Law & Order 1x20

1. by two separate yet equally important groups:

2. the police, who investigate crime

3. and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.

4. These are their stories.

5. Well...

6. Well, what? They're late.

7. When you deal with Feds, you know it's gonna get screwed up.

8. Hey, Roberts, what's your guy in for?

9. gun running... Drug smuggling,

10. He's Lebanese.

11. He brings the drugs in, he takes the guns out.

12. Sometimes it's the other way around.

13. He's an entrepreneur.

14. Great.

15. How do you know he's going to sing?

16. We got six months of footwork hanging on his testimony.

17. We got the D.E.A. to go to bat with the U.S. Attorney.

18. He can't wait to play canary.

19. Mine's innocent.

20. Yeah. Right.

21. Yeah. Mr. O'Connell says he's a political prisoner

22. unfairly held without trial.

23. Ours claims he's persecuted because he's Cuban.

24. The mick says it's because he's Irish

25. and belongs to the I.R.A.

26. They should send them back where they come from.

27. What about I-talians, Damato?

28. I-talians is different.

29. Gentlemen.

30. Oh, after you, Max.

31. Hey, Roberts...

32. Looks like your entrepreneur just went into Chapter 11.

33. What the hell happened here?

34. Captioning sponsored by NBC/UNIVERSAL

35. from the side.

36. Get a wide shot of the three of them.

37. Smile, fellas.

38. Who's in charge?

39. I'm senior. Detective Sergeant Max Greevey.

40. Special Agent Axelrod. What the hell happened?

41. Three guys shackled together.

42. One of them's dead.

43. Houdini routine.

44. The two other guys never saw a thing.

45. Just what I freaking needed today.

46. Let's get you Sherlock Holmeses down to the Federal building.

47. Whoa!

48. Why's that?

49. Why's that?

50. Because a Federal prisoner is dead, that's why.

51. And that makes it our case.

52. Doesn't play that way.

53. They signed all three of them over to us

54. at the Federal Detention Center.

55. Our prisoners, our case.

56. Show him the paperwork.

57. Worthless bag of crap!

58. Six months I put in on this case! Six months!

59. Look, gentlemen, all we want to know

60. is who's responsible.

61. I'd say it's either Montez or O'Connell.

62. I'll find out.

63. Give me ten minutes alone with these jerks.

64. I'll pound it out of them.

65. Hey! Roberts, thanks anyway.

66. We'll beat our own prisoners.

67. What I meant was whose jurisdiction are we in?

68. N.Y.P.D.'S.

69. Fine.

70. You get the stiff.

71. They're back in Federal custody as of now.

72. Wait a second.

73. I got signed paperwork.

74. I need O'Connell.

75. I got six Westies upstairs on trial.

76. O'Connell's IRA.

77. Why do you need him for a case against the Westies?

78. What difference does it make?

79. He's been subpoenaed.

80. Gentlemen, gentlemen, I think we need to prioritize.

81. Prioritize, my ass!

82. I'm senior on the scene.

83. It's my homicide.

84. I got a witness to interview.

85. I have an investigation to start.

86. This is ridiculous. You do what you want.

87. I'm taking these Federal prisoners

88. back to the Federal Detention Center now!

89. You just let the feebs waltz off with two homicide suspects?

90. What, you think wee should have had a shoot-out over them?

91. The F.B.I. has no right

92. to interfere with a homicide investigation!

93. They are Federal prisoners, Captain.

94. Signed over to us.

95. They had no jurisdiction.

96. You have any idea

97. what this investigation is gonna be like now?

98. What's the problem?

99. They're gonna want to close this.

100. What's the problem?

101. He's never worked a case

102. with the "G" before?

103. They don't cooperate.

104. They think they're God almighty.

105. A case with Federal prisoners involved?

106. Every time you even want to see one of them

107. you got to see the superintendent to the facility,

108. genuflect going in, coming out of his office.

109. I want this thing wrapped up fast, like yesterday.

110. What gives, Montez?

111. You spoke English just fine last week.

112. No comprende.

113. Yo sabe que muerto...

114. uh, que muerto Mustafa?

115. Tu?

116. No, yo sabe o yo muerto?

117. Tu sabes o tu muertes?

118. Where's the damn interpreter?

119. I think yo means "I."

120. You're saying, "I killed Mustafa."

121. Then you do it.

122. No, tu.

123. Having trouble?

124. He's in culture shock.

125. Y como esta?

126. No es mi culpa.

127. He says he's not guilty.

128. Of course. Tell him we believe him.

129. Mi abogado.

130. Porque no esta escuchando.

131. Besame todo el cuerpo.

132. Well..?

133. You don't want to know

134. but basically he's not talking until his lawyer gets here.

135. Let's try the mick.

136. Sure, we had a couple of Logans down dingle way.

137. One had the pub, the other the funeral parlor.

138. That about covers it.

139. O'CONNELL: Staunch Republicans, the Logans—

140. they fought for the Republic of Ireland.

141. Not like your Republicans in America.

142. About the dead Arab..?

143. There's some Greeveys in County Mayo.

144. Where's your family from, Sergeant?

145. Hell's Kitchen.

146. Ah.

147. Well, at least your partner knows his history.

148. See if you can cover some recent history, okay, Mike?

149. No?

150. That's what I said, Sergeant.

151. I gave you permission

152. to interview Montez and O'Connell,

153. not the other prisoners.

154. Let me get this straight.

155. You're telling me to investigate a homicide

156. without interviewing witnesses?

157. There were only two witnesses, Montez and O'Connell.

158. Character witnesses then—

159. guys who might have heard something.

160. What is this? What is this?

161. This is non-cooperation, Sergeant.

162. What the hell is going on?

163. It's a political hand grenade.

164. What do you know about extradition law?

165. Takes a lot of paperwork.

166. And a lot of loopholes.

167. O'Connell entered the country in '85.

168. Legally?

169. No, he walked in from Canada.

170. The British issued a warrant for terrorism.

171. So the F.B.I. pops him, the bring him here.

172. So why don't you put him on a plane.

173. He found the right judge.

174. Ruled that whatever he had done was not common crime

175. but was related to the I.R.A.'S political goal

176. of a unified Ireland.

177. A Federal judge said this?

178. Oh, it gets worse.

179. I.N.S. goes to immigration court

180. immigration judge orders him deported.

181. But he's still here.

182. Because the minute the deportation order comes down

183. he applies for political asylum.

184. So if he did kill Mustafa..?

185. Off the record?

186. If we have to bring him to trial

187. or if we need him as a witness against Montez

188. then he has to stay here.

189. Nobody wants that.

190. Maybe nobody with a federal paycheck wants that,

191. but me, I'm just a cop after a killer.

192. All I'm saying is, is that obviously

193. it's not that cut-and-dried.

194. You got a Federal judge who says it's political.

195. You telling me that you buy

196. that Blarney Stone crap he's been spewing?

197. You know, it's weird.

198. Two of our grandparents come from the same town.

199. We both got uncles as priests.

200. You're both Libras.

201. That's destiny for you.

202. What's the matter with you?

203. Nothing, I've just never seen you

204. get so chummy with a perp before.

205. Perp? Come on, Max.

206. What do you want, ten to one? 20?

207. You that sure Montez did it, huh?

208. O'Connell never killed anybody.

209. No? No.

210. Then why is he being held in a Federal facility

211. as a terrorist?

212. Accused terrorist. It's political.

213. He's never even been charged.

214. What are you talking about, Mike?

215. He's been in the can for five years!

216. That's right.

217. Held without charge, without trial, without bail.

218. Makes you think, doesn't it?

219. Think what? He's a bomb thrower.

220. He deserves it.

221. You know how I'd feel if that were true.

222. O'Connell's never thrown a bomb in his life.

223. The man's a thinker, he's an organizer, he's a patriot.

224. For the love of God, where did you get all this?

225. From my uncle, the priest

226. but then he's always been full of that Blarney Stone crap, too.

227. I don't give a damn about the Fed's image problem.

228. I want one of those two birds in here

229. with or without translator, but with legal counsel.

230. I want him to fink out the other guy.

231. It's the Cuban.

232. What is?

233. He's already put Montez away.

234. Irish intuition.

235. Why don't you just get his sheet instead?

236. Hey, ten bucks says it ties him to Mustafa.

237. take your intuition Maybe you could also

238. over to the deceased's place of business,

239. you know, check out the vibe,

240. if that's not too much trouble.

241. Mrs. Mustafa?

242. We're sorry about your husband.

243. Why? What has happened?

244. You haven't been notified?

245. About what?

246. Ah, geez...

247. Achmed's dead, Mrs. Mustafa.

248. We're sorry.

249. Ma'am...

250. Pay up.

251. What's that, a signed confession?

252. Montez, Savino Joaquin.

253. Born in Cuba, blah, blah, blah.

254. Convictions?

255. Twice— murder two, both by strangulation.

256. Let me guess—

257. coroner's report on Mr. Mustafa?

258. Crushed larynx, broken windpipe

259. strangulation.

260. Montez? Five, no make that six possessions of heroin.

261. Twice with intent to sell. That's in the free world.

262. God knows what pranks he pulled in Cuba.

263. Mustafa was a heroin dealer.

264. We establish a relationship in Leavenworth

265. we got motive.

266. You straighten out the Feds yet

267. about interviewing other prisoners?

268. No.

269. We'd like to clean it up ASAP, Captain.

270. You know, the way you wanted it.

271. We want to move on Montez.

272. That won't be necessary, gentlemen.

273. What?

274. What's he talking about?

275. According to him, there is no homicide case.

276. Oh?

277. And why is that?

278. Mustafa's not dead.

279. Don't laugh.

280. The "G" has Elvis

281. at Terminal Island in California.

282. Oh, a miracle.

283. See, once I saw the coroner wrote

284. "crushed larynx, D.O.A., dead as a doornail"

285. I was convinced.

286. Well, nevertheless, he's still alive

287. as far as everyone on his rolodex knows.

288. Why the hell is that important?

289. Because I said it is, Sergeant.

290. National Security.

291. Mustafa had his greasy fingers in a lot of pies.

292. He was helping us.

293. If certain people find out he's dead,

294. we're back to square one.

295. Don't worry. You're already there.

296. We told his wife he was with Allah yesterday.

297. Cops.

298. Unless you got some other fairy tales you want to tell us

299. we're going to see Montez

300. because he's convinced Mustafa's dead.

301. I don't believe it.

302. God almighty, wasn't anybody watching them?

303. You can't watch anyone 24 hours a day.

304. Son of a bitch.

305. It looks like Montez checked out

306. but you never know anymore.

307. What the hell is that supposed to mean?

308. Nothing.

309. No, really, what was that crack?

310. No, it's just that you Feds

311. can bring guys back from the dead— it's amazing.

312. So, uh, I guess we'll call it an accidental hanging.

313. I guess we'll call it what the coroner does

314. when he gets here.

315. Why don't you stick around

316. in case this stiff comes back to life, too.

317. I still have a homicide to investigate

318. and I expect you to start cooperating.

319. Like I told you before, Sergeant,

320. you're free to interrogate O'Connell to your heart's content,

321. but the other inmates are still off limits.

322. Two prisoners under your jurisdiction

323. are no longer with us.

324. One, Mustafa, as you're so fond of reminding me—

325. he was murdered on your turf.

326. Look.

327. We've each got a job to do. It's nothing personal.

328. I'm telling you, you're dancing very close

329. to obstruction of justice.

330. You don't loosen up, I got no choice.

331. I go straight to the D.A.

332. Look at that groove on his neck.

333. Ligature marks.

334. From a bed sheet?

335. Not in my lifetime.

336. I'd say rope, since there were fibers embedded in his neck.

337. So Montez was strangled

338. then hung up with a bed sheet.

339. Wouldn't jump to any conclusions before the autop.

340. Did you authorize the guards to cut the body down?

341. He was laid out by the time we got here.

342. Mucked up a perfectly nice crime scene.

343. Don't they teach these people procedure?

344. There's always some new guy who hasn't read the rule book.

345. We know he didn't do a Dutch act

346. so why is he dead?

347. Payback from Mustafa's posse?

348. Or somebody wanted to shut him up.

349. The Feds fake a suicide?

350. Shelby look like the type to host necktie parties to you?

351. How about your buddy, O'Connell?

352. What about him?

353. The guy's a political theorist.

354. This is nickel-and-dimes, junkies and pushers.

355. Come off it, Mike.

356. You forget why O'Connell was going to court?

357. I grew up with the Westies.

358. Nice, polite altar boys.

359. They make the sign of the cross when they slit your throat.

360. Oh, come on.

361. O'Connell's gonna have you believing

362. there are no snakes in Ireland.

363. There aren't any.

364. Touche.

365. Okay, first we check the Arab angle, then we do the mick.

366. "Moved to Beirut."

367. Gee, some people get all the breaks.

368. Let's check the garbage.

369. Yeah.

370. Oh! Oh!

371. God! How could anyone eat something

372. that could even get to smell like that?

373. Bingo.

374. Looks like a break-dancing chicken wrote this.

375. Thank you, professor.

376. We'll send them right over.

377. It didn't used to be this hard, Mike.

378. It used to be a lot simpler...

379. In the old days.

380. In the old days.

381. Hey, Max.

382. They're having a fund-raiser for O'Connell tonight.

383. Let's check it out.

384. Where?

385. McBride's.

386. McBride's.

387. That's the bad the F.B.I. popped O'Connell in in '85.

388. Excuse me.

389. Watch your back...

390. and watch your hands.

391. Excuse me.

392. Oh.

393. Something stronger this time?

394. Just another soda.

395. Haven't seen you boys before.

396. Just came by to see what all

397. the O'Connell excitement was about.

398. I'm Sheila.

399. Mike Logan. I'm Max Greevey.

400. Greevey. Would you be the County Mayo Greeveys

401. by any chance?

402. I'm afraid not.

403. My mother's half Irish, though.

404. At least you won't be hitting on me with the Derry can.

405. A Derry can?

406. Londonderry relief, for all the widows and orphans

407. of Catholics taken away by the British.

408. Oh, for the love of Mike.

409. Hear, hear.

410. Here's to you, Pat.

411. MAN #2: God bless you, boy-o.

412. You've made us all proud.

413. Who's the birthday boy? Looks familiar.

414. I like cops, but only when they're off-duty.

415. Was it that obvious?

416. Anybody offering you any undercover assignments?

417. Uh, look...

418. I'm sorry.

419. We didn't mean to upset you.

420. My husband was a cop.

421. In Belfast.

422. Oh?

423. Somebody shot him one night

424. after an I.R.A. man had been shot

425. or maybe it was a British soldier.

426. It was just one of those nights, and somebody had to die.

427. It's all so bloody stupid.

428. I'm sorry.

429. Are you going after them?

430. I don't know. Maybe.

431. Right now we're just wondering

432. about this guy, O'Connell.

433. You don't know?

434. The I.R.A. is everywhere.

435. It's in the prisons, on the streets.

436. Maybe even in your own precinct.

437. The Provos, the Sinn Fein—

438. they're all the same.

439. Bloody thugs.

440. The birthday boy.

441. McCarter.

442. He's a prison guard.

443. A lot of talk about "bricks" being moved out of Lebanon.

444. So what? We already know he was into drug smuggling.

445. One of the faxes talks about a shipment of clay

446. from Libya to the Netherlands.

447. Libya is a desert.

448. You don't find a lot of clay in the desert.

449. Plastic explosives?

450. Last month, the Dutch police arrested three I.R.A. guys

451. in a safe house in Amsterdam.

452. They found 100 pounds of plastic explosives

453. in the basement.

454. I got one for you, too. The birthday boy?

455. The one the waitress said was a prison guard?

456. McCarter.

457. Patrick A. McCarter.

458. He's a Federal prison guard, and guess what.

459. The report on Montez says he was the first one at the scene.

460. He's the one that cut Montez down.

461. That's enough for me.

462. McCarter.

463. Patrick McCarter, you're under arrest

464. for the murder of Savino Montez.

465. You have the right to remain silent and refuse

466. to answer questions, do you understand?

467. Anything you do say may be used against you

468. in a court of law, do you understand?

469. You have the right to an attorney.

470. If you can't afford one,

471. one will be appointed to you by the court...

472. Well, the kid might have ties to the I.R.A.

473. but he's a brick wall.

474. He won't talk to us.

475. won't let him talk. More like Mallahan

476. Daniel Mallahan?

477. Boy's got a pretty expensive mouthpiece.

478. Big surprise—

479. friends of Sinn Fein are footing the bill.

480. He's bought and paid for.

481. Friends of Sinn Fein.

482. That's as subtle as a Mickey Finn.

483. We're in court against the I.R.A.

484. If by some miracle we do turn McCarter, are you sure

485. that he can implicate O'Connell in Mustafa's murder?

486. Montez was the only witness.

487. O'Connell had a compelling motive

488. to have him shut up.

489. All right, we'll twist McCarter.

490. Thanks, Max.

491. We may have bitten off more than we can chew.

492. Mallahan knows the case is thin.

493. Look on the bright side.

494. What bright side?

495. We're not in Boston.

496. McCarter was fired from the department of sanitation

497. for petty larceny— no charges filed.

498. Makes for an ideal candidate

499. for a job in a Federal detention center.

500. He had help getting hired.

501. Letter of recommendation from Liam Kildare.

502. Commissioner Shannon's assistant?

503. Our Mr. McCarter's plugged in.

504. Mr. McCarter, who got you your job

505. in the bureau of prisons?

506. That information is not within your purview.

507. Was it your I.R.A. friends? Who recruited you?

508. My friend's allegiances are not at issue.

509. His membership in a terrorist organization is.

510. I'm no terrorist. I'm a soldier.

511. What he means is, he is a man of conscience.

512. What he means is he is the misguided romantic dupe

513. of those who consider him completely expendable.

514. This interview is over.

515. Sit down, sir.

516. I'm not finished.

517. You were just a common thief, Patrick.

518. Now you're looking at murder.

519. Counselor, if you have any relevant questions...

520. You're way beyond the protection of those who got you into this.

521. You talk to us, we'll offer you a plea bargain.

522. My client is not looking for a deal.

523. You don't have a lot of room to dance, Patrick,

524. no matter what your lawyer told you.

525. You're 22 years old.

526. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life in prison?

527. He is not interested.

528. Mr. Mallahan, I'd like a word with you.

529. If you want this kid crucified,

530. you're making all the right moves.

531. Are you questioning my professional judgment?

532. That depends on who your client is.

533. Patrick, McCarter, regardless of who pays my fee.

534. That better be true, or I'll drag you before

535. the disciplinary committee of the bar association.

536. And tell them what?

537. That I'm making you work for your paycheck?

538. Now, listen to me, Counselor.

539. You're not going to run-and-gun some cheap plea

540. down my client's throat.

541. Your client is facing a murder rap.

542. The rope we found in his car matches the marks on Montez's neck.

543. And the same kind of rope you find in the prison machine shop.

544. It's all circumstantial.

545. It's not circumstantial when you have a fiber match

546. and a hair from Montez on the rope in McCarter's car.

547. Well, I guess we'll have to wait and see what a jury says.

548. You and I both know that he was the only guard

549. on the floor for 45 minutes.

550. That's enough to bury him, and bury him I will,

551. along with you and your Sinn Fein money.

552. When I present your conduct in this case before the bar

553. and your clear-cut conflict of interest,

554. you'll be lucky to have a license.

555. You, uh...

556. you want to present some options to my client?

557. Go ahead.

558. You won't get any argument from me.

559. McCarter says he killed Montez on orders from O'Connell.

560. Orders?

561. Yeah, O'Connell is his I.R.A. superior

562. on the chain of command.

563. And McCarter thinks of himself as a soldier...

564. a loyal member of a long-standing army

565. that has been under arms in one form or another since

566. the Battle of the Boyne, and that was about 300 years ago.

567. You researched this?

568. No, it was spoon-fed to me.

569. My grandmother was Irish.

570. Fahey.

571. She thought it was a holy war.

572. Michael Collins, Robert Emmett.

573. She'd recite those names like they were saints in heaven.

574. I suppose in their time they were,

575. but the likes of McCarter and O'Connell are thugs—

576. they're Nazis with brogues.

577. You're worried that by putting O'Connell on trial

578. might give him legitimacy, turn him into a martyr.

579. To a fanatic, a trial's just an opportunity to win converts.

580. How solid is this case?

581. McCarter says that he'll testify

582. that O'Connell admitted strangling Mustafa,

583. but that's my problem

584. because it all depends on the kid's testimony

585. and I'm afraid he'd go in the tank on me.

586. O'Connell threatened to have him tooled if he talked.

587. Have him what? It's the newest weapon in the I.R.A. arsenal.

588. They kneecap a man with a power drill, he never walks again.

589. We can protect him.

590. He ever give you any indication of why O'Connell killed Mustafa?

591. No, and that's another place we're vulnerable— motive.

592. O'Connell and Mustafa

593. they moved in a very shadowy world.

594. The faxes that Greevey and Logan found at Mustafa's,

595. they make a connection, but it's nothing I could prove.

596. Might know someone who can.

597. Jennie, get me the British consulate.

598. Adams said you needed some information

599. on this Mustafa fellow?

600. We're looking for links to O'Connell.

601. As you know, your F.B.I. has worked up a whole dossier

602. on I.R.A. dealings with the Lebanese.

603. More to the point, with Achmed Mustafa.

604. No, sir, we didn't know. Oh?

605. The counter-terrorist division's

606. had him under surveillance for some time.

607. Mustafa was a conduit for weapons to the I.R.A.

608. What kind of weapons?

609. You name it. He's even suspected of

610. supplying them with surface-to-air missiles

611. of the same type that shot down

612. one of our helicopters a short while ago.

613. The Syrians are involved, along the way.

614. But your F.B.I. will have all that.

615. Paul, find out who the head of

616. the anti-terrorist division in New York is.

617. Oh, that's a chap named Axelrod.

618. Syrians, I.R.A., Lebanese...

619. Red Army, Baader-Meinhof, Libyans...

620. you poke a lamp under the sheets

621. and you'll find strange bedfellows

622. doing some very nasty things together.

623. Talk about a guy with his own agenda.

624. Because Washington wants O'Connell off page one.

625. He's become a political tumor.

626. The man's a suspect in a homicide.

627. He did a Lebanese drug dealer.

628. An inch and a half on page eight.

629. What, not enough sound bite appeal?

630. Mr. Robinette, there are 43 million Irish-Americans

631. in this country,

632. some of whom wield enormous political weight.

633. So we ignore murder to save ourselves

634. the international embarrassment of holding a terrorist

635. without charges?

636. Look, come next week,

637. he's probably going to be granted political asylum.

638. And then he's going to be old news.

639. You put him on trial, and you give him a pulpit.

640. It's a whole new concept— crime without punishment.

641. What's the matter with you guys in the D.A.'s office?

642. Got no peripheral vision? Can't you see the big picture?

643. We're just not blinded by it.

644. Five years of unjust imprisonment

645. wiped clean in under ten minutes.

646. Is that an indication that a civil suit may be pending?

647. No, there will be no more legal beagling.

648. I've been given asylum in a country

649. that truly is the cradle of liberty.

650. I just want to get on with my life.

651. The British have petitioned for your extradition back to England to face charges.

652. Anything you'd like to say to the House of Commons?

653. Kiss me rosie Irish bum, gentlemen.

654. No bitterness toward Capitol Hill for being held for five years

655. without any charges being brought?

656. If there's bitterness, I can't find it.

657. All I can feel is a sense of gratitude.

658. The American justice system may be slow,

659. but at least it's accurate.

660. This should move it from page eight to page one.

661. I'm looking forward to staying here in New York for awhile

662. What about? Just talk over here.

663. Excuse me, sir, who are you?

664. You're under arrest for the murder of Achmed Mustafa.

665. You have the right to remain silent and refuse

666. to answer questions. Do you understand?

667. Anything you do say may be used against you...

668. And so, ladies and gentlemen,

669. what is on trial here

670. is the Constitution of the United States of America.

671. Mr. O'Connell has been held

672. in the penal system of the United States

673. for five long years, ladies and gentlemen,

674. without ever once having a charge

675. brought against him until now—

676. until the very day of his first taste of freedom.

677. And why?

678. Because the British government is afraid...

679. afraid to have the truth come out,

680. because, ladies and gentlemen,

681. the life of a Lebanese heroin pusher

682. is apparently more important

683. than the freedom of an Irish patriot.

684. I will not tolerate this.

685. One more outburst, and I'll clear this court.

686. Are you at the end of your blather, Mr. Reilly?

687. Yes, yes, Your Honor. I am.

688. Good.

689. Mr. Stone?

690. The people call Patrick McCarter, Your Honor.

691. Raise your right hand, please.

692. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth,

693. so help you God? I do.

694. Please be seated.

695. Please tell the court your name.

696. Patrick Aloysius McCarter.

697. And you are a resident of...

698. New York City.

699. And your occupation?

700. I'm a prison guard.

701. At the Federal Detention Center in lower Manhattan, is that correct?

702. Yes.

703. Mr. McCarter, did you kill a federal prisoner

704. named Savino Montez?

705. Yes.

706. Why?

707. I was ordered to.

708. By whom?

709. Answer the question, Mr. McCarter.

710. The organization.

711. They told me to shut the Cuban's gob

712. before he talked about O'Connell killing the Arab.

713. Which organization?

714. The provisional wing of the Irish Republican Army.

715. Now, did Mr. O'Connell have knowledge of these orders?

716. Objection, Your Honor.

717. Hearsay.

718. Your Honor, I believe the witness had direct contact

719. with the accused.

720. Objection overruled.

721. Answer the question, Mr. McCarter.

722. Yes, yes, he did.

723. He told me I was performing an act of patriotism.

724. And did Mr. O'Connell personally tell you

725. that he had killed Achmed Mustafa?

726. Yes, sir, he most certainly did.

727. He said that he had executed an enemy of the Irish people.

728. No further questions, Your Honor.

729. I have very few questions to ask of this quisling.

730. Objection, Your Honor. Characterization.

731. Sustained.

732. Mr. McCarter, you admit to the murder

733. of one Savino Montez in cold blood.

734. Is that correct?

735. Yes.

736. You've been allowed to enter a plea of guilty

737. to second-degree manslaughter

738. for that heinous crime

739. in exchange for your uncorroborated testimony

740. against the defendant. Is that not true, yes or no?

741. Yes, sir.

742. I have no further questions.

743. Mr. Axelrod's testimony goes to the very heart

744. of O'Connell's motive for killing Mustafa.

745. Mr. Stone doesn't get it.

746. You put me on the stand, O'Connell's lawyers

747. will cross-examine my whole operation into the ground.

748. The people's interest can be served

749. without jeopardizing legitimate areas of national security.

750. That's cold comfort, Mr. Stone.

751. I've got breathing assets to protect.

752. And I've got a murder to prosecute.

753. The murder of an A-rab dope peddler,

754. for God's sake! An A-rab dope peddler?

755. You went to a lot of trouble to protect Mustafa.

756. Now you're gonna let his executioner walk,

757. all because of political expediency?

758. I don't know how that sits with you, but me, that's immoral.

759. Oh, spare me that sanctimonious bull, Counselor!

760. I live in the real world.

761. So do I, sir.

762. I know my way around politics.

763. Mr. Axelrod, lay out for me

764. how this connection between the I.R.A. and Mustafa worked.

765. The Lebanese grow opium in the Bakaa Valley.

766. They sell it to the Syrians, who refine it into heroin

767. and sell it on the open market.

768. The Syrians use those profits to fund a variety

769. of terrorist groups, that's including the I.R.A.

770. As long as Mr. Stone confines his questions

771. to the specifics of the I.R.A. connection,

772. I can't see how national security

773. is compromised.

774. In other words, Mr. Axelrod,

775. the I.R.A. buys weapons with Syrian drug money?

776. That's right.

777. And how does Mr. Achmed Mustafa fit into the scheme of things?

778. He was a cutout.

779. A cutout?

780. A middleman.

781. The Syrians used him to sell drugs.

782. The I.R.A. used him to buy weapons.

783. Two months ago, Mustafa screwed the I.R.A.

784. on a major deal—

785. he shortchanged them to the tune of about $800,000.

786. And?

787. The I.R.A. high command put out a hit on Mustafa.

788. Looks like somebody carried out the orders.

789. Objection, Your Honor.

790. Supposition.

791. Sustained.

792. No further questions, Your Honor.

793. Fascinating, Agent Axelrod,

794. absolutely fascinating.

795. Now would you mind telling this court

796. exactly what that has to do with Mr. O'Connell

797. who, as we all know, was held without trial,

798. without ever once being charged with a crime

799. for five long years?

800. The defendant is a member

801. of the Irish Republican Army.

802. And the last time I looked, that was not a crime

803. under federal or New York State law.

804. Can you cite any criminal statute

805. that Mr. O'Connell has violated by his membership in the I.R.A.?

806. Objection, Your Honor. Draws a conclusion of law.

807. Sustained.

808. No further questions, Your Honor.

809. My membership in the Sinn Fein is a matter of public record.

810. It is the legal, political wing of the I.R.A.

811. The non-violent wing, is that right?

812. That's right.

813. We're not a bunch of killers,

814. despite what the British press says.

815. Have you had any personal dealings

816. with the late Mr. Mustafa?

817. No, I have not.

818. Any business?

819. None, and for the record, I might say

820. I abhor the drug dealing that the man was engaged in—

821. I consider it anti-Christian and anti-life.

822. Yet we've heard testimony here linking the I.R.A.

823. to Syrian drug money and Mr. Mustafa.

824. I don't know anything about it.

825. I have nothing to do with the Provos.

826. Ah, the Provos. That would be

827. the provisional or military wing of the I.R.A.?

828. Yes. They conduct their business in their own way.

829. I don't condone it, but I understand it.

830. As I've said, we're in a war.

831. Sometimes, one has to make pacts with the devil.

832. And in this war

833. you yourself have never personally engaged

834. in any violent act.

835. Is that correct?

836. That's so.

837. I've never even thrown a punch.

838. Thank you very much, Mr. O'Connell.

839. No further questions, Your Honor.

840. I must say, to a civilian, it looks rather like

841. you're getting your ears boxed by Mr. Reilly.

842. I didn't see you in court.

843. One learns to be invisible when one wishes,

844. and deprecating.

845. About what?

846. The value of one's own advice.

847. Go ahead, Mr. Fenwick. Well, correct me if I'm wrong,

848. but under your rules of cross-examination

849. aren't you allowed to pounce

850. on something offered as fact under direct examination?

851. Such as?

852. Such as a witness's assertion

853. that he's never committed a violent act. Why? What have you got?

854. Mr. O'Connell belongs in jail— your jail, our jail, it doesn't matter which.

855. As long as he's behind bars. He must also be exposed

856. for what he really is— a bloodthirsty terrorist.

857. I don't need a speech, Mr. Fenwick.

858. Have you got something I can use?

859. We have a way for you

860. to discredit O'Connell's contention

861. that he's nonviolent.

862. A way? What is that supposed to mean?

863. We could supply a sworn affidavit.

864. You bastard. You have a witness, don't you?

865. As I said, we could supply an affidavit.

866. I'm fed up with this spook crap. If you have a witness

867. you put him on the Concorde and you get him in court

868. here tomorrow, or as God is my witness, I'll subpoena you.

869. She'll be here in the morning.

870. You consider yourself a Christian, Mr. O'Connell?

871. Most certainly.

872. Yet the credo of the Irish Republican Army

873. seems more along the lines of "an eye for an eye"

874. as versus "turn the other cheek."

875. Wouldn't you agree?

876. Is the I.R.A. on trial here?

877. That depends on you, sir.

878. I have declared my membership in the Sinn Fein.

879. Yes, you have.

880. And what does the political wing of the army think

881. when the other wing blows up a busload of school children?

882. Objection.

883. We're going far afield here.

884. This has relevance as to character, Your Honor.

885. Answer the question.

886. The organization has always given ample warning

887. before a device is activated,

888. but there's always the risk

889. of human error.

890. Human error.

891. You have testified under oath

892. that you have never committed a violent act.

893. Never in my life.

894. Never?

895. Never.

896. No more questions, Your Honor.

897. You may step down, Mr. O'Connell.

898. May I ask you a question, sir?

899. How, with the map of Donegal on your mug, did you ever end up

900. with a name like Stone?

901. Happenstance, sir.

902. Same way you ended up

903. with the name of a real Irish patriot.

904. You have any other questions, Mr. O'Connell?

905. You may step down, Mr. O'Connell.

906. Your Honor, the accused has stated

907. in both direct and cross-examination

908. that he has never committed a violent act...

909. that he is a man of conscience...

910. a prisoner because of politics.

911. In view of these statements

912. the state would like to call an additional witness.

913. Objection.

914. The prosecution has rested, Your Honor.

915. Of his own volition,

916. Mr. O'Connell has made statements

917. that call for rebuttal, sir.

918. Overruled.

919. Call your witness, Mr. Stone.

920. Thank you, Your Honor.

921. The people call Bridget McDiarmid.

922. Mrs. McDiarmid, are you married?

923. I was.

924. Do you have children?

925. I had two.

926. What happened to your husband

927. and your children?

928. That man murdered them.

929. Objection, Your Honor.

930. Absolutely irrelevant.

931. Rebutting the defendant's sworn testimony

932. is relevant as to character, Your Honor.

933. Overruled. Proceed, Mr. Stone.

934. Mrs. McDiarmid, describe in your own words

935. the events of May 6, 1981.

936. John...

937. my husband and I were on High Street, Kensington

938. on our way to the cinema with Sheila and Tommy.

939. Your children?

940. Yes.

941. We were passing a candy store.

942. I remember because the children wanted to stop.

943. My husband saw a man tying his shoe

944. kneeling on the pavement.

945. That man...

946. When he was done, he got up and hurried away

947. but he'd left his satchel on the curb

948. next to the police van.

949. Would you describe the satchel?

950. Come on, Your Honor...

951. Please continue, Mrs. McDiarmid.

952. It was, uh, it was black.

953. Leather.

954. With a grip

955. like any businessman's in the city.

956. Thank you.

957. Now tell us what happened next.

958. My husband called to the man.

959. You know...

960. "Oy, mate, you forgot your satchel."

961. And... then he...

962. he picked up the case and started after him and...

963. And...?

964. And he was blown to bits, and Sheila,

965. and Tommy, and half the street...

966. There was nothing but a shower of glass and blood.

967. Mrs. McDiarmid, the man with the satchel—

968. are you absolutely positive,

969. without a question of a doubt

970. that that man was Ian O'Connell, the defendant?

971. You hardly forget the face of the man

972. who slaughtered your entire family.

973. Take a good look.

974. There is your human error.

975. And Mr. O'Connell's sentence of 25 years to life

976. is a fitting conclusion to this case.

977. This prosecution shows the value and necessity

978. of inter-agency cooperation on a local, state, federal

979. and international level.

980. These men arrayed behind me

981. showed powerful, personal, professional bonds

982. to bring an international terrorist to justice.

983. Thank you very much.