Securitate (5 May 1993)

A teenage Romanian immigrant kills his father, a cruel former Romanian secret police officer, after his father kills his own brother. The boy's defense attorney offers a "cultural insanity" defense.

Director:

James Hayman

Writers:

Matt Kiene, Joe Reinkemeyer,

Stars:

Jerry Orbach, Chris Noth, Dann Florek

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Jerry Orbach	...	Detective Lennie Briscoe
Chris Noth	...	Detective Mike Logan
Dann Florek	...	Captain Donald Cragen
Michael Moriarty	...	Executive A.D.A. Ben Stone
Richard Brooks	...	A.D.A. Paul Robinette
Steven Hill	...	D.A. Adam Schiff
Carolyn McCormick	...	Dr. Elizabeth Olivet
Morgan Weisser	...	Leon Iliescu
Irén Bordán	...	Karen Iliescu (as Iren Bordan)
David Margulies	...	Tommy Zanescu
Richard Council	...	Alex Iliescu
Alan King	...	Jonathan Shapiro
Richard Ziman	...	David Kaplan
Sidney Armus	...	Arraignment Judge Arnold Fishbein
Tony Cummings	...	Brian Hollingsworth

Storyline

Detectives Briscoe and Logan investigate the murder of Nicholas Iliescu, a furniture dealer who was shot in the back of the head and then dragged by a car. In the course of the investigation, they learn that people who shopped at Iliescu's store subsequently had their credit card number used illegally. It points to Nicholas's brother Alex Iliescu and one of his sidekicks, Tommy Dinescu. Before they can do much about, the police find Alex in his apartment, dead from a number of stab wounds. Alex had only been in the U.S. for a short while but his teenage son, Leon Iliescu, had been living with his Uncle Nicholas for many years. The evidence points to Leon as being responsible for killing his father. His lawyer however tries to use the boy's cultural differences as his defense.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 May 1993 (USA)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wolf Films, Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Good Old Romania

If the defense offered by Alan King for young Morgan Weisser were ever to succeed I'm not sure anyone would ever be guilty of anything. We could point to different cultural values as a valid excuse for murder.

That's what happens in this Law And Order episode as Jerry Orbach and Chris Noth investigate the murder of a furniture store owner who was an immigrant from Romania and had lived several years in this country. His brother Richard Council is a more recent arrival. He fled out of necessity as his boss was Nicholas Ceausesceau who as we know was violently overthrown as he tried to hold on to power with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Romania was the only country to have a short, but violent overthrow.

As a member of Ceausesceau's Secret Police the Securitate Council had to leave quick, nice to have a brother who is a successful businessman in America. But working in a furniture store just wasn't Council's style. He starts in with some rackets and he's arrested for killing the brother.

No sooner does Council get sprung on a technicality than he's killed. That one they get right and it's his son Weisser who is arrested.

Weisser gets a very sharp attorney in Alan King who wins a lot of sympathy for his client. But there might be deeper meaning in the reason why the son killed the father.

King in a good dramatic part gives us an attorney you definitely want in court for you could afford it. He makes Michael Moriarty and Richard Brooks work for what they want to achieve.