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From: "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv
Subject: Re: Law and Order "Facade" 3/21/2024
Date: Sat, 23 Mar 2024 19:36:25 -0000 (UTC)
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BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com> wrote:
>Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

>>"Facade" is massively stupid in different ways. The episode opens like
>>a horror movie with a young pretty female victim willingly going into
>>scary situations to meet her fate, except she hasn't first had hot sex
>>with a teenage boy. She enters an empty subway station with no one on
>>the platform except maybe a homeless guy. I thought she'd find a corpse.
>>On the train, some tallish guy in distress falls against her; she
>>apologizes. Cut to the crime scene in which he's the murder victim.

>>Turns out he's a comedian. Riley also thinks he's a comedian but cannot
>>pull off the gallows humor like Greevey, Cerreta, and especially
>>Briscoe.

>>They find evidence that he'd gotten into an altercation with an older
>>comedian. That was a red herring. It leads to the dead guy's boyfriend.

>>Then there's this, well, it's not exactly a dojo. It claims to be MMA,
>>but it's this weird training academy for men that, later in the episode,
>>we learn is being investigated by the Joint Terrorism Task Force (do
>>they literally do investigations or coordinate investigations being done
>>by member law enforcement agencies?)

>They have members from various state, local, and federal agencies, and 
>yes, they do their own investigations. I was on the FBI-JTTF in Austin 
>for three years and worked about a dozen cases.

Thanks

>That being said, the case on the show was not a JTTF case. It was an 
>NYPD Counter-Terrorism case,

I think I forgot whose logo was on the wall of the room Baxter had the
meeting in.

>which raises a whole lot of other questions 
>in light of what they said about this group having 'cells' in both other 
>states and in Canadia. If all that's true, this absolutely is FBI 
>jurisdiction and the NYPD is going to be in some hot water if there's an 
>attack and they hadn't bothered to tell anyone about this group and 
>their investigation of it.

Don't I recall Frank once claiming that their counterterrorism unit had
worldwide jurisdiction? I'm not sure who has broader jurisdiction versus
Five-Oh.

>Also of note, the Commissioner on all these L&O shows is a smarmy pol 
>who throws his people under the bus and/or steals their glory when they 
>solve cases. He's not worthy of carrying Magnum's jock strap.

Heh

>>All along, the defendant claimed he acted because a woman was attacked.
>>Finally, just as the defense is about to put on its case (I think she
>>was a defense witness and not called as a rebuttal witness) she makes
>>herself known.

>>Price objects to the surprise witness. If she weren't a rebuttal
>>witness, then defense had to give notice to the prosecution, right? She
>>should have at least been interviewed. Denied.

>The defense claimed they should be forgiven for not notifying the 
>prosecution about her because "we just became of aware of her today". 
>Okay, but it's not like you only became aware of her 10 seconds ago. You 
>could still have notified Price about her before the judge called court 
>into session for the day instead of waiting until literally the moment 
>she's called to the stand.

>And instead of arguing that, Price puts on his usual hang-dog look and 
>sits down defeated.

But was she a regular defense witness or rebuttal witness? I thought
with the latter, prior notice to the other side isn't required.
 
>>Price tells her to investigate. She talks to an instructor, who reveals
>>himself to be an undercover cop. He explains that the training is based
>>on Navy SEALS training. In the armed forces, you are taught OFFENSIVE
>>fighting techniques. You are being taught to kill. The cop is teaching
>>recruits into a neo-Nazi movement how to kill.

>>Baxter goes to see the JTTF and agrees not to blow their operation.
>>Price is upset that he cannot call the undercover cop as a witness.

>>At this point, the prosecution rested (I think) so how was he going to
>>call him anyway?

>No, at that point he called the owner of the gym.

But that guy offered no evidence in favor of the state! I'm confused as
to why he was a prosecution witness.

>>I'm thinking, DON'T call this guy because... he's committing felonies as
>>part of a conspiracy before the fact! He's helping to teach newly
>>indoctrinated neo-Nazis how to kill!

>Undercovers are allowed to commit crimes up to a point to maintain their 
>cover. Drug dealers and mobsters found out early on that the way to weed 
>out undercover cops was to put everyone through a litmus test-- make 
>them do drugs, fuck prostitutes, rob stores, etc.-- knowing that a cop 
>was not allowed to commit crimes. So the police along with state 
>officials developed policies which allow for the commission of certain 
>crimes by undercovers to maintain their cover. Obviously there's a limit 
>to it. A UC can't murder someone to prove his bona fides, or rape 
>someone, so there's still a litmus test to be had for the more hardcore 
>crime bosses out there.

I'm thinking a course of instruction in how to kill should have been one
of those bright lines! If he's a good instructor, he's made a bad
situation worse!