Directed by John Patterson
Written by Dick Wolf
After local councilman and former bagman Charles Halsey is mugged and his throat slashed, Logan and Greevey investigate the case and the two young black male suspects initially caught. Their suspicion turns to organized crime when they link the victim to Masucci soldier Tony Scalisi. As Stone and Robinette continue their investigation, they uncover a corruption scandal involving a dirty councilman; the collection of parking meter violation fines has been awarded to a firm connected to organized crime. To avoid the appearance of impropriety, District Attorney Wentworth won't allow Stone to offer Scalisi immunity. However, in order to win their case, their only option might be to make a deal with the mobster. Stone discovers that case involves not only organized crime, but also elected city officials and a deputy police commissioner whom he accuses of changing his testimony and doctoring evidence in a past case. Stone is unable to use the police because of suspected corruption within the department, so he consults Assistant U.S. Attorney John McCormack.
This episode contains examples of:
- Bluffing the Murderer: When Greevey is interrogating the suspects, Logan comes into the room and says he has news about the councilman. Thinking this means he died, the suspects panic and begin talking. Later Greevey tells Logan even he thought the councilman had croaked.
- Broken Pedestal: Robinette towards Dep. Commissioner Jefferson.
- Characterization Marches On: Greevey and Logan have a habit making bets about the results of different aspects of the investigation, something never continued in any later episodes.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Greevey when he realizes the victim is a city councilman.Greevey: I hate media cases.
- Stone's reaction to a known mob hitman not heading towards his normal restaurant seat, but toward his wired witness.
- Greevey when he realizes the victim is a city councilman.
- Pilot Episode: Despite actually being broadcast as the sixth episode in the season, this is the original pilot episode, filmed in 1988 for CBS. As such, it is stylistically quite different:
- Greevey is noticeably younger than in the rest of the season.
- Robinette lacks his signature hi-top fade, as it had yet to penetrate mainstream fashion. Instead he wears his hair extremely short.
- Instead of Adam Schiff the DA is some guy named Alfred Wentworth, who only appears in one scene.
- The episode ends Dragnet-style with a title card revealing the verdict.
- The This Is a Work of Fiction disclaimer comes at the end of the episode, not the beginning.
- Ripped from the Headlines: Based on a case involving the New York parking bureau.
