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.
Lise, do one of those “tear your heart out and stomp it" Napoli love songs.
I'd rather not, Jimmy. I am just gettin' over a cold.
Like this crowd would know the diff. Just do one.
Oh. For you.
Hey! What the hell is this? Lady, knock it off!
- Give the lady a break. - Enough already'
This guy on the floor here... John Carolo, 41.
Midtown address. He took two in the back. No exit wounds.
What about the guy in the booth?
Thomas Mitchell, 56.
California driver's license. One to the chest.
Lennie, chief of d's. What's he doin' here?
Chief. Briscoe.
This is my partner, Ed Green. Detective.
You got up here fast, Chief. Yeah. I was already here.
Dinner with friends. I have a table Tuesday nights. Oh, you got a table.
So, Chief, what the hell happened? My back was to the bar.
But from what I gather, the guy on the floor got into a beef...
with some moron at the bar who pulls his piece... blam, blam, blam.
Fires off a couple more for good luck, and he's out the door.
And the victim in the booth wasn't involved?
He caught a stray. Poor bastard.
You get a look at the shooter?
White, late 40's, heavyset, dark hair.
Mob guy? No. Witnesses say he goes by the name Bumpy.
Hmm. Well, that answers my question.
Paul.
This is the owner, Paul Raimondo. This is Detectives Briscoe and Green.
I can't believe this, Danny. Nothing like this ever happened here before.
Well, don't worry. We're gonna find the guy, Paul.
Sir, did you see what happened? I was in the kitchen.
The shooter was some guy named Bumpy?
Stops in every so often to have a drink, press his nose against the glass.
Not one of your regulars, huh? You think a guy like that gets a table? When hell freezes over.
Any idea where we can find him?
I wish I could help you with his real name.
I've never heard him called anything but Bumpy.
Okay. Thanks, Paul Whatever I can do.
Raimondo's is close to my heart. We understand.
You know, the food and the stories. No place in the city like it.
Some night soon, the three of us will be havin' dinner here.
- Excuse me? - To celebrate the closing of this case.
Detectives.
Well, I knew being chief of detectives had its perks
but I didn't know they included a table at Raimondo's.
I heard the food is really good here. Oh, it's to die for.
The shots went off, somebody flipped over our table.
Did you see the shooter? Dove for cover like everyone else.
My first time under fire.
I guess I don't have to tell you. The adrenaline rush is intense.
You go to Raimondo's often? Once a week.
You friendly with the folks at the other tables too?
You're crammed so close together, you can't help but get to know the other regulars.
Did you know Thomas Mitchell? lust to say hello to.
I knew he was a movie producer. That's about it.
He has one out now... Al Dente.
About a mob family, runs a restaurant...
supposedly based on Raimondo's.
Doesn't it spoil your appetite, Your Honor, eating with gangsters?
That's all part of the charm. That's the beauty of Raimondo's.
That's the point... successful people from every field.
The political world, the entertainment world.
- The underworld. - Everybody loves Raimondo's.
I had my head down mixin' a couple of green-apple martinis when it happened.
I look up. Bumpy's got his piece in his hand.
Carolo and Bumpy were drinkin' together?
Drinkin', yeah. Not together.
Johnny... Carolo... was pretty hammered.
- And Bumpy? - He nursed the same gin and tonic all night,
cheap S.O.B. that he is.
You say they weren't together. They have any history? Sort of.
Bumpy was a wannabe who never would be.
Carolo was a made guy.
Bumpy was jealous as hell. Carolo? Could've cared less.
Carolo a regular? Yeah.
What about Bumpy? He shows up time to time, he has any dough.
What a short arm.
Guy could hit the lotto, and it'd still kill him to buy a round.
You got a name for Bumpy other than “cheap S.O.B."?
Yeah. Miserable, cheap S.O.B.
Do you know anything else about him? He's a degenerate gambler.
- Once in a while, he gets lucky. - "Once in a while"?
Why do you think they call him Bumpy?
Raimondo's is like a union. You gotta inherit a table just to get in the door.
And dinner for four will cost you a cool grand... cash only.
You can eat anywhere in this city for that kind of money.
Plus you gotta tip everybody from the waiter to the dishwasher.
Well, maybe someday someone will explain the attraction, 'cause I don't get it.
The mobsters go to see the celebrities. The celebrities go to see the mobsters.
Well, they deserve each other And who are the victims?
The guy Bumpy meant to hit was a crew boss name of Carolo.
He's a shakedown artist, a bookie. Ran a high-stakes poker game.
Talented fella. And the unlucky bystander?
Thomas Mitchell, movie producer.
He's got this new movie out called Al Dente.
Oh, yeah. I've seen the ad.
Apparently, it's based on a book...
this mob kiss-and-tell memoir about a restaurant a lot like Raimondo's.
So, Mr. Mitchell was breaking bread with real-live mobsters.
Yeah. And when Bumpy started firing off shots,
Mitchell got a little more reality than he bargained for.
Any hits on “Bumpy” in the a.k.a. database?
Uh-uh. We got three “Bum's," a “Boom-Boom" and a couple of “Bunny's."
So, if Bumpy was a gambler in Carolo's poker game...
The bartender said they hated each other. That don't mean Carolo wouldn't take his money.
- If Bumpy was one of the losers... - We don't know the dude's real name,
but we might be able to find out where he plays.
Carolo ran three games, probably rakin' in 25K, 30K a week.
Some of that scratch could've been Bumpy's.
Where was Carolo's game? The Bronx, Arthur Avenue.
Did you ever take it down? We were keepin' tabs on it.
But no sense in nettin' the small-fry waitin' on some bigger fish.
Did you have any luck? We had our eyes on a loan shark named Pete Squirt... Carolo's bank.
Makes his collections inside St. Anthony's. In the church?
Superstitious. Thinks we can't nab him there.
What is it, against the law to pray now?
It is at 30% a week.
You guys Vice? Homicide.
What are you roustin' me for? You heard about what went down at Raimondo's?
Yeah. I read the papers like anyone else.
You know anything that wasn't in the papers? I got my sources. What you talkin' about?
What do your sources tell you about Bumpy and Carolo?
They tell me that one is dead and one isn't.
Well, the one that's breathing, we need to find him.
Hey, I'm a businessman, gentlemen. I'm not the Lost and Found, all right?
All night. Business question then. How do you lend a guy money if you don't know where to find him?
I wouldn't know. Despite your insinuations, that's not the business that I'm in.
Well, let's just say that you were in that business.
How would you ever make any money with the N.Y.P.D. hassling you morning, noon and night?
Well, let's say a guy is a, uh... He's a gambler, right?
He's gonna be jonesin' for a game, like a junkie needs a fix.
So, sooner or later, he's gonna surface.
Oh. We're in the middle of somethin' here.
Yeah, we can see that. With the money on this box, you're all goin' downtown.
It's a friendly game. Yeah? And which one of your friends goes by the name of Bumpy?
All right, Ed, call the wagon. We'll take 'em all in.
Him. You rat!
Go to hell. You haven't rolled a natural in days.
There's your natural. Whoa! What's this?
- It's a .38. - I know what it is. That's a rhetorical question.
- Suit yourself. - "Carmine Bustale. ”
You prefer being called Carmine or Bumpy?
Either-or. It don't bother me. Okay, Bumpy.
Let's start with the basics. You're under arrest for the murders of John Carolo and Thomas Mitchell.
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you...
We know you owed Carolo money... money you don't have.
Yeah, and that a career loser like yourself couldn't possibly pay back.
Hey, I didn't owe that rat bastard Carolo nothin'.
All I told him was to keep his voice down.
Who, Carolo? Yeah, Carolo.
So rude. I said, “Let the girl finish her song."
I says, "You gotta show a little respect to this joint. ”
W-W-W-Wait. You sayin' that you shot Carolo...
because he was talkin' while that lady was singin'?
“Santa Lucia."
This is my grandmother's favorite song.
As far as that movie guy that got shot, you know,
I didn't mean to hit him.
But that Carolo... he got what he deserved, that snot nose.
This is gonna be bad, right?
I need you both outside.
Ballistics just came back.
The slug they pulled from Carolo came from Bumpy's .38.
Good That plus the confession we just got equals two cold' beers and a Knicks game.
I got two great seats... center court.
Well, I hope you set your TiVo.
The slug in our movie producer came from another gun.
- We got a second shooter? - C.S.U. figured the trajectory.
The shot that killed Mitchell definitely came from the bar.
How bad was this singer?
Better we should talk out here. Is the place bugged?
F.B.I.'s tapped the phone for years.
Anyway, to answer your question, the table came open about three years ago.
Tommy Mitchell had the high bid. You gotta bid on a table?
If you want it bad enough, you pay the freight. Including the chief of d's?
No. Him, the mayor, fire commissioner... guys like that... no charge.
We just... enjoy the pleasure of their company. Yeah, I'll bet.
So, if you're a paying customer, what's a meal ticket cost?
In Mitchell's case, 50 grand.
With an investment like that, no wonder he showed up every Tuesday.
And everybody knew where he was. That's how I'd do it.
Keep an eye out from the bar, follow him outside, do him on the street. Make it look like a mugging.
Who else was at Mitchell's table that night? Guys from the studio,
They were celebrating. It was in the trades... Al Dente just grossed 150 million worldwide.
- I see you got the lingo down. - We get so many show business types in here, it can't help but rub off.
Speaking of "rub," what about that movie? What do you mean?
It's about a place like yours. Maybe somebody thought Mitchell hit too close to home. Are you kidding?
It made 'em feel like celebrities. The old days... they need my phone to check in with their parole officers.
Nowadays, they're calling their agents.
Don't get me wrong. Tommy was a great boss,
but if he didn't wear loafers every day, I'd be the one tying his shoes.
So he wasn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, huh?
Didn't have to be. He had what they call in this business a gut... a nose for material.
So, did his gut or his nose ever get him in trouble?
- Tommy was a film producer. - What does that mean exactly? I've never been sure.
It means there's always somebody mad at him.
- But who lately? - Sonny King for one.
Tommy started ducking his calls a couple of months ago.
- Sonny King? - He's the one that wrote the book the movie was based on.
Al Dente's a true story, right? Supposedly, Sonny exaggerates.
Especially about himself. What do you mean?
Sonny passed himself off as a gangster.
But really, he's just some guy who hung around and listened to the wise guys tell lies.
And then he put 'em all in a book. Then Tommy bought the book,
threw in some more lies and made the movie.
So, why was your boss ducking Sonny's phone calls? Sonny's a professional pest.
He'd call five, six times a day, always with his hand out.
He ever threaten Mr. Mitchell?
Look, I just answer the phones and make reservations.
Maybe you'd better talk to Tommy's business partner.
We developed the property. We hired a screenwriter, paid for rewrites,
attached actors, a director, financed the picture.
Three years of work before we put film in the camera.
That makes sense in your world. How'd it sit with Sonny King?
Fine until the movie came out.
- Once it was a big hit... - He wanted more money.
He wanted a piece. I take it he didn't get one.
His contract did not entitle him to be a profit participant.
He wouldn't be the first guy to renegotiate his contract.
Then Sonny King should have hired a lawyer...
instead of calling Tom out at Raimondo's or confronting him in the lobby of his building.
- Sounds like King was stalking him. - One time, he met us coming off the redeye at J.F.K.,
screaming at the top of his lungs over the luggage carousel.
- It was embarrassing... all kinds of threats and imprecations. - What kind of threats?
Give me my money. I'm gonna kill you.
And you didn't take that seriously?
Despite how he comes across in his books, Sonny's not a real wise guy. He's just a wannabe.
I didn't think he was a threat to anybody. Neither did Tom. So you never called the police?
Tom figured, sooner or later, Sonny'd get a grip and go away.
That ad campaign is everywhere. Every time King turns on the television or walks outside,
he gets his nose rubbed in the fact that he got hosed. That's life.
One guy rakin' in a bundle, the other one standing there holding an empty bag? That's a recipe for trouble.
I haven't been to Raimondo's in months.
Paul made it pretty clear I wasn't welcome there no more.
Why is that, 'cause you were harassing Thomas Mitchell?
No. Because I named names, you know, if you know how to read between the lines.
A lot of guys at Raimondo's, they got their noses out of joint when they read my book.
That must have hurt... being banished from the inner sanctum, huh?
I was so over 'Mondo's, okay?
You gotta move on. Now I hang at Elaine's.
You sell your book to the movies, seems like you oughta be livin' a little larger than this.
I'm happy with what I got. I paid off all my debts, I took a nice vacation...
and now, because of the movie, I'm somewhat of a celebrity.
- What more could I want? - How about a piece of the action?
I had no problem with Thomas Mitchell, if that's why you're here.
If that's true, why'd you call him half a dozen times a day?
We were talkin' about doin' another project together, a musical.
What, Gangsters on the Roof?
And you thought the luggage carousel at the airport was the perfect place to take a meeting?
I admit I got a little hot under the collar.
Okay? I'm still tryin' to feel my way through this business.
You know, in my world, it doesn't sit right...
when some Hollywood type doesn't return a phone call.
Your world? What world is that? You know, our world.
“Our thing." La Cosa Nostra.
Where were you in your world when Mitchell got shot?
I was at the Rangers game with my two nephews.
Then Ben Benson's for steaks. Didn't cost me a dime.
And let me guess... the tickets and the dinner were courtesy of Thomas Mitchell.
What can I say? The guy took care of me.
Nobody remembered seeing Sonny King at the bar that night.
Paul Raimondo confirms that he was persona non grata.
He threw him and Mitchell out one night...
after they had a huge, screaming argument.
His alibi checks out... hockey game and dinner. He sent the bill to Mitchell's office.
King have a record? Marijuana bust, credit card fraud... nothing heavy.
Just the cojones he must have had to send the bill to the guy he had hit.
Well, if he hired the hit, who are we supposed to be looking at?
Maybe we should read between the lines.
Yeah. He told us to check out his book.
We figure some of his pals from Raimondo's must be in there, thinly disguised.
Maybe one of them contracted the hit.
Well, keep reading and submit the receipt. Definitely.
Yeah, I'm in the book. You know the part about the Stuyvesant armored-car heist?
They planned that job here in Jersey City.
How long you been with the O.C. Task Force?
Eight years. I know every player this side of the tunnel.
There's a character in King's book named Stanley.
Yeah. Artie Baldo... two tons of fun.
- King changed the name, but it was clear who he was talkin' about. - In the book, he brokers hits.
He's the go-to guy in the greater metropolitan area when you want somebody whacked.
How's it work? You tell Artie you got a problem.
He sends you to a guy who takes care of it. Simple as that.
Why ain't he locked up?
Look, Artie's fat. He's not stupid, okay? No names, no numbers, nothin' on paper.
You don't tell him the details. He doesn't know the who, what, when or why.
He just puts you in touch with the contractor.
Once Artie takes his cut, it's between you and the designated hitter.
You ever try to grab him, send in an undercover or set up a phony hit?
- He knows all the local cops by sight. - What about one he doesn't know?
I got a C.I. could vouch for you with Artie.
Eleven in the corner.
About time we got somebody who knows how to shoot pool.
Well, it was either this or medical school.
Where'd you learn how to play the game?
Oh, Jersey Red, Captain Hook, Hundred-Ball Blackie.
Those guys could shoot.
Lucky for me we ain't got no cash bet runnin' on this game.
Well, I got some cash, but, uh, it's not really for shootin' pool.
You know, it never hurts to put somethin' away for a rainy day.
Yeah, well, this cash is, uh,
to try to get rid of a rat that's livin' in a friend's apartment.
Where's this friend live? In the city.
Lot of rats in New York.
Yeah, and I hear you got a foolproof way of gettin' rid of them.
I've had some... success with rodents.
Fifteen... three times across.
Nice.
I'll be in the parking lot tonight around 10:00.
How's five large in small denominations sound?
That oughta buy a lot of rat poison.
It's low-risk, Lieu. We grab the guy as soon as he takes the money.
Local backup? Ed's been workin' with a Jersey City detective named Ronni Reynolds.
And you think Baldo's involved in Mitchell's murder.
Hey, the guy brokers hits all over the tristate area.
If he isn't, maybe he knows who is.
Well, here's $5,000 in 20-dollar bills.
I'd better get every single one of them back.
Here you go... five large.
I ain't even gonna count it. A guy who shoots like you.
Here's where your exterminator can reach me. You'll get a call.
Are we square? Like Butch and Sundance, my man.
You gotta be kiddin' me.
I got one word for you, Sundance... Atkins.
Come on.
This was prime-time entrapment.
No judge on the planet would sign off on what went down tonight.
You could play it that way, Artie.
You could have your lawyer argue his way from one motion to the next.
Meanwhile, you'll be cooling your heels in the Hudson County Jail.
Youse didn't come all the way across the river just to sting me.
We're interested in the Raimondo shootings.
I heard you got that mope Bumpy...
Lumpy, Humpty Dumpty... whatever his name is... locked up tight in the Tombs.
We want the second shooter- the one that killed the movie producer...
and the guy who hired him to do it.
- And if I help you out? - Your cooperation will be duly noted by the Hudson County D.A.
I'd need immunity on that and this thing.
So you were involved in Raimondo's.
I'll see what we can do.
I knew that little so-and-so would be friggin' trouble when I read his book.
- Sonny King? - My Aunt Nancy knows more about the mob than he does, and she's a nun.
Sonny paid you to get him a shooter.
Hey, I didn't use that word.
I just put Sonny in touch with somebody.
You gonna give us a name?
This gets out on the street, I'm a real mutt.
Artie, you want immunity, tell 'em what they need to know.
- Denny Rogis. - Rogis?
Ring a bell?
Yeah. Skinny little junkyard dog... lives in a salvage yard.
What the hell... Denny Rogis?
Yeah?
- You're under arrest... - For the murder of Thomas Mitchell.
- Sorry, guys. My collar. - Yo! This is our case.
This scum operates in my jurisdiction. Take him out, Mirandize him.
Come on, Reynolds. Why do you wanna screw us on an F.O.A. collar?
What the hell do you care? We do all the heavy lifting, you get the credit?
Hey, fellas, it's out of my hands. This one comes from higher up.
The murder was committed in our jurisdiction, Mr. Sturges, not yours.
But the conspiracy for that murder was hatched here in Jersey City.
It's customary to give the first shot to the jurisdiction with the more serious offense.
What's really going on here, Mr. Sturges? What exactly do you want?
A joint press conference where it's noted that Mr. Rogis was apprehended...
due to the fine work of the Jersey City police...
and the Hudson County District Attorney's Office.
So this is all about being in the media spotlight.
And letting my guys handle the perp walk would be a nice touch too.
Nothing like a mobster in handcuffs on the 6:00 news.
And you get some free publicity for your re-election campaign.
Why do you think they invented the perp walk?
I have no problem sharing the spotlight.
- Just give us Rogis - He's all yours.
- Well, there might be one small hitch. - What's that?
Rogis says he won't waive extradition.
Then we'll see him in court.
I look forward to that.
The basis for New York's extradition warrant, Mr McCoy? A charge of first-degree murder.
Mr. Rogis committed a killing for hire.
Ah, yes. The Raimondo shooting. Quite a story.
More than a dozen customers picked the defendant? picture out of a photo array
As a patron, not the shooter.
I'm sure a dozen more could pick out the New York City Chief of Detectives,
a supreme court judge and my daughter's favorite rock star.
Mr Rogis has a violent-felony record and links to organized crime.
So do half the people in Raimondo's on any given night.
He's got a point, Mr. McCoy.
I mean, failing a gun or an eyewitness putting one in his hand,
I may have no choice but to set bail for Mr. Rogis.
Your Honor, please, under the Uniform Extradition Act,
you have no power to question the underlying facts of the warrant.
I don't read it that way, but you can always appeal.
If Mr. Rogis walks out of here, we'll never see him again.
Then give me some thing I can hang my hat on, Mr. McCoy.
I'll stay the dismissal of the extradition warrant for 24 hours.
It seems crazy. Rogis is right across the river.
He's a cab ride away.
Jenkins is a political hack. He doesn't know the law.
And it will take too long to 78 him.
The police are reinterviewing the witnesses...
to see if anybody can put Rogis in the bar with a gun in his hand.
We may not have that kind of time.
Let's hit Rogis with a charge we know we can make... extradite him for that.
Such as?
- I'm guessing he ran out of Raimondo's after the shootings. - Along with everybody else.
Which might mean he left without paying his tab.
I'll call the police.
Let me see if I have this right.
You want to extradite Mr. Rogis to New York...
because he didn't pay for three Scotches and a squid salad?
Larceny, Your Honor. The restaurant owner swore out a complaint.
Not only did Mr. Rogis not pay his bill that evening,
but he had an outstanding bar tab of more than $7,500.
This is beyond outrageous, Judge.
My client would have been more than willing to pay his bar bill if he had been given one.
You can't collect from a fleeing customer, Mr. Goidell.
This is all a ploy to get my client back to New York.
Uh, ploy or not, the papers are valid, Mr. Goidell.
Extradition request on the larceny charge is hereby granted.
Enjoy your time in New York, Mr. Rogis.
You've been identified by a dozen witnesses in a dozen lineups, Mr. Rogis.
And we found almost $25,000 in a shoe box in your salvage yard.
You got nothing. Excuse me. Did I miss somethin'?
Was I out of the room when you proved he was the shooter?
We'll have that proof as soon as we arrest Sonny King.
Artie Baldo is willing to testify that he referred Mr. King to you to contract Mr. Mitchell's murder.
Mr. King will be charged with the same count, Mr. Rogis...
first-degree murder.
And if we step up to the line first?
Murder two, 18-to-life...
on condition you testify against Mr. King.
That's the best we're gonna do.
Sonny King paid me 10 grand to whack Tommy Mitchell, which I done.
Your book makes organized crime sound so exciting.
Do you miss it? Hey, before I wrote this book, I was a nobody.
Now... Now you're somebody.
Yeah, somebody's who's under arrest. Excuse me, miss.
What? For the murder of Thomas Mitchell.
Oh, come on. You know what they say, Sonny. Fame's a bitch.
Rogis and Baldo... that's a pretty pair to put before a jury.
Baldo will testify that he arranged for King to meet Rogis.
Rogis will testify that King paid him to kill Mitchell.
And King will deny it all. Any money trail?
Any communication that we can document between the three of them?
- No. They were careful. - What about the weapon?
Rogis says he dropped it at the scene, but the police didn't find it.
Why not?
Chaos at the scene, and the cops thought they had the shooter.
No reason to look for a second gun.
Then it's long gone.
Where did King get the money to hire this hit man? The police said he was broke.
Maybe he took out a loan. In the course of their investigation,
the police talked to a loan shark connected to Bumpy Bustale.
The man who shot the first victim.
Raimondo's is a small world. Maybe King and this loan shark crossed paths there.
Why did King go to see you? I thought he was on the outs with everybody at Raimondo's.
On the way outs, but, at the end of the day, business is business.
Get outta here. How much did you lend him?
12K. What kind of interest?
The usual.
Thirty percent a week. You pay back the vig before you pay back the principal?
Whoa. Hey, that would be correct.
King had no income. How'd you expect to get your money back?
Well, at first, I wasn't gonna front him, but then Sonny gave me some collateral. What?
A tape. It turns out that he had a deal with that, uh, guy, Mitchell.
A deal?
King secretly taped his meeting with Mitchell. Then he gave the tape to Squirt?
As proof that he had a deal and he could pay back the loan. What was the deal?
If the movie grossed over a certain amount of money,
Mitchell would pay King a million-dollar bonus.
And it did, and he didn't. No. Mitchell reneged, never paid him.
On the tape, King makes it pretty clear what he would do if that happened.
- I deserve a piece, Tom. - Without my book, you got no movie.
- That's King. - Okay, as a bonus.
That's Mitchell. If Al Dente grosses over a hundred mil.
Okay, one more thing. Tommy, don't try to screw me on this.
What, are you threatening me? No. I'm just trying to make myself clear, okay?
I'm not the kinda guy who's gonna go run to a lawyer.
You understand? I'm not tryin' to screwanybody over, Sonny, especially you.
Now, like you said, no book, no movie. Okay.
On the basis of this conversation, Mr. Squirt,
what did you do?
I loaned Sonny $12,000.
Did you know what the money was for?
I didn't know, and I didn't wanna know.
What made you think that Mr. King would be able to pay you back?
Well, you heard the tape. He had a deal with that producer.
I figured he was gonna be flush. The movie was a big hit.
And if Mr. Mitchell didn't honor his deal with Mr. King,
what did you understand the consequences to be?
Well, you heard the tape there too.
Uh, Mitchell's dead, right? Uh, that's the consequences.
Nothing further, Your Honor.
Have you seen Mr. Mitchell's movie? Yeah, I seen it.
Does it accurately, in your experience,
portray the milieu at a place like Raimondo's?
Well, he took a few liberties.
Upset anybody? Yeah, some.
They took offense? You might say.
- He was fascinated by gangsters. - A lotta people are.
Mr. Mitchell spent a great deal of time at Raimondo's.
He was there every week.
Do you think Mr. Mitchell fully comprehended...
the effect his movie might have on the clientèle at Raimondo's?
Not a clue. He was, uh, you know, oblivious.
He thought everybody loved it.
Mr. Mitchell made a verbal contract to pay my client a million dollars.
Sure. Verbal contract... that's why I loaned Sonny the 12K
In your line of work, Mr. Squirt, you ever enter into verbal contracts like these?
All the time. We don't actually put nothin' on paper.
Well, you expect to get paid nonetheless, don't you?
Well, a deal's a deal. And everybody knows the consequences of breaking a deal.
You bet.
Do you know if Mr. Mitchell entered into any other verbal contracts at Raimondo's...
in connection with his movie? Objection, Your Honor. Hearsay.
Mr. Squirt is a denizen of Raimondo's. He may have firsthand knowledge of these informal business practices.
I'll allow it. Witness may answer.
Well, he promised guys parts, auditions for their girlfriends, jobs on the movie.
- But he's full of crap. - He didn't honor the contracts.
As far as I know, not at all.
Well, the defense strategy is clear:
King didn't do it, and Mitchell was playin' with fire makin' his mobster movie.
He deserved what he got. So you believe there? a possibility of an acquittal?
Huh. Y 'all seen The Godfather recently?
- The public romanticizes the Mafia. - We do too.
We even use their colorful nicknames when we indict them.
So maybe the jury's fascinated. Aren't they also afraid?
Get close to the flame, but not too close.
That's the big attraction at Raimondo's.
This whole case is polluted with this American mobster mythology.
Well, you'll just have to convince the jury that they're not watchin' a movie.
Sonny came by my yard and paid me 10 grand cash.
He told me Mitchell ate at Raimondo's every Tuesday night like clockwork.
So I started hangin' at the bar every week...
to get a bead on the guy,
then maybe follow him out and do the deed.
What deed, Mr. Rogis? Kill him.
What happened on the night in question?
I was knockin' back a few at the bar.
The singing starts, and this lady gets up.
Before you know it, Johnny and Bumpy are havin' words, and Bumpy comes out blasting.
Bumpy? You're talking about Carmine Bustale?
Yeah. He puts two in Johnny Carolo.
And then? Everybody hits the deck.
Yellin' and screamin', guys scramblin' around.
So, I figure, this is perfect. I pull my piece, put one in Mitchell,
drop it on the floor and disappear out the door.
You admit you murdered Thomas Mitchell? Sonny King paid me to.
I didn't plan on doin' it in Raimondo's, you understand.
And if I dishonored Raimondo's in anyway,
I'm sorry and I apologize.
I just had the perfect opportunity. I mean, how often does that happen?
You dropped your weapon. Why?
You know who hangs out there... cops.
The place is crawlin' with 'em.
Some police honcho walking up to the door with his date hears shots,
he's stoppin' anybody comin' out.
So you ditched your gun.
I made sure my prints weren't on it or anything.
Isn't it a fact you have three violent-felony convictions?
It's a fact.
Murder in '83.
You did six years before your conviction was overturned on appeal on a technicality.
- That's right. - You stabbed a news vendor 14 times with a screwdriver.
He owed money. Two assault convictions.
- One in '91, the next one in '97. - Whatever's on the paper.
And now that you're facing a life sentence,
you cut a deal with the prosecution to blame this murder...
your murder... on Sonny King.
Ham it up all you want, counselor.
Sonny told me this guy screwed him, and he was gonna pay for it.
That's a nice touch, Mr. Rogis. Mr. McCoy teach you that?
Nothing further.
I never seen this Rogis in my life.
I don't know where he works. I don't know where he lives.
This salvage yard where I supposedly gave him 10 grand...
I don't know what he's talkin' about.
Did you pay Denny Rogis to kill Thomas Mitchell?
Guy's a liar. Hey, you heard him yourself.
He's tryin' to save his own skin by cuttin' a deal.
Is that a no? Yeah, it's a no.
I'm just a scapegoat for what really goes on over there, okay?
Chief of d's buyin' drinks for wise guys. Huh?
Disappearing murder weapons, hit men gettin' carte blanche.
Now they got this tape, okay, so they wanna put it all on me.
What about that tape, Sonny?
Did you in fact have a dispute with Thomas Mitchell over money?
Of course I did, but, come on, a million bucks?
See, that's just me tryin' to get over on Tommy.
Look, you gotta understand, okay? We would talk to each other like that.
Where I come from, you would talk big.
You know, you would ask for a loaf of bread,
and, sometimes... if you were lucky...
you get a slice.
So you're saying this was all a negotiation, Mr. King?
Yes, that's right. It's a negotiation.
- Which included you threatening Mr. Mitchell's life? - No. I did not threaten him.
You didn't hound him in his office, harass him at the airport...
and confront him on a weekly basis at Raimondo's?
I'm not sayin' I didn't ask Tommy for my fair share,
but that Rogis killed him, not me.
Because you paid him to.
Arthur Baldo testified that you gave him $2,000 to introduce you to Mr. Rogis.
I never met Arthur Baldo neither. I don't know why he would say that.
It just a coincidence that you borrowed $12, 000 from Pete Squiri.
Two for Baldo and 10 for Rogis.
I borrowed that money from Pete to go to the track.
This is quite a conspiracy against you, Mr. King.
Yeah. They hated me... all those guys over there at Raimondo's.
First for the book, then for the movie. They hated Tommy too.
How do you think it's going?
I think we took the shine off the “Mitchell had it coming" defense.
But? Something King said on the stand.
The guys at Raimondo's, they all hated him and Mitchell.
And you heard Rogis. He was more worried about Raimondo's...
than he was about spending the rest of his life in prison.
Where are you going with this?
Mitchell and King both profited from their portrayals of Raimondo's.
And both the book and the movie were less than flattering.
I've only been looking in one direction...
for connections between Baldo and Rogis and King.
Baldo's phone records.
One week before the shootings, Baldo called Raimondo's.
According to Baldo's own testimony, that would have been the same day...
that he sent Sonny King to meet Rogis.
To arrange Mitchell's murder.
Well, maybe he wanted to make a reservation to celebrate.
Let's find out.
You've been less than forthcoming with us, Mr. Baldo. Not me.
You told us you sent Sonny King to see Rogis.
I did, but I didn't know what was up or who was gonna get whacked.
If you did, you can kiss your immunity good-bye.
Who else was involved in Mitchell's murder?
It's time for complete candor, Mr. Baldo.
I sent King to Rogis. That's on the square.
But King didn't want Rogis to kill Mitchell.
Then what did he hire him to do? Put a scare in him...
follow him outside of Raimondo's one night and stick a gun in his mouth.
- Scare him into paying the million dollars. - It probably would've worked too. I know I would've coughed it up.
What went wrong? For starters?
Rogis wasn't supposed to do nothin' inside Raimondo's.
He got excited when Bumpy started firin'.
I thought King hired Rogis to scare Mitchell, not to shoot him.
He did.
But somebody else paid him to put real bullets in that gun.
After we finish here, we're goin' downtown to listen to some F.B.I. tapes.
Special Agent Garibaldi says they're highly entertaining.
Knock yourself out. There's nothin' on 'em.
Yeah? Your wife know about your girlfriend?
Didn't the unis check the car?
Yeah, they got nothin'. I'm thinkin' it's trapped. What about the passenger-side air bag?
That's what I'm thinkin', but I can't figure out the latch.
Try the heater.
Nothin'. I tried the radio too. Nothin'. Try 'em both at once.
Could this be that strange rattle you were wonderin' about?
Let me give you the lay of the land, Mr. Raimondo.
The gun recovered from your car...
is the weapon Rogis used to shoot Mitchell.
After the shooting, he dropped the weapon,
and you retrieved it.
Why would I do that? For insurance... to hold over Rogis...
or to use to frame Sonny King.
We have phone records and taps of calls between you and Arthur Baldo,
and Baldo will testify that you paid him $25,000 to hire Rogis to kill Mitchell.
You wanted to teach Mitchell and King a lesson.
They didn't belong in your world.
Rogis didn't know the $25,000 came from you.
If he got jammed up, he'd give up King, leave you out of it.
- Is there an offer in there somewhere, Mr. McCoy? - Same as Mr. Rogis... murder two.
Sonny and Tommy disrespected me three times.
- The book, the movie... - And ordering a hit and planning it in my place.
That was the third straw broke the camel's back.
Guys like Mitchell and King,
they think it's chic.
They think we're amusing.
Screw them.
So, what happens to King? You cut him loose?
He paid someone to shake down Mitchell
He's guilty of attempted robbery.
Good.
Maybe I'll see him around the yard.
So, I suppose Sonny King will have plenty of time to work on his next book.
A few years in prison should provide him...
with many interesting real-life experiences.