History Recap / LawAndOrderS13E24Smoke

'''Sammy:''' What do you call ''this?!''

* LaserGuidedKarma: Sammy's parents gave him away to a famous comedian who was secretly a pedophile, condemning him to years of sexual abuse while his parents profited from the money given by Monty in exchange. Not only does Sammy chew them both out for it, but they're also arrested for their actions.

* RippedFromTheHeadlines: The inciting incident takes off from Music/MichaelJackson dangling his infant son over a Berlin hotel balcony railing in late 2002; the plot then draws upon the out-of-court settlement he made with the family of Jordan Chandler in 1994 after the boy accused him of molesting him. Specific details include the father of the accuser being a screenwriter (Chandler's dad was one on the side) and a police transcript of the boy's accusations appearing on a Smoking Gun-esque website years later. As it happened, by the end of 2003, Jackson was once again accused of molestation; compare and contrast this episode with ''Series/LawAndOrderSVU'''s 2004 take on the second round of allegations "[[Recap/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitS5E19Sick Sick]]".

Further investigation leads the detectives to take a close look at an out-of-court settlement Monty made with a screenwriter and his family over claims their older son made years ago that he had been molested by the star. The family accepted the money and dropped the charges for the sake of their younger son, who's chronically ill; the involved parties now claim the accusations were untrue in the first place. But suspecting that the accuser (now a young adult) ''was'' telling the truth, and that the parents made him suffer for the sake of his brother, they are arrested as well.

In court the accuser asserts that he lied back then, but [=McCoy=] ultimately draws the truth from him when he produces a check Monty made out to his parents that was dated ''before'' the fateful visit to the mansion. Monty offered them money if he were allowed to do what he wanted to the boy, and they agreed. The parents are sent to jail, and when Southerlyn reflects on the {{Irony}} that the younger son will now be without them after all they did for his sake, [=McCoy=] says simply, "He's better off."

* BuyThemOff: Monty was willing to pay the medical bills of the Mireles’ younger son Davey, in exchange for doing what he pleased with their older son, Sammy. He also pays off his staff to lie for him and repeat a rehearsed cover story that Monty accidentally dropped his son out of the window while trying to get him away from the smoke.
* CallingTheOldManOut: Sammy Mireles is naturally horrified and disgusted when he learns the truth of what his parents did, and reads them the riot act for it.

* DepravedBisexual: Monty's not gay according to his assistant, but he ''has'' abused at least one young boy.
* DoubleMeaningTitle: Ostensibly Monty was trying to save his son from the smoke filling the apartment. But as they say, "Where there's smoke, there's fire" -- investigating the suspicious death of his infant leads to the detectives learning that he might be a pedophile. From there the story of the settlement with the family of one of his child friends suggests he really does have a lot to hide.

* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Serena naively sympathizes with Sammy's parents about their sick child even though they didn't have proof that they were lying about the money to keep quiet. She also sympathizes with Davey that he is going to have to grow up without his parents despite knowing what they have done to Sammy & Jack rightfully tells her he's better off.

* RippedFromTheHeadlines: The inciting incident takes off from Music/MichaelJackson dangling his infant son over a Berlin hotel balcony railing in late 2002; the plot then draws upon the out-of-court settlement he made with the family of Jordan Chandler in 1994 after the boy accused him of molesting him. Specific details include the father of the accuser being a screenwriter (Chandler's dad was one on the side) and a police transcript of the boy's accusations appearing on a Smoking Gun-esque website years later. As it happened, by the end of 2003 Jackson was once again accused of molestation; compare and contrast this episode with ''Series/LawAndOrderSVU'''s 2004 take on the second round of allegations, "[[Recap/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitS5E19Sick Sick]]".

* {{Greed}}: Sammy's parents tries to justify they did it for Sammy's brother, Davey. While it is true that Sammy's brother was dying due to poor heart condition. It's pretty clear they did it for the money since they are more successful than they were & are really selfish parents who would sell their first son to a pedophile.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Serena naively sympathies with Sammy's parents about their sick child even though they didn't have proof that they were lying about the money to keep quiet. She's also sympathies with Davey that he is going to have grow without his parents despite knowing what they have done to Sammy & Jack rightfully tells her, he's better off.

* RevealingCoverUp: The fire could be this. Briscoe and Green suspect that Monty accidentally smothered his son, then covered up the death by staging the fire and coaching his staff to lie. If that's true, it not only made the child's death look ''more'' suspicious, but led to the police finding out about Monty's abuse of Sammy Mireles.

* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: This was clearly Monty's aassttitude, and the parents and his staff apparently didn't mind.

* DepravedBisexual: Monty's not gay according to his assistant, but he ''has'' abused at least one young buy.