Law & Order (1990) s10e14 Episode Script

NARRATOR: In the criminal justice system the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups, the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
COMMISSIONER'S AIDE: Commissioner wants to know what you've got.
A mob hit or a serial killer? Truth is, we don't know.
Did the victim have ties to organized crime? Maybe.
Brecker was in the garment business.
How about the shooter? It's possible.
We're checking his associates.
Why did he confess to the Woodruff murder and not the others? Maybe he wasn't looking forward to being executed.
You know, I came down here to get answers and all I'm getting is conjecture and speculation.
We got both squads on the case.
We're pooling our resources to form a task force.
Well, then get some results.
The Mayor's on the warpath.
If Pruitt's not our man, the next body's on you.
I think Pruitt's our guy.
Too bad the Mayor and the Police Commissioner don't agree with you, Lennie.
What do they want? Three witnesses ID'd him.
How about a murder weapon, or a motive? The guy's a psycho.
Who just happened to shoot a guy who got brass-knuckled the week before.
We gotta rule out every other theory.
In the meantime, we can hold him on the illegal ammo.
Well, Pruitt was locked up out in California till about five months ago.
Uh, he buddied up with a mob guy from Ohio named Ordoniez, he got out about the same time.
See if they'll send us a mug shot.
Briscoe and Munch will run with the mob angle at OCCB.
Yeah.
Stabler.
Get Helen Katisch down to our house.
I want to have a long talk with her.
VAN BUREN: That leaves the victim's second wife.
Well, when we talked to her, we didn't know about the beating her husband had taken.
Maybe she was too scared to talk to us about it.
Well, let's just nail it down.
I don't wanna eat another bucket of brownies.
Green, Benson.
Convince her that she has nothing to be afraid of now.
Right.
Except for the.
44 we can't turn up.
The papers said you arrested somebody.
We did, Mrs.
Brecker.
What? You don't think it's him? We're just dotting our I's.
You didn't tell us about the beating your husband got three weeks before he was killed.
A beating? He was in the emergency room at St.
Vincent's.
You signed him out.
He was in a car accident.
Look, we checked with the local precinct.
He was found semi-conscious in Madison Square Park.
These people.
How do I know they won't come after me? We arrest them.
Now tell us.
What kind of trouble was your husband in? Stanley got calls from some man.
He wouldn't leave his name.
Did your husband owe anybody money? He sold the municipal bonds we bought for our daughter's college.
I saw the confirmation in the mail a few days before he was killed.
Did he tell you why? He said it was business, and then he mumbled something about "We're not moving to Arizona.
" Does that mean he wasn't cheating on me with the girl in the car? That would be the good news.
Victim's name is Stanley Brecker.
Well, if his name ever made it into an intelligence report or a DD-5, it should pop.
Unless he slipped under the radar.
Yeah, well I gotta tell you, fellas, clientele here usually doesn't leave witnesses.
Yeah, that's been bothering me, too.
Yeah, there's a reference to his company, Andorra Sportswear.
Couple of goombahs were seen paying him a visit.
BRISCOE: Anybody we can talk to? (EXHALES) C.
I.
Named Stevie D'Angelo, got feelers in the garment business.
He's a gambler.
You might try one of the sports bars around the Garden.
If we time it right, we might catch the Knicks against Philly.
I see enough criminals at work.
Two horse, going off at 12-1.
She a lock.
She's got rundown bandages on her legs.
Claim is for 12-5.
What do you want? We wanna hear about Stanley Brecker.
Don't know the man.
Brecker took a.
44 to the left temple a few nights ago.
If I heard something, I'd give it to you.
He owned a company called Andorra Sportswear, on 35th Street.
Could've been about garbage.
Gus lacone, he controls hauling around here.
Most of lacone's crew was indicted by the Feds last year.
Yeah, nobody was making their collections.
A few months ago, they got it straightened out.
So why whack a businessman? While Gus's boys were on ice, some of the garmentos, they got used to taking out their own trash.
So the crew, they, uh, they brought in a guy from Ohio to take care of business.
Cesare Ordoniez? I'm not that close to it.
You know anybody who got a house call? Yeah.
Uh, check out an outfit called D&G Fashion Worldwide.
Before Ohio came in, they were crowing about getting lacone off their backs.
Turns out Stanley Brecker might've had problems with the mob in his garment business.
VAN BUREN: Like what? John and I got a lead.
Gus lacone brought in an out-of-town consultant to straighten out his accounts.
It could be this skell, Ordoniez.
INS says he moved to Ohio from Cuba in '81.
About the time Fidel emptied his prisons.
VAN BUREN: Did you show his photo to our eyewitness? Helen Katisch, she disappeared Monday night.
Didn't go home, didn't go to work the next day.
So we're worse off than we started.
Well, I'm trying to dig up the witnesses from the old.
44 shootings.
Olivia and I can keep after Helen Katisch.
Well? Helen Katisch started eight months ago.
She having any problems? I just work here.
What kind of work she do? ERIC: Real-time webcast.
Peep shows on the Internet.
ED: Any idea where Helen is? No.
Are we bothering you? I've got six chat rooms to monitor.
Maybe you'd focus better if we shut 'em down and brought vice up here.
It's all legal, nobody touches anybody.
Maybe they're making arrangements.
They might need to look at your computers.
Okay, sorry.
Who bankrolls this place, anyway? A subsidiary of a holding company of an LLP.
When was the last time you saw Helen? Monday.
She seemed fine, got a nice check.
So, no money problems then? Did okay once she started doing girl-on-girl.
Okay, thanks.
BENSON: Hold on.
Who'd she work with? ERIC: Danielle.
They get along okay? Actually, yeah.
Once they started working together, they really hit it off.
Okay, thanks.
Nice catch.
Didn't mean to rush you.
No problem.
Everyone's got their own style.
My father used to call me Fast Eddie.
(CHUCKLES) Oh, yeah? Déjà vu, Lennie.
The smell of gabardine and sewing machine oil.
Why, one of your old girlfriends work in a sweat shop? My grandfather was a cutter.
Forty years later and I'm back where I started.
Nah.
Oh, look, John.
The latest thing in men's wear.
What can I do for you guys? Pick that up on a bump run in Telluride? I fell down some stairs.
BRISCOE: Taking out your garbage? In my parking garage.
We're looking for the guy who pushed you.
You must think I'm a moron.
I got work to do.
(CAR HONKS) I didn't see him get beat up or nothing.
So what happened? Mr.
Levine called for his Lexus.
Except when he comes down the steps, he's all dirty, hopping on one foot.
Man was in a lot of pain.
See anybody here that day who didn't belong? Well, there was this guy, pulled in right before Mr.
Levine came down.
Said he wanted to park his own car.
Ten minutes later, he zooms outta here.
You remember the car? Gold Lincoln, about 10 years old.
Ohio plates.
If you find him, he owes 20 bucks.
For 10 minutes? You were in Baltimore too long.
Is this the guy? Yeah, right.
He the one that did this? So I've been working at Oceanside about a year.
That's where I met Helen.
We understand you two were, uh, close.
Oh, the girl-girl thing? Just a way to make money.
Was she seeing anyone? Uh, she broke up with her last boyfriend about a few months ago.
He moved back to Japan.
Was she having any problems recently? DANIELLE: Not really.
ED: She mention any threats, maybe she was hanging out with the wrong people? Look, Helen was doing some outcall before the web thing was happening but she was getting out of that.
Where was she going? We were gonna set up our own site on the web.
She ordered those computers over there and an ISDN line, whatever that is.
American entrepreneurship.
Pentium III, This is all state-of-the-art stuff.
And expensive.
Yeah, some producer she met was gonna put her in a movie.
I guess he gave her an advance.
She mention his name? No, but the last time I spoke with her she was on her way to meet him at Lago di Como.
Her name's Helen Katisch.
You remember her? Yeah, she was here.
All dolled up for the guy she was waiting for.
You saw the guy? He never showed.
Well, then how do you know she was waiting for a guy? I'm doing this 30 years.
Take my word for it.
How long was she here? Forty-five, an hour.
A little before 11:00, she ordered a second cosmopolitan.
Told me she was going out to make a phone call.
She never came back.
Monday night, you notice her outside the bar down the street? A little before 11:00? No.
I didn't see her.
I wish I could help you.
Maybe she was with a man? You got a picture of him? Sure do.
No.
He wasn't with the girl.
I saw him on his way back from the pier and he was walking very fast.
(PEOPLE SHOUTING) Our divers found it about an hour ago.
Doesn't look like it's been in there too long.
Any leads on Ordoniez? He keeps a low profile.
Well, that's his car.
And that's our witness.
MUNCH: Hello, Helen.
We ran the VIN on the Lincoln.
It was stolen in Xenia, Ohio, two months ago.
Stolen plates, papers are untraceable.
Prints? Wiped clean.
Anything in the car? A pair of latex gloves, and one of those $6 rain ponchos.
Both with the victim's blood.
Ordoniez bundled up before he braved the elements.
Forensics is doing a once-over on the car.
Any way to connect Ordoniez to the Lincoln? Well, his visa papers list a phony Cincinnati address.
Other than that Find him.
He's got sort of a sweet face.
(SCOFFS) I mean, hello, Danielle.
He killed Helen.
We're still not sure about that.
You don't have to sugarcoat it for us.
Well, sometimes it's best if we do.
Well, if you say so, Detective.
(SIGHS) This is what I have to look forward to in my fast-approaching twilight year, cyber-flirting with Betty and Veronica? Photo was taken four years ago.
Sorry.
He told Helen he was a movie producer.
Wait.
Helen told me about this guy.
ED: What'd she say? That he was making an action movie.
He was looking for girls who didn't mind taking their clothes off.
Where did she meet him? A livery driver introduced them.
You remember his name? She used MacCabee Car Service for her dates.
Thank you.
If you need to contact us.
Okay, I drove her a few times.
So what? She was doing outcall.
We could charge you with promoting prostitution.
Hey, look, I just took the job from my company.
Funny coincidence.
Every time she called your company, she asked for you.
Well, I'm a good driver.
You know what? Let's let the D.
A.
Handle it.
Hey, hey, hey, look, okay, no D.
A.
, okay? (STAMMERS) Now I get convicted, I get fired.
Right.
Last chance.
His name was Ordoniez.
Well, I only saw him twice.
When you introduced him to Helen Katisch.
No.
I just passed on his business card to her.
He said that he needed a girl to be in a movie.
Okay.
You said you saw him twice? Well, my boss asked me to give him one of our old towncars.
Well, he was having trouble with his car.
Yeah, he flooded his engine.
Finally came by last night to the garage to pick it up.
He mention where he was going? No.
But he did ask for directions to North Bergen, in Jersey.
The driver saw Ordoniez twice.
If we find him, he'll make an ID.
Anything from the garbage company? MUNCH: Pretty much what we already knew.
Lacone brought in some muscle to help solve their cash flow problems.
We have a list of the companies they're putting the screws to.
A lotta collection work for Ordoniez.
There's only 25 names.
Oh, once he kills a few, I'm sure the job gets easier.
BENSON: Hey, look at this.
Jimmy's Pick-n-Pack, North Bergen, New Jersey.
Put it down, Ordoniez! I do something? For starters, that's a Zero Halliburton Briefcase you're defacing.
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 I don't know no lacone.
BENSON: Then what are you doing in New York? Sightseeing.
What hotel you staying at? I forget the name.
Yup.
How about a street? Midtown.
The streets, they confuse me.
Yeah, 48th, 49th, 50th.
It's pretty hard to follow.
You're very funny.
Tell us who hired you and maybe we won't charge you as a serial killer.
First I'm mafia, now I'm psycho.
We know you buddied up with Arthur Pruitt in Lompoc.
BENSON: Is he working for you or just giving you pointers? When can I get some food, funny girl? I'm hungry.
Maybe tomorrow.
Or the day after that.
Ha, ha.
This is a lab report, Ordoniez.
Helen Katisch's blood was on the floor of your new car.
MUNCH: You should have splurged for a new pair of Hush Puppies.
Or at least wiped your feet.
We found a Black Talon round wedged between the seats of your Lincoln.
It matches the slug that went through Stanley Brecker's head.
All this evidence, kinda takes the fun out of it.
You like to rub my face in it? We want who hired you.
Yeah, right.
Murder for hire, then you whack a witness? We're talking the hot shot.
I talk to you, no death penalty.
Sounds reasonable.
And I only cop to the girl in the river.
You want probation, too? The first guy was already dead.
BENSON: Yeah, we know.
We got the shooter.
Your jail buddy, Arthur Pruitt.
I read that mamao confessed.
You people are stupid.
Well, we need someone of your intelligence to educate us.
I got something big.
I want the minimum.
We'll leave that to the lawyers.
You heard of the Mulroneys? The daughter killed the first guy.
She killed him in her place.
I got a call to clean it up.
Made it look like one of Pruitt's jobs.
Had to whack the second guy to cover it up for them.
That was a mob hit.
Two birds one stone.
How did the Mulroneys contact you? I got a call from Gus lacone.
Why should we believe any of this? I took pictures of the dead guy up in her place.
Just in case.
You can't truly believe that my daughter shot this man.
I had three M.
E.
's go over Woodruff's autopsy.
The cause of death was a blow to the head.
A man confessed.
Uh, Arthur Pruitt.
We have six witnesses who swear they saw him sleeping in the lobby of his hotel.
The damage from the hollow-point gunshot concealed the microscopic evidence of brain hemorrhaging.
It was a set-up, Mrs.
Mulroney.
Let's not jump to any irresponsible conclusions.
This is a clear case of self-defense.
How do you figure? Mr.
Woodruff was invited to Stephanie's apartment for coffee.
He tried to rape her.
She struck him with an ashtray.
Should have pressed charges against this young man at the college.
Why is this the first time we're hearing about this? We didn't think the authorities would find her explanation credible.
So we took matters into our own hands.
You have to understand our position.
The scrutiny that my family is under is enormous.
So you secured the services of a mob hit man to cover up the mess? At worst, Mr.
Ordoniez shot a corpse.
And another man to allay suspicion.
RUMSEY: We knew nothing about that.
Unless I'm not misinformed, the victim was a target of organized crime long before this ever happened.
We have Gus lacone in custody.
You can be sure I'll be talking to him.
The man is a gangster.
He'll say anything to mitigate his responsibility.
All right.
Who called lacone to clean up Stephanie's mess? I am not at liberty to divulge that.
Are you taking the Fifth, Mr.
Rumsey? No.
JACK: Then you're giving me the run-around.
This is a very sensitive matter.
JACK: It's time to put it all on the table.
RUMSEY: We have.
My client was fending off a sexual assault.
At least investigate her story.
As a favor to our family.
The welfare of your family is not my concern, Mrs.
Mulroney.
Fine, Mr.
McCoy.
Then I think we're done.
For now.
Mr.
Lacone agrees to this meeting, you agree not to seek a bail increase.
Those are the ground rules.
Now who ordered the murders of Stanley Brecker and Helen Katisch? What's he talking about? Let's not play games, Mr.
Lacone.
We know you were called to clean-up for the Mulroneys.
Tell us about the other murders.
Maybe we can offer some consideration.
Consideration for what? Two counts of murder, conspiracy, extortion, racketeering You can recite the table of contents of the penal law until hell freezes over.
You still need evidence.
Ordoniez flipped on your client.
Ordoniez? Never heard of him.
You wasted my time, Mr.
Glick.
We still have our agreement.
Our agreement? What agreement? I thought Mr.
Pruitt confessed to the Woodruff murder.
He didn't do it.
He was taking credit for Ordoniez's handiwork.
Then charge him with the six-year-old murders.
One witness.
No weapon, no motive.
We're holding him on a weapons felony until something breaks.
So we go after lacone.
Stephanie Mulroney can't connect him to the murders.
Or won't.
And Rumsey's hiding behind attorney-client privilege.
How about Stephanie Mulroney? Well, if you believe her story, she didn't murder anybody, and a jury might buy her self-defense claim.
JACK: Dean Woodruff had no criminal record.
It's a classic he-said-she-said, except he's dead.
Woodruff was divorced three years ago.
The court papers allege adultery and physical and emotional cruelty.
Standard for divorce pleadings.
If he was dangerous, why did she invite him over? Doesn't make sense.
Don't be so quick to dismiss it.
She's a screw-up, Adam.
Her track record says it's a smoke screen.
(SIGHS) Check out her story.
I was married to Dean for four years.
That last stretch was pretty rough on me.
I read the divorce papers.
Then you know the whole story.
Matrimonial lawyers sometimes use those buzzwords to get more leverage.
With Dean, they weren't buzzwords.
He was violent? Yeah.
Did you ever get medical attention? Dean wasn't that stupid.
He cheated on you? He couldn't keep his hands off anything with a thong.
How'd you find out? One of the girls he worked with called me.
Emily Shore.
She said Dean wouldn't leave her alone.
They sent me with Dean to Rochester for a sales conference.
Two o'clock in the morning, he pounds on my door, tries to force his way in.
I had to call security.
What happened when you both got back to New York? Well, he started hitting on me at the office.
Hitting on you, how? Well, you know, he'd come in and try to kiss me.
When he put his hand inside my blouse, that's when I decided to call his wife.
Did that put an end to it? No.
What happened? Well, um, one night in the conference room, um We were here late, uh, working on a presentation.
He raped me.
Did you tell anybody? I know I should have but, um, he was my boss.
I, uh, I didn't think anybody would believe me.
They'll have two witnesses that'll corroborate Woodruff was a pig.
Makes it tough to disprove self-defense.
You want to drop the homicide, proceed on evidence tampering? That's not enough leverage to have her roll on lacone.
But if it was self-defense? Her cover-up resulted in two other murders.
I'm not making a deal.
Nice to see you without your entourage, Regina.
Things were simpler back when, Adam.
(SIGHS) Old age stinks.
No argument from me.
(CHUCKLES) Listen to us.
We're holding up pretty well for two old battle-axes.
Better, if it wasn't for this business.
Can't you make it go away, Adam? Regina I'm not suggesting anything improper.
But I hear your investigation clears my daughter.
Who told you that? I have my eyes and ears, even in your office.
The Mulroney name still has some clout.
Well, I hope you're not here to beat me over the head with it.
My family's been through a lot.
You know that as well as anyone.
I have my best man on it.
Jack McCoy? Not the most sympathetic soul.
He'll give you a fair shake.
That's all I'm asking.
When Gerry was alive, he did the same for you.
It's lonely without them.
It is.
I enjoyed that day we spent together last year on Shelter Island.
I still have the house.
I'm not much for the beach.
Well, call me when this all blows over.
There's some single malt I've been saving.
We'll raise a glass to our better halves.
You look tired, Adam.
Regina Mulroney came to see me.
To make a campaign contribution? She says that your investigation clears her daughter.
I don't know about "clears.
" The late Mr.
Woodruff was apparently a rapist.
Then think of dropping the murder charge.
Because the case is marginal or because it's Regina Mulroney's daughter? Anything new on the.
44 killer? Just the one witness who ID'd the wrong guy six years ago.
We'll be lucky to get an indictment, and then there's this.
ADAM: What now? Our case against lacone.
Ordoniez has an out-of-state perjury conviction.
They're moving to preclude his testimony.
(CHUCKLES) Three cases going down the tubes.
Glad I stopped by.
The people's star witness against Mr.
Lacone In fact, their only witness, did 18 months in Nevada on perjury.
That doesn't disqualify Mr.
Ordoniez from testifying.
How about the seven other convictions? Sounds pretty severe, Mr.
McCoy.
Mr.
Glick can lay it out for the jury.
Goes to weight, not admissibility.
The man's a born liar, Judge.
To put the icing on the cake, Mr.
McCoy offered this dirtbag a deal.
Who does Mr.
Glick think would have the goods on his client? An ethics professor? Sorry, Mr.
McCoy.
I'm not turning this trial into a homage to dishonesty.
His testimony's precluded.
Hey, how'd it go? We have nothing on lacone.
Wait till his lawyer bitches and drop the indictment.
I've been digging into Stephanie Mulroney's witnesses.
Anything shake out? I read Woodruff's personnel file.
Outstanding performance reviews, there's nothing about sexual misconduct.
How about Emily Shore's? There's no complaints against Woodruff.
It doesn't even look like they worked together.
Maybe the company didn't want to leave a paper trail.
Jack, I think they're lying about Woodruff.
I had a look at the ex-wife's divorce deposition.
It's a straight-up asset war.
She never mentioned his philandering or abuse.
You smell a fix? Emily Shore paid cash for a new BMW last week.
You lied to me.
You never even worked with Dean Woodruff.
He still came on to me.
The trip to Rochester? I called the hotel.
You didn't check in.
What's even worse, Ms.
Shore, you were prepared to go to court and perjure yourself.
Am I going to jail? You accepted a bribe.
They can't prove it.
For how long? CARMICHAEL: Seven or eight years.
It's a bluff.
Just keep your mouth shut.
What? To protect the people who hired you? Who's doing this, Ms.
Shore? He just said to call him Pat.
He said he worked for the Mulroneys.
JACK: What else did he tell you? That Dean raped the Mulroney girl.
That they could prove it if somebody said he did it before.
I took the money.
So did Dean's ex-wife.
Call Briscoe and Green.
Have them arrest Pat Rumsey for murder and bribery.
I'll go with them.
And after they get him, pick up Regina Mulroney.
Patrick Rumsey, will you turn around please? What is this? (HANDCUFFS CLICKING) You're arresting me? For the murders of Stanley Brecker and Helen Katisch.
You have the right to remain silent.
Sorry, Mrs.
Mulroney, department regulations.
Could you please stand up? Excuse me? You're being charged with two counts of second degree murder.
You can't be serious.
I'm afraid so.
I want to call Mr.
Rumsey.
He's been arrested, ma'am.
You can call another lawyer from downtown.
I can't believe we're doing this.
"People v.
Regina Mulroney, "Stephanie Mulroney and Patrick Rumsey.
"Two counts of murder in the second degree, "tampering with a witness in the first degree.
" (REPORTERS CHATTERING) Quiet in here! Not guilty all around, Your Honor.
You looking for bail, Ms.
Carmichael? Stephanie Mulroney's a flight risk, we're asking (REPORTERS EXCLAIMING) (GAVEL POUNDING) The next person who makes a sound goes in the back.
If the D.
A.
's office hadn't tipped off the press you could conduct business in here, Judge.
Thanks for your concern, Ms.
Kelly.
We're asking two million on each of the other defendants.
Do I have to respond to this, Your Honor? These people are pillars of the community.
CARMICHAEL: Who covered up a murder by killing two people.
A mob hit man confessed to these crimes.
I'm not trying the case here, Counselors.
I strongly doubt these defendants are going on the lam.
Five hundred thousand apiece.
You lost your mind? Don't chide me, Adam.
They paid off three witnesses.
Regina Mulroney deliver the cash? She'd never get her hands dirty.
Can you prove that she knew about it? It was for her daughter.
Oh, then you've got bribery.
Two people were killed to further this cover-up.
The fish stinks from the head.
She'll eat you and your fish for breakfast.
Mulroney is just a name.
A name that elected two mayors and a governor.
It doesn't give her immunity for murder.
Not in the law books.
If there's a conflict of interest here What's that? You might want to request a special prosecutor.
It's your case.
Before you bury yourself, see what she has to say.
REGINA: That's Evan when he was 13, and Trina three months before the accident.
Thank you, Phyllis.
Sure you want to talk without counsel? I'd prefer it that way.
Adam wanted me to hear your side of the story.
I don't have a story.
Whatever Pat did, he did without my knowledge.
I find that hard to believe.
How so? I have trouble believing he came up with enough money to bribe two witnesses.
Pat has power of attorney over many of my accounts.
And I can't believe he has the connections to pull it off.
Do you realize what you're saying? Perfectly.
Well, now, who the hell are you? The guy who's going to convict you of murder.
Unless you want to talk about a deal.
Regina Mulroney does not deal.
Regina O'Brien would.
I know where you and the Mulroney fortune come from.
Real estate investment.
And before that? All great fortunes have a secret, Mr.
McCoy.
It's how you spend the money that counts.
My family's philanthropy is well-documented.
And so is the influence peddling.
How dare you? You come after me, I will crush you! Regina Mulroney is putting it all on you, Mr.
Rumsey.
The cover-up, the payoffs, the murders.
She wouldn't do that.
I've sacrificed my career for that family.
And blood is thicker than water.
Especially Mulroney blood.
What are your terms? He pleads to one of the murders.
And he testifies against the Mulroneys.
I can't testify.
Then you'll do back to back.
No one was supposed to get killed.
And you could have walked away before it ever got that far.
And what would I do? Hang out a shingle? I'm 62 years old.
It doesn't move me, Mr.
Rumsey.
(BREATHES DEEPLY) Regina called me to her home the night that Woodruff was killed.
It was about 1:00 a.
m.
Stephanie was in her kitchen, she was in tears, shaking.
Regina went upstairs and came back with a phone number.
She said to call from outside, these people would take care of it.
JACK: Whose number was it? Gus lacone.
What happened? I went to a pay-phone.
Mr.
Lacone said to take Stephanie back to her home, someone would meet us there.
I waited with her until a man came and took the body out.
JACK: And what happened after Stephanie Mulroney was arrested for this crime? RUMSEY: Regina said to contact Mr.
Lacone again.
He would know how to take the suspicion off Stephanie.
I made the phone call.
A few days later, another man was shot in the head.
What else was done to further this cover-up? Two witnesses were paid to attest to Mr.
Woodruff's violent propensities.
If he date-raped the defendant in college, why was that necessary? The true story was that she had consensual sex with Mr.
Woodruff, and when he wouldn't see her again, she filed charges.
So she killed him to avenge his rejection? RUMSEY: To the contrary.
In the middle of their tryst, he tried to leave and she said, "No one walks out on a Mulroney.
" (CLEARS THROAT) Mr.
Rumsey, besides Mrs.
Mulroney, do you have any other clients? Just her and the family.
And one of your duties was to, uh, run interference for Stephanie? I didn't run interference.
Well, let's see, you beat a cocaine charge for her in Florida, hushed up a sexual incident at Barrett College, you made a career keeping her out of trouble.
I had other responsibilities.
When Stephanie got into these scrapes, it reflected poorly on you? I'm not her babysitter.
Come on, Mr.
Rumsey.
When Stephanie got into trouble, it was only natural that she call you.
She didn't call me this time.
Mrs.
Mulroney called me.
So you say.
Who delivered the bribe money to the individuals who testified earlier they were paid off? I did, but And you were the one who had all the contact with Mr.
Lacone? At Mrs.
Mulroney's direction.
But she never told you to have someone killed? That was the implication.
An implication you clarified in no uncertain terms to Mr.
Lacone.
No.
Isn't it a fact, sir, that you devised this cover-up? No.
Ordered the murders and obtained the money for the perjured testimony? No, I was just the middle man.
Can you point to one objective fact, sir, other than your self-serving testimony, that connects Mrs.
Regina Mulroney with these acts? Thank you, Mr.
Rumsey.
STEPHANIE: Dean and I left Le Bar together, I don't know, sometime after midnight.
I asked him over for coffee.
What happened when you got home? As soon as we got in the door he was all over me.
When he tried to get my pants off, there was this big ashtray on the coffee table.
I grabbed for it and I hit him.
KELLY: How many times? STEPHANIE: Three or four.
I wanted him to stop.
I thought I knocked him out.
But he didn't have a pulse.
So I went over to Uncle Pat's, Pat Rumsey.
Why, Stephanie? I've been in trouble a lot.
He was the one that always came to my rescue.
KELLY: And did he this time? STEPHANIE: He took me back to my apartment.
He said that a man was coming and that I should do whatever he said.
KELLY: Then what happened? This man came.
He moved the body into Dean's car.
I followed him in his Lincoln to the park.
(SIGHS) Then he said that he was going to shoot him and if the police ever found out I was with him, I was supposed to say that a man with glasses did it, and that's what I did.
No further questions.
You accused Dean Woodruff of raping you in college? STEPHANIE: I withdrew the charges.
Because it wasn't true? What Pat said is a lie.
I never consented.
So you invited the man who raped you over to your place? For coffee? STEPHANIE: When I saw him at the bar, he apologized.
He He said that he still really liked me, that he'd grown up since college, maybe things might work out with us now.
JACK: Oh, so when your good friend, Dean Woodruff, was lying unconscious in your apartment, did you ever think of calling the police? Or an ambulance? I was scared.
I didn't know what to do.
Instead when the police tracked it to you, you made up a huge lie? That was how Pat said to take care of it.
JACK: And later, you falsely accused another man of the crime? Uncle Pat said he had killed some other people.
It was part of the plan.
Just as your testimony here is part of the plan? No! JACK: So after lying and deceiving the authorities for months, you want this jury to believe that now you're telling the truth? I am.
Instead of protecting yourself and your mother, which you've done all along? I'm telling the truth.
There's a first time for everything, huh, Ms.
Mulroney? Objection! Withdrawn.
Regina Mulroney testifies tomorrow.
Working on your cross? Any insights? Brace yourself.
Why is everyone afraid of this woman? Regina's favorite joke, the difference between lace-curtain Irish and shanty Irish? Lace-curtain Irish move the dishes before they piss in the kitchen sink.
(LAUGHS) Yeah.
She's shanty Irish, and proud of it.
And so am I.
SCHIFF: On the night Mr.
Woodruff was murdered, where were you Mrs.
Mulroney? REGINA: In my home, sleeping.
And how did you find out what happened to your daughter? Patrick called me the next morning.
He told me that my daughter had been in a car, the driver was shot.
What was your reaction? My reaction? "Here we go again.
" Meaning what, Mrs.
Mulroney? Stephanie's no angel.
One has only to read the newspapers to know that.
But all her youthful transgressions are fodder for those people who seek to disgrace me and my family.
Let me ask you, then, did you have any knowledge of what transpired in Stephanie's apartment the night Mr.
Woodruff was killed? No, I did not.
SCHIFF: Did you in any way participate in, or orchestrate, a cover-up of these events? Absolutely not.
Thank you, Mrs.
Mulroney.
When did Stephanie finally tell you her version of what happened? Never.
Patrick told me, after you had her arrested.
Just another one of Stephanie's "youthful transgressions," right, Mrs.
Mulroney? Is that a question or an editorial? (PEOPLE MURMURING) You keep bailing her out of trouble, don't you? I can't defend some of the things my daughter has done.
But I've lost I've lost a husband and two children along the way.
You grab hold of what's left.
JACK: By lying to the police, by making false statements? Oh, I'm not defending what they did.
By ordering murders? It was Patrick who did this.
He used your money and your connections, but you had nothing to do with it? What do you mean by "my connections"? Gus lacone.
In your wildest dreams, would I have the phone number of a mobster? You tell me, Mrs.
Mulroney? It is an insult, Mr.
McCoy.
Answer the question, ma'am.
You're too smart to believe what Patrick said here.
That's not responsive.
Judge? I think it is.
Move along, Mr.
McCoy.
What interest would Mr.
Rumsey have in covering for your daughter without your approval? A misguided sense of loyalty, I suppose.
Didn't he do it to protect you from embarrassment? I don't need Patrick's protection.
Don't you, Mrs.
Mulroney? Didn't you testify that the whole world is looking for opportunities to disgrace you? My family has dedicated our lives to this city.
The Mulroneys honor public service.
My husband chaired the mayor's commission on charter reform.
My son died in Kosovo I didn't ask about your family.
He was killed in a plane crash with the ambassador, serving the people of this great nation.
Move to strike.
Overruled.
She's evading my questions.
Let her have her say, Mr.
McCoy.
So she can prejudice the jury with her personal misfortunes? REGINA: What is wrong with you, Mr.
McCoy? Can't you understand the burden that comes with this legacy? Can't you understand everything in our lives under a microscope? Our lives being dissected by petty, envious people.
After all we've done for this city, you insult everything my family stands for with your false and reckless accusations! (SOBBING) JUDGE: Has the jury reached a verdict? FOREWOMAN: For the most part, Your Honor.
We'll record the verdict for Stephanie Mulroney first.
Will the defendant please rise? On the count of tampering with evidence, how do you find? We find Stephanie Mulroney guilty.
JUDGE: And on the count of murder in the second degree? FOREWOMAN: We couldn't reach a verdict on that charge, Judge.
Will Regina Mulroney please rise? On the count of tampering with evidence, how do you find? We find Regina Mulroney not guilty on all counts.
JUDGE: Even the murder charges? FOREWOMAN: Yes.
Not guilty.
Mrs.
Mulroney, you are free to go.
You want to retry the girl? I don't see how it'll make a difference.
Regina Mulroney will park herself in the gallery.
And half the jury'll be enchanted.
Or manipulated.
She rode the graves of her family to an acquittal.
You knew who you were dealing with.
The Mulroney legacy lives on.
At least until the next catastrophe.
It's the catastrophes that keep it going.