Law & Order/Recap/S16/E08 New York Minute

A Caucasian boss, Stuart Bedecker, orders several Hispanic workers to clean up the remains of an outdoor party. The workers, in Spanish, complain that the rich people throwing the party are only paying them two or three dollars an hour. A truck passes by on the street next to the yard. After it passes from sight, the workers and Bedecker hear it crash. They then hear two gunshots. They all run out to hear a car speed away and see a man lying dead by the truck cab. The boss tells his men to flee.

""Get the Hell out of here. Vaya!""

- Stuart Bedecker

A uniformed officer tells Green and Fontana that Bedecker called in the murder. The dead man was named Clayton Stack. Fontana says he'll look at the truck, which has the logo for the Cross-Country Trucking Incorporated company on its back and Green goes to talk to Bedecker. After greeting each other, Green asks for the contact information of the cleaning crew, but Bedecker says that the workers were illegal immigrants, so he doesn't know their addresses. He lies that he tried to keep the crew around.

""You know how it is with these guys. Not much spine.""

- Stuart Bedecker

Green goes back to talk to Fontana, who says that the truck belonged to Stack, and so (probably) did the company. Green notes that Stack was from Jersey, and that Stack was killed execution style -- one shot to the head and one to the chest. The two figure it was a mob hit, as the mob controls a lot of the trucking in New Jersey.

Stack's assistant, Ken Cosgrove, says that he doesn't know anything about the mob. He was in charge of operations, and says that he scheduled drivers but didn't do payoffs. The detectives ask if he was close with Stack, and after some evading, he admits that Stack was hard to get along with.

""Stack's kind of a prickly guy.""

- Ken Cosgrove

Cosgrove maintains that Stack had no major enemies, and that he doesn't know of any mob connections. He then says that he has to help Clayton's wife, Paula, plan the funeral, and asks to leave.

Paula tells the detectives that Stack built the company himself from scratch. Though he was the CEO, he still took cross-country trips twice a month, so that he could lead by example. She says that Clayton had no enemies, and his employees liked him. She becomes annoyed when the detectives keep pushing her about any employees or others that she knows of that might have disliked Clayton, and when asked if Clayton owed anyone money, she snaps that they just started renovations and so obviously have some money at the moment.

""All these questions. It's like -- it's like you're trying to throw dirt on his memory.""

- Paula Stack

Green apologizes, but Paula still maintains that she doesn't know anyone who hated her husband. All she knows is that he was having nightmares.

Fontana tells Van Buren that Stack woke up screaming multiple times a night, starting a few months ago. No one seems to know why. He adds that the Technical Assistance Response Unit (TARU) is going over the truck, and Green is checking if any of the employees have criminal records. Van Buren tells Fontana to go over the crime scene again, saying that the Chief of Detectives has taken an interest in the case. Green comes in, saying that one former employee of Stack's, Lester Wilkes, was arrested for carrying a gun the previous year. Wilkes used to be a long-haul trucker, but Stack fired him, and Wilkes and Stack proceeded to get into a fist fight.

Wilkes, unloading a package delivery truck, says that he got caught with an unlicensed gun during a random inspection in Texas. Wilkes is bitter because Stack told him to get the gun for protection, then didn't post bail or pay for a lawyer when Wilkes was caught. Green asks if that was why Wilkes beat up Stack when he got fired, and Wilkes assents. Fontana asks for Wilkes's alibi, and Wilkes doesn't have one. Green wonders if Wilkes bears a grudge.

""Delivering packages doesn't pay as much as long-haul trucking, huh?""

- Ed Green

Wilkes says that Stack betrayed many employees, not just himself, so Stack had more enemies than just himself (Wilkes). He adds that Stack had such a luxurious lifestyle that he was bound to make enemies. The detectives ask what he means by that and whether the trucking company's books didn't add up.

""The man could spend.""

- Lester Wilkes

He tells them to have Cosgrove show them a certain garage where Stack kept some of his purchases.

Cosgrove lifts some tarps off of model cars. Green notes their value.

""Wow, my uncle had one of these. This is a '66 Shelby 289. He let me drive Keesha Lockwood to the prom in it.""

- Ed Green

Fontana notes that all the chrome is original, and Cosgrove confirms that Stack spent hours hunting down original parts. Fontana tells Cosgrove that they know how much Stack spent on luxury cars, and demands to see the company's books.

Later, the detectives look over the books. Green observes that, when Stack did his own long-haul runs, he usually didn't have any cargo. Fontana notes that everyone else only hauled full loads.

""So what do you think, he just liked to get out on the road?""

- Joe Fontana

Green notes that the empty runs would cost thousands of dollars in fuel, and Stack didn't have many trucks to spare, so Stack was probably doing something that would earn back that money. Fontana wonders what Stack was hauling. Green notes that the dog units didn't find any traces of drugs, but Fontana says that Stack could be hauling other sorts of illicit cargo, such as alcohol or untaxed cigarettes.

At the garage, a forensic technician notes paint flakes on Stack's bumper from a collision. The flakes would have blown away after any significant driving, so he hit something right before he got out of the car and was shot. The technician thinks that the flakes might have come from someone running Stack off the road. He can't identify the paint as matching a specific type of car. He turns to go, making Fontana wonder why he called them out to the garage.

""Oh -- what are we doing here?""

- Joe Fontana

The technician tells the detectives to step inside the trailer. He then uses a backlight to show traces of urine and feces, and also about sixty sets of fingerprints. The technician wonders if Stack made hauls near the US-Mexico border, and the detectives confirm that he did. They conclude that Stack was hauling undocumented workers across the border. The technician then shows that tissue residue is stained into the floor, and there are numerous blood samples from different people. He also indicates a panel covered in blood and nail marks, where someone tried to pry it off with their fingers. The technician concludes that the trailer overheated at some point and the people inside, at least ten, were cooked alive. The detectives are stunned.

""That'll give you nightmares.""

- Joe Fontana

In interrogation, Cosgrove tries to claim that he didn't know anything about the hauls of undocumented workers. He only admits to knowing that 'something was going down' about Stack's runs. This falls apart when Green verifies that Cosgrove maintained the trucks.

""So when you were cleaning out blood, hair, loose fingernails from people who tried to claw their way out of a boiling hot trailerbox, you classify that as 'something going down?'""

- Ed Green

Cosgrove admits that Stack came back to New York, two months prior, with a trailer full of dead immigrants. Stack, he says, picked up thirty to fifty illegal immigrants at a staging area in Mexico, then drove them across the border. He charged $2000 a head. Cosgrove remembers that Stack told him that there was a Freon leak in the refrigeration unit in his truck, causing the air conditioning malfunction and the deaths of all the immigrants. Stack dropped the bodies in the desert and fled.

""And you worked with this scumbag.""

- Ed Green

Fontana asks who else knew about the runs, but Cosgrove doesn't know anything else that could help them.

""You don't know. You don't know NOTHIN'! You cooked the books; he cooked the people. You're going down, bro!""

- Ed Green

Green storms out.

""By the way, you're under arrest.""

- Joe Fontana

Cosgrove hangs his head.

Later, Green tells Van Buren that the police in Tuscon find a body a day in the desert, and the bodies are decomposed, but some of the recent bodies could have come from Stack's runs, so they're sending DNA info to New York to try to match it with the truck. Van Buren asks if the Tuscon police had heard of Stack, but Green says that they barely know any of the smugglers.

""Yeah, so we've got a cold, lowlife D.O.A. who probably has a million enemies.""

- Anita Van Buren

Fontana says that a camera at a traffic light saw a white car trailing Stack's truck; this would lend credence to the theory that a white car forced Stack off the road. The car had no plate, but did have a rent-a-car sticker on it.

The detectives interview Nathaniel Prentiss at his home. Prentiss is a white man who says that he rented the car to drive out and try to find a new home; he wants to leave New York City.

""Too many people in the city now.""

- Nathaniel Prentiss

The detectives already learned that the car had been in an accident; Prentiss says that his car was sideswiped in a parking lot while he was getting dinner. He didn't call the police, he claims, because he thought the rental company could deal with it. He denies being near the scene of the shooting, but when Green says that his car was photographed around there, Prentiss, standing in front of a big picture of an eagle and the American flag, just asks if he needs to pay a fine. He wonders why he's being asked so many questions over a small accident. Green finds a brochure for the Countrymen Borderwatch of America, and Prentiss confirms that he belongs to the group.

""This isn't a white power thing, is it?" "No, not at all, no. We're about a border defense. A citizen auxiliary.""

- Ed Green and Nathaniel Prentiss

Fontana asks if Prentiss sits on the border and identifies illegal immigrants, and Prentiss brags that he's had sixty-eight people detained. He denies knowing Stack, then urges the cops to leave. He allows Green to take the brochure.

Later, Green says that Prentiss has no record, and Fontana verifies that Prentiss and Stack have no connection. Van Buren tells them to keep looking.

""The D.O.A. smuggled illegals and this guy's in a border patrol group? I mean, I don't believe in coincidence.""

- Anita Van Buren

Another officer says that they just received an anonymous tip of a gun drop in a storm drain near the shooting.

A technician climbs out of the drain and shows the detectives a gun she found down there. It matches the caliber of the bullets used to kill Stack and has two spent shell casings. Green observes that only a few people would be able to see the gun get dropped into that grating -- just the people, Fontana notes, who had access to certain windows in the building across the street. They go to start knocking on doors.

A white woman tells Fontana that she has many windows overlooking that particular drain, but she didn't look out the window -- she and her husband were hosting a dinner party the previous night, and were completely focused on that. Green says that the 911 operator who took the tip said that the caller was a female with a Spanish accent. The woman, though, says that none of the guests at the party were Spanish. She does have a Hispanic maid, though,

The maid, a black woman named Blanca Alvarez, denies all knowledge of the gun drop. She has to admit that she does the dishes directly in front of a window that looks out over the drain. Fontana asks if Alvarez has children, because the caller said she was concerned that a child might find the gun. The woman who owns the rooms urges Alvarez to tell the truth. Alvarez admits to seeing the drop, and that the man who dropped the gun didn't see her, but doesn't want to get involved. The woman says that Alvarez is an undocumented immigrant, and so doesn't want to be involved because she could be deported. Green says they won't deport her, but they need her help. She agrees to look a lineup, where she identifies Prentiss as the man who dropped the gun.

Outside the lineup, Borgia asks Alvarez to sign a form verifying that she identified Prentiss. Alvarez says that she's scared of being deported, but Borgia says that they don't care about deporting her -- they just want to solve the homicide. Alvarez signs.

In interrogation, Fontana says that their ballistics report confirms that the gun Prentiss dropped killed Stack. Prentiss denies hiding the gun, but Fontana says that they have a witness who disagrees. Green asks if Prentiss killed Stack to send a message. Prentiss feigns ignorance, so Green notes that the brochure he got from Prentiss declared that those who smuggled illegal immigrants into the country were traitors.

""Traitors get sentenced to death, don't they?""

- Ed Green

Prentiss says that they should be. Green, reading from the brochure, says that more than one million illegal immigrants enter the country each year, and they deplete food assistance and other welfare programs. Prentiss nods.

""They do the country a great disservice.""

- Nathaniel Prentiss

Fontana says that 'disservice' is an understatement. He asks how many aliens are in the US, and Prentiss says that 10.3 million are.

""That's crazy. That's insanity.""

- Joe Fontana

Prentiss says that this number increased by almost two million in the previous four years. Fontana says that it makes one wonder what happened to the idea of national security, and Prentiss enthusiastically agrees. Fontana and Green tell him that, if Prentiss killed Stack to protest his smuggling of illegal immigrants, they'll drop the case, shake Prentiss's hand, and release him. Green adds that, if this was to send a message to smugglers, they'll make sure that the message gets out. Prentiss pauses for a moment, then again denies knowing Stack, and requests a lawyer.

Branch asks the other lawyers if Prentiss was arranged. Borgia says that he was given $250,000 bail, but he posted it. She adds that Prentiss's lawyer is going to argue self-defense. McCoy thinks this is ridiculous.

""He ran Clayton Stack's truck off the road and executed him.""

- Jack McCoy

He has to admit that they have neither a witness nor a clear motive. Branch points out that the defense will be selling the idea of the Countrymen Borderwatch, and he adds that the jury might be sympathetic. Borgia then says that the governor of California supports border patrols. Branch warns that the defense could go for nullification. McCoy is dismissive.

""Camping out in the Arizona desert with a pair of binoculars is not going to get anyone a pass for committing murder.""

- Jack McCoy

Branch says that Prentiss and the others in the Countrymen group give up time, money, and energy to protect the country. McCoy says that New York citizens won't be as sympathetic. Branch continues to warn him that it could be complicated, pointing out that, by killing Stack, Prentiss was (sort of) standing up for illegal immigrants. McCoy says he'll try to get the truck and Stack's illegal immigrant cargo excluded from evidence so Prentiss can't use it to demonize Stack or make himself look better. Branch warns McCoy that the judge, Everett Todd, will not be sympathetic.

In Todd's chambers, Prentiss's lawyer is hostile.

""Why don't you just tape my client's mouth shut?""

- Lawyer

McCoy says that Stack's past has no relevance regarding a self-defense claim -- all that matters is whether Prentiss felt threatened when he killed Stack. The opposing lawyer responds that the deaths of the illegal immigrants goes to Prentiss's motive for meeting Stack in the first place. McCoy argues that this is not relevant, so Prentiss's lawyer says that it explains why Prentiss brought a gun to the meeting.

""…[Prentiss] only brought a gun because [Stack] was a murdering, human trafficker.""

- Lawyer

McCoy then tells Todd that the only thing that matters is Prentiss's state of mind when he shot Stack, but Todd shuts him down.

""What matters is the jury seeing the whole picture. Nothing happens in a vacuum, especially not in this case.""

- Everett Todd

Todd rules for Prentiss.

Outside, McCoy tells Borgia the bad news. She responds by saying that she has good news: a fingerprint was found on a bullet at the crime scene that doesn't match Prentiss's hands. This indicates a possible accomplice. McCoy isn't too impressed, since they don't know who the fingerprint belongs to.

""That's decent news, not good.""

- Jack McCoy

He gripes about Todd. Borgia adds that Todd has been known to turn in illegal immigrants witness to the government; the witnesses are then deported; Alvarez would be at risk. McCoy says that Alvarez won't be deported until after she testifies. Borgia protests that Alvarez has lived in the USA for ten years and has a family, but McCoy says that this isn't enough to avoid calling Alvarez to the stand. Alvarez can put the murder weapon in Prentiss's hands. Borgia then argues that Prentiss's lawyer will discredit Alvarez by bringing up her status as an illegal alien, but McCoy thinks that she's better than nothing. Borgia gives up, and says that she's going to talk with Prentiss's ex-wife soon, who might say who Prentiss's friends are.

The ex-wife doesn't want to talk to Borgia since it could hurt Prentiss. When Borgia says that they're looking for someone else who is more culpable than Prentiss, the ex-wife sighs and protests that Prentiss is a good person.

""Nat's a nice guy… he's a good man.""

- Ex-wife

She insists that Prentiss wasn't involved with the Countrymen during their marriage, and that the two didn't divorce over Prentiss's militia hobby. Rather, the ex-wife had an affair. Once Prentiss found out, he divorced her and devoted himself to defending the border. He joined the Countrymen shortly thereafter. Borgia asks who some of Prentiss's militia friends are.

At Dorn Plumbing Supplies, Borgia talks to a white man named Terry Dorn. Dorn is the leader of the Countrymen. Dorn gives Borgia a brochure on the Countrymen and then defends Prentiss, saying that Prentiss didn't murder anyone. He only went to meet Stack, says Dorn, to encourage him (Stack) to turn himself in. Dorn tells Borgia that one of their members got a tip that Stack had killed a dozen illegal immigrants when his truck had failed; the Countrymen talked it over at a campout, and decided that Stack should turn himself in. Prentiss ended up being the one designated to talk to Stack. Borgia is confused.

""Why didn't you just call the authorities?" "Well, it's our experience that you folks need your criminals handed to you on a plate.""

- Alexandra Borgia and Terry Dorn

Dorn throws away a beer can and locks eyes with Borgia. Borgia asks why Prentiss brought a gun to meet Stack.

""Um, he was confronting a killer?""

- Terry Dorn

Dorn shrugs it off. Borgia asks to know who else was at the meeting where it was decided that Prentiss would confront Stack, but Dorn slowly shakes his head, then (obviously lying) says he can't remember. He goes into the back, and Borgia uses the brochure to lift the beer can out of the garbage.

Fontana tells Borgia that the fingerprint wasn't Dorn's either. Dorn also has no criminal record. She wonders, snappishly, if the cops re-canvased the crime scene. Fontana says they did three times and found nothing. Another officer hurries over to them, saying that Alvarez was just attacked on the street.

An officer tells the detectives that Alvarez was taking the kids that she nannied for a walk when a white man jumped out of a car, wielding a knife. Alvarez was scraped up, but the kids were fine. Fontana goes to talk to Alvarez, who is panicked and shaky.

""I'm okay, I'm okay, he just came out of nowhere.""

- Blanca Alvarez

She didn't recognize the man, who she says tried to get her out of the way to grab the babies. Borgia wonders if the man was after her. Alvarez realizes that this might be connected to the case against Prentiss. Borgia says she has to be in protective custody, but Alvarez refuses and wants to go home. Then another officer says that a van similar to the one Alvarez described was just pulled over in Midtown. The detectives go to investigate.

In jail, McCoy talks to the man who attacked Alvarez -- a white man named Dan Moncreif -- and his lawyer. The lawyer thinks that all McCoy can prove is attempted mugging, but Borgia says that Alvarez was a witness in a criminal case. She then says that Moncreif's fingerprints match the unidentified one on the bullet at the crime scene.

""Or are you going to call that a coincidence and make us laugh out loud?""

- Jack McCoy

Borgia threatens that Moncreif could be charged with first-degree kidnapping, with a 25-year sentence. The lawyer asks if the charge could remain a mugging if the man provided information.

""Very good information, and we're assured he wasn't the shooter himself.""

- Jack McCoy

Moncreif says that he was upstate when Stack was shot. He sold Dorn the gun; that was how his fingerprint got on the bullet. Borgia asks about Dorn, and Moncreif says that Dorn paid him to force Alvarez to back off of her identification of Prentiss. McCoy wonders how Dorn found out that Alvarez was involved, and Moncreif postulates that Prentiss's attorney told him.

""Why is Nathaniel so important to Dorn?" "Because Terry Dorn believes -- we believe, Nathaniel Prentiss shouldn't go to jail for protecting this country!""

- Alexandra Borgia and Dan Moncreif

He admits to being a member of the Countrymen. He calls Prentiss a hero, and states that Dorn is just trying to protect him. McCoy says that this isn't enough to lower the charges, so, when his lawyer cues him, Moncreif says that Dorn knew Stack would die -- buying Prentiss's gun was just insurance. McCoy asks when Moncreif learned, and Moncreif says that he found out yesterday, when Dorn told him to attack Alvarez. Shortly thereafter, Dorn is arrested at his store.

""Accomplice to murder, witness intimidation, the list is long and distinguished." "Yeah, and a joke.""

- Joe Fontana and Terry Dorn

Dorn rants as he's taken out.

""What kind of a country locks up its patriots?!" "The kind that gives you the right to remain silent. Exercise it.""

- Terry Dorn and Ed Green

McCoy, incredulous, tells Dorn and his lawyer that Dorn won't be getting off scot free from his crimes. The lawyer says that Dorn is being asked to testify against Prentiss, who he sees as a brother; to do this, Dorn wants full immunity.

""Except Nathaniel Prentiss is not his brother." "These men confronted foreign invaders in the Arizona desert together. They dodged live rounds--" "They're also not in a war.""

- Alexandra Borgia, Dorn's lawyer, and Jack McCoy

Dorn calls McCoy deluded, and says that it's terrorists and drug dealers crossing the border. McCoy tells Dorn that he should contact his congressmen or get new ones elected if he feels that border security is inadequate, but he doesn't want to hear it. Dorn doesn't let up.

""Do you know what percentage of federal prisoners are illegal immigrants, Mr. McCoy? Twenty percent… from three percent of the population...""

- Terry Dorn

McCoy says that Dorn is free to take his chances at trial if he won't take McCoy's deal. Dorn sits back and says that no one wanted to hurt Alvarez; they just wanted to inform her, he continues, that Stack had killed twelve illegal immigrants.

""And hopefully she would, uh, reconsider her testimony." "By having Dan Moncreif kidnap her at knifepoint?""

- Terry Dorn and Alexandra Borgia

Dorn calls Moncreif overzealous, but denies that anyone wanted to hurt Alvarez. He sighs when asked about Prentiss.

""I can't believe it's come to this.""

- Terry Dorn

In court, Dorn testifies that Prentiss approached him with scenarios for hunting Stack down. One idea, says Dorn, was to pretend to hijack Stack's truck. The ultimate goal was to kill Stack. On cross-examination, Prentiss's lawyer has Dorn admit that, even though he was culpable for the murder, he's not a defendant because he made a deal with McCoy. The lawyer then has Dorn admit that he owns some land in Arizona, called Camp T-Bird. Dorn corrects the lawyer that his mother actually owns it. Dorn admits that it's a hunting camp, and is right on the Mexican border. He then admits that sometimes illegal immigrants cross his property, and he once detained some.

""Isn't it true that two illegal immigrants you detained and pistol-whipped later sued for the deed to Camp T-Bird?""

- Prentiss's lawyer

Dorn admits that this is true, though he insists that the immigrants didn't win anything. But he then acknowledges that this is because Prentiss paid his legal fees -- and he further testifies that he hasn't paid Prentiss back yet. McCoy and Borgia look horrified.

""You've paid it back?" "I plan to. I will." "Even if he's in jail?" "Of course.""

- Prentiss's lawyer and Terry Dorn

McCoy objects when Prentiss's lawyer continues in this vein, but Todd overrules him. The lawyer ends his questioning then anyway.

McCoy, in a conference room, yells at Dorn. Dorn protests that he didn't think the debt was relevant.

""It has everything to do with this trial and your testimony, which is all but useless now.""

- Jack McCoy

Dorn swears that he'll repay Prentiss. McCoy wonders if Dorn intentionally let Prentiss's lawyer discredit him so that Prentiss would win the trial. Dorn's lawyer gets up.

""Okay, we're done being insulted." "You take the insults and like them. Your cooperation agreement is in serious jeopardy right now.""

- Dorn's lawyer and Jack McCoy

Dorn again swears, on both the flag and the Bible, that he didn't know to tell McCoy about the loan.

Later, McCoy vents to Branch that Dorn got immunity and Prentiss is likely to be found 'not guilty.' Branch wonders if they can pull Dorn's immunity agreement, but McCoy says that, without proof of Dorn intentionally backstabbing them, they would lose credibility in making future deals. Branch muses that both Dorn and Prentiss will be released.

""Oh ye of little faith.""

- Jack McCoy

Borgia hurries in. She found a car loan application that Dorn filled out. It states that he uses to work at an HVAC company. Dorn might have had the knowledge to sabotage Stack's air conditioner. She points out that this would give Dorn a strong motive to kill Stack, but Branch responds that this only works as a motive if Stack knew who had broken his truck's air conditioner. Borgia is working on figuring out if Stack indeed knew.

Branch leaves, and Borgia tells McCoy that they need some filler witnesses to delay Alvarez from testifying; if they delay long enough they might get enough evidence to not need her. McCoy says that Todd will shut that down and they'll lose the jury's interest.

""This trial, isn't about making life easier for Blanca Alvarez. It's about convicting a murderer.""

- Jack McCoy

Borgia whispers that Alvarez is ready.

In court, Alvarez testifies that she saw Prentiss hide his gun in the sewer. Dorn watches her from the gallery. Prentiss's lawyer verifies that Alvarez has been in the country for ten years, then asks if she's a citizen. McCoy objects, but Prentiss's lawyer says that the question will establish a motive for Alvarez to lie against Prentiss. Todd overrules the objection. Alvarez admits to being an illegal immigrant. When asked if she applied for legal citizenship, she responds that she did, most recently two weeks prior, so Prentiss's lawyer notes that she only applied once she was in the middle of a trial. She has to admit that she hadn't applied for citizenship before then in the past eight years.

""Why'd you think you had a better shot this year than the last eight?" "I don't know.""

- Prentiss's lawyer and Blanca Alvarez

The lawyer postulates that the prosecution will help her get citizenship status in return for testimony, and she denies it. The lawyer then says that Alvarez was looking through a steamed window at 6 in the morning, yet claims to have seen the man well enough to recognize him.

""…are you absolutely certain that you saw my client?" "Yes!" "Or did you just see your best shot at citizenship?""

- Prentiss's lawyer and Blanca Alvarez

Alvarez insists that she saw Prentiss. The lawyer asks if Alvarez ever paid taxes. McCoy's objection is overruled. Alvarez admits that she has not. McCoy, on redirect, has Alvarez testify that she did not receive any favors or inducements for her testimony. When McCoy sits down, Alvarez says that she knew things would go badly for her if she testified. Borgia looks away. Todd forbids Alvarez from leaving the courtroom. A bailiff takes her into the gallery, where Borgia can only watch helplessly.

Outside, Borgia says that the records of illegal immigrants applying for citizenship are secret, so Prentiss's lawyer should not have known about them. McCoy realizes that someone gave Prentiss's lawyer Alvarez's case file. Borgia vows to investigate.

""I've got a friend at Immigration and Customs who owes me. Somebody's getting their ass nailed to the wall for this.""

- Alexandra Borgia

In a conference room, Borgia interrogates a white man named Dwight McNary. He's worked at the Immigration Department for four years. He feigns ignorance about the purpose of the meeting, and when asked about giving Alvarez's file to the defense in the Prentiss case, he asks who said that happened. Borgia says that they have a source, and they already know that McNary is with the Countrymen.

""A lot of people are in the Countrymen project. It's not illegal.""

- Dwight McNary

Borgia threatens to have McNary fired, but he says that his department can't stop all of the illegal immigrants entering the country, and the project (he continues) shouldn't be destroyed because Prentiss "overreached."

""Nathaniel Prentiss shot someone in cold blood!" "I'm talking about Terry Dorn.""

- Alexandra Borgia and Dwight McNary

Borgia confirms from McNary that Dorn sabotaged Stack's truck, and that Stack knew it because Stack had caught Dorn trying it once before.

In court, Prentiss says that he tried to set up a meeting with Stack, but Stack wouldn't meet with him, so he realized he had to track Stack down. He approached Stack outside Stack's truck lot, but Stack just passed him in his truck. Prentiss got in his car and followed Stack until Stack pulled over, then approached Stack and told him what he was doing there.

""To get him to admit the truth about the illegals he murdered and to turn himself in!""

- Nathaniel Prentiss

He testifies that he never wanted to hurt Stack.

""The countrymen motto is 'Detect and Advise.'""

- Nathaniel Prentiss

He further testifies that the Countrymen are not racist and want to prevent illegal immigrants of all races from entering the country. Continuing, he says that it isn't just busboys and waiters who immigrate illegally, but also drug lords and terrorists. The government can't stop them, he says, so the Countrymen do the job the federal officials will not.

On cross-examination, McCoy challenges Prentiss immediately.

""When did 'Detect and Advise' become 'Confront and Shoot?'""

- Jack McCoy

Prentiss doesn't answer. McCoy asks if Dorn asked him to kill Stack; Prentiss denies it. He insists that they discussed approaching Stack but not killing him. McCoy insists that Dorn had an ulterior motive, and used the people in his group to attack human smugglers. Prentiss says he doesn't know about this. McCoy asks if Dorn sabotaged Stack's truck; Prentiss denies this too.

""Dorn didn't want Clayton Stack killed to prevent illegal immigration, but to keep himself out of jail.""

- Jack McCoy

He asks if Prentiss knew that. Dorn looks at Prentiss from the gallery, as McCoy wonders aloud if Prentiss might not have known that Dorn used him to cover up the murder of twelve people. Prentiss does not respond, only looking stunned.

In a conference room, Prentiss's lawyer asks for a deal. McCoy offers first degree manslaughter with a sentence recommendation in exchange for testimony about Dorn's involvement. McCoy asks Prentiss if Dorn encouraged Prentiss to murder Stack for the sake of the nation or for Dorn himself.

""You were used, weren't you, Mr. Prentiss.""

- Jack McCoy

Prentiss looks around, then announces that he won't betray Dorn.

""It's not good for anyone if Terry Dorn is in jail. He's key to the project.""

- Nathaniel Prentiss

McCoy mocks him, but Prentiss won't testify against Dorn.

""Immigration reform is at an 'any means necessary' level, Mr. Prentiss?" "You're not terrified to see more buildings fall?""

- Jack McCoy and Terry Dorn

Borgia asks how killing innocent illegal aliens fights terrorism, but Prentiss says that he doesn't have any evidence that those immigrants were innocent.

""And for my money, they shouldn't have been on that truck in the first place.""

- Nathaniel Prentiss

Later, in court, Prentiss is found guilty of second-degree murder. Dorn, in the audience, looks pensive.

Dorn and his lawyer talk to McCoy and Borgia. McCoy offers a plea to a charge of conspiracy to commit murder (for helping to kill Stack), which would be twenty-five years. Dorn insists that he had nothing to do with Stack's death. He criticizes McCoy, saying that Prentiss was convicted based on false allegations, and was only guilty of patriotism and of embarrassing the government by protecting the border better than they could. McCoy responds that Prentiss was convicted for being a murderer. Dorn's lawyer says they're done.

""Any more nonsense charges?" "That's it!""

- Dorn's lawyer and Jack McCoy

As Dorn and his lawyer go to leave, US marshals enter. Dorn is arrested and told that there's a warrant for his arrest in Arizona. McCoy informs Dorn that McNary will testify that Dorn sabotaged Stack's truck. Borgia tells Dorn that he's doomed.

""Arizona's twenty-five percent Latino. And a death-penalty state.""

- Alexandra Borgia

Dorn is dragged out.

At a restaurant, Borgia approaches Branch. She tells him that Dorn is on a plane to Tuscon, and that Alvarez will be deported in two months. Branch looks unhappy but doesn't respond. Borgia says that Alvarez has many family members in the country. All Branch tells Borgia is to advise Alvarez to appeal, but Borgia points out that the appeal will be scheduled for after the deportation and so won't actually happen. She asks Branch to pull some strings to help Alvarez; Branch has links to the US Attorney General. Branch says that, because of the current political climate, he can't do that. He adds that, if he tried, Alvarez would be deported more quickly in punishment. Borgia reminds Branch that Moncreif attacked Alvarez, but he's unmoved. There are two many immigration cases, he says, and that they can't be making personal appeals. Furthermore, Todd would think they bought Alvarez's testimony. Borgia leaves without another word, and a Hispanic waiter comes in to refill Branch's water glass.