- In the nation's largest city,
the vicious and violent members of the underworld
are hunted by the detectives
of the Organized Crime Control Bureau.
These are their stories.
♪
- The KO put me on their plan,
but I can't make calls, only incoming
and outgoing texts.
- Malachi created the encrypted texting app
they're using to run their criminal enterprise.
He's willing to give us the decryption key
in exchange for lighter sentencing on other crimes.
- I'm only in America four weeks,
and I'm still learning many new words.
- Well, you're doing good.
- When are we gonna get together?
- Albi don't like nobody mackin' on his wife.
You mess around, you get on his bad side,
there's not much I can do for you.
- It's not what you think.
- You're my boss.
You tell me what I didn't see, I don't see it.
I will protect your secret with my life.
- The Count of Mont Crist?
"The Count of Monte Cristo." - You got it.
- So it's not just a sandwich?
- Nah, it's a book, too.
Yeah, I thought you might like it.
You know, help you brush up on your English.
- Ah, so, what's it about?
- This is about, uh, Edmond Dantés,
and it's a guy who's got everything,
or so it would seem. -
- He's got the perfect job, and the girl of his dreams,
but there are people who are plotting against him.
They want to take everything that he has.
That's where the revenge comes in,
and the intrigue...
- Intrigue? - Intrigue.
♪
- I'm just saying,
what kind of name is the Marcy Killers?
I mean, is that supposed to strike fear in people's hearts?
Like, "Yo, tell them the Marcy Killers were here."
I mean, who the hell is Marcy?
Sounds like a teacher's name or something.
- You serious right now?
- What?
- Marcy? The Marcy Projects in Brooklyn,
where Jay-Z grew up?
- I know where Jay-Z grew up, bro.
I'm just saying, any organization
that has to put "killers" in their name is soft, all right?
I guess it's better than
the Bonannos or the Colombos, you know.
- Screw the name, those guinea bastards
knew how to make money.
You know, back in the day, the Colombos were bringing in
10 mil a week. A week!
And that was on the gasoline tax alone.
- Gasoline tax? What the hell is that?
- You're aware there's a thing called gasoline, right?
Makes your car go vroom vroom?
The government, they get 30, 40 cents a gallon on gas.
The Colombos had friends at the IRS.
They cut a deal to collect the money for them.
Then they set up a bunch of shell companies,
and ciao, baby.
Government never sees a penny.
- Isn't the government gonna come looking for it?
- They'll hold them off as long as they can--
eight, ten months--
then when the government really comes calling,
then they fold the old company,
set up a new one with a new license.
- It's called a daffodil chain.
- Daisy chain.
- We could use that kind of thinking
in this organization.
Don't you agree, old man?
Raise.
- Sure.
- Why am I asking you, anyway?
Reggie says your idea of a big score
is collecting insurance money on some fires you start?
Where'd you learn to do that, anyway?
Arson. - Around.
- Well, you got pinched, so I guess
you're not very good at it.
So how'd you get pinched?
- Friend of a friend was in financial trouble.
I did my thing so he could collect insurance.
- And?
- And a fireman got burned really bad
trying to put it out,
my friend got pinched on a different beef,
and he gave me up.
- So you're not a very good judge of character either.
But we already knew that.
All in.
♪
- Ooh!
- Call.
- Straight to the ace.
♪
- Oh! Ooh!
- Flush.
Well--
I guess we know who's buying breakfast, Eddie.
- Help me count all this money, will you?
- Yeah, yeah, I'll take a little of that for you.
- Hey, I'm watching your hands.
- What a hand.
- Hey, where's Rita?
Isn't this her shift?
- The manager say she called in sick.
- Oh, she did? All right.
If she calls back again, uh, give her a message for me?
- A message from?
- Mr. Monte Cristo.
Let her know that I was asking for her.
- Jesus.
What's your name? - A'ight brother,
take it easy, all right?
- Amelia.
- What do you see here, Amelia?
- Eggs? - And what kind of eggs?
- Over easy?
- Over easy.
That's good. Well done.
Do you know the difference
between over easy and sunny side up?
- You don't have to answer that, all right?
- See, I don't think you do.
See, if you did, I'd be sitting here
looking at two eggs sunny side up.
Wouldn't I? - Relax, it was a mistake.
- How many times I gotta have it with you bitches?
Every time I come here, there's a new waitress.
- I wrote it down. You say--
- Are you calling me a liar?
- Amelia, Amelia. Place a new order.
- You know, for someone who doesn't talk much,
you won't shut your mouth, you know that?
- Hey, he didn't mean nothing.
- Shut up, Reggie.
How well do you know this guy anyway?
Shows up out of nowhere, Mr. Firestarter?
Lives in an RV, no family?
I don't trust him.
I don't like you, and I don't trust you.
- You questioning my loyalty?
Excuse me, Reg.
- Question my loyalty again. I'll take your eyeball out.
♪
- That was a bad move, man.
You shouldn't have done that to Luka.
- Luka...he had it coming.
- Yeah, he did.
But now you gotta worry about what's coming to you.
- From him? He ain't nobody.
- No, from Kosta.
Remember Grace? Kosta's oldest daughter?
- Yeah.
- Luka's her fiancé.
♪
- What you have in your hands
looks like an ordinary cell phone.
It is not an ordinary cell phone.
It is, in fact, a hardened encrypted device
developed by our involuntary guest,
Mr. Adam Mintock.
- Malachi, we talked about this.
Hey, is it, uh--
Is it really necessary that I'm handcuffed
to this desk?
- You aid and abet
transnational criminal organizations
by creating hardened encrypted devices
thereby allowing them to traffic
mass quantities of cocaine and God knows what else,
so yes.
- Fair.
- Okay.
Uh, Jet, what's the deal with the phones?
- Uh, everything runs through the calculator app.
Open the calculator, and you will find
the options for text messaging in a closed-loop system.
- The user pre-selects a set, closed group of individuals
who can communicated device to device.
- Very good.
- And it's all encrypted? - Indeed.
- You're burying the lede.
- I'm getting there. Keep your pants on.
First of all, every iteration of this phone,
we hold the encryption key.
- You're not getting there.
- Will you shut up?
The beautiful part is,
every message sent by any user of these devices
will be passed to a Task Force server
where it will be decrypted
and available to view in real time.
- So we get Bcc'd on every text message
that the KO sends to their secured phones?
- The KO, and any other criminal organization
that uses them.
These guys all get their phones
from the same vetted and trusted dealer.
- How are we supposed to get these phones
into the hands of said criminal organizations?
- Now you may speak.
- I just create the tech.
Like the gorgeous lady said,
they get their phones from another distributor.
- This guy, Admir Marku.
He supplies phones to the KO, Marcy Killers,
and half a dozen other criminal organizations.
What we have to do is convince them
that their current encrypted phones
have been compromised.
- How do we do that?
- Arrest Marku. - Exactly.
And set up Malachi, creator of the tech,
as the new sole distributor.
- Eddie! - Yeah?
- I told you, man. What did I tell you?
- I don't know. What'd you tell me?
- Kosta wants to see you.
- Okay? - No! Not okay.
Do you have any idea?
Look, just go.
Okay? - Where?
- Anywhere. Just not here.
Look, you want my car?
I got some cash. - I don't want your car.
I don't need that. Reg, you're overreacting.
- I'm not overreacting!
I've been through this before.
- With who?
- My father. Okay?
- Reggie-- - I'm telling you.
- It's gonna be all right. Don't worry.
It's all right. Don't worry.
♪
- Where?
- Boxing gym. Kosta's office. 3:00 p.m.
- Damn it, Stabler. - It couldn't be helped.
- It couldn't be helped that you busted a guy's nose
for yelling at a waitress?
- Luka was calling me out.
I had to react. If I didn't, it was a tell
letting him know that he was right
and I'm not who I say I am.
The way these guys operate-- - Don't patronize me.
I know the way these guys operate.
You could have made your point
without endangering the entire operation.
- There's no point to be made.
Luka challenged me. What was I supposed to do?
- What you're supposed to do, as an undercover,
is know who someone is before you mess up his face.
- You're right, Sarge.
- You're not going to this meeting with Kosta.
- I have to go.
- You're gonna get sick. Food poisoning.
We'll check you into urgent care.
- You want Reggie to tell Kosta
I'm not there because of a tummy ache?
If I don't show, it's the end of the operation.
- And if you do show,
it is highly likely you're gonna leave
rolled up in a rug.
♪
We'll surveil you.
♪
- Dad?
- Hey. Hey!
How are you? What's with the plants?
- Grandma. She said our apartment
felt like an abandoned warehouse.
She's helping us make it into a home.
What are you doing here?
- I was just dropping some stuff off.
I gotta get out of here.
How you doing? How's soccer?
- Good, we got a big game tomorrow
against St. Anne's.
I'm actually heading out to a pep rally right now.
Any chance you can make it to the game?
- I'll do everything I can. Everything.
Come here.
I'm proud of you.
- Yeah, okay. Thanks, Dad.
- You're a good son.
- Thanks.
- Yeah, thanks. -
- Hey, where's Kathleen? Where's your grandma?
- Food shopping.
Grandma's gonna make chicken cordon bleu.
- She is?
- Said she used to make it for you all the time.
- She did? - That's what she said.
I'll see you later, okay?
♪
- Hey, Liv, it's me.
Wish I were there.
I'm just calling to say...
I want to thank you for everything
that you've done for me.
For the kids.
You've been my rock.
And when I said that I love you...
- If you're satisfied... - I think you know--
- With your message, press one.
To re-record, press two.
To listen to your message, press three.
♪
- This is Olivia.
Leave me a message, and I'll get back to you
as soon as I can.
♪
- Are you sure about this?
You got about 15 seconds to grab him and pull the plug.
- Stabler knows what he's doing.
- Why's he doing this? He's got kids.
- You'll have to ask him.
♪
- Dead man walking.
- Eddie!
♪
- They say one man's death is another man's bread.
- Have you heard of this?
- I'm not familiar with that saying.
- It's an Albanian saying.
- I figured.
- I think we've been very generous with you.
- Yes, sir, you have.
- Let you into our place, give you a job.
And if I'm remembering correctly,
we even welcomed you into our home.
- Yes, you did.
- And this is how you repay me?
By putting your hands on one of my top earners?
And for what?
Because he smacked a waitress?
- He questioned my loyalty.
I'm not gonna tolerate that.
I don't got much-- - Shut up, Wagner
Do we have to listen to this crap?
- I don't got a lot. I don't need a lot.
But my reputation...
that means something to me.
Well, just so we're clear...
♪
- What's the plan here?
How long we gonna wait before we call for backup?
♪
- You are not one of us.
You will never be one of us.
I don't give a rat's ass if Reggie vouches for you.
♪
But I do care if this man vouches for you.
He says you helped him out the other day,
that maybe I should look the other way with this thing.
- Are you kidding me? Jon, we talked about--
- Luka!
Not another word.
♪
Make no mistake.
You lay a finger on one of my guys again,
you don't come back from that, you understand me?
- Understood.
- Take a walk with me.
♪
- Smooth talker, that one.
- I gotta give it to him.
No way did I think he was coming out alive.
- In my honest opinion,
I don't care for Luka much.
My daughter, she loves the guy.
What are you gonna do?
I'm stuck with the arrogant prick.
- Mr. Kosta, if I'd known he was gonna be
your son-in-law-- - I don't care about that.
I care about you making this right.
- And I will. Whatever you need me to do--
- That's right. You will.
There's a little piece of business
going down tomorrow night.
It's a four-man job. Luka was one of the four,
but he's in no shape to pull this off, thanks to you.
So you're gonna take his place. - What's the job?
- Albi will be in touch.
♪
- Admir. Admir!
How long have you been supplying
criminals with encrypted cell phones?
- Did you know you were violating
federal RICO statutes?
- Who did you provide the phones to?
The Triads? Mafia?
Albanians? Admir. Admir!
- She's a badass bitch, isn't she?
Evening news. Way to go, Slootmaekers.
- Is that really how you pronounce it?
- Pretty much exactly.
That was just the prologue.
Now it's your turn.
You ready to perform?
- Oh, I am always ready to perform, sweetheart.
- Yuck.
Time to start reaching out to Marku's client network.
Let them all know, you're the man to hook them up
with a slick, new, next generation secure phone
that the cops will never crack.
- Yes, ma'am.
- Hey, uh, look, what you did for me today...
- I didn't do anything for you.
We have an understanding, do we not?
- We do. - Good.
Then you listen to me when I tell you something,
and not just smash somebody's head in.
There's a fight tomorrow night, Atlantic City.
- Balmer versus Thadford, yeah. Title fight.
- There's an Albanian boxer on the undercard, Kid Sula.
Up-and-coming kid from the neighborhood.
Good prospects.
Should get the title fight someday.
Favored heavily to win.
Lot of money in the neighborhood
being put on him.
- What's a lot of money?
- 500,000, maybe more.
The bookie taking most of the bets
is a Serb, called, um, Arkan Petrovic.
Now, yesterday,
Kid Sula, he comes to Kosta,
tells him Petrovic wants him to take a dive.
- Can you believe the nerve of this guy?
Asking me to take a dive
against that Mexican bag of bones.
Unreal, right?
- What'd Kosta say to him?
- I tell you what you're gonna do.
You're gonna lay down like a bitch,
and make it look good.
- So what's the job?
- Well, Petrovic, he keeps all his cash bets
in a safe in a drop bar on Lydig Avenue.
- And you want me to collect Kosta's earnings?
- Sure.
While you're robbing the place.
Miss.
- Here's a novel idea.
How about we prevent the robbery of the bar
instead of abetting it?
- How do you propose we do that?
- Say we pull them over for a broken taillight.
We can get them on conspiracy,
add it to the indictment.
They'll make bail the next day,
and we keep building our case.
- That's too many hoops to jump through.
I am not having him get arrested again.
- Then we just put a patrol car
across the street from the bar.
We still add it to the indictment
with our UC's testimony.
- We're gonna rob that bar.
- You know you-- you sound excited.
I'm starting to wonder if it wasn't your idea
in the first place.
- Kosta's finally given me a piece of business.
- Piece of business. Do you hear yourself?
- It's an opportunity. Kosta trusts me.
We get in on more jobs.
Jobs that give us insight
into every aspect of his operation.
Why do I even have to explain this to you?
You've had Nova embedded in the Marcy Killers
for six years.
You gonna tell me she's never skirted the line?
3:00 a.m. tomorrow night.
- I need you to be safe, okay?
- It's relatively simple. Smash and grab, in and out.
- I'm not talking about the job.
I'm talking about where your head is at
while you're doing the job.
♪
- Nobody uses the phone!
Put down.
Listen to me. Nobody uses the phones.
You have to listen to this.
- Admir Marku has been charged
with violating state RICO laws,
providing encrypted phones
to various organized crime syndicates.
We're told the devices had a singular function,
sending text messages that can't be decoded
if intercepted by the police.
One source indicated that the troubles for Mr. Marku
don't end with state charges.
The FBI is interested in speaking
with the Albanian native,
increasing the likelihood of his cooperation.
- Now he know better than to talk.
- Yeah, well, this thing's useless.
We need new gear.
- Well, I've been gone a stretch,
so who's our new tech guy?
- Dude named Malachi, why?
- 'Cause we need to reach out, that's why.
♪
- It's eating at you, isn't it?
The Fort Rucker hack?
How'd I do it? Virus?
A worm? A trojan?
It's okay.
Jealousy is a very healthy emotion.
It motivates us to grow,
learn from those who have achieved heights
you can only dream of.
- It was a trojan, wasn't it?
Tell me I'm right. It was a trojan.
- I'm sorry, I have to invoke
my Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
If I weren't a detained criminal
handcuffed to this desk,
I think you'd be into me.
Or are the handcuffs a thing for you?
Hugo "Bank-ol."
- It's Bankole.
- "Need to meet up ASAP."
Boom.
Oh, we got MS 13, the KavKaz Nation,
the Flying Dragons, and now the Marcy Killers.
- Kosta Organization, three of the Five Families...
♪
We're about to have our phones
inside practically every criminal organization
in this city.
♪
Mm.
Mm-mm. Mm-mm.
- Think I saw a smile.
- Shut up.
♪
Where'd you come from?
Uh, just found this.
It wouldn't happen to be yours, would it?
- No. I just found these.
Wouldn't happen to be yours, would they?
- Ah, so you're a dirty fighter.
- You'll never know unless you invite me
for a drink.
He's not here.
In fact, he's out of town.
- Yeah, you know--
It's a little risky
for me to be seen with you in public.
- I'll tell you what.
Why don't you come to my house,
and I'll make the drinks.
Albi's in Philadelphia,
and he only ever comes home to work out of his office.
♪
- It's gonna be easy money, all right?
We get in, we hit the safe, we get out, we get paid.
You check that van? - It's done.
- Yeah?
Don't tell me you checked the van
and then I find out there's a broken taillight
or the tags are expired.
- Van is straight. - All right.
You got somewhere to be, Eddie?
- No, I'm here with you. - All right, good.
Listen, we hit the front door,
boom, you're all over the bouncer, all right?
He's big. He's Sumo big.
But I know you got him.
Eddie, you're gonna do a little crowd control.
It's gonna be, like, 3:00 a.m. probably,
so there might be a few stragglers.
Just make sure nobody gets hurt.
- We were so young and in love.
He was a son of a bitch even then.
Gezuar.
- So, if you don't mind me asking,
why'd you stay with him? -
Money!
The promise of a better life here in America.
- Eh, you don't have much of an accent.
- Thank you.
I worked hard to get rid of it.
So tell me about Eddie Wagner.
- Oh, there's not much to tell.
- Were you ever married? - No.
- Really? Why not?
- I didn't want to cause nobody any pain.
Didn't really want kids.
You got kids?
- Albi and I couldn't have kids.
He has a low sperm count.
No sperm count.
I had to say I was infertile
to protect his masculinity.
Lucky for me,
I don't have patience for children.
They're little rug rats.
♪
- Everything all right?
- Never better.
♪
- All set over here.
You guys in position?
- 10-4. We got eyes on the front door.
They should be approaching from the east.
You got a clear shot from the west?
- 10-4. We have an unobstructed view.
- Maldonado, you good?
- All good in here.
Eyes on Petrovic.
- How many people are inside?
- Twelve, including me.
Petrovic, an associate, bartender, bouncer at the door,
seven civilians.
- Tell me about the bouncer.
He look like he's carrying?
- Not that I can tell.
He's a big boy, though.
- What about Petrovic?
- He looks exactly like the kind of jackass
who would rig a fight and con people out of millions.
♪
- Where the hell's your boy, Sergeant?
- Sarge.
- Oh, here we go. It's on.
♪
Uh, we got a problem here. Are y'all seeing this?
- They'll get out of there before anyone can respond.
- Everyone relax, show me your hands,
and no one gets hurt. You, get over there.
Get over there! Get over there.
- My wallet's in my back pocket; take it.
- I don't want your American Express, jagoff.
Turn around.
Open the safe. Open the safe, now.
- 4, 8, 1, 8, 2, 4.
- No shots fired. Good so far.
- You hear that?
- Of course.
There's a patrol car in the area.
Maldonado, we have a car from the three six
that's responding to a 911 call.
- Let's go, let's go, let's go.
- Gotta get moving. Gotta get moving!
- All right. Come on, come on, come on.
Let's go! Faster!
- You're gonna regret this. - Oh, yeah?
- You think I'm not gonna find out who you guys are?
- Oh, yeah? Let me help you out.
What are you gonna do, huh?
- Put your seatbelt on.
- You know what, maybe I will take your wallet.
We'll do a little shopping.
- We don't got time for this.
- All right, all right.
Let's go! Come on!
Come on then, let's go, let's go, let's go.
♪
- No, no, no, no!
- Come on, come on! - Come on, come on!
Let's go! Now!
♪
- I'm so sorry. Are you okay?
- Yeah.
♪
- Hey, come on!
- - Yeah, are you kidding me?
♪
- Thanks.
- It was Stabler. - What?
- I just heard from Maldonado.
Stabler was the shooter.
♪
- That was a big score, boys.
- More than we thought.
- Hey, you all right?
You had to take that guy out, all right?
Otherwise it would be you on the ground,
or one of us.
- Yeah, yeah. Any idea who the guy was?
- Who cares? That's what you get
for trying to be a hero.
Listen, you straight?
- Yeah, yeah.
- Kosta's gonna be a happy man.
Take the van, torch it somewhere in Jersey.
I'm gonna take the cash to Albi.
You two, split up, go home, get laid.
Do whatever you do, just stay low.
- You know what, maybe I will take your wallet.
We'll do a little shopping.
- Okay, run it just before he yells.
Stop. Okay, punch in there.
Run it.
- No, no, no, no! - Freeze.
Blow that up.
- I had no choice.
You saw it, right? The guy had a gun.
Tell me you got it on video.
- You better be glad Maldonado recorded it.
- Is he dead?
- He's in stable condition at Bronx Lebanon.
- We ID him? - Roland Illic.
He and Petrovic run illegal gambling scams
all over town.
He had an open warrant for a felony assault.
- Well, he would have dropped me
if you hadn't yelled. Thank you.
- Absolutely.
- We're gonna be
up to our ears in paperwork and hearings
when this is all over.
- Reggie gave me the van to torch.
It's downstairs.
Maybe you can get some hair out of there or DNA.
- Get Crime Scene on it, Maldonado.
- Hey, did you get the Albi Briscu pictures
that I sent from the house?
- Travel consent forms for minors,
Albanian passports...
Are we looking at trafficking here?
- That's what I'm thinking.
- Well, that's a whole new set of circumstances.
- Whole new set of RICO charges.
But, more importantly, there's a girl named Rita.
She's a waitress at the diner that we go to.
One of her passports was in there.
- And?
- I haven't seen her for a few days.
I'm worried.
- We need to bring SVU in on this?
♪
- Ah, Christ.
- Reminds me of Albania.
- Good, that's what I was going for.
- I was just laying down for a little bit.
You know, I wanted to call you, but, um...
You want coffee?
- You seem nervous. Are you nervous?
- I ain't nervous at all.
Feel bad about leaving you the way I did
the other night, though.
- I came by to thank you for being a gentleman.
That's all.
Most people would have taken advantage.
- I don't do things like that. I'm not built that way.
- Not that way, no.
I--I apologize for passing out on you.
I have to remember not to drink
on an empty stomach.
- Feel better now?
- I'm starting to.
- What's with Albi's car?
- I didn't even see him.
He must have come home and gone out again.
He took my car,
presumably to do something untoward
and needed to be more discreet.
♪
I've never done it in a Winnebago.
♪