Some poor cost accountant working for the NYC Parks Department is the target of a rather obvious mob hit. That was the first mistake, the mob made, they should have gotten creative in killing this guy otherwise Jerry Orbach and Chris Noth might never have been looking in that direction.
With this as a given, Orbach and Noth come up with the fact that he was on a jury against one of the big organized crime bosses up for murder and he was the one who hung said jury. The boss is arrested and the lawyer for the mob is Ron Leibman who with his wife Jessica Walter socialize with Sam Waterston. Leibman in fact went to law school with Waterston and their's a rivalry going back to then.
The jury was supposed to be anonymous as such a case might warrant and yet the evidence shows that Mr. Parks as he's identified was gotten to. And evidence on the tapes the Organized Crime Bureau has points that Leibman may have participated in the getting.
Leibman's is one of two great guest star performances in this episode. The man has totally lost a moral compass and he's completely convinced himself that Waterston is working off a vendetta and off personal jealousy. It's absolutely fascinating as you see how his mind has come around to think the way he does.
Secondly John Furini who was the actual triggerman is just great in the role. It's a part he plays over and over again, making a career out of playing mobsters. This is one of four appearance on Law And Order he's done, not to mention the Sopranos and other films and TV roles. This man will never be out of work as long as Mafia stories interest the movie and TV audiences.
Very well crafted episode from Law And Order.