy The law says that you can't save him this way.
Now, Doctor, please go check on your patients before we take you in.
That boy shouldn't have to suffer because of this, John.
NTCC decides who gets the organs.
Maybe they can work this out.
Okay, bring Swan and McGovern in once everything's under control.
I'm gonna tell the NTCC we've got a kidney.
We can't accept that kidney.
Why not? Our guidelines strictly forbid transplanting any organ that's been paid for.
These are extenuating circumstances.
Doesn't matter.
Using that kidney would irreparably tarnish our reputation.
Screw your reputation.
That kidney will save a child's life.
We have a hard enough time finding organs.
Word gets out we're accepting them from people who've been paid, the whole system would fall apart.
Everyone would want money.
So that's it.
You're just gonna turn your back on a healthy kidney.
I'm sorry, Detective.
But I have no choice.
John, the NTCC won't take it.
Doesn't matter.
Swan says Kyle's too unstable right now to take the transplant.
See you back at the squad.
Thanks for coming in.
Where are they? What are you talking about? Oh, I just spent the last 15 minutes looking for Munch, McGovern and the doctor.
They're not here? No.
I checked Interrogation, Interview, upstairs.
Only place I didn't try was the men's room.
You try Munch's cell? Yeah.
No answer.
You know, Dr.
Swan had to make sure Kyle and the donor were okay.
Maybe there's a problem? Come on.
What the hell's going on here? Casey, take Ms.
Solwey out to the car.
Leave her out of this! We didn't drag her into this.
John, relax.
Relax.
Why'd you bring her here? Amy's next on the transplant list.
That kidney would have been hers anyway.
You're doing what we're trying to stop, John.
That kidney was bought and sold.
Well, let's just throw it away.
She dies.
I know that you care about her.
But you can't do this.
If that was your son in there It's not my son in there.
We're not talking about my son! When you collar James McGovern, you tell him your son's life is worth more than Kyle's.
I gotta collar you, John.
You arranged this, Novak saw you here.
You don't think Swan's gonna give you up to get himself a better deal? Why would I do that? Did he ask you to put that kidney into Amy Solwey? He didn't, it was my idea.
I knew she needed a transplant.
You can arrest me now, Detective.
I'm ready to go.
Detective Munch brought you here tonight, didn't he? He's in a lot of trouble.
He did it for me.
I will never say that in court.
Read my lips, carefully.
John Munch never came to your apartment tonight.
He never brought you here.
In fact, you don't even know where this place is.
You got it? Yes.
Detective Stabler.
What are you doing here? Have you arrested Mr.
McGovern? Yes.
Then what's gonna happen to him? I have to hand him over to the FBI.
He'll probably go to prison.
For trying to save his son's life? Because he bought that kidney.
He had no choice.
His son will die without it.
I know why he did it.
But there's nothing I can do.
I gave you Dr.
Swan's name because I was afraid to die.
If Kyle McGovern dies, I'll live with that the rest of my life.
And so will you.
It's time to go.
Think we can stop by the hospital on our way downtown? I can't Kyle will panic if I'm not there when he wakes up.
I spoke with your wife.
She's at the hospital.
You don't understand.
When Kyle got sick, he asked me what happens when you die.
And I told him it was I told him it was peaceful, like going to sleep.
He was afraid to go to bed, so I promised him that I would be there to wake him up.
I have to be there.
Please.
Hey, Kyle.
Your mom's in the cafeteria.
Where's my Dad? He asked me to be here when you woke up.
Why didn't he come? Kyle, your dad loves you very much.
He'd do anything in the world to make you well again.
But he did something wrong Did he rob a bank or something? No.
No.
Did he hurt anybody? He broke the law He broke the law to get you a kidney.
He was just trying to help you.
So, why is that wrong? John, what you did took a lot of balls.
Yeah, well, I gotta be able to sleep at night.
I just came from the Federal Courthouse.
James McGovern is pleading out.
How much time did he get? Eighteen months.
No one should have to choose between obeying the law and watching their child die.
At least the judge postponed his surrender date for six weeks.
You mean, he gets to bury Kyle before he goes to prison.
No, John, maybe not.
The NTCC moved Kyle up to the top of the list.
What about Amy? She just went to the hospital.
Kid on a motorcycle cracked up doing 140 on the BQE.
The kidney's a match.
Hi, John.
Where are you going? Home.
Did something happen to the kidney? I don't want it.
Why not? Kyle McGovern's gonna die.
We'd both have a kidney if it wasn't for me.
If I turn it down, it goes to him.
You could die waiting for the next one.
I'll take my chances.