Ripped By mstoll
Hey!
Oh, my God!
- "Charlotte"? Who's Charlotte? - A hot girl.
Who's none of your business.
She's just a friend.
Well, what kind of friend? She's texted you like 12 times.
All right, we like to talk.
- Okay, so she's that kind of friend. - What's that mean?
You know, a "friend who wants to be more than a friend" kind of friend.
Well, actually, I'd like to ask her out.
- Like a date? - Pretty sure that's what it's called
when you go out with a girl.
Yeah, I mean, do you want to ask her out on a date, for real?
I mean, I was thinking about it,
but I just don't know what to do if she says no.
If she says no, you just, you know, find yourself another Charlotte.
No way. There's no one else like her.
Yeah, I get that. All right, go ahead and eat.
Great.
- Hey. - Hey.
- Our son likes a girl. - Charlotte Lewis?
You knew already?
Well, he's had the hots for her forever.
Why am I always the last one to know everything around here?
- Well... - I got called in early to work.
- Mind driving the boys to school? - No.
But we were supposed to look at tiles for the bathroom this morning.
Have fun with that.
- Good morning. - Is it?
Deputy Commissioner Moore and Lieutenant Gormley...
- Are already here. - Morning, Frank.
- How you doing there, commissioner? - So far, so good.
Then let's get to it.
I've been fielding calls all morning, Frank.
The Times wants a quote on the mayor's statement
that he's putting a hiring freeze on police officers.
Shortsighted, dangerous, and just plain asinine.
- So, "No comment at this time." - Exactly.
- That's how you guys do that? - Next.
People magazine wants to schedule an interview.
- No. - But they...
No.
This is a list of proposed candidates for Medal Day. Also, I...
Why wasn't I given a heads-up that Detective Reagan is on this list?
Um, I didn't think you needed a heads-up.
Well, I know for a fact,
Lieutenant Carver and Detective Reagan got off to a rocky start.
Now she's recommending a Medal for Valor? What the hell?
Well...
The mayor wants an update on the heightened security measures
for the Saint Patrick's Day Parade.
Does he, in addition to a hiring freeze?
Well, he doesn't look at them side by side.
Tell him I can spare three meter maids and a bullhorn.
Sir, you have to leave.
I get robbed, and I gotta leave my own house?
That's because your house is now a crime scene, Mr. Bianco.
Detective Reagan and Baez.
In order for us to do our jobs,
we need to get Crime Scene in the house to figure out what happened.
I already told you guys what happened.
It's gonna be okay.
My wife is so upset.
Nick, let's just go. Come on.
I imagine so, when her husband kills a guy right in her own house.
Guy breaks into my home. What am I supposed to do?
Do you have a license for the gun?
I got a permit.
I own my own business. I carry cash sometimes.
- You think that's what he was after? - How am I supposed to know?
Do you know the guy that broke into the house?
No.
Why do I feel like I'm the one
did something wrong here? I'm the victim.
You think of anyone who would wanna kill you?
Can I think of anyone who might wanna kill me?
How much time do you have?
Erin Reagan.
I'm Justin Taylor.
Sorry, should I know you?
I'm the lawyer who filed for the 440 motion
- on behalf of my client for a retrial. - Your client?
Suzanne Taylor. You put her away 12 years ago, unjustly.
Well, I'm gonna have to look up that case.
Uh, the murder of a 24-hour convenience store clerk
up in Morningside Heights.
She was sentenced to 15 years for a crime that she didn't commit.
I'm petitioning for a retrial because she's innocent.
And how do you know that?
Because she's my mother.
- Coffee? - Yeah, black. Thanks.
Let's get back to anyone you might be having problems with.
I own a cement company in College Point.
Uh-huh. - We do a lot of business.
There's always people complaining about one thing or another.
People that owe me money, people I owe money to.
Wait, wait. You're saying somebody tried to off you and your wife
because their cement didn't set right? What?
- I deal in commerce. - Okay.
Mostly building materials for high-rises. Cement, dirt.
We're talking multimillion-dollar jobs.
Six months ago, this guy Anton Petrov across town
opens up another cement company, trying to steal my customers.
- And? - I undercut his prices.
Got all my clients back.
But he wasn't happy.
He even threatened me.
He threatened you, huh? With what?
I believe his exact words had something to do
with me only being able to eat meals through a straw
when he was done with me.
He's inside.
The inner sanctum.
Come in.
Commissioner.
How did you know where to find me?
Baker told me you were here.
That's not supposed to happen.
It's not her fault.
Sit down.
I was the one who recommended Danny and Baez
for the Medal for Valor.
And you didn't tell me?
I knew how you'd feel about it.
Why didn't you tell me this morning?
Because I knew how you'd feel about it.
As I recall, you had plenty of problems with Danny when you were his boss.
Yes, I did.
But never about his commitment or his courage.
Yet you never submitted his name for a medal before.
Yes. That was an oversight.
So when you found out you were moving on,
you decided to do it then?
Actually, I thought I was gonna get canned,
so I thought I'd go out with a bang and right a wrong.
These medals are not to be used as a parting gift.
- That's not what this is. - It's what it sounds like.
This is about what I think medals in general are partly about.
It's about the officers' families.
It's about them getting to see their spouse or mom or dad as a hero.
I'm sorry, I won't approve your recommendation at this time.
Sir, I get it that you don't want to show favoritism to your kids,
but they also shouldn't be punished
because their father happens to be the police commissioner.
- Nicholas Bianco is a liar. - Did you threaten him?
I don't threaten people. I actually follow through.
What does that mean?
It means if I wanted to hurt him, he'd be part of a landfill right now.
That kind of sounds a bit like a threat to me.
- I said, "if." - Do you know this guy?
- No. - He tried to kill Nick Bianco.
Too bad, that he wasn't successful.
And this is my lawyer.
You have any more questions, call him, not me.
Problem we're gonna have on this case, too many suspects.
The ME sent her report.
The vic's name was Bruce Epstein. Lived in Astoria.
He was hit with three precision shots to the chest,
all within 1 inch of each other.
Bianco must've knew his way around a gun.
Apparently, so did Epstein.
His prints came back with a list of charges,
from gun possession to attempted murder.
- But his last charges were dropped. - Why?
Well, it looks like the person he was accused of attempting to murder
refused to testify.
Refused? Or was threatened?
Let's find out.
You take a look at that case I sent you?
Yeah, I did. So, Suzanne Taylor and her boyfriend, John McVeigh,
tried to rob a 24-hour convenience store.
McVeigh ended up shooting the store clerk to death.
According to the witness, Suzanne Taylor was taking the cash
from the register while the store clerk bled to death.
Taylor says she was never in the store
and didn't know what had happened
until she was arrested with her boyfriend.
Which contradicts the witness and the boyfriend's statements.
The boyfriend died of cancer in prison three years ago.
Great.
So why is she being granted a 440 hearing now?
Because the only witness, Carmen Thompson,
who ID'd Taylor and McVeigh, was a crackhead.
And the detective on the case, Detective Stevens,
used her for three prior trials and two subsequent ones.
- You spoken to him yet? - Over the phone.
He's retired, living in Arizona.
He said there were 900 murders that year.
Neighborhoods like that, the people who tend to be
- outside late at night... - Crack addicts. I get it.
But the same witness in six trials?
It does taint the witness.
And it taints him and me and the whole case.
Did he have anything to say about that?
He said, "Detectives don't decide who to prosecute."
Right, ADAs do.
Which means it's my fault for not vetting the witness better.
Erin, this was 12 years ago.
There weren't even databases back then for witnesses.
This isn't about placing blame.
Oh, that's exactly what it's about.
Do you think there's a possibility that Suzanne Taylor is innocent?
I think you had a sloppy detective.
That's not what I asked.
You think there's a possibility that she's innocent?
Yes, there is.
Victor Floros? Detective Reagan. This is Detective Baez.
- We need to ask you a few questions. - Do I have a choice?
You can do it down at the squad room.
George, take over the register.
Last year, you refused to testify against Bruce Epstein
for an attempt he made on your life.
- Yeah. So? - So, what happened?
Why did you change your mind, decide not to testify?
Because I like breathing.
- What are you talking about? - Look, soon as we opened this place,
the Mob sent someone over to meet me,
and tell me we had to pay them off just to stay in business.
- And did you? - No, I refused.
That's when that guy Epstein comes to my place
and shoots right through the window at me.
Are you sure it was him?
Trust me, when you're looking at the wrong end of a gun,
your vision becomes very clear very fast.
So, you think Epstein is in the Mob?
I did some checking of my own.
He's not in the Mob.
He's a hit man for them.
What are you looking for?
I don't know.
Well, it's your third trip without taking anything out.
Oh.
Something's bothering you.
Not exactly.
Gormley put Danny up for the Medal for Valor.
Oh, and you're afraid that it's gonna look like favoritism?
There's that.
And Medal Day will turn into a publicity event
about me giving my son one,
and Danny will inherit all the backwash
from cops who think they've been passed over.
The whole thing's got three strikes against it from the jump.
What would I do?
I know what you would do.
When you were commissioner, I didn't get a medal or a commendation.
Did you resent it?
No, I understood it.
So will Danny.
He's not me.
No, he's not.
But he does have your sense to favor the greater good.
I guess I could just ask him.
No. No, you can't. You can't put him in that position.
Did you ever regret it?
One time.
In '88, when you apprehended that bank robber
all on your own before backup ever arrived,
that was a clear case for the Medal for Valor.
Mm.
Now every time you put on the uniform,
and I see a space where a medal should be,
or a commendation bar...
Yeah.
Yeah, I have regrets.
I don't have regrets, Pop.
Neither will Danny.
So, Bianco says he has no idea why a professional hit man
would wanna kill him. Keeps pointing to Petrov.
Who, by the way, has a record for tax evasion.
Which is a long way from murder. What do you got?
I didn't get much from Bianco's surveillance,
but I did talk to a neighbor who has security cameras around his house.
I thought we could sneak a peek, but he said that when Anna went away
for the weekend with her girlfriends last month,
Bianco didn't waste any time bringing home a hot tamale.
Bianco has a girlfriend?
That's what he said.
Well, that would be a motive for murder.
Let's go see the missus.
Ms. Thompson, according to the witness statement,
you heard three gunshots coming from within the convenience store,
and then saw two people running from the store. Is that correct?
Yes.
Are either of those two people that you identified that night here today?
- Yes. - Where?
Sitting right there.
Let the record reflect that the witness has identified Suzanne Taylor.
Thank you.
Your witness.
Was my client the one with the gun?
- No. - Remind me.
What was your occupation at the time?
My occupation?
You were 21, an adult.
- What you do for a living? - Objection. Relevance?
- Sustained. - Nothing.
Counselor, is this your first case?
Yes, Your Honor.
And a very important one.
Yeah, well, keep on point.
What were you doing outside the convenience store that night?
- Doing crack. - I'm sorry.
Can you speak up, Ms. Thompson?
I was smoking crack.
Are you familiar with a Detective Stevens?
- Yes. - How many cases
- have you helped him on? - Objection. Relevance?
Your Honor, I'm establishing history.
I'll allow it.
I helped him on a lot.
What's a lot?
One or two cases?
About five or six.
Well, you must like helping Detective Stevens.
Objection. Leading the witness.
I'll rephrase. How did you come to help Detective Stevens on so many cases?
Because he used to give me money.
Which you'd use to buy crack.
- Objection. - Withdrawn.
No further questions.
It could've easily been me or my husband lying right there dead.
Can you think of anyone who maybe wanted
to, you know, kill your husband?
I thought it was a burglar looking for jewelry, stuff like that.
Well, we think it may be of a more personal nature.
Somebody who was mad at your husband for one reason or another.
Do you have any ideas about that?
No. Nick was a good husband.
Nick was a good husband?
Every marriage has its ups and downs.
What does that mean?
Was he cheating on you?
No, it's not like that.
What is it like?
Nicholas cheated on me, okay?
But only after he found out I was cheating on him.
We both got busy in our jobs,
stopped paying attention to each other.
The magic was gone.
Possible the man you were having an affair with
wanted to get rid of your husband?
No, I don't think so.
- No. - Okay, tell you what.
We're gonna need the name
of anybody you or your husband had a relationship with.
Okay? Anyone you may have burned a bridge with
or could be holding a grudge against either one of you.
Maybe I should call my husband.
Maybe you should stop playing games.
Start cooperating, okay?
How come you're still awake, kiddo?
Can't sleep.
Why can't you sleep?
She said yes.
- She said yes? - Yeah.
Well, that's great news.
Yeah, but now what?
Now you take her on a date, you go to the movies.
That's so boring. Everyone does that.
Okay.
Well, do you know what she likes to do?
She likes to go ice-skating. Could I bring her ice-skating?
Ice-skating sounds like a very good plan.
Thank you.
Heh. You got it.
- Good night. - Good night, kiddo.
- Hello. - Hey.
You know, you should ask your boss for a bigger office.
I don't think that's a good idea.
He can be a hard-ass sometimes.
So I hear.
Whenever you prowl the 14th floor
and end up here in my crowded little office,
it usually means my life is gonna become more complicated.
You're sometimes good at uncomplicating things.
How about I try that now?
Why don't you pretend that Danny's last name isn't Reagan,
and decide if he deserves a medal based on the merits of the case?
I know he deserves it. That's not the point.
Well, try this.
My father worked for Oldsmobile all his life, as did his father.
So a Moore had to drive an Oldsmobile.
A used one when he started out,
a brand-new one if he attained some success.
- This isn't that. - It's as close as I can get.
I always looked at the Oldsmobile as a legacy that was forced upon me,
that no matter how well I did in life,
my reward would be, yes, an Oldsmobile.
So, he was banging a waitress,
and she was letting the landscaper work on more than the garden.
True love.
Maybe they just got bored. I mean, it happens.
Jeez, Baez, you sound like
you're advocating extramarital affairs all of a sudden.
No, I'm just saying that I don't think their affairs were significant enough
where their lovers were willing to kill for them.
- I get it. - It's not like he's taking off
with the waitress, and she's not giving up the McMansion
to go off with the guy that mows the lawn.
I knew it.
I ran Bianco through SAFETNet. Guess who's looking at him.
Organized Crime.
OCID's got him up on a wire.
What about video surveillance?
Erin, it was 2003. The video is long gone.
The convenience store is a Laundromat now.
What about this?
It was recovered at the scene.
Never tested?
Lab tech labeled it insufficient evidence.
- Why? - I don't know.
The lab tech long since retired. Haven't been able to track him down.
Get it tested. Maybe it fell through the cracks.
What else are we missing?
You were second seat on this case, Erin.
What's that supposed to mean?
It means stop beating yourself up.
Why are you letting this case get to you?
Why did you become a cop?
My mother was murdered when I was 16.
I'm sorry.
I became a cop hoping to find out who did it.
And did you find out?
No.
I became a lawyer because I love the truth.
That's why this case is getting to me.
Because what if the truth is
I'm responsible for a woman losing 12 years of her life?
- Hey, Dad. - Hey.
I thought Erin was bringing that.
Yeah, well, she's preoccupied with the 440 hearing,
so she asked me.
I'll call her.
Yeah, you know those calls you make, Dad,
when you're pretending to be concerned about Sunday dinner,
but you're really just fishing around for how we're doing,
they're very transparent.
Are they, now?
Mm-hm.
- And what are we having? - Turkey.
Mm. Well, just so you know,
when you show up with the food for Sunday dinner,
it is also transparent.
Oh.
Right.
I know Gormley threw my name in the hopper for a medal.
I told him not to.
I know you did.
I just wanted you to know I told him not to because I don't need it, Dad.
And I'm sure you don't need the publicity that comes with it.
I don't care about publicity. You shouldn't, either.
Okay. Well, I hate wearing my dress blues.
How about that?
See you Sunday.
I'm proud of you, you know.
I know.
Nicholas Bianco, owner of Nicky's Cement Company,
an original title if I ever heard one.
We've only been up on him for a month,
so I don't have much for you.
- Is he mobbed up? - Well, not exactly.
He gets hired by Fat Al
to truck concrete on rigged city contracts.
We haven't gotten him breaking the law.
How about this guy? He look familiar to you?
Bruce Epstein. We think he's got at least five bodies under his belt.
We're trying to figure out who would've hired this Epstein to kill Bianco.
I don't have anything that will help you with that.
We didn't get anything on the wire about it.
How about someone close to Epstein who might know who hired him?
We have a CI in the Romano family,
and they say that Epstein doesn't keep any secrets from his girlfriend.
That's a little unusual for an organized crime member,
especially a hit man.
Aren't they sworn to secrecy?
Love makes you do crazy things.
Or stupid things.
Got an address on the girlfriend?
- Thank you. - Took a guess on how you like it.
- Milk, no sugar? - Perfect.
Like everything else about you, no frills.
I was thinking you and Justin Taylor have a lot in common.
He also got into this field to seek justice for his mom.
It's very noble.
Noble and naive.
Why would you say that?
Just because he believes his mother is innocent doesn't mean she is.
These are the results of the DNA from the cigarette found at the scene.
It matches Suzanne Taylor.
She was there.
- We're looking for Valerie Traynor. - I'm Valerie.
Valerie, Detectives Reagan and Baez. We need to talk.
Come on to the back.
Why are these men getting manicures on their lunch break?
You're so '70s, Reagan. Metro is the new sexy.
Metro? I like T-bones, cold beer, and loud burps.
Oh, charming.
So, what can I do for you?
We know Bruce Epstein was a hit man for the Romano family.
We know you were his girlfriend.
Fiancée.
And he also told me never to talk to cops.
Really? So you have no interest in finding out why he was killed?
Since when is the N.Y.P.D. Interested in the murder of a hit man?
We need to find out who sent him to Bianco's house,
make sure he wasn't set up.
And to make sure you're not in any danger.
Look, we know he confided in you, okay?
And given his profession, that's very unusual.
Well, he was an unusual man.
That's what I loved about him.
I think he would want you protected.
And we can provide that for you.
If you're willing to cooperate.
What do you wanna know?
Who sent him to kill Bianco?
He wasn't there to kill Bianco.
Why was he there?
He was there to kill Bianco's wife.
Anna was the target? Why?
I have no idea why.
Who hired him to kill her?
Her husband.
I'm not supposed to talk to you without my lawyer, you know.
That's right, you don't have to talk to me.
A cigarette butt was found at the crime scene
that was never tested for DNA, so I had it sent to the lab.
Puts you at the scene.
That doesn't mean I killed that store clerk.
That store clerk's name was Dylan Hartin.
He was 17 years old.
I'm going to submit the results as evidence.
Justin should be getting it later on this afternoon.
I have an 18-year-old daughter.
If I had done something stupid,
broken the law years ago,
I can't imagine wanting to tell her because...
Because when people like you screw up,
there's always someone there to get you out of it.
You've been lying to your son all of these years.
I never told him to reopen the case.
He did that on his own.
He did that because he thinks you're innocent.
I didn't shoot Dylan Hartin.
You were there.
You took that money from the store.
You ran away.
You tried to help your boyfriend escape.
And I've paid for it.
So has Justin.
What do you want from me?
I want you to tell the truth.
That I was high on coke?
That I was so in love with my boyfriend I'd do anything for him?
Including watch him kill that kid
because he didn't get the money out of the drawer fast enough?
Is that what you want me to tell my son?
Yes.
You couldn't possibly understand.
I understand that the truth is gonna come out.
You need to decide if it's gonna come from you or me.
Guard?
- You put out a hit on your wife. - No, I didn't.
You did. Why don't you grow some balls and stop BSing?
What did you say to me?
What are you gonna do?
You gonna put out a hit on me next, huh?
Come on, sit down.
Sit down!
You hired Epstein to kill your wife.
What? I never saw that guy before in my life.
You wanna explain that?
What the hell did your wife do to piss you off so much, huh?
She find out you had a girlfriend?
Honest to God, I never cheated on her...
Never cheated on her
until you found out she was cheating on you, right?
I know about that too.
What do you know?
We were 18 years old when we first met.
High-school sweethearts.
So, what happened?
What happens when you stop paying attention to your marriage?
It starts to fall apart.
Okay. So you thought it would be better to just off your wife
instead of dealing with the state of your marriage?
- I hired him in anger. - Right.
And then I realized I still love her.
I couldn't do it.
I even tried to call it off, but he changed his number.
That's what those guys do.
They change cell phones every few days.
I couldn't cancel the hit, so I waited up for him to arrive and...
And then you killed him before he killed your wife.
You know, you could've headed it off,
and just told him you changed your mind.
This isn't like canceling your fast food order.
And legally, you can kill someone in self-defense
if they break inside of your house.
Right?
It's a great cover story.
I want a lawyer.
Yeah, you're gonna need one.
Come on, get up.
Thank you.
- Are your parents gonna skate? - They said they were going to,
- but I don't think either of them can. - What about you?
I have to admit, I'm not very good.
- I'll help you. - Thanks.
Ugh. I can't believe I'm old enough to have a kid who's interested in girls.
Why? We weren't much older than them when we first met.
Do you remember that? When we came here?
Our second date?
I hated ice-skating. I just was trying to impress you.
Well, as I recall, you weren't very impressive on the ice.
Well, I was just pretending because I wanted you to hold my hand.
Mm.
Oh, looks like Jack's inherited some of my moves.
You want one?
You know what those look like? Those look like...
Stork's orange creams?
- No way. - Yeah, way.
Wow, it is.
How did you do that? That place closed like three years ago.
The old man's still alive.
- You found him? - I found him.
I not only found him, I got him to make something special for you.
And he was happy to do it, actually.
Really? You did all that?
- Mm-hm. - Mm.
You remember the first time we bought those together?
Those were your favorite chocolates in the whole wide world.
And then you tried one, and you got me to try one.
And then...
Still the best-tasting orange kiss of my entire life.
- Hi. - Hi.
I, uh...
I got the DNA results for the cigarette that you admitted into evidence.
I already talked to the judge, and he's agreed to rescind my motion.
- I'm sorry. - Sorry you won?
Or sorry my whole life has been based on a lie?
When was that taken?
Um, when I graduated law school about eight months ago.
You wore your cap and gown to the prison visitors' room?
I wanted to make her proud.
I'm sure she is.
Have you spoken to her?
Uh...
I don't know what I'd say.
Sometimes you don't need to say anything.
She made me look like a fool.
She's made mistakes.
She's paid for them dearly.
That's rich.
The prosecutor defending the felon.
I'm not defending her.
Why are you here?
I'm here because I'm a really good lawyer,
and you made me question myself, and that's no easy task.
What can I say? I was delusional.
I must have looked like an ass up there in front of the judge
thinking my mother had been railroaded this entire time.
You looked like an experienced, self-confident lawyer, not a newbie.
You were good on cross. Really smart objections.
You've only been at this a year.
I appreciate you trying to make me feel better...
I wouldn't waste my time coming down here to make you feel better.
I came down here to tell you you're really good at what you do.
This is my card.
If you ever decide to play for the other side,
the DA's office could use a lawyer like you.
Thank you.
By the way...
The part about me looking confident?
I was faking it.
I was too.
Congratulations, son.
"On September 26,
Detective Maria Baez and Detective Daniel Reagan
confronted approximately eight armed gang members
in an auto body shop located in the confines of the 2-7 precinct.
Among other crimes, the perpetrators were responsible
for the murders of a DEA technician and a valued confidential informant.
Detectives Baez and Reagan, at great personal risk,
engaged the gang members in a gunfight
which resulted in the capture and arrest of all eight.
For their selflessness and heroism,
Maria Baez and Daniel Reagan receive the Medal for Valor."
- Congratulations, detective. - Thank you, sir.
Well done, detective.
Thank you, commissioner.
I'll get the pizza.
- Where did we order from? - You get what you get.
Did we get the garlic nuts?
Yep, and the roasted peppers and the eggplant.
You wanna grab the plates, big shot?
Why do I gotta grab plates? This is my big day.
I knew that medal was gonna go to your head.
No, come on, Pop.
Enough speeches for one day.
Just one more.
And it isn't a speech.
"On March 9th, 1988, Detective Frank Reagan,
in the confines of the 2-1 precinct and off duty at the time,
gave pursuit to an armed bank robber
who had just killer a teller
and wounded three other civilians at the scene.
Putting himself in harm's way and without backup,
Detective Reagan exchanged gunfire with the perpetrator,
shot and wounded him,
and placed him under arrest.
Tried and convicted,
the perpetrator is serving a life sentence for murder to this day."
Old news, Pop.
Yeah, but in long-overdue recognition,
Detective Reagan will now receive this Medal for Valor
for his extraordinary bravery and service on that day.
Congratulations, detective.
My turn to say grace.
Bless us, O Lord, for these thy gifts,
which we are about to receive from thy bounty
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Amen.
Ripped By mstoll