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New York City.
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Happy new year!
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At the dawn of the 80s,
it was exploding
with opportunity.
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[newsreader] Boom times,
that's what the markets
signal today.
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An economy
that's on a roll
in this country.
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A place to seek money,
power, fame.
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Amid the glitz and greed,
five titans seized their moment.
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But in 1987,
the boom times came to a halt.
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And with the party over,
the backlash began.
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A Wall Street cheat
found his reputation in ruins.
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[newsreader] Boesky admitted
to profiting
from insider trading.
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And decided
he wouldn't go down alone.
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Boesky ratted out everybody.
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A Hotel Queen faced
a city full of angry subjects.
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And I hope she gets everything
that comes to her.
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And a future behind bars.
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She had been indicted
on a great many counts.
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I'm innocent.
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A gilded gangster continued
to taunt the feds.
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He was just out there,
thumbing his nose
at law enforcement.
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Even as he handed them
a smoking gun.
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Tape recorded conversations
were a gold mine for the FBI,
they were a jackpot.
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And while a politically minded
prosecutor pounced
on them all...
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Giuliani earned this reputation
as this law and order person.
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If you violate the law,
you go to prison.
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A developer from Queens
kept pushing his luck.
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Eventually, word started
to get out. It was time
to take him down.
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It was a toxic wind
that was ripe to blow up.
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He said, "I wish you could see
her naked." Even today, it makes
me uncomfortable.
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These five titans would reshape
the city and the world
we live in today.
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But as the 90s neared,
they'd finally face their day
of reckoning.
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-Are you surprised?
-No comment.
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And empires would fall.
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We are very honorable people.
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[shouting]
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Black Monday, October 19th,
1987 when the stock market
went into a free fall.
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Today's precipitous plunge
struck fear in the hearts
and pocket books
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of even Wall Street veterans.
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The market is now
down 221 points.
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Does that make you nervous?
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No, I died already.
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Black Monday
was the inflection point
at which all of a sudden
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the party screeched to a halt.
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[newsreader]
In trading rooms on Wall Street
there was panic.
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Sell orders flooded in from big
institutional investors,
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from private investors.
From mutual funds.
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A bull market that had gone on
too far and too long
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without enough corrections
suddenly just went down.
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[newsreader] The largest drop
in stock market history,
falling 508 points on the Dow.
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It was this absolutely
terrifying event
where the market was plummeting
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and it didn't feel
like it would ever stop.
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[newsreader] More than 604
million shares changed hands
with the decline of 22.6 percent
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far greater than the single-day
loss of 1929 which ignited
The Great Depression.
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Panic, complete panic.
Everyone's going crazy.
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What happens
when everybody tries to leave
the room at the same time?
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Well, nobody can get out.
And that's the 1987 crash
in a nutshell.
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There were moments
where Washington bureaucrats
believed that not only
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Wall Street
but the American economy
could melt down.
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The chastening that everybody
who went through Black Monday
went through.
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There was a new found caution
that it instilled in everybody
I knew on Wall Street.
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We'd now seen what was possible
when the confetti years
suddenly turned dark.
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It was a devastating blow
to public confidence
in the markets.
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But it wasn't the first.
For months, a drum beat
of revelations had cast a shadow
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on Wall Street. Starting
with the spectacular collapse
of an arbitrager.
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[newsreader] Ivan Boesky came to
the US District Court today
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squeezed
into a Japanese compact car.
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He's already paid 100 million
in penalties
for insider trading violations,
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is barred from the securities
industry for life, disbarred,
and, his lawyer says, broke.
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[Sorkin] The Boesky story
represented this rags-to-riches
guy who came from nothing
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who rode the Wall Street wave.
He became emblematic
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of what Wall Street was
in the 1980s and the idea
that he was rubbing
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his success in people's faces
'cause he was so out there
with his success,
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he was so public
about his success. When he came
undone, the lips curled.
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People smiled.
The schadenfreude was thick.
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[inaudible]
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[Stewart] When Boesky agreed
to plead guilty,
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he knew he's be sentenced
to some kind of prison term.
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Depending on the value
of his cooperation.
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[Madrick] Boesky decided to
cooperate 'cause he didn't think
he had any way to fight it out.
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He was guilty and he wanted
to save his ass.
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[newsreader] Boesky faces
up to five years in prison
and a fine of $250,000.
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It had been a remarkable run
for the kid from Detroit.
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But now he knew it had come
to an end.
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And if he had to end
other careers to minimize
the fallout, well, so be it.
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So Boesky ratted out everybody.
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[newsreader] All over the US,
people have been shocked
by scenes like this.
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Investment banker Martin Siegel
ducking reporters after pleading
guilty to insider trading.
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[Stewart] Siegel said always
felt guilty for feeding
information to Boesky
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and now Martin Siegel
is over and Boesky was
at the heart of the case
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of securities law violations
against Michael Milken.
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He was the center
of this information hub.
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That's the most powerful
position you can possible be on
in Wall Street.
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[newsreader] He was worth more
than a billion dollars when he
got caught cooking the books.
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[Stewart] Michael Milken
eventually pleaded guilty
to six felonies
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and agreed to pay
600 million in fines.
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[Guiliani] Mr. Boesky has been
extremely valuable,
without his cooperation
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there would be people
who would be involved in ongoing
fraudulent transactions.
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While the arbitrager
downfall destroyed the careers
of those around him,
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it bolstered the career
of one cunning prosecutor
who made the most
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of every white collar crook
he could cuff.
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[newsreader] Since 1984 there
have been more than 48 cases
of insider trading,
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many involving the financial
community, brought by New York's
US Attorney, Rudolph Giuliani.
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They're seen usually
as very shrewd, very capable,
very industrious.
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Yet there's this whole
other side to their life
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in which they are cheating
and lying and stealing.
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Which they keep secret.
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[Kirtzman] Rudy Giuliani wanted
to be the center of attention
and to give enormous power
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to ruin people's lives.
There was a famous case
of Giuliani going after traders
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at Kidder Peabody
and handcuffing them
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and marching them
across the trading room floor.
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How much did you make
from your inside information?
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[Mahler] A perp walk is the idea
of arresting people in this very
public and almost theatrical way
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marching them out of offices
so that the news cameras
would capture these guys.
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Do you think the others
are doing the same thing
you are?
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[Mahler] Publicly parading
these Wall Street millionaires,
as if they were common criminals
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It was intended to be a form
of deterrence, look what'll
happen if you break the law.
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But you could just as easily
argue that he was showboating.
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Everything was kind
of a PR campaign for Giuliani.
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He's busting these guys,
he's locking 'em up,
he's indicting them.
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He did that on purpose
and it enhanced his reputation
as the Sheriff of New York.
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Part of the criticism was,
"Well, those are decent
white collar guys.
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"They, they, and white guys,
to boot. they shouldn't be
subjected
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"to this kind of thing
that actual criminals
are subjected to."
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I, I thought,
"No, this is good."
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[Stewart] To this day
there are people
on Wall Street who criticize him
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but the American people
needed to see these people
being held accountable,
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that these very wealthy, so-
called Masters of the Universe
were not above the law.
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They committed crimes.
Why not go after 'em?
Why not go after the big fish?
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All this profligate behavior
started to begin to move
very much out of vogue.
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The so-called
"Masters of the Universe"
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were trading their penthouses
for prison cells.
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Once the heroes of the decade,
they were now its villains.
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Anyone who embodied these areas
of New York City power,
Giuliani took aim at.
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If you violate the law,
whether it's insider trading
or tax evasion,
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or fraud or bribery,
and so-called
"white collar crime,"
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the overwhelming general rule
is that you go to prison.
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As the disgraced trader awaited
his sentencing, the prosecutor
savored his victory.
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But not for long because he'd
already set his sights
on an even juicier target.
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It is now alleged
that they did not pay
millions of dollars in taxes.
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[newsreader] US Attorney
Rudolph Giuliani said if
the Helmsleys are found guilty,
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they will serve some jail time.
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It was the late 80s in New York
and the cultural tide
was turning.
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For years, some of
the city's elite had treated
their wealth and fame
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as a license
to act with impunity.
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But now the public was growing
tired of their antics
and a hard-driving prosecutor
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was capitalizing
on their outrage,
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going after
the formerly untouchable
with a vengeance.
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[newsreader] Former Miss America
and New York City official
Bess Myerson
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is facing a possible 30 years
in prison and a half a million
dollars in fines.
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We prosecute
all sorts of people.
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Little people,
in-between people,
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and some
of the wealthiest billionaires
in the United States.
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And there was no better target
among New York's high society
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than the Queen of Real Estate,
who had been outed
as a tax cheat in the press.
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She might have been a scapegoat
for the greed and excess
of the 80s,
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but she brought it on herself.
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The Helmlseys,
one of the world's wealthiest
couples, were indicted
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in New York today on state
and federal charges
involving a tax scam.
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She was an easy target.
So imperious, so mean.
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[inaudible]
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Leona Helmsley was supposed
to have impeccable taste,
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you'd expect
to have impeccable morals
and she didn't.
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New Yorkers had loved her
as the queen who stood guard,
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tending to her customers'
every whim.
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But a queen who defrauded
the government
and stiffed her contractors?
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That they found
far less charming.
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[newsreader] Harry and Leona
are in trouble because
they spent millions of dollars
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on renovations
at their Connecticut estate.
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Twenty-nine acres, 28 rooms,
and allegedly charged it to
their businesses for deductions.
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[Plaskin] She was allegedly
deducting personal expenses
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as business expenses
or expenses for her hotels.
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[Feldshuh] She was indicted on
one count of conspiracy
to defraud the United States.
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Three counts of tax evasion,
three counts of falsifying
personal tax returns.
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Ten counts of mail fraud.
She had been indicted
on a great many counts.
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[newsreader] The Feds also
allege that Mrs. Helmsley
extorted money from suppliers,
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demanded and received kickbacks
in exchange
for Helmsley business.
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Well, you wouldn't call her
cheap. You would call her tight.
She thought that,
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"I'm paying him a lot of money,
why won't he do this for me
for next to nothing or nothing?"
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I confronted her, I said,
"Is it true that, you know,
you didn't pay contractors
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00:12:14,968 --> 00:12:17,068
"or you tried to get services
for free?"
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She said, "Well, the bill
that he gave me was too high."
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She started talking
about feeling victimized
by the government.
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After all, she paid millions
of dollars in taxes.
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00:12:28,115 --> 00:12:31,416
She didn't think she did
anything wrong
and she stuck to that.
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It isn't fair. It isn't fair.
Plus I look like [inaudible]
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It was clear from the beginning
that Leona Helmsley was not
interested in pleading guilty.
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I have done nothing wrong.
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[Plaskin] By the time she went
to trial, she was so famous
and so notorious,
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it would have been
almost impossible
to find a jury of her peers
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who didn't have that image
of her that had been painted
in the press.
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Harry and Leona Helmlsey
are so rich they could
practically start
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00:13:00,881 --> 00:13:03,982
their own country
and if they did they wouldn't
have to pay taxes,
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00:13:04,084 --> 00:13:06,718
since it appears
that they're not too fond
of them anyway.
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[newsreader] Leona Helmsley made
an understated entrance to court
no lima, no husband Harry.
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[Dowling] The story was that
he was no longer mentally able
to go through a trial.
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But I think
what actually happened
was Harry had done
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00:13:23,703 --> 00:13:27,105
so many favors for every judge,
every official
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that they were not about
to prosecute their friend
for something that his wife did.
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00:13:31,812 --> 00:13:34,846
[Feldshuh] Leona Helmlsey
hired Gerald Feffer
to defend her.
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00:13:34,948 --> 00:13:41,085
He took an unorthodox
point of view that he had hoped
would save her.
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[Devita] What he actually said
in opening statement is,
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"You may hear
that Leona Helmsley
is a tough bitch.
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00:13:48,261 --> 00:13:50,595
"It's not a crime
to be a tough bitch."
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Feldshuh He tried to prove that
you cannot send a person to
prison just for being
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a tough bitch, just for not
liking them, just for thinking
that they were imperialistic.
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These were oversights
that she didn't know
what was going on,
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00:14:01,875 --> 00:14:05,877
that she was more concerned
with dust in the corner than she
was with her accounting firm.
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Did we steal somebody's money?
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00:14:08,915 --> 00:14:11,049
Oh, the government
says you stole theirs.
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00:14:11,151 --> 00:14:13,184
Did they prove it?
211
00:14:13,286 --> 00:14:17,388
[newsreader] Prosecution called
44 witnesses,
many of them former employees
212
00:14:17,490 --> 00:14:20,058
who described Leona
as greedy and arrogant.
213
00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:23,661
Everybody who was around her
knew what a terror she was.
214
00:14:23,763 --> 00:14:26,331
And that always catches up
with people. And it did.
215
00:14:26,433 --> 00:14:31,336
[newsreader] Former employees
testified about doctored
invoices for everything
216
00:14:31,438 --> 00:14:34,706
from Louis XVI furniture
to carrots and potatoes.
217
00:14:34,941 --> 00:14:37,675
You could see
that she was unhappy
at some of the testimony.
218
00:14:37,777 --> 00:14:41,512
Certainly, there must be
one person in this entire world
219
00:14:41,615 --> 00:14:48,486
that would say
I'm a decent person.
They didn't bring anyone in.
220
00:14:48,588 --> 00:14:54,926
[Silverstein] The coup de grâce
was when her housekeeper
testified that Leona had said,
221
00:14:55,028 --> 00:14:58,997
"Only little people pay taxes."
So everybody hated her
after that.
222
00:14:59,099 --> 00:15:03,334
I sat down with a housemaid ?
223
00:15:03,436 --> 00:15:06,604
And said, "Let's have tea?"
Or where was it?
224
00:15:06,706 --> 00:15:12,677
In the bedroom, what?
And I said, "Do you know only
the little people pay taxes?"
225
00:15:12,779 --> 00:15:17,782
Does this make sense
to intelligent people? Huh?
This story was concocted.
226
00:15:17,884 --> 00:15:22,754
And contrived. And boy did that
make the newspapers, didn't it?
227
00:15:22,856 --> 00:15:26,724
"Paying taxes is for
the little people."
Wow, such a great line.
228
00:15:26,826 --> 00:15:29,761
It'll be on her gravestone,
it probably is
on her gravestone, actually.
229
00:15:29,863 --> 00:15:32,597
"RIP
Taxes are for
the little people."
230
00:15:33,033 --> 00:15:39,370
"Only the little people
pay taxes."
That was her against us.
231
00:15:39,472 --> 00:15:44,642
We were the downtrodden,
poor, misunderstood public
232
00:15:44,744 --> 00:15:47,612
and she was the big bad wolf.
233
00:15:47,714 --> 00:15:51,916
Sooner or later you gotta pay
the piper and I hope she gets
everything that comes to her.
234
00:15:52,018 --> 00:15:55,787
It's poor, middle class
who have to pay taxes.
235
00:15:55,889 --> 00:16:00,224
But the little people
don't just pay taxes.
They sit on juries too.
236
00:16:00,327 --> 00:16:04,929
And they were about to hand
the Queen of Mean a verdict
that would seal her fate.
237
00:16:06,433 --> 00:16:09,067
Ms. Helmsley, do you have
any response
to these allegations at all?
238
00:16:09,169 --> 00:16:12,136
While a day of reckoning
had arrived
for some New York titans
239
00:16:12,238 --> 00:16:16,307
who'd overplayed their hands,
others continued
to push their luck.
240
00:16:17,644 --> 00:16:22,680
By the late 1980s, Donald Trump
was building
seemingly everywhere.
241
00:16:22,782 --> 00:16:25,616
And buying seemingly everything.
242
00:16:25,719 --> 00:16:30,421
[newsreader] He already owns
Trump Tower, Trump Plaza,
Trump Park, and Trump Castle.
243
00:16:30,523 --> 00:16:34,158
He bought the Eastern Shuttle
and renamed it Trump Shuttle.
244
00:16:34,260 --> 00:16:37,862
We were the first plane out
this morning, we were the most
successful flight this morning.
245
00:16:37,964 --> 00:16:40,999
We had more people than anybody
else and I think we had better
service than anybody else.
246
00:16:41,101 --> 00:16:46,571
All of these things were not
money makers. So they added
to his overall debt.
247
00:16:47,974 --> 00:16:51,509
[Kruse] The banks continued
to give him more money.
248
00:16:51,611 --> 00:16:55,546
the press he received
largely was uncritical.
249
00:16:55,648 --> 00:16:59,784
He was living
this consequence-free existence.
250
00:16:59,886 --> 00:17:04,055
So there was no reason for him
to dial back his behavior.
251
00:17:07,994 --> 00:17:11,863
By 1988, the striver from Queens
had become a national celebrity.
252
00:17:11,965 --> 00:17:16,768
And his thirst for attention
was leading him to make one bold
move after another.
253
00:17:16,870 --> 00:17:19,404
But there were certain things
he wasn't sharing
with the press.
254
00:17:19,506 --> 00:17:22,407
And it was those
that would threaten to undo him.
255
00:17:24,177 --> 00:17:27,378
It's gonna be fancier than ever.
The Plaza Hotel
is getting a face lift
256
00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:30,882
and the new owners, the Trumps,
reveal their ambitious plans
today.
257
00:17:30,984 --> 00:17:37,722
The purchase of the Plaza Hotel
for $400 million was simply
a trophy purchase.
258
00:17:37,824 --> 00:17:43,094
And using junk bond,
high interest rate financing,
just complicated it more.
259
00:17:44,064 --> 00:17:49,000
I think that Donald thought
that he was capable
of pulling this off.
260
00:17:49,102 --> 00:17:51,069
You know, I, I think
he was delusional.
261
00:17:51,971 --> 00:17:54,839
The first thing that he did
was announce to the world
262
00:17:54,941 --> 00:17:59,844
that he was making Ivana Trump
the president of the Plaza Hotel
263
00:17:59,946 --> 00:18:02,080
and that he was going to pay her
in dresses.
264
00:18:02,182 --> 00:18:05,450
That she could have
as many dresses, buy as many
dresses as she wants.
265
00:18:06,152 --> 00:18:11,956
I thought the greatest toy
that I could give Ivana would be
to put her at the Plaza Hotel.
266
00:18:12,058 --> 00:18:15,593
[Kruse] When she started running
the Plaza,
this created friction.
267
00:18:15,695 --> 00:18:18,262
He was Donald Trump
but she was Ivana Trump.
268
00:18:18,364 --> 00:18:22,300
She was becoming a character
in her own right.
269
00:18:22,769 --> 00:18:29,373
Donald was so intent on building
his empire and Ivana was sort of
a piece in the empire.
270
00:18:29,476 --> 00:18:34,045
She was a beautiful,
smart woman
who could fit into his life.
271
00:18:34,781 --> 00:18:39,617
A lot of women in your position
would feel overshadowed
by their husband.
272
00:18:39,719 --> 00:18:42,653
-Do you ever feel that?
-Not at all. Not at all.
273
00:18:42,755 --> 00:18:47,291
[Brown] I think people forget
what a big figure Ivana Trump
was in the 80s.
274
00:18:47,393 --> 00:18:51,863
I mean, we did as many pieces
about Ivana
as we did about The Donald.
275
00:18:51,965 --> 00:18:56,400
Of course Ivana and he together
were the ultimate glitzy duo
276
00:18:56,503 --> 00:18:58,703
who were out every night
and who you could not miss.
277
00:18:58,805 --> 00:19:05,510
She and he shared
a certain aesthetic sensibility
of blond and gold
278
00:19:05,612 --> 00:19:08,579
and cosmeticized
to within an inch of her life.
279
00:19:09,382 --> 00:19:12,750
[Res] I always thought Ivana
would do whatever
he asked her to do.
280
00:19:12,852 --> 00:19:15,153
It was always about pleasing him
and impressing him.
281
00:19:15,255 --> 00:19:21,225
[O'Donnell] She absolutely
worshiped Donald Trump but they
had a business relationship too
282
00:19:21,327 --> 00:19:24,896
Now all of us that ran
these properties had screaming
matches with Donald.
283
00:19:24,998 --> 00:19:29,567
And she did as well.
She was not a pushover
and anybody that suggests
284
00:19:29,669 --> 00:19:36,007
that she was just didn't know,
you know, really how smart
and how tough Ivana Trump was.
285
00:19:36,109 --> 00:19:38,509
Is there anything
you wouldn't support you man in?
286
00:19:38,611 --> 00:19:43,614
Oh sure. [laughs] Oh sure.
I wouldn't support him
a few things.
287
00:19:43,716 --> 00:19:49,220
I wouldn't support if Donald
would be running around
and fooling around.
288
00:19:49,322 --> 00:19:52,456
You know,
that I couldn't live with.
289
00:19:52,559 --> 00:19:56,027
I used to say to her,
"Ivana, you know, you better
keep your eye on the ball here
290
00:19:56,129 --> 00:19:59,964
"because, you know, Donald
is young, handsome,
and now very rich and powerful."
291
00:20:00,867 --> 00:20:06,370
[O'Donnell] I did see Donald
talk publicly about Ivana
in a way that he hadn't done
292
00:20:06,472 --> 00:20:11,142
up to that time.
It was more negative,
more jokingly, putting her down.
293
00:20:12,779 --> 00:20:17,615
And he talked about how women
were after him. "This one wants
me, that one wants me."
294
00:20:17,717 --> 00:20:22,386
[Fox] He loved beautiful women
and he loves something
that would stroke his ego.
295
00:20:22,822 --> 00:20:27,458
Trump had spent his entire life
believing he can get away
with anything.
296
00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:32,263
[inaudible]
297
00:20:32,365 --> 00:20:35,600
As I was writing
The Art of The Deal ,
it wasn't clear to me
298
00:20:35,702 --> 00:20:38,469
that he was simultaneously
carrying on an affair.
299
00:20:40,039 --> 00:20:44,408
[Evans] Every year there was
an American Booksellers
Association Convention.
300
00:20:45,345 --> 00:20:49,113
This particular year was going
to be in Las Vegas. Donald said,
301
00:20:49,215 --> 00:20:50,781
"Hey, let's just go out
in my plane."
302
00:20:50,883 --> 00:20:55,620
What fun.
His plane was set up
like a living room.
303
00:20:55,722 --> 00:20:57,855
It was very glamorous,
lots of velvet.
304
00:20:58,591 --> 00:21:03,694
And just as we land
and are getting our things
together, a door opens.
305
00:21:03,796 --> 00:21:06,797
A door to, I think a bedroom
or something.
306
00:21:07,600 --> 00:21:12,336
All along, a stowaway,
Marla Maples, comes out.
307
00:21:13,606 --> 00:21:18,175
She's been on the plane
with us the entire time.
I am so shocked, it's like,
308
00:21:18,278 --> 00:21:22,213
I don't know, the scarlet letter
or something
right in front of me of like,
309
00:21:22,315 --> 00:21:26,984
"Oh." It was such a scandal,
you cannot imagine.
Everybody's mouth dropped.
310
00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:32,023
[O'Donnell] Marla Maples was
a fun loving, "let's have
a party" kind of woman.
311
00:21:32,125 --> 00:21:35,893
Ivana and Marla
were polar opposites.
312
00:21:36,729 --> 00:21:39,130
[Fox] Marla Maples
grew up in Georgia,
313
00:21:39,232 --> 00:21:41,732
she was definitely
a southern belle
and Georgia peach.
314
00:21:43,102 --> 00:21:48,005
She was someone who competed
and won the
Miss Hawaiian Tropic pageant.
315
00:21:48,775 --> 00:21:52,543
[O'Donnell] Donald Trump
just saw beauty in her
and I think he saw youth.
316
00:21:52,645 --> 00:21:56,647
He loved that image so much
of being with a younger woman.
317
00:21:58,251 --> 00:22:02,586
One time at a dinner, he said,
"I wish you could
see her naked."
318
00:22:03,156 --> 00:22:09,694
And I was... I just cringed.
Even today it makes me,
it makes me uncomfortable.
319
00:22:10,730 --> 00:22:13,531
[Fox] Marla was a struggling,
young model.
320
00:22:13,633 --> 00:22:17,735
Each opportunity that you find
can be so instrumental
in your future.
321
00:22:17,837 --> 00:22:23,240
She had nothing and needed him.
And I think he loved
that need to be needed.
322
00:22:23,676 --> 00:22:28,212
-My wife Ivana, who's accepted--
-[applause]
323
00:22:28,314 --> 00:22:33,050
[Fox] Eventually, word started
to get out that Donald
was dating another woman.
324
00:22:33,152 --> 00:22:35,820
And I don't think she wanted
to believe it was true,
325
00:22:35,922 --> 00:22:38,289
no one wants to believe that
about their husband.
326
00:22:38,725 --> 00:22:42,526
[Carswell] Ivana knew
that Donald liked
blond, busty women.
327
00:22:42,628 --> 00:22:48,099
So she went to California
to meet with Michael Jackson's
plastic surgeon.
328
00:22:48,634 --> 00:22:52,803
And she comes back,
she no longer looked
like Ivana Trump.
329
00:22:53,539 --> 00:22:58,075
I do remember saying to him,
"Donald, look at what Ivana
is doing for you.
330
00:22:58,177 --> 00:23:01,379
"I mean, she's completely
changed every part of her."
331
00:23:01,481 --> 00:23:05,549
And he disdained
what she was doing. He was never
going back to her.
332
00:23:05,651 --> 00:23:10,221
[O'Donnell] Common sense would
tell you that this is not
gonna be a secret for long.
333
00:23:10,323 --> 00:23:13,023
And so we were waiting
for the blow up.
334
00:23:13,526 --> 00:23:17,561
[Evans] And then all of a sudden
the tabloids start churning
these stories out
335
00:23:17,663 --> 00:23:22,133
on Marla Maples, Marla
with Donald, Ivana,
the whole triangle.
336
00:23:22,235 --> 00:23:26,170
[O'Donnell] I think Donald
was very shocked
by the publicity that he got.
337
00:23:26,272 --> 00:23:32,176
But he also loved it
but he believes this philosophy
of all press is good press.
338
00:23:32,745 --> 00:23:37,748
He believed if you handle it
in a certain way,
you can get away with it.
339
00:23:37,850 --> 00:23:43,154
And the affair was not
the only big gamble
he was making at the time.
340
00:23:43,256 --> 00:23:47,124
At the end of the decade,
the brash developer embarked
on his biggest project yet.
341
00:23:47,226 --> 00:23:50,928
Donald Trump today opened
the doors
to his billion dollar gamble,
342
00:23:51,030 --> 00:23:54,598
his new Atlantic City
casino, the Taj Mahal.
343
00:23:54,700 --> 00:23:58,169
Financed entirely through debt,
the Taj Mahal would need to earn
344
00:23:58,271 --> 00:24:03,808
over one million dollars a day
to stay afloat. An amount
no casino had ever raked in.
345
00:24:03,910 --> 00:24:07,311
[O'Donnell] I thought
that the Taj Mahal
was gonna be in desperate shape.
346
00:24:07,847 --> 00:24:10,681
The red flags were up
prior to the deal being done.
347
00:24:11,350 --> 00:24:15,519
[Johnston] After Donald Trump
gets control of the Taj Mahal,
he can't pay his bills.
348
00:24:15,621 --> 00:24:20,958
And it was all Donald's reality
running up against
the hard numbers of banking.
349
00:24:21,394 --> 00:24:26,864
[O'Donnell] It really was only a
matter of time before this stuff
was gonna catch up with him.
350
00:24:27,066 --> 00:24:32,136
He was hiding too many things
for there not to be a day
of reckoning.
351
00:24:32,238 --> 00:24:37,174
His deals were crumbling.
Eventually they're gonna
catch up with the scam.
352
00:24:37,276 --> 00:24:41,679
[newsreader] Donald Trump,
the larger-than-life New York
developer celebrity.
353
00:24:41,781 --> 00:24:45,883
Could it be that he's built
his empire on 90 percent ego?
354
00:24:45,985 --> 00:24:51,589
The headlines are screaming
"death of a legend," calling him
the has-been of high finance.
355
00:24:51,991 --> 00:24:54,091
It was time to take him down.
356
00:24:57,363 --> 00:25:00,998
[newsreader] It was
a monster parade,
even by New York standards.han
357
00:25:01,100 --> 00:25:02,666
to cheer the Mets.
358
00:25:02,768 --> 00:25:06,237
In October of 1986,
the Mets' legendary
World Series victory
359
00:25:06,339 --> 00:25:09,573
over the Boston Red Sox
united New Yorkers
in celebration.
360
00:25:10,142 --> 00:25:12,243
[Deveney] The Mets
really should have been
a dynasty
361
00:25:12,345 --> 00:25:15,246
and perhaps should have won
multiple world series.
362
00:25:15,348 --> 00:25:18,782
They had these young players,
Darryl Strawberry,
Dwight Gooden.
363
00:25:19,752 --> 00:25:21,752
But on the day of the parade
364
00:25:21,854 --> 00:25:25,556
in which The Mets
were celebrating
the 1986 World Series,
365
00:25:26,192 --> 00:25:30,761
Dwight Gooden is in Queens
in a housing project,
high on coke
366
00:25:30,863 --> 00:25:36,033
and watching the parade on TV
because he's still so high
on coke he hasn't left the room.
367
00:25:36,836 --> 00:25:40,304
The Mets were never the same
after that.
368
00:25:40,406 --> 00:25:44,241
A drug epidemic
that had been ravaging the city
didn't spare the Mets.
369
00:25:44,343 --> 00:25:47,311
And down the road
from Shea Stadium in Queens,
370
00:25:47,413 --> 00:25:52,082
an even deadlier threat
was emerging. Hitting low-income
communities hard.
371
00:25:53,519 --> 00:25:57,087
[McDaniels] I grew up
in Queens, New York,
which was like the suburbs.
372
00:25:57,356 --> 00:25:59,890
We wasn't rich but people
would mow their lawn.
373
00:25:59,992 --> 00:26:03,627
And the kids would play
in the sprinklers
and ride their big wheels.
374
00:26:03,729 --> 00:26:10,501
You had the candy store.
You had the delicatessen.
You had the real estate office.
375
00:26:11,704 --> 00:26:16,740
In the 80s, I came back
to my neighborhood and everybody
started looking different.
376
00:26:16,842 --> 00:26:20,177
My friend's sister,
who was the sexiest girl
in the neighborhood,
377
00:26:20,279 --> 00:26:26,951
came looking like someone
out "The Walking Dead." It was
a plague when crack came.
378
00:26:27,053 --> 00:26:32,022
[newsreader] Purveyors of the
drug cocaine are now selling it
in its purest form called crack.
379
00:26:32,124 --> 00:26:35,125
Much of the nation's
crack problem is concentrated
in New York.
380
00:26:35,227 --> 00:26:39,430
Crack is basically just cocaine
with a couple
of ingredients added
381
00:26:39,532 --> 00:26:42,299
and you throw it
in the microwave.
You had a situation
382
00:26:42,401 --> 00:26:46,303
where if you smoke crack,
you're going
to immediately love it.
383
00:26:46,405 --> 00:26:50,040
[newsreader] Crack
is smoked freebase
and those who've used crack
384
00:26:50,142 --> 00:26:53,911
describe the drug
as the most powerful high
they've ever had.
385
00:26:54,013 --> 00:26:59,683
It is what they call
"the instant high." Once
you ingest it, you're done.
386
00:26:59,785 --> 00:27:05,689
That high that you would get off
that freebase would make
all your troubles fade away.
387
00:27:06,225 --> 00:27:09,126
[Deveney] That high only lasts
about 15 minutes.
388
00:27:09,228 --> 00:27:12,796
When you get through
those 15 minutes,
you're gonna need more.
389
00:27:13,399 --> 00:27:15,532
[interviewee] You're speeding
like 100 miles an hour.
390
00:27:15,635 --> 00:27:18,669
And when the mind is going
that fast, it's just normal
for you to become violent.
391
00:27:18,771 --> 00:27:21,038
People were out of their minds,
literally.
392
00:27:21,140 --> 00:27:24,742
You go through such a low
when you're out
and you can't get any more
393
00:27:24,844 --> 00:27:25,976
that you're ready to kill.
394
00:27:26,612 --> 00:27:28,278
I remember one case,
395
00:27:28,381 --> 00:27:33,150
this young man
had murdered his mother
for money to buy crack.
396
00:27:33,252 --> 00:27:35,853
This was going on
all over the city.
397
00:27:36,589 --> 00:27:41,225
[Weatherspoon] People
sold their souls
to not live in their reality.
398
00:27:41,327 --> 00:27:44,762
[newsreader] Crack
is cocaine marketed
to a lower-income people.
399
00:27:44,864 --> 00:27:49,400
It's a very, very cheaply made
drug. You could buy it
for five bucks at a time.
400
00:27:49,902 --> 00:27:54,338
[Weatherspoon] Jobs disappear.
Housing goes down the tube.
Schools are not good.
401
00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:59,443
And then you bring in the drugs
and the hustle to make a dollar.
And you get it going.
402
00:28:00,012 --> 00:28:04,715
Crack dealers were making
so much money off it.
It made success easy.
403
00:28:04,817 --> 00:28:10,521
You could sell it for five bucks
because you knew that once
somebody smoked it once,
404
00:28:10,623 --> 00:28:12,523
they'd be back probably
in a half hour.
405
00:28:12,625 --> 00:28:15,793
[chanting] We want
our buildings back,
no more crime, no more crack.
406
00:28:15,995 --> 00:28:18,228
They have to take a stand,
just like we're doing.
407
00:28:18,330 --> 00:28:21,365
If they wanna get these drugs
out of the neighborhood,
they've got to take a stand.
408
00:28:21,934 --> 00:28:25,235
[Weatherspoon] You have
decent people
living in poor neighborhoods.
409
00:28:25,337 --> 00:28:27,404
That's where they can afford
to live.
410
00:28:27,506 --> 00:28:32,810
While those involved in the drug
trade are surrounding them
and smothering them.
411
00:28:32,912 --> 00:28:36,280
[newsreader] Crack use has grown
so fast that it's outstripping
the ability
412
00:28:36,382 --> 00:28:38,816
of law enforcement
and drug treatment authorities
to cope with it.
413
00:28:38,918 --> 00:28:42,619
This has reached
epidemic portions.
414
00:28:42,722 --> 00:28:45,122
[Guilianni] I don't think
we incapacitate
drug dealers.
415
00:28:45,224 --> 00:28:49,460
We do not put them away
for long enough periods of time
to really make a difference.
416
00:28:50,663 --> 00:28:56,366
As soon as crack becomes
a high profile problem,
Giuliani instantly seizes on it.
417
00:28:56,469 --> 00:29:01,305
We do not give 40- and 50-year
prison sentences that put
the major drug dealers away.
418
00:29:01,407 --> 00:29:05,943
[Byfield] Giuliani earned
this reputation
as this law-and-order person.
419
00:29:06,045 --> 00:29:09,913
"The War on Drugs."
He took that up
as a part of his mantle.
420
00:29:10,015 --> 00:29:13,016
We will prosecute
the biggest drug cases,
the medium-sized drug cases,
421
00:29:13,119 --> 00:29:17,688
and the street drug cases
in areas where the local courts
for one reason or another
422
00:29:17,790 --> 00:29:20,124
aren't able to deliver
a deterrent effect.
423
00:29:20,226 --> 00:29:25,262
[Mahler] As US Attorney,
Giuliani decided to demand
stricter sentences
424
00:29:25,364 --> 00:29:27,297
for low-level drug dealers.
425
00:29:27,399 --> 00:29:30,968
In most cases,
these low-level drug dealers
were people of color.
426
00:29:31,070 --> 00:29:35,973
The prosecutor's crusade
for stricter federal sentences
largely impacted
427
00:29:36,075 --> 00:29:41,311
the city's poorer communities.
With mandatory five-year prison
terms for dealers and users.
428
00:29:41,413 --> 00:29:43,046
[newsreader] Narcotics police
in northern Manhattan
429
00:29:43,149 --> 00:29:45,682
arrest small time dealers
almost every night.
430
00:29:45,918 --> 00:29:49,887
While crack is being used
in poorer communities,
431
00:29:49,989 --> 00:29:53,457
the people who are using
the powdered version of cocaine
432
00:29:53,559 --> 00:29:58,962
all across wealthy communities
are not demonized in the press
in the same way.
433
00:29:59,732 --> 00:30:05,068
The fear that was generated
around crack allowed
huge disparities
434
00:30:05,171 --> 00:30:07,471
in arrests, prosecutions,
sentencing.
435
00:30:07,573 --> 00:30:10,841
Crack cocaine
would get you
a ten-year sentence
436
00:30:10,943 --> 00:30:13,477
while cocaine
might get you probation.
437
00:30:13,946 --> 00:30:19,183
[Byfield] People didn't
think twice about the
lengthening of sentencing
438
00:30:19,285 --> 00:30:23,187
and police abuse of power
in fighting the drug problem.
439
00:30:23,289 --> 00:30:27,825
[newsreader] This is called
Operation Pressure Point.
Local police make the arrests
440
00:30:27,927 --> 00:30:32,362
and turn the suspects over
to US Attorney Giuliani's
staff for prosecution.
441
00:30:32,464 --> 00:30:34,898
I take on things
that nobody else
has ever taken on
442
00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:38,435
and I accomplish things
that others
haven't accomplished.
443
00:30:38,537 --> 00:30:41,371
While the prosecutor's
tough stance
played well in the press,
444
00:30:41,473 --> 00:30:44,775
his harsh policies
devastated neighborhood
after neighborhood.
445
00:30:46,645 --> 00:30:49,112
Angering many people
in those communities.
446
00:30:49,215 --> 00:30:53,083
And it wouldn't be long before
they made their voices heard.
447
00:30:55,855 --> 00:30:59,756
By the late 1980s,
homicide rates had hit
record highs in New York City
448
00:30:59,859 --> 00:31:02,359
and pressure was mounting
to curb the violence.
449
00:31:03,829 --> 00:31:05,362
And despite major blows
to organized crime,
450
00:31:05,464 --> 00:31:09,867
the US attorney's office
had yet to catch
public enemy number one.
451
00:31:10,703 --> 00:31:13,270
John Gotti understood
power and strength.
452
00:31:14,540 --> 00:31:18,442
[Gabriel] It was important
for him to show everyone
he was an invincible boss.
453
00:31:18,544 --> 00:31:22,312
You just didn't wanna cross him.
To his own people,
he was ruthless.
454
00:31:23,382 --> 00:31:25,883
He was a tough guy
and he wasn't afraid
of anything.
455
00:31:25,985 --> 00:31:29,453
He truly believed
that nobody
would ever convict him.
456
00:31:29,555 --> 00:31:34,258
The FBI had been hunting
the new godfather
since he knocked off his boss.
457
00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:37,060
And so far, he'd escaped
every trap they'd set.
458
00:31:37,162 --> 00:31:41,398
They knew they had to find
a new approach and fast.
459
00:31:43,168 --> 00:31:46,770
[newsreader] Gotti
has been tried and tailed
for five years now.
460
00:31:46,872 --> 00:31:50,841
In that time never convicted
of a crime. Outfoxing the foxes
461
00:31:50,943 --> 00:31:55,445
in a big stakes game of cops
and robbers that has made Gotti
kind of a legend.
462
00:31:56,415 --> 00:32:01,218
[Gabriel] The government
couldn't get him. So by the time
he gets acquittal number two,
463
00:32:01,320 --> 00:32:04,788
he's becoming this folk hero
even to the mob.
464
00:32:04,890 --> 00:32:09,593
His third acquittal,
people are now even more fearful
of the mob
465
00:32:09,695 --> 00:32:13,163
because, god, you can't even
put this guy in jail, everyone
knows he killed the boss,
466
00:32:13,265 --> 00:32:15,198
he's doing all this stuff,
you can't touch him.
467
00:32:15,301 --> 00:32:18,502
He was just out there
and almost thumbing his nose
at law enforcement.
468
00:32:18,604 --> 00:32:23,040
[Mouw] He became
a magical figure
in the city of New York.
469
00:32:24,009 --> 00:32:26,109
[Gabriel] Everybody was pulling
for John Gotti.
470
00:32:26,211 --> 00:32:29,513
They've dismissed
how bad of a guy he was.
471
00:32:29,615 --> 00:32:32,049
[newsreader] Gotti is somewhat
of a local hero here.
472
00:32:32,451 --> 00:32:34,551
A lot of people said,
"Boy, you're never
gonna catch him.
473
00:32:34,653 --> 00:32:37,487
"You will never get this guy,
he's untouchable.
He's beaten all these cases."
474
00:32:37,589 --> 00:32:41,358
And it just created a sort of,
almost a frenzy
within law enforcement
475
00:32:41,460 --> 00:32:47,030
to try and make a case on him.
And at that point, we had
already been investigating Gotti
476
00:32:47,533 --> 00:32:51,568
The FBI
felt it needed
taped conversations.
477
00:32:52,271 --> 00:32:55,839
[Mouw] Our goal was to find out
where John conducts
his criminal activities
478
00:32:55,941 --> 00:32:59,009
and put a microphone there
and record
all the conversations.
479
00:32:59,111 --> 00:33:02,579
And it quickly became apparent
that John established
his headquarters
480
00:33:02,681 --> 00:33:06,383
at the old Ravenite Social Club,
247 Mulberry Street.
481
00:33:07,052 --> 00:33:09,152
And after a few months
we are able to pick up a pattern
482
00:33:09,254 --> 00:33:11,855
where he was coming there
four to five nights a week.
483
00:33:11,957 --> 00:33:15,025
[newsreader] On the northern end
of Little Italy, a brick façade
484
00:33:15,127 --> 00:33:19,062
has replaced
a wooden store front.
It is the Ravenite Social Club.
485
00:33:20,232 --> 00:33:23,400
And more importantly for us,
all the captains
of the Gambino family
486
00:33:23,502 --> 00:33:25,102
were summoned to meet him there.
487
00:33:26,538 --> 00:33:29,906
So every night you'd have
four or five captains,
30 or 40 soldiers,
488
00:33:30,009 --> 00:33:36,146
the associates in this club
or outside the club. Which is
a godsend for law enforcement.
489
00:33:37,516 --> 00:33:41,351
[McDonald] We were up
doing physical surveillance
and listening to devices
490
00:33:41,453 --> 00:33:45,255
for a period of about eight
months, struggling to get
audible conversations.
491
00:33:45,357 --> 00:33:50,093
There's just a lot of people
in a small room, all talking
at the same time.
492
00:33:50,195 --> 00:33:54,631
We were getting bits and pieces
that led us to understand
we were in the right place
493
00:33:54,733 --> 00:33:56,967
but nothing
we could indict with.
494
00:33:57,069 --> 00:34:00,537
And a lot of people this time
said, "You're wasting your time,
you'll never get him."
495
00:34:02,775 --> 00:34:05,275
In the summer of '89
we finally got a nice break.
496
00:34:07,012 --> 00:34:12,582
The FBI found out that Gotti
was using an apartment
two stories
497
00:34:12,684 --> 00:34:17,654
above the Ravenite Social Club
to discuss
important family business.
498
00:34:18,190 --> 00:34:21,224
[Mouw] We found out
that they're using an apartment
up there owned by this widow
499
00:34:21,326 --> 00:34:24,494
named Mrs. Cirelli,
whose husband used to be
a Gambino soldier,
500
00:34:24,596 --> 00:34:26,329
Mike Cirelli,
used to run the club.
501
00:34:27,900 --> 00:34:32,769
[Capeci] One particular weekend,
when the widow was out of town,
502
00:34:33,906 --> 00:34:39,076
the FBI got in and they put
a bug in her apartment.
503
00:34:40,746 --> 00:34:43,847
[McDonald] We had a location
to observe comings and goings
504
00:34:43,949 --> 00:34:47,417
and we were tape recording
conversations.
505
00:34:50,522 --> 00:34:52,522
[Mouw] We hear him clomping
up the stairs.
506
00:34:54,326 --> 00:35:00,097
We hear the front door open.
John Gotti is deaf in his left
ear so they had to talk loud.
507
00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:04,234
[Capeci] The FBI captured Gotti
508
00:35:04,336 --> 00:35:10,674
admitting to voluminous
organized crime activity
as well as murders.
509
00:35:24,456 --> 00:35:28,825
Tape recorded conversations
were a gold mine for the FBI.
They were a jackpot for them.
510
00:35:29,862 --> 00:35:34,397
[Gabriel] Very much
to our surprise,
we hear John on a diatribe
511
00:35:34,500 --> 00:35:38,168
about why he killed
Paul Castellano.
He starts the conversation,
512
00:35:38,270 --> 00:35:42,305
"When that guy Paul got sick."
that was Paul died.
513
00:35:42,774 --> 00:35:47,911
You know, here we are, several
years after they killed this
guy, it was astonishing to us.
514
00:35:48,380 --> 00:35:52,983
Fortunately for law enforcement,
Gotti supplied many smoking guns
515
00:35:53,085 --> 00:35:56,987
through his own words.
He was intercepted
taking about, you know,
516
00:35:57,089 --> 00:36:00,357
ordering the executions
of people, saying that he was
responsible for their murders.
517
00:36:00,592 --> 00:36:02,192
The smoking gun
was Gotti himself.
518
00:36:02,995 --> 00:36:06,696
Just by listening to the tapes
that we had, we knew we had
a case that was solid,
519
00:36:06,798 --> 00:36:09,366
the game was over.
The end was near.
520
00:36:12,571 --> 00:36:17,073
January, 1989. New York City.
521
00:36:17,176 --> 00:36:23,113
A blunt spoken prosecutor
with boundless ambition
had felled giant after giant.
522
00:36:23,215 --> 00:36:25,582
And now the end game
was in sight.
523
00:36:26,018 --> 00:36:29,753
Crime buster, US Attorney
Rudolph Giuliani announced
that he is stepping down
524
00:36:29,855 --> 00:36:32,923
at the end of this month.
He didn't say why
but many believe
525
00:36:33,025 --> 00:36:36,693
that he will be
a Republican candidate
for mayor of New York City.
526
00:36:36,795 --> 00:36:40,363
Giuliani was probably
the most effective US Attorney
527
00:36:40,465 --> 00:36:42,199
for the Southern District
in history.
528
00:36:44,303 --> 00:36:47,637
During his years as US Attorney,
he really changed the nature
of the office
529
00:36:47,739 --> 00:36:49,806
so that it became
much more aggressive.
530
00:36:51,577 --> 00:36:54,945
Rudy takes down all of the big
villains of New York City,
you know, a cast of bad guys.
531
00:36:55,047 --> 00:36:58,882
The prosecutor had been hounding
the mafia for years
532
00:36:58,984 --> 00:37:02,619
and the last domino
to fall would be
the Dapper Don himself.
533
00:37:02,721 --> 00:37:06,156
[newsreader] John Gotti,
the reputed boss of the nation's
largest mafia family
534
00:37:06,258 --> 00:37:09,559
was arrested tonight along with
his top three associates
535
00:37:09,661 --> 00:37:13,396
in a move by the FBI to crush
the Gambino crime family.
536
00:37:13,565 --> 00:37:15,665
We decided to arrest him
at the Ravenite.
537
00:37:15,767 --> 00:37:18,301
And I walked down there later,
it was like shock and awe
right after, you know,
538
00:37:18,403 --> 00:37:21,137
bombing attack, 'cause there are
like 20 Gambino guys in there.
539
00:37:21,240 --> 00:37:24,407
And they're all sitting
out there smoking, looking
around. They were amazed.
540
00:37:24,509 --> 00:37:29,012
The greatest fear was
that John Gotti got arrested.
These are like the untouchables.
541
00:37:29,114 --> 00:37:33,216
In many respects,
I have to say the guy
was a very good wise guy.
542
00:37:33,318 --> 00:37:38,755
But what draws against that
is the fact that
he did everything so publicly,
543
00:37:38,857 --> 00:37:43,927
made so many stupid mistakes
and really brought down
the Gambino family.
544
00:37:44,029 --> 00:37:48,531
So where he was a good wise guy,
he wasn't good
at how he executed it.
545
00:37:48,634 --> 00:37:52,535
[newsreader] Arrested with
Gotti tonight was his under boss
Sammy "The Bull" Gravano,
546
00:37:52,638 --> 00:37:55,972
his consigliere,
or family advisor,
Frank Locascio.
547
00:37:56,074 --> 00:37:59,876
And one of his top capos
or captains, Tommy Gambino.
548
00:37:59,978 --> 00:38:03,179
If he beats
this massive federal case
brought on by the FBI,
549
00:38:03,282 --> 00:38:07,450
it could make him
the biggest gangster in America
since the legendary Al Capone.
550
00:38:07,552 --> 00:38:12,622
If he loses, it's likely Gotti
will spend
the rest of his life in jail.
551
00:38:12,724 --> 00:38:17,694
And just as he chased gangsters
in Queens, the prosecutor
also took aim
552
00:38:17,796 --> 00:38:23,466
at traders in Manhattan.
His biggest catch?
The king of arbitrage himself.
553
00:38:23,969 --> 00:38:26,703
Picture this.
Ivan Boesky jail bird.
554
00:38:26,805 --> 00:38:29,572
[Guiliani]
The three-year sentence
given by Judge Lasker
555
00:38:29,675 --> 00:38:33,843
gives the real world
of what happens
in criminal proceedings
556
00:38:33,945 --> 00:38:37,180
and in federal courts around
this country. A heavy sentence.
557
00:38:37,282 --> 00:38:40,817
Mr. Boesky accepts
the court's decision.
558
00:38:41,553 --> 00:38:44,421
He now must pick up the remnants
559
00:38:44,523 --> 00:38:48,425
and try to get on
with the business of living
560
00:38:48,527 --> 00:38:51,528
a constructive and useful life.
561
00:38:51,630 --> 00:38:56,433
For Boesky to go from Master
of the Universe to a prisoner,
surely humbled him.
562
00:38:56,535 --> 00:38:59,703
I think surely it depressed him.
563
00:38:59,805 --> 00:39:04,374
Ivan Boesky, who was used
to earning more than a million
dollars in a single day,
564
00:39:04,476 --> 00:39:09,279
will now be paid
11 cents an hour
for his work at the prison.
565
00:39:09,514 --> 00:39:14,217
Ivan Boesky spent a couple
of years at a low security
prison out in California.
566
00:39:14,319 --> 00:39:17,687
You go, you do your time
and with luck, you know,
no one shivs you.
567
00:39:17,789 --> 00:39:23,927
He got shamed. He's not a guy
who's gonna be celebrated
in gossip columns.
568
00:39:24,029 --> 00:39:27,197
He's gonna be, guy's gonna walk
down the street and people
are gonna whisper,
569
00:39:27,299 --> 00:39:30,800
"Hey, that's Ivan Boesky.
That's the guy
who went to jail."
570
00:39:30,902 --> 00:39:33,303
He's got a scarlet letter
on his head.
571
00:39:34,206 --> 00:39:36,806
But people are capable
of having second acts.
572
00:39:39,044 --> 00:39:44,114
And there was the Queen
of the Palace herself,
prosecuted for tax fraud.
573
00:39:44,216 --> 00:39:46,649
Many embittered associates
testified against her
574
00:39:46,752 --> 00:39:51,888
but in the end,
it was her own words
that would truly seal her fate.
575
00:39:51,990 --> 00:39:57,794
Leona's line that only
the little people pay taxes
resonated so much
576
00:39:57,896 --> 00:39:59,996
after this exhausting decade
577
00:40:00,098 --> 00:40:05,335
of the big shots getting richer
while others were not.
578
00:40:05,437 --> 00:40:10,840
Here was a perfect expression
of the ruling class.
579
00:40:10,942 --> 00:40:14,611
She has a reputation
that is a woman
who really has no scruples.
580
00:40:14,713 --> 00:40:19,749
Greed will do you in and I guess
that's what they,
motto that they live by.
581
00:40:19,851 --> 00:40:22,852
After a two-month trial,
a jury found her guilty.
582
00:40:24,222 --> 00:40:27,424
[Devita] Leona Helmsley
was convicted
of income tax evasion.
583
00:40:27,526 --> 00:40:31,161
She was convicted of aiding,
assisting in the filing
of false tax returns.
584
00:40:31,263 --> 00:40:36,266
She was convicted of mail fraud
in connection with her New York
state income tax returns.
585
00:40:36,368 --> 00:40:40,637
[Feldshuh] She stepped
over bodies to make sure she had
her marble dance floor.
586
00:40:40,739 --> 00:40:42,705
And that was her downfall.
587
00:40:42,808 --> 00:40:48,211
She was brought to account
for her misdeeds.
588
00:40:48,313 --> 00:40:52,182
[newsreader] Many New Yorkers
consider her
the personification of greed.
589
00:40:52,284 --> 00:40:57,687
Leona Helmsley had become
a symbol of excess and of greed
590
00:40:57,789 --> 00:41:00,557
and of just how money can
just make someone awful.
591
00:41:00,659 --> 00:41:04,961
Leona Helmsley was so awful
that even Donald Trump
took pleasure in her fall.
592
00:41:05,063 --> 00:41:07,063
Harry would never fire him,
he's... [inaudible]
593
00:41:07,165 --> 00:41:10,700
Perhaps unsurprisingly,
she immediately planned
an appeal.
594
00:41:11,436 --> 00:41:18,041
I have done nothing wrong.
I'm innocent. My only crime
is that I'm Leona Helmsley.
595
00:41:22,113 --> 00:41:24,747
As the decade's icons
faced a day of reckoning,
596
00:41:24,850 --> 00:41:29,252
the former sheriff of New York
moved to seize control
of the whole city.
597
00:41:29,621 --> 00:41:31,387
[announcer] The man
who's gonna be
our next Mayor,
598
00:41:31,490 --> 00:41:34,991
who's gonna give
the City of New York back
its soul, Rudy Giuliani.
599
00:41:35,093 --> 00:41:37,360
[applause]
600
00:41:37,462 --> 00:41:39,929
[Kirtzman] In New York
there's no greater stage
than mayor.
601
00:41:40,031 --> 00:41:43,366
The mayor is the center
of the tabloid's focus.
602
00:41:43,468 --> 00:41:48,238
New York is a city overwhelmed
by crime, crack, and corruption.
603
00:41:48,340 --> 00:41:52,208
There was a sense the New York
was out of control and Giuliani,
604
00:41:52,310 --> 00:41:57,180
his whole thing is control.
And so it was a natural office
for him to run for.
605
00:41:57,282 --> 00:42:02,919
Now is the time to take our city
back from the violent criminals
on the streets
606
00:42:03,021 --> 00:42:06,055
and the white collar criminals
in their office suites.
607
00:42:06,157 --> 00:42:12,228
Coming in as a hard lying guy,
the cops are backing him,
the days are numbered for that.
608
00:42:12,330 --> 00:42:16,199
The candidate's years
of combative tactics would lead
to his own day of reckoning
609
00:42:16,301 --> 00:42:20,937
when he faced his toughest
opponent yet: the citizens
of New York City.
610
00:42:21,039 --> 00:42:24,240
Before the night is over,
New Yorkers will either
elect David Denkins,
611
00:42:24,342 --> 00:42:26,709
the first black mayor
of New York City history,
612
00:42:26,811 --> 00:42:29,212
or one-time US Attorney
Rudolph Giuliani
613
00:42:29,314 --> 00:42:31,481
will become
the first Republican mayor
in 20 years.
614
00:42:31,583 --> 00:42:35,084
For a person
who had mastered
the New York media,
615
00:42:35,186 --> 00:42:39,622
Giuliani's mayoral run
was a total disaster.