Hey!
The ganef is having himself a ball on my day off, isn't he?
It's all right. He's entitled.
See anything? No, not a peep.
All right, have fun, but keep your eyes open. Okay.
- Anything? - Check out the two by the podium.
They're a couple of Tomasso's bodyguards. Forget it.
How's it goin'?
Is this thing on? Hey.
Now, a year ago, this here neighborhood was a rat's nest.
You couldn't even walk your family through it in broad daylight.
Am I right? Hey, Solerno.
Who's that at the mike? Serafin... Tomasso's number one boy.
But things are a little bit better this year, ain't they?
I mean, it's 100% improvement, isn't it?
What made this neighborhood safe was this,
and what made this was a man...
who had the guts to speak out and tell it like it is and do something about it.!
Ladies and gentlemen, the founder and president of the Lower Manhattan Protective Association,
your friend and mine, Mike Tomasso.
That's my goombah. Anybody here read this morning's papers?
You know the one I'm talkin' about...
the one you wrapped your garbage in.
Now, the newspapers have been sayin' that this is a front for the syndicate.
Now, I'm sayin' if this is a front,
then God help the syndicate!
Go find out what that is.
He's got a knife!
It's a setup!
Get out of the way!
All right, see what you can do.
Easy, Mike. Easy, easy. Oh!
Take a look at this. Where the hell were you?
Call an ambulance. Priority. Hey, Lieutenant, over here.
Make it one for the hospital...
and one for the morgue.
We were suckered. So, what else is new?
Where were our brains? Captain McNeil, I got some papers for you to sign.
You know you're very rude? You see me talkin' to the man? I'm talkin' to the man!
We knew there was a contract out on Tomasso. Didn't you see him talkin' to the man?
That's right. Right.
Well, it happened, it happened. No sense in boo-hooing about it now.
I mean, we knew the week before there was a contract out on him,
the week before that and the week before that... All right, all right, all right.
I should've had more men in uniform, made a strong show of force.
Then maybe we'd have scared them off.
Yeah, it wouldn't have made any difference.
They were out to cowboy him. That punk Cleveland.
I didn't believe he'd really have the chutzpah.
It's not a question of chutzpah. It's a question of survival.
Six of one, half dozen of the other.
The distinction is important. Ah!
Here. Put yourself in Cleveland's shoes.
He's a hot, young hood, right?
Has a piece of the West Side waterfront... a good piece... plus all the policy action.
The other side of town, another hot, young hood.
A piece of the East Side waterfront and all the policy action.
The best of friends. Probably even partners for all we know.
All right, so Cleveland makes a little trip.
Winds up doing five years in Sing Sing.
He comes out. Tomasso owns all the old territory... his as well...
and he's not about to give any of it back.
So what's Cleveland gonna do? He's gonna make his move.
He's gonna make his move or pack his bags and get out of town.
And, besides, who says that Cleveland ordered the hit?
Come on. Cleveland's organization.
It's 99 and 44, 100% black.
Now, who else is gonna recruit a schvartz for a hit?
Thank God they were lousy shots too, because by rights, Tomasso's a mackerel.
Pretty lucky.
Okay. Oh, that's great.
Tomasso's alive, and a nice, little old lady is dead.
Will you ever learn?
Two nine-millimeter slugs...
the one taken from Tomasso's leg and the one taken from the vest...
both with no more impact than a couple of BBs.
Oh, nice piece of merchandise.
Suave. Very suave.
Take my drink, will ya?
Would you say this is a very suave piece of merchandise? Stunning outfit.
Looks like it was never worn before.
Well, I know this wise guy. This isn't something he'd wear.
Spoils his macho image.
Besides, he's a ladies' man. A minuteman.
He's gotta be ready at a moment's notice. Well, he's lucky he decided to change fashions this time.
It saved his life.
How lucky can you get?
I'm glad you finally decided to check in.
I'm beginning to develop a rash. Try undercover like me. It's good for the complexion.
Well, I hope you got somethin'. I get sick and tired of runnin' in place.
How's this for openers?
Cleveland's organization is exploding like a Fourth ofJuly firecracker.
What I wanna know is, do we have anything concrete that'll nail him?
Not a thing yet. Any line on the button men?
Nope. Nobody'll...
Somebody's gotta have a line on those button men, because the D.A. Wants to get well with this one real swift.
Well, it's nobody in Cleveland's organization.
I mean, I've been with them for two months now. I guess I know 'em pretty good.
He must have gone outside for the contract.
Maybe they're wise you're a cop. Nah, ain't no way. No way.
Any idea where he is... Cleveland? Nope.
Nobody knows. Maybe somewhere uptown, maybe West Village.
He's scared. Well, I gotta find him before Tomasso does.
You'll have to take your place at the end of the line.
There's an open contract out on Cleveland. Twenty-five grand.
You don't even have to be a member of the union.
You sure? Yeah, I'm sure.
Lieutenant, call for you on two.
Lieutenant Kojak. Kojak?
Cleveland's policy bank is at Lenny's Arcade.
Yeah. Would you give me that again? Lenny's Arcade.
Got it? Yeah, I got it. Who is this?
Thanks, pal.
Hey, get your hat and coat. We just got a break.
Arm or a leg? A neck... Cleveland's.
Hold it.! Theo.
Whoa, Willie! Hello, baby. How are you?
Okay, Jumbo, give me the slips. I don't have any slips, man. I'm just shuckin' and jivin' with my friends.
You're just shuckin' and jivin' with your friends. That one of your friends over there?
Come on, Willie, baby. Let's take a walk, Willie.
Willie, the track star. His pal here's got all the action, Theo.
He's got enough stuff here for a pony. Let's go, Willie. Come on, Willie, baby.
Um, would you care to ride with me or with one of my associates?
Who's drivin', man? Come on, wise guy.
We got another policy tip on Cleveland.
Amsterdam Avenue, between 78th and 79th. I'm on my way.
Hey, baby.
Where's my five dollars?
Hey, man, what are you doin'? Let me go!
Up against the wall. Hey, where's your warrant?
All of ya! I didn't do nothin'. I was sittin' over here mindin' my own business.
You ain't got nothin' on us.
Come on. Hug the wall like it's your mother.
All right, who's the main man?
Hey, look, I got enough trouble in this neighborhood without new faces. Capisce?
You ain't got nothin' on us, man!
How about those policy slips? What are they, confetti?
You take 'em downtown and book 'em.
And make sure you don't lose any of the evidence. Hey, man, let me ask you somethin'.
Who's been tipping you to us? Well, whoever it is doesn't like your organization, does he?
Go on, beat it. You got nothin' on us!
Say hello to your mother.
Get a smell of Cleveland yet? Not a whiff.
Who's my benefactor? You know, somebody must like me an awful lot.
I've gotten four anonymous telephone calls over the last couple of days, all of them against Cleveland.
- Don't you know? - Haven't got a clue.
Neither do I. One thing I do know is that Cleveland's guys are scared.
They're not used to all this heavy heat. They've been pulling up stakes left and right.
A few more busts like the ones you've been bringing down, and Cleveland won't have any organization left.
Here. What's this?
For your mother. What's the other one for?
My mother.
With all the backup units you called, this must be a heavy bust.
That's what the man said. Maybe it's one of Cleveland's policy banks.
Thirty seconds and counting.
Now, and quietly.
Here.
This is a bust!
All right, get your hands up over your heads.
Don't move!
All right. Glad we could all get together again.
Where's Cleveland?
Did you give a good toss?
Hey, where's your warrant? This is private property.
Put a zipper on your mouth and shut up.
Well, without a warrant, you ain't got zilch.
Looks like they were expecting the U.S. Marines.
All right, separate them and tag them and dust them for print... Let me see that one.
That's a nine-millimeter. A nine-millimeter killed the old lady.
- All right, anything else? - No, that looks like it, Lieutenant.
Hey, hey, hey! What about our rights?
You know about your rights, huh?
You take 'em in. No phone calls until I get there.
Tell him. I told him everything I know.
Tell me something new. Don't jive me, man. Tell me.
Would you tell him what you saw? What do you guys want from me?
We know you were there. All right, sit down, Kotner.
You know, this is gonna be just as tough as you wanna make it.
I wanna call my lawyer. Yeah.
I got a call comin' to me, you know. You'll get the call. The line is busy right now.
Hey, look, if you wanna cooperate before he gets here, you know, it's gonna go down a lot easier on you.
Hey, what are you giving me, huh?
You busted into private property without a warrant.
This won't even go to court. The D.A., he'll laugh you...
Sit down.
Would you mind sitting in the other chair?
- I don't need a warrant for city property. - What do you mean?
The building was abandoned, right? That makes it city property.
Now, I'm gonna ask you again nice and easy like.
Who's your banker? Who's my banker?
I didn't hear ya!
Like you don't know, right? Oh, sure!
Nobody bothers Tomasso. It's just our chops you keep breaking up.
You accusing me?
L-I'm just making a little observation, Officer.
Ah, come on. You keep breaking us left and right,
and I ain't heard nothin' on Tomasso.
- Maybe he's clean. - Maybe the pope smokes grass.
Fowler!
Escort this gentleman to go make a call to his attorney.
Right, boss.
Hey, Prince. What brings you here on this cold October night?
Publicity. And there's enough to go around.
Lieutenant Kojak, I'm about to make you very happy.
Mm-hmm. One handgun, nine-millimeter.
Serial number 4-A-7-7-9-3-2.
One bullet, nine-millimeter,
taken three days ago from the left leg of one Michael X. Tomasso.
Father, son.
Are you positive? When am I not positive?
Yeah, right.
Give me Captain McNeil.
Listen, have those jokers been booked yet?
Well, don't let 'em go.
That's right. I got a brand-new charge to hit 'em with.
I'll be right up. Let me have a report as soon as possible.
No sooner said than done. Oh.
Prince, you're a prince. Oh!
Okay, we got witnesses...
that put you repeatedly entering that building over the past week and a half.
That's a lie! I was never in that place before in my life till tonight. I swear it.
We got three witnesses. They can't all be liars.
Hey, man, I don't even come down to this part of town.
You came down Columbus Day, didn't ya? No!
You came down with the premeditated purpose...
of killing a specific individual, and you almost did.
And you killed a woman... a sweet, little old lady.
That's homicide, Jimmy. Homicide one. That's life, baby!
Hey, man, I'm tryin' to tell you, I didn't have nothin' to do with that!
Well, that was your gun.
We picked it up in your place of business. The bullets match to it.
Hey, man, that don't make it my piece.!
Now, there was three other brothers in that room besides me. Three!
Those three other brothers are alibied, Jimmy. That leaves you in the wringer.
Nah, nah, man. L-I... Look, I don't know nothin' about that gun bein' down there.
Nothin'. I ain't lyin'. What do you know?
About what?
Well, what you were about to tell me about running the policy for Cleveland.
So that if I go to the D.A., I can tell him how wonderful you've been about, uh, helping me.
Mm-hmm.
Later.
Okay, Jimmy.
Well, all right. I'll tell you what I know.
How we doin'? Good and bad.
We got a lot of information on Cleveland and his scam, but nothin' on the hit.
Well, we got the place and the weapon. It won't wash.
This one is no good unless it's airtight.
What next?
Well, I'll hold them until morning.
And then I'll put a tail on 'em when they get their bail, and then, uh, we'll take it from there.
Edwards! Lieutenant?
Yeah? I got a couple men out here who can claim they can identify those hit men.
Come on.
Something doesn't seem right.
What? How would anyone on the outside know about the arrests?
I mean, who can leak it? You can't keep a lid on something like this.
The scuttlebutt was all over the neighborhood by the time you brought them in.
Well, not from my men, they didn't. Well, who cares?
We've got a chance to crack this thing within 72 hours, and you're nitpicking.
Now, come on. Get on with it.
All right, set up a lineup.
Mr. Carmone, Mr. Falcone, Lieutenant Kojak.
How do you do? I understand that you can help us out.
Would you wait right here? Would you come with me, please?
Right through there.
Okay.
Let's go, let's go. Let's get this over with.
Hats off, gentlemen. Hats off, please.
Thank you. Thank you. Okay, move to the wall, huh? Close to the wall. That's it.
Okay, Mr. Carmone, would you come over here, look through that hole?
Now, tell me if you can recognize either of the two men you saw at the block party.
Take your time.
Yeah, they're both there. Which ones?
The one in the red sports shirt, and the one with the, uh, chains around his neck.
Are you sure?
Yeah, positive. Mmm.
All right, thank you.
All right, Mr. "Pisconi." Come here.
Look through there and tell me if you recognize...
either of the two men you saw on Columbus Day.
I see them. Yeah, that's them all right.
Can you identify them for me?
The chain around the neck, and the one with the red shirt.
Are you sure? Sure.
No question about it.
Okay, thank you.
And I must add in conclusion...
that the investigation and its speedy and successful completion...
was due in large measure to the work...
of Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak...
of Manhattan's South Precinct,
with more than 20 citations of merit for protecting you.
What'd I miss, man? The whole thing.
... put the N. Y.P.D. On the knock,
whether it's a private citizen or a member of the sound communications,
I know that there are a lot of cops on the job,
great cops like Lieutenant Kojak.
And I know that it is, and it never has been true...
Back to work!
Commissioner put in a nice plug for you. He's a politician like the rest of 'em, isn't he?
Can't you ever be gracious? Yeah, sure.
Something smells about this case.
Hey, you gonna start something?
Let me just put a couple of things together and see if it adds up, okay?
There were over a thousand people at that rally.
Total panic, confusion.
And yet these two witnesses make an ironclad, positive identification.
I was closer to those button men than anybody, and I couldn't make a positive I.D.
These two witnesses said they were in back of the platform.
I was right there. I didn't see anybody near the platform.
All those helpful phone calls, and the gun.
Twenty years on the force, I never heard of a hit man holding onto a piece. Have you?
They were amateurs.
Even so.
Plus, the fact that they use a nine-millimeter,
which is enough to blow a guy's leg off, and it hardly dents Tomasso.
Now, that can't happen unless they use a quarter load.
It doesn't make any sense. I mean, it doesn't add up. You know something, Frank?
I think we've been had. Oh, yeah, it's been all too easy.
- This case is up for grabs. - Now, Theo, you listen to me.
We have a positive identification from two witnesses, which is more than enough.
The D.A.'s satisfied, the commissioner's satisfied, you are satisfied.
- You understand me? - Yeah, I understand.
You're the boss...
Frank McNeil.
Beautiful.
What's up, Lieutenant? Captain McNeil said the case was closed.
Officially, this case is closed.
Which doesn't mean that if you see something, you don't follow through.
That's your job, and that's what you get paid for... keeping your eyes open.
Look, between you and me,
I'm not thoroughly convinced that Cleveland ordered that hit.
So, if he didn't do it, who did? Huh?
Who stood to gain the most from Tomasso's death, even more than Cleveland?
His numero uno man... Serafin.
Okay? Hey, this, of course, you do on your own time.
And, uh, let's not make Captain McNeil nervous.
The less he knows, the better. Understand?
All right.
Hey, brother. How are you?
Got something for me?
Do I have to count it this time? Don't you trust me?
"If you see something," you said. I was out yesterday minding my own business,
and I saw something you might be interested in.
Okay. So, tell me.
The runners I can understand, but this dude's a banker.
Interesting? Suspicious? Huh?
A black gunsel and a white mob. You can bet your tuchus it's interesting.
How can you eat this stuff? Let's go downtown. Huh?
What you want, pizza?
I got it.
Good night, doll.
He looks familiar. Like how?
I don't know yet, but there's something about him.
It's a Tomasso front.
Center of operations? Oh, one of them.
He's got a different location for every racket.
What do you suppose they're up to now, planning another hit attempt?
I don't know.
With Cleveland out of the picture now, this Sarafin, Serafin... whatever his name is...
is in a great spot to get ambitious.
But he makes one move, every capo, every mobster in town knows who's behind him.
There's just something missing. I don't know.
Somethin' missing.
Tomasso. Tomasso.
Okay. That's what's missing.
Take a look at this.
The newspaper blowups will be pretty grainy, but it'll give us a fair idea.
Here they are.
Hey.
That's the guy. What's his name? Mitch DuBois.
Well, he's the hit man. Would you believe that Tomasso ordered a hit on himself?
You gotta give the guy credit. He must have spent a lot of time thinking this one up.
It was worth it. It paid off.
He orders a hit on himself, and the whole world thinks that it came from Cleveland.
Which explains why he didn't get hurt by the nine-millimeters. It was all rigged.
That way he doesn't get in trouble with the mob.
But if he gets lucky, we go out and bust Cleveland and we pin the murder rap on him too.
Oh, man, he set this up beautifully.
He sits back and watches us get rid of the competition for him.
Oh, I can just taste this punk.
Why not nail him on the policy operation?
Now, you look. We can nail him on that anytime we want to.
He's there for the plucking. But this is a real punk. Real garbage.
You understand? And I'm not talking about his hookers and his pimps and his policy runners.
I'm talking about he tried to pull the wool on this whole department.
And there's one old lady dead because of him, and that's what we're gonna nail his hide on!
You understand? Him and his gofer Serafin, Sarafin... whatever the hell his name is!
You know a brother named Mitch DuBois?
Yeah, I know him. Used to do some pimping uptown.
Does a little dealing. You know, that's some scam Tomasso's pulling together.
Oh, by the way, I got some news too.
Oh, yeah?
Well, good news for a change, I hope.
Uh, good and bad.
Let me have the good news first. I've had enough bad news for tonight.
Well, I found out where Cleveland's hiding. It's about time. Where?
Over in the West Village. Now you wanna hear the bad news?
No, but go ahead. You're gonna tell me anyway.
He's splitting for Canada day after tomorrow. Gonna lay low till things cool down, then come back and start up again.
I oughta bust him. There's a warrant out on him.
Well, I don't recall you ever being married to the book.
Yeah. I'd rather chuck it all and go fishin'.
Man, you always were perverse.
If it's all I got, I'll use you as a worm.
- Come on. You're gonna be my bait. - Thanks.
Come on.
If this scheme is gonna work, you're gonna have to play it very cool with Mitch.
They tell me Mitch DuBois is a pretty foxy cat,
so, uh, be cool. Okay, he's set.
All right, let's try it. All right. Testing, testing...
Wait a minute. Wait a minute. All right, go ahead.
Testing, testing, testing.
Testing, one, two. Testing, testing. All right.
Come on back.
Ready to try it? Ready as I'll ever be.
All right. These things don't track too far, so I'll have to stay real close to you.
Yeah. I'll see you downstairs.
Okay.
Thank you, brothers. The place is right down the next block?
Thank you, brothers.
Hey, Theo, if you're reading me, it's that pool hall in the next block.
Say, baby, what's happenin'? Same old jive, man.
Say, man, I'm lookin' for some action.
What do you want, and how do you want it?
Somethin' for the nose. I hear you're doin' some pretty good stuff.
What kind of quantity we talkin' about?
Can you, uh...
Can you do me, uh, an ounce of coke?
Yeah.
Don't I recall you bein' with the Cleveland organization?
Ain't nobody with them anymore.
I mean, uh, it's every man for himself. Can you dig it?
Yeah, I can dig it.
I can do you an ounce.
I could do you a pound...
if you want it. Ounce is cool.
How much? 8-5-0.
850? Yeah.
Dollars? Yeah!
Man, I can do better than that in the street.
Suit yourself.
How many times it been stepped on?
It ain't. This is pure Colombian cocaine.
Okay.
I ain't seen no dough.
I ain't seen no coke.
You can do the honors. Don't mind if I do.
Let me borrow your coke spoon.
Get me a little taste myself.
That's what I call cocaine, Jim.
Puts a freeze on your face that won't thaw out.
That's high-class stuff, man.
- Hey, man, you're settin' me up! - Are you serious, man?
Hey, look, man... Hey, uh...
See, I was taking a walk, man! Hey!
Hey, man! Man, be... Hey, man, be cool!
Come on, man! Be cool!
Get on your feet, Jones.
Your bail's been made.
You ain't seen the last of me, brother.
Say, man!
What kind of fool sets up his own self?
A fool like you... sucker.
Ain't nobody made my bail yet?
Well, we couldn't find an armored car this time of night.
The judge has set your bail at a hundred thou. That's a hundred large, baby.
You must be a naughty boy.
If you're convincing, my man, and if they buy it,
they'll make an attempt to kill Mitch the minute he springs jail.
All right, go ahead, and you call me when, uh, you pass the message.
Talk to you later. All right.
Fowler!
You looking for me? Is your name Tomasso?
No, but I'll see that he gets the message.
Then I ain't lookin' for you.
Mitch told me not to give this message to anybody but Tomasso.
You must be the other jerk got busted with him, huh?
Your brains must be made of the same junk as his.
Hey!
Now, give me the message. I'll see it gets delivered.
Mitch called the bondsman, but he couldn't make the bail...
because it was set at $100,000. How much?
Seems pretty high for a petty coke bust, don't it?
Then he tried to call, but he couldn't get no answer.
So the message that I'm deliverin' is that...
somebody gotta bail him out "right quick, or else."
That was his exact message.
He say what this, uh, "or else" might be?
I don't know. He asked me to deliver a message.
I'm deliverin' a message.
Okay, thanks, huh?
Here.
Here's somethin' for your trouble.
You're gonna make sure that Tomasso gets this message, aren't you?
Don't worry about it. Tomasso will hear about it.
I mean, Mitch was really insistent upon that.
What kind of game you playin' on my head, man?
I'm not playin' any game, sonny.
Come off it, man.
First, somebody sets me up on this nickel-dime coke bust.
Then you get some jive judge...
to set my bail at $100,000.
I ain't never heard of bail bein' set that high.
You're lucky you got any bail set at all.
Who you kiddin'?
The D.A. Ain't gonna even take time to take this to court.
I'm not kiddin'. You're goin' to jail, sonny, for life.
Life?
You're gonna spend all your time in a little eight-foot cell,
and the only way you're gonna get out is in a pine box.
What kind of trip you on, man? You must be high.
Mm-hmm. All right.
- We'll see. Come here. - Huh?
All right, come here, DuBois.
- You recognize her? - No. Why should I?
- You shot her dead Columbus Day. - Oh, no. No way!
You pulled that phony hit on Tomasso, and you killed this sweet, little old lady.
I got you dead-on, sonny. I've got witnesses,
and I've got your prints on that gun we found. You can't tie me to that gun!
Mm-hmm.
You're in a lot of trouble, sonny.
But, look, if you cooperate, maybe I can make a deal for you with the D.A.
I ain't talkin' without my lawyer.
Hey, Fowler, bring us a cup of coffee, would ya?
Make it two cups of coffee. We'll have a cup of coffee while we talk, okay?
They know.
To tell you the truth, Mike, I don't think he's talked yet.
He wouldn't be threatenin' us like this if he had.
Tony, I'm talkin' about the $100,000 bail.
Now, that tells me they know something.
Yeah, but if they don't say nothin', they can't bring nothin' back to us, right?
Should have gotten him out of town like we did the other one.
All right, there's no sense talkin' about it now.
We gotta shut him up.
You call Susskind, and you get him bailed out immediately.
Hey, I got a couple guys I can get ahold of tonight.
No sense wasting any time, right?
When does a hit man ever take out a contract on another hit man?
Now, don't be a gavonne.! No one's gonna touch this job. Now, call Susskind.
You and me are gonna have to handle this job ourselves.
New York mobile operator 42, please.
Now, look, kid, this is you. You'll be twiddling your thumbs up at Dannemora...
while Tomasso's on the outside leading the good life.
Tell me, what's the percentage? Hey, man, you know where it's at.
I finger Tomasso, I'm a dead man in 24 hours.
What are you talkin' about?
We'll give you protection. Ain't no such thing.
That cat would get me if I was dead and buried in the ground.
What?
Your friend's made his bail. Who was it?
Who knows?
He wants you so bad that he wants to put up 100,000.
A hundred large!
Hey, come here, kid.
Take care of yourself.
Go to hell. Aah!
All right, try to hug his tail.
They're gonna tail him too, and they're gonna hit him the first chance they get.
Can you believe it? They're going clear up to Harlem.
Hey, look. If you were black,
and you knew Tomasso was gonna hit you, where would you go?
Go on! Run the light!
Don't blame me.
It's Tomasso.!
Aw! Stupid!
All right, get him covered.
There's enough here for the grand jury to indict Tomasso and his friends on 16 counts.
Mm-hmm. They'll put those bums away for 50 years.
Not good enough.
Not good enough?
They put her away for an eternity.