Law & Order (1990) s15e18 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.
MAN: Most people aren't allowed in.
But we're special, right? Used to bring your father here when he was your age.
Oh, look.
A hawk! See it? Grandpa? Up in the tree.
Grandpa? ED: Never been in here before.
It's the last private park in Manhattan.
FONTANA: Yeah, you know, you'd think it'd really be something, wouldn't you? Just looks like another park to me.
What's the big deal? You tell a New Yorker they can't go somewhere, they won't rest till they do.
Hey, what you got, man? Female, white.
Maybe late 40s.
No ID, no purse, no wallet.
What, is it a robbery? It could be.
But she's got diamond earrings on worth more than my car.
And that's a Prada coat she's wearing.
How long? Rigor, lividity, never hit freezing last night Let's say 10 hours.
Petechial hemorrhaging, bruising on the neck.
FONTANA: Swollen lip and a nice shiner.
ED: She's got a bloodstain on her dress.
Oh, it could be blood.
I don't see any lacerations.
Hey, Sarge, are those your footprints facing the body? Uh, no, they're not.
Can we get a mold on those? And those over there, too? Got it.
(CHATTERING) Well Maybe it's nicer in the spring.
I don't recognize her.
But I knew it was only a matter of time before something horrible happened.
They leave the gate open.
Who's "They"? Well, the Falls Foundation.
Their benefit dinners? The Director lets the guests into the park.
It was like Grand Central last night.
How many key-holders are there? Oh, well, not many.
That's the point.
A few hundred.
Oh, you have to live adjacent to the park and pay a maintenance fee that isn't cheap.
What time did you see all these people? Well, we take a walk around the perimeter of the park from 9:00 to 9:20.
Or Sammi gets upset.
How did you know the people were from the Foundation? Well, the Director of the Falls Foundation was right over there, leading the parade.
Oh, my God.
This is a friend of ours.
Lisa Taylor.
One of our favorite volunteers.
Uh, and she was at your benefit last night? She was the benefit.
Helped plan it, sold two of our most expensive tables.
"A brighter future for kids in need.
" That's what we do at the Falls Foundation.
We raise money for children in need.
Last night's benefit was for children affected by the tsunami.
So many orphans.
That's a great cause.
How'd you guys do? We raised several hundred thousand dollars.
Listen, we're gonna need a list of everybody that was here last night.
Yeah, and if you could tell us which of your guests were in the park.
I wouldn't know that.
I was inside all night.
We have a witness who saw you in the park.
They're mistaken.
It wasn't me.
(DOOR OPENING) ED: She seemed pretty sure.
Ah, Detectives, my brother Max, the Foundation Chairman.
Uh, how you doing, man? Um, were you in the park last night? I was.
Uh, in fact, I was with a few guests.
Everything all right? The woman they found murdered? It was Lisa.
Our Lisa? Yeah.
Oh, my God.
Her poor husband.
Police? (CHUCKLES) Wow.
What am I, in trouble? Aw, jeez, it's almost noon.
Uh, sir, can you just walk us through where you were last night? (LAUGHS) Why, what's up? What's going on? Please, Mr.
Taylor.
If you could just tell us where you were.
I'm the chef at the Chelsea Steakhouse.
Iwent in about noon.
ED: What time did you get home? And when was the last you spoke to your wife? Lisa? What does she have to do with this? Did you see her when you got in? Well, I didn't wanna wake her.
She gets up early for work.
I just hung out on the couch, I watched a little TV, I sacked out and slept right through What's going on? Maybe Maybe you should sit down.
Screw that.
Just tell me.
We found your wife's body this morning.
Murdered.
The sous chef confirms that Taylor was working in that restaurant all night long.
What else? Crime Scene's working on some footprints, and we're waiting to see if there's any activity on her missing credit cards.
And we're still trying to get a hold of Cynthia and Bud Walden.
Taylor said that they were supposed to share a taxi home with his wife after that benefit.
What about the blood stain on Mrs.
Taylor's dress? We have to check with the M.
E.
All right.
Cause of death, strangulation.
Lots of bruising, no lacerations.
As for the stain, it is blood, and it's not the victim's.
Well, could it be her assailant's? I doubt it.
It's from a psoas majoris bovinis.
What? (SIGHS) It's filet mignon.
With maybe a dash of mushroom Bordelaise.
She was wearing her dinner.
Great.
Yeah.
As to whether she fought off her attacker Skin and blood under her nails.
Now, would that be human skin? and it's not hers.
Soon as the lab gets DNA, I'll call you.
You know, you could have told us that in the first place.
It's not as much fun.
Lisa was such an asset to the Foundation.
Uh, Head of Programming at Cuisine TV, so she knew about food.
Well, no disrespect, but she didn't know the difference between prosciutto and pastram i.
Bud! Well, listen, she was a sharp businesswoman, I'll give her that.
She knew her way around a balance sheet.
Her husband said that you guys were planning to share a taxi ride home together? Yes, we did, but she left early.
FONTANA: How come? Well, she got in an argument with Max Finneran, our Chairman of the Board.
They really were into it.
What did they fight about? Oh, the Foundation Board of Directors.
See,Budis the largest contributor to the Foundation.
Uh, one of the largest.
Um, naturally, he's on the Board.
Uh, Lisa wanted to be, too, but Max wouldn't approve her.
Uh, felt she was disruptive.
And you both overheard this argument? I caught the tail end of it.
I was in the bathroom.
But if you want more details, you can talk to Eugene Syles.
The architect? He was sitting at her table.
The argument had nothing to do with Lisa wanting to be on their precious Board.
Then what was it about? Lisa saw an expense report, and got it into her head the brothers were padding expenses.
She confronted them? She confronted Max when he came to our table to schmooze.
Called him a thief.
He called her a liar.
How did it end? Well, she said she knew what was going on and she wasn't just gonna turn a blind eye, and then she stomped out.
And what did he do? He went to find his brother.
Here we are, trying to help tsunami victims.
Orphans, for God's sake, and they're at each other's throats.
You know, it wouldn't surprise me if the twins were trying to cash in on the tsunami.
Oh, me, neither.
But, you know, before we talk to the twins, it might be a good idea to know if there was any evidence that their fingers were in the cookie jar.
Well, the Attorney General has got a charity fraud unit.
Let's see what they know about the Falls Foundation.
Works for me.
Twenty thousand non-profits report to us, and we have a grand total of seven accountants to review the paperwork.
On paper, mind you.
No computers? Can you believe it? Most charities don't get audited unless someone on the inside blows the whistle.
And what happens then? What do you guys look for? At least 60% of the money donated should get to the people it was meant to help.
Otherwise, that charity is ineffective.
Maybe worse.
Speaking of which, Falls Foundation took in 4.
6 million last year.
Gave away 30 grand.
What? That's far less than 60%.
Yeah, what the hell happened to the rest of the money? We won't know until we audit their books, and that'll take us some time to put into motion.
This is a homicide investigation.
I don't follow.
We'll get you those books.
What the hell is this? You gotta be kidding me.
Marshal! What's the story? Uh, fire's point of origin was the office of the Falls Foundation.
Course it was.
So their records and paperwork No, most of it's okay.
We got here in time.
I'm sure they'll be glad to hear about that.
Any idea what caused it? From the smell when we got here, I'd say an accelerant was used.
Paint thinner, maybe? So, it wasn't a pro.
Strictly amateur hour.
Thanks, bro.
Thank you.
Gentlemen! We just spoke to the Fire Marshal, and surprise, surprise, he suspects arson.
Oh, my God.
Who would do such athing? Who? Well, whoever did it, you can be sure we'll find them and they will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
I would hope so.
And you'll be happy to know that all of the records in your office survived.
Unscathed and intact.
Oh, that's That's a relief.
Speaking of which, why was Mrs.
Taylor upset about your expense reports? Our expense report? The night of the benefit? The night she died? FONTANA: You remember you had a fight with her? Oh, it wasn't a fight.
She was confused.
Let's cut to the chase.
Mrs.
Taylor knew that you were ripping off the Foundation and you fought.
I didn't.
You mean me.
Exactly, and she was going to report you to the Attorney General's office.
Okay, are Are we under arrest here? We're the victims here.
Our offices were just firebombed.
And the last thing we need is to be harassed by a pair of Gestapo thugsmflfl1badges“.
Thugs! You listen to me.
You and your Doublemint freak show partner here better learn some manners, do you understand? Huh? Joe.
Let him go.
We'll get with them later.
Come on, get outta here.
You will hear from our attorney.
I will file a formal complaint.
A brutality complaint.
Yeah, well, don't forget to spell my name right, you little creep.
What'd you do that for? I wanted to give one of them a black eye so we could tell them apart.
We don't need to.
We could just run their DNA.
That's only from one of them.
Identical twins have identical DNA.
Just what the world needs.
Two of these guys.
Assuming we do get a positive match, we still can't tell which brother did it.
Well, that Barry's got an alibi, but for all we know they could've switched places.
And play one twin off against the other? I don't think so.
Detectives.
Hey! You ran a DNA test for us? Got it right here.
We checked the sample you gave us against skin from under the victim's nails.
FONTANA: And? There was no match.
Dead end.
Two of them.
The Attorney General's indicting the twins for grand larceny, a possible five-to-15.
Fire Marshal's still investigating the arson.
Well, that's the thing about twins.
Basically, they're a conspiracy of two.
So let's try a new angle.
Lisa Taylor's credit cards.
Now, there's no activity since she was murdered, but she ran up a lot of charges before her death from an account she didn't share with Mr.
Taylor, and all the bills went to her office.
Crowne Plaza, Omni Berkshire, Sheraton.
Yeah, she booked hotel rooms a couple of times a week.
Yeah, on nights when her husband thought she was at the charity.
It was a charity, all right.
He just didn't know what she was giving away.
Hmm.
Who's Taylor's alibi? Kitchen staff at the Chelsea Steakhouse.
Try 'em again.
See if they could cook up the same story.
Taylor was here all night.
ED: "Here," as in, in this kitchen? Can we talk about it later? Fire 13! Thirteen, go.
Bail Frenchie out.
Baboso, get yourself together.
Pick up! Hey, listen.
Does anybody know when Mr.
Taylor took his break on Friday night? Fire seven! Guys, we're in the weeds here, okay? Okay, everybody stop what you're doing, now! Okay, he left around 9:00.
When did he come back? No idea.
I saw him come in the back just after 11:00.
I was working a lot.
I almost never saw Lisa.
But I felt like she was keeping something from me, so I read one of her e-mails, and that's how I found out that she was cheating.
Who sent the e-mail? I couldn't tell from the address, and Lisa wouldn't tell me, but she said it didn't matter, that she was ending it.
Did she? She said she did.
I believe her, because afterwards, she was a different person.
She was sweet and caring, and it was like we fell in love all over again, you know? (LAUGHING) So that's why you were sleeping on the couch? Look, I told you, I didn't wanna wake her.
Okay, I'm gonna ask you this one more time.
What time did you get home from the restaurant? (SIGHING) Around 3:00.
And you worked at the restaurant all night long? From noon on.
You never left? Not once.
Lieutenant said to go ahead and book him.
Book Book me? Why? You never left the restaurant, huh? Then where'd you go between 9:00 and 11:00? Where? Where? Uh Exactly.
No.
No, I said I I I see.
Yeah, I know.
I heard.
You were working.
You know what else I also heard? You have the right to remain No.
Okay, okay! I was in Washington Heights.
Really? Why? It had nothing to do with Lisa.
(STAMMERING) You work in a restaurant, the pace, the hours, sometimes you need a little help.
A boost.
Is he talking about a double espresso? Man, don't tell me you went all the way up to Washington Heights to get ice.
They got plenty of that in Chelsea.
Coke.
My guy usually delivers to the restaurant, but he got hung up.
All right, come on, Chef Boyardee.
Let's go meet your guy.
First time I ever had someone use a coke deal as an alibi.
And it checks out? We found Taylor's dealer.
He gave us the same story.
And Taylor got cash at St.
Nicholas Avenue on 181st Street.
We took this photo from the ATM machine.
He took out $300 at 10:05.
What time did Lisa Taylor leave the benefit? Eugene Syles says shelefl right around 10:00.
So Mr.
Taylor could not have been downtown in the park with his wife.
Hey,yo! lgotanlD ontheloven VAN BUREN: Thejilted lover.
That is, if you believe Mrs.
Taylor ended the affair.
I pulled the e-mail from Taylor's hard drive, and it eventually led me to this.
VAN BUREN: "Aberto Moretti, The Flavor Renaissance.
" Another chef? Well, he's doing a little better than her husband is.
He's a celebrity chef.
He's got a show on Cuisine TV, he's got a three-star restaurant in Midtown.
The guy's a regular rock star.
So if Lisa Taylor did end the affair, could be our rock star chef didn't take it so well.
I loved working with Lisa.
We all did.
It wasn't just a professional relationship, now was it? Well, I considered her also a friend.
(DETECTIVES LAUGHING) So when did the affair start? I'm sorry? FONTANA: Let's not play dumb.
We know all about it.
We met five months ago.
I was shooting the cooking show.
She came to my dressing room to congratulate me.
We immediately had sort of a connection.
Mr.
Moretti? Would you sign this? Oh, of course.
You should hang on to that for the future, ma'am.
It could get more valuable.
Is that right? Yeah.
Think Martha Stewart.
(LAUGHS) Thank you.
Buon apetito, WOMAN: Thank you.
How did you take it when Lisa ended the affair? Ended? Who said it ended? Her husband.
Please.
That's what she told him just to get him off her back.
So it wasn't over? Well, if it was, she had a strange way of showing it.
You know what I mean.
Did you see her Friday evening? No.
No, I was doing the show.
We shot until 9:30, then I met a business partner downtown.
I'll find his number for you.
You mind telling me where you got that, uh, cut? All these years as a chef, I still cut myself.
I like to think it's a badge ofhonon Do you have any other badges of honor on your body? Like on your neck or your arms, maybe? Of course not.
Mind if we take a look? Not at all, but I have a driver waiting for me outside.
He's taking me to the set, and I have a critic from the Times on Table 18.
Well, they'rejust gonna have to wait, because we're not done yet.
Am I being detained, Detective? Because if I am, I should have my lawyer here.
Then if you'll excuse me, please.
Okay.
Okay.
ED: You Mr.
Moretti's driver? I work for Cuisine TV.
I drive whoever they tell me to.
Well, what about last Friday night? Yeah, I drove Mr.
Moretti.
FONTANA: What time? Where did you drop him? Twentieth and Lex.
ED: At the park? Across the street from it.
Thank you.
So, you think the victim and Moretti agreed to meet in the park? Well, that could be where she broke it off.
Which, like you said, he didn't take that well.
What else? Crime Scene generated this from the mold of a footprint we found.
Penis W“ pounds, wears a she W boot, and we even know what kind of boot it is.
They're made by an English shoemaker, name of Jack Farlow.
Cost six grand a pair.
Come again? Well, they're custom made.
They fit your feet like a glove.
If we do find the boot, we can match the wear of the sole.
But we don't have enough for a warrant.
So we figured we'd start with the shoemaker.
There's only one in New York.
Yeah, well, there can't be a lot of people paying those prices for boots.
Six thousand dollars for a pair of boots? I'm sorry.
We don't divulge the names of our customers.
Many of them are well-known.
They value their privacy.
It's a shoe store, not a rehab clinic.
(CHUCKLES) Hey, look here.
We come back with a warrant, I can't guarantee that our boys ain't gonna toss this joint.
Be a real shame to see all of this fine quality footwear in a pile on the floor.
The name again? Moretti.
Aberto Moretti.
Yes, Mr.
Moretti.
Commissioned a pair of fixed-strap ankle-boots last spring.
FONTANA: Have you seen him since? As a matter of fact, he came in two days ago.
Don't tell me he came here to buy another pair of boots? No, he, uh, had them resoled.
Said he needed it done immediately.
I thought they were fine as they were.
Any chance those soles are still on the premises? They were thrown away.
Yeah, but you would know 'em if you saw them.
Have you thrown out the trash? Well, there's a dumpster out back, but it would take all day for me to go through it.
Well, I've got all day.
How about you? I'm even free tomorrow.
Well, there you go.
(slzzl_me) Get a little wine, turn down the flame, now that's beautiful.
We'll be right back.
Don't touch the remote.
If you miss the mascarpone tart, you'll never forgive yourself.
Basra é finite! DIRECTOR: And we're clear.
Who put the spices on the right? Who the hell is moving things around? Denise! ED: Mr.
Moretti.
You need to come with us.
Gentlemen, if you'd like to discuss what we talked about earlier, we can go to my dressing room.
Oh, it's a little too late to make nicey-nice.
You're under arrest for the murder of Lisa Taylor.
Basra, finito.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law.
You have the right to an attorney.
"Docket 49884, People v.
Aberto Moretti.
"One count of murder in the second degree.
" Aberto! Ian.
FEIST: What are you doing here? Facing murder charges, Your Honor.
This man makes the best osso buco in New York City! Your Honor! A fact which will in no way influence these proceedings.
Mr.
Moretti, how do you plead? Not guilty, Your Honor.
Ms.
Borgia? The People request remand.
My client has strong ties to this community.
He owns a restaurant on 54th Street and he stars in a cooking show filmed right here in Manhattan.
The People have considerable forensic evidence, Your Honor, including DNA.
None of which is conclusive.
The defendant will surrender his passport.
Bail is set at one million dollars.
(BANGS GAVEL) DRESSLER: My client is not interested in discussing a plea.
Tell him to reconsider.
Forensics prove only that he had an affair with the victim, which he freely admits.
He was in the park that night.
So? That's not what he told the police.
He lied to them.
And his DNA was under the victim's fingernails.
You ever had wild sex? Excuse me? You know, secretive, passionate, forbidden sex between two consenting adults? If not, I'll tell you, sometimes there's scratching involved.
Which would be relevant if Mr.
Moretti and Lisa Taylor had had sex that day.
Exactly.
You're saying they Had sex that day.
Yeah.
(SCOFFS) They could've had sex.
He says they used a condom, so there's no way to disprove it.
Kind of takes the edge off our theory that Mrs.
Taylor was ending the affair.
Have you seen this? "Aberto Moretti paints the town last month "with model Rachel Klaas"? A month before Taylor was murdered.
The jury might wonder if Moretti was really broken-hearted about Taylor if he was running around with models.
Why don't I ask her? RACHEL: Aberto and I were never exclusive.
We were on and off.
We're now seriously off.
So you knew he was seeing Mrs.
Taylor? I'd hear the messages she'd leave on his machine.
"Love you, honey.
Call me.
" Did he ever say anything about Mrs.
Taylor leaving him? No, and even if he did, he'd spin it.
Say that he dumped her.
I mean, men like Aberto, they're always the dumper, never the dumpee.
But as far as you know, they were still together? The perfect couple.
I mean, what was she? A decade older? Twelve years.
Well, they had one thing in common.
They were both in love with Aberto.
You know how they met, right? On the set of his show? They met when he went in for the pitch.
She bought the show.
I thought that He lies about it, 'cause if people knew he slept his way to a cooking show on basic cable.
I mean, how sad is that? DAN: The network wanted an ethnic show, preferably Italian, so we put Aberto on tape.
Later he sent Lisa a bottle of Chianti, a plate of carpaccio, and some caviar.
As if caviar is Italian.
Would you have hired him? It wasn't up to me.
Let's leave it at that.
And how are the ratings? We started off not so hot.
Now we're ice cold.
Shot 13 episodes, still waiting for the network to order more.
Officially, we're still on the bubble, but, uh Who makes that decision? Would've been Lisa.
Now it's him.
Mr.
Desmond.
Aberto's numbers went up temporarily after he was arrested, but now they're down again.
How did Lisa Taylor feel about the program? Ratings affect advertising.
Ads make the world go round.
Was she canceling the show? Decided to pull the plug a few days before she died.
Did Aberto know? I assume.
Lisa could've had someone else tell him, but I know that she wanted him to hear it from her first.
So, Lisa Taylor wasn't canceling the relationship.
Just his cooking show.
That's motive? You buy that? You get a hit show, you could have a dozen restaurants in world-class resorts.
Millions of dollars a year.
Any sense as to whether Moretti will take the stand? He's charismatic.
I don't see the defense risking a cross-examination.
Too many lies to keep straight.
If the defense can't offer up a damn good explanation as to why Moretti changed his story, then I'd say you have an advantage.
Or am I tempting fate? It was determined that the skin under the victim's fingernails belonged to the defendant.
After the defendant was arrested, the police took these pictures of his hands and neck.
He had a scratch on his right thumb and one on his neck, two inches above his right clavicle.
Any way to determine the cause of these injuries? They are consistent with defensive wounds a victim may inflict while being strangled.
Your Honor, may I have the witness step down and demonstrate for the court? Objection.
JUDGE: I'll allow it.
JACK: If a court officer will assist her? There were half-moon-shaped bruises on the back of the victim's neck, left there by the killer's fingernails.
And this means that the killer and victim were facing each other.
Now, if he is strangling me Your Honor? Overruled, Ms.
Dressier.
Continue.
The easiest way for me to reach his hands, is to reach my arm across.
Now, if I go for his right hand, I will dig into his thumb.
And if I try to push him back with my left hand, my thumbnail might leave a horizontal scratch on his neck.
Thank you.
Do you believe these scratches were sustained during consensual sex? I do not.
No further questions.
Regardless of what you may or may not have seen during your time in the morgue, can you imagine any configuration in which someone would scratch their lover exactly that way during lovemaking? I can imagine it.
If strangulation turns you on.
And would you care to demonstrate for the court? JACK: Your Honor? DRESSLER: Withdrawn.
No further questions.
Excuse me, Ms.
Borgia? Ben Gorman.
I left a message with Mr.
McCoy's office.
Nobody got back to me.
A message regarding I thought you should hear it from me.
How can I help you? Iwork at a publishing house, Craig & Staehler.
I got a call yesterday from a woman, she wouldn't tell me her name, asking if we would publish her book about Mr.
Moretti's trial.
What sort of book? She believes he's innocent.
Everyone's entitled to their opinion.
There's no law against writing a book.
She said she's one of the jurors in your trial.
DRESSLER: Could be a hoax.
Nevertheless, we have to take this seriously.
It's like a bomb scare.
Probably a prank, but you still have to leave the building.
Yeah, well, if this proves to be true, I don't know how we avoid a mistrial.
You know, when ajuror is sharing her opinions with publishers, then she's obviously been speaking to otherjurors.
Iwouldn't make that assumption.
There's no indication the rest of the jury has been contaminated.
All right, let's not be naive.
I don't want a mistrial any more than you do, Mr.
McCoy.
We voir dire each member of the jury.
Anyone found to have had an unauthorized discussion of this case will be excused.
If that leaves us without we have a mistrial.
Not before.
And our mystery juror? If she exists, we find out who the hell she is.
Of course the defense wants a mistrial.
They have nothing to lose.
It could take six months to get another trial going, anything can happen.
Evidence gets lost, a witness drops dead.
Or their memory gets hazy.
What've you got? Seven women on the jury.
We're focusing on these two.
Thais Walters, 29, single.
West Village bartender.
Claimed during voir dire she never knew anyone convicted of a felony.
Turns out she has a half-brother at Sing Sing for the assault of a police officer.
Could have a bone to pick with the justice system.
Or maybe she never knew.
Her brother was homeless.
It's possible they weren't in touch.
I'm curious about this one.
Sara Jobson.
Forty-one, divorced.
A writer and part-time receptionist.
A writer.
She neglected to mention during voir dire that she worked as a food critic for a magazine called Ambrosia.
Read any of her articles? They have an office on Pitt and Stanton.
Couldn't be much of an office.
She wrote a half-dozen pieces before we let her go.
Why was she fired? There are hundreds of great chefs in New York.
Sara kept writing about the same ones.
Here we go.
"Chef Aberto Moretti, The Perfect Dish.
" He's her favorite.
"Graceful and handsome, women find Aberto "as mouthwatering as his tiramisu.
" Another reason she was fired.
Her writing sucked.
SARA: I'd have mentioned the articles, if I'd known it was important.
I wasn't trying to hide them.
Ms.
Jobson, did you recently contact a publisher named Ben Gorman? In order to sell my writing, I call publishers.
Did you provide this publisher with information about Mr.
Moretti's criminal trial? Is that illegal? JUDGE: Please answer the question, Ms.
Jobson.
Yes, I did.
Did you discuss this case with otherjurors? SARA: No.
You were told to refrain from discussing this case with anyone until you were instructed otherwise.
Why did you contact Mr.
Gorman? Because, in my opinion, this has not been a fair trial, and people have a right to know that.
How has it been unfair? They're saying Aberto killed Mrs.
Taylor out of desperation? Why would he be desperate when he has a new restaurant opening in the Time Warner building? Another cookbook coming out in the fall? Ms.
Jobson, that's irrelevant.
Your job is to weigh the facts as presented.
Your Honor, I've done research on this.
A juror has to follow their conscience, even when it contradicts the law.
That's what jury nullification is.
That would be if you were taking issue with a specific law, which isn't the case here.
And while we're on the subject, jury nullification is illegal.
My understanding You have none, Ms.
Jobson.
Do the People wish to comment or object to the discharge of this juror? No, Your Honor.
Ms.
Dressier? No further questions, Your Honor.
Sara Jobson, I find you to be grossly unqualified to serve as ajuror.
You are hereby discharged.
(BANGS GAVEL) JACK: She said she never talked about the case with otherjurors! You think that woman kept her mouth shut during lunch breaks? "Jury nullification" my ass.
In terms of the defendant getting a fair trial, if Ms.
Jobson expressed her views, she was pulling in the defendant's favor! Ajuror like that could easily have turned the others against my client.
That's speculation until we voir dire the rest of the jury.
Yes, Mr.
McCoy.
And the alternates.
One down, 13 to go.
How'd it turn out? The jurors all say they never discussed the case.
Congratulations, you're back on track.
Let me buy you both dinner.
Great.
Jack? Pn1reading this transcript.
Ms.
Jobson said Moretti has a new restaurant opening in the Time Warner building? So? First I heard of it.
How does she know about this? Could've read it somewhere.
Maybe.
Call management at the Time Warner building.
If they say there's a restaurant opening, get the name of the realtor.
Guess dinner can wait.
Where you going with this? Not sure yet.
I was doing a piece on Aberto last year.
Someone said he had another restaurant in the works.
I don't remember who told me.
There wasn't space available in the Time Warner building until three weeks ago.
You're one of the few people who know about this.
I'm off the jury.
This has nothing to do with me now.
Since the trial began, you've received five calls from a payphone outside Mr.
Moretti's apartment.
You can explain that to the police or us.
Your choice.
I can't help it if someone calls me.
If you have an agreement with Mr.
Moretti in regards to this trial, you could be charged with receiving a bribe.
That carries a sentence of up to seven years.
I wanted to write a book about the trial.
That's all.
Just a book.
Who made contact, you or him? He found me.
You're putting ajuror on the stand? An ex-juror.
Is that legal? Ms.
Jobson is not a credible witness, YourHonoL She was present for all preceding testimony.
I mean, she is hardly objective.
She wasn't objective to begin with.
Okay, without admitting guilt on the part of my client, jury tampering is an unrelated charge, completely separate from the trial in progress.
An attempt to corrupt a 'gum: demonstrates consciousness of guilt, Your Honor.
An alleged attempt.
The People have enough to bring the issue before the court.
And since the trial was almost derailed over this, I'd say yes, the charges are relevant.
The People may call Ms.
Jobson as a witness, and I'll give limiting instructions to the jury.
That woman is lying.
She has no life.
She only wants to be part of mine.
Aberto, that's enough.
Your client just came dangerously close to admitting an affiliation with Ms.
Jobson.
I apologize, Your Honor.
This is very stressful for him.
I'm sure it is.
I wrote articles about Aberto, so I'd go to his restaurant a lot.
He definitely knew my face.
And after the trial began, did you have any contact with the defendant? I was hailing a cab near the courthouse, Broadway and Duane.
Someone touched my shoulder, I turned, and Aberto asked if I wanted to share a cab.
I said okay.
You knew that you were violating the court's orders? Yes, I did.
Did the two of you discuss the trial? He asked me, "Do you really think I could've done such a thing? "You really think I could have killed her?" And what was your answer? I said no, I didn't.
I told him I was writing a book about the trial, that I wanted the people to know the truth.
And he wanted to help.
He said he'd give me exclusive details, photos And after the book was published, we'd do a tour together.
And did you get your exclusive details? He called me from a payphone.
Did he ever tell you what happened the night Lisa Taylor was murdered? He met Lisa at the park.
They held hands, talked.
He said it was romantic, but that he had to leave and go downtown to meet his business partner.
He was so angry at himself for leaving Lisa alone.
He said he'd never forgive himself for what happened to her.
JACK: Did you ask him why he told the police he never went to the park? I didn't have to.
I knew.
He was afraid of what they might think, and he was right.
And while he was helping you with your book, did he ask for anything from you in return? Well, he just said it would be easier to get the book published if If? Ms.
Jobson? If he didn't go to prison.
Nothing further, Your Honor.
Can you name anyone who was present when you climbed into this taxi with my client? No.
And these calls you claim Mr.
Moretti made, they were all placed from a public payphone anyone could have accessed? I guess.
Before this alleged conversation in the taxi, had you and Mr.
Moretti ever spoken to each other? No, but as I said before, he definitely knew who I was.
So you never spoke with him when you went to his restaurant? No.
Did you try? Yes.
How many times? I don't know.
Maybe half a dozen? Would it be fair to say that you wanted to speak with him, but that he avoided you? Argumentative.
I'll rephrase.
When you found that you were unable to speak with Mr.
Moretti despite numerous trips to his restaurant, were you angry? Disappointed.
DRESSLER: And when asked during voirdire what you knew about N“.
Murat“, why didn't you say that you had written articles about him? L--- Did you lie to the court in order to get on the jury, and was your intent to exact revenge upon Mr.
Moretti for spurning your advances? No! And when that didn't work, did you invent a new story about how he got into a cab with you, how he called you from a payphone We did! No, we spoke and Aberto, tell them what happened! Ms.
Jobson, you are to address Ms.
Dressier, do you understand? Not the defendant.
Yes, Your Honor.
He told me he could trust me.
More than that snake of a business partner.
More than Lisa, even.
So after lying to the court, and seeking to profit from my client's legal troubles, you want us now to believe that this man, who you are now trying to bury with your testimony, trusted you more than his business partner and his lover? He He said No, he said that! No further questions.
JUDGE: Redirect? JACK: Nothing further, Your Honor.
Why didn't you redirect? I trust your judgment, but Dressier went a long way toward discrediting our witness.
Jobson called him a snake.
What? Ms.
Jobson called Moretti's business partner a snake.
That's who Moretti met with after leaving the park.
His name is Carter.
The police spoke to him.
Uh, he confirmed the meeting.
He has a small interest in Mr.
Moretti's restaurant.
So, why is he a snake? I told the detectives, Aberto met me just before 11:00.
He seemed fine, a little distracted.
We had a few drinks, talked business, then he left.
Did you discuss anything else? Something personal, maybe? Nothing like that.
Did you discuss any other business besides the restaurant? Like what? You're aware this is an ongoing criminal investigation.
There is one thing.
I may not have mentioned it to the police.
I was hoping to avoid any negative publicity, but I'm happy to talk about it now.
Man one? That's the best you can do? Beats murder two and 25-to-life.
Look, if you think Ms.
Jobson is gonna win this trial for you No, that would be Garret Carter.
Mr.
Carter was your client's liaison to International Foods Incorporated.
They were launching a line of food products in Mr.
Moretti's name.
The contract was potentially worth millions of dollars, and it was contingent on your client's show staying on the air.
If Mr.
Carter testifies, the jury will hear how much your client had at stake.
Well, then why didn't Mr.
Carter come forward earlier? He didn't wanna lose the contract.
And what's changed? The project is proceeding.
They're using a different chef.
I've been working in restaurants since I was a kid.
All I ever wanted was to share my craft.
Lisa told me, "There are millions of people out there "who will love what you do.
"You have an obligation to reach out to them.
" She pushed you into doing the show? The show was a dream of mine, but Lisa used it to her advantage.
She wasn't an artist, she had no feel for cuisine.
With me, she was drinking the best wines, meeting famous people.
You were also her lover.
She liked to say the show was our baby.
It was something we could share.
And when you found out she was killing the baby? We were in the park.
Her hands were cold.
She asked me to warm them.
While I was massaging her freezing hands, she told me she was canceling the show.
I thought she was joking.
What happened then? She thought we would keep seeing each other.
She tried to kiss me.
Don't you see? It was repulsive.
Did you strike Mrs.
Taylor? You're not listening.
This is pointless! Aberto, you need to tell them exactly what happened.
I hit her.
She screamed.
I choked her to keep her quiet.
When I took my hands away, she wasn't moving.
Don't you understand? I was doing it to protect everything I am.
DRESSLER: Now that Moretti's making headlines again? Bet the network reruns his show.
Too bad he won't be around for season two.
How many stars do you think the chef at Rikers has? Fewer than three.
Another chance for Moretti to shine.