January 28, 2004
11.18 White Lie
In this episode (11.18), the wife of the US Army major in charge of drug interdiction in Colombia is investigated for smuggling cocaine into the US on military aircraft. The smuggling operation leads to a double murder, and Briscoe and Green try to uncover her connection to the deaths.
The episode is one of several over the years that have depicted the testy relationship between the New York City investigators and the US Armed Forces (cf. Conduct Unbecoming, which reimagines the Tailhook episode), but unlike many similar episodes, this one doesn't deal explicitly with the Army brass meddling in the investigation.
The episode is also notable for the almost non-existent participation of the murderer himself. He barely says a word the whole episode, and spends most of his time glowering at the major's wife (his chief accuser) during the trial. On the whole, the episode is fairly straight-forward and entertaining. Plus, there's lots of footage of helicopters landing and taking off at the East River helipad.
More notes if you keep reading.
Truck driver. Doorman. Ms Alvarez -- dead in her nice apartment. A guy too.
His ear has been cut off.
Briscoe, Green, McCoy, Carmichael, Lewin
--
Doorman says he saw a guy going in. Saw a kid in the lobby.
Bag in the apartment. Cocain residue in it.
Looks like a coke deal. Kid involved?
LUDs -> teresa martinez, sister in law -> girlfriend of tito (the kid) -> tito. Drug picked up at heliport.
Heliport: worker saw him with blonde woman. helicopter came from air force base.
wife of army official. named karent. came in from colombia.
karen wyman: talks to green. hubby is a major in the army, heads up drug war in colombia.
wyman at precinct: defenseive of wife. avb tells men to 'carry on"
talk to other army wife: karen didn't fit in. expensive clothes.
karen's ex-clubbing friend, brandi: settled down, reformed now.
go to hotel. arrest karent at funeral for family member (19'). charged with conspiracy and possession.
McC and AC meet with karen and the major.
karen admits she carried drugs for -- get this -- fernando the gardener at a fee of $10K per trip.
mccoy goes to colombian consulate. wants to extradite fernando.
feernando arrives, confesses to akren's involvement. is scared. he says he arranged many deliveries. he gets 1 yr for each of 6 trips.
karen still not taking charges seriously. says s aguy threatened her at hotel. have her telno. showed her the ear.
bait plan: get karen to call guy, arrange "delivery" at heliport, arrest guy. mccoy says he'll give her probation but she must testify.
they plan the operation.
at the heliport: briscoe is undercover. green undercover. dealer shows up. she arrives by helicopter. they make a deal. he's busted (39')
dealer is named Pena.
at trial (pena for murder) (40'):
the doorman changes his testimony...is afraid.
5 minute recess: he says he's afraid. other eye witnesses back out too.
karen wyman testifies and is nervous. lewin suggests a deal, in her typical spineless way.
karen escapes the police detail that is guarding her. she finally calls her furious husband on his cell.
they meet karen in a diner. she almost killed herself.
back at trail, she is cross examined, but is stronger willed, even confronts pena, who is scary.
verdcit comes back: guilty on two counts of Murder 1.
pena had 1 line of dialog in the episode.
Posted by adm at January 28, 2004 06:06 PM
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