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Reviewed by Frank Barrepski May 9, 2001 The latest Law and Order investigation begins when James Malloy, the owner of a medical supply company, is found shot in an indoor golf range. Detectives Briscoe and Green learn that Malloy was seeing several women at the same time and that he was a recreational drug user. Malloy's ex-wife identifies one of the women as a Margaret Sikorsky, who died of a drug overdose after taking Malloy's drugs. Further investigation reveals that Margaret is the niece of Cally Lonegan, a well-known gangster with an extensive record. A security tape from the golf range shows a person entering a cab after the shooting. When questioned by the detectives, the cab driver, Sebastian Wazini, identifies the passenger as Cally. Due to the suspect's record, Green advises the witness to return to his native Sierra Leone until the case is solved, but he declines, saying he needs to work to bring his family to the US. Speculating that Cally was avenging the death of his niece, Briscoe and Green then question Cally, who smugly announces that he has an alibi: he was being tailed by the FBI in a different part of town at the time of Malloy's death. However, the FBI is not at all cooperative; they will only say that they were indeed tailing Cally, refusing to provide his exact location or why he was being tailed. This turf war results in neither agency helping the other; they each keep a close eye on the information divulged, even leading Green to lie to the FBI agents, saying his cell phone call was from the "cable company" when it obviously was not. Briscoe and Green are forced to accept the FBI statements as truthful until they can prove otherwise. In reviewing the credit card statements of the FBI agents, the detectives learn that a meal was charged at a restaurant at the time of the murder. The waitress states that Cally was at the dinner, joking about his high school days with one of the agents. This causes the detectives to take a closer look at Cally's relationship with the FBI, and they discover that he has escaped prosecution for several serious crimes when the federal government claimed jurisdiction and then declined to prosecute. Meanwhile, Wazini the cab driver is also murdered, increasing Green's determination to bring Cally to justice. The sole witness to the Wazini murder is placed in protective custody to avoid another elimination of a witness. The ballistics results indicate that the gun used to kill Wazini was used by Cally several years ago when he shot an associate that he felt wronged him. However, a different gun was used to kill Malloy. A search of Cally's home turns up four unregistered guns. When the detectives arrive at Cally's business to arrest him on gun charges, they're told that the FBI has just picked him up a few hours earlier, but the FBI denies having him in custody or knowing where he is. However, when confronted with the charges that Cally has escaped prosecution because of FBI influence, an FBI supervisor admits to using him as a confidential informant whose information led to the arrests of several members of organized crime families. Briscoe and Green surmise that Cally might be visiting his brother Donald, and they turn out to be correct. They arrest Cally on the firearms charges at Donald's house just as Donald comes home, surprising the detectives with the strong similarity between their appearances. The theory of the case is then re-examined when the detectives realize that both brothers had a motive to avenge Margaret's death, and a search of area hotels reveals that Donald had a reservation on the day of the murder. Combined with the fact that Cally's gun was used to kill the cab driver, the detectives conclude that Donald killed Malloy, and Cally killed Wazini to eliminate him as a witness against his brother. However, McCoy feels that the evidence against Donald is not sufficient to file charges since the police never found the Malloy murder weapon.
In a plea discussion with both brothers, Cally offers to plead guilty to both murders. However, Jack McCoy correctly refuses to permit such a deal since he is aware that Cally was with the FBI agents at the time Malloy's murder. After a heated discussion, Cally convinces his brother to leave without being charged. While awaiting arraignment on the murder of Wazini, Cally is stabbed in his prison cell by gangsters he had informed on. The only justice in this episode is poetic. |
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Frank Barrepski is an attorney licensed in Massachusetts. Along with other practice areas, he handles criminal defense matters and appeals in his practice. |
