Law & Order (1990) s16e22 Episode Script
Invaders
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.
Your mom knew I was dropping you off this morning, right? L think so.
Mommy, then can Katie sleep over again? Please, Mom! Oh, my God, Danielle.
I've been knocking for 10 minutes.
I'm just dealing with some things between me and Frankie.
Well, nobody said marriage wasn't work, right? Katie had a blast.
I'm not sure they got much sleep.
Can you take her for the day? Please, Mommy? Can I, please? I'm already running late for my shift.
And Jenny's going to the babysitter.
Just this one time.
Next time, next weekend, I can do it.
I promise.
Bye.
Bye.
Look, I know you and Frankie need to work some stuff out.
Yeah.
Next time, I'll take her for two nights.
All right.
Danielle? Are you sure you're okay? Yeah.
Everything's fine.
I have to go now.
The four DOAs are a family.
Last name Andreas.
Who called it in? The super.
Found the bodies a little before 10:00.
I got one of my guys sitting with him downstairs.
He's pretty shaken up.
Hold him.
We'll talk to him when we're done here.
Looks like two kids, mother, grandmother.
See the condensation? They were alive when they got bagged.
Asphyxiation would have kept things quiet.
It's a slow way to go.
Probably three or four minutes before they lost consciousness.
You got a time of death? Bodies are still warm, no rigor.
So, less than four hours? There's no forced entry off the fire escape or the front door.
Could have been a push-in.
I don't know.
The place isn't tossed.
Doesn't look like a robbery to me.
There's no obvious signs of a sex crime either.
Whatever it was, when that duct tape came out, they didn't stand a chance.
Bind and kill four victims, that had to take some time.
And more than one suspect.
The mail is addressed to Mr.
and Mrs.
Frank Andreas.
I suppose he's the man of the house.
Yeah.
I'd like to know where he was when his family was being slaughtered.
It was about 9:45.
I was mopping the floor of the basement when Mr.
Andreas called.
That's Frank Andreas, right? Yeah.
From 4-B.
His usual call is like a clogged toilet, you know? What did he say? He wasn't making sense.
Saying they got to his family.
He wanted you to check on them? I wasn't gonna at first.
You know, Frankie and Danielle is always in some kind of tiff.
Last I heard, she kicked him out of the house.
Aw, jeez.
What changed your mind about going up? Well, when I was coming up the stairs, I saw two strange guys going out the door.
I got a bad feeling.
What did they look like? One was white, the other guy was black.
I didn't see faces.
About how old? Twenty-five, 30.
Mr.
Andreas say where he was? Nope, but I got his number on my cell.
You know, the last time they separated, he lived out of the back of his store.
What store is that? He got a gift shop, Ninth and 43rd.
Sells souvenirs.
NYPD closed this place down two weeks ago.
He got raided.
I wonder what he was selling.
Excuse me, sir? Do you have any idea why they padlocked this place? Bogus merchandise.
Cops backed up a truck, took the entire inventory.
We're looking for a guy named Frank Andreas.
Took him, too.
In handcuffs.
Haven't seen him since.
The Fraud Unit raided Andreas' store to seize pirated DVDs.
Come to find out he's selling NYPD equipment out of the back.
And I'm talking uniforms, raid jackets, scanners The real thing? Yeah, stuff that fell off the truck en route to supply.
If he's selling it on the black market, who knows who he's dealing with.
A lot of these home invasion crews, they pose as cops.
We're thinking Andreas might have been supplying them.
Is he out on bail? He was ROR'd a week after his arrest.
Any home invasions out there with a similar MO? There's some open homicides relating to drug robberies.
But you're thinking they weren't looking for drugs or money.
The dump from the home phone has a dozen calls to Andreas' cell from 4:00 a.
m.
to 9:00 a.
m.
Calls from the wife? Or the suspects trying to lure him back home.
They waited at least five hours.
He never showed.
That's a lot of exposure.
They want him bad.
Which means they're not gonna give up.
We need to find Andreas before they do.
What about the cell number? Went straight to voice mail.
Well, the case is still open.
Who's the A.
D.
A.
? Andreas was selling more than stolen police equipment.
He was also pushing counterfeit DEA badges.
I thought after 9111 we were prosecuting that sort of thing more seriously.
How did he walk? The ROR was incentive.
Andreas isn't the biggest fish here.
What did you release him for? He told me that he sold the shields to two men.
Couldn't give a positive ID, but he told me enough that I linked them to this.
The robbery of a drug house on Dyckman Street, in Washington Heights.
Three people were murdered.
And they used those badges to gain entry? According to an eyewitness.
So, you let him go so you can find out who did this? He said he could work his contacts on the street, come up with their names, if not the location.
He give you a description? One black, one white.
So if they heard that Andreas was out on the street, they probably guessed that he was cooperating.
It could be the connection between your phony shield case and our home invasion case.
Look, we've been working his phones, his financials, everything.
The guy's not coming up for air.
I don't know where he is.
He's got another two days until he checks in.
You think he talks to his lawyer? He's paranoid.
He won't even come to my office.
But if you're in contact with him Andreas called me twice, that's it.
Said he threw his phone in the Hudson so they couldn't trace it.
You get what I'm dealing with? He gets in touch with you again, let him know that he'll get protective custody.
He's not interested, I'm telling you.
Hey, we're trying to save his life.
Then give me something else to work with.
Better the offer.
Are you listening to me? They killed his family.
They will kill him, too.
Hey, I smell leverage.
It's my nature.
If this guy winds up with a bullet in him, I'll make damn sure everyone knows why.
I'll see what I can do.
Frank Andreas? My lawyer says you're the two detectives taking care of my family.
That right? We're sorry for your loss.
I used to come here every Sunday with my two kids.
No wife, no work.
Two hours a week where everything seemed okay.
And now I got them all killed, didn't I? Why don't we talk about this down at the station? L wanted to go to them.
They would've killed me, too.
I mean, you understand, don't you? Come on.
Come on.
Let's go.
Your wife's personal effects.
Danielle's engagement ring.
She never took it off.
It's not here.
It means those bastards took it.
We'll look into it.
I promise.
Mr.
Andreas, let's continue.
Go back to the phone calls from your wife.
Like I said, Danielle had been calling me all morning.
We'd been fighting, so I ignored it.
I finally picked up around 8:00.
She wanted me to come home.
You thought something was wrong? The sound of her voice.
You're married 16 years, you know when something's not right.
That's why I called the super.
Who are these men? All I found out were their names.
Ricky and Vincent.
Had I known, I never would've done business with them.
Then why did you? Because they gave me 5 G's to make two pieces of tin.
How did you know what a badge looked like? Ricky had a photo of one.
A real one.
I copied it.
Same with the Federal IDs.
Was there a name or photo on these credentials? They were covered up.
And those DEA badges don't have numbers on them.
Who did you ask to get information on Ricky and Vincent? I'm not pulling anyone else into this nightmare.
My client's given you more than enough valuable information on these men, Counselor.
The deal is he gives us everything.
Hey, they killed my family.
I'm not dropping dimes on any more people.
But if what Andreas said is true, it means somebody got their hands on a real DEA badge.
I spoke to the DEA's Group Supervisor for Manhattan.
He referred me to some other agents, but I've been getting the run-around.
Keep pressing them.
The pieces are almost there.
You're gonna make a hell of a case.
I've got Andreas in protective custody tonight.
I'll work on him again tomorrow.
He's your witness.
Don't let him withhold information.
Jack, I didn't think anything like this would happen to his family.
He came to you looking to deal and I signed off.
This isn't on you, Alex.
No, I'm on hold.
I've been holding for 15 minutes.
I'd like to speak with My name is Alexandra Borgia.
I'm an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan.
I've left three messages.
Well, I'll speak with any drug enforcement agent working in Washington Heights.
Yes.
Thank you.
Yes, I'll hold.
Borgia missed two hearings this morning.
They sent an officer over and he found the door cracked.
The last time anybody saw her was last night, about 10:00.
Obviously, her bag's still here.
Her cell phone was over here.
Hell of a struggle from the looks of it.
Yeah, we think they forced their way in.
Same MO as the Andreas place.
Pretty damn close.
There's blood on the carpet.
We found duct tape under the bed.
Witnesses? We're still knocking on doors.
There's a neighbor who thinks she heard something around midnight.
There's not too much foot traffic around here at that time of night.
They went through the files in her briefcase.
Maybe trying to find out where we stashed Andreas.
Then they worked her over for something she didn't know.
We're gonna move Andreas to another location anyway.
All right.
Well, she's still alive until we know otherwise.
I gotta call McCoy.
L told you people what you needed to know.
It's not up to you, Mr.
Andreas.
You tell us everything.
How you met up with the suspects, who you approached looking for them after your release.
I want my lawyer here.
You're our witness.
We own your ass.
I had nothing to do with what happened to your D.
A.
Help us apprehend these men or all deals are off.
You want to withhold information, you can do it from a cell in Rikers.
What? And you better believe they'll get to you in there.
You would risk my life? If that's what it takes.
You're putting all this on my shoulders.
You gotta be kidding me.
Who, Mr.
Andreas? How do you know that they snatched Borgia because of me? She pushed me to make this deal.
She put me in this position.
Did you think about that? You went to her with information after the raid on your shop.
Your deal was contingent on finding these men.
My family is dead and I have a bulls-eye on my back.
S he knew better.
I want a name.
They wanted me gone and she helped them get to my family.
You're done wasting my time, Mr.
Andreas.
Dump him in jail.
Dave Morley.
He tends bar at Alberta's on Avenue A.
He's the guy I asked.
He might know where they are.
What about Borgia, Mr.
McCoy? Do you know for a fact that she's clean in all of this? The bartender Andreas gave up, this guy Morley, he took his back pay two days ago and left town.
We're still looking for him.
I don't want any resources pulled away from the search for Alex.
There was nothing of any forensic value found in her apartment.
There isn't a single eyewitness to the abduction.
We reached out to narcotics up in Washington Heights.
They're working their Cls to get any information they can about this Ricky and Vincent.
Mr.
McCoy, in my office, please.
I pulled Borgia's financial records.
For what reason? Andreas was only casting aspersions I know that.
I just thought we could put this thing to bed.
She's been missing for 16 hours, Anita.
We don't have time for this.
I found $8,000.
A cash deposit in her checking account.
So what? Her family has money, it was probably a gift from her father.
It was made the day before Andreas was released from Rikers.
Alex wasn't dirty.
I pushed her to flip him.
No way she took a pay-off.
Well, someone tried to make it look that way.
You think this is a smokescreen to throw off the investigation? That would be my guess.
Then see where the money leads.
Most of the deposits for Ms.
Borgia were direct.
Probably salary checks.
Looks like she banked almost exclusively here and downtown.
How about the $8,000? It came through the quick deposit at this branch.
We need a copy of the security tape and that deposit slip.
No problem.
When you make a deposit like that, don't you need some kind of an ATM card? No, just the person's name and account number.
Which could've been pulled right off of one of her checks.
It's possible.
Although this is strange.
What? Tellers have to log in with their code to access a customer's account.
Someone from one of our uptown branches pulled her information.
Is there any record of a transaction? No, nothing.
Do you have the teller's name? I don't remember doing it.
You know, I'm on, like, auto-pilot most of the day.
I deal with hundreds of accounts.
It was your teller code.
Then I must've punched the wrong key.
You know what? I've had enough of this crap! What are you doing, man? We're investigating the abduction of an assistant district attorney and you're acting like a punk.
I don't know nothing.
Then you're an accomplice to kidnapping.
Maybe some time at Rikers will jog your memory.
Wait, wait, wait, wait! I didn't have a choice.
My brother got busted and it wasn't even his drugs, man.
Get to the point! Some DEA narc busted him.
So, the guy called me up and said he'd help my brother out if I did him a favor.
And he gave you Alexandra Borgia's name? I mean, I didn't ask any questions.
I didn't know nothing about her.
What's his name? Kevin Almonte.
Look, we've cut dope deals in this area by 60%.
That's pissed a lot of people off.
So you're saying Hencken made this story up? I'd been using his brother as a Cl until he boned me on a bust.
I locked the kid up.
Obviously this is payback.
Let me explain this situation to you, okay? We have an assistant district attorney that's been kidnapped.
We're running out of valuable time and the trail has led us right here to you.
And I'm telling you, you're fishing in the wrong pond.
Now, if you're asking me to dig up some intel.
Yeah.
Why don't you tell us about two guys named Ricky and Vincent? Who? A couple of killers who are making phony badges out of a real DEA shield.
And what? You think I loaned them mine? It's coming back to you, yeah.
Fake badges are a serious business.
But I haven't heard anything about it.
And I've not heard of Ricky or Vincent, either.
Well, then you won't mind showing us your credentials, will you? Waste my time with anything else, go through my group supervisor, huh? I'm busy.
Agent Almonte is an obvious link between the phony badges and the Dyckman Street homicides.
We're speculating, Jack.
We can't prove it's him.
Someone must've been tipping these thugs to scores in the area.
His financials don't show any unusual income.
So he's stuffing the mattress.
Why do you think he dropped $8,000 into Alex's account? As an insurance policy.
Any link back to him on the badges, he could claim she was dirty.
Gives him reasonable doubt at trial.
Well, that sounds great, but we can't prove that he made that deposit.
Exactly.
The security camera shows a man with a hat and a scarf.
Impossible to ID.
This guy's making all the right moves.
He hasn't made a dumb mistake.
We've had no contact with Alex since her abduction.
No ransom call, nothing.
Now, you and I both know, Detective, the longer she's out there Look, Jack, we all want to find her.
But if we go get Almonte, he's not gonna talk to us.
We're not going to be able to hold him.
It could blow our only shot at him.
I'll figure out what to charge him with.
Pick him up.
Okay.
Impressive.
You gotta bring the rat squad with you as backup? Get up and put your hands behind your back.
Don't touch me! What the hell do you think you're doing? Back up! We have a warrant.
Kevin Almonte, you're under arrest for computer trespass.
Trespass? That's what you got? Well, we're hoping it goes up to murder one, big shot.
Come on.
A.
D.
A.
Borgia is still out there, Agent Almonte.
If you want to put yourself on the wrong side of this Screw you.
We've got you for dropping the 8 G's in her account.
Call it charity in the first degree.
Call it accomplice to kidnapping and attempted murder.
You wish.
Give us Ricky and Vincent and we'll talk about reducing charges.
Where's my lawyer I asked for half an hour ago? Patrol found a stolen car dumped in a wooded area behind Dyckman Marina.
They saw blood on the bumper.
They beat her up real bad, Jack.
I want to see her.
The M.
E.
thinks that she aspirated into her gag, choked to death.
How did she die? Asphyxiated on her own vomit, from the beating she took.
Alexandra's parents are on their way up from Connecticut.
I'd appreciate it if you'd talk with them.
Tell them about the kind of job she was doing.
We're going to need to have some kind of service for everybody around here.
I should have taken Andreas from her.
Once it linked to the Dyckman Street homicides, she had no business running that case.
She would have fought you tooth and nail on that.
I want these guys, Arthur.
Your DEA agent? Useless.
Then do what you gotta do.
The car was stolen from a parking lot in Brooklyn the night before.
They wiped down any prints.
Hair? Fibers? CSU is still working.
Agent Almonte? His apartment's clean.
He's knows better than to keep anything incriminating.
Get a fresh team of detectives in there and search it again.
We're already in overdrive.
I've cancelled vacations, RDOs.
Every available body is on the street.
But you're still coming up empty.
Anything new on Ricky and Vincent? There's no nickname or MO hits in any of the databases.
These two low-lives had to make a mistake somewhere.
Fontana's running down a lead on that engagement ring that was stolen from the Andreas homicide.
All right, let me know if something pops.
All right.
DEA brass calls every 10 minutes.
You can tell them their agent is linked to a murdered D.
A.
ls this computer trespass charge going to stick? For now.
But if we can't tie Almonte to the home invasions, he gets bail.
Jack, I'm so sorry.
We're going to need a few minutes here.
You here looking for a scapegoat again? I'm here because your friends murdered A.
D.
A.
Borgia yesterday.
Are you serious? So tell me something I haven't heard, Mr.
Andreas.
Like what? Anything you've been holding back.
I have told you everything.
Then tell me about your relationship with Kevin Almonte.
Never heard of him.
Are you sure? Look, what is your problem? Do I have to spell it out for you, Mr.
Andreas? He has every reason to want to help you apprehend these men.
Then let me make a suggestion.
Ricky and Vincent were in cahoots with a corrupt DEA agent, who tipped them off to the Dyckman Street drug stash.
Yeah, I can believe that.
Not only do you believe it, they told you as much.
And they told you that agent was Kevin Almonte.
But they never said that.
Let's say they did.
What? You want him to sign some kind of a statement to that effect? I want him to testify before a grand jury.
Is this some kind of a set-up, McCoy? Because if it is I need your client's help to leverage Mr.
Almonte's cooperation.
You're asking him to perjure himself.
Not exactly.
It's the only way you're going to be able to stop looking over your shoulder.
He'd be lying under oath.
I'll give you my personal assurance there'll be no perjury charges.
The open case against him will be dismissed.
You and your client will be totally protected.
How are you gonna do that? You want permission to stage a simulated prosecution? The grand jury will hear fictional testimony.
If Almonte is indicted, he'll be arraigned in a sham legal proceeding.
You're scaring the hell out of me, Jack.
An assistant district attorney was murdered.
I appreciate that.
Murdered in the line of duty.
It doesn't mean we throw out the rulebook.
Not to mention the innocent women and children tortured and killed by these men.
And what makes you think this will work? The only way Almonte will give up his accomplices is to aim a howitzer at him.
A fictitious murder indictment.
Once Almonte flips, the curtain will be lifted.
He's been hoodwinked, but there's no murder case against him.
So he never pays for his complicity in the Dyckman Street homicides? The Andreas and Borgia murders will still be in play.
Not to mention whatever the Feds can throw at him.
Didn't some cowboy D.
A.
try this back in the '70s? People v.
Rao.
The appellate court took the prosecutor to the woodshed.
But the real indictment, which spun out of the phony case, was allowed to stand.
So you're prepared to go to the woodshed? One of the court's biggest concerns was that the trial judge was never informed that he was presiding over a simulated case.
And if I sign off.
My neck is on the chopping block right next to yours.
The police are all over this, but they're not getting results.
L wouldn't be here if I had any other options.
Here are the ground rules.
If you somehow manage to pull this off in the grand jury, I'll handle the arraignment.
Understood.
I'll notify the supervising justice to cover my own ass.
And, Jack, if you don't flip Almonte in very short order, I'm going to pull the plug.
What was your relationship with Ricky and Vincent, Mr.
Andreas? First I sold them some phony NYPD raid jackets.
Then a few weeks later I made up some DEA credentials for them from a picture that they gave me.
What did that consist of? A badge and an ID card.
Did Ricky or Vincent ever tell you where they got the photograph that they provided you with? From a real DEA agent named Kevin.
And the ID card even had a DEA number on it.
Was that number 37334, Mr.
Andreas? Yes.
Did Ricky or Vincent ever describe their relationship with Kevin to you? Ricky said that Kevin would tip them off to apartments where they could rob drugs and cash.
Did he say what Kevin's motivation was in providing these tips? Because Kevin would get a cut of the money and the drugs.
Thank you, Mr.
Andreas.
I have a question.
When and where did this conversation about Kevin take place? That question isn't relevant, ma'am.
But if these two men told him, shouldn't he have done something? I'd like to remind the grand jury that Mr.
Andreas is not a target of this investigation.
Any other questions for this witness? I just got off the phone with Judge Bookman.
What are you doing? Remember "Do what you gotta do"? That doesn't include breaking the law.
Show me which law I broke.
If not the letter, the spirit.
I've got case authority, judicial approval.
And you cherry-picked the only judge in the borough who'd go for it.
L wanted to insulate you.
Which wouldn't have been necessary if everything had been on the up-and-up.
Can you give me one good reason why I shouldn't shut down this little carny show of yours? Alexandra was murdered.
You're not responsible for that.
Let me do my job, Arthur.
When we exploit our authority, it corrupts us, too.
Don't wax philosophical on me.
Our colleague spent the last terrified moments of her life alone in a trunk beaten to a pulp by these thugs, choking on her own Listen to yourself.
Your whole plan is fueled by outrage.
Outrage is all we have right now.
This is our only chance to get justice here.
Judge Bookman will blow the whistle soon enough.
Let's at least give it a chance to bear fruit.
McCoy.
That's great.
That was Van Buren.
It looks like they're about to grab these guys.
Go! Go! Go! Police! Get up! Get up.
Get out of that bed.
Get on your knees.
Get down! What's your name? Alphonse.
You got ID? In my pants.
In my wallet.
Where's Ricky? Who the hell's Ricky? Where's Ricky? I don't know no Ricky.
You pawned an engagement ring he stole from a quadruple homicide.
You want to be a part of that, huh, do you? He left this morning.
Who was he with? Vincent.
Look, Officer, I didn't want them here.
But they didn't give me much of a choice, okay? Where did they go? How am I supposed to know? Give us their last names! Ricky Robinson.
Vincent I never seen before.
All clear, Detectives.
Okay, take care of these two.
We should get CSU over here to dust for prints.
Maybe we can get some criminal histories.
If we were here a couple hours earlier, we'd be taking prints instead of looking for them.
We got hits off the prints that we got from that apartment we raided.
Ricky Robinson, 27 years old, priors for possession with intent to sell.
Vincent Mulkowsky.
31 years old.
Burglary, armed robbery, assault.
This one has spent half his life locked up in some kind of jail.
Mulkowsky's the one with the sadistic streak.
Any leads at their last known addresses? Former associates? No, no.
Nothing so far.
What's going on with Almonte? We've charged him with murder.
Wow, how'd you do that? I'll handle the legal end, Detective.
Just find these men.
"Docket number 64131.
" âPeople v, Kevin Almonte, Three counts oi murder 'm the first degree.
What's this about murder? Quiet, Mr.
Almonte.
How does he plead, Ms.
Milford? Not guilty.
A home invasion on Dyckman Street, three people tied up and executed.
Let's not waste anybody's time with a bail argument.
Can we back up, Judge? My client is a decorated federal agent.
After being arrested on what was a quite dubious minor charge, these horrific accusations come out of nowhere.
What's Ms.
Milford's point? That the defendant was surprised he got caught? He was in his office with a dozen federal employees when these crimes occurred.
Mr.
Almonte is charged as an accomplice to the men who did his handiwork for him.
On what evidence? Statements made by his fellow perpetrators to an informant.
Who are these people? Who did they talk to? I'll go you one better, Ms.
Milford.
I'm turning over grand jury minutes to the defense.
The witness name has been redacted.
As the transcript clearly indicates, Mr.
Almonte facilitated the acquisition of counterfeit DEA credentials for his accomplices, tipped them to the presence of drugs and cash at the Dyckman Street apartment, and shared in the proceeds.
Remand.
I'm ordering administrative segregation so Agent Almonte will survive until his next court appearance.
I doubt you've handled an arraignment in 20 years, Mr.
McCoy.
I used to have an assistant who did that.
And we both know that's what these trumped-up charges are about.
Yes and no, Ms.
Milford.
Your client's friends killed Alexandra Borgia.
But I can connect him to the Dyckman Street case as sure I'm standing here.
So let's cut the BS.
Who do you want more? Do I really need to answer that? So you got this witness.
What else? He's all I need.
Mr.
Name Redacted? He knew your DEA number, Mr.
Almonte.
You'll be looking over your shoulder for a shank in the back for the next 50 years.
Ouch.
Is there a deal on the table? I want Ricky and Vincent.
Name your price.
We don't make the first offer.
If you can convince me you didn't know your rip-off partners were bind-and-torture killers, I might come down to rob one.
No homicide, huh? If you'd rather go upstate with a body, I can accommodate you.
See, the way I read it, means you ain't holding squat.
That would be a big mistake, Mr.
Almonte.
You have something I want very dearly.
And I'm willing to pay top dollar for it.
Top dollar is a walk, on everything.
Yeah.
I'm waiting.
Robbery in the first degree.
There's some flexibility on the sentence.
And the facility.
Bring on your witness.
CO.
That was just the first dance, Arthur.
What's next, Jack? Are you gonna phony up some physical evidence? Fake a suppression hearing? Why don't we get some actors in here and just do the whole damn trial? I need a few more days.
What's going to change? Almonte's not going to tell you how to find Ricky and Vincent.
He might if he thinks we're not listening.
Judge Bookman give you a wiretap on the jailhouse phone? Almonte's too smart to use it.
But we've been working with the Department of Corrections.
Let's see what happens when he gets his hands on a cell phone he thinks is safe.
They got me jammed up on your business, Ricky.
So what you wanna do about that? Fix the leak.
The leak ain't easy to find, Cat.
They like to use that motel out by LaGuardia, the Raddick.
I don't know, man.
You better know.
Ricky? Yeah.
Take care of this situation or we're all gonna suffer.
Were you able to trace the call? To a disposable cell phone.
So you got skunked, Mr.
McCoy.
We didn't get the location of Almonte's accomplices I was hoping for.
But they're plotting to kill Andreas.
Even if I grant you that, what are you going to do about it? Besides relocating Mr.
Andreas, I'll indict Almonte for conspiracy.
L think it plays, Elizabeth.
The two of you have him indicted on a fictional case.
He plots to kill a man who's pretending to be a witness in that case.
It's textbook entrapment.
And I'm putting an end to this sham prosecution before somebody gets hurt.
You're closing out the only two means of leverage we have, Judge.
The criminal justice system is not your personal plaything.
We both know this isn't business as usual.
Ms.
Borgia's murder is a stain on this institution.
Let me take another shot at Almonte.
I want these animals as much as you do.
But now I supervise this court and you've gone too far.
You'll release Almonte immediately.
There's still the original computer trespass charge.
Make an application to remand Almonte.
It will at least buy you some time.
Well, I can't see how there's any harm in that.
It won't be necessary.
If I can't press the murder charges, I might as well let him go.
Here we go.
Subject is getting into a taxi heading north on Lawlor's Street.
All right, stay close but don't spook him.
We're set at Almonte's building.
Okay, we've got a visual on the suspect's vehicle.
Switch the monitor.
The subject has just entered his building.
All units proceed to East Houston and stand by.
We're in position, Loo.
We sit on this guy long enough, he should lead us right to Ricky and Vincent.
Subject exiting building.
You see that? He's strapped.
All units.
Subject is now armed.
All cars, subject is heading to Houston.
If he jumps on the subway, we're screwed.
Subject down.
Repeat.
Subject down! We're in pursuit of a brown Ford.
Go! Go! Go! Go! Twenty-three William.
Move in! He's coming your way! Get down! Get down! Down! Down! Hands! Hands! Get over here and cuff these guys.
We got two under, Loo.
How's Almonte? He's DOA.
Ls everybody okay? Everybody that matters.
So, how do we deconstruct this for the mayor and the media? We apprehended two home invaders who slaughtered eight people, including Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Borgia.
And Kevin Almonte? A corrupt DEA agent whom we utilized in a legal sting.
Their ninth and final victim.
What about the fact that he's dead because he was being used as bait? That's an overly cynical rendering of events.
Is it? It worked.
I'm not complaining about the result.
We didn't have a choice.
No, we did.
We let it get personal.
Nature of the beast.
I'm not going to apologize for any of it.
So, what now? We pat each other on the back and break out the Blue Label? Alexandra always hated that.
I just assumed she didn't like scotch.
The whole old-boy ritual, it was a little much for her.
I've got an arraignment first thing tomorrow.
"Docket numbers 66118 and 119.
" "People v.
Ricky Robinson and Vincent Mulkowsky.
" "Numerous counts of burglary and robbery.
" "Nine counts of murder in the first degree.
" Pleas, Mr.
Bacon? Both my clients plead not guilty.
These are the men who are alleged to have murdered A.
D.
A.
Borgia? And eight other people.
I believe the charges speak for themselves.
Excuse me, Your Honor.
Who are you? Brandon Gregory, Assistant State's Attorney General.
And why are you interrupting this proceeding, Mr.
Gregory? The conduct of the District Attorney's Office in this matter, specifically Mr.
McCoy's methods in obtaining these indictments, are under scrutiny.
Mr.
McCoy's ability to fairly prosecute these defendants has been called into question.
I have an order signed by the governor appointing me Special Prosecutor of these cases.
Mr.
Gregory will represent the People in this matter until its resolution.
You are relieved of your duties here, Mr.
McCoy.
Don't screw this up.
Mr.
Gregory, are you prepared to move forward for the People? Yes, Your Honor, I'm asking that both defendants be remanded.
These are their stories.
Your mom knew I was dropping you off this morning, right? L think so.
Mommy, then can Katie sleep over again? Please, Mom! Oh, my God, Danielle.
I've been knocking for 10 minutes.
I'm just dealing with some things between me and Frankie.
Well, nobody said marriage wasn't work, right? Katie had a blast.
I'm not sure they got much sleep.
Can you take her for the day? Please, Mommy? Can I, please? I'm already running late for my shift.
And Jenny's going to the babysitter.
Just this one time.
Next time, next weekend, I can do it.
I promise.
Bye.
Bye.
Look, I know you and Frankie need to work some stuff out.
Yeah.
Next time, I'll take her for two nights.
All right.
Danielle? Are you sure you're okay? Yeah.
Everything's fine.
I have to go now.
The four DOAs are a family.
Last name Andreas.
Who called it in? The super.
Found the bodies a little before 10:00.
I got one of my guys sitting with him downstairs.
He's pretty shaken up.
Hold him.
We'll talk to him when we're done here.
Looks like two kids, mother, grandmother.
See the condensation? They were alive when they got bagged.
Asphyxiation would have kept things quiet.
It's a slow way to go.
Probably three or four minutes before they lost consciousness.
You got a time of death? Bodies are still warm, no rigor.
So, less than four hours? There's no forced entry off the fire escape or the front door.
Could have been a push-in.
I don't know.
The place isn't tossed.
Doesn't look like a robbery to me.
There's no obvious signs of a sex crime either.
Whatever it was, when that duct tape came out, they didn't stand a chance.
Bind and kill four victims, that had to take some time.
And more than one suspect.
The mail is addressed to Mr.
and Mrs.
Frank Andreas.
I suppose he's the man of the house.
Yeah.
I'd like to know where he was when his family was being slaughtered.
It was about 9:45.
I was mopping the floor of the basement when Mr.
Andreas called.
That's Frank Andreas, right? Yeah.
From 4-B.
His usual call is like a clogged toilet, you know? What did he say? He wasn't making sense.
Saying they got to his family.
He wanted you to check on them? I wasn't gonna at first.
You know, Frankie and Danielle is always in some kind of tiff.
Last I heard, she kicked him out of the house.
Aw, jeez.
What changed your mind about going up? Well, when I was coming up the stairs, I saw two strange guys going out the door.
I got a bad feeling.
What did they look like? One was white, the other guy was black.
I didn't see faces.
About how old? Twenty-five, 30.
Mr.
Andreas say where he was? Nope, but I got his number on my cell.
You know, the last time they separated, he lived out of the back of his store.
What store is that? He got a gift shop, Ninth and 43rd.
Sells souvenirs.
NYPD closed this place down two weeks ago.
He got raided.
I wonder what he was selling.
Excuse me, sir? Do you have any idea why they padlocked this place? Bogus merchandise.
Cops backed up a truck, took the entire inventory.
We're looking for a guy named Frank Andreas.
Took him, too.
In handcuffs.
Haven't seen him since.
The Fraud Unit raided Andreas' store to seize pirated DVDs.
Come to find out he's selling NYPD equipment out of the back.
And I'm talking uniforms, raid jackets, scanners The real thing? Yeah, stuff that fell off the truck en route to supply.
If he's selling it on the black market, who knows who he's dealing with.
A lot of these home invasion crews, they pose as cops.
We're thinking Andreas might have been supplying them.
Is he out on bail? He was ROR'd a week after his arrest.
Any home invasions out there with a similar MO? There's some open homicides relating to drug robberies.
But you're thinking they weren't looking for drugs or money.
The dump from the home phone has a dozen calls to Andreas' cell from 4:00 a.
m.
to 9:00 a.
m.
Calls from the wife? Or the suspects trying to lure him back home.
They waited at least five hours.
He never showed.
That's a lot of exposure.
They want him bad.
Which means they're not gonna give up.
We need to find Andreas before they do.
What about the cell number? Went straight to voice mail.
Well, the case is still open.
Who's the A.
D.
A.
? Andreas was selling more than stolen police equipment.
He was also pushing counterfeit DEA badges.
I thought after 9111 we were prosecuting that sort of thing more seriously.
How did he walk? The ROR was incentive.
Andreas isn't the biggest fish here.
What did you release him for? He told me that he sold the shields to two men.
Couldn't give a positive ID, but he told me enough that I linked them to this.
The robbery of a drug house on Dyckman Street, in Washington Heights.
Three people were murdered.
And they used those badges to gain entry? According to an eyewitness.
So, you let him go so you can find out who did this? He said he could work his contacts on the street, come up with their names, if not the location.
He give you a description? One black, one white.
So if they heard that Andreas was out on the street, they probably guessed that he was cooperating.
It could be the connection between your phony shield case and our home invasion case.
Look, we've been working his phones, his financials, everything.
The guy's not coming up for air.
I don't know where he is.
He's got another two days until he checks in.
You think he talks to his lawyer? He's paranoid.
He won't even come to my office.
But if you're in contact with him Andreas called me twice, that's it.
Said he threw his phone in the Hudson so they couldn't trace it.
You get what I'm dealing with? He gets in touch with you again, let him know that he'll get protective custody.
He's not interested, I'm telling you.
Hey, we're trying to save his life.
Then give me something else to work with.
Better the offer.
Are you listening to me? They killed his family.
They will kill him, too.
Hey, I smell leverage.
It's my nature.
If this guy winds up with a bullet in him, I'll make damn sure everyone knows why.
I'll see what I can do.
Frank Andreas? My lawyer says you're the two detectives taking care of my family.
That right? We're sorry for your loss.
I used to come here every Sunday with my two kids.
No wife, no work.
Two hours a week where everything seemed okay.
And now I got them all killed, didn't I? Why don't we talk about this down at the station? L wanted to go to them.
They would've killed me, too.
I mean, you understand, don't you? Come on.
Come on.
Let's go.
Your wife's personal effects.
Danielle's engagement ring.
She never took it off.
It's not here.
It means those bastards took it.
We'll look into it.
I promise.
Mr.
Andreas, let's continue.
Go back to the phone calls from your wife.
Like I said, Danielle had been calling me all morning.
We'd been fighting, so I ignored it.
I finally picked up around 8:00.
She wanted me to come home.
You thought something was wrong? The sound of her voice.
You're married 16 years, you know when something's not right.
That's why I called the super.
Who are these men? All I found out were their names.
Ricky and Vincent.
Had I known, I never would've done business with them.
Then why did you? Because they gave me 5 G's to make two pieces of tin.
How did you know what a badge looked like? Ricky had a photo of one.
A real one.
I copied it.
Same with the Federal IDs.
Was there a name or photo on these credentials? They were covered up.
And those DEA badges don't have numbers on them.
Who did you ask to get information on Ricky and Vincent? I'm not pulling anyone else into this nightmare.
My client's given you more than enough valuable information on these men, Counselor.
The deal is he gives us everything.
Hey, they killed my family.
I'm not dropping dimes on any more people.
But if what Andreas said is true, it means somebody got their hands on a real DEA badge.
I spoke to the DEA's Group Supervisor for Manhattan.
He referred me to some other agents, but I've been getting the run-around.
Keep pressing them.
The pieces are almost there.
You're gonna make a hell of a case.
I've got Andreas in protective custody tonight.
I'll work on him again tomorrow.
He's your witness.
Don't let him withhold information.
Jack, I didn't think anything like this would happen to his family.
He came to you looking to deal and I signed off.
This isn't on you, Alex.
No, I'm on hold.
I've been holding for 15 minutes.
I'd like to speak with My name is Alexandra Borgia.
I'm an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan.
I've left three messages.
Well, I'll speak with any drug enforcement agent working in Washington Heights.
Yes.
Thank you.
Yes, I'll hold.
Borgia missed two hearings this morning.
They sent an officer over and he found the door cracked.
The last time anybody saw her was last night, about 10:00.
Obviously, her bag's still here.
Her cell phone was over here.
Hell of a struggle from the looks of it.
Yeah, we think they forced their way in.
Same MO as the Andreas place.
Pretty damn close.
There's blood on the carpet.
We found duct tape under the bed.
Witnesses? We're still knocking on doors.
There's a neighbor who thinks she heard something around midnight.
There's not too much foot traffic around here at that time of night.
They went through the files in her briefcase.
Maybe trying to find out where we stashed Andreas.
Then they worked her over for something she didn't know.
We're gonna move Andreas to another location anyway.
All right.
Well, she's still alive until we know otherwise.
I gotta call McCoy.
L told you people what you needed to know.
It's not up to you, Mr.
Andreas.
You tell us everything.
How you met up with the suspects, who you approached looking for them after your release.
I want my lawyer here.
You're our witness.
We own your ass.
I had nothing to do with what happened to your D.
A.
Help us apprehend these men or all deals are off.
You want to withhold information, you can do it from a cell in Rikers.
What? And you better believe they'll get to you in there.
You would risk my life? If that's what it takes.
You're putting all this on my shoulders.
You gotta be kidding me.
Who, Mr.
Andreas? How do you know that they snatched Borgia because of me? She pushed me to make this deal.
She put me in this position.
Did you think about that? You went to her with information after the raid on your shop.
Your deal was contingent on finding these men.
My family is dead and I have a bulls-eye on my back.
S he knew better.
I want a name.
They wanted me gone and she helped them get to my family.
You're done wasting my time, Mr.
Andreas.
Dump him in jail.
Dave Morley.
He tends bar at Alberta's on Avenue A.
He's the guy I asked.
He might know where they are.
What about Borgia, Mr.
McCoy? Do you know for a fact that she's clean in all of this? The bartender Andreas gave up, this guy Morley, he took his back pay two days ago and left town.
We're still looking for him.
I don't want any resources pulled away from the search for Alex.
There was nothing of any forensic value found in her apartment.
There isn't a single eyewitness to the abduction.
We reached out to narcotics up in Washington Heights.
They're working their Cls to get any information they can about this Ricky and Vincent.
Mr.
McCoy, in my office, please.
I pulled Borgia's financial records.
For what reason? Andreas was only casting aspersions I know that.
I just thought we could put this thing to bed.
She's been missing for 16 hours, Anita.
We don't have time for this.
I found $8,000.
A cash deposit in her checking account.
So what? Her family has money, it was probably a gift from her father.
It was made the day before Andreas was released from Rikers.
Alex wasn't dirty.
I pushed her to flip him.
No way she took a pay-off.
Well, someone tried to make it look that way.
You think this is a smokescreen to throw off the investigation? That would be my guess.
Then see where the money leads.
Most of the deposits for Ms.
Borgia were direct.
Probably salary checks.
Looks like she banked almost exclusively here and downtown.
How about the $8,000? It came through the quick deposit at this branch.
We need a copy of the security tape and that deposit slip.
No problem.
When you make a deposit like that, don't you need some kind of an ATM card? No, just the person's name and account number.
Which could've been pulled right off of one of her checks.
It's possible.
Although this is strange.
What? Tellers have to log in with their code to access a customer's account.
Someone from one of our uptown branches pulled her information.
Is there any record of a transaction? No, nothing.
Do you have the teller's name? I don't remember doing it.
You know, I'm on, like, auto-pilot most of the day.
I deal with hundreds of accounts.
It was your teller code.
Then I must've punched the wrong key.
You know what? I've had enough of this crap! What are you doing, man? We're investigating the abduction of an assistant district attorney and you're acting like a punk.
I don't know nothing.
Then you're an accomplice to kidnapping.
Maybe some time at Rikers will jog your memory.
Wait, wait, wait, wait! I didn't have a choice.
My brother got busted and it wasn't even his drugs, man.
Get to the point! Some DEA narc busted him.
So, the guy called me up and said he'd help my brother out if I did him a favor.
And he gave you Alexandra Borgia's name? I mean, I didn't ask any questions.
I didn't know nothing about her.
What's his name? Kevin Almonte.
Look, we've cut dope deals in this area by 60%.
That's pissed a lot of people off.
So you're saying Hencken made this story up? I'd been using his brother as a Cl until he boned me on a bust.
I locked the kid up.
Obviously this is payback.
Let me explain this situation to you, okay? We have an assistant district attorney that's been kidnapped.
We're running out of valuable time and the trail has led us right here to you.
And I'm telling you, you're fishing in the wrong pond.
Now, if you're asking me to dig up some intel.
Yeah.
Why don't you tell us about two guys named Ricky and Vincent? Who? A couple of killers who are making phony badges out of a real DEA shield.
And what? You think I loaned them mine? It's coming back to you, yeah.
Fake badges are a serious business.
But I haven't heard anything about it.
And I've not heard of Ricky or Vincent, either.
Well, then you won't mind showing us your credentials, will you? Waste my time with anything else, go through my group supervisor, huh? I'm busy.
Agent Almonte is an obvious link between the phony badges and the Dyckman Street homicides.
We're speculating, Jack.
We can't prove it's him.
Someone must've been tipping these thugs to scores in the area.
His financials don't show any unusual income.
So he's stuffing the mattress.
Why do you think he dropped $8,000 into Alex's account? As an insurance policy.
Any link back to him on the badges, he could claim she was dirty.
Gives him reasonable doubt at trial.
Well, that sounds great, but we can't prove that he made that deposit.
Exactly.
The security camera shows a man with a hat and a scarf.
Impossible to ID.
This guy's making all the right moves.
He hasn't made a dumb mistake.
We've had no contact with Alex since her abduction.
No ransom call, nothing.
Now, you and I both know, Detective, the longer she's out there Look, Jack, we all want to find her.
But if we go get Almonte, he's not gonna talk to us.
We're not going to be able to hold him.
It could blow our only shot at him.
I'll figure out what to charge him with.
Pick him up.
Okay.
Impressive.
You gotta bring the rat squad with you as backup? Get up and put your hands behind your back.
Don't touch me! What the hell do you think you're doing? Back up! We have a warrant.
Kevin Almonte, you're under arrest for computer trespass.
Trespass? That's what you got? Well, we're hoping it goes up to murder one, big shot.
Come on.
A.
D.
A.
Borgia is still out there, Agent Almonte.
If you want to put yourself on the wrong side of this Screw you.
We've got you for dropping the 8 G's in her account.
Call it charity in the first degree.
Call it accomplice to kidnapping and attempted murder.
You wish.
Give us Ricky and Vincent and we'll talk about reducing charges.
Where's my lawyer I asked for half an hour ago? Patrol found a stolen car dumped in a wooded area behind Dyckman Marina.
They saw blood on the bumper.
They beat her up real bad, Jack.
I want to see her.
The M.
E.
thinks that she aspirated into her gag, choked to death.
How did she die? Asphyxiated on her own vomit, from the beating she took.
Alexandra's parents are on their way up from Connecticut.
I'd appreciate it if you'd talk with them.
Tell them about the kind of job she was doing.
We're going to need to have some kind of service for everybody around here.
I should have taken Andreas from her.
Once it linked to the Dyckman Street homicides, she had no business running that case.
She would have fought you tooth and nail on that.
I want these guys, Arthur.
Your DEA agent? Useless.
Then do what you gotta do.
The car was stolen from a parking lot in Brooklyn the night before.
They wiped down any prints.
Hair? Fibers? CSU is still working.
Agent Almonte? His apartment's clean.
He's knows better than to keep anything incriminating.
Get a fresh team of detectives in there and search it again.
We're already in overdrive.
I've cancelled vacations, RDOs.
Every available body is on the street.
But you're still coming up empty.
Anything new on Ricky and Vincent? There's no nickname or MO hits in any of the databases.
These two low-lives had to make a mistake somewhere.
Fontana's running down a lead on that engagement ring that was stolen from the Andreas homicide.
All right, let me know if something pops.
All right.
DEA brass calls every 10 minutes.
You can tell them their agent is linked to a murdered D.
A.
ls this computer trespass charge going to stick? For now.
But if we can't tie Almonte to the home invasions, he gets bail.
Jack, I'm so sorry.
We're going to need a few minutes here.
You here looking for a scapegoat again? I'm here because your friends murdered A.
D.
A.
Borgia yesterday.
Are you serious? So tell me something I haven't heard, Mr.
Andreas.
Like what? Anything you've been holding back.
I have told you everything.
Then tell me about your relationship with Kevin Almonte.
Never heard of him.
Are you sure? Look, what is your problem? Do I have to spell it out for you, Mr.
Andreas? He has every reason to want to help you apprehend these men.
Then let me make a suggestion.
Ricky and Vincent were in cahoots with a corrupt DEA agent, who tipped them off to the Dyckman Street drug stash.
Yeah, I can believe that.
Not only do you believe it, they told you as much.
And they told you that agent was Kevin Almonte.
But they never said that.
Let's say they did.
What? You want him to sign some kind of a statement to that effect? I want him to testify before a grand jury.
Is this some kind of a set-up, McCoy? Because if it is I need your client's help to leverage Mr.
Almonte's cooperation.
You're asking him to perjure himself.
Not exactly.
It's the only way you're going to be able to stop looking over your shoulder.
He'd be lying under oath.
I'll give you my personal assurance there'll be no perjury charges.
The open case against him will be dismissed.
You and your client will be totally protected.
How are you gonna do that? You want permission to stage a simulated prosecution? The grand jury will hear fictional testimony.
If Almonte is indicted, he'll be arraigned in a sham legal proceeding.
You're scaring the hell out of me, Jack.
An assistant district attorney was murdered.
I appreciate that.
Murdered in the line of duty.
It doesn't mean we throw out the rulebook.
Not to mention the innocent women and children tortured and killed by these men.
And what makes you think this will work? The only way Almonte will give up his accomplices is to aim a howitzer at him.
A fictitious murder indictment.
Once Almonte flips, the curtain will be lifted.
He's been hoodwinked, but there's no murder case against him.
So he never pays for his complicity in the Dyckman Street homicides? The Andreas and Borgia murders will still be in play.
Not to mention whatever the Feds can throw at him.
Didn't some cowboy D.
A.
try this back in the '70s? People v.
Rao.
The appellate court took the prosecutor to the woodshed.
But the real indictment, which spun out of the phony case, was allowed to stand.
So you're prepared to go to the woodshed? One of the court's biggest concerns was that the trial judge was never informed that he was presiding over a simulated case.
And if I sign off.
My neck is on the chopping block right next to yours.
The police are all over this, but they're not getting results.
L wouldn't be here if I had any other options.
Here are the ground rules.
If you somehow manage to pull this off in the grand jury, I'll handle the arraignment.
Understood.
I'll notify the supervising justice to cover my own ass.
And, Jack, if you don't flip Almonte in very short order, I'm going to pull the plug.
What was your relationship with Ricky and Vincent, Mr.
Andreas? First I sold them some phony NYPD raid jackets.
Then a few weeks later I made up some DEA credentials for them from a picture that they gave me.
What did that consist of? A badge and an ID card.
Did Ricky or Vincent ever tell you where they got the photograph that they provided you with? From a real DEA agent named Kevin.
And the ID card even had a DEA number on it.
Was that number 37334, Mr.
Andreas? Yes.
Did Ricky or Vincent ever describe their relationship with Kevin to you? Ricky said that Kevin would tip them off to apartments where they could rob drugs and cash.
Did he say what Kevin's motivation was in providing these tips? Because Kevin would get a cut of the money and the drugs.
Thank you, Mr.
Andreas.
I have a question.
When and where did this conversation about Kevin take place? That question isn't relevant, ma'am.
But if these two men told him, shouldn't he have done something? I'd like to remind the grand jury that Mr.
Andreas is not a target of this investigation.
Any other questions for this witness? I just got off the phone with Judge Bookman.
What are you doing? Remember "Do what you gotta do"? That doesn't include breaking the law.
Show me which law I broke.
If not the letter, the spirit.
I've got case authority, judicial approval.
And you cherry-picked the only judge in the borough who'd go for it.
L wanted to insulate you.
Which wouldn't have been necessary if everything had been on the up-and-up.
Can you give me one good reason why I shouldn't shut down this little carny show of yours? Alexandra was murdered.
You're not responsible for that.
Let me do my job, Arthur.
When we exploit our authority, it corrupts us, too.
Don't wax philosophical on me.
Our colleague spent the last terrified moments of her life alone in a trunk beaten to a pulp by these thugs, choking on her own Listen to yourself.
Your whole plan is fueled by outrage.
Outrage is all we have right now.
This is our only chance to get justice here.
Judge Bookman will blow the whistle soon enough.
Let's at least give it a chance to bear fruit.
McCoy.
That's great.
That was Van Buren.
It looks like they're about to grab these guys.
Go! Go! Go! Police! Get up! Get up.
Get out of that bed.
Get on your knees.
Get down! What's your name? Alphonse.
You got ID? In my pants.
In my wallet.
Where's Ricky? Who the hell's Ricky? Where's Ricky? I don't know no Ricky.
You pawned an engagement ring he stole from a quadruple homicide.
You want to be a part of that, huh, do you? He left this morning.
Who was he with? Vincent.
Look, Officer, I didn't want them here.
But they didn't give me much of a choice, okay? Where did they go? How am I supposed to know? Give us their last names! Ricky Robinson.
Vincent I never seen before.
All clear, Detectives.
Okay, take care of these two.
We should get CSU over here to dust for prints.
Maybe we can get some criminal histories.
If we were here a couple hours earlier, we'd be taking prints instead of looking for them.
We got hits off the prints that we got from that apartment we raided.
Ricky Robinson, 27 years old, priors for possession with intent to sell.
Vincent Mulkowsky.
31 years old.
Burglary, armed robbery, assault.
This one has spent half his life locked up in some kind of jail.
Mulkowsky's the one with the sadistic streak.
Any leads at their last known addresses? Former associates? No, no.
Nothing so far.
What's going on with Almonte? We've charged him with murder.
Wow, how'd you do that? I'll handle the legal end, Detective.
Just find these men.
"Docket number 64131.
" âPeople v, Kevin Almonte, Three counts oi murder 'm the first degree.
What's this about murder? Quiet, Mr.
Almonte.
How does he plead, Ms.
Milford? Not guilty.
A home invasion on Dyckman Street, three people tied up and executed.
Let's not waste anybody's time with a bail argument.
Can we back up, Judge? My client is a decorated federal agent.
After being arrested on what was a quite dubious minor charge, these horrific accusations come out of nowhere.
What's Ms.
Milford's point? That the defendant was surprised he got caught? He was in his office with a dozen federal employees when these crimes occurred.
Mr.
Almonte is charged as an accomplice to the men who did his handiwork for him.
On what evidence? Statements made by his fellow perpetrators to an informant.
Who are these people? Who did they talk to? I'll go you one better, Ms.
Milford.
I'm turning over grand jury minutes to the defense.
The witness name has been redacted.
As the transcript clearly indicates, Mr.
Almonte facilitated the acquisition of counterfeit DEA credentials for his accomplices, tipped them to the presence of drugs and cash at the Dyckman Street apartment, and shared in the proceeds.
Remand.
I'm ordering administrative segregation so Agent Almonte will survive until his next court appearance.
I doubt you've handled an arraignment in 20 years, Mr.
McCoy.
I used to have an assistant who did that.
And we both know that's what these trumped-up charges are about.
Yes and no, Ms.
Milford.
Your client's friends killed Alexandra Borgia.
But I can connect him to the Dyckman Street case as sure I'm standing here.
So let's cut the BS.
Who do you want more? Do I really need to answer that? So you got this witness.
What else? He's all I need.
Mr.
Name Redacted? He knew your DEA number, Mr.
Almonte.
You'll be looking over your shoulder for a shank in the back for the next 50 years.
Ouch.
Is there a deal on the table? I want Ricky and Vincent.
Name your price.
We don't make the first offer.
If you can convince me you didn't know your rip-off partners were bind-and-torture killers, I might come down to rob one.
No homicide, huh? If you'd rather go upstate with a body, I can accommodate you.
See, the way I read it, means you ain't holding squat.
That would be a big mistake, Mr.
Almonte.
You have something I want very dearly.
And I'm willing to pay top dollar for it.
Top dollar is a walk, on everything.
Yeah.
I'm waiting.
Robbery in the first degree.
There's some flexibility on the sentence.
And the facility.
Bring on your witness.
CO.
That was just the first dance, Arthur.
What's next, Jack? Are you gonna phony up some physical evidence? Fake a suppression hearing? Why don't we get some actors in here and just do the whole damn trial? I need a few more days.
What's going to change? Almonte's not going to tell you how to find Ricky and Vincent.
He might if he thinks we're not listening.
Judge Bookman give you a wiretap on the jailhouse phone? Almonte's too smart to use it.
But we've been working with the Department of Corrections.
Let's see what happens when he gets his hands on a cell phone he thinks is safe.
They got me jammed up on your business, Ricky.
So what you wanna do about that? Fix the leak.
The leak ain't easy to find, Cat.
They like to use that motel out by LaGuardia, the Raddick.
I don't know, man.
You better know.
Ricky? Yeah.
Take care of this situation or we're all gonna suffer.
Were you able to trace the call? To a disposable cell phone.
So you got skunked, Mr.
McCoy.
We didn't get the location of Almonte's accomplices I was hoping for.
But they're plotting to kill Andreas.
Even if I grant you that, what are you going to do about it? Besides relocating Mr.
Andreas, I'll indict Almonte for conspiracy.
L think it plays, Elizabeth.
The two of you have him indicted on a fictional case.
He plots to kill a man who's pretending to be a witness in that case.
It's textbook entrapment.
And I'm putting an end to this sham prosecution before somebody gets hurt.
You're closing out the only two means of leverage we have, Judge.
The criminal justice system is not your personal plaything.
We both know this isn't business as usual.
Ms.
Borgia's murder is a stain on this institution.
Let me take another shot at Almonte.
I want these animals as much as you do.
But now I supervise this court and you've gone too far.
You'll release Almonte immediately.
There's still the original computer trespass charge.
Make an application to remand Almonte.
It will at least buy you some time.
Well, I can't see how there's any harm in that.
It won't be necessary.
If I can't press the murder charges, I might as well let him go.
Here we go.
Subject is getting into a taxi heading north on Lawlor's Street.
All right, stay close but don't spook him.
We're set at Almonte's building.
Okay, we've got a visual on the suspect's vehicle.
Switch the monitor.
The subject has just entered his building.
All units proceed to East Houston and stand by.
We're in position, Loo.
We sit on this guy long enough, he should lead us right to Ricky and Vincent.
Subject exiting building.
You see that? He's strapped.
All units.
Subject is now armed.
All cars, subject is heading to Houston.
If he jumps on the subway, we're screwed.
Subject down.
Repeat.
Subject down! We're in pursuit of a brown Ford.
Go! Go! Go! Go! Twenty-three William.
Move in! He's coming your way! Get down! Get down! Down! Down! Hands! Hands! Get over here and cuff these guys.
We got two under, Loo.
How's Almonte? He's DOA.
Ls everybody okay? Everybody that matters.
So, how do we deconstruct this for the mayor and the media? We apprehended two home invaders who slaughtered eight people, including Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Borgia.
And Kevin Almonte? A corrupt DEA agent whom we utilized in a legal sting.
Their ninth and final victim.
What about the fact that he's dead because he was being used as bait? That's an overly cynical rendering of events.
Is it? It worked.
I'm not complaining about the result.
We didn't have a choice.
No, we did.
We let it get personal.
Nature of the beast.
I'm not going to apologize for any of it.
So, what now? We pat each other on the back and break out the Blue Label? Alexandra always hated that.
I just assumed she didn't like scotch.
The whole old-boy ritual, it was a little much for her.
I've got an arraignment first thing tomorrow.
"Docket numbers 66118 and 119.
" "People v.
Ricky Robinson and Vincent Mulkowsky.
" "Numerous counts of burglary and robbery.
" "Nine counts of murder in the first degree.
" Pleas, Mr.
Bacon? Both my clients plead not guilty.
These are the men who are alleged to have murdered A.
D.
A.
Borgia? And eight other people.
I believe the charges speak for themselves.
Excuse me, Your Honor.
Who are you? Brandon Gregory, Assistant State's Attorney General.
And why are you interrupting this proceeding, Mr.
Gregory? The conduct of the District Attorney's Office in this matter, specifically Mr.
McCoy's methods in obtaining these indictments, are under scrutiny.
Mr.
McCoy's ability to fairly prosecute these defendants has been called into question.
I have an order signed by the governor appointing me Special Prosecutor of these cases.
Mr.
Gregory will represent the People in this matter until its resolution.
You are relieved of your duties here, Mr.
McCoy.
Don't screw this up.
Mr.
Gregory, are you prepared to move forward for the People? Yes, Your Honor, I'm asking that both defendants be remanded.