Nowhere Man (Law & Order)
Encyclopedia
Nowhere Man is the 320th episode of NBC
's legal drama
Law & Order
and the nineteenth episode of the fourteenth season.
ed, shot in the chest. As Briscoe and Green investigate, they discover Tenofsky was a poor law student and never graduated from Brooklyn Law School
. But further investigation reveals 'Tenofsky' was an assumed identity for the victim; his social security number
and other items of identification are bogus. The detectives discover the real Daniel Tenofskie (actual spelling) is a simple dock worker at the Port of New York
, who was the struggling student in Brooklyn and had also failed to complete a correspondence course in accounting at a college in Phoenix, Arizona
around the same time. The ADA's real name was Jacob Dieter and he was an outstanding law student at the same Phoenix college, where he assumed Tenofskie's identity (and changed the spelling of the surname) while 'Jacob Dieter' vanished. The motive behind Dieter's identity-theft of Tenofskie is never revealed.
McCoy is shocked by the revelations regarding Tenofsky, whom he knew well, having worked numerous cases with him. McCoy regarded Tenofsky as a first-class attorney and a man passionate about his job and the law. “Who did I eulogize
last night?” he says. DA Arthur Branch has more immediate concerns; Tenofsky’s deceit regarding his credentials as a lawyer means the decisions in the many cases he prosecuted are now open to question and appeal
. Branch meets with Appeals Court Judge Medonis and assures the judge that “McCoy vouches for Tenofsky’s skills as an attorney”. Judge Medonis says he has to review fifty cases Tenofsky prosecuted in order to satisfy himself the decisions and convictions are valid. He instructs Branch to have McCoy review half the cases (with the judge reviewing the rest).
As McCoy and Southerlyn pour laboriously through Tenofsky’s case files, Southerlyn grasps one that looks ‘promisingly thin’. The case was the alleged murder of a journalist by two mobsters, who offered to testify that a prominent mob boss ordered the hit, in return for immunity from prosecution and placement in the witness protection
program. But Tenofsky never brought the case to trial and furthermore, he stripped the file of all the key evidence, including statements by all parties, Grand Jury
testimony and other investigative reports. Shortly afterward, Tenofsky refused a promotion and then transferred out of the high-end trial division to the appellate division of the DA's office. McCoy decides to further investigate this case and the tampered file.
Southerlyn visits lawyer William Wachtler, who represented the two mobsters in the original case, Anthony Biscotti and Frederico Libretti, a.k.a. ‘Biscuits’ and ‘Books’ respectively, who are also present. Wachtler asserts his clients were guaranteed immunity from prosecution for the journalist murder by the original Grand Jury and under Criminal Procedure Law (CPL)
section 190, designed to protect whistle-blowers, the DA’s office has no case. Subsequently, McCoy and Wachtler appear before a judge where McCoy argues that, as all records relating to the case have gone missing from the case file, there is no evidence that a Grand Jury hearing ever took place, or that immunity was ever granted and therefore CPL 190 doesn’t apply. The judge agrees and McCoy instructs the police to re-investigate the murder of the journalist, Robert Parenti.
Briscoe and Green interview Parenti’s widow, Sharon. She reveals her husband’s journalist position was actually a no-show job
, a scam organized by the mob. Parenti often complained about the little money he earned from the scam, which angered the mob guys. He told his wife "If anything happens to me, it'll be Biscuits and Books who do it." Based primarily on this evidence, Briscoe and Green arrest Biscuits and Books and charge them with the murder of Robert Parenti.
The mobsters and their lawyer Wachtler have nothing to say to the police or McCoy and Southerlyn. Branch tells McCoy that there is no case against the mobsters unless they recover Parenti's body. McCoy puts together the men's alibi
(working construction) with something he recalls was not removed from Tenofsky's case file; a work-order for a bridge in South Manhattan. He theorizes Parenti's body is buried there and the police duly recover Parenti's body, buried in a bridge abutment. Immediately Biscuits and Books confess to the murder but restate their original claim, that they murdered Parenti on the order of a high-ranking mob boss, and again ask for immunity from prosecution for the Parenti murder plus witness protection in return for testifying against the boss. Pressed for a name, they identify mob boss Franco Tortomassi as having ordered the hit. McCoy offers a deal including some prison time followed by witness relocation, which Biscuits and Books accept. McCoy asks the mobsters why the original case was dropped and the case file stripped of evidence; Books replies they offered Tenofsky $50,000 to do so and Tenofsky agreed. McCoy is skeptical, remarking that Tenofsky/Dieter "cared less about money than any man I know."
Franco Tortomassi is arrested by Briscoe and Green and charged with Parenti's murder. In a meeting with McCoy and Southerlyn, Tortomassi strongly asserts his innocence before departing. McCoy is puzzled as to why Tortomassi and his lawyer didn't use the meeting to negotiate a deal (plea-bargain). At the trial, both Biscuits and Books testify that they killed Parenti on the orders of Tortomassi. Tortomassi's lawyer attempts to paint the men as career criminals and murderers who’d say anything to save their own skins. The night following the mobsters' testimony
, McCoy is troubled by a minor conflict in their respective statements; Books claimed Biscuits received the order to kill Parenti, but Biscuits stated it was Books. Southerlyn brushes it off as an inconsistency and points out that Tortomassi's lawyer didn't notice the discrepancy. But McCoy is concerned over Wachtler's preparation of his clients for testimony and asks Southerlyn to investigate Wachtler.
McCoy and Southerlyn confront Wachtler in his office. Southerlyn discovered that Wachtler attended Brooklyn Law School during the same period as the real Daniel Tenofskie; they even took a class together. McCoy alleges that Wachtler thus discovered Tenofsky/Dieter's identity theft and used this knowledge to blackmail
Tenofsky during the first investigation of Parenti's murder. This was the actual reason Tenofsky dropped the case and removed the evidence from the file. With the bridge about to be worked upon and Parenti's body likely to discovered, Wachtler and his clients were compelled to murder Tenofsky. Wachtler denies everything but McCoy shows Wachtler the work-order for the bridge where Parenti's body was recovered, stating that Tenofsky deliberately left this piece of evidence in the file as he wanted to be able to prosecute the mobsters one day. Wachtler, Biscuits and Books are arrested and charged with the murder of Jacob Dieter. It is further revealed that the no-show jobs scam at the newspaper was run exclusively by Biscuits and Books, who acted alone in killing Parenti. Tortomassi had no knowledge of the scam and is, indeed, innocent of Parenti's murder.
At a press conference New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, flanked by Branch, announces three dangerous mob criminals have been given "long prison sentences". McCoy and Southerlyn watch on from the room before departing. On the court steps, Southerlyn notes that they have been unable to contact Tenofsky/Dieter's brother in Arizona; a disillusioned McCoy doubts Tenofsky even has a brother. Southerlyn asks who will collect Tenofsky’s personal effects, to which McCoy replies "Personal effects? They’re more like props."
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's legal drama
Legal drama
A legal drama is a work of dramatic fiction about crime and civil litigation. Subtypes of legal dramas include courtroom dramas and legal thrillers, and come in all forms, including novels, television shows, and films. Legal drama sometimes overlap with crime drama, most notably in the case of Law...
Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
and the nineteenth episode of the fourteenth season.
Plot
Veteran ADA Daniel Tenofsky is found murderMurder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed, shot in the chest. As Briscoe and Green investigate, they discover Tenofsky was a poor law student and never graduated from Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn Law School is a law school located in Brooklyn Heights, in Downtown Brooklyn, New York.-History:Founded in 1901 by William Payson Richardson and Norman P. Heffley, Brooklyn Law School was the first law school on Long Island. Using space provided by Heffley’s business school, the law...
. But further investigation reveals 'Tenofsky' was an assumed identity for the victim; his social security number
Social Security number
In the United States, a Social Security number is a nine-digit number issued to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and temporary residents under section 205 of the Social Security Act, codified as . The number is issued to an individual by the Social Security Administration, an independent...
and other items of identification are bogus. The detectives discover the real Daniel Tenofskie (actual spelling) is a simple dock worker at the Port of New York
Port of New York and New Jersey
The Port of New York and New Jersey comprises the waterways in the estuary of the New York-Newark metropolitan area with a port district encompassing an approximate area within a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument...
, who was the struggling student in Brooklyn and had also failed to complete a correspondence course in accounting at a college in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
around the same time. The ADA's real name was Jacob Dieter and he was an outstanding law student at the same Phoenix college, where he assumed Tenofskie's identity (and changed the spelling of the surname) while 'Jacob Dieter' vanished. The motive behind Dieter's identity-theft of Tenofskie is never revealed.
McCoy is shocked by the revelations regarding Tenofsky, whom he knew well, having worked numerous cases with him. McCoy regarded Tenofsky as a first-class attorney and a man passionate about his job and the law. “Who did I eulogize
Eulogy
A eulogy is a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, especially one recently deceased or retired. Eulogies may be given as part of funeral services. However, some denominations either discourage or do not permit eulogies at services to maintain respect for traditions...
last night?” he says. DA Arthur Branch has more immediate concerns; Tenofsky’s deceit regarding his credentials as a lawyer means the decisions in the many cases he prosecuted are now open to question and appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
. Branch meets with Appeals Court Judge Medonis and assures the judge that “McCoy vouches for Tenofsky’s skills as an attorney”. Judge Medonis says he has to review fifty cases Tenofsky prosecuted in order to satisfy himself the decisions and convictions are valid. He instructs Branch to have McCoy review half the cases (with the judge reviewing the rest).
As McCoy and Southerlyn pour laboriously through Tenofsky’s case files, Southerlyn grasps one that looks ‘promisingly thin’. The case was the alleged murder of a journalist by two mobsters, who offered to testify that a prominent mob boss ordered the hit, in return for immunity from prosecution and placement in the witness protection
Witness protection
Witness protection is protection of a threatened witness or any person involved in the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during and after a trial, usually by police...
program. But Tenofsky never brought the case to trial and furthermore, he stripped the file of all the key evidence, including statements by all parties, Grand Jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
testimony and other investigative reports. Shortly afterward, Tenofsky refused a promotion and then transferred out of the high-end trial division to the appellate division of the DA's office. McCoy decides to further investigate this case and the tampered file.
Southerlyn visits lawyer William Wachtler, who represented the two mobsters in the original case, Anthony Biscotti and Frederico Libretti, a.k.a. ‘Biscuits’ and ‘Books’ respectively, who are also present. Wachtler asserts his clients were guaranteed immunity from prosecution for the journalist murder by the original Grand Jury and under Criminal Procedure Law (CPL)
CPL
-In business:* Cost per Lead, associated with the Pay per Lead Marketing method* NYSE stock symbol of CPFL Energia* Irish resourcing company CPL Resources Pld...
section 190, designed to protect whistle-blowers, the DA’s office has no case. Subsequently, McCoy and Wachtler appear before a judge where McCoy argues that, as all records relating to the case have gone missing from the case file, there is no evidence that a Grand Jury hearing ever took place, or that immunity was ever granted and therefore CPL 190 doesn’t apply. The judge agrees and McCoy instructs the police to re-investigate the murder of the journalist, Robert Parenti.
Briscoe and Green interview Parenti’s widow, Sharon. She reveals her husband’s journalist position was actually a no-show job
No-show job
A no-show job is a paid position that ostensibly requires the holder to perform duties, but for which no work, or even attendance, is actually expected....
, a scam organized by the mob. Parenti often complained about the little money he earned from the scam, which angered the mob guys. He told his wife "If anything happens to me, it'll be Biscuits and Books who do it." Based primarily on this evidence, Briscoe and Green arrest Biscuits and Books and charge them with the murder of Robert Parenti.
The mobsters and their lawyer Wachtler have nothing to say to the police or McCoy and Southerlyn. Branch tells McCoy that there is no case against the mobsters unless they recover Parenti's body. McCoy puts together the men's alibi
Alibi
Alibi is a 1929 American crime film directed by Roland West. The screenplay was written by West and C. Gardner Sullivan, who adapted the 1927 Broadway stage play, Nightstick, written by Elaine Sterne Carrington, J.C...
(working construction) with something he recalls was not removed from Tenofsky's case file; a work-order for a bridge in South Manhattan. He theorizes Parenti's body is buried there and the police duly recover Parenti's body, buried in a bridge abutment. Immediately Biscuits and Books confess to the murder but restate their original claim, that they murdered Parenti on the order of a high-ranking mob boss, and again ask for immunity from prosecution for the Parenti murder plus witness protection in return for testifying against the boss. Pressed for a name, they identify mob boss Franco Tortomassi as having ordered the hit. McCoy offers a deal including some prison time followed by witness relocation, which Biscuits and Books accept. McCoy asks the mobsters why the original case was dropped and the case file stripped of evidence; Books replies they offered Tenofsky $50,000 to do so and Tenofsky agreed. McCoy is skeptical, remarking that Tenofsky/Dieter "cared less about money than any man I know."
Franco Tortomassi is arrested by Briscoe and Green and charged with Parenti's murder. In a meeting with McCoy and Southerlyn, Tortomassi strongly asserts his innocence before departing. McCoy is puzzled as to why Tortomassi and his lawyer didn't use the meeting to negotiate a deal (plea-bargain). At the trial, both Biscuits and Books testify that they killed Parenti on the orders of Tortomassi. Tortomassi's lawyer attempts to paint the men as career criminals and murderers who’d say anything to save their own skins. The night following the mobsters' testimony
Testimony
In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. All testimonies should be well thought out and truthful. It was the custom in Ancient Rome for the men to place their right hand on a Bible when taking an oath...
, McCoy is troubled by a minor conflict in their respective statements; Books claimed Biscuits received the order to kill Parenti, but Biscuits stated it was Books. Southerlyn brushes it off as an inconsistency and points out that Tortomassi's lawyer didn't notice the discrepancy. But McCoy is concerned over Wachtler's preparation of his clients for testimony and asks Southerlyn to investigate Wachtler.
McCoy and Southerlyn confront Wachtler in his office. Southerlyn discovered that Wachtler attended Brooklyn Law School during the same period as the real Daniel Tenofskie; they even took a class together. McCoy alleges that Wachtler thus discovered Tenofsky/Dieter's identity theft and used this knowledge to blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
Tenofsky during the first investigation of Parenti's murder. This was the actual reason Tenofsky dropped the case and removed the evidence from the file. With the bridge about to be worked upon and Parenti's body likely to discovered, Wachtler and his clients were compelled to murder Tenofsky. Wachtler denies everything but McCoy shows Wachtler the work-order for the bridge where Parenti's body was recovered, stating that Tenofsky deliberately left this piece of evidence in the file as he wanted to be able to prosecute the mobsters one day. Wachtler, Biscuits and Books are arrested and charged with the murder of Jacob Dieter. It is further revealed that the no-show jobs scam at the newspaper was run exclusively by Biscuits and Books, who acted alone in killing Parenti. Tortomassi had no knowledge of the scam and is, indeed, innocent of Parenti's murder.
At a press conference New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, flanked by Branch, announces three dangerous mob criminals have been given "long prison sentences". McCoy and Southerlyn watch on from the room before departing. On the court steps, Southerlyn notes that they have been unable to contact Tenofsky/Dieter's brother in Arizona; a disillusioned McCoy doubts Tenofsky even has a brother. Southerlyn asks who will collect Tenofsky’s personal effects, to which McCoy replies "Personal effects? They’re more like props."