| "Heaven" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | L&O, Episode 2.10 | → |
| Production number: 67415 First aired: 26 November 1991 | ||
 | ||
| Teleplay By Robert Palm & Nancy Ann Miller Story By Robert Palm Directed By Ed Sherin | ||
An arson at an Hispanic social club that killed 53 people is related to a powerful Cuban, an INS agent, and the sale of fake green cards.
Plot[]
Detectives Logan and Cerreta probe an arson fire at a nightclub called "El Cielo" which resulted in the deaths of 53 patrons. While investigating, Stone and Robinette discovers green cards that turns out to be fake and finds a Cuban immigrant a corrupt INS agent and a club owner responsible.
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Paul Sorvino as Sergeant Phil Cerreta
- Chris Noth as Detective Mike Logan
- Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen
- Michael Moriarty as Executive A.D.A. Benjamin Stone
- Richard Brooks as A.D.A. Paul Robinette
- Steven Hill as D.A. Adam Schiff
Recurring cast[]
Guest cast[]
- José Pérez as Roberto Diaz
- Lisa Emery as Katrina Van Brocklen
- Luis Guzmán as Cesar Pescador
- Victor Campos as Domingo Guerra
- Robert Hogan as Patrick Monahan
- Phyllis Somerville as Head Nurse Kristen Cameron
- Tom Tammi as James Collins
- Gil Rogers as Romaine Ireland
- Raul Aranas as Oscar Vergillio
- Nelson Landrieu as José Rivera
- Mateo Gómez as Esperanza
- Carlos Espina as Cheuy Bodillo
- Barbara Gonzalez as Celia Montalbano
- Miguel Sierra as Guillermo Ruiz
- Murphy Guyer as Gallagher
- Marta Vidal as Annalissa Barragan
- Donald Corren as Ezra Stine
- Theodora Castellanos as Maid
- Cookie Rufino as Delgado
- George Bass as Super
- Kim Chan as Restaurant Manager
- Mark Werheim as Fireman
- Robert Vazac as Uniform Policeman
- Felipe Gorostiza as Gilberto Acosta
- Iraida Polanco as Celia's Grandmother
- Mel Gorham as Woman #1
- Anibal O. Lleras as Woman #2
- Louis Perez as 911 Caller
References[]
- The Happy Land fire
Quotes[]
- [on seeing dozens of dead bodies outside the club]
- Logan: I've never seen this many. You?
- Cerreta: Not in civilian life.
- Judge Waxman: This is a difficult decision. It brings the rights of the individual to head-on conflict with legitimate governmental requirements. However, I'm inclined to grant the people's limited request.
- Cesar Pescador: What?! [gets out of his seat] This is worse than Castro, man!
You can't cut my leg without my say-so! I'm not going to no hospital! I'm not going to no hospital! - Judge Waxman: All of you, sit down! Quiet in this courtroom! Quiet! I said quiet, or I'll clear the court! [bangs gavel again] Excuse me! [bangs again, silencing the crowd] Excuse me, Mr. Pescador. We can and will. Now, sit down!
[Pescador sits down]
The defendant will submit forthwith to the surgical procedure, which shall be conducted in the manner consistent with this court's written ruling.
- Robinette: Attempted homicide?! Those 53 people are homicides. They're dead.
- Attorney: He didn't mean to kill anyone, Paul!
- Robinette: Don't tell me you're even thinkin' about negligent homicide. Now, look, if he's only a messenger boy, he'd better start namin' names, or he's goin' down alone.
- Attorney: He says if he goes to prison, the man'll have him killed.
[Robinette pins Pescador against the wall] - Robinette: Listen to me, man! You don't go to jail, there's about 500 grievin' relatives out there who'd be happy to kill you! You hear what I'm sayin'?!
- Pescador: I'll take my chances with them.
- Robinette: This is a ridiculous exercise. No matter what, he's goin' down. We send him upstate, downstate, it doesn't matter. Somebody'll get him. This is not a perfect world, Cesar, but then, you already know that.
[Pescador tries to stand up on his incapacitated leg, but cannot and hits the ground] - Pescador: It ain't fair! You know, that assassin didn't even pay me. I get nothing for the deal.
- Robinette: What assassin? And what's the deal?
- Attorney: Tell him, Cesar. Tell him!
- Pescador: A lot of people give the Cubano a lot of money for their micas. 5, 6,000 cash. And then they find out they're bogus. A bunch of paper, man. So they start making noise.
- Robinette: What kinda noise?
- Pescador: Lot of lawyers telling them, "Hey. You got rights, too". So the people, they want to turn the Cubano in. So he come to me, and he says, "Cesar, Cesar, I tell you what to do. You send those people a message. You put the fear of God into them".
- Robinette: By burning down the club?
- Pescador: It was supposed to be a warning! Like what they do in El Salvador. The Cubano, he says, "So some people burn, then so what? There's a whole lot more where they come from." The people in El Cielo... Lot of Salvadorans. They got the message. They got the message.
[Robinette helps him back onto his wheelchair] - Robinette: The Cuban. What's his name?
- Pescador: Guerra. Domingo Guerra. He owns a club himself. The Del Mundo. Del Mundo.
- Cragen: What is less than square one? Minus zippo? Negative bupkis?
- Stone: Not for long, I'm afraid. Anyway, I don't smoke, and neither do you in my office.
[after he is offered a Cuban cigar.]
- Schiff: Why would a man in the position to help his people do something like that? What the hell happened to 'give me your huddled masses?' What the hell happened to this city?
Background information and notes[]
- This episode won the 1992 Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Editing for a Series. This marks the first Emmy for the series.
- The episode title "Heaven", or "El Cielo", was the name of the club that was burned down.
- This episode was remade as the Law & Order: UK episode "Paradise".
Episode scene cards[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Office of Captain |
Marcos Securities |
Pre-Trial Motion |
County General |
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Club Del Mundo |
Department of Immigration |
Executive Assistant |
Supreme Court |
| 9 |
|---|
|
"Following a six week trial |
| Previous episode: "Renunciation" |
"Heaven" Law & Order Season 2 |
Next episode: "His Hour Upon the Stage" |