1. In the criminal
justice system...Copy !req
2. the people are represented by two
separate yet equally important groups:Copy !req
3. the police who
investigate crime...Copy !req
4. and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.Copy !req
5. These are their stories.Copy !req
6. Soon as the city issues a
demolition permit, we jump in.Copy !req
7. We've been working
this site for nearly a week.Copy !req
8. We marked off the cleared areas.
We have to watch where we walk.Copy !req
9. This place is filled with
history. Yeah, reeks with it.Copy !req
10. What I want to know is why you
lifted the body out of the ground...Copy !req
11. before you called us?Copy !req
12. We find remains all the time. There
are old cemeteries all over the city.Copy !req
13. And this housekeeping around
the burial site, that's your work, too?Copy !req
14. We had to make sure nothing was
lost. This is an archaeological dig.Copy !req
15. Hey, this is a crime scene,
Mr. Peabody, and we don't appreciate...Copy !req
16. people putting little red
ribbons around our evidence.Copy !req
17. We had no way of knowing
these remains were contemporary.Copy !req
18. Let me guess. The
quartz watch gave it away?Copy !req
19. What's this? Animal,
vegetable or mineral?Copy !req
20. Toupee. Must
belong to the corpse.Copy !req
21. We got bits and
pieces of a sheet.Copy !req
22. The guy was probably gift-wrapped
before Indiana Jones here got to him.Copy !req
23. Corpse got a name?
How about Uncle Fester?Copy !req
24. There's no meat on the hands. I guess
the teeth are gonna have to tell, huh?Copy !req
25. Jaws are empty. Shattered
bones around the sockets.Copy !req
26. Teeth must've been
knocked out. Nice touch.Copy !req
27. What's left of a blue
blazer. Cashmere.Copy !req
28. Nothing like
going in style, huh?Copy !req
29. No labels. Gold buttons.
Hey, it looks like a gryphon.Copy !req
30. A what?Copy !req
31. There's one on my family crest.Copy !req
32. Seen enough? Yeah.Copy !req
33. Okay, let's pack up Mr. Bones
and bring him back to the office.Copy !req
34. Detective Thomas,
pick up line two.Copy !req
35. I found this slug from
a.22 in the brain cavity.Copy !req
36. I'll send it over to Forensics.
Where was the entry wound?Copy !req
37. Just above the
cervical vertebrae.Copy !req
38. Your basic back of the skull.Copy !req
39. Yeah, your basic mob hit.Copy !req
40. Male, medium build,
5'7". Probably stooped.Copy !req
41. Age?Copy !req
42. I have to soak the bone,
macerate some tissue.Copy !req
43. It'll take a couple of weeks.Copy !req
44. You got any idea how
long he was down there for?Copy !req
45. Time since death?
between two and 10 years.Copy !req
46. Once we get the chemical
analysis, we can narrow it down.Copy !req
47. Great. When you get an answer,
give me a call at the retirement home.Copy !req
48. Missing Persons has a
database of 640 people.Copy !req
49. None of them were
hunchbacks with toupees.Copy !req
50. What about the
building he was found in?Copy !req
51. Well, aside from the rats and the
squatters, we've been checking on...Copy !req
52. three different owners
over the last 10 years.Copy !req
53. Currently in the city's
lap for unpaid taxes.Copy !req
54. ME just sent this over. They pulled
it out of your John Doe's knee bone.Copy !req
55. Might trace it back
to a medical supplier.Copy !req
56. Hey, if this guy rests in peace
for another couple of weeks...Copy !req
57. he's not gonna get any deader.Copy !req
58. Well, seeing
there's no numbers...Copy !req
59. there's no markings, it
looks pretty generic to me.Copy !req
60. What do you say,
we toss it to Profaci...Copy !req
61. give him something to
do besides the donut run?Copy !req
62. You caught it, you solve it.Copy !req
63. What else you have?Copy !req
64. Got a Hong Kong Rolex that
probably died before he did.Copy !req
65. And gold buttons
on a blue blazer.Copy !req
66. Sounds promising.Copy !req
67. Just do something before
they bulldoze your crime scene.Copy !req
68. It's British.Copy !req
69. 18-carat gold, postwar.Copy !req
70. It's a hand-stamped
Harris and Townsend.Copy !req
71. Pity is, they've gone belly up.Copy !req
72. But I think I have
something comparable.Copy !req
73. $300?Copy !req
74. That's more than my suit.Copy !req
75. The Harris and Townsend
would run a bit more.Copy !req
76. Well, what kind of
tailors would buy these?Copy !req
77. I mean, at these prices,
it can't be a very long list.Copy !req
78. In the States?Copy !req
79. Very few.Copy !req
80. They're very elegant.
Haven't used them in years.Copy !req
81. You know, in the '80s people had
a different attitude toward money.Copy !req
82. I wouldn't know.
I didn't have any.Copy !req
83. We're gonna need a
list of your customers...Copy !req
84. who got blue blazers
made with these buttons.Copy !req
85. I'm afraid that's confidential.Copy !req
86. What are you, a
doctor of haberdashery?Copy !req
87. I have a select number of
very distinguished clients.Copy !req
88. Sir, obstructing justice will get you
a select number around your neck.Copy !req
89. It's a very simple drill, Harry.Copy !req
90. You just look in your books,
and you give us the names.Copy !req
91. In 1987, I ordered 200 buttons
for the St. Paul's Youth Choir.Copy !req
92. 1985, 80 more blazers...Copy !req
93. for the Ale and Quail Club.Copy !req
94. Cunningham Realtors,
for their top 25 brokers...Copy !req
95. every Christmas from '82 on.Copy !req
96. Realtors.Copy !req
97. Good candidates
for a shallow grave.Copy !req
98. We're moving to Jersey City.
Even cut back our bonuses this year.Copy !req
99. No more company blazers?Copy !req
100. No, we haven't done that since
money markets were at 16%.Copy !req
101. Well, we would like to get a
list of every broker who got one.Copy !req
102. Our records are in
storage in Weehawken.Copy !req
103. Tell me what you need.
I'll fill out a request slip...Copy !req
104. and you'll have it by
the end of next week.Copy !req
105. I'm afraid we're going to have
to have it by the end of this visit.Copy !req
106. Wouldn't know where to start.Copy !req
107. Well, it'd be a shame to
have to go get a warrant...Copy !req
108. come back, and
unpack all this neat work.Copy !req
109. "Brokers of the Year." 1984...Copy !req
110. '83, '82.Copy !req
111. Thank you very much, sir.Copy !req
112. Last one on my list.Copy !req
113. Everyone at Cunningham
is present and accounted for.Copy !req
114. Yeah, and we can skip the Youth Choir
and go right to the Ale and Quail Club.Copy !req
115. Or we can put this folder
at the bottom of the pile.Copy !req
116. What about the women
realtors? Didn't they rate blazers?Copy !req
117. It was Mr. Bones.Copy !req
118. Who maybe got the
jacket from his wife.Copy !req
119. Yes, that's one of the buttons.Copy !req
120. I'm allergic to cashmere, but I
gave the buttons to my father.Copy !req
121. How long had he been
missing? Since '84.Copy !req
122. He was murdered. I'm
sure you read about it.Copy !req
123. Sidney Cohen.Copy !req
124. There was a big trial.Copy !req
125. They put the son of
a bitch away for life.Copy !req
126. Yeah, the Wall
Street whiz kid...Copy !req
127. killed your father over
some real estate thing.Copy !req
128. What was his name?Copy !req
129. Phillip Swann.Copy !req
130. They convicted him without the
body. That's how guilty he was.Copy !req
131. Was he where they said?Copy !req
132. In Patterson?Copy !req
133. No, he was buried next to some
building on Roosevelt Island.Copy !req
134. That can't be him.Copy !req
135. They had a
witness at the trial...Copy !req
136. who testified that he helped
bury my dad in New Jersey.Copy !req
137. Your father have
a pin in his knee?Copy !req
138. Yeah.Copy !req
139. He wrecked it in a car accident.Copy !req
140. Trabecula match.Copy !req
141. And see the angle of
the femur on the corpse?Copy !req
142. I'll take your word for it.Copy !req
143. It's the same as the picture taken
at the time of Mr. Cohen's surgery.Copy !req
144. Yeah, well, there's got
to be a lot of people...Copy !req
145. walking around with
pins in their knees, right?Copy !req
146. Yeah, but there's also the exact position
of the pin in relation to the joint.Copy !req
147. I mean, it's not as
exact as a fingerprint...Copy !req
148. but it's as close as
you're gonna get to 100%.Copy !req
149. Hey, it looks like we definitely
have Sidney Cohen, right?Copy !req
150. Yeah? All right.
Well, if he's our guy...Copy !req
151. Van Buren wants us to bring
everything we have to Stone.Copy !req
152. He prosecuted this case eight
years ago and put Phillip Swann away.Copy !req
153. Swann's a pretty
dapper-looking fellow.Copy !req
154. I bet he gets his
prison denims tailored.Copy !req
155. Half the people in town were
trying to get rich on his junk bonds.Copy !req
156. They were lucky they only lost
their money. Mr. Cohen lost his life.Copy !req
157. What was the
motive for the murder?Copy !req
158. Swann convinced a bunch
of his prep-school buddies...Copy !req
159. to invest in a pyramid scheme.Copy !req
160. And while Swann was
conning his victims...Copy !req
161. Mr. Cohen was conning Mr. Swann
to the tune of about $1 million.Copy !req
162. Yeah, you swim with
sharks, bring Band-Aids.Copy !req
163. How certain is
this identification?Copy !req
164. The ME gives it 95%.
Well, then, we got a problem.Copy !req
165. Swann was convicted on the
testimony of an accomplice...Copy !req
166. who said that he helped Swann
bury Mr. Cohen in New Jersey.Copy !req
167. You have Swann's murder weapon?Copy !req
168. Have Ballistics match it up against
the slug we found in Cohen's skull.Copy !req
169. The accomplice also said that
Swann killed Cohen by slitting his throat.Copy !req
170. You go back,
re-examine any case...Copy !req
171. there's gonna be lies, and
inconsistencies, and contradictions.Copy !req
172. Justice isn't perfect. But the
bottom line is, Swann was guilty.Copy !req
173. How can you be
so absolutely sure...Copy !req
174. if Bobbitt was your principle
witness against Swann?Copy !req
175. But I didn't make my case
on accomplice testimony alone.Copy !req
176. There was other evidence.Copy !req
177. Swann bragged about that
murder to half the people he knew.Copy !req
178. You made the case
without the body.Copy !req
179. You let us remember
that the jury convicted...Copy !req
180. on the basis of Russell
Bobbitt's testimony...Copy !req
181. and he may have
perjured himself.Copy !req
182. I could have made my case
without Bobbitt. Yes, but you didn't.Copy !req
183. Is there even a possibility
Swann's innocent?Copy !req
184. I know Phillip Swann.Copy !req
185. He smiled through
the entire Q and A.Copy !req
186. He was guilty then.
He's guilty now.Copy !req
187. Have Russell Bobbitt picked up.Copy !req
188. At the very least, you
may have a perjury charge.Copy !req
189. Wonder how much
this place will go for.Copy !req
190. You mean after they plaster
the roaches back in their nests?Copy !req
191. Hey, get this.Copy !req
192. It's called Le Chanticleer.Copy !req
193. "Exclusive living, with
stunning views of the city.Copy !req
194. "Historic building.
Only half a million."Copy !req
195. Yeah, I know the historic part.Copy !req
196. Five years ago, this was
Benny Gonzaga's sweatshop.Copy !req
197. Beautiful views,
and 50 cents an hour.Copy !req
198. Hey, Michelangelo.
Russell Bobbitt?Copy !req
199. Yeah.Copy !req
200. What's this about?Copy !req
201. It's about coming downtown.Copy !req
202. I don't care if they found
the body on the moon...Copy !req
203. I know where we put
him eight years ago.Copy !req
204. But you couldn't lead
us to the exact spot.Copy !req
205. Swann was driving, not me.Copy !req
206. Look, I helped you all I could.Copy !req
207. Read the testimony.
Everything I know is in there.Copy !req
208. You claim Swann
slit Cohen's throat.Copy !req
209. We know he died of
a gunshot to the head.Copy !req
210. That's what Swann told me.Copy !req
211. He was wrapped in a
sheet. I never saw him.Copy !req
212. This is exactly the kind
of stuff Phillip likes to pull.Copy !req
213. Like knocking out Cohen's
teeth so he couldn't be identified.Copy !req
214. Swann's very mental.
He might also be innocent.Copy !req
215. So now he's got you going.Copy !req
216. I wouldn't be surprised
if he planned it that way.Copy !req
217. He probably moved
the body the next day.Copy !req
218. It all came out
at the trial, Claire.Copy !req
219. Swann told him that he'd
knocked his teeth out...Copy !req
220. even showed him the
hammer that he'd used.Copy !req
221. If you had read the
transcripts, you'd know that.Copy !req
222. I did.Copy !req
223. And Bobbitt could have
lied just to frame Swann.Copy !req
224. Why would Bobbitt
incriminate himself...Copy !req
225. by revealing details only
the killer would know?Copy !req
226. Think it through. It
doesn't make sense.Copy !req
227. Neither does a dead man
taking a tram to Roosevelt Island.Copy !req
228. Claire, please. Listen to me.Copy !req
229. Swann killed an old man. He
laughed about it to his rich friends.Copy !req
230. He's not only guilty,
he's a pathological liar.Copy !req
231. He may be a hero to some people,
but to me he's a cold-blooded killer.Copy !req
232. If he's proven innocent,
he will be a hero.Copy !req
233. Stone, here.Copy !req
234. Yeah, we'll get on it.Copy !req
235. I've been served notice.Copy !req
236. Swann is contesting
the conviction...Copy !req
237. on the grounds of newly
discovered evidence.Copy !req
238. Hello, Ben.Copy !req
239. You're looking well.
Is this your attorney?Copy !req
240. This is my state-appointed
paralegal, Michelle Farese.Copy !req
241. You must be Claire Kincaid.
Phillip Swann. Pleasure to meet you.Copy !req
242. Where is your
attorney, Mr. Swann?Copy !req
243. You're looking
at him. I'm pro se.Copy !req
244. When I saw your name
on the brief, I thoughtCopy !req
245. it might be one
of your little jokes.Copy !req
246. You didn't think it
was well drafted?Copy !req
247. No really, come on. Your
opinion matters to me.Copy !req
248. It's not my opinion that counts.Copy !req
249. He was my inspiration.Copy !req
250. There being no great
legal issue presented here...Copy !req
251. I ask only that the Court
consider the implications...Copy !req
252. of the recently unearthed facts.Copy !req
253. These certainly cast doubt on
the People's case as a whole.Copy !req
254. Mr. Swann, are you asking that
the Court reverse your conviction...Copy !req
255. and dismiss all charges against
you, based on these alleged new facts?Copy !req
256. There is authority for this...Copy !req
257. and I respectfully refer, Your
Honor, to People v. Rodriguez.Copy !req
258. A slip opinion referred to on
page 27 of Appellant's brief.Copy !req
259. I note, too, that the
District Attorney...Copy !req
260. does not contest the validity of
Appellant's factual allegations.Copy !req
261. You're not suggesting...Copy !req
262. that the District Attorney
relied on perjured testimony...Copy !req
263. in obtaining your conviction,
are you, Counselor?Copy !req
264. I must remind Your Honor that
I am not a member of the bar.Copy !req
265. But in response to
Your Honor's inquiry...Copy !req
266. I do not know whether Mr. Bobbitt's
testimony was the product...Copy !req
267. of overzealousness...Copy !req
268. or subornation of perjury, but
I do know that I am entitled...Copy !req
269. to confront that witness in
the clear light of the truth.Copy !req
270. A right which was denied
to me in my first trial.Copy !req
271. And if we choose not
to dismiss the charges?Copy !req
272. In that case, I request
the alternative relief...Copy !req
273. sought in Appellant's
ser-reply brief.Copy !req
274. A new trial. A fair trial.Copy !req
275. I conclude by paraphrasing
Justice Marshall.Copy !req
276. Witnesses may either be mistaken,
or wickedly intend to deceive.Copy !req
277. But circumstances cannot lie.Copy !req
278. Thank you, Mr. Swann.Copy !req
279. It's so refreshing to see a
defendant who isn't overreaching.Copy !req
280. And what Mr. Swann
describes as new evidence...Copy !req
281. is a distortion of the
facts adduced at trial.Copy !req
282. As such, it doesn't warrant
modification of his verdict.Copy !req
283. And the testimony that
Mr. Swann slit Mr. Cohen's throat...Copy !req
284. Wasn't it your own witness who
established the means of death, Counselor?Copy !req
285. Mr. Bobbitt merely repeated
what Mr. Swann had told him.Copy !req
286. To penalize the People for something
entirely under Mr. Swann's control...Copy !req
287. is to reward the
Appellant for having lied.Copy !req
288. Surely, Mr. Stone, you don't suggest
that Mr. Bobbitt was mistaken...Copy !req
289. about the very state in
which the cadaver was buried?Copy !req
290. It is most likely that
the body was moved...Copy !req
291. subsequent to being
buried in New Jersey.Copy !req
292. But not certain.Copy !req
293. Isn't this just the sort of thing
a new trial would ascertain?Copy !req
294. A discrepancy of that
nature is not sufficient...Copy !req
295. to warrant a directed verdict of
acquittal, and that's the standard...Copy !req
296. this court must apply, pursuant
to People v. Serrotti. Thank you.Copy !req
297. He won.Copy !req
298. They granted him a new trial.Copy !req
299. Well.Copy !req
300. We'll have to round up...Copy !req
301. all the witnesses
from the previous trial.Copy !req
302. We'll start with his
prep-school cronies first.Copy !req
303. It's been eight years.
People move out of state.Copy !req
304. Well, they were
Wall Street junkies...Copy !req
305. so they'll be
where the money is.Copy !req
306. Swann could walk into a room,
pitch an idea to 20 guys in suits...Copy !req
307. and walk out with 20 checks.Copy !req
308. It was a gift.Copy !req
309. So he worked his
magic on you, huh?Copy !req
310. He got me into commodities.Copy !req
311. You mean he got your old
man's money into commodities.Copy !req
312. My dad's, mine. Who cared?Copy !req
313. Until I saw the entire
$200,000 circling the bowl.Copy !req
314. Then I absolutely panicked.Copy !req
315. But Phil gave me a hug and
started faking account statements.Copy !req
316. So much for the
old-boy network, huh?Copy !req
317. Not quite. We were
just getting nervous.Copy !req
318. But not all of our investors
had the stomach for it.Copy !req
319. Then Sid Cohen showed up? He
had some quick-paced real estate deals.Copy !req
320. Buy condemned property,
get a low-interest HUD loan...Copy !req
321. on prospective value,
make 200% on your money.Copy !req
322. How can anybody
be unhappy with that?Copy !req
323. Cohen took us for
nearly $1 million.Copy !req
324. We couldn't pay our secretaries.
Our investors are at the gates...Copy !req
325. and we couldn't get
anything out of Cohen.Copy !req
326. But Swann was cool.Copy !req
327. He promised to
get our money back.Copy !req
328. Where did Bobbitt fit in?Copy !req
329. Simple. He was poor. Swann
offered to make him rich.Copy !req
330. And it only cost him
his mother's pension.Copy !req
331. Ninth grade, Penton Academy,
Phil was already practicing his moves.Copy !req
332. Back then it was $10
shares in a gold mine.Copy !req
333. He made you feel lucky
you got in on the ground floor.Copy !req
334. Yeah, except the elevator was
headed toward the basement.Copy !req
335. Phil gave us a bottle of cheap champagne.
We ended up feeling sorry for him.Copy !req
336. So, what, 12 years later
it was forgive and forget?Copy !req
337. Phil was selling blue skies. We
were greedy enough to believe him.Copy !req
338. It's water under the bridge now.Copy !req
339. Well, I hope you like flashbacks, Mr. Ross,
because Swann's getting a new trial.Copy !req
340. What does it take,
a silver bullet?Copy !req
341. You'll get another shot at him.Copy !req
342. I'd rather not go
through it again.Copy !req
343. I'm over my anger.
Well, hey, good for you.Copy !req
344. But Mr. Cohen's
not over being dead.Copy !req
345. It's on us. The D.A. will
be in touch, Mr. Ross.Copy !req
346. Swann takes them to the
cleaners, and all they can say is:Copy !req
347. "Thanks for the starch."Copy !req
348. I had a girlfriend
once. Katerina.Copy !req
349. In two months, she took me
through hell in a hand basket...Copy !req
350. but it was a lovely ride.Copy !req
351. And if she called tonight?
I'd be waiting at the curb.Copy !req
352. Two of the witnesses
are living abroad.Copy !req
353. One's got cold feet, and the
other's dropped out of sight.Copy !req
354. Well, that's just terrific.Copy !req
355. You're left with one
witness, maybe a perjurer...Copy !req
356. and the other one who has
the moral backbone of a pretzel.Copy !req
357. It doesn't matter.
Swann killed Cohen.Copy !req
358. We ran his name
through the system.Copy !req
359. There's a.22 registered
in his name in New Jersey.Copy !req
360. And where is that gun now?Copy !req
361. All this evidence, 10 years old.Copy !req
362. Actually, some if
it's quite a bit older.Copy !req
363. I talked to Forensics. They found
lava dust caked on Cohen's remains.Copy !req
364. Which means the body was buried
where Bobbitt said it was, and then moved.Copy !req
365. But not necessarily by Swann.Copy !req
366. Of course it was by Swann.
It makes perfect sense.Copy !req
367. He never thought we'd get a
conviction without the body.Copy !req
368. The final irony. Body
gets found, and he gets off.Copy !req
369. He dug the body up. He moved it.Copy !req
370. There's probably dirt
in the trunk of his car.Copy !req
371. A car that he owned
eight years ago.Copy !req
372. A Mercedes 500. We traced
it to a woman in Connecticut.Copy !req
373. All right, get a warrant, a pair
of tweezers, and good luck.Copy !req
374. An amazing assortment of specimens
can accumulate in eight years.Copy !req
375. Sand from two local beaches,
bits of pubic hair, human detritus.Copy !req
376. Mostly exfoliated skin, and
the parasites that feed on it.Copy !req
377. You see these shiny microflakes?
That's schist from the Ordovician Period.Copy !req
378. Very typical of the
Manhattan area.Copy !req
379. But this other sample from
the car, that's very exciting.Copy !req
380. Look.Copy !req
381. The brown coating, that's
iron oxide, characteristic of lava.Copy !req
382. So the dirt from the trunk
matches the dirt from the body.Copy !req
383. I'm almost 100% sure of it.Copy !req
384. But you might want to
have a geologist back me up.Copy !req
385. Make sure your
experts speak English.Copy !req
386. Don't give the jury a bunch of
volcano this and Stone Age that.Copy !req
387. That's not what I'm
worried about, Adam.Copy !req
388. Russell Bobbitt's testimony can
be easily supported by the evidence.Copy !req
389. Yeah, well, we
can be thankful...Copy !req
390. that Swann is arrogant
enough to represent himself.Copy !req
391. He dug himself out of prison,
got himself to a new trial.Copy !req
392. Merely writing
briefs is one thing.Copy !req
393. Rough and tumble of a court
trial will set him back on his heels.Copy !req
394. Ben. Russell Bobbitt's gone.Copy !req
395. He put a one-way ticket to the Bahamas
on his charge card, and disappeared.Copy !req
396. Your Honor, the state is suddenly
unable to produce our prime witness.Copy !req
397. So we request a short
postponement to commencing the trial.Copy !req
398. Why? Is Mr. Bobbitt sick?Copy !req
399. We have evidence that he
may have left the country...Copy !req
400. but I have my doubts about that.Copy !req
401. You mean, he packed
up his trunk of lies...Copy !req
402. and took the first plane
out of the jurisdiction.Copy !req
403. Now, you give us a month, Your
Honor, and we'll find out precisely...Copy !req
404. what happened to Mr. Bobbitt.Copy !req
405. Well, with all due
respect, Judge...Copy !req
406. I've been sitting in a cell
unjustly for eight years.Copy !req
407. To me, a month's like a year.Copy !req
408. I'm sorry, Ben.Copy !req
409. If Mr. Bobbitt doesn't appear,
you'll have to make do with reading...Copy !req
410. his testimony from the
first trial into evidence.Copy !req
411. Well, excuse me, Your Honor.Copy !req
412. My retrial was granted on
the basis of new evidence...Copy !req
413. which completely contradicts
Mr. Bobbitt's prior testimony.Copy !req
414. The jury is entitled to
determine credibility, Your Honor.Copy !req
415. But how can I discredit him,
if I can't cross-examine him?Copy !req
416. And the Constitution gives me...Copy !req
417. the right to confront all
witnesses against me.Copy !req
418. He's right.Copy !req
419. Unless the State can
produce the witness...Copy !req
420. his story'll never be
heard in my courtroom.Copy !req
421. They say you don't
really understand the law...Copy !req
422. unless you spend a
couple of years behind bars.Copy !req
423. Well, he's certainly
enjoying the publicity.Copy !req
424. He didn't raise millions of dollars
without knowing how to play an audience.Copy !req
425. Whatever he lacks in
morals, he's got double in ego.Copy !req
426. Well, then, let's use it.Copy !req
427. You think you're great, you're
not gonna keep it a secret.Copy !req
428. And he spent the last eight
years in some very close quarters.Copy !req
429. Innocent?Copy !req
430. Sure, he's innocent. Nobody
in here never did nothing.Copy !req
431. Only Swann is about to
get a chance to prove it.Copy !req
432. And he swears he's got you
guys spinning in your tracks.Copy !req
433. Did he ever talk to
you about his first trial?Copy !req
434. You know...Copy !req
435. living in here, my
memory gets awful bad.Copy !req
436. I don't have time to play
games, Mr. Doyle. Well, I do.Copy !req
437. Four years, to be exact.
We can make it five.Copy !req
438. You don't testify, I'll
cite you for contempt.Copy !req
439. And I'll say I don't
know anything.Copy !req
440. Perjury. Make it six.Copy !req
441. Okay.Copy !req
442. But I want a transfer.Copy !req
443. Around here, guys with good memories
don't win any popularity contests.Copy !req
444. Phil had some money with
Sid Cohen. A real estate deal.Copy !req
445. But when Phil went to see
him, there was nothing left.Copy !req
446. Did Mr. Cohen offer
any explanation for that?Copy !req
447. Phil got very nasty.Copy !req
448. But Cohen said he
was broke, he'd lost it all.Copy !req
449. What did Mr. Swann
do about that?Copy !req
450. Phil was very meticulous.Copy !req
451. Every day, he made a
list. "Things to do today."Copy !req
452. One day he showed me his list.Copy !req
453. Is this the list?Copy !req
454. Yes. Please read it.Copy !req
455. "7:00 a.m.:
Breakfast with Donny.Copy !req
456. "9:00 a.m.: Conference with
Moore and Black, our attorneys.Copy !req
457. "12:30 p.m.: Lunch with Chip.Copy !req
458. "4:00 p.m.: Shoe shine.
- 00 p.m.:Copy !req
459. "Kill Sid Cohen."Copy !req
460. Entered as People's Exhibit 5.Copy !req
461. Do you mean to say that you actually
took that entry in my diary seriously?Copy !req
462. You were desperate, Phil.Copy !req
463. So can I assume you called
the police immediately?Copy !req
464. No.Copy !req
465. Tell me, Chip, did my list...Copy !req
466. say how I was planning
to kill Mr. Cohen?Copy !req
467. No. But I knew you had a.22.Copy !req
468. You said all you had to do
was bury him in New Jersey...Copy !req
469. and nobody would ever
know he was missing.Copy !req
470. Well, I guess I wasn't as
meticulous as you thought, Chip.Copy !req
471. If I were...Copy !req
472. I certainly would have had my shoes shined
after I buried poor Mr. Cohen, not before.Copy !req
473. I shared a cell with the
defendant for almost four years.Copy !req
474. He was always talking about
what a hotshot he is, you know.Copy !req
475. Mercedes Benz, Rolex...Copy !req
476. breakfast in Paris, lunch
in Rome. That kind of crap.Copy !req
477. Did Mr. Swann ever
mention the name Sid Cohen?Copy !req
478. That's the guy he killed, right?Copy !req
479. He was real proud
of that one, too.Copy !req
480. What did Mr. Swann
tell you about Mr. Cohen?Copy !req
481. He said the guy tried
to screw him on a deal...Copy !req
482. so he had to take care of
business. You know what I mean?Copy !req
483. Would you please
be more specific.Copy !req
484. Bullet in the brain.Copy !req
485. Then Swann and his buddy, think
he said the guy's name was Bobbitt...Copy !req
486. dumped the body in Jersey.Copy !req
487. Swann didn't think Bobbitt could
take the heat, so to cover his butt...Copy !req
488. he moved the body
somewhere on Roosevelt Island.Copy !req
489. That way, if Bobbitt broke...Copy !req
490. no one would believe
him without the body.Copy !req
491. It's a good plan.Copy !req
492. Didn't work.Copy !req
493. Billy, Billy, Billy.Copy !req
494. You ought to be ashamed.Copy !req
495. Question, Mr. Swann?Copy !req
496. Of course, Your Honor.Copy !req
497. Tell me, Billy, where were you
living before we became roommates?Copy !req
498. Binghamton. And before that?Copy !req
499. Vancourt, Texas.Copy !req
500. What, did you own a
condo, or did you just rent?Copy !req
501. I was incarcerated.Copy !req
502. Irrelevant, Your Honor.Copy !req
503. Well, certainly I'm allowed to
question Mr. Doyle's credibility.Copy !req
504. Continue.Copy !req
505. Tell me, Billy, while
you were in Vancourt...Copy !req
506. did you have occasion to
testify in a court proceeding?Copy !req
507. Yeah.Copy !req
508. Under what circumstances?Copy !req
509. I cut a deal with
the D.A. down there.Copy !req
510. A deal?Copy !req
511. To testify against a
fellow inmate in county jail?Copy !req
512. That's right.Copy !req
513. Isn't it true that your testimony in
that case proved to be perjurious?Copy !req
514. So they said.Copy !req
515. So they wrote, Billy.Copy !req
516. I enter Defense
Exhibit 17, an affidavit...Copy !req
517. from the Sterling County District
Attorney, attesting to Mr. Doyle's perjury.Copy !req
518. Billy...Copy !req
519. don't you ever learn?Copy !req
520. First day of law school: Known
perjurers do not make good witnesses.Copy !req
521. How could I know what
happened in Vancourt, Texas?Copy !req
522. Swann was privy
to prison gossip.Copy !req
523. He researched it.Copy !req
524. You may be right about Swann.Copy !req
525. The papers are turning
him into a folk hero.Copy !req
526. When he gets acquitted,
I might offer him a job.Copy !req
527. You try dealing with him?Copy !req
528. Adam, if you want me to plea
him, you take me off the case.Copy !req
529. Don't tempt me.Copy !req
530. Of course I was
angry at Sid Cohen...Copy !req
531. but I was also angry
at my investors.Copy !req
532. I made them a lot of money...Copy !req
533. and they all ran away with
their tails between their legs...Copy !req
534. just because of
a little setback.Copy !req
535. But I didn't kill them...Copy !req
536. and I didn't kill Sid Cohen.Copy !req
537. I'm a businessman.Copy !req
538. I knew if everyone just sat
still, everything would be okay.Copy !req
539. Possibly the extent
of that panic...Copy !req
540. drove someone to kill Sid Cohen.Copy !req
541. Possibly there were other
deals with other individuals...Copy !req
542. Objection, Your
Honor. Conjecture.Copy !req
543. I'm sorry, Your Honor.Copy !req
544. Bottom line is Sid
Cohen may be dead now.Copy !req
545. But I swear...Copy !req
546. he was alive...Copy !req
547. and getting a suntan in Barbados
when I was first convicted of killing him.Copy !req
548. Cross-examination, Mr. Stone.Copy !req
549. Mr. Swann, do
you routinely list...Copy !req
550. killing people as part
of your daily calendar?Copy !req
551. Mr. Stone, do you routinely
lack a sense of humor?Copy !req
552. About murder I have none, sir.Copy !req
553. There's a question pending.Copy !req
554. Well, we were
kids. It was a joke.Copy !req
555. If I really planned on
murdering Mr. Cohen...Copy !req
556. I don't think I'd
announce it to the world.Copy !req
557. As Mr. Rafferty
said, I am meticulous.Copy !req
558. Well, if you didn't
kill Mr. Cohen...Copy !req
559. how do you explain dirt
from Patterson, New Jersey...Copy !req
560. found on the trunk of your car?Copy !req
561. Well, eight years ago,
I had a nine handicap.Copy !req
562. I played golf three times a week
at the Apple Ridge Country Club.Copy !req
563. That's in northern New Jersey.Copy !req
564. I guess I over-tipped my caddy. He
must not have cleaned my shoes very well...Copy !req
565. before he slipped them
in the back of my trunk.Copy !req
566. Then can you explain
how the same dirt...Copy !req
567. from your golf cleats was
found on Mr. Cohen's body?Copy !req
568. Well, I haven't dedicated
my life to the study of dirt...Copy !req
569. but I... No, I did
read somewhere...Copy !req
570. that lava rock was used
to build roads in the city.Copy !req
571. Maybe it was trucked
in from New Jersey.Copy !req
572. I don't know. I'm no expert.Copy !req
573. Anything else, Mr. Stone?Copy !req
574. No, Your Honor.Copy !req
575. Piece by piece, Swann
got rid of our evidence.Copy !req
576. Then he cast a reasonable
doubt on what's left.Copy !req
577. Reasonable doubt in whose mind?Copy !req
578. The man is guilty, and that
jury's lining up to shake his hand.Copy !req
579. Then call Judge Callahan...Copy !req
580. and tell him you'll be delivering
your concession speech...Copy !req
581. instead of a summation.Copy !req
582. Now, listen, I expect you
to come up with something.Copy !req
583. Unless you're ready to admit...Copy !req
584. that you've been
out-lawyered by an amateur.Copy !req
585. Eight years...Copy !req
586. 96 months, 2,920 days.Copy !req
587. Now that is how much
time I've spent in prison...Copy !req
588. for killing a man the State didn't even
know was dead until a few months ago.Copy !req
589. Now, first, they convicted me
of cutting Sid Cohen's throat...Copy !req
590. when he was, in fact,
killed by a bullet in the brain.Copy !req
591. And they claimed I
buried him in New Jersey.Copy !req
592. He was found on
Roosevelt Island.Copy !req
593. And what do they
offer for proof?Copy !req
594. Perjured testimony.Copy !req
595. Now, in the real world...Copy !req
596. the community sleeps better
if somebody is put in jail.Copy !req
597. And in the real world,
prosecutors get promoted...Copy !req
598. if they get convictions.Copy !req
599. And in the real world, the world
assumes that if you're charged...Copy !req
600. you must be guilty.Copy !req
601. Now, it's
assumptions like that...Copy !req
602. that took away my life.Copy !req
603. So let me have
what's left of it.Copy !req
604. Phillip Swann cuts a pretty
romantic figure, doesn't he?Copy !req
605. He's the charming,
high-stakes hustler...Copy !req
606. and a very personable genius...Copy !req
607. who likes to pick the pockets
of his wealthier friends.Copy !req
608. So he's kind of the bad
guy that we really love...Copy !req
609. and we secretly envy.Copy !req
610. But behind that very entertaining
facade lies one cold, very ugly fact.Copy !req
611. Phillip Swann put a bullet into
the skull of an unarmed old man...Copy !req
612. and he did it as just one
more chore to do that day.Copy !req
613. Now that's a side of Phillip
Swann he'd rather you didn't see.Copy !req
614. It means that he is not the
boy genius of Wall Street...Copy !req
615. but just an inept swindler...Copy !req
616. who got beaten at his
own game by Sid Cohen.Copy !req
617. Obviously, Phillip Swann
desperately wants the acceptance...Copy !req
618. of his wealthy friends
and the financial world...Copy !req
619. and now he wants
you to embrace him.Copy !req
620. Don't be seduced.Copy !req
621. Beware of that man.Copy !req
622. Behind the smiles
and the jokes...Copy !req
623. is the monster that put a
bullet in Sid Cohen's brain.Copy !req
624. Will the defendant please rise?Copy !req
625. On the sole count of the indictment,
murder in the second degree...Copy !req
626. how do you find?Copy !req
627. We find the defendant
not guilty, Your Honor.Copy !req
628. Phillip Swann threw
an acquittal party at 21.Copy !req
629. Eight years in prison, I'm surprised
he didn't throw a ticker-tape parade.Copy !req
630. It's premature.Copy !req
631. Swann may not have a law
degree, but my guess is...Copy !req
632. that he's well-acquainted
with double jeopardy.Copy !req
633. I'm not talking about Cohen's murder.
I'm talking about Russell Bobbitt.Copy !req
634. You think Swann got to him?Copy !req
635. If he bribed Bobbitt, that's
tampering with a witness.Copy !req
636. It's hindering a prosecution.Copy !req
637. Bribed Bobbitt with what?Copy !req
638. He's been in jail, bankrupt
for the past eight years.Copy !req
639. Yes?Copy !req
640. Ben Stone.Copy !req
641. Swann's suing the State and
Ben, personally, for $10 million.Copy !req
642. Everything from malicious
prosecution to civil rights violations.Copy !req
643. Just got off the phone with
Smythe, Attorney General's Office.Copy !req
644. He tells me there's an ugly
rumor going around Court Street...Copy !req
645. that you're
representing yourself.Copy !req
646. I know the case
better than anyone.Copy !req
647. The last time you
set foot in civil court...Copy !req
648. was 20 years ago
when you were sworn in.Copy !req
649. You don't think I can do it?Copy !req
650. When Clarence Darrow went
into a courtroom as a defendant...Copy !req
651. he wasn't fool
enough to go it alone.Copy !req
652. My immediate concerns are
not with Clarence Darrow...Copy !req
653. I don't give a damn
about your concerns.Copy !req
654. Liability here is
joint and several.Copy !req
655. You lose, you ruin
me and this office.Copy !req
656. I can live without this job, sir. There
are some things I cannot live without.Copy !req
657. Your ego. Mr. Schiff,
if a man who lies...Copy !req
658. can go pro se and win, and a
man who tells the truth can't...Copy !req
659. I don't want to be
in this anymore.Copy !req
660. Yeah, well, that's just great.Copy !req
661. And this little son of a bitch
could take your car, your condo...Copy !req
662. and your closetful of
blue suits. Not if I win.Copy !req
663. Well, nothing would
make me happier.Copy !req
664. I can come back.Copy !req
665. No, it's all right.Copy !req
666. Well, I have bad
news and good news.Copy !req
667. Last month, in Buckley
v. Fitzsimmons...Copy !req
668. the Supreme Court took away...Copy !req
669. a prosecutor's
absolute immunity.Copy !req
670. The good news, it doesn't
appear to be retroactive.Copy !req
671. Looks like time is on your side.Copy !req
672. Unfortunately, Mr. Swann is
claiming that the alleged malfeasance...Copy !req
673. continues right up to his
acquittal in the second trial.Copy !req
674. That's ridiculous.Copy !req
675. I know. But it would take
an appeal to prove that.Copy !req
676. Claire, you don't have
to do this. It's my problem.Copy !req
677. But it's on my own time.Copy !req
678. Mr. Stone, referring to Schedule
A of your 1984 federal return...Copy !req
679. which has been
marked Plaintiff's 71...Copy !req
680. Haven't you wasted enough time?Copy !req
681. What's an ancient tax return
got to do with this case?Copy !req
682. We both stipulated to waive all
objections except as to form, Counselor.Copy !req
683. Your questions have to have at
least the appearance of relevance.Copy !req
684. This is a deposition, not a trial.
We both know everything's fair game.Copy !req
685. You wouldn't be trying
to take advantage...Copy !req
686. of my lack of formal
training, now would you?Copy !req
687. I am trying to get out of here
before the turn of the century.Copy !req
688. Now, about that deduction, Ben.Copy !req
689. You should have gotten
yourself a better divorce attorney.Copy !req
690. You little creep.
This isn't a game.Copy !req
691. You don't like me, Ben?
You're just waking up to that?Copy !req
692. Could that be the reason that you
used perjured testimony to convict me...Copy !req
693. in the first trial?Copy !req
694. There's no proof that Russell
Bobbitt... Think again, Counselor.Copy !req
695. I was acquitted
in the second trial.Copy !req
696. Therefore, a fortiori, Bobbitt
must have been lying in the first.Copy !req
697. Ergo, you are collaterally estopped
from trying to prove otherwise.Copy !req
698. It's not like this
is my first case.Copy !req
699. Now, Ben...Copy !req
700. isn't it true that you were
promoted to the position...Copy !req
701. of Executive Assistant
District Attorney...Copy !req
702. immediately following
my conviction?Copy !req
703. Well, he's certainly
going for the jugular.Copy !req
704. Tax returns for
the last ten years.Copy !req
705. Puts my life on the dissecting
table, and he drools over it.Copy !req
706. He is good.Copy !req
707. I don't know many lawyers who can recite
chapter and verse on collateral estoppel.Copy !req
708. What did he say
right after that?Copy !req
709. "It's not like this
is my first case."Copy !req
710. Waiter. Check, please.Copy !req
711. I don't see where
you're going with this.Copy !req
712. If he had other clients...Copy !req
713. he's not gonna work
for them pro bono, right?Copy !req
714. Jailhouse barter system. He
scratches their backs, they scratch his.Copy !req
715. What if one of those scratches
made Russell Bobbitt disappear?Copy !req
716. One of Swann's clients gets
out of prison, owes him a favor.Copy !req
717. Yeah, and if he wrote all those appeals,
his name's gonna be on Lexis database.Copy !req
718. What about our food?Copy !req
719. Well, a lot of briefs are written
by people named Swann.Copy !req
720. The program doesn't
include first names.Copy !req
721. Now try Swann and
collateral estoppel.Copy !req
722. It's Doyle. I
don't believe this.Copy !req
723. Call it up.Copy !req
724. "The Appellant, William Doyle, an
inmate at the state facility at Ossining."Copy !req
725. Swann represented our
prime witness in a civil case.Copy !req
726. Now I know how Swann felt
when he wanted to murder Cohen.Copy !req
727. So he represented me.Copy !req
728. What's that got to do with
the price of tea in China?Copy !req
729. If it was part of a scheme
to defraud the courts...Copy !req
730. you'd be better off in China.Copy !req
731. What, you gonna tack on a couple of
years, because I told the truth in court?Copy !req
732. You conveniently forgot to
tell us about your prior perjury.Copy !req
733. You didn't ask.Copy !req
734. I'm sure Mr. Swann did.Copy !req
735. It makes a difference?Copy !req
736. Look, the guy's out of here,
and there's nothing you can do...Copy !req
737. to either of us.Copy !req
738. That's where you're
wrong, Mr. Doyle.Copy !req
739. I will see you at your
parole hearing next month...Copy !req
740. and the month after that,
and the month after that.Copy !req
741. What do you want from me?Copy !req
742. Where is Russell Bobbitt?Copy !req
743. What do you mean?Copy !req
744. I had nothing to do with that.Copy !req
745. He's dead?Copy !req
746. You get nothing until
you do something for me.Copy !req
747. Russell Bobbitt.Copy !req
748. What about my parole?
Accessory to murder, Mr. Doyle.Copy !req
749. Russell Bobbitt.Copy !req
750. George Mazlansky.Copy !req
751. I heard Swann
called in a marker.Copy !req
752. Hiya.Copy !req
753. How long you gonna
be? That depends.Copy !req
754. We're looking for a guy
named George Mazlansky.Copy !req
755. Haven't seen him.Copy !req
756. Haven't seen him, huh?Copy !req
757. We know he works here, pal.Copy !req
758. What, are you trying to tell me he
just happens to be out sick today?Copy !req
759. Hey, Georgie!Copy !req
760. Freeze!Copy !req
761. You have the right
to remain silent.Copy !req
762. Anything you say can
be used against you.Copy !req
763. So who's this Billy Doyle?Copy !req
764. You don't know him?Copy !req
765. Uh-uh. Well, you'll
get acquainted in court.Copy !req
766. He's the guy who's gonna
put you in for a life sentence.Copy !req
767. He's gonna point
his finger at you...Copy !req
768. and you're gonna tell us
how you took a commission...Copy !req
769. to kill Russell Bobbitt.Copy !req
770. He's crazy.Copy !req
771. You're the one
staring at murder two.Copy !req
772. It's Phillip Swann
that I'm after.Copy !req
773. I know he authored a writ
to keep you out of solitary...Copy !req
774. but I'm ready to
throw you back in.Copy !req
775. What deal would you
offer Mr. Mazlansky?Copy !req
776. That depends on what he says.Copy !req
777. I did the work for Swann.Copy !req
778. I want the body, Mr. Mazlansky.Copy !req
779. He couldn't just leave
him by the side of the road?Copy !req
780. Swann said he wanted it done a
certain way. He was particular about it.Copy !req
781. Yeah, like he was going
to check up on you?Copy !req
782. If something's worth
doing, it's worth doing right.Copy !req
783. We're looking for Phillip Swann.Copy !req
784. Sure.Copy !req
785. Phil, some guys to see you.Copy !req
786. He's hooking up the CD.Copy !req
787. Cops?Copy !req
788. Phillip Swann,
you're under arrest...Copy !req
789. for the murder
of Russell Bobbitt.Copy !req
790. You have the right
to remain silent.Copy !req
791. Anything you do say can
and will be used against you.Copy !req
792. Claire?Copy !req
793. Ben.Copy !req
794. So here we are again.Copy !req
795. Really among colleagues.Copy !req
796. We located your boyhood friend.Copy !req
797. Poor Russell.Copy !req
798. So it wasn't fun
in the sun, after all.Copy !req
799. And those affidavits are from your
more recent acquaintances, Mr. Doyle...Copy !req
800. and Mr. Mazlansky.Copy !req
801. I guess you just
weren't clever enough.Copy !req
802. I got this far, Ben.Copy !req
803. A lot of effort to end up
right back where you started.Copy !req
804. And in polite society, sir, you
don't call people by the first name...Copy !req
805. unless they ask you to.Copy !req
806. I didn't do that.Copy !req
807. You're not a friend, and
you're certainly not a colleague.Copy !req
808. I spent eight years earning the right
to call you whatever the hell I want.Copy !req
809. So...Copy !req
810. who makes the first move?Copy !req
811. I want a confession...Copy !req
812. not only for the murder
of Russell Bobbitt...Copy !req
813. but for the murder
of Sid Cohen, as well.Copy !req
814. And give away my
greatest victory?Copy !req
815. Take this man back to his cell.Copy !req
816. You give up so easy?Copy !req
817. It doesn't make any sense, Ben.
You're being totally impractical.Copy !req
818. That's not like you.Copy !req
819. Obviously, you don't know me.Copy !req
820. You never did.Copy !req