Gotham Tonight - Episode 5

Show transcript follows. View the video here.

• Mike Engel: Harvey Dent has wasted no time implementing his agenda since taking office, kicking off with a trial against Sal Maroni. The district attorney has built a strong case against the mobster and the alleged head of the Falcone crime family, by forcing former district attorney Roger Garcetti to turn state's evidence against Maroni in exchange for immunity. Although his testimony seems damning, Garcetti said that he never received orders directly from Maroni. [Pan over Rossi's mugshot showing #17044] Commands came from an intermediary, who is reputed to be a Maroni associate named Albert Rossi. If Dent can get the mobster to attest to being the middleman between Garcetti and Maroni, Dent can effectively tie Maroni to the ring of corruption within Gotham PD. If not, testimony from a corrupt public servant, looking for a way out of some jail time will probably not be enough for a conviction. To discuss this further tonight, we are joined by the defendant himself, Mr. Sal Maroni, who claims to be an innocent man caught in the middle of a nasty fight between the DA's office and the police department. And since this case highlights once again the rampant corruption within the Gotham Police Department, we also welcome Police Commissioner Loeb to speak on behalf of Gotham PD.
• Police Commission Gillian Loeb: Good evening.
• Engel: Mr. Maroni, Commissioner Loeb, thank you both for joining us.
• Salvatore Maroni: Pleasure, Mike. Big fan.
• Engel: Thank you. So, Mr. Maroni, you seem very at ease for someone who's on trial.
• Maroni: Well, innocence calms the soul, you know what I'm sayin'?
• Engel: Now you contend that you've had absolutely no influence over the police — I mean, you haven't bribed any union officials, or officers?
• Maroni: I've given 'em money, sure.
• Engel: You have?
• Maroni: Of course. I donate to the policemen's ball every year, Mike. Now what the commissioner's pals do with that money, that's up to them. [Turns to Loeb on split screen] Hey, Loeb, fun party this year?
• Loeb: Mike, let me make something clear. The policemen's ball is on behalf of officers killed in the line of duty. Proceeds go to their families. This is strictly a charitable event.
• Maroni: You see, Mike? I'm just a charitable guy.
• Engel: Mr. Maroni, Roger Garcetti's testimony has painted a pretty detailed picture of your ties to Gotham PD. Now, are you claiming that this is a total complete fabrication?
• Maroni: Mike, I'm just a man mindin' my own. Caught in a crossfire between Mr. Dent and the boys in blue. Now if you ask me, these accusations are absurd. And as a taxpayer of this incredible city, I'm a little ticked off at the amount of money they spent dragging me into court, when they could have spent the same money on a homeless shelter, or you know...somethin'. But those kinds of things don't make headlines, know what I'm sayin'?
• Engel: Commissioner Loeb, as much as this is a trial against Sal Maroni, it's also yet another trial against the Gotham Police Department and its corruption.
• Loeb: Well, I was initially critical of Mr. Dent's internal affairs investigations as they were bad for the morale of my men. But now, the department is working in full cooperation with the District Attorney's office to isolate any members of the department that continue to violate any of the code of the Gotham PD. And in doing so, I believe we will root out the corruption, and properly cleanse ourselves of the influence of men like Mr. Maroni there.
• Engel: Now, have any of the men you've isolated have ties to Mr. Maroni, Mr. Loeb?
• Loeb: Well I uh — I'm not at liberty to say right now.
• Maroni: [laughs] That's funny, ain't it, Mike? I mean these cops — they go on robbin', cheatin', or stealin', and this guy, the top cop? He's still got a job. Talk about corruption, huh? Who's scratchin' your back, chief?
• Loeb: Laugh all you want, Maroni. You see, I know a hitch.
• Maroni: Yeah, right!
• Engel: Now one of Dent's key witnesses, Albert Rossi, is also an alleged associate of yours. I mean, he's going to be testifying as a go-between between you and Mr. Garcetti. Now I mean, how do you feel about that, Mr. Maroni?
• Maroni: And I could pull a guy off the street for two bills and a handshake — he'll testify that you are the Batman, Mike. That don't make it so, does it?
• Engel: So what you're saying is Mr. Rossi is not a associate of yours?
• Maroni: Mike, who do you think I am?
• Loeb: I'll tell you who he is. The head of the Falcone crime family.
• Maroni: The head of the Falcone crime family? This guy's got what Dent's got — a big imagination. I'm in the import-export business, Mike. That's all.
• Engel: The import-export business?
• Maroni: Yeah. Not everybody can be Bruce Wayne. I mean, some of us — we gotta work for a livin', know what I'm sayin'?
• Engel: Now how do you respond to the surveillance tapes that were leaked last week, that detailed, apparently, the abduction of mob bagmen who were later found murdered?
• Maroni: Ah. Tragic. Tra-gic. My condolences to their families.
• Engel: Mr. Maroni, before they were ambushed, they spoke of your decision to band together with other criminal organizations in Gotham.
• Maroni: Well, we work in global economy, Mike, for Pete's sake. I mean, I do business with all kinds of people: Chechens, Asians, Jamaicans, Puerto Ricans, Arabs, more Arabs....[chuckles] Unfortunately, I find out sometimes these guys aren't always on the up and up. And when I find this out, I don't do business with those guys no more, you know what I'm sayin'?
• Engel: So you're not overseeing a criminal syndicate in Gotham? And this is actually just business?
• Maroni: [frowns] Mike, you're repeatin' yourself. You got nothin' interesting to talk about? I'm sure the viewers are all turnin' off their TVs right now. I mean, you don't wanna bore them....to death, do you?
• Engel: [wry smile] No, we don't. Commissioner, uh, do the police have leads as to the relationship of the two men on the surveillance tapes?
• Loeb: Well Mike, um, I'm expecting a report on the investigation soon.
• Engel: Has Batman been considered a suspect at this point?
• Maroni: Mike. That is an interesting question. Old Jimbo Gordon got a real thing for the guy, don't he?
• Loeb: Jim Gordon is the most honorable cop we have on the force.
• Maroni: I never said he wasn't the most honorable cop on the force! But hey, chief [tsks] with that fan right now, huh?
• Loeb: You see Mike, this man would like nothing more than to cast suspicion on an honest cop who is actively shutting down all the various money-laundering operations in the city. Making it much harder for Mr. Maroni to bank his ill-gotten gains.
• Maroni: Oh, so now I'm a money-launderer. Great. What's next — you gonna finger me for kidnapping the Lindberg baby? Mike, do me a favor — turn this guy off.
• Engel: Commissioner, are you saying that Mr. Maroni is the target of recent money-laundering crackdowns?
• Loeb: We have reason to believe that all of Gotham's dirty money leads back to [points] Mr. Maroni.
• Maroni: Save yourself the disappointment. Go for your officer's wallets. You'll find most of it there. [turns to Engel] Mike, you're gonna let this guy insult your journalistic ethics?
• Engel: How so at this point, Mr. Maroni?
• Maroni: By stopping this garbage.
• Engel: I'm simply on behalf of Gotham City in presenting both sides of the argument. That's what this segment's about.
• Maroni: This is not an argument, Mike. This, is a persecution.
• Engel: Now, I don't think so, actually.
• Maroni: No, you don't think, Mike. You know what? I'm gonna help you. I'm gonna think for you. Here's the score now — Pretty Boy Dent and Baldy over here [points to Loeb]...
• Loeb: Baldy?
• Maroni:...they're tryin' to set me up like some kind of patsy. Well guess what? I ain't no patsy. What I am [looks at watch] — what I am is late. I got a date. Better wrap this up, okay — before it sounds more and more like...dead air.
• Engel: Well we're about out of time anyway. Umm..
• Maroni: Good. Say good night.
• Engel: Commissioner Loeb, thank you for joining us.
• Loeb: Thanks for having me on, Mike. And I just wanna say, uh — we'll have our day in court. You enjoy yourself there, when you get there, Mr. Maroni.
• Engel: Mr. Maroni, we thank you as well, for joining us.
• Maroni: My pleasure. [points to mic attached to shirt] How do you get this thing off me? Can somebody get this off?
• Engel: And thank you for joining us. Please join us next week with the first televised interview [Maroni places mic and battery onto Engel's desk] with newly-elected District Attorney Harvey Dent, who will both answer your questions and mine [Maroni gets up and leaves, blocking the camera] about his plans to make the streets safer...[Engel looks askance at the departing Maroni] In the meantime, take care and have a good night. Thank you for joining us. This is Gotham Tonight, and I'm Mike Engel.

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