Law & Order (1990) s17e01 Episode Script
Fame
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.
(TV PLAYING) What? Noise from downstairs.
I don't think he's totally moved out yet.
He comes for his boxes at 10:30 at night? Maybe.
Or not.
Hey, I'm just going to peek in the window.
And that's all? Nick? This is Detective 720, I need a 1085 forthwith.
Burglary in progress at 307, East Fifth Street.
Freeze! (GRUNTS) (GASPS) No! No! (SCREAMING) Lieutenant, Mr.
Woodlief lives across the street.
Saw the shooting out of his window.
Did you see the shooter? White kid, young, had a hat on, but looked familiar.
From the neighborhood? Maybe.
Well, we're gonna need you down at the stationhouse looking at mug shots right away.
Okay? Thank you, sir.
Perp was after something, but it obviously wasn't loot.
I mean, there's over athousand dollars worth of cameras in here.
Who lived here? Some dude named Gary Blanchard.
The neighbors thought he moved out two days ago I got his information.
I'm going to run it down.
The press will be all over this.
And you know who's starting in the Squad today? Yeah.
Detective Beauty Queen.
Yeah.
I talked to her captain.
He was cagey, not very complimentary.
Well, you know what they say, the better you are, the more trash they talk.
Detective Nina Cassady.
Anita Van Buren.
Ed Green.
Welcome to the 27.
Your transfer coming down as fast as it did, I don't know much about you.
Except, of course, what I read in the papers.
That's tabloid stuff, Loo.
I didn't seek any of that out.
And there was a lot that wasn't accurate.
You been to CIC or taken a Homicide Investigators Course? This month.
You heard of BADS, NITRO, CARS, all that? I know they're NYPD databases.
But I've never had to use them before.
Well, your assignment, until I tell you different, is watch and learn.
Yes, ma'am.
I'm going to go fill in Carvahal's C.
O.
See if his wife is up to talking.
I want to be helpful, but I don't know what to tell you.
He heard a noise and then a minute later he was shot.
Had you had any problems downstairs in the past? We never saw or heard the tenant.
We kept opposite hours.
My brother Jimmy was in uniform with your husband at the 97.
He always spoke very highly of Nick.
I saw your photos in the paper, the shooting at the beauty salon.
You were very brave.
We're going to find who did this Mrs.
Carvahal.
I promise you that.
Excuse us a minute.
Detective.
I said watch and learn.
You just promised to close this case.
I was only offering condolences.
Watch and learn.
What are you going to do if the case falls apart? What are you going to say to the widow then? Lesson one.
Come on.
I can't think why anybody would want to rob my old place.
Do you think it could've been random? He was after something.
Listen, what is it you do exactly, Mr.
Blanchard? Snakeboy.
net? Yeah, I take shots at dance clubs and I post them on my site.
It's subscriber supported.
Right, catering to whom? Well, the kids I shoot, they see their photo on my page and it's like their 15 minutes of fame.
Yes! You are the Beauty Queen! It's Detective Cassady.
No.
Shh.
(CHUCKLING) Actually, oh, yes! "Detective Beauty Queen.
" All right.
Sit your ass down! Come on! We did mention that a police officer was killed, right? I'm sorry about that.
lam, I am.
Stop being a smart ass.
I'm sorry.
You know, but I thought I was the victim here.
We'll be in touch.
(CAMERA CLICKING) Hey, smile, babe! You're a star.
Hey, Loo, ballistics ran the slugs that killed Detective Carvahal.
They're a match for an open nightclub shooting that happened last year.
How many suspects? 40? Yeah, something like that.
But one of them stood out.
This guy, Jay Sitrick, he's a bouncer.
They didn't have enough to charge him, and they never found the gun.
Anything further on Blanchard? He doesn't have a record.
I take it he wasn't very helpful, that it wasn't a pleasant interview? He was a cocky little snot, why? It shows.
He e-mailed the squad contact address.
He was being disrespectful.
And we don't have time for it, not with this case.
So handle it better.
Talk to Sitrick.
Nina, come on.
Last night I was bouncing at the Beirut.
Eleventh Street, First Ave.
Check it out if you want.
Oh, we will.
And that doesn't mean you couldn't have provided the gun for this robbery, Mr.
Sitrick.
A gun that never proved was mine in a shooting I wasn't a part of.
Yeah, but you were the only one interviewed with gunpowder residue on your hand.
That test was inconclusive.
Guys, look, I understand.
(MACHINE WHIRRING) When one of yours gets killed, you got to be out there, you have to (WHIRRING STOPS) Sorry.
Couldn't hear you.
(sums) I had nothing to do with the robbery.
And I had nothing to do with shooting that cop.
You got anything to do with Blanchard? (SCOFFS) He's a dirt bag.
A guy did time because of him.
Did time for what? Him and Blanchard got drunk in a SoHo art show and they stole a painting.
The D.
A.
put one deal on the table, Blanchard flipped first.
The guy who got sent up just got out.
I'd be talking to him.
You know this ex-con's name? Teddy Gullo.
He threw that painting in the river.
I saw him do it.
Look, we don't think that you went by his place to kill anybody, Teddy.
I didn't go to his place.
Well, where were you at 10:30 last night? Here.
You checked in at 11:15.
I was copping, all right? Which is a parole violation.
Surprise, surprise.
Name of your dealer? I didn't kill anybody.
So, why did you nearly take Blanchard's head off at the Bowery Pool Hall? He owed me some money for a job I did.
He threatened to welsh, so I convinced him to pay.
What kind ofjob? He's getting into selling stalkerazzi photos for the tabloids.
Pictures of stars with their hair in curlers, scratching their ass? The job was to sit outside Chelsea Palace and follow Sky Sweet.
The actress? The Holy Grail being if she came out with her little baby.
Which she did, so I called him.
He tailed her and offered 10% percent off of any photo sale.
So, how come he didn't want to give you the money? Because she put an injunction against him selling the photos.
I didn't care.
I wanted my 10 grand.
What So, the photos were worth 100 grand? Photos doing what? Something she didn't want in the papers, I guess.
SWEET: Those photos are confidential.
That's why we got the injunction.
Do you understand that they may have led to a police officer being killed? Yeah.
Well, do I need to explain the importance of that to you? I was taking Sophia for a walk in the park.
She threw her noonie, when I bent down to pick it up, she slipped.
She was fine.
Right.
Blanchard caught that on film? I looked up and there he was blasting away.
She needs a change.
Yes, ma'am.
Am I right, there have been other photos in the press concerning your parenting? Yeah.
A scumbag in LA got pictures of her in my car alone for five minutes while I went for a frappacino.
It was, like, 60 degrees and the windows were cracked.
Right.
And we understand that that led to questioning from child services in Los Angeles.
So what? Ever occur to you that another public incident might lead to an interview from child services here in New York? Pointless one, yeah.
That's why I wanted the pictures.
They were out of context.
Was Blanchard willing to sell? We're negotiating.
How high is the number? Are you accusing me of something? Look here, you and your baby's daddy been running around town like you're Bonnie and Clyde, hanging out with hardcore rappers.
Now, some of them are real thugs.
They have real history, including robbery.
Blanchard wanted 400 grand, which is about what I spent this year on sweatpants.
So it was the principle, not the money.
I didn't need them stolen.
Now I'm exhausted.
The baby's kept me up all night this week.
Page Six has you partying all over the city this week.
I liked it better when you didn't talk.
Well, since the floodgates are open, you got an infant in the room.
No smoking.
No.
No.
No, they're not the guy.
Not even close.
Mind if I hit the head? Down the hall.
Nina, we got nothing on that re-canvas.
Ditto for Mr.
Woodlief.
And I know I lost my temper with Little Miss Superstar.
Mmm, now that seemed justified.
Yeah, but I get it if the boss has to know.
If you knew me a day longer and you were a dude, I'd pop you in the mouth for saying that.
If I have a disagreement with you, I'm going to say it to your face.
You're not going to hear about it through the lieutenant.
That's lesson number two.
How many lessons are there exactly? There's 740.
Exactly.
Excuse me, but this was in the bathroom.
You couldn't leave it there? No, I think the cover photo is the man who shot the policeman.
J-Train Smolka? It's Sky Sweet's husband.
Estranged, till recently.
Are you sure? Absolutely.
J-Train? Real name's Justin.
They've been married two years.
"His hard partying ways have forced a separation, "but only as far as the guest house of her Bel Air mansion.
" But if you sniff around online, there's talk of a reconciliation.
Fabulous.
I was getting a little worried.
(LAUGHING) I mention it because they were spotted at a restaurant in the city, so he's in town.
All of which you know from the tabloids.
But, Loo, J-Train matches the general description the witness gave at the crime scene.
Young white male? Right.
But Mr.
Woodlief came to this photo on his own.
He was sure about it.
And you take the celebrity part out of it, it's a husband standing up for wife, right? All right, what do you know about this J-Train? He has a reputation as a hothead and street thug.
Does his sheet support that? The only collar he got was driving Is there any connection between him and Blanchard? Blanchard said he'd gotten emails.
All right.
DCPI said word's out that you talked with Sky Sweet, so press is going to be camped out wherever this J-Train is.
Cassady, do me a favor.
Keep your face out of the press.
(RAP SONG PLAYING) Yo, cut the track, G! MAN: Got it.
(MUSIC STOPS) Yeah, I wrote Blanchard this email.
So you threatened to "cap his bitch ass.
" (CHUCKLES) That's just talk, you know what I'm saying? No.
Not when a police officer's been murdered.
No.
I don't know what you're saying.
How's that on me? Stealing photos from Blanchard might have bolstered your street cred.
That rep was invented by a publicist.
I'm from Orlando.
Yeah, well, there's all these rumors about gun play, with you smashing up hotel rooms.
I got no gun and trashing that hotel was staged.
I'm trying to sell records.
Well, with everything staged, why did you get an injunction to freeze photos of your wife dropping your baby? Because that wasn't staged.
That was some scumbag taking advantage.
But we get it.
He's just looking to earn.
Everybody knows it's a game.
If it's a game.
Why were you seen leaving Blanchard's place last night after the shooting? Whoever saw that, I wouldn't trust him.
I was working last night.
Oh, you better hope you're on the security cameras.
No, I wasn't here.
I was with our girl who runs the fan site and handles the mail, Beth Swailes.
And any more from me, you can talk to our lawyer.
But I'm sorry about your homey, yo! Might as well turn around.
You've got someone to talk to.
Justin Smolka's cell records show a bunch of text messages to a Michael Whelan.
He's got a sheet a mile long.
Junkie dealer, I know him from my foot patrol on the Lower East Side.
Yeah.
Well, it turns out he was also questioned at the nightclub shooting last year where our murder weapon was used.
He could be the source of the gun.
He could be the shooter.
Beth Swailes backed up Justin's alibi.
I don't know.
A long-time employee as an alibi witness.
She had her story straight.
Go stick a pen in it.
I'll have uniform backup meet you at Whelan's apartment, just in case.
You're staying here.
Boss, I know this Whelan.
I know his big Rottweiler.
We got rapport.
If he's the shooter, I don't want you going through that door.
I'll hang back.
You'll hang here.
How's that fit in with watch and learn? Ed, they'll be waiting for you.
Watch out for the dog.
All right.
Lieutenant, look, I'm sure you had a handpicked replacement for when Detective Fontana retired.
You're absolutely right.
First grader, a lot of years on the job.
And you got to feel I was shoved down your throat because of all the press around me.
You know, my only issue with you is that you're green.
The promotion was a fluke.
Okay? I cop to it.
I was in the wrong salon at the right time.
But I did hold my gun straight and I'm here now.
You know, it's something that takes a police officer years to achieve.
Homicide is not about writing summonses or keeping the peace.
It's a skill.
A skill learned from experience.
Which I'm hungry to get.
Fast.
Isn't that what you came in with? Oh, much more.
Five years in the bag, seven undercover in Narcotics.
That's where you got your street chops.
I'm getting mine here.
And until you get those chops, you're a liability to yourself and your partner.
You don't go through doors.
Whelan! It's the police! WHELAN: Hey! (BARKING) Let me walk out of here or I'm gonna sic him on you.
You do that and I'll blow his brains out.
Now call him off! WHELAN: I didn't do nothing.
You've got two seconds to call him off! One! Two! WHELAN: Bubba, come here.
Clear! Come out with your hands up, Whelan! (DOG GROWLING) Can I just say goodbye to him, please? Get up.
Get up! Against the wall! OFFICER: Detective, gun! ED: Come on.
(HANDCUFFS CLICKING) Loo, the lab confirmed that it is the gun that killed Carvahal.
Crime Scene is running prints now.
What do you know about him? Dad was a drunk, beat him.
When Mike was 10, he found the old man hanging from a shower rod.
Then his older sister took care of him.
She died two years ago of ovarian cancer, and the mom's in a state mental home in Albany.
Well, boss? Just take it slow.
Listen, Whelan, I'll put in a call to Mrs.
Strasnick and ask if she can take Bubba until you can sort this through, but only if you are completely honest and stop acting like a baby.
My mom called.
She said she saw you in the paper and that she's real proud of you.
How proud would she be knowing where you're at right now? How about Lorraine? WHELAN: (CRYING) Lorraine is dead.
Would she be proud after spending all that time teaching you right from wrong? But I didn't do anything wrong.
Then why is a police officer, like me, your friend, murdered, and the gun that killed him, in your apartment? I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
Mike.
All that time I spent with you, buying you food when you had nothing to eat, peeling you off the sidewalk and getting you home.
You've got to stand up now, Mike.
Do the right thing.
Earn all that kindness, or else you and Bubba, you're done.
(CRYING) (SNIFFLES) His name is Smolka.
He's famous.
Why was that so hard to admit? Because I was at the robbery.
You were in the apartment? No, down the block, driving get-away.
And you got the gun? No.
He asked me for a gun and I had one, so I lent it to him.
Wait, hold on.
How do you know him? I met him at a club and he parties with meth sometimes.
Did you know who you were ripping off? No, I swear.
He just said that he needed a piece and a wheel-man.
And I needed the 50 dollars.
Please don't tell my mom.
(SOBBING) (KNOCKING ON DOOR) Crime Scene lifted Smolka's prints off the murder weapon.
Go get him.
Go.
(RAP SONG PLAYING) (RAPPING) My drink is Hennessey on ice I caii it Henny Diamonds Girls that try to keep up end up losing hymens All right! Yo! You're under arrest for the murder of Nick Carvahal.
(LAUGHING) You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law Back it up! Back it up! Out of the way! Out of the way! I want my lawyer.
You'll get your lawyer.
Hey, yo, it's a frame-up, yo! Shut your mouth.
(REPORTERS CLAMORING) "Docket number 101672.
âPeople v.
Justin Anthony Smolka.
"Charge is murder in the first degree.
" How do you plead, Mr.
Smolka? Absolutely not guilty.
A.
D.
A Rubirosa, light a fire under it.
YourHonon the defendant was burglarizing an apartment, and in the course of the burglary, he killed a New York City police officer.
If that doesn't earn remand, I don't know what does.
Except there's no physical evidence connecting my client to the scene.
There is an eyewitness who puts Smolka at the scene.
There is also an alibi witness who puts him three miles away.
His prints are on the murder weapon, he had motive, and his wife has more money than God.
And if anybody's interested, Detective CarvahaFs widow gave birth to a healthy baby boy this morning.
Defendant's remanded.
(GAVEL POUNDS) (RAPPING) I'm coming hard from the prison yard We're the untouchable squad The way that! roll Maybe it's generational, Connie, but this is incomprehensible to me.
It's incomprehensible to anyone without a lobotomy.
But he's famous.
You know who he is? Just from what I've read in the check-out lines.
He's a, uh, failed actor, failed singer.
They actually met when he was doing a bit part in one of her films.
She, on the other hand, makes seven million a picture.
So, they could easily buy the photos of Sky Sweet dropping her baby.
Why steal them? The real question is, why keep them from the press? Those pictures of her leaving her kid in the car, they made headlines for weeks.
Will the accomplice stand up, Mike Whelan? A lifetime drug addict with a lot to lose? I know I'd tear him apart on the stand.
You may need a deal for his testimony regardless.
You've got a decent eyewitness, and Smolka's prints on the gun.
But Smolka's got an alibi and a howitzer in his back pocket.
You try any profile cases in C.
C.
? Just workaday career criminals, but no skeletons in my closet.
No arrests.
No drugs.
Straight A's since first grade.
Yeah.
Me, too.
I didn't shoot anybody.
I wasn't at that apartment.
And we have a very plausible alternative theory of the crime.
Yeah.
Mike Whelan did this on his own.
Explain your prints on the murder weapon.
Mr.
Whelan showed up at a recording studio where my client was working and asked to see him privately.
Yeah, he handed me a gun and asked me to hide it for him.
I said, "No way.
" Gave it back and told him to go to hell.
Mike Whelan, a drug addict, approaches a world-famous celebrity to hold his gun? (sums) I bought drugs from him in the past.
I used to abuse methamphetamine.
I'm in recovery now but he threatened to take that to the press.
Is there anyone who can corroborate this meeting took place? No, he called me out to the street.
Alone.
Is there anything about this story that can be proved? Mike Whelan thought Blanchard had photos in his apartment worth five million dollars.
Photos of what? Katie Holmes giving silent birth.
Shot from some remote pinhole camera that Blanchard bribed a nurse to bring into the delivery room in LA.
Nonsense.
Yeah.
Exactly.
But two weeks ago, Blanchard got drunk at this dump called Boardners, and bragged he was moving up to the big time.
I heard it.
So did Whelan.
I dismissed it like you, but, I mean, Mike's not so smart.
Blanchard confirms that the conversation took place, and that he said he had the photos, which he doesn't.
Well, five million's an awfully good motive to do burglary.
Especially if you're a broke drug addict.
Feels like a smoke screen.
Well, now, it's he said, he said and it destroys any deal that you might have made for Mike Whelan's testimony.
It'll look like that you dismissed Whelan's direct involvement out of hand and that Smolka's prosecution was personal.
So, we try Mike Whelan alongside Justin Smolka.
No whiff of preferential treatment.
They both killed a cop.
Now, crack Smolka's alibi witness or find something to crack her with.
Mr.
McCoy, over this way, please! REPORTER: Mr.
McCoy, are you prosecuting Whelan's case? Smile, Jack.
Say, "Cheese.
" REPORTER: How long are you gonna hold J-Train? At what time did Mr.
Smolka arrive the night of the shooting, Ms.
Swailes? About 7:30.
He stayed until midnight.
Doing what? We're working on Sky's website.
J-Train is good on content, not so good on design.
That's where I come in.
Did anyone else, um, see him here? Oh, I don't let people in when he's here.
It could cause a riot.
There's a lot of photos of this person with Sky.
Who is she? That's me from a few years ago.
Gained a few since.
I should get back to work now.
You worked with Sky, what, six years? That's right.
But, Beth, you wouldn't lie for her, would you? Or J-Train? Of course not.
Because, you know, I do see this kind of thing a lot in criminal cases.
People think they're helping, but what they're really doing is committing perjury.
I would never do that.
Or because it's not in your nature, or because you know you will go to jail for committing perjury? J-Train was here from 7:30 until midnight.
Forgive me, but I don't believe a word that you're saying.
We're done, right? What people don't understand is that all of the photographers, the press, it destroys our life.
(SNIFFLING) No one gets it that we're people, too.
Don't watch too much of that.
It'll rot your brain.
I think I found something to impeach Beth Swailes.
She's a pathologically obsessed fan.
Seven years ago, she went on a game show called, I Want to Look Like a Star.
She had plastic surgery to look like Sky Sweet.
They look nothing alike.
Well, that's after she had nine more procedures.
She had her face sliced to ribbons to look like Sky Sweet.
Lying on the stand is going to be a walk in the park.
Did you, um, catch the Ledger today? Adam Stein's gossip column? "An industry insider says prosecutors don't have a clue "as to the actual motive in the case.
" You should, uh, skip down to the last paragraph.
"With such rocky evidence, we only hope the prosecution isn't bull-dogging "the Smolka-Sweet family for their lifestyle and non traditional parenting.
"What's worse, we ask, a short stay alone in mom's car, "or nine years of neglect, which is how long it's been since Jack McCoy "has spoken to his only daughter?" They're trying to poison the jury pool.
It's a very low blow.
If we don't have a clue about the actual motive, I wonder what it was.
Maybe he can help us with our case.
Let's talk to Stein.
Get the source.
Would you walk up to a New York Times reporter asking for sources? I don't think so.
All due respect, you're not a reporter.
All due respect, I write facts, they write facts, what's the dif? Gravity.
Importance.
I was writing about a murder case, and if it's so unimportant, what brought you to Midtown? Are you willing to go to jail to protect this source? Have you ever heard of the Shield Law? It protects journalists.
You're a gossip columnist.
It's the newspaper equivalent of a flesh-peddler.
God, you're nasty.
What they say about Latina women is so utterly true.
This isn't a joke, Mr.
Stein.
If you know something about our murder case, let's hear it.
Or I guarantee, you'll be in a contempt hearing within a day.
You're just miffed about that whole daughter thing.
(PEOPLE CLAMORING) BODYGUARD: All right, people, let's keep it back.
Your source? I won't divulge.
See you in court.
Promises, promises.
Hey, do you like sangria? Your tie? Really, really stupid.
KRISTOF: ls gossip news? The Shield Law defines news as information concerning local, national or worldwide events or other matters of public concern.
So, absolutely, yes.
"Lindsay Lohan spotted at Bungalow Eight," or "An Olsen twin at Starbucks.
" Is that really news, Your Honor? Judging by the column inches devoted, it's presently more relevant to this country than a war we're fighting.
Well, is information of prurient interest what the Shield Law was designed to protect? If he's hired by a newspaper and paid by it to gather news, then Mr.
Stein is protected from contempt.
Where did this conversation between Mr.
Stein and his source take place? It was in a nightclub, Your Honor.
And how was this confidential information discussed between reporter and source? Screamed out over the dance music? It was discussed in a lavatory.
How can that possibly be considered confidential? Because the source explicitly stated his desire to be kept confidential.
Then he should have held the conversation in a private location.
We stand by Mr.
Stein's first amendment rights to trample the privacy of celebrities, but a conversation in a nightclub toilet is not Deep Throat's parking garage.
I'm a staunch defender of the press, even the gossip pages, God bless them.
But if you report news, act like ajournalist, Mr.
Stein.
To me, this is party conversation.
Refuse to divulge the name of this source, I'll find you in contempt.
I'm sorry, Your Honor, you'll just have to throw me in jail.
So be it.
(GAVEL POUNDS) I bet you'd hold out six hours, yet here we are in four.
I am ajournalist.
I deserve the rights of everyjournalist.
Put that in your prison memoir.
Gary Blanchard.
That's the guy who told me you the wrong motive.
Why? I advanced him 20 grand for 50 photos I guaranteed would get printed.
All this went down in middle of a murder case? His info was current, juicy, and the 50 credits would make his name.
He struck while the iron was hot.
That's the way the game is played.
What did Blanchard say was the right motive? You'll, uh, you'll want to see that for yourself.
Pictures from Blanchard's computer.
Stein was right.
We didn't have a clue.
Sky Sweet doing drugs.
At the Formosa Club.
Look at the background, New Years Eve decorations from last year.
The club said they were only up for two days.
Time that out with the birth of her baby, and that's a picture of Sky Sweet snorting cocaine, five months pregnant.
This is the first I've seen them.
I find that hard to believe.
The only photos I thought Blanchard had were of me and Sophia in the park.
Those hitting the papers would have made for a routine embarrassment, but it's safe to call these a career ender.
What do you want from me? Did your husband break into Blanchard's apartment and steal these photos? I don't think he knew about them.
Is that what Blanchard is saying? He's saying he told no one but Adam Stein.
He's not very trustworthy.
I've never seen these before, and I don't think Justin has either.
I think the jury will disagree.
Wait a minute, these are going to be used as evidence against Justin? Blown up on a wide screen in the courtroom.
Oh, my God.
I can't believe this is happening.
We understand if you're trying to protect your husband, but a police officer was murdered.
So, you'll destroy my career and send child services? I have no intention of sending them.
Oh, but they'll sure take an interest, won't they? They may- Look, I know this looks bad, but Sophia has been tested against every possible abnormality.
She's not small for dates, she had a normal APGAR.
Please don't take my baby.
I think you should leave.
TURCO: Justin, why do you record under the name, J-Train? I know it'll be a headline tomorrow, but in real life I'm a boring guy.
But J-Train is a street thug who takes what he wants when he wants it, parties day and night, and can't keep his (CHUCKLES) He's a player.
Isn't it conceivable that a player would want revenge against the man who'd shot compromising photographs of his wife? Except the J-Train persona is complete fiction.
Is the line ever blurred between you and the persona? In real life, I'm a husband, a father, an artist and a businessman.
I don't have time for anything else.
Is there any reason that you would break into Gary Blanchard's apartment? No.
Where we you the night his apartment was burglarized, and Detective Carvahal was murdered? I was with Beth Swailes at her apartment in Chelsea updating my wife's website.
On the night of the burglary, you needed someone with a gun, didn't you? I had nothing to do with the burglary.
I was with Beth Swailes that night.
You recruited your ex-drug dealer to drive you to Mr.
Blanchard's apartment where you intended to break in and steal these photographs, didn't you? No.
Would these photographs constitute a reason to break into the apartment? I had no idea those photos existed until a few days ago.
You were aware of other less incriminating pictures.
You were negotiating for them, but you didn't know about the most incendiary of all? Maybe Blanchard was saving them for a rainy day, I don't know.
You went to commit a robbery, to steal these photographs of your wife, but you were interrupted by a neighbor who was a police officer, and you shot him, didn't you? We struggled with drugs.
That doesn't make her evil or me a killer.
JUDGE: Mr.
Smolka.
Look, I didn't rob or kill anyone! Mike Whelan killed that cop and he's blaming it on me because I stopped buying his drugs.
That's a lie! His money supply got cut off and he got desperate to score, and stole from his sister's medical insurance and it killed her! That's a lie! He's a liar! JUDGE: That's enough! Get him out of here.
We're in recess until tomorrow morning.
I'm telling you flat out, Mike Whelan did not spend his sister's insurance money on dope.
We both know how desperate junkies get.
He didn't eat for two weeks after she passed.
He nearly died of grief.
Or guilt.
It's not in his nature.
I'm 1,000% positive.
It only matters if Detective Cassady can prove Smolka lied on the stand.
Can she? No.
So maybe Whelan's a patsy, but unless she can prove it, it's a character reference.
Not helpful at the moment.
Well, the Sky Sweet photos are all over the net.
The blogs sayjail her and they're talking about boycotting her films.
It's a fallout.
It'll dissipate.
Still, you got her pretty good.
It was motive evidence.
Oh, is that what it was, Jack? Or, uh, was it revenge because your daughter was mentioned in the press? Is that what they're saying on the news magazines? I don't know what's the source of it.
One less witness.
Defense camp just called.
Beth Swailes is off their list.
Really? I'm going to Connecticut to see my sister.
I'll miss my train.
Was Justin really with you the night of the shooting? Yes.
At the times you said? Maybe a little later, I don't know.
I didn't check my clock.
And that's why you won't testify for him? I don't buy that.
Does this have anything to do with the photographs that were taken? They made me sick to my stomach.
It's awful Sky having to endure that.
But why stop protecting Justin? Because he did it to her.
Made her a drug addict? She never got high before him.
And seeing those pictures.
Did Justin say anything to you about where he had been before going to your apartment the night of the shooting? No.
He just sat in the corner.
But what I don't understand is there were only two or three people that knew Sky would be at that New Years Eve party.
When the photos were taken.
And there was security like crazy.
You'd have to be awful lucky to be in that bathroom at that time.
Unless Sky was being set up.
You think it was Justin that set her up? I have to go! Beth! JACK: The obstruction of justice will get you two years, Mr.
Blanchard.
But blackmail? Extortion? For what? Were the photographs of Sky Sweet at the Formosa Club part a business arrangement between you and Justin Smolka? (EXHALES SHARPLY) Where are you getting this from? If a photographer got into the woman's bathroom, someone let him in.
And knew to let him in when Sky was going to be doing drugs.
Security was bulletproof at the Formosa that night.
Did Justin Smolka let you in? Did you conspire with him to blackmail his wife? We say that's the case.
You could spend the next decade in jail.
No.
No, I don't want to do anytime.
All right, I'll testify against Justin, but no time! I'll even give you a gift.
Adam Stein, over at the New York Ledger says that there is a lot of response to that bit about your daughter.
Now I went up to Maine and I took some photos, but you can have them.
Keep the photographs.
What do you know? Justin Smolka hired me to hide in a bathroom at the Formosa Club and get shots of his wife doing drugs.
JACK: He knew that she'd be doing drugs? He planned on giving them to her that night because he knew that she had been trying to kick.
So, she wouldn't be able to resist.
She was vulnerable.
What was your arrangement with Mr.
Smolka? He was going to give me For what purpose? He said he needed them for, uh, insurance in their divorce settlement.
He signed a pre-nup which gave him nothing.
But what happened with your business arrangement with Mr.
Smolka? When I actually got the shots, I decided to up my price to a million dollars.
When did you tell Mr.
Smolkathis? The day before my apartment got broke into and that cop got shot.
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING) You have one bargaining chip, Mr.
Smolka, the truth about Mike Whelan's involvement.
TURCO: What's it buy? JACK: Five off, 20 years.
We're out.
Sit! (SCOFFS) You too? All I wanted was you to love me.
I gave you everything.
You gave me orgasms.
Did he give you drugs that night? Yes.
You asked for them! I asked you to watch out for me and you set me up! My career is over! I never killed any cop.
Yes, you did.
And you told me you did.
Keep fighting this, it's on your dime.
Mike Whelan took eight years.
Been reading the internet, Sky Sweet is going into rehab.
She hopes her fans forgive her and it looks like they have.
There's clamor for a biopic.
Guess it's true there's no such thing as bad ink.
Oh, uh, these came for you.
(sums)
These are their stories.
(TV PLAYING) What? Noise from downstairs.
I don't think he's totally moved out yet.
He comes for his boxes at 10:30 at night? Maybe.
Or not.
Hey, I'm just going to peek in the window.
And that's all? Nick? This is Detective 720, I need a 1085 forthwith.
Burglary in progress at 307, East Fifth Street.
Freeze! (GRUNTS) (GASPS) No! No! (SCREAMING) Lieutenant, Mr.
Woodlief lives across the street.
Saw the shooting out of his window.
Did you see the shooter? White kid, young, had a hat on, but looked familiar.
From the neighborhood? Maybe.
Well, we're gonna need you down at the stationhouse looking at mug shots right away.
Okay? Thank you, sir.
Perp was after something, but it obviously wasn't loot.
I mean, there's over athousand dollars worth of cameras in here.
Who lived here? Some dude named Gary Blanchard.
The neighbors thought he moved out two days ago I got his information.
I'm going to run it down.
The press will be all over this.
And you know who's starting in the Squad today? Yeah.
Detective Beauty Queen.
Yeah.
I talked to her captain.
He was cagey, not very complimentary.
Well, you know what they say, the better you are, the more trash they talk.
Detective Nina Cassady.
Anita Van Buren.
Ed Green.
Welcome to the 27.
Your transfer coming down as fast as it did, I don't know much about you.
Except, of course, what I read in the papers.
That's tabloid stuff, Loo.
I didn't seek any of that out.
And there was a lot that wasn't accurate.
You been to CIC or taken a Homicide Investigators Course? This month.
You heard of BADS, NITRO, CARS, all that? I know they're NYPD databases.
But I've never had to use them before.
Well, your assignment, until I tell you different, is watch and learn.
Yes, ma'am.
I'm going to go fill in Carvahal's C.
O.
See if his wife is up to talking.
I want to be helpful, but I don't know what to tell you.
He heard a noise and then a minute later he was shot.
Had you had any problems downstairs in the past? We never saw or heard the tenant.
We kept opposite hours.
My brother Jimmy was in uniform with your husband at the 97.
He always spoke very highly of Nick.
I saw your photos in the paper, the shooting at the beauty salon.
You were very brave.
We're going to find who did this Mrs.
Carvahal.
I promise you that.
Excuse us a minute.
Detective.
I said watch and learn.
You just promised to close this case.
I was only offering condolences.
Watch and learn.
What are you going to do if the case falls apart? What are you going to say to the widow then? Lesson one.
Come on.
I can't think why anybody would want to rob my old place.
Do you think it could've been random? He was after something.
Listen, what is it you do exactly, Mr.
Blanchard? Snakeboy.
net? Yeah, I take shots at dance clubs and I post them on my site.
It's subscriber supported.
Right, catering to whom? Well, the kids I shoot, they see their photo on my page and it's like their 15 minutes of fame.
Yes! You are the Beauty Queen! It's Detective Cassady.
No.
Shh.
(CHUCKLING) Actually, oh, yes! "Detective Beauty Queen.
" All right.
Sit your ass down! Come on! We did mention that a police officer was killed, right? I'm sorry about that.
lam, I am.
Stop being a smart ass.
I'm sorry.
You know, but I thought I was the victim here.
We'll be in touch.
(CAMERA CLICKING) Hey, smile, babe! You're a star.
Hey, Loo, ballistics ran the slugs that killed Detective Carvahal.
They're a match for an open nightclub shooting that happened last year.
How many suspects? 40? Yeah, something like that.
But one of them stood out.
This guy, Jay Sitrick, he's a bouncer.
They didn't have enough to charge him, and they never found the gun.
Anything further on Blanchard? He doesn't have a record.
I take it he wasn't very helpful, that it wasn't a pleasant interview? He was a cocky little snot, why? It shows.
He e-mailed the squad contact address.
He was being disrespectful.
And we don't have time for it, not with this case.
So handle it better.
Talk to Sitrick.
Nina, come on.
Last night I was bouncing at the Beirut.
Eleventh Street, First Ave.
Check it out if you want.
Oh, we will.
And that doesn't mean you couldn't have provided the gun for this robbery, Mr.
Sitrick.
A gun that never proved was mine in a shooting I wasn't a part of.
Yeah, but you were the only one interviewed with gunpowder residue on your hand.
That test was inconclusive.
Guys, look, I understand.
(MACHINE WHIRRING) When one of yours gets killed, you got to be out there, you have to (WHIRRING STOPS) Sorry.
Couldn't hear you.
(sums) I had nothing to do with the robbery.
And I had nothing to do with shooting that cop.
You got anything to do with Blanchard? (SCOFFS) He's a dirt bag.
A guy did time because of him.
Did time for what? Him and Blanchard got drunk in a SoHo art show and they stole a painting.
The D.
A.
put one deal on the table, Blanchard flipped first.
The guy who got sent up just got out.
I'd be talking to him.
You know this ex-con's name? Teddy Gullo.
He threw that painting in the river.
I saw him do it.
Look, we don't think that you went by his place to kill anybody, Teddy.
I didn't go to his place.
Well, where were you at 10:30 last night? Here.
You checked in at 11:15.
I was copping, all right? Which is a parole violation.
Surprise, surprise.
Name of your dealer? I didn't kill anybody.
So, why did you nearly take Blanchard's head off at the Bowery Pool Hall? He owed me some money for a job I did.
He threatened to welsh, so I convinced him to pay.
What kind ofjob? He's getting into selling stalkerazzi photos for the tabloids.
Pictures of stars with their hair in curlers, scratching their ass? The job was to sit outside Chelsea Palace and follow Sky Sweet.
The actress? The Holy Grail being if she came out with her little baby.
Which she did, so I called him.
He tailed her and offered 10% percent off of any photo sale.
So, how come he didn't want to give you the money? Because she put an injunction against him selling the photos.
I didn't care.
I wanted my 10 grand.
What So, the photos were worth 100 grand? Photos doing what? Something she didn't want in the papers, I guess.
SWEET: Those photos are confidential.
That's why we got the injunction.
Do you understand that they may have led to a police officer being killed? Yeah.
Well, do I need to explain the importance of that to you? I was taking Sophia for a walk in the park.
She threw her noonie, when I bent down to pick it up, she slipped.
She was fine.
Right.
Blanchard caught that on film? I looked up and there he was blasting away.
She needs a change.
Yes, ma'am.
Am I right, there have been other photos in the press concerning your parenting? Yeah.
A scumbag in LA got pictures of her in my car alone for five minutes while I went for a frappacino.
It was, like, 60 degrees and the windows were cracked.
Right.
And we understand that that led to questioning from child services in Los Angeles.
So what? Ever occur to you that another public incident might lead to an interview from child services here in New York? Pointless one, yeah.
That's why I wanted the pictures.
They were out of context.
Was Blanchard willing to sell? We're negotiating.
How high is the number? Are you accusing me of something? Look here, you and your baby's daddy been running around town like you're Bonnie and Clyde, hanging out with hardcore rappers.
Now, some of them are real thugs.
They have real history, including robbery.
Blanchard wanted 400 grand, which is about what I spent this year on sweatpants.
So it was the principle, not the money.
I didn't need them stolen.
Now I'm exhausted.
The baby's kept me up all night this week.
Page Six has you partying all over the city this week.
I liked it better when you didn't talk.
Well, since the floodgates are open, you got an infant in the room.
No smoking.
No.
No.
No, they're not the guy.
Not even close.
Mind if I hit the head? Down the hall.
Nina, we got nothing on that re-canvas.
Ditto for Mr.
Woodlief.
And I know I lost my temper with Little Miss Superstar.
Mmm, now that seemed justified.
Yeah, but I get it if the boss has to know.
If you knew me a day longer and you were a dude, I'd pop you in the mouth for saying that.
If I have a disagreement with you, I'm going to say it to your face.
You're not going to hear about it through the lieutenant.
That's lesson number two.
How many lessons are there exactly? There's 740.
Exactly.
Excuse me, but this was in the bathroom.
You couldn't leave it there? No, I think the cover photo is the man who shot the policeman.
J-Train Smolka? It's Sky Sweet's husband.
Estranged, till recently.
Are you sure? Absolutely.
J-Train? Real name's Justin.
They've been married two years.
"His hard partying ways have forced a separation, "but only as far as the guest house of her Bel Air mansion.
" But if you sniff around online, there's talk of a reconciliation.
Fabulous.
I was getting a little worried.
(LAUGHING) I mention it because they were spotted at a restaurant in the city, so he's in town.
All of which you know from the tabloids.
But, Loo, J-Train matches the general description the witness gave at the crime scene.
Young white male? Right.
But Mr.
Woodlief came to this photo on his own.
He was sure about it.
And you take the celebrity part out of it, it's a husband standing up for wife, right? All right, what do you know about this J-Train? He has a reputation as a hothead and street thug.
Does his sheet support that? The only collar he got was driving Is there any connection between him and Blanchard? Blanchard said he'd gotten emails.
All right.
DCPI said word's out that you talked with Sky Sweet, so press is going to be camped out wherever this J-Train is.
Cassady, do me a favor.
Keep your face out of the press.
(RAP SONG PLAYING) Yo, cut the track, G! MAN: Got it.
(MUSIC STOPS) Yeah, I wrote Blanchard this email.
So you threatened to "cap his bitch ass.
" (CHUCKLES) That's just talk, you know what I'm saying? No.
Not when a police officer's been murdered.
No.
I don't know what you're saying.
How's that on me? Stealing photos from Blanchard might have bolstered your street cred.
That rep was invented by a publicist.
I'm from Orlando.
Yeah, well, there's all these rumors about gun play, with you smashing up hotel rooms.
I got no gun and trashing that hotel was staged.
I'm trying to sell records.
Well, with everything staged, why did you get an injunction to freeze photos of your wife dropping your baby? Because that wasn't staged.
That was some scumbag taking advantage.
But we get it.
He's just looking to earn.
Everybody knows it's a game.
If it's a game.
Why were you seen leaving Blanchard's place last night after the shooting? Whoever saw that, I wouldn't trust him.
I was working last night.
Oh, you better hope you're on the security cameras.
No, I wasn't here.
I was with our girl who runs the fan site and handles the mail, Beth Swailes.
And any more from me, you can talk to our lawyer.
But I'm sorry about your homey, yo! Might as well turn around.
You've got someone to talk to.
Justin Smolka's cell records show a bunch of text messages to a Michael Whelan.
He's got a sheet a mile long.
Junkie dealer, I know him from my foot patrol on the Lower East Side.
Yeah.
Well, it turns out he was also questioned at the nightclub shooting last year where our murder weapon was used.
He could be the source of the gun.
He could be the shooter.
Beth Swailes backed up Justin's alibi.
I don't know.
A long-time employee as an alibi witness.
She had her story straight.
Go stick a pen in it.
I'll have uniform backup meet you at Whelan's apartment, just in case.
You're staying here.
Boss, I know this Whelan.
I know his big Rottweiler.
We got rapport.
If he's the shooter, I don't want you going through that door.
I'll hang back.
You'll hang here.
How's that fit in with watch and learn? Ed, they'll be waiting for you.
Watch out for the dog.
All right.
Lieutenant, look, I'm sure you had a handpicked replacement for when Detective Fontana retired.
You're absolutely right.
First grader, a lot of years on the job.
And you got to feel I was shoved down your throat because of all the press around me.
You know, my only issue with you is that you're green.
The promotion was a fluke.
Okay? I cop to it.
I was in the wrong salon at the right time.
But I did hold my gun straight and I'm here now.
You know, it's something that takes a police officer years to achieve.
Homicide is not about writing summonses or keeping the peace.
It's a skill.
A skill learned from experience.
Which I'm hungry to get.
Fast.
Isn't that what you came in with? Oh, much more.
Five years in the bag, seven undercover in Narcotics.
That's where you got your street chops.
I'm getting mine here.
And until you get those chops, you're a liability to yourself and your partner.
You don't go through doors.
Whelan! It's the police! WHELAN: Hey! (BARKING) Let me walk out of here or I'm gonna sic him on you.
You do that and I'll blow his brains out.
Now call him off! WHELAN: I didn't do nothing.
You've got two seconds to call him off! One! Two! WHELAN: Bubba, come here.
Clear! Come out with your hands up, Whelan! (DOG GROWLING) Can I just say goodbye to him, please? Get up.
Get up! Against the wall! OFFICER: Detective, gun! ED: Come on.
(HANDCUFFS CLICKING) Loo, the lab confirmed that it is the gun that killed Carvahal.
Crime Scene is running prints now.
What do you know about him? Dad was a drunk, beat him.
When Mike was 10, he found the old man hanging from a shower rod.
Then his older sister took care of him.
She died two years ago of ovarian cancer, and the mom's in a state mental home in Albany.
Well, boss? Just take it slow.
Listen, Whelan, I'll put in a call to Mrs.
Strasnick and ask if she can take Bubba until you can sort this through, but only if you are completely honest and stop acting like a baby.
My mom called.
She said she saw you in the paper and that she's real proud of you.
How proud would she be knowing where you're at right now? How about Lorraine? WHELAN: (CRYING) Lorraine is dead.
Would she be proud after spending all that time teaching you right from wrong? But I didn't do anything wrong.
Then why is a police officer, like me, your friend, murdered, and the gun that killed him, in your apartment? I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
Mike.
All that time I spent with you, buying you food when you had nothing to eat, peeling you off the sidewalk and getting you home.
You've got to stand up now, Mike.
Do the right thing.
Earn all that kindness, or else you and Bubba, you're done.
(CRYING) (SNIFFLES) His name is Smolka.
He's famous.
Why was that so hard to admit? Because I was at the robbery.
You were in the apartment? No, down the block, driving get-away.
And you got the gun? No.
He asked me for a gun and I had one, so I lent it to him.
Wait, hold on.
How do you know him? I met him at a club and he parties with meth sometimes.
Did you know who you were ripping off? No, I swear.
He just said that he needed a piece and a wheel-man.
And I needed the 50 dollars.
Please don't tell my mom.
(SOBBING) (KNOCKING ON DOOR) Crime Scene lifted Smolka's prints off the murder weapon.
Go get him.
Go.
(RAP SONG PLAYING) (RAPPING) My drink is Hennessey on ice I caii it Henny Diamonds Girls that try to keep up end up losing hymens All right! Yo! You're under arrest for the murder of Nick Carvahal.
(LAUGHING) You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law Back it up! Back it up! Out of the way! Out of the way! I want my lawyer.
You'll get your lawyer.
Hey, yo, it's a frame-up, yo! Shut your mouth.
(REPORTERS CLAMORING) "Docket number 101672.
âPeople v.
Justin Anthony Smolka.
"Charge is murder in the first degree.
" How do you plead, Mr.
Smolka? Absolutely not guilty.
A.
D.
A Rubirosa, light a fire under it.
YourHonon the defendant was burglarizing an apartment, and in the course of the burglary, he killed a New York City police officer.
If that doesn't earn remand, I don't know what does.
Except there's no physical evidence connecting my client to the scene.
There is an eyewitness who puts Smolka at the scene.
There is also an alibi witness who puts him three miles away.
His prints are on the murder weapon, he had motive, and his wife has more money than God.
And if anybody's interested, Detective CarvahaFs widow gave birth to a healthy baby boy this morning.
Defendant's remanded.
(GAVEL POUNDS) (RAPPING) I'm coming hard from the prison yard We're the untouchable squad The way that! roll Maybe it's generational, Connie, but this is incomprehensible to me.
It's incomprehensible to anyone without a lobotomy.
But he's famous.
You know who he is? Just from what I've read in the check-out lines.
He's a, uh, failed actor, failed singer.
They actually met when he was doing a bit part in one of her films.
She, on the other hand, makes seven million a picture.
So, they could easily buy the photos of Sky Sweet dropping her baby.
Why steal them? The real question is, why keep them from the press? Those pictures of her leaving her kid in the car, they made headlines for weeks.
Will the accomplice stand up, Mike Whelan? A lifetime drug addict with a lot to lose? I know I'd tear him apart on the stand.
You may need a deal for his testimony regardless.
You've got a decent eyewitness, and Smolka's prints on the gun.
But Smolka's got an alibi and a howitzer in his back pocket.
You try any profile cases in C.
C.
? Just workaday career criminals, but no skeletons in my closet.
No arrests.
No drugs.
Straight A's since first grade.
Yeah.
Me, too.
I didn't shoot anybody.
I wasn't at that apartment.
And we have a very plausible alternative theory of the crime.
Yeah.
Mike Whelan did this on his own.
Explain your prints on the murder weapon.
Mr.
Whelan showed up at a recording studio where my client was working and asked to see him privately.
Yeah, he handed me a gun and asked me to hide it for him.
I said, "No way.
" Gave it back and told him to go to hell.
Mike Whelan, a drug addict, approaches a world-famous celebrity to hold his gun? (sums) I bought drugs from him in the past.
I used to abuse methamphetamine.
I'm in recovery now but he threatened to take that to the press.
Is there anyone who can corroborate this meeting took place? No, he called me out to the street.
Alone.
Is there anything about this story that can be proved? Mike Whelan thought Blanchard had photos in his apartment worth five million dollars.
Photos of what? Katie Holmes giving silent birth.
Shot from some remote pinhole camera that Blanchard bribed a nurse to bring into the delivery room in LA.
Nonsense.
Yeah.
Exactly.
But two weeks ago, Blanchard got drunk at this dump called Boardners, and bragged he was moving up to the big time.
I heard it.
So did Whelan.
I dismissed it like you, but, I mean, Mike's not so smart.
Blanchard confirms that the conversation took place, and that he said he had the photos, which he doesn't.
Well, five million's an awfully good motive to do burglary.
Especially if you're a broke drug addict.
Feels like a smoke screen.
Well, now, it's he said, he said and it destroys any deal that you might have made for Mike Whelan's testimony.
It'll look like that you dismissed Whelan's direct involvement out of hand and that Smolka's prosecution was personal.
So, we try Mike Whelan alongside Justin Smolka.
No whiff of preferential treatment.
They both killed a cop.
Now, crack Smolka's alibi witness or find something to crack her with.
Mr.
McCoy, over this way, please! REPORTER: Mr.
McCoy, are you prosecuting Whelan's case? Smile, Jack.
Say, "Cheese.
" REPORTER: How long are you gonna hold J-Train? At what time did Mr.
Smolka arrive the night of the shooting, Ms.
Swailes? About 7:30.
He stayed until midnight.
Doing what? We're working on Sky's website.
J-Train is good on content, not so good on design.
That's where I come in.
Did anyone else, um, see him here? Oh, I don't let people in when he's here.
It could cause a riot.
There's a lot of photos of this person with Sky.
Who is she? That's me from a few years ago.
Gained a few since.
I should get back to work now.
You worked with Sky, what, six years? That's right.
But, Beth, you wouldn't lie for her, would you? Or J-Train? Of course not.
Because, you know, I do see this kind of thing a lot in criminal cases.
People think they're helping, but what they're really doing is committing perjury.
I would never do that.
Or because it's not in your nature, or because you know you will go to jail for committing perjury? J-Train was here from 7:30 until midnight.
Forgive me, but I don't believe a word that you're saying.
We're done, right? What people don't understand is that all of the photographers, the press, it destroys our life.
(SNIFFLING) No one gets it that we're people, too.
Don't watch too much of that.
It'll rot your brain.
I think I found something to impeach Beth Swailes.
She's a pathologically obsessed fan.
Seven years ago, she went on a game show called, I Want to Look Like a Star.
She had plastic surgery to look like Sky Sweet.
They look nothing alike.
Well, that's after she had nine more procedures.
She had her face sliced to ribbons to look like Sky Sweet.
Lying on the stand is going to be a walk in the park.
Did you, um, catch the Ledger today? Adam Stein's gossip column? "An industry insider says prosecutors don't have a clue "as to the actual motive in the case.
" You should, uh, skip down to the last paragraph.
"With such rocky evidence, we only hope the prosecution isn't bull-dogging "the Smolka-Sweet family for their lifestyle and non traditional parenting.
"What's worse, we ask, a short stay alone in mom's car, "or nine years of neglect, which is how long it's been since Jack McCoy "has spoken to his only daughter?" They're trying to poison the jury pool.
It's a very low blow.
If we don't have a clue about the actual motive, I wonder what it was.
Maybe he can help us with our case.
Let's talk to Stein.
Get the source.
Would you walk up to a New York Times reporter asking for sources? I don't think so.
All due respect, you're not a reporter.
All due respect, I write facts, they write facts, what's the dif? Gravity.
Importance.
I was writing about a murder case, and if it's so unimportant, what brought you to Midtown? Are you willing to go to jail to protect this source? Have you ever heard of the Shield Law? It protects journalists.
You're a gossip columnist.
It's the newspaper equivalent of a flesh-peddler.
God, you're nasty.
What they say about Latina women is so utterly true.
This isn't a joke, Mr.
Stein.
If you know something about our murder case, let's hear it.
Or I guarantee, you'll be in a contempt hearing within a day.
You're just miffed about that whole daughter thing.
(PEOPLE CLAMORING) BODYGUARD: All right, people, let's keep it back.
Your source? I won't divulge.
See you in court.
Promises, promises.
Hey, do you like sangria? Your tie? Really, really stupid.
KRISTOF: ls gossip news? The Shield Law defines news as information concerning local, national or worldwide events or other matters of public concern.
So, absolutely, yes.
"Lindsay Lohan spotted at Bungalow Eight," or "An Olsen twin at Starbucks.
" Is that really news, Your Honor? Judging by the column inches devoted, it's presently more relevant to this country than a war we're fighting.
Well, is information of prurient interest what the Shield Law was designed to protect? If he's hired by a newspaper and paid by it to gather news, then Mr.
Stein is protected from contempt.
Where did this conversation between Mr.
Stein and his source take place? It was in a nightclub, Your Honor.
And how was this confidential information discussed between reporter and source? Screamed out over the dance music? It was discussed in a lavatory.
How can that possibly be considered confidential? Because the source explicitly stated his desire to be kept confidential.
Then he should have held the conversation in a private location.
We stand by Mr.
Stein's first amendment rights to trample the privacy of celebrities, but a conversation in a nightclub toilet is not Deep Throat's parking garage.
I'm a staunch defender of the press, even the gossip pages, God bless them.
But if you report news, act like ajournalist, Mr.
Stein.
To me, this is party conversation.
Refuse to divulge the name of this source, I'll find you in contempt.
I'm sorry, Your Honor, you'll just have to throw me in jail.
So be it.
(GAVEL POUNDS) I bet you'd hold out six hours, yet here we are in four.
I am ajournalist.
I deserve the rights of everyjournalist.
Put that in your prison memoir.
Gary Blanchard.
That's the guy who told me you the wrong motive.
Why? I advanced him 20 grand for 50 photos I guaranteed would get printed.
All this went down in middle of a murder case? His info was current, juicy, and the 50 credits would make his name.
He struck while the iron was hot.
That's the way the game is played.
What did Blanchard say was the right motive? You'll, uh, you'll want to see that for yourself.
Pictures from Blanchard's computer.
Stein was right.
We didn't have a clue.
Sky Sweet doing drugs.
At the Formosa Club.
Look at the background, New Years Eve decorations from last year.
The club said they were only up for two days.
Time that out with the birth of her baby, and that's a picture of Sky Sweet snorting cocaine, five months pregnant.
This is the first I've seen them.
I find that hard to believe.
The only photos I thought Blanchard had were of me and Sophia in the park.
Those hitting the papers would have made for a routine embarrassment, but it's safe to call these a career ender.
What do you want from me? Did your husband break into Blanchard's apartment and steal these photos? I don't think he knew about them.
Is that what Blanchard is saying? He's saying he told no one but Adam Stein.
He's not very trustworthy.
I've never seen these before, and I don't think Justin has either.
I think the jury will disagree.
Wait a minute, these are going to be used as evidence against Justin? Blown up on a wide screen in the courtroom.
Oh, my God.
I can't believe this is happening.
We understand if you're trying to protect your husband, but a police officer was murdered.
So, you'll destroy my career and send child services? I have no intention of sending them.
Oh, but they'll sure take an interest, won't they? They may- Look, I know this looks bad, but Sophia has been tested against every possible abnormality.
She's not small for dates, she had a normal APGAR.
Please don't take my baby.
I think you should leave.
TURCO: Justin, why do you record under the name, J-Train? I know it'll be a headline tomorrow, but in real life I'm a boring guy.
But J-Train is a street thug who takes what he wants when he wants it, parties day and night, and can't keep his (CHUCKLES) He's a player.
Isn't it conceivable that a player would want revenge against the man who'd shot compromising photographs of his wife? Except the J-Train persona is complete fiction.
Is the line ever blurred between you and the persona? In real life, I'm a husband, a father, an artist and a businessman.
I don't have time for anything else.
Is there any reason that you would break into Gary Blanchard's apartment? No.
Where we you the night his apartment was burglarized, and Detective Carvahal was murdered? I was with Beth Swailes at her apartment in Chelsea updating my wife's website.
On the night of the burglary, you needed someone with a gun, didn't you? I had nothing to do with the burglary.
I was with Beth Swailes that night.
You recruited your ex-drug dealer to drive you to Mr.
Blanchard's apartment where you intended to break in and steal these photographs, didn't you? No.
Would these photographs constitute a reason to break into the apartment? I had no idea those photos existed until a few days ago.
You were aware of other less incriminating pictures.
You were negotiating for them, but you didn't know about the most incendiary of all? Maybe Blanchard was saving them for a rainy day, I don't know.
You went to commit a robbery, to steal these photographs of your wife, but you were interrupted by a neighbor who was a police officer, and you shot him, didn't you? We struggled with drugs.
That doesn't make her evil or me a killer.
JUDGE: Mr.
Smolka.
Look, I didn't rob or kill anyone! Mike Whelan killed that cop and he's blaming it on me because I stopped buying his drugs.
That's a lie! His money supply got cut off and he got desperate to score, and stole from his sister's medical insurance and it killed her! That's a lie! He's a liar! JUDGE: That's enough! Get him out of here.
We're in recess until tomorrow morning.
I'm telling you flat out, Mike Whelan did not spend his sister's insurance money on dope.
We both know how desperate junkies get.
He didn't eat for two weeks after she passed.
He nearly died of grief.
Or guilt.
It's not in his nature.
I'm 1,000% positive.
It only matters if Detective Cassady can prove Smolka lied on the stand.
Can she? No.
So maybe Whelan's a patsy, but unless she can prove it, it's a character reference.
Not helpful at the moment.
Well, the Sky Sweet photos are all over the net.
The blogs sayjail her and they're talking about boycotting her films.
It's a fallout.
It'll dissipate.
Still, you got her pretty good.
It was motive evidence.
Oh, is that what it was, Jack? Or, uh, was it revenge because your daughter was mentioned in the press? Is that what they're saying on the news magazines? I don't know what's the source of it.
One less witness.
Defense camp just called.
Beth Swailes is off their list.
Really? I'm going to Connecticut to see my sister.
I'll miss my train.
Was Justin really with you the night of the shooting? Yes.
At the times you said? Maybe a little later, I don't know.
I didn't check my clock.
And that's why you won't testify for him? I don't buy that.
Does this have anything to do with the photographs that were taken? They made me sick to my stomach.
It's awful Sky having to endure that.
But why stop protecting Justin? Because he did it to her.
Made her a drug addict? She never got high before him.
And seeing those pictures.
Did Justin say anything to you about where he had been before going to your apartment the night of the shooting? No.
He just sat in the corner.
But what I don't understand is there were only two or three people that knew Sky would be at that New Years Eve party.
When the photos were taken.
And there was security like crazy.
You'd have to be awful lucky to be in that bathroom at that time.
Unless Sky was being set up.
You think it was Justin that set her up? I have to go! Beth! JACK: The obstruction of justice will get you two years, Mr.
Blanchard.
But blackmail? Extortion? For what? Were the photographs of Sky Sweet at the Formosa Club part a business arrangement between you and Justin Smolka? (EXHALES SHARPLY) Where are you getting this from? If a photographer got into the woman's bathroom, someone let him in.
And knew to let him in when Sky was going to be doing drugs.
Security was bulletproof at the Formosa that night.
Did Justin Smolka let you in? Did you conspire with him to blackmail his wife? We say that's the case.
You could spend the next decade in jail.
No.
No, I don't want to do anytime.
All right, I'll testify against Justin, but no time! I'll even give you a gift.
Adam Stein, over at the New York Ledger says that there is a lot of response to that bit about your daughter.
Now I went up to Maine and I took some photos, but you can have them.
Keep the photographs.
What do you know? Justin Smolka hired me to hide in a bathroom at the Formosa Club and get shots of his wife doing drugs.
JACK: He knew that she'd be doing drugs? He planned on giving them to her that night because he knew that she had been trying to kick.
So, she wouldn't be able to resist.
She was vulnerable.
What was your arrangement with Mr.
Smolka? He was going to give me For what purpose? He said he needed them for, uh, insurance in their divorce settlement.
He signed a pre-nup which gave him nothing.
But what happened with your business arrangement with Mr.
Smolka? When I actually got the shots, I decided to up my price to a million dollars.
When did you tell Mr.
Smolkathis? The day before my apartment got broke into and that cop got shot.
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING) You have one bargaining chip, Mr.
Smolka, the truth about Mike Whelan's involvement.
TURCO: What's it buy? JACK: Five off, 20 years.
We're out.
Sit! (SCOFFS) You too? All I wanted was you to love me.
I gave you everything.
You gave me orgasms.
Did he give you drugs that night? Yes.
You asked for them! I asked you to watch out for me and you set me up! My career is over! I never killed any cop.
Yes, you did.
And you told me you did.
Keep fighting this, it's on your dime.
Mike Whelan took eight years.
Been reading the internet, Sky Sweet is going into rehab.
She hopes her fans forgive her and it looks like they have.
There's clamor for a biopic.
Guess it's true there's no such thing as bad ink.
Oh, uh, these came for you.
(sums)