NARRATOR: 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.
(SPEAKING HINDI)
(HORNS HONKING) MAN: Come on, let's go!
Near corner, far corner?
Okay, I said near corner or far...
Oh. my...
CSU says it's a single stab wound to the guy's abdomen.
We know who he is?
No wallet, no ID. But judging how he's dressed,
I'd say he ain't a homeboy.
I want a shot of the laundry mark.
MAN: Right.
Rite Aid receipt from a couple of days ago.
2211, Broadway.
It's near 96th Street.
What do you think? Stick and pick?
Either that, or he figured out
a hell of a way to beat a cab fare.
What about the cabbie? OFFICER: Harish Singh.
Says the pickup was on 42nd near Lex
and that another guy helped the old man in.
Thinks that it was that guy who was the one
who gave him the address where to go.
Where's he? Where else?
Talking on the cell phone.
Thanks.
(SPEAKING HINDI)
Say goodbye, Mr. Singh.
I was just trying to get another vehicle.
My whole shift is lost.
Yeah, well, it turns out it wasn't his day either.
Tell us about the guy who helped the old man.
He was black.
Young, wearing a green baseball cap.
Some... Some blue running clothes.
He say anything about your passenger?
No. Just said to go to 125th and Amsterdam.
Did he touch the door handle?
I don't know.
The whole ride up here, you didn't hear
your passenger say anything?
I was talking to my broker.
All right, give us your home number.
And don't forget your cell phone.
Guy's bleeding to death in his back seat, he's making day trades.
Gotta run with the bull.
The Rite Aid computer says the receipt was for toilet paper,
toothpaste and some cough medicine. Paid for in cash.
Purchase like that, the guy probably lives nearby.
Big neighborhood.
Dry cleaner's mark on his shirt tail.
There's gotta be 20, 30 dry cleaners in that area.
The guy's wearing a Paul Stuart suit.
I'm betting he goes to the best.
Well, canvass the cleaners, and work your way out from the Rite Aid.
I'm not sure. But this guy don't look so good.
How about this? You recognize that?
Yes. That's ours.
Last four digit customer phone number.
Have you got a name to go with the number?
Mr. Grimaldi lived alone, about five, six years now.
His wife. Real sweet lady.
She died a few years back.
What she was doing with the guy is anybody's guess.
Why do you say that?
Grimaldi was tough. Real old school.
Not a guy with too many nice words to say.
And parting with a dollar wasn't his thing either.
He would have fought back.
That's probably what got him killed.
Any other next of kin?
Son and daughter,
but they don't come around much since the mother died.
He lives in Philly with his wife and kid, I think.
And her I'm not too sure about.
See if you can get their numbers from the managing agent.
Sure.
Any idea what he did for a living?
Retired. But I think he was an insurance salesman once.
He's in good hands now.
Hey, cabbie said he picked him up on 42nd and Lex, right?
Yeah. Bank account on Lexington Avenue.
Mr. Grimaldi was a customer here for over 30 years.
He used to come in all the time.
Only worked a few blocks from here.
Where was that?
All-Atlantic Insurance.
It's a shame.
He was a real character.
In what way?
He's what you'd call an old-fashioned American success story.
Immigrated from Italy.
Worked 40 years for the same company.
A real dying breed.
Do know if maybe he cashed a check that day?
Or maybe somebody saw him with a large amount of money?
I checked our security tapes after you called.
Mr. Grimaldi didn't use a teller that day.
He went straight to the vault area.
Safe deposit box.
He opened one about 10 years ago.
Doesn't seem to have used it much.
Any chance we could take a look inside?
You'd just be wasting your time.
He closed it that day. It's empty.
Here are some shots from the bank's video tape.
This is him coming in.
Briefcase.
Then 14 minutes later, he leaves.
Still has his briefcase.
Now, here's one from the ATM outside.
He's still alone.
Not for long.
Our good Samaritan.
Latent just faxed over the list of prints
they lifted from the cab door.
BRISCOE: What'd they get?
Nineteen partials.
Anything interesting?
Two forefingers and a thumb.
"Doug Panero. Male, white."
"Nineteen. Drug sale."
"Anthony Weathers. Male, black."
" Forty-two. Turnstile jump"
"And Roland Dell. Male black. Twenty-four."
"On parole for knifepoint robbery."
Talk to his P.O. And let's pick him up
before he decides to help anyone else.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
(POLICE RADIO CHATTERING)
Hey. How you doing? Is your mom and dad here?
Teddy, who is it?
New York City detectives.
What's this about?
Is Roland Dell here? Get back in there, Teddy.
We're just sitting down to dinner.
Dinner's gonna have to wait.
Police! Freeze!
ED: Freeze!
Rock, paper, scissors, gun.
We've got your prints on the cab door.
On a city cab? Big deal.
ED: We also have this.
Who's that?
You. Right down to the green ball cap
we found in your closet.
Oh, you think this lid's green?
'Cause I'd be willing to bet that my Legal Aid
says it could be almost any color.
If it isn't you, why'd you go up-tempo when you saw us, Roland?
What would you do you saw a brother come after you with a gun?
Man, you guys got nothing.
'Cause if you did, you wouldn't be looking at me
for my statement.
Yeah, I think you better get me my Legal Aid.
Yeah. He did so good for you last time, right?
Anything on the apartment search?
No briefcase, no knife.
Bring in some of the witnesses from the ATM machines
and see if someone can put him at the scene.
You got it.
I hear you went in hot pursuit today.
Yeah. He tried to climb out the window.
I'm surprised you didn't push him.
Me, too.
(DOOR CLOSES)
VAN BUREN: Just tell us if you see anyone who looks familiar.
It's hard to say.
I think number four.
And where do you recognize him from?
I think he was the man I saw helping
the older man get into the cab.
Are you sure?
Best I can say is I think so.
Okay. Thank you, Mrs. Drummond.
I think my client should be released immediately.
That's for the D.A. handling the case.
What case?
His lawyer's right. I can't indict on a "think so."
Well, what about the prints and the ATM photos?
All good circumstantial evidence,
if we had an ID. (CELL PHONE RINGING)
Green.
So what? You just gonna kick this guy loose?
Lennie, I called his parole officer.
She dropped a violation on him based on your arrest.
He is not going anywhere.
That was the M.E. Roland Dell may only be half our problem.
Grimaldi had a six-inch stab wound to his abdomen.
He also had a bullet wound under his left armpit.
This guy was stabbed and shot?
New York's a tough town.
How'd CSU miss it?
There was no exit wound.
And the entrance was hidden under the hair in the armpit.
I only found it when IX-rayed the body.
Well, could this guy have been shot
and made it to the cab?
Hey, Reagan never knew he was shot
till he got to Bethesda Naval.
So what killed him? The knife or the gun?
Take your pick.
Roland Dell stabbed a dead man.
Couldn't even get that right.
Video has him leaving the bank at 2:34.
Here, he is passing the ATM at 2:37.
Three minutes to walk 15 feet?
Maybe he stopped to tie his shoe.
Briefcase is in his right hand now.
Well, it was in his left hand when he left the bank.
Maybe he switched when he got shot.
What do we have from ballistics?
They're having trouble IDing the round.
Seems like a lot of folks
were waiting for this man
to come out of that bank.
Wonder what they knew about the deposit box that we don't.
Grimaldi's kids just got in to ID the body.
Maybe they have an idea.
Our father is shot and stabbed on one of the busiest streets
in Manhattan, and no one even noticed?
The cabbie was on a cell phone.
Plus, midtown and it was raining.
But you don't believe this was random?
We think the perpetrators were after whatever
your father kept in that safe deposit box.
I didn't even know he had a safe deposit box. Did you?
No.
Well, was he the kind of person that kept a lot of cash on him?
Our father never discussed his finances.
He lived on a pension.
Is there any kind of inheritance?
Maybe from your mother? Some stocks?
Anything somebody might have known about?
I don't think so.
Was there anyone he was close to?
JORDAN: Most of our father's friends have passed away.
What about Gail?
Gail? Gail Bartlet.
Since our mom died, she's been Dad's friend.
He was with her before Mom died.
Jordan said that? I'm surprised.
Their mother was very ill for several years before she died,
and Peter and I became friends.
His kids were under the impression
that he might have confided in you.
Peter rarely spoke to either of his children.
He wasn't what you would call
an intimate type of man, Detective.
He... He rarely confided in anyone, even me.
But there was a certain charm about Peter, an energy.
Uh, can you think of any reason
why somebody would have wanted to hurt him?
A few weeks ago, actually,
the doorbell rang.
Peter answered it and I heard him yelling.
Did you see who he was yelling at?
No. But when he came back into the room, I...
He was very angry, and I asked him what was wrong,
and he... he said the doorman
had let someone up he wasn't supposed to.
He say who? No.
But he was very upset about it, for a few days, actually.
A witness says you let someone up
to the Grimaldi place a few weeks ago.
Somebody he got pretty upset about.
I never let anybody up there. I told him that.
You think it did me any good?
Well, you do know who that person was?
If it's the time I'm thinking about, it was a process server.
Grimaldi had legal problems?
Thanks.
I guess. This guy came around a few times.
He must've finally snuck up while I was doing something else.
You know who he worked for?
All I know is Grimaldi tore me a new one for letting the guy in.
I ran Grimaldi's name through the court's computer.
There were no cases with his name in a caption,
so he isn't a plaintiff or a defendant.
The kids and the girlfriend
didn't know anything about a lawsuit either.
He could have been involved in litigation in some other way.
He worked for an insurance company, right?
He's been retired for over 10 years.
MAN: Here you go. I have an Aunt Opal.
Slipped in a supermarket once.
Took her 12 years to settle her case.
I was surprised when my assistant gave me your message.
Peter Grimaldi was a kind of dinosaur around here.
Worked for the company for over 40 years.
We were wondering if he was part
of any lawsuit involving All-Atlantic.
I had litigation pull our claims.
I'm afraid there's nothing here.
Which is not surprising, given Peter sold mostly life insurance.
Then he had a broker's license, right?
Of course. Why?
Any chance he was still doing business on the side?
Not with us.
Peter Grimaldi's license to sell insurance lapsed 11 years ago.
The last thing I see is a letter from someone
requesting a business address for him,
and that was three years ago.
A letter about what?
Oh, it's pretty hard to follow.
She claimed this guy Grimaldi
sold her family some insurance a long time ago,
then refused to pay.
But you can see right there,
she was talking about a guy named Pietro Grimaldi,
not Peter.
Pietro is Peter in Italian.
What happened to her complaint?
Nothing.
Like I said, we weren't sure she had the right guy.
Dora Wolkoff. Bronx, New York.
Ciao. That means goodbye.
Well, if you came to arrest her, you're a year too late.
Dora passed last December.
Happens all the time around here.
Yeah, it happens where we work, too.
She ever mention any legal problems she was having?
Like what sort of problems?
You know, like, maybe insurance problems.
You guys are here about Dora's insurance?
Actually, we're investigating the death
of a man named Peter Grimaldi.
Pietro Grimaldi?
You mean to tell me he was a real person?
What do you know about him?
Dora said this Pietro Grimaldi
sold her father some life insurance.
Used to say she was gonna walk out of here a rich lady.
So, he was real, huh?
I guess what comes around goes around, though.
Why do you say that?
Well, Dora said this guy wouldn't pay.
Said he'd done this thing to a bunch of other people.
You know, back in the old country.
ED: She ever mention any other names?
(SIGHS) I don't remember.
But I bet her daughter would know.
Evie used to write letters for them all the time.
So, you guys finally going to get him
to pay the money he owes me, or what?
Pietro Grimaldi was found murdered
a few days ago, Miss Wolkoff.
(LAUGHS)
Was he rich?
Why do you ask that?
Pietro Grimaldi was an insurance salesman, Detective.
During the war, he traveled through Poland and Czechoslovakia
selling life insurance policies to Jewish families.
Told them their money would be safe.
Said he worked for an Italian company, Federali Insurance.
Isn't that right, Hymie?
Yeah. (LAUGHS)
He sold a policy to Mr. Radzanower's family, too.
And there's others.
Then the war ends, he refused to pay.
Pietro Grimaldi took my grandfather's last dollar
and left my mother with nothing.
Wolkoff, Radzanower, Getzler, Ribet, Frank.
All Holocaust survivors or the families of Holocaust victims
who purchased life insurance policies from Pietro Grimaldi.
All of them stiffed by him.
And all with a motive to kill him.
How many?
VAN BUREN: Daughter gave us 59 names.
But she says there could be thousands.
Apparently Grimaldi used the Nazis as a marketing tool,
while figuring he'd never have to pay off on the policies.
I have an appointment with the Italian Consulate.
We'll see what they know about Federali Insurance.
Just when you thought that there weren't any more ways
to violate these people, an insurance scam.
The Italian government subpoenaed Grimaldi.
We recently started an investigation into allegations
that certain Italian insurance companies
sold life insurance policies to Jewish families in Eastern Europe
during the war and then refused to pay.
Refused why?
The companies claim there is no documentation
the policies were ever issued.
And now most of these companies don't even exist.
What about the company Grimaldi worked for in Italy,
Federali Insurance?
Bankrupt.
We traced over 1,100 policies to Federali Insurance.
But without Peter Grimaldi's testimony,
I'm afraid the truth may never be known.
Sounds like a pretty good motive
to make sure he didn't testify.
Yes.
Could I get copies of your files on Federali?
I'd like for one of our forensic accountants to examine them.
Aren't we just a little out of our jurisdiction?
Maybe not.
When Federali Insurance filed for bankruptcy,
they listed their outstanding policies.
Anyone from Evelyn Wolkoff's list?
No. But there were several American policy holders.
Who goes to Italy to buy life insurance during a war?
No one.
The policies were purchased at a brokerage here
in New York.
A brokerage in New York sold Federali's policies?
Guess who owned the brokerage.
All-Atlantic.
Because guess who owned Federali.
All-Atlantic.
I believe I've already told your two detectives
everything we knew about Mr. Grimaldi.
Strange you never mentioned the fact
All-Atlantic owned the Italian company
Grimaldi worked for during the war.
I don't see how that's relevant.
As a subsidiary, All-Atlantic is liable
for any policy written by Federali.
JACK: You see the relevance now, Mr. Bresler?
STEWART: We have never hidden from our obligations.
If you have any specific policy numbers,
we'd be happy to check our records.
I think you know we don't.
We're wondering if Grimaldi did.
Look, it's possible life insurance was sold
to someone who became a victim of the war.
But as chairman of this company,
I can assure you we have absolutely no knowledge
of any such policy.
Were you aware that the Italian government
had just subpoenaed Peter Grimaldi shortly before he was killed?
STEWART: Pure politics.
We went after their banks.
Now they'd like a go at us.
SO YOU were aware.
I don't think Mr. Stewart meant to imply
that he had any specific knowledge of the subpoena.
Only that he was aware of their investigation.
Exactly so.
Look, I sympathize with the frustration of someone
who believes that he was cheated by circumstance,
but I can't just turn this company into a deep pocket.
We are required to verify a policy's existence before we can pay.
And unfortunately, most of Federali's files
disappeared when the countries they were kept in
were taken over by the communists.
So, at this point, it would be totally irresponsible of us to pay.
You think the company my father worked for is behind his murder?
JACK: Just before his death, your father was subpoenaed by the Italian government
to give testimony about certain insurance policies he sold during the war.
Testimony that might have cost
All-Atlantic hundreds of millions of dollars.
Did your father ever tell you
about his work during the war?
Just that he was an insurance salesman.
But did he ever tell you who he sold insurance to
or how he came to work for All-Atlantic?
What are you saying? Who did my father sell insurance to?
Holocaust victims.
He kept a book.
DONNA: Jordan?
It was about 10 years ago, when he retired, he showed it to me.
It had names, dates, different numbers.
It was in my father's handwriting.
Why didn't you ever tell me?
JACK: Why did he show it to you?
He said it might be worth a lot of money one day,
and he wanted me to know about it, that's all.
It wasn't something I really wanted to think about.
Do you know what happened to that book?
No.
It seems Grimaldi kept a handwritten record
of the policies he sold in Eastern Europe. A book.
We had the police search his apartment. Nothing came up.
His son says Grimaldi showed him the book about 10 years ago.
The same time he opened the deposit box.
Who told Roland Dell it was there?
Dell's not talking to us.
Find out who talked to him.
Briscoe's report says Dell claimed
he had a job working for his brother-in-law.
Doing what?
Brother-in-law's working for a company called Burton Security.
His parole officer said you got him a job.
I never spoke with his parole officer.
Your brother-in-law's facing a murder charge, Mr. Hollis.
If you know something about that,
you could easily find yourself facing charges as well.
I passed his name along. To who?
Donald Burton.
The owner?
What sort of company is this?
We supply security to businesses.
So why pass Roland's name along?
A few weeks back, Burton comes to me,
says he needs somebody with street smarts.
Somebody who can keep his mouth shut.
Knows all about Roland.
Look, I got a family to feed,
but I didn't know he was going to rob nobody, I swear.
Man gave me a job, so what?
It's a race to the D.A.'s office, Mr. Dell.
The one who flips fastest wins.
How long do you think it's going to be
before Donald Burton tells us you robbed that guy on your own?
So what happens if he tells you what you want to know?
I'm prepared to offer 10 years on the homicide.
I'll also recommend his outstanding parole violation
run concurrent with that sentence.
That's three years for free.
Yeah, all right.
Um...
I met up with Reggie's boss, Burton,
and he tells me he wants me to rob this old man.
Gives me the 411 on the when and the where.
How about the what?
I was just supposed to take a book, that's all I know.
So why'd you stab him?
Man, once I snatched the case, the old man,
he grabs my jacket, he won't let go,
so I did what I needed to.
Who shot him?
Who shot who?
CARMICHAEL: The man you stabbed was also shot.
What?
I might make that parole recommendation
with a little more enthusiasm if I knew the truth.
Look, I don't know nothing about him being shot, and that is the truth.
Ask Burton if you don't believe me.
He was there, too.
He was watching the whole thing.
Look, so I hire a couple of questionable characters once in awhile.
Big deal.
You want to walk around a warehouse
in the South Bronx at 3:00 a.m.?
We're not talking about the South Bronx, Mr. Burton.
We're talking about midtown Manhattan.
Roland Dell gave a full statement.
We've also subpoenaed your bank records,
so we know you've done work for All-Atlantic Insurance.
JACK: What about it, Mr. Burton?
Oh, my God.
What's on the table?
JACK: Ten years. Same as Dell.
GARCIA: No.
He gave you us, we can give you more.
More to give, more to get.
What'd you have in mind, Counselor?
Five.
I'll consider seven.
Alan Bresler, from All-Atlantic Insurance,
he called me and told me he had a security problem.
Security problem?
He's a lawyer. That's the way he put it.
Said this guy Grimaldi used to work for them.
Told me he had a book with a list of policy numbers.
He tried to sell it to them,
but Hamilton Stewart wouldn't buy.
Where's the book now?
I gave the briefcase to Bresler.
Who was the shooter?
You telling me Grimaldi was shot?
There's the autopsy report.
Wait.
It had to be.
Had to be what?
I was sitting on the bank across the street.
When Grimaldi came out, I gave Dell the signal.
Only soon as I did,
Grimaldi starts up a conversation with this guy.
Describe him.
Uh, white. Six foot.
Thirty-five, forty. Black hair.
What else did you see?
Looked like they were arguing.
That's when he must have shot him.
And then the old man walks away
and Dell does his thing.
We believe him? Doesn't make sense,
he wouldn't give up the shooter. (DOOR OPENS)
Ballistics report on Grimaldi.
The bullet was a 9 mm manufactured in Italy.
FBI lab determined it was fired from a 1934 Italian GAR.
Family heirloom.
Grimaldi's son registered a '34 GAR
in Pennsylvania, 15 years ago.
Is your brother here?
Jordan.
Jordan Grimaldi, you're under arrest
for the murder of Peter Grimaldi.
Jordan, what's going on?
Put your hands behind your back.
DONNA: Jordan?
Oh, my God, no! What's going on?
It's okay. It's okay, Donna. It's gonna be all right.
Burton told us Grimaldi tried to sell the book.
Maybe his son thought he could cut a better deal.
Why tell us about the book in the first place?
It doesn't matter.
We still have two homicides
and one body to go around.
The problem is, if we go after the son for the murder,
we just about guarantee reasonable doubt for Bresler and Stewart.
We go after those two, the boy gets a walk.
There's a third option.
Go after the son for the murder
and Bresler and Stewart for grand larceny.
Since when did you become a defense attorney?
Grimaldi was robbed to prevent those people
from collecting on their insurance policies.
Every policy would constitute a separate count.
How many counts we talking about?
Over a thousand. That we know of.
They'll need a calculator or two to figure out the sentence.
Your Honor, People are amending their complaint,
dismissing the homicide counts
and adding the charge of Grand Larceny.
1,136 counts. Is that number correct, Miss Carmichael?
As per the Italian Consulate, it is, Your Honor.
Theft of insurance policy numbers?
Judge, those policies were sold more than 50 years ago.
Peter Grimaldi's robbery and murder
takes care of the statute of limitations.
I agree. But I won't remand these defendants on a larceny charge.
Bail is set at 100,000 each.
(GAVEL POUNDS)
Figured you might pull a stunt like this.
Motion to dismiss.
Without the book, you've got nothing.
"Jordan Grimaldi."
Defendant is charged with first degree murder.
Except for him, of course.
Mr. Gold is right.
Without the book, you have no proof sufficient
for a conviction.
But we do for an indictment, Your Honor.
It's an exercise in futility, Your Honor.
They can't produce that book.
Do you know something we don't, Mr. Gold?
I'll let the trial go forward, Mr. McCoy.
But you better have the goods at the end of the People's case.
(SIGHS)
If they're smart, the book's already in the shredder.
Maybe. But we still have the next best thing.
Was it the money, Mr. Grimaldi?
Is that why you killed your father?
Haven't you done enough to my brother?
JACK: I think your brother
was in serious trouble long before we got there.
What do you know about me? Jordan, don't talk.
I never wanted the money.
That was blood money.
Then why didn't you tell someone about the book?
It must have been difficult learning about your father.
You don't have to answer.
I think he does, Counselor.
I think he needs to answer.
My father was responsible for his own death.
Jordan, please listen to the lawyer.
They can't prove anything.
You're the only one, other than your father,
that's ever seen what's inside that book.
Without your testimony, these men will walk.
If that happens, I promise,
your brother will do enough time for all of them.
What's your offer?
Nothing. Until he takes the stand.
Afterwards, I'll be willing to listen.
You're asking him to testify without a plea bargain?
I won't inquire about the shooting.
If the defense does, he can take the Fifth Amendment.
I'm offering you the chance
to do what you failed to do that day.
JACK: You're originally from Poland,
is that right, Mr. Radzanower?
From Budzanov. A little town.
And you knew a man named Pietro Grimaldi?
I knew him, yes.
Tell us how, if you would, sir.
It was 1939.
The last time we were all together as a family.
The Germans just moved into Poland,
and things became very difficult.
Difficult? For the Jews.
My father owned a small trucking company.
He came to work one day
to find all his trucks burned
and the windows of our garage broken.
Unfortunately, most of the Poles
didn't need much encouragement to hate us.
That night, Grimaldi showed up.
And he talked to your father?
He told my father
the Jews are being killed in Germany.
It's just a matter of time for all of us.
Then he showed my father a picture
of women and children in a ditch, shot.
Then he offered to sell my father insurance.
Of course, he bought.
JACK: And you're sure this was Pietro Grimaldi?
My father made us memorize Grimaldi's name,
and he told us where to go
if something should happen.
And what happened to your family, Mr. Radzanower?
Hitler happened.
And when it was over,
I could only find my sister.
She was very sick.
I was 17, and we were alone.
JACK: And what did you do?
We walked. Over a year.
I carried her most of the time.
To Italy.
To where my father told me Grimaldi should be.
And did you find him?
Yes. I asked him for our money.
I told him without it my sister would die.
And what did he say?
He said he doesn't remember my father.
He has no record of any policy.
And without a death certificate,
I don't have even proof that my father is dead.
The Nazis did not give any death certificates.
I have only one from Italy.
For my sister.
I have nothing further.
(CLEARING THROAT)
Prior to this trial, sir,
had you ever heard of the All-Atlantic Insurance Company?
No.
Then your father did not buy a policy from them, did he?
He bought from Federali.
So you would not have made a claim
against the All-Atlantic Insurance Company,
because you had no basis to believe
that they owed you any money, is that right?
Objection.
The question calls for a legal conclusion.
Judge, it is the People's theory
that my clients stole a book
to prevent this man and others like him from claiming their insurance.
I'd like a chance to find out whether
he thinks my clients owed him any money in the first place.
Do you think these men owe you anything, Mr. Radzanower?
I think these men should close their eyes
and see my sister.
See my sister as a little girl she was once,
and a woman she should have been.
Then I want them to open their eyes
and tell me if they think they owe me anything.
My father showed me a book.
He told me he'd kept a record of all the insurance policies
he sold during the war, so he wouldn't be cheated out of his commissions.
What sort of a record was this?
Names, dates, policy numbers, places.
What places?
Warsaw, Lodz, Vienna, Prague.
How many policies were there?
Maybe a thousand. Maybe more.
Nothing further.
You didn't have a very good relationship with your father,
did you, Mr. Grimaldi?
No.
In fact, you hated the man.
I loved my father. I hated what he'd done.
You mean, like, selling those policies.
And having kept them secret, yes.
I see.
Well, tell us, when did you find out about the book?
About 10 years ago.
Ten years?
Tell anybody, Mr. Grimaldi?
No.
Like father, like son. Objection.
Isn't it a fact that he only reason you're coming forward now
with this fiction about a book
is that you were offered a plea bargain?
A plea bargain for the murder of your own father.
Objection.
I wasn't offered a plea bargain.
JUDGE: Sustained.
Did you murder your father?
Mr. Grimaldi, I have to warn you,
you have the right not to answer under the Fifth Amendment.
Judge, let me talk to my client.
I don't need to talk to my lawyer.
The record reflects counsel refused.
I shot him.
GOLD: And the whole thing about this book was a scam, wasn't it?
JORDAN: No.
A scam to save your father, and now to save you.
That is a lie. GOLD: There never was a book.
There was. There was a book.
And you're right.
I should have said something a long time ago.
GOLD: But you didn't, did you?
When he told me, told me what it was,
I begged him to turn it in.
But he wouldn't listen.
My father never listened.
GOLD: So it's only now, when you're facing a murder charge
that you decide to come forward, is that it?
My father called me a few weeks ago
and told me he'd been subpoenaed.
He wanted to make sure I didn't say anything
to anybody about the book.
He told me he was going to sell it.
To them.
He even offered me money.
For my children, he said.
Object as non-responsive.
Overruled.
You can finish your answer, sir.
When he came out of the bank, I was waiting for him.
I had the gun.
But I had to stop him.
When he saw it, he became enraged.
He reached for it.
It went off.
He just looked at me
and then he walked away.
If my father had sold that book
and I had done nothing to stop him,
I would have been lost forever.
Even I have to admit it's pretty hard to blame him.
Even harder to figure how to punish him.
Can I talk to you?
You shouldn't do that without your lawyer, Mr. Bresler.
I am a lawyer, Mr. McCoy.
I know what I'm doing.
You won't be able to change your mind.
I just watched someone's son ruin his life
over the shame of his father's acts.
I have a son myself.
BRESLER: I'd found out what we'd done in '92.
Hamilton Stewart had been the Director
of All-Atlantic's European Operations during the war.
He'd just read something about a Jewish family
suing a Swiss bank and its director.
He was afraid something like that could happen to us.
He wanted to know what our liability was.
You mean, his liability.
Yes.
What did you tell him?
That both he and the company had considerable exposure.
If those policies could ever be proven to exist.
ARTHUR: Enter the book.
When Peter got the subpoena, he called Stewart.
Told him he was going to turn the book over to the Italians
unless he was paid $2 million.
Why not pay?
There's no way to hide a payment like that.
That's when the decision was made to obtain the book.
You mean, to steal it.
I was told to tell Peter we had the money,
and that he should bring the book to my office.
Burton would be waiting for him when he came out of the bank.
Where's the book now?
Burton gave it to me and I gave it to Hamilton Stewart.
I know what I did was a terrible thing.
Your day of reckoning isn't today.
Put Stewart in jail.
At no time did lever order anyone
to participate in a robbery,
nor did I ever try to purchase any book.
And the testimony we heard from Alan Bresler that you did?
STEWART: Complete fabrication.
GOLD: So, you also deny any effort by you or your company
to prevent Holocaust victims
from collecting on their legitimate insurance policies?
Of course I do. Our hearts go out to any victim of war.
But All-Atlantic is a publicly traded company,
and as such it has an obligation to its shareholders.
I simply can't turn it into a charity when it suits us.
Thank you, sir.
Did your hearts also go out to them
when your subsidiary was selling them life insurance,
knowing they had no chance of ever collecting?
That was never done.
Wasn't it?
In 1932, Federali Insurance was writing
about a million dollars a year in life insurance.
By 1942, that number increased 10 times over.
How do you suppose that happened, Mr. Stewart?
You're talking about a long time ago.
Don't tell us you've forgotten the details
that made your career at All-Atlantic.
You were able to sell those policies
because of the persecution of Jewish families. Isn't that what happened?
I didn't know anything about that.
Didn't know?
You were All-Atlantic's Director
for Eastern European Operations in 1938, weren't you?
Yes. And Federali
and its salesmen were reporting directly to you, weren't they?
There were rumors, that's all.
Unsubstantiated rumors.
The numbers don't lie, Mr. Stewart.
Are you telling us that you suspected nothing?
You make it sound like we were the only ones.
We weren't.
American car companies,
banks,
airplane manufacturers.
We were all doing business with Germany.
My God, our own State Department
refused entry to these people
based on the same information we had.
It was just business.
Yes. Good business.
So good, you rewarded Peter Grimaldi
with a job at the parent company
the minute he stepped off the boat, didn't you?
Peter had produced for us in Europe.
Pretty risky proposition for an insurance company
to sell life insurance during wartime, isn't it, Mr. Stewart?
I suppose.
Because war raises the risk of death, isn't that right?
Yes.
And death is certainly not good business
for a life insurance company, is it?
No.
But All-Atlantic couldn't sell policies fast enough, could it?
Because you knew the people you were selling to
had no hope of ever collecting.
No hope of ever presenting a death certificate.
Objection.
Maybe they should have brought
their parents' ashes in a bag to you.
Mr. McCoy.
Millions of dollars being made in the sale of life insurance,
and yet, after over 50 years,
not a single policy ever paid.
What do you suppose happened
to all those people, Mr. Stewart?
I have no idea.
Don't tell us you didn't know.
The fact of the matter is, you counted on it.
The book for probation.
That's your proposition?
STEWART: Did you know that Federali
was originally founded by a Jewish family?
They were doing it to their own people.
Mr. McCoy, that book can ease a lot of financial pain.
I won't let your client use his company's money
to pay his debt to society.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a closing argument to write.
What can I get for the book?
Four to twelve.
And I want a written agreement waiving your right
to contest extradition to Italy if they want you there.
JACK: Turned out to be the only bargaining chip they had.
Insurance for the insurance men.
Still, it's scary to think that without that book,
they could have claimed none of it was real.
It wasn't the book that made it real.