Law & Order (1990) s17e18 Episode Script
Bling
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.
This neighborhood doesn't look so black.
Yeah, well, she's a big-time rapper.
She can live wherever she wants.
Yeah, but here? The web site said this is the place.
And start thinking dollar signs.
if she signs it.
If she's home.
If she's not, we'll wait.
Two hours tops, all right? Then we're heading back to Syosset.
(DOORBELL RINGS) Yo, Sweet Clarice! Dude, she's probably gonna open the door and bust a cap in your ass.
No one's gonna bust a cap in anyone's ass.
(DOORBELL RINGING) Where is homegirl? What are you doing? Hello? Dude, we are so stealing something! What? Dude, what are you doing? Just something small.
A BlackBerry.
This is huge.
on speed dial.
Forget the T-shirt.
We're gonna make a fortune on this one.
Where are you going? These knuckleheads found her and called it in.
Said they were autograph hunters.
They got blood on them? No blood, no weapon.
Well, hold them anyway.
Was it a forced entry? All the doors and windows are intact.
Is the place ransacked? Nothing.
You said they wanted an autograph.
From who, the DOA? Name's Clarice James.
Sweet Clarice? The rapper? Too violent for me.
Sex, guns, and a nasty mouth.
No sign of a struggle.
She got powder burn on her dress.
She took two the chest.
ED: Oh, wow.
That's a whole lot of bling to leave behind.
What do you think that goes for? Our combined salaries.
The M.
E.
's mid autopsy, but so far we've got Clarice alive till 1:00 a.
m.
She did an appearance at the Garden with Jay-Z at 11:00.
Her promoter says the town car got her home at 1:00.
You talked to the limo driver? Yeah, he's 70-years-old.
He doesn't have a record.
And he had another pickup 10 minutes after he dropped Clarice off.
CASSADY: Hey, Lieu? Yeah? South Squad faxed over this five from two weeks ago.
Clarice was questioned in a shooting that went down outside the 2-103 radio station.
Questioned as a witness or a suspect? A witness.
Clarice was there with her crew to do a promotional appearance when Roxy Black showed up with her boys.
Ended up with Roxy's guy getting shot in the arm.
Uh, Ricky Bonner.
Long sheet.
So Roxy Black and our DOA were rivals? Oh, my God, for years.
You're looking at payback? That's the theory, but Clarice's rap sheet ain't enough to support her gangster persona.
But it's hard to believe it's all an act.
I mean, Lieu, have you heard any of her lyrics? Temptations.
Al Green.
Anything on the canvass? Nobody saw anything.
Nobody heard anything.
All right, let's start with Ricky Bonner.
See if he settled the score.
(MUSIC BLARING) RICKY: I got nothing to say.
Studio time ain't free.
Okay, then let's start with who shot you at the radio station.
I don't know.
You got a beef with someone in Clarice's posse? I'm all about peace, man.
Your three assault collars say differently.
And we got a homicide here, Ricky.
We're not leaving empty-handed.
I was here all night.
The boys will say it and so will security.
See ya.
I will search everybody in this room while my partner does background checks unless you start talking.
(MUSIC STOPS) (DOOR CLOSES) I got no beef with Sweet Clarice, all right? I was caught in the crossfire.
Between who and who? I don't know.
There was, like, But I've got nothing against Clarice.
She was down.
Know what I'm saying? Is there anybody in Roxy's crew that would take revenge for you? Not unless Roxy gave the word.
Which she wouldn't against Clarice.
Oh, yeah? Word is they hated each other.
(SCOFFS) Wrong.
You're buying the hype.
When your beef with Clarice has bullets flying, we take it seriously.
Yeah, but that had nothing to do with me and her.
Not according to the press.
And it got a lot of records sold too.
Get it? Then who threw the shots? I ain't no snitch.
(LAUGHING) Don't you love when people say that? Oh, I do.
Energizes me.
Makes me want to arrest everyone I see and hold them for 24 hours.
And it won't get you a thing.
Satisfaction.
There were two hardcore bangers there that had something personal between them.
But that had nothing to do with me and Clarice.
And that's all I know about that.
Look, if I thought it was connected, I'd tell you.
Clarice was my friend.
Clarice Despite the disses? Come on.
Look, we grew up two blocks away from each other in Bed Stuy and went to the same grammar school.
So lady, you "come on.
" So you can account for yourself and your posse past 1:00 last night? I had a show in Brooklyn and most of them were with me.
But ask 'em if you want to.
I wasn't involved.
Okay, did Clarice have a boyfriend? She said she was too busy for men.
She was working too hard.
Anyone else she was having trouble with? (sums) She mentioned some problems at her record label.
Time Of Death Records? She said she was owed over 200 grand in royalties from her latest album, but Andre Blair wasn't hearing it.
Folks, I don't see the connection.
There was a mild financial dispute, but name one artist who doesn't pitch a beef now and then.
You do have a reputation for mixing business with violence.
You hung a guy out of a hotel room window so he'd sign over his publishing.
A guy who came to my Christmas party this year.
That was all press.
I got the photos.
ED: Mr.
Blair, that assault and gun collar on your sheet didn't have anything to do with press.
Guilty on both.
Paid for with six years of my life.
Not an experience I care to repeat.
So if we ask around, which we will, everything was cool between you and Clarice? All I will cop to is being displeased with her sales.
But that was all on her.
Because? It wasn't the Clarice people wanted.
It was Clarice Light.
No guts.
That translates to no profanity, no sex? Equals no sales.
But that'll get an artist dropped off a label, not killed.
Fine.
Were where you last night? Deuces, which is my club.
Law enforcement always welcome.
I appreciate that.
Who'll back it up? Everybody.
Andre Blair checks out as the club, but there's plenty of gaps.
In histimeline, but also his sheet.
His last collar was 11 years ago.
Well, six of which he spent locked up.
Yeah, but we're talking about a guy with a multinational company now.
So leopards change their spots? Point taken.
Clarice's cell records.
Got some calls in the afternoon to Andre Blair, but the majority of the calls are to Isaac Krantz, "Iced Out lke".
VAN BUREN: Is he a rapper? No, he's the king of bling.
Jeweler to the rap world.
Oh, so she was buying jewelry.
I don't know.
Last call to Ike, 1:00 a.
m.
Talk to him.
Last night, I went to a record release party for one of my clients, M.
C.
Excellence.
Bought an exquisite piece from me last year.
set in platinum, really nice.
We can talk in the vault here.
Anybody see you at this party? Sure, I could find, probably, 15 or 20 people who'll confirm that.
What was your relationship with Clarice James? She was a client.
A client who owed you a lot of money, according to your sales manager.
Well, unfortunately, she wouldn't be the first.
But we were working it out.
At 1:00 a.
m.
? You have to understand the rap world doesn't really keep banker's hours.
It's 2417.
How much was she into you for? A general number, How were you working it out? She had agreed to give some of the pieces back and also do some promotional work for me.
(CELL PHONE RINGS) Well, that doesn't get you up to 400 grand, and you had a lot of late night phone calls from her.
Believe me, I threatened to sue her for the money, but she know that would be a nightmare in the press.
And she begged me to reconsider, which I did.
I know it's kind of an odd way to do business, but it's their game.
I just kind of go with the flow.
Okay, we'll right be there.
Listen, thank you for your time.
We'll get back to you.
Oh, sure.
It's the M.
E.
Oh, thanks.
Rigor and core temp has her dead about 12 hours.
Got two .
38 slugs out of her.
Neither worth much for ballistics.
She's been dead That's what, like, 5:00 a.
m.
? We were thinking it might be earlier.
It was 5:00 when she died, but I'll bet she was shot much earlier.
Slug in her eighth thoracic vertebra.
Couldn't move, couldn't speak.
Only thing she could do was bleed.
Could've taken her three hours to die.
Anyone tip you off to her pregnancy? How far along? Six weeks.
Anything in Clarice's phone records to indicate a pregnancy? I put a call in to her gynecologist.
Nothing stuck out at the time, but now What was the name? City Women's Medical Center.
I worked on a case there a few years ago.
They were getting bomb threats.
They do abortions.
You got it.
It really makes me very nervous to talk to anyone about a patient.
This is a murdered patient, Dr.
Rubin.
Who called here the day she died.
Now we can get a subpoena, but it's only gonna slow us down.
(sums) CASSADY: Why'd she call? She had an appointment to terminate the pregnancy, and she just backed out.
She say why? She didn't know what to do.
She needed more time to think.
It had to do with the baby's father.
The guy didn't know.
He didn't know, and he was married.
I thought all arrows pointed to Andre Blair, but it turns out he's not married and he has three kids by two different women, neither of whom he lives with.
Doesn't sound like a new child would've presented much static.
Or it wasn't about the baby.
Andre talked a lot about guns.
I can't imagine he wouldn't have access to one.
So do 40,000 other New Yorkers.
Where are we on married boyfriends? There's no boyfriend on the radar, but sleeping around a lot was part of her rap.
You know, I'm starting to think her reality and her rap might not sync up.
Maybe not.
The email C.
l.
T.
U.
sent over.
"There's no one more beautiful, sexier.
"You make a blind man see.
"You make a dead man" and so on and so on.
So who's the sweet talker? Steven Smith.
Find out if he's married.
I was home with my wife and baby boy that night.
So you're a good father, a loyal husband, and your wife will confirm this? I don't see any reason to get her involved in this.
Hey, man, your ex-girlfriend was murdered.
We're gonna talk to your wife.
I was in the city.
A business school buddy of mine has a place I use when I need to work late.
But I did not kill Clarice.
So why did you just lie to us? I was with a prostitute.
If that's the case, you wouldn't mind submitting to a paternity test.
No, wrong.
Clarice wasn't pregnant.
Not by me.
Well, atest will prove that.
I haven't seen her in three months.
How pregnant was she? Are you sure she didn't mention the pregnancy? You didn't have any words? All we talked about was business.
That was our relationship.
It got sexual twice, but that was it.
We heard you broke her heart.
Because I wouldn't support her record label idea, not out of love.
She needed backers.
I expressed an interest maybe to get her into bed, but then I told her to self-finance.
She's loaded.
That ain't what we heard, man.
Have you seen her safety deposit box? That dude wasn't kidding.
This is a fortune.
They all have "I & Co.
" stamped on them.
That's Iced Out Ike.
He said that Sweet Clarice owed him 400 grand.
This has gotta be likeamillion.
At least.
Ain't he married? With two kids.
Yeah, I recognize the pieces.
They're obviously mine.
And? How'd she get 'em? I don't know.
Maybe she bought them.
I don't really oversee every transaction in the store.
Well, how's she buying all these jewels when she owes you so much money? Couldn't tell you.
Maybe she borrowed them from a friend.
You got the sales records forthese so we can confirm that? For some of them, sure.
You saying your books are incomplete? No, the books are complete, but we do a lot of cash transactions where the buyer remains nameless.
Oh, isn't that convenient.
What are you implying? ED: M.
C.
Excellence's party.
Your name wasn't checked off on the guest list.
Yeah, I know, lwent as a friend's plus one.
Name of your friend.
You know, I don't think I like your tone.
Scared we're gonna find out you're cheating on your wife with Clarice? (SCOFFS) Listen, you want to buy some stones? Fine, we'll talk.
If not, excuse me.
Boss, ran Clarice's financials.
There's no evidence of big expenditures.
So the jewels were gifts from Ike to his girlfriend.
Under the table, off the books.
So we think.
We'll prove it when we subpoena his business records.
I don't see enough for that.
What other evidence do you have of a relationship? A lot of phone calls.
Photos of them together at her apartment.
Right, which he'll call business.
TARU just said Ike's cell hit on a tower on East 97th Street at 1:10 a.
m.
the night of the murder.
A block away from the crime scene, just after Clarice got home.
When he said he was in Battery Park at a record release party.
And a half hour later, there were site hits on White Street in Tribeca, right where LexisNexis has Ike linked to an apartment.
A love nest.
Does this place have a doorman? His name is Mike.
He's waiting for us.
On your way.
He came in around 1:30 moving quick.
Didn't respond to my hello.
Not the first time.
You seen him since then? Nope.
Was there anything odd about him that night? A lot odd about that guy.
Cagey, stiffed me every holiday, but nothing I noticed.
Did you hear from him again that night? Walked out again about 20 minutes later.
When he left was there anything different about him? Clothes? Was he carrying anything? Everything was different.
Walked in dressed to party.
Walked out in a track suit.
And no briefcase.
And again.
No response to "hello.
" Okay, thank you for your time, man.
I'm calling Connie to get a warrant.
There's nothing but papers in this briefcase.
Well, there's no gun in the bedroom or master bath.
Any blood on those clothes? Not at first glance, but I'll get 'em over to the lab.
You know, it doesn't look like Ike spent a whole lot of time here.
Looks like all he needed was the bed and a fully stocked bar.
And a convenient place to do laundry.
There's not a washer and dryer.
The building has a service.
You know, it looks like we might be hitting a brick wall here.
Un-uh.
Look at this.
Dark spots.
Could be blood.
Can I help you? We need to speak with your husband.
What's going on? Okay, what are you doing here? GWEN: You know them? Got some questions for you, Ike.
What about? What's going on? It's all a big misunderstanding, okay? What the hell is this about? Hey.
Come here.
We found blood on your shoe.
Same blood type as Clarice James.
Now you want to act like a gentleman, or do you want me to tell your wife.
You know what? I'm not gonna say anything until I talk to my lawyer.
Well, our bracelets are cheaper than what you're used to, Ike, but they'll have to do.
You're under arrest for the murder of Clarice James.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law.
You have the right to have an attorney present Docket number 0-2-4-1-5-7-5.
People v.
Isaac Krantz.
Charge is murder in the second degree.
How does the defendant plead? Not guilty.
Bail? People seek remand.
Based on what? The defendant owns a home in South Africa, has access to a private plane, and millions of dollars in cash.
Due to the gravity of the crime, we believe he's a significant flight risk.
Mr.
Krantz is an American citizen.
Born and raised in Westchester County.
Now, despite his wealth and multiple addresses, he understands and respects the American judicial system, and has no intention of fleeing the city, let alone the country.
Private jets and limitless resources make me nervous, Counselor.
You can't punish a man for being successful.
Defendant is remanded.
Remanded.
What the hell does that mean? You're gonna sit in jail until trial.
(GAVEL POUNDS) Next case.
I assume that we can prove that Ike is the father of the unborn child.
The paternity test just came back.
It's a match.
Okay, so he's the father.
That's great.
But it doesn't mean he killed the mother.
He lied to Detectives Cassady and Green about his relationship with the victim.
He has no credible alibi.
And his fingerprints are all over the crime scene.
And he made five phone calls to the victim on the night of the murder, all prior to her approximate time of death.
Can we put him near the crime scene? According to TARU, one of the calls was made from about a block away at 1:10 a.
m.
What about the bloody shoe? Blood type's a match, but the sample's small, so we're still waiting for a DNA result.
Motive? Wealthy married man.
Beautiful wife, beautiful house, two beautiful kids.
And a pregnant, bankrupt rapper from Bed Stuy who refused to get an abortion.
Walk on the wild side gone bad.
Pretty much.
Makes sense.
As long as Ike's life was as perfect as you say it was.
Ike is How do I say this? He's the kid who got his ass kicked in high school, didn't get into the cool frat in college, and then hits it big in the diamond business.
So he's making up for lost time, if you know what I mean.
Like Revenge of the Nerds type of thing.
Does Ike seem to be in love with his wife? All he does is talk about how great she is.
It's like he can't believe that he actually married someone like her.
Beautiful, Ivy League, a doctor's daughter.
What about Clarice? I don't know anything about that.
Did you ever see her come to the store? No, Ike handles all the celebrity stuff himself.
Does Ike enjoy being a father? Loves it.
He's even on the board of his kids' preschool.
Cost him 100 grand, but he didn't care.
Did he ever mention anything about a divorce? Never.
Thank you.
Hey.
Learn anything? (CELL PHONE RINGS) Yeah, never date the guy who got picked on in high school.
Especially if he gets rich.
Rubirosa.
Great.
The blood on Ike's shoes is a DNA match for Clarice James.
Sounds like game over.
Yeah, I'll set up a meeting with Ike and his attorney.
Maybe we can convince them to take a plea.
If you plead guilty today, we'll recommend 15 years.
If we go to trial, we'll recommend 25 to life.
Ten years is a long time, Mr.
Krantz.
Why in God's name would he plead guilty to a crime he didn't commit? I'll take the deal.
Ike, what do you mean I just want to get this over with.
We should talk about this private.
Hey, listen, I'm not going to trial.
I can't.
My family.
I just I just want to plead guilty, do my time and get on with my life.
What happened the night of the murder? Well Clarice and I had been arguing.
She wanted to have the baby.
I didn't for obvious reasons.
But she just wouldn't listen to a word said.
She just kept talking about the baby and money.
She wanted $50,000 a month.
I couldn't believe it.
I I called her Well, I said some pretty nasty things, and She hit me and I shot her.
Where's the gun? I threw it into the Hudson.
I'll schedule an allocution hearing for tomorrow morning.
JUDGE BRADLEY: Mr.
Krantz, you wish to plead guilty to the charge of murder in the second degree.
Yes, sir.
And you are pleading guilty of your own accord? Yes.
You killed Clarice James.
Mr.
Krantz, you killed Clarice James, is that correct? Yes.
Was it your intent to kill her? No.
Mr.
Krantz, you're pleading guilty to second degree murder.
That means you must have intended to kill Ms.
James.
Right.
Or you acted with a depraved indifference to human life.
Fine, I intended to kill her.
Is that better? I'm not concerned about "better," Mr.
Krantz.
I just want the truth.
Okay, I I intended to kill her.
Okay.
I'd like to know what happened the night you shot Ms.
James.
What happened? Yes, just walk me through the events leading up to the shooting, Mr.
Krantz.
What time you got there, what you were arguing about, where the gun was, where you shot her, what you did afterwards.
I was very upset.
Uh, I thought she was gonna have an abortion.
And, uh, we were fighting, and she slapped me.
L, I pushed her.
She slapped me again.
I punched her in the face.
And she fell down and hit her head, and that's when I shot her.
Where? (HESITANTLY) I'm not sure.
In the head, I think.
Your Honor, can we discuss this matter in chambers? What the hell is going on here? I'm just trying to plead guilty.
You're trying, Mr.
Krantz? What does that mean? Look, I don't know what you want me to say.
Did you kill Clarice James, yes or no? Yes! You punched her in the face.
Mmm-hmm.
She fell to the ground, you shot her in the head.
Yeah, something like that.
Something like that? What is the problem here? The problem, Mr.
Krantz, is that your story doesn't make any damn sense.
There's no evidence Ms.
James was struck in the face or head prior to her death.
Second, she was shot in the chest.
Well, it all happened really fast, you know? There was a lot of blood and yelling.
(SHOUTING) Did you kill Clarice James? Will you please just let me go to jail? Yes or no, Mr.
Krantz? No.
Then why are you trying to plead guilty? Because I have no choice.
Excuse me? The man who shot her, the man who really shot her, said that if I testified against him or went to the police, that he'd kill my wife and my two children.
What's this person's name? It's Andre Blair.
The music producer? Yes.
The music producer shot her, not you? That's correct.
But you want to plead guilty.
I shouldn't have been involved with Clarice in the first place.
It's my fault that I was there.
I saw him shoot her.
I'm not gonna endanger my family.
I'm not gonna ruin their lives.
Your guilty plea is denied.
The defendant will remain in custody until you sort this mess out and get back to me.
A man so riddled with fear that he tries to confess to another man's murder? It's possible.
Fifteen years on the inside is a long time for a diamond merchant.
He's either brave Or really, really terrified.
Look into this music producer.
See if Ike's story makes any sense.
I don't talk about Andre.
His business is his business, and nothing happened.
Leave them drums on the truck.
Yeah? We hear different.
The police say you had trouble over music publishing rights, and Andre hung you out awindow.
He says you're friends.
And friends like us don't talk about other friends.
They do under subpoena.
(SCOFFS) Fine, whatever.
Throw me a subpoena.
I'll deny everything under oath.
True or false.
Andre has a temper.
So people say.
They also say he gets violent.
Here's the story.
Ask me to swear on a bible, I say Andre's the sweetest, kindest brother on God's Earth.
We straight on that? Yeah, we're straight.
He was gonna come by my club.
Hear some open freestyles.
He never shows.
I look bad to my people.
I go to his office.
I say, "Hey, what's up?" Six bottles of Dom P.
I keep his table open all night.
It ain't right.
He brings me in a room, hangs me out a window.
Andre said it was a publicity stunt.
Yeah, my broken arm didn't make Page Six.
Titanium rod.
I pack a doctor's note to go through airport detectors.
And you didn't file charges.
Neither did Baby X.
I hear he put a gun between her legs.
She signed her contract in five seconds.
She'll deny it under oath too.
He broke your arm, but he told the cops you went to his Christmas party.
Andre invites, you go.
Put your nose out.
See how many deals he closes with a gun.
Baby X, Outlaw.
But we all got the same story.
We love Andre.
Does that include Sweet Clarice? What do you think he'll say when you ask him? I don't know a damn thing about Clarice's murder.
Not a damn thing, hear me? Where were you the night she was killed? Where were you? I'm not a suspect.
Neither am I.
You're sure acting like one.
Why is that? 'Cause I'm not rolling over, cooperating with the man? All we want to do I know what you want to do.
Lynch the black man for a murder he didn't commit and get the white Jew a free pass.
We just want to know where you were so we can clear this mess up.
This isn't a black-white thing.
It's always a black-white thing, sweetie, always.
We can subpoena phone records, credit cards receipts Unless you came here to arrest my black ass, get the hell out of my office.
Now.
Don't make any sense.
If he was guilty, would he throw us out of his office? No, he'd be polite and try and point us in another direction.
He's been very successful as a bully.
In business, but you can't actually believe that he's gonna bully you.
Why not? It's been working for him a long time.
You heard him.
He doesn't want to roll over for the man.
Well, he better roll over for someone, or he's gonna end up with a charge of second degree murder.
Jack, Andre Blair withdrew $600 from an ATM three blocks from Clarice James' brownstone at 1:20 a.
m.
on the night of the murder.
He told detectives he was hanging out at his club in SoHo all night.
Anything else? We found an email he wrote her a month ago.
"Quit sweating my ass about the cash, "'cause I'm about to lose my patience.
" Definitely sounds like there was some bad blood, but without Ike's testimony (TELEPHONE RINGS) it's just that, bad blood.
McCoy.
Right.
Be right there.
Ike got stabbed in the bathroom at Rikers two hours ago, twice, in the back.
Look, all I know is I was taking a leak and somebodyjumped me from behind.
You didn't see who the assailant was? No, whoever it was just pushed me against the wall and stabbed me.
He say anything to you? Yeah, he said, "This is for Andre.
" Andre Blair.
I'm telling you, this guy wants to kill me whether I keep my mouth shut or not.
If you cooperate and you're telling the truth, we can put you and your family in protective custody.
What away to live.
Better than the alternative.
Andre's a bad guy.
He's a murderer.
He shot Clarice right in front of me like it was nothing.
Of course I'm gonna cooperate.
Why not? Tell us what happened the night of the murder.
He and Clarice were arguing about profits from her latest CD.
She said that she knew he was running drugs and washing money, and hejust pulled out a gun and shot her.
Why didn't he kill you? Because I help him out from time to time.
Selling diamonds.
You help him launder his drug profits.
I sell him diamonds for cash.
That's all I know.
You willing to testify to this? Well, yeah.
If you help me with the whole selling diamonds for cash thing, sure.
We'll get back to you.
My client had nothing to do with this murder.
Nothing.
Then why do you refuse to give us an alibi? People aren't required to prove their innocence, Mr.
McCoy.
I assume you're aware of this fairly well known legal principle.
I'm trying to do your client a favor.
(SCOFFS) Favor.
RUBIROSA: We have an eyewitness.
You mean murder defendant.
An eyewitness willing to testify that your client shot Clarice James over a financial dispute.
We're just trying to give him the chance to tell us we're crazy.
My client is an innocent man.
Two felony convictions.
Six years in Greenhaven.
His music glorifies murder, rape, degrading sex.
Yeah, he's a model citizen.
Kiss my ass.
So the victim knew that Ike and Andre Blair were cleaning money.
She got into an argument with Andre Blair and threatened to out him.
Sounds like motive to me.
What other evidence do we have? He was three blocks from the crime scene, at or near the time of death.
He lied to detectives about his alibi.
His fingerprints were all over Clarice's house.
We searched his apartment and found three boxes of ammunition.
The same make and caliber as the bullets that killed her, and, of course, the eyewitness.
An eyewitness who's been indicted for the same crime.
Who tried to plead guilty to the same crime.
Because he was terrified of Andre Blair.
Turns out for good reason.
So you buy Ike's story? Ike has no record.
Blair has a five-page rap sheet.
Yeah, but he's also been clean for the past five years.
He runs a successful record label.
Makes millions of dollars.
And he's been completely uncooperative.
Yeah, but why would he throw it all away over $200,000 dispute with Clarice James? Some people don't change.
Or maybe he's just had bad luck with authorities in the past.
Which he's glamorized the hell out of on countless albums.
I'm looking at the evidence, Connie, that's it.
Just the evidence.
BRANCH: And you think that points to Blair? Yes.
Fine.
Dismiss the murder indictment against Ike and move forward against Blair.
But you better hope that that diamond seller holds up on the stand.
JACK: What was your relationship with Clarice James? We were dating.
Well, lovers, I suppose.
What happened the night of the murder? Clarice and I had a meeting with Andre Blair to talk about their financial dispute.
What was the dispute about? Money, music royalties, that sort of thing.
I tried to act as a mediator, if you will.
When did Mr.
Blair arrive? A little after 1:00.
He seemed very impatient, jumpy.
I'm pretty sure he was high on something.
What happened next? Clarice and Mr.
Blair started arguing.
He was very upset.
Said she wouldn't end up with a dime.
That's when she brought up the drug dealing and the money laundering.
What did she say? She said that if she wasn't paid everything she was owed, that she would tell the cops that he was dealing drugs and laundering money through diamond wholesalers.
What happened next? He shot her in the chest.
What did the defendant say after he shot her? He called her a stupid bitch.
And then he put the gun in my mouth and told me that he'd kill me, my wife, and my two children if I ever told anybody what had happened.
You're positive the defendant is the person who shot Clarice James? Yes, absolutely.
No further questions.
The mother of your unborn baby is shot in the chest.
You don't call the police.
I was in shock.
I didn't know what to do.
Didn't call an ambulance either, did you? No.
Just left your lover, the mother of your unborn child, on the floor, bleeding out for several hours.
Look, I, lthought she was already dead.
You were arrested for murdering Clarice James, correct? Yes.
You actually pleaded guilty to murdering Clarice James, didn't you? Objection.
Overruled.
I tried to plead guilty because I thought the defendant, Andre Blair, would kill my wife and my two children.
Your family's still alive, right? Yes, thank God.
Nothing further.
Mr.
Blair, did you have plans to see Clarice the night she was killed? Yeah.
She asked me to come by her place and talk.
Said she wanted to smooth things out between us regarding our dispute over alleged record profits.
What happened when you went to her apartment? Nothing.
I could see some lights on the second floor, but nobody answered the doorbell, so I rang it again.
Did you see anyone inside? Yeah, a man.
White, skinny.
Could you see his face? No.
Could it have been Isaac Krantz? Possible, but like I said, I couldn't make out his face.
Do you believe Ike Krantz is trying to blame you for a murder he committed? Yes.
Why? Why? 'Cause I'm the perfect fall guy.
Big, black, tattoos.
My artists rap about murder, gangs, thug life.
I'm an easy target, man.
Badass black gang-banger versus nice little Jewish boy from Westchester.
Who you think the people are gonna believe? Did you ever threaten to kill Ike Krantz? No.
Did you ever solicit an inmate to stab him? Of course not.
You're sure? (sums) I know how this sounds, but if I wanted Ike dead, he'd be dead.
Not nursing some booboo on the side of his tummy.
Nothing further.
If somebody was going to testify against you in a murder trial, you'd kill them.
Is that what you just said? I said if I wanted someone dead, he'd be dead.
So your point is what? That you're a highly efficient murderer? If you set out to kill someone, they die.
All I'm saying is if I was gonna hire some dude to kill someone, he'd take care of business.
Wouldn't scrape someone in a damn love handle.
Murder isn't a big deal to you, is it? That's not true.
Your artists sing about it all the time.
In fact, your record label is called Time Of Death.
That's music.
Make-believe, fantasy, not real life.
Unfortunately, sometimes they merge.
Objection.
Withdrawn.
Nothing further.
Interesting strategy.
Trying to convince the jury you're innocent because your hired assassin would've actually killed Ike.
It might work too.
What do you mean? I think he's telling the truth.
Connie! Well, why do we believe Ike over Blair? Because he's white? Because he has a pretty wife, two kids? You know, a new Lexus, Park Avenue address? No! And what about the stabbing at Rikers? Was that a coincidence, an accident? We have no proof that Blair was behind that.
Now you think Ike is lying.
I'm just saying we have no proof that Blair was behind it.
Go out to Rikers first thing.
See what you find.
Look, Hold you before.
I don't know if Ike had any enemies.
But come on, do the math.
A rich white guy in for killing a pregnant black rapper? Half the population probably wanted him dead.
Okay, no specific enemies.
Any friends? There was this one dude he hung out with a lot.
Lots of tats.
On trial for attempted murder, I think.
Know his name? Don Bissell.
I'm gonna need that file.
I don't know nothing about no Ike.
I heard you two were pretty close.
Close? (SCOFFS) Come on, cutie, that's, that's not how it works.
I know your wife received $10,000 from Ike's business account two days after Ike was stabbed.
I'd prefer not to get your wife involved in our criminal investigation.
Tell me the truth, we won't prosecute.
I don't owe that mutt nothing.
He told me to stab him in the back, but on the side, so it wouldn't hit any organs.
But he wanted me to make it look real, like a murder attempt.
Look, I paid Bissell to protect me.
Okay, I'm not exactly Charles Bronson, you know? You paid him to stab you.
That's ridiculous.
I was getting death threats because of Clarice.
Here's my offer, Mr.
Krantz.
Good for today only.
You plead guilty to killing Clarice James, and I'll recommend five years less than the max.
Is he kidding? If you don't and we go to trial, I'll ask for 25 years, plus 10 years for the money laundering and 10 years for multiple counts of perjury, and I'll make sure that they run consecutively.
That's 45 years, if you're lucky.
You'll never get it past the grand jury.
I already did.
Bissell's gonna testify against you.
Oh, you think so? Who's gonna believe that scumbag? A lot more people than will believe you, Mr.
Krantz.
I guarantee it.
See you at trial.
Hey, look, she attacked me, all right? I was just defending myself.
There's no evidence of that.
Oh, come on! She was ghetto trash.
That's how these people behave.
We're done, Mr.
Krantz.
All right, look, I'll take the deal.
I'll take the damn deal.
Ike Krantz agreed to plead guilty to Clarice James' murder.
So as such, we're going to dismiss the murder indictment against you.
I'm sorry about all this, but we'll have you out of here in the next few hours.
I think you forgot something.
I didn't hear a promise to terminate the grand jury investigation into my so-called money laundering and drug running.
I'm not in a position to do that.
I ain't perfect, McCoy, but I don't deal drugs and I don't wash money.
Then you've got nothing to worry about.
Yeah, right.
Just like with this murder trial, huh? If Andre was a liar, he would've told the jury he saw Ike Krantz in Clarice's apartment, not some skinny white dude.
I'll talk to the prosecutor overseeing the investigation.
ANDRE: Good.
Now what about a real apology? I followed the facts.
You lied about your alibi.
You refused to cooperate with the police or us.
Meaning I had an attitude.
Where I live, you don't stay alive being nice.
You don't get rich being nice.
And I beat this thing because I didn't roll over.
You looked guilty on paper.
You acted guilty in person.
So it's on me that you prosecuted the wrong man? The right man's going to prison.
Good luck to you, Mr.
Blair.
Could be Blair was right.
It's always a black-white thing.
He did have an attitude.
Maybe he has a right.
These are their stories.
This neighborhood doesn't look so black.
Yeah, well, she's a big-time rapper.
She can live wherever she wants.
Yeah, but here? The web site said this is the place.
And start thinking dollar signs.
if she signs it.
If she's home.
If she's not, we'll wait.
Two hours tops, all right? Then we're heading back to Syosset.
(DOORBELL RINGS) Yo, Sweet Clarice! Dude, she's probably gonna open the door and bust a cap in your ass.
No one's gonna bust a cap in anyone's ass.
(DOORBELL RINGING) Where is homegirl? What are you doing? Hello? Dude, we are so stealing something! What? Dude, what are you doing? Just something small.
A BlackBerry.
This is huge.
on speed dial.
Forget the T-shirt.
We're gonna make a fortune on this one.
Where are you going? These knuckleheads found her and called it in.
Said they were autograph hunters.
They got blood on them? No blood, no weapon.
Well, hold them anyway.
Was it a forced entry? All the doors and windows are intact.
Is the place ransacked? Nothing.
You said they wanted an autograph.
From who, the DOA? Name's Clarice James.
Sweet Clarice? The rapper? Too violent for me.
Sex, guns, and a nasty mouth.
No sign of a struggle.
She got powder burn on her dress.
She took two the chest.
ED: Oh, wow.
That's a whole lot of bling to leave behind.
What do you think that goes for? Our combined salaries.
The M.
E.
's mid autopsy, but so far we've got Clarice alive till 1:00 a.
m.
She did an appearance at the Garden with Jay-Z at 11:00.
Her promoter says the town car got her home at 1:00.
You talked to the limo driver? Yeah, he's 70-years-old.
He doesn't have a record.
And he had another pickup 10 minutes after he dropped Clarice off.
CASSADY: Hey, Lieu? Yeah? South Squad faxed over this five from two weeks ago.
Clarice was questioned in a shooting that went down outside the 2-103 radio station.
Questioned as a witness or a suspect? A witness.
Clarice was there with her crew to do a promotional appearance when Roxy Black showed up with her boys.
Ended up with Roxy's guy getting shot in the arm.
Uh, Ricky Bonner.
Long sheet.
So Roxy Black and our DOA were rivals? Oh, my God, for years.
You're looking at payback? That's the theory, but Clarice's rap sheet ain't enough to support her gangster persona.
But it's hard to believe it's all an act.
I mean, Lieu, have you heard any of her lyrics? Temptations.
Al Green.
Anything on the canvass? Nobody saw anything.
Nobody heard anything.
All right, let's start with Ricky Bonner.
See if he settled the score.
(MUSIC BLARING) RICKY: I got nothing to say.
Studio time ain't free.
Okay, then let's start with who shot you at the radio station.
I don't know.
You got a beef with someone in Clarice's posse? I'm all about peace, man.
Your three assault collars say differently.
And we got a homicide here, Ricky.
We're not leaving empty-handed.
I was here all night.
The boys will say it and so will security.
See ya.
I will search everybody in this room while my partner does background checks unless you start talking.
(MUSIC STOPS) (DOOR CLOSES) I got no beef with Sweet Clarice, all right? I was caught in the crossfire.
Between who and who? I don't know.
There was, like, But I've got nothing against Clarice.
She was down.
Know what I'm saying? Is there anybody in Roxy's crew that would take revenge for you? Not unless Roxy gave the word.
Which she wouldn't against Clarice.
Oh, yeah? Word is they hated each other.
(SCOFFS) Wrong.
You're buying the hype.
When your beef with Clarice has bullets flying, we take it seriously.
Yeah, but that had nothing to do with me and her.
Not according to the press.
And it got a lot of records sold too.
Get it? Then who threw the shots? I ain't no snitch.
(LAUGHING) Don't you love when people say that? Oh, I do.
Energizes me.
Makes me want to arrest everyone I see and hold them for 24 hours.
And it won't get you a thing.
Satisfaction.
There were two hardcore bangers there that had something personal between them.
But that had nothing to do with me and Clarice.
And that's all I know about that.
Look, if I thought it was connected, I'd tell you.
Clarice was my friend.
Clarice Despite the disses? Come on.
Look, we grew up two blocks away from each other in Bed Stuy and went to the same grammar school.
So lady, you "come on.
" So you can account for yourself and your posse past 1:00 last night? I had a show in Brooklyn and most of them were with me.
But ask 'em if you want to.
I wasn't involved.
Okay, did Clarice have a boyfriend? She said she was too busy for men.
She was working too hard.
Anyone else she was having trouble with? (sums) She mentioned some problems at her record label.
Time Of Death Records? She said she was owed over 200 grand in royalties from her latest album, but Andre Blair wasn't hearing it.
Folks, I don't see the connection.
There was a mild financial dispute, but name one artist who doesn't pitch a beef now and then.
You do have a reputation for mixing business with violence.
You hung a guy out of a hotel room window so he'd sign over his publishing.
A guy who came to my Christmas party this year.
That was all press.
I got the photos.
ED: Mr.
Blair, that assault and gun collar on your sheet didn't have anything to do with press.
Guilty on both.
Paid for with six years of my life.
Not an experience I care to repeat.
So if we ask around, which we will, everything was cool between you and Clarice? All I will cop to is being displeased with her sales.
But that was all on her.
Because? It wasn't the Clarice people wanted.
It was Clarice Light.
No guts.
That translates to no profanity, no sex? Equals no sales.
But that'll get an artist dropped off a label, not killed.
Fine.
Were where you last night? Deuces, which is my club.
Law enforcement always welcome.
I appreciate that.
Who'll back it up? Everybody.
Andre Blair checks out as the club, but there's plenty of gaps.
In histimeline, but also his sheet.
His last collar was 11 years ago.
Well, six of which he spent locked up.
Yeah, but we're talking about a guy with a multinational company now.
So leopards change their spots? Point taken.
Clarice's cell records.
Got some calls in the afternoon to Andre Blair, but the majority of the calls are to Isaac Krantz, "Iced Out lke".
VAN BUREN: Is he a rapper? No, he's the king of bling.
Jeweler to the rap world.
Oh, so she was buying jewelry.
I don't know.
Last call to Ike, 1:00 a.
m.
Talk to him.
Last night, I went to a record release party for one of my clients, M.
C.
Excellence.
Bought an exquisite piece from me last year.
set in platinum, really nice.
We can talk in the vault here.
Anybody see you at this party? Sure, I could find, probably, 15 or 20 people who'll confirm that.
What was your relationship with Clarice James? She was a client.
A client who owed you a lot of money, according to your sales manager.
Well, unfortunately, she wouldn't be the first.
But we were working it out.
At 1:00 a.
m.
? You have to understand the rap world doesn't really keep banker's hours.
It's 2417.
How much was she into you for? A general number, How were you working it out? She had agreed to give some of the pieces back and also do some promotional work for me.
(CELL PHONE RINGS) Well, that doesn't get you up to 400 grand, and you had a lot of late night phone calls from her.
Believe me, I threatened to sue her for the money, but she know that would be a nightmare in the press.
And she begged me to reconsider, which I did.
I know it's kind of an odd way to do business, but it's their game.
I just kind of go with the flow.
Okay, we'll right be there.
Listen, thank you for your time.
We'll get back to you.
Oh, sure.
It's the M.
E.
Oh, thanks.
Rigor and core temp has her dead about 12 hours.
Got two .
38 slugs out of her.
Neither worth much for ballistics.
She's been dead That's what, like, 5:00 a.
m.
? We were thinking it might be earlier.
It was 5:00 when she died, but I'll bet she was shot much earlier.
Slug in her eighth thoracic vertebra.
Couldn't move, couldn't speak.
Only thing she could do was bleed.
Could've taken her three hours to die.
Anyone tip you off to her pregnancy? How far along? Six weeks.
Anything in Clarice's phone records to indicate a pregnancy? I put a call in to her gynecologist.
Nothing stuck out at the time, but now What was the name? City Women's Medical Center.
I worked on a case there a few years ago.
They were getting bomb threats.
They do abortions.
You got it.
It really makes me very nervous to talk to anyone about a patient.
This is a murdered patient, Dr.
Rubin.
Who called here the day she died.
Now we can get a subpoena, but it's only gonna slow us down.
(sums) CASSADY: Why'd she call? She had an appointment to terminate the pregnancy, and she just backed out.
She say why? She didn't know what to do.
She needed more time to think.
It had to do with the baby's father.
The guy didn't know.
He didn't know, and he was married.
I thought all arrows pointed to Andre Blair, but it turns out he's not married and he has three kids by two different women, neither of whom he lives with.
Doesn't sound like a new child would've presented much static.
Or it wasn't about the baby.
Andre talked a lot about guns.
I can't imagine he wouldn't have access to one.
So do 40,000 other New Yorkers.
Where are we on married boyfriends? There's no boyfriend on the radar, but sleeping around a lot was part of her rap.
You know, I'm starting to think her reality and her rap might not sync up.
Maybe not.
The email C.
l.
T.
U.
sent over.
"There's no one more beautiful, sexier.
"You make a blind man see.
"You make a dead man" and so on and so on.
So who's the sweet talker? Steven Smith.
Find out if he's married.
I was home with my wife and baby boy that night.
So you're a good father, a loyal husband, and your wife will confirm this? I don't see any reason to get her involved in this.
Hey, man, your ex-girlfriend was murdered.
We're gonna talk to your wife.
I was in the city.
A business school buddy of mine has a place I use when I need to work late.
But I did not kill Clarice.
So why did you just lie to us? I was with a prostitute.
If that's the case, you wouldn't mind submitting to a paternity test.
No, wrong.
Clarice wasn't pregnant.
Not by me.
Well, atest will prove that.
I haven't seen her in three months.
How pregnant was she? Are you sure she didn't mention the pregnancy? You didn't have any words? All we talked about was business.
That was our relationship.
It got sexual twice, but that was it.
We heard you broke her heart.
Because I wouldn't support her record label idea, not out of love.
She needed backers.
I expressed an interest maybe to get her into bed, but then I told her to self-finance.
She's loaded.
That ain't what we heard, man.
Have you seen her safety deposit box? That dude wasn't kidding.
This is a fortune.
They all have "I & Co.
" stamped on them.
That's Iced Out Ike.
He said that Sweet Clarice owed him 400 grand.
This has gotta be likeamillion.
At least.
Ain't he married? With two kids.
Yeah, I recognize the pieces.
They're obviously mine.
And? How'd she get 'em? I don't know.
Maybe she bought them.
I don't really oversee every transaction in the store.
Well, how's she buying all these jewels when she owes you so much money? Couldn't tell you.
Maybe she borrowed them from a friend.
You got the sales records forthese so we can confirm that? For some of them, sure.
You saying your books are incomplete? No, the books are complete, but we do a lot of cash transactions where the buyer remains nameless.
Oh, isn't that convenient.
What are you implying? ED: M.
C.
Excellence's party.
Your name wasn't checked off on the guest list.
Yeah, I know, lwent as a friend's plus one.
Name of your friend.
You know, I don't think I like your tone.
Scared we're gonna find out you're cheating on your wife with Clarice? (SCOFFS) Listen, you want to buy some stones? Fine, we'll talk.
If not, excuse me.
Boss, ran Clarice's financials.
There's no evidence of big expenditures.
So the jewels were gifts from Ike to his girlfriend.
Under the table, off the books.
So we think.
We'll prove it when we subpoena his business records.
I don't see enough for that.
What other evidence do you have of a relationship? A lot of phone calls.
Photos of them together at her apartment.
Right, which he'll call business.
TARU just said Ike's cell hit on a tower on East 97th Street at 1:10 a.
m.
the night of the murder.
A block away from the crime scene, just after Clarice got home.
When he said he was in Battery Park at a record release party.
And a half hour later, there were site hits on White Street in Tribeca, right where LexisNexis has Ike linked to an apartment.
A love nest.
Does this place have a doorman? His name is Mike.
He's waiting for us.
On your way.
He came in around 1:30 moving quick.
Didn't respond to my hello.
Not the first time.
You seen him since then? Nope.
Was there anything odd about him that night? A lot odd about that guy.
Cagey, stiffed me every holiday, but nothing I noticed.
Did you hear from him again that night? Walked out again about 20 minutes later.
When he left was there anything different about him? Clothes? Was he carrying anything? Everything was different.
Walked in dressed to party.
Walked out in a track suit.
And no briefcase.
And again.
No response to "hello.
" Okay, thank you for your time, man.
I'm calling Connie to get a warrant.
There's nothing but papers in this briefcase.
Well, there's no gun in the bedroom or master bath.
Any blood on those clothes? Not at first glance, but I'll get 'em over to the lab.
You know, it doesn't look like Ike spent a whole lot of time here.
Looks like all he needed was the bed and a fully stocked bar.
And a convenient place to do laundry.
There's not a washer and dryer.
The building has a service.
You know, it looks like we might be hitting a brick wall here.
Un-uh.
Look at this.
Dark spots.
Could be blood.
Can I help you? We need to speak with your husband.
What's going on? Okay, what are you doing here? GWEN: You know them? Got some questions for you, Ike.
What about? What's going on? It's all a big misunderstanding, okay? What the hell is this about? Hey.
Come here.
We found blood on your shoe.
Same blood type as Clarice James.
Now you want to act like a gentleman, or do you want me to tell your wife.
You know what? I'm not gonna say anything until I talk to my lawyer.
Well, our bracelets are cheaper than what you're used to, Ike, but they'll have to do.
You're under arrest for the murder of Clarice James.
You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law.
You have the right to have an attorney present Docket number 0-2-4-1-5-7-5.
People v.
Isaac Krantz.
Charge is murder in the second degree.
How does the defendant plead? Not guilty.
Bail? People seek remand.
Based on what? The defendant owns a home in South Africa, has access to a private plane, and millions of dollars in cash.
Due to the gravity of the crime, we believe he's a significant flight risk.
Mr.
Krantz is an American citizen.
Born and raised in Westchester County.
Now, despite his wealth and multiple addresses, he understands and respects the American judicial system, and has no intention of fleeing the city, let alone the country.
Private jets and limitless resources make me nervous, Counselor.
You can't punish a man for being successful.
Defendant is remanded.
Remanded.
What the hell does that mean? You're gonna sit in jail until trial.
(GAVEL POUNDS) Next case.
I assume that we can prove that Ike is the father of the unborn child.
The paternity test just came back.
It's a match.
Okay, so he's the father.
That's great.
But it doesn't mean he killed the mother.
He lied to Detectives Cassady and Green about his relationship with the victim.
He has no credible alibi.
And his fingerprints are all over the crime scene.
And he made five phone calls to the victim on the night of the murder, all prior to her approximate time of death.
Can we put him near the crime scene? According to TARU, one of the calls was made from about a block away at 1:10 a.
m.
What about the bloody shoe? Blood type's a match, but the sample's small, so we're still waiting for a DNA result.
Motive? Wealthy married man.
Beautiful wife, beautiful house, two beautiful kids.
And a pregnant, bankrupt rapper from Bed Stuy who refused to get an abortion.
Walk on the wild side gone bad.
Pretty much.
Makes sense.
As long as Ike's life was as perfect as you say it was.
Ike is How do I say this? He's the kid who got his ass kicked in high school, didn't get into the cool frat in college, and then hits it big in the diamond business.
So he's making up for lost time, if you know what I mean.
Like Revenge of the Nerds type of thing.
Does Ike seem to be in love with his wife? All he does is talk about how great she is.
It's like he can't believe that he actually married someone like her.
Beautiful, Ivy League, a doctor's daughter.
What about Clarice? I don't know anything about that.
Did you ever see her come to the store? No, Ike handles all the celebrity stuff himself.
Does Ike enjoy being a father? Loves it.
He's even on the board of his kids' preschool.
Cost him 100 grand, but he didn't care.
Did he ever mention anything about a divorce? Never.
Thank you.
Hey.
Learn anything? (CELL PHONE RINGS) Yeah, never date the guy who got picked on in high school.
Especially if he gets rich.
Rubirosa.
Great.
The blood on Ike's shoes is a DNA match for Clarice James.
Sounds like game over.
Yeah, I'll set up a meeting with Ike and his attorney.
Maybe we can convince them to take a plea.
If you plead guilty today, we'll recommend 15 years.
If we go to trial, we'll recommend 25 to life.
Ten years is a long time, Mr.
Krantz.
Why in God's name would he plead guilty to a crime he didn't commit? I'll take the deal.
Ike, what do you mean I just want to get this over with.
We should talk about this private.
Hey, listen, I'm not going to trial.
I can't.
My family.
I just I just want to plead guilty, do my time and get on with my life.
What happened the night of the murder? Well Clarice and I had been arguing.
She wanted to have the baby.
I didn't for obvious reasons.
But she just wouldn't listen to a word said.
She just kept talking about the baby and money.
She wanted $50,000 a month.
I couldn't believe it.
I I called her Well, I said some pretty nasty things, and She hit me and I shot her.
Where's the gun? I threw it into the Hudson.
I'll schedule an allocution hearing for tomorrow morning.
JUDGE BRADLEY: Mr.
Krantz, you wish to plead guilty to the charge of murder in the second degree.
Yes, sir.
And you are pleading guilty of your own accord? Yes.
You killed Clarice James.
Mr.
Krantz, you killed Clarice James, is that correct? Yes.
Was it your intent to kill her? No.
Mr.
Krantz, you're pleading guilty to second degree murder.
That means you must have intended to kill Ms.
James.
Right.
Or you acted with a depraved indifference to human life.
Fine, I intended to kill her.
Is that better? I'm not concerned about "better," Mr.
Krantz.
I just want the truth.
Okay, I I intended to kill her.
Okay.
I'd like to know what happened the night you shot Ms.
James.
What happened? Yes, just walk me through the events leading up to the shooting, Mr.
Krantz.
What time you got there, what you were arguing about, where the gun was, where you shot her, what you did afterwards.
I was very upset.
Uh, I thought she was gonna have an abortion.
And, uh, we were fighting, and she slapped me.
L, I pushed her.
She slapped me again.
I punched her in the face.
And she fell down and hit her head, and that's when I shot her.
Where? (HESITANTLY) I'm not sure.
In the head, I think.
Your Honor, can we discuss this matter in chambers? What the hell is going on here? I'm just trying to plead guilty.
You're trying, Mr.
Krantz? What does that mean? Look, I don't know what you want me to say.
Did you kill Clarice James, yes or no? Yes! You punched her in the face.
Mmm-hmm.
She fell to the ground, you shot her in the head.
Yeah, something like that.
Something like that? What is the problem here? The problem, Mr.
Krantz, is that your story doesn't make any damn sense.
There's no evidence Ms.
James was struck in the face or head prior to her death.
Second, she was shot in the chest.
Well, it all happened really fast, you know? There was a lot of blood and yelling.
(SHOUTING) Did you kill Clarice James? Will you please just let me go to jail? Yes or no, Mr.
Krantz? No.
Then why are you trying to plead guilty? Because I have no choice.
Excuse me? The man who shot her, the man who really shot her, said that if I testified against him or went to the police, that he'd kill my wife and my two children.
What's this person's name? It's Andre Blair.
The music producer? Yes.
The music producer shot her, not you? That's correct.
But you want to plead guilty.
I shouldn't have been involved with Clarice in the first place.
It's my fault that I was there.
I saw him shoot her.
I'm not gonna endanger my family.
I'm not gonna ruin their lives.
Your guilty plea is denied.
The defendant will remain in custody until you sort this mess out and get back to me.
A man so riddled with fear that he tries to confess to another man's murder? It's possible.
Fifteen years on the inside is a long time for a diamond merchant.
He's either brave Or really, really terrified.
Look into this music producer.
See if Ike's story makes any sense.
I don't talk about Andre.
His business is his business, and nothing happened.
Leave them drums on the truck.
Yeah? We hear different.
The police say you had trouble over music publishing rights, and Andre hung you out awindow.
He says you're friends.
And friends like us don't talk about other friends.
They do under subpoena.
(SCOFFS) Fine, whatever.
Throw me a subpoena.
I'll deny everything under oath.
True or false.
Andre has a temper.
So people say.
They also say he gets violent.
Here's the story.
Ask me to swear on a bible, I say Andre's the sweetest, kindest brother on God's Earth.
We straight on that? Yeah, we're straight.
He was gonna come by my club.
Hear some open freestyles.
He never shows.
I look bad to my people.
I go to his office.
I say, "Hey, what's up?" Six bottles of Dom P.
I keep his table open all night.
It ain't right.
He brings me in a room, hangs me out a window.
Andre said it was a publicity stunt.
Yeah, my broken arm didn't make Page Six.
Titanium rod.
I pack a doctor's note to go through airport detectors.
And you didn't file charges.
Neither did Baby X.
I hear he put a gun between her legs.
She signed her contract in five seconds.
She'll deny it under oath too.
He broke your arm, but he told the cops you went to his Christmas party.
Andre invites, you go.
Put your nose out.
See how many deals he closes with a gun.
Baby X, Outlaw.
But we all got the same story.
We love Andre.
Does that include Sweet Clarice? What do you think he'll say when you ask him? I don't know a damn thing about Clarice's murder.
Not a damn thing, hear me? Where were you the night she was killed? Where were you? I'm not a suspect.
Neither am I.
You're sure acting like one.
Why is that? 'Cause I'm not rolling over, cooperating with the man? All we want to do I know what you want to do.
Lynch the black man for a murder he didn't commit and get the white Jew a free pass.
We just want to know where you were so we can clear this mess up.
This isn't a black-white thing.
It's always a black-white thing, sweetie, always.
We can subpoena phone records, credit cards receipts Unless you came here to arrest my black ass, get the hell out of my office.
Now.
Don't make any sense.
If he was guilty, would he throw us out of his office? No, he'd be polite and try and point us in another direction.
He's been very successful as a bully.
In business, but you can't actually believe that he's gonna bully you.
Why not? It's been working for him a long time.
You heard him.
He doesn't want to roll over for the man.
Well, he better roll over for someone, or he's gonna end up with a charge of second degree murder.
Jack, Andre Blair withdrew $600 from an ATM three blocks from Clarice James' brownstone at 1:20 a.
m.
on the night of the murder.
He told detectives he was hanging out at his club in SoHo all night.
Anything else? We found an email he wrote her a month ago.
"Quit sweating my ass about the cash, "'cause I'm about to lose my patience.
" Definitely sounds like there was some bad blood, but without Ike's testimony (TELEPHONE RINGS) it's just that, bad blood.
McCoy.
Right.
Be right there.
Ike got stabbed in the bathroom at Rikers two hours ago, twice, in the back.
Look, all I know is I was taking a leak and somebodyjumped me from behind.
You didn't see who the assailant was? No, whoever it was just pushed me against the wall and stabbed me.
He say anything to you? Yeah, he said, "This is for Andre.
" Andre Blair.
I'm telling you, this guy wants to kill me whether I keep my mouth shut or not.
If you cooperate and you're telling the truth, we can put you and your family in protective custody.
What away to live.
Better than the alternative.
Andre's a bad guy.
He's a murderer.
He shot Clarice right in front of me like it was nothing.
Of course I'm gonna cooperate.
Why not? Tell us what happened the night of the murder.
He and Clarice were arguing about profits from her latest CD.
She said that she knew he was running drugs and washing money, and hejust pulled out a gun and shot her.
Why didn't he kill you? Because I help him out from time to time.
Selling diamonds.
You help him launder his drug profits.
I sell him diamonds for cash.
That's all I know.
You willing to testify to this? Well, yeah.
If you help me with the whole selling diamonds for cash thing, sure.
We'll get back to you.
My client had nothing to do with this murder.
Nothing.
Then why do you refuse to give us an alibi? People aren't required to prove their innocence, Mr.
McCoy.
I assume you're aware of this fairly well known legal principle.
I'm trying to do your client a favor.
(SCOFFS) Favor.
RUBIROSA: We have an eyewitness.
You mean murder defendant.
An eyewitness willing to testify that your client shot Clarice James over a financial dispute.
We're just trying to give him the chance to tell us we're crazy.
My client is an innocent man.
Two felony convictions.
Six years in Greenhaven.
His music glorifies murder, rape, degrading sex.
Yeah, he's a model citizen.
Kiss my ass.
So the victim knew that Ike and Andre Blair were cleaning money.
She got into an argument with Andre Blair and threatened to out him.
Sounds like motive to me.
What other evidence do we have? He was three blocks from the crime scene, at or near the time of death.
He lied to detectives about his alibi.
His fingerprints were all over Clarice's house.
We searched his apartment and found three boxes of ammunition.
The same make and caliber as the bullets that killed her, and, of course, the eyewitness.
An eyewitness who's been indicted for the same crime.
Who tried to plead guilty to the same crime.
Because he was terrified of Andre Blair.
Turns out for good reason.
So you buy Ike's story? Ike has no record.
Blair has a five-page rap sheet.
Yeah, but he's also been clean for the past five years.
He runs a successful record label.
Makes millions of dollars.
And he's been completely uncooperative.
Yeah, but why would he throw it all away over $200,000 dispute with Clarice James? Some people don't change.
Or maybe he's just had bad luck with authorities in the past.
Which he's glamorized the hell out of on countless albums.
I'm looking at the evidence, Connie, that's it.
Just the evidence.
BRANCH: And you think that points to Blair? Yes.
Fine.
Dismiss the murder indictment against Ike and move forward against Blair.
But you better hope that that diamond seller holds up on the stand.
JACK: What was your relationship with Clarice James? We were dating.
Well, lovers, I suppose.
What happened the night of the murder? Clarice and I had a meeting with Andre Blair to talk about their financial dispute.
What was the dispute about? Money, music royalties, that sort of thing.
I tried to act as a mediator, if you will.
When did Mr.
Blair arrive? A little after 1:00.
He seemed very impatient, jumpy.
I'm pretty sure he was high on something.
What happened next? Clarice and Mr.
Blair started arguing.
He was very upset.
Said she wouldn't end up with a dime.
That's when she brought up the drug dealing and the money laundering.
What did she say? She said that if she wasn't paid everything she was owed, that she would tell the cops that he was dealing drugs and laundering money through diamond wholesalers.
What happened next? He shot her in the chest.
What did the defendant say after he shot her? He called her a stupid bitch.
And then he put the gun in my mouth and told me that he'd kill me, my wife, and my two children if I ever told anybody what had happened.
You're positive the defendant is the person who shot Clarice James? Yes, absolutely.
No further questions.
The mother of your unborn baby is shot in the chest.
You don't call the police.
I was in shock.
I didn't know what to do.
Didn't call an ambulance either, did you? No.
Just left your lover, the mother of your unborn child, on the floor, bleeding out for several hours.
Look, I, lthought she was already dead.
You were arrested for murdering Clarice James, correct? Yes.
You actually pleaded guilty to murdering Clarice James, didn't you? Objection.
Overruled.
I tried to plead guilty because I thought the defendant, Andre Blair, would kill my wife and my two children.
Your family's still alive, right? Yes, thank God.
Nothing further.
Mr.
Blair, did you have plans to see Clarice the night she was killed? Yeah.
She asked me to come by her place and talk.
Said she wanted to smooth things out between us regarding our dispute over alleged record profits.
What happened when you went to her apartment? Nothing.
I could see some lights on the second floor, but nobody answered the doorbell, so I rang it again.
Did you see anyone inside? Yeah, a man.
White, skinny.
Could you see his face? No.
Could it have been Isaac Krantz? Possible, but like I said, I couldn't make out his face.
Do you believe Ike Krantz is trying to blame you for a murder he committed? Yes.
Why? Why? 'Cause I'm the perfect fall guy.
Big, black, tattoos.
My artists rap about murder, gangs, thug life.
I'm an easy target, man.
Badass black gang-banger versus nice little Jewish boy from Westchester.
Who you think the people are gonna believe? Did you ever threaten to kill Ike Krantz? No.
Did you ever solicit an inmate to stab him? Of course not.
You're sure? (sums) I know how this sounds, but if I wanted Ike dead, he'd be dead.
Not nursing some booboo on the side of his tummy.
Nothing further.
If somebody was going to testify against you in a murder trial, you'd kill them.
Is that what you just said? I said if I wanted someone dead, he'd be dead.
So your point is what? That you're a highly efficient murderer? If you set out to kill someone, they die.
All I'm saying is if I was gonna hire some dude to kill someone, he'd take care of business.
Wouldn't scrape someone in a damn love handle.
Murder isn't a big deal to you, is it? That's not true.
Your artists sing about it all the time.
In fact, your record label is called Time Of Death.
That's music.
Make-believe, fantasy, not real life.
Unfortunately, sometimes they merge.
Objection.
Withdrawn.
Nothing further.
Interesting strategy.
Trying to convince the jury you're innocent because your hired assassin would've actually killed Ike.
It might work too.
What do you mean? I think he's telling the truth.
Connie! Well, why do we believe Ike over Blair? Because he's white? Because he has a pretty wife, two kids? You know, a new Lexus, Park Avenue address? No! And what about the stabbing at Rikers? Was that a coincidence, an accident? We have no proof that Blair was behind that.
Now you think Ike is lying.
I'm just saying we have no proof that Blair was behind it.
Go out to Rikers first thing.
See what you find.
Look, Hold you before.
I don't know if Ike had any enemies.
But come on, do the math.
A rich white guy in for killing a pregnant black rapper? Half the population probably wanted him dead.
Okay, no specific enemies.
Any friends? There was this one dude he hung out with a lot.
Lots of tats.
On trial for attempted murder, I think.
Know his name? Don Bissell.
I'm gonna need that file.
I don't know nothing about no Ike.
I heard you two were pretty close.
Close? (SCOFFS) Come on, cutie, that's, that's not how it works.
I know your wife received $10,000 from Ike's business account two days after Ike was stabbed.
I'd prefer not to get your wife involved in our criminal investigation.
Tell me the truth, we won't prosecute.
I don't owe that mutt nothing.
He told me to stab him in the back, but on the side, so it wouldn't hit any organs.
But he wanted me to make it look real, like a murder attempt.
Look, I paid Bissell to protect me.
Okay, I'm not exactly Charles Bronson, you know? You paid him to stab you.
That's ridiculous.
I was getting death threats because of Clarice.
Here's my offer, Mr.
Krantz.
Good for today only.
You plead guilty to killing Clarice James, and I'll recommend five years less than the max.
Is he kidding? If you don't and we go to trial, I'll ask for 25 years, plus 10 years for the money laundering and 10 years for multiple counts of perjury, and I'll make sure that they run consecutively.
That's 45 years, if you're lucky.
You'll never get it past the grand jury.
I already did.
Bissell's gonna testify against you.
Oh, you think so? Who's gonna believe that scumbag? A lot more people than will believe you, Mr.
Krantz.
I guarantee it.
See you at trial.
Hey, look, she attacked me, all right? I was just defending myself.
There's no evidence of that.
Oh, come on! She was ghetto trash.
That's how these people behave.
We're done, Mr.
Krantz.
All right, look, I'll take the deal.
I'll take the damn deal.
Ike Krantz agreed to plead guilty to Clarice James' murder.
So as such, we're going to dismiss the murder indictment against you.
I'm sorry about all this, but we'll have you out of here in the next few hours.
I think you forgot something.
I didn't hear a promise to terminate the grand jury investigation into my so-called money laundering and drug running.
I'm not in a position to do that.
I ain't perfect, McCoy, but I don't deal drugs and I don't wash money.
Then you've got nothing to worry about.
Yeah, right.
Just like with this murder trial, huh? If Andre was a liar, he would've told the jury he saw Ike Krantz in Clarice's apartment, not some skinny white dude.
I'll talk to the prosecutor overseeing the investigation.
ANDRE: Good.
Now what about a real apology? I followed the facts.
You lied about your alibi.
You refused to cooperate with the police or us.
Meaning I had an attitude.
Where I live, you don't stay alive being nice.
You don't get rich being nice.
And I beat this thing because I didn't roll over.
You looked guilty on paper.
You acted guilty in person.
So it's on me that you prosecuted the wrong man? The right man's going to prison.
Good luck to you, Mr.
Blair.
Could be Blair was right.
It's always a black-white thing.
He did have an attitude.
Maybe he has a right.