This episode's story alludes to the murders of the Kissel brothers. Robert Kissel was killed by his wife in November 2003. Andrew Kissel who was killed by his chauffeur Carlos Trujillo, and Trujillo's cousin, Leonard Trujillo in April 2006. The story also uses elements from both murders including (among other things) the poisoned shake, embezzlement of the coop association funds and the subsequent embarrassment and bailout, and the Ponzi scheme by one of the brothers.
The murder victim is a writer and historian admired by both Goren and Lt. Ross. Eric Bogosian, who plays Ross, is a writer and historian and a person of Armenian descent himself, whose work on Operation Nemesis was published nine years after this episode aired. Operation Nemesis was the code-name for a covert operation in 1920s to assassinate the Turkish masterminds of the Armenian Genocide.
The scene at Jules Copeland's office was filmed at 7 World Trade Center- the first building constructed to replace the structures destroyed on 9/11. During the scene , one of the shots is directly at the former Trade Center site ("Ground Zero") and looks directly into the now empty pit where the main complex of buildings stood, including the Twin Towers, the Vista Hotel, and the underground concourse of shops and transportation hub.
Rip Torn and Vincent d'Onofrio appeared together in Men in Black.
Another example of the Law & Order repeat casting phenomena: Actress Carrie Preston, who portrays Lena Copeland, was just seen in season 4 episode 7 Magnificat (2004) portraying the character Doreen Whitlock.