Pope of Greenwich Village, The (1984) Movie Script

The summer wind
Came blowing in
From across the sea
It lingered there
To touch your hair
And walk with me
All summer long
We sang a song
And then we strolled that golden sand
Two sweethearts
And the summer wind
Like painted kites
Those days and nights
They went flying by
The world was new
Beneath a blue umbrella sky
Then softer than a piper man
One day it called to you
I lost you
I lost you to the summer wind
The autumn wind
And the winter winds
They have come and gone
And still the days
Those lonely days they go...
Hi, Charlie. It's 3:30.
I'm taking Beth's 4:00 class
'cause she's got an audition.
Sorry I won't be able
to make your dinner.
Hey, do me a favor, don't cook.
- Jesus.
- Be good.
That never end
My fickle friend
The summer wind
Warm summer wind
Where the hell you been? Frankie.
How come nobody keeps me waiting
when they're looking to borrow it?
- You don't want it? You don't want it?
- Gimme the money. Gimme the money.
- We gotta stop meeting like this.
- Gimme the money!
Yeah, grazie.
- Ronnie, I'm sorry.
- Paulie came in late, too.
- Paulie came in late?
- So I been working short a waiter.
Charlie, he's your cousin,
but the kid pushes it to the hilt.
Hey, tell me about it.
I been on the phone
with reservations half the day.
Christ, don't people know
how bad the food is here?
Ladies' room toilet
overflowed during lunch.
To top it off, the old man's upstairs.
He's got a bug up his ass this big.
- Claims he's being robbed blind.
- What else is new?
He's not bullshitting, Charlie.
He's checking the waiters' dupes.
He's checking the dupes tonight?
You tell Paulie?
I already told Paulie.
The party is over for a while.
And you're the guy on the line with him.
Has Nicky been in yet?
He's late,
like everybody else around here.
Oh, and the machine's been
out of Marlboros for a week now.
And J3 on the jukebox sticks.
Charlie, this bimbo broad
you're getting started with,
this is Johnny Mack's private stock.
Who's getting started?
Huh? What am I doing?
What did I do?
Is Paulie here?
Will you give me a break,
for Christ's sake?
I'm coming, I'm coming.
Hey, Paulie, now. Come on.
You got it.
That's good, Charlie.
The house had some nice week here.
$195. What do you want for yourself?
- Let me grab 15 for cab fare.
- You got it.
Paulie make his payment?
Paulie who?
Anything I can get for you?
My name is Paulie.
If you need anything,
you will call me, yes? Absolutely.
Hey, Frankie, what number came in today?
Brooklyn number? 417.
- What'd you have? 325?
- No, I had 417.
- Not with me, you didn't.
- 325.
- You got it.
- Billy.
Walter, any time on table six.
You okay with your Shylocks out there?
I got a few, if you need it, man.
Ronnie warn you about the old man?
Paulie, it's serious.
Cut that out, you Argentine degenerate.
That's my cousin's ass you're rubbing.
That's family.
This ain't some filthy little jail
in Caracas.
It's Amer-ii-ca!
Where the hell are my clams?
We get some fucking plates?! Come on!
Keep quiet. Shut up. Just eat, huh?
Patty, enjoy the scarol'. Vito, dig in.
Everything is taken care of.
Alla salute.
- Salut'.
- Salut'.
You like the steak?
Who's got the big table?
- Maybe Paulie.
- Maybe Paulie.
- Walter's half whacked.
- Walter the cook?
Walter the cook.
You know another Walter in the place?
Somebody's been feeding him vodka.
Hey, now what's wrong with this, Paulie?
He ordered Beefeater. Says it ain't.
Nobody would do that, Charlie.
Who'd give that boozer a drink?
All the waiters know better. Of course,
I can't vouch for the busboys.
The big party on table eight?
- Let me see the check.
- I got their ticket, man.
- Let me see the check.
- What for?
'Cause you're running a contract
at that table, that's what for,
and half the dishes aren't on the check.
No? We'll borrow
a thousand apiece from Frankie Shy
and bet it on the check.
If you got more than six entrees
on it, you win.
I count, uh... I count 12 entrees...
I count 12 entrees on that table,
three of them steaks.
Paulie, I'll go you double or nothing
whether you got a single fucking
steak on that check.
Careful on that double
or nothing, Charlie.
You'll lose your ass on that bet.
Gimme the book.
Hey, Charlie, you were in.
Hey, man, I'm serious.
You were in for a ten-spot.
Serious, you were in...
Six entrees. Six entrees, huh?
- You're a greedy bastard, know that?
- Charlie...
You're a greedy bastard.
I had you figured for a sawbuck.
You had me figured for a sawbuck.
For what, to tide me over
when the old man fires me?
Relax. That old asshole
won't know a thing.
Plus you're feeding the cook vodka
to get your food out without dupes.
Another hour, he's gonna go face-ass
down into a bowl of scaloppini.
I'm gonna have to go behind
the range, blow another $80 shirt.
I mean, at least that oughta be enough
so you stop screwing me.
Screwing you?
I wasn't screwing you, Charlie.
I had you figured for a sawbuck.
Hey, I don't want a sawbuck, all right?
I want my job.
Cousin or no cousin,
that's the last check you rob, capisce?
- Capisce. I understand.
- You understand me? I'm serious now.
Do you understand me? I'm serious now.
- Fix your tie.
- What?
Fix your tie.
You're such a fucking slob.
- This good?
- Go.
Do you have my charge tips?
No, I'm not done yet, Waldo.
Mr. Owner would like to see you
after you check out.
And you, you little prick...
You stole my clams.
Hey, Paulie, don't play with him.
We're not getting rich
in this place, Charlie.
You'll never get your own
joint like this, never.
I mean it, man.
We're breaking our ass for nickels...
Hey, Paulie, will you give me a break
and let me check out, please?
Good night, Charles.
Charles?
Charles.
- I'm out. I'm on the street.
- He fired you?
No, he fired us.
They nailed you on that big check.
He should die.
Die! Die, you old bastard!
No, you're the one that should die.
Ronnie told you it was my job.
Charlie. Hey, man.
Hey, man, don't blame me for what
that old bastard done to you.
He fired you, man, him!
- Hey, let me out of here, all right?
- Charlie!
We were starving in that shithouse.
Hey, why don't you grow up,
for Christ's sakes, huh?
Why don't you just fucking grow up?
- Charlie.
- Charlie. What?
We were like a couple of victims in
there. You know, we could do better.
We could do a thousand percent better.
Hey, man, don't think so small.
For once in your life,
don't worry about a lousy job, okay?
Don't worry about a job?
Don't worry about...
What the fuck should I worry about, huh?
I owe six different department stores,
I got two Shylocks I gotta feed...
I got Shylocks, too.
You ain't alone here.
And those other assholes, the stores?
You got no job now.
They can't collect no money off you.
Why can't you just admit
you was wrong, huh?
Why can't you just say,
"Charlie, I was wrong"?
- Wrong?
- Yeah, wrong.
Where was I wrong?
What did you say?
- I said where was I wrong?
- Where was you wrong?
Ronnie told you not to rob.
You robbed. That got me fired.
You was wrong. You understand that?
You were wrong. You understand that?
- I didn't figure I'd get caught.
- You didn't figure...
Look, man, if I figured I'd get caught,
I'd be a thousand percent wrong.
But if I didn't figure I'd get caught,
then I wasn't jeopardizing your job.
Hey, don't you understand, Charlie...
- Hey!
- Keep your hands off me.
- Look what you did to my suit.
- I'm sorry.
What do you need
a fancy suit for, Charlie?
You got no job to wear it to, man.
- What did you say?
- Come on.
Huh? Say that again.
Say it again. Say it again.
Say... say what you just said again.
About my suit.
Say... say... what do I don't need?
Tell me what I don't need.
What do you need
a fancy suit for, Charlie?
You got no job to wear it to, man.
That's right.
Why?
Here's your button.
Come on, man.
Hey, man, let's go watch the sun
come up like the old days.
Hey, Charluccio!
We'll sit and have a couple
of cognacs like gentlemen!
Hey, let me tell you something.
I don't have time to sit
and watch the sun come up.
Capisce? I don't have time.
I could teach another aerobics class.
There's some models
trying out for a commercial.
It would mean a few
extra dollars next week.
Great. Oh, Wallach's wants 300.
Or they're gonna give it
to a collection agency.
We can cut back a little, too.
We eat out a lot more than we have to.
- You gonna cook?
- I can cook.
You can cook. You can't cook.
I don't fucking believe this.
I don't... I don't believe this.
She's got 11 months'
worth of parking tickets here.
- The fucking bitch.
- Who?
Who? Cooky. Who else? Cooky.
She's still got the Buick in my name.
God damn it.
Let her pay them. It's only fair.
How can you say "Let her pay"?
Every penny that she gets comes from me.
Jesus Christ! It's almost two grand.
She must be parking
on the fucking sidewalk.
- Take the car back.
- Take the car back.
She got three brothers
who belong in a zoo.
I take the car back,
they'll start a war over that thing.
- So what are you gonna do?
- I'll manage.
So what are you talking about then?
Why you being such a cooze, huh?
Was that an accident?
Huh? Was that an accident?
- I don't think so.
- Jesus Christ.
Why did you do that?
I'm sorry.
You can hit.
Finding a job will pick you up.
You'll get your reflexes back.
I think I already got my reflexes back.
The summer wind
Came blowing in
From across the sea
It lingered there
To touch your hair
And walk with me
All summer long
We sang a song
And then we strolled that golden sand
Two sweethearts
And the summer wind
Like painted kites
Those days and nights
They went flying by
The world was new
Beneath a blue umbrella sky...
Hey, Charlie Moran.
How the hell are you, huh?
- How you doing?
- What's happening, baby?
- I'm not doing any good in there.
- You know anybody who does?
- So what's happening? How's Cooky?
- Cooky's history.
- I'm sorry.
- It's all right. Don't worry.
So, what's happening with you?
What are you doing?
- Waiting.
- You're waiting? For what?
Work.
Charlie, I'm not gonna
bullshit with you now.
I swear to God, business is off with me.
I'm down 35% on my dinners.
You're up against a wall,
you come in by me,
I put you out on the floor
a couple of shifts a week.
You work as a waiter, okay?
- Work as a waiter?
- Yeah.
- I look like a waiter to you, huh?
- No. I'm offering you a job.
- You want to put me on as a waiter?
- Gonna get mad at me over this?
- I offer you a job...
- I wouldn't work in your restaurant...
- Do me a favor. Go fuck yourself, okay?
- Hey.
Fucking creep, you!
Maybe you should take a waiter's job
until something better opens up.
Diane, give me a break, huh?
Just a thought.
What do you want me to do,
you want me to save up
my little tip cup every night?
In 20 years, maybe I'll have
enough to own a place?
It's honest work, Charlie.
Something I learned a long time ago
about honest work.
When people tell you they got
honest work for you, know what they got?
- What?
- A shit job. That's what they got.
Do you ever think
we don't have to own the restaurant
to move to the country, Charlie?
You could find a job managing a place.
I could get work.
Diane, I'm not gonna head up to Maine,
you know, start chopping wood.
When we leave the city,
I'm gonna leave as an owner.
How are you gonna see your son
when you leave?
- You think about it?
- I'll work it out.
What's the sudden interest in my kid?
It's not sudden.
I'm curious.
Doesn't it bother you
to only see Vinnie once a week?
Yeah, it bothers me. Yeah.
It bothers me.
When Cooky and I first split up,
I used to see the kid every other day.
I used to take him to the zoo.
I took him to the ferry.
I dropped money
at every Carvel stand in the city.
- And?
- And what?
Then Cooky and her scumbag brothers
used to knock me down all week long.
Bang, bang, bang. No mercy.
So by the time I got the kid,
I got nothing but tight lips
and a frown all day.
It might be different if it was our kid.
Not at this point in my life.
I mean, you know.
You know, maybe down the road sometime.
But not right now.
Why not right now?
Because I got my back
against the wall right now, that's why.
I got no job right now.
You want me to put it
a different way for you?
I'm outta work right now.
I got no money, capisce?
I got two Shylocks
I gotta carry on my back.
I got a marshal who wants
to put a lien on my salary
when and if I get a salary, all right?
I got an ex-wife and I got a kid
I gotta feed every week.
Listen to you, Charlie.
You're always saying "I." "I got two..."
Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey, Diane!
Don't play games with me, all right?
- I'm not playing games with you.
- What do you wanna do, you wanna fight?
- Shut up, damn it! Fuck off! Piss off!
- Hey! What do you wanna do?
Look, I'm going to go bang
around the Village for a while, right?
I need a dose of sanity in my life.
Yeah, hey.
Charlie?
- Charlie!
- What? What do you want?
What do you want?
What? What do you want?
What? What do you want?
Speak. What do you want?
- I'm pregnant.
- Come over here.
Come over here. Come over here.
Come over here.
Come over here right now.
No, wait a minute. Wait a minute.
Don't come over here.
Don't come over here.
Grandpa used to have hundreds of birds
he used to keep up here on the roof.
He had all different kinds.
He had tipplets. He had flights.
He had tumblers. He had nuns.
You know what nuns are?
They're pigeons.
One of the most beautiful flocks
in the whole Village
was up here in this coop.
They used to have pigeon wars
over these birds.
Grandpa used to stand up here
with a stick.
He used to go like this.
He used to bring all the birds home.
Hey, Vinnie,
most of your grandfather's time up here
was spent cleaning up bird shit, it was.
Hey, Vinnie,
tell your old man to listen.
Cousin Paulie's got something cooking.
He's gonna thank me for getting us out
of that sentence
we were serving at Sal's.
- Hey, I wanna find my own job alone.
- Job?
Job? Who's talking about a job?
I'm talking about a move, man.
I'll pass.
How can he pass on something
he don't even hear, Vinnie?
I don't know.
This is a score, man. Nice and easy.
And the guy I'm in with is a pro,
Charlie. An absolute pro, man.
Yeah? Well, you're an amateur, like me.
We're not professional thieves, Paulie.
Where you been?
I'm waiting a God damn an hour.
- I gotta go shopping.
- Cooky, don't bust my balls, all right?
Come on, honey.
- Jesus Christ.
- Hey, Dad.
- Oh, wonderful, wonderful.
- Come on, honey.
She'll have you paying taxes
if you're not careful, man.
They're all the same.
They like you to think small, you know?
Paulie, a couple of weeks out of work,
you're gonna start thinking small, too.
Tips, pay, plus what you robbed,
you were bringing home 600 a week.
Where you gonna find that, huh?
Where you gonna find that, huh?
You take a girl out, you drop 100 bucks.
Hey, more than 100, Charlie.
I mean, I like to look good, you know?
Lobsters, some wine,
a couple of sambucas, you know?
When I drop 100 on my night off,
I figure I got away cheap,
you know, like I robbed 50.
Soon money ain't gonna be
no problem, Charlie.
- I got something big going for me, man.
- Oh, yeah? What?
I own a piece of a thoroughbred.
- A what?
- A thoroughbred.
A fucking racehorse, Charlie.
I'm in with Tommy Botondo
and Jimmy the Cheese Man.
Five thou apiece we went for.
- Where did you get 5,000?
- I went on the street for it.
- On the street?
- Yeah.
- What are you, stunat?
- Hey, man, we got a score set up.
If you would listen,
money ain't gonna be no problem.
Paulie, what do you or Jimmy
the Cheese Man know about horses?
I don't have to know nothing
in this deal.
I got in on a swindle with this horse.
This horse's father won
the Belmont Stakes, man.
Any horse wins the Belmont Stakes,
the yearlings go for maybe 600 big ones.
That's exactly it.
We got her for 15 grand, man.
It was like shoplifting,
buying this horse.
Have you ever heard
of artificial inspiration?
It don't just work with people, Charlie.
See, horses can have babies
by artificial inspiration, too, man.
Like, let's say you got
a couple of horses
worth... a million dollars apiece.
You don't wanna set 'em loose
in some field to screw.
I mean, how many times you yourself
pull a muscle or something screwing?
And these great big stallions,
man, they get horny,
they could easily kick
the mother horse in the head.
- Ba-boom. You're out a million dollars.
- So what's the point?
- Point?
- Yeah, what's the point?
Jimmy the Cheese Man got in
with the groom of this champion horse.
We got some of this champion's jism.
The groom jerked the horse off.
He beat his meat right in the stable.
Well, my horse's mother got some of it.
You bet horses.
You know what that means.
Her first race, Starry Hope
goes off at big, big odds, man.
Her papers say her father
was some no-dick piece of garbage,
but she got the champion gene, Charlie.
- Champion gene?
- Yeah.
Horses ain't like people, man.
They can't make themselves better
than they're born.
See, with a horse, it's all in the gene.
It's the fucking gene
that does the running.
The horse got absolutely nothing
to do with it.
Let me ask you something.
I mean, how the hell are you
gonna make your Shylock payments?
- Now, especially?
- Exactly like I told you, man.
With the nicest,
easiest score you ever heard of.
Charlie, at least meet the guy, okay?
You got nothing to lose
by looking it over.
There's a real deadline on this,
Charlucc'.
Starry Hope runs in a couple of weeks,
and I need big bucks to bet with, man.
There's real money to be made
on that race, you know?
You know, you ought to get a permit.
A permit? For what?
To shit in the street.
You look like a horse.
Paulie,
are you sure this guy is all right?
That's Barney.
What are you doing?
I fix clocks here in the Bronx.
Antique dealers downtown feed me work.
Chimes, mostly.
You can make a good living in this city
doing nothing but chimes.
Chimes, man.
Yeah, chimes. I get it.
Can you still open safes?
Some.
The kind we'll run into
on this job I can get into.
Yeah? What kind can't you get into?
- What kind?
- Yeah.
Banks. Big jewelry houses.
Anything wired up to Holmes.
I'm not a big-time safecracker.
I'm a hotshot locksmith.
People got a half million to protect,
they buy the kind of box
I don't know how to get into.
- Are you sure about opening this one?
- If it ain't wired, I can get into it.
- Your buddy boy says it ain't wired.
- Guaranteed. I seen it, man.
You done any time, Barney?
Goes back to '47.
I did a pound at Green Haven.
Hey, what the fuck is this, huh?
What the fuck is this?
We giving lifetime references here?
I did five years in the joint.
Five years. End of story, huh?
'47, Charlie.
Either of you guys have
an automobile out there?
- Yeah.
- Better hurry.
The summons man is blitzing the street
with his little fleet of tow trucks.
Tow trucks! Shit!
He's the only police officer in this
city that sets the hook himself.
Hey! It's my car. It's my car.
- Hey, I'll move it, Officer.
- Lift her.
Hey! That ain't right,
and you know it, man!
Hey, Officer, I get here before you
hook me, you're supposed to let me go.
I still gotta take a ticket,
but you're not supposed to tow me.
Take it away!
Cocksucker.
That rat bastard
was supposed to let me go.
He doesn't let anyone go.
He hooked Monsignor Ryan's
Coupe de Ville last Saturday
while the Monsignor was in saying
the 8:00 mass.
The man is possessed.
He should die of hemorrhoids.
It's gonna cost you $100 for the tow,
plus $25 for the ticket.
And that fat bastard comes in here
every afternoon like clockwork
to piss in my toilet
and drink my whisky free.
He knows there's two
first-class locks on that building.
Take me an hour to go through them.
The other one,
I go through with a toothpick.
Crossing that alley to the other roof
is a piece of cake.
We go inside, I open the safe
and we find peanuts in there,
I'm gonna want your ass, Paulie.
Charlie, this is A1,
guaran-fucking-teed, man.
Go ahead and sleep on it.
Paulie, before I go to sleep on it,
just how sure are you of the 50 thou?
They deliver to some kind
of small chemical plant, COD.
Payment in green.
And there's 15 trucks out there.
- And it all goes in the safe?
- Every penny.
They get back too late for the banks.
Friday's receipts sit over the weekend.
Charlie, we've been through this
again and again.
What is he, stunat'?
What do you mean?
He's like a wackadoo.
Noodles and an egg roll. How much?
Hey, what's the matter with you, Barney?
Hey, man,
you'll die if you eat that shit.
This guy is selling
instant hepatitis here.
It ain't nothing but warm germs
going here.
Charlie, we're gonna
lose our partner here, man.
This upazz' bought a horse.
What's your story?
Come here, Charlie.
With these eyes, four more years,
they're gonna tell me to buy a shepherd.
I'm 58.
I got a 25-year-old retarded kid
my wife won't let go of.
I've a two-family house,
a little left on the mortgage.
I might see some extra bucks every month
if the neighborhood don't go colored.
Colored, man.
I need one nice score now so the kid's
got something going for him.
- One nice score.
- Right.
Absolutely.
Hey, Paulie, where the hell you
gonna keep that horse you bought?
- I thought you live on Carmine Street.
- At the racetrack, for Christ's sake.
It ain't a fucking pet, Barney.
It's a racehorse, okay? Huh.
Hey, either one of you do any time?
- What, are you nuts?!
- Hey, Barney, whoa.
Do I look like I could afford
to do any time?
I'm no tough guy.
They send me upstate,
some big militant begunda's
gonna grab me in the shower
and "ram it up yo' ass!"
- Fuck that shit.
- It's no joke.
All this talk about doing time
makes me nervous.
Are you in, Charlie, or what?
Is there gonna be money in that safe?
Yes, man. For the tenth time, yes.
Barney, don't eat this shit.
Give me this.
- Hey, come on. Stop. What the fuck?
- It ain't good for you, Barney.
I paid two bucks for it!
Gimme the two bucks!
- Hey, Bunky.
- Hey, Nunzi.
Who's the guys?
The Chinks? They're okay.
They're with Eddie.
- How's the calamari?
- Mm.
Hey, Bunky, the fight next week,
you still got a hook-up for tickets?
Yeah, but let me know how many.
Tomorrow, I'll give you a call.
Will you give me a break
with that smoke?
What's the matter? No scungilli tonight?
My stomach's a little sour.
I wanna eat bland for a while.
You could have a wire that big
underneath all that sauce.
You're the cop.
You're supposed to be wired, not me.
No more, Eddie.
Don't you read the newspapers?
All the cops are getting pinched now.
Wise guys, they're too busy testifying.
You're right.
Yeah, everything
is upside down out there.
The whole world is upside down.
Listen, uh...
I hear you're having a little trouble
with Carlucci.
Put something in your mouth, Bunky.
It's good.
The brass, they're getting
a little nervous, you understand?
We're sweetening up the pot this month.
You keep everybody calm.
There'll be 150 large there.
Make your usual pick-up
in your usual place.
That's all that counts. No?
You're right.
I remember you. You're the guy...
Yeah, I'm the guy
who got his car fucking towed.
- And you're Jinty, right?
- Ginty.
- That's what I said.
- What the hell are you doing?
Don't worry about it, Gint. Here.
Put that in your cup.
Please God,
you're not poisoning the man, are you?
It ain't poison.
It's horse physic.
Hey, pour the ginger ale, man.
It's what they give horses
when they can't shit.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
How many of those little envelopes
do they give to a horse that can't shit?
One. One envelope will bust
a block of concrete, man.
Take a long time to work?
It ain't slow.
Encore.
Yeah. 1013.
Uh, Castle Hill and Westchester Avenue.
There's an officer down.
Officer needs assistance here.
Hurry, man, hurry. Yeah.
Cop shit in his pants!
Cop shit his pants! Shit his pants!
Whoo! Yeah!
Cop shit his pants!
Cop shit his pants! Cop shit his pants!
He's a cop. He's a cop.
He's a cop. He shit his pants.
The cop shit his pants!
It's nice.
It's slightly run-down
and needs a little paint.
It's nice.
It's old. I like that.
- Hello. How are you?
- I'll be with you in a moment.
Needs a buffing machine in the kitchen.
That's the first thing I'd do.
You've painted it
and taken care of the silverware.
Now all we need's a way to buy it.
It's still for sale.
Charlie, you've stopped
even looking for a job.
Listen, uh... after next week,
I might make a real score.
I might not need a job.
Is Paulie part of it?
No.
- Really?
- Yeah, Paulie's part of it.
Hi. Uh, I hope you're not here
to see Linwood.
- He's gone for the day.
- He's not here?
No, we just came up to have lunch.
Would you tell Linwood
that we stopped by?
Mm-hm. Beaujolais?
Beaujolais. Beaujolais?
- Yes.
- Beaujolais. A full bottle.
He's just got you fired.
Maybe he's trying to make it up to me.
When are you gonna outgrow him, Charlie?
Outgrow him?
Diane, maybe WASPs outgrow people.
Italians, they outgrow clothes,
not people.
Hey, Nicky tells me you bought a horse.
- Who Nicky?
- Nicky the Nose.
He says you bought a racehorse.
Well, not a whole horse, Pop.
There's three of us.
Now, look, listen, Paulie.
You're 28 years old.
Your mother's not doing you no favor
by bringing manicot' over twice a week
by washing your laundry.
I mean, Rockefellers own racehorses.
Big-shot mafiosos own racehorses.
Waiters don't own racehorses, Paulie.
You went on the street for the money?
To Nappy. I took five large off him.
- How much did he bang you for?
- 200 a week in juice.
You got no gripe there,
but what are you gonna do
if you can't make these payments?
Pop, you should see this horse.
She runs in a couple of weeks.
This horse is gonna make money, Pop.
In my bones, I feel it.
Paulie, look, God forbid,
I don't wish you any hard luck,
but listen to me...
I don't think you're gonna see
even a little piece of baccala
for this deal, you know?
Hey, Pop, it's better you don't smoke.
Jesus Christ, I'm surrounded!
You know, Paulie, I should
have been a lot tougher with you.
My brothers whack their kids a lot more.
They're better off.
Nicky the Nose is better off?
He's got a house in Staten Island.
Pop, the Nose is my first cousin,
but he's a total asshole.
Yeah? He trades in an Olds
98 every year.
Pop, the Nose ain't even Napulitan',
for Christ's sake.
It's his mother's side all the way.
Genoese. He don't go for spit.
The Nose shines his own shoes, Pop.
That's no big success.
So what do you call success, huh?
Knowing how to spend it.
I never ordered a brandy
in my life wasn't Cordon Bleu.
I took 500 from Shylocks, Pop,
to see Sinatra at the Garden.
Sat two seats away from Tony Bennett.
That's success, Pop.
Where is this interview
you're going to tonight?
Uh, it's around.
You're not going to an interview.
No.
You don't even bother
to lie to me carefully anymore.
It's an insult to be lied
to so obviously.
Diane, I'll tell you what...
tomorrow I'm gonna turn over a new leaf,
and I promise you,
my lies will be better.
- Okay?
- Okay.
- Come on. Let's dance.
- We can't dance to that.
No, we can dance.
Vinnie, can we have some music?
You got it, Charlie.
It's closing time
In this nowhere cafe
There's no way in the world
I'm gonna let that girl
Let her slip away
Don't go.
Don't go where?
Wherever you're going.
How can you tell me not to go
if you don't know where I'm going, huh?
It's a mistake, Charlie.
You're making a mistake.
This is it.
What do you guys think?
- What do you think?
- What do you mean, what do we think?
Top floor's a tough spot.
We gotta go by that like cats.
- Cats.
- Wait here.
What do you think, Charlie?
- I think he's a fucking mope.
- Fucking mope.
But he's careful.
You know, he seems to be prepared.
Prepared, yeah.
What do you think?
I think he's prepared. Absolutely.
No, what do you think?
What do I think?
Of what? An alley? Come on.
Okay, let's move it. Come on.
- What is this for? What is this for?
- Don't worry about it.
Make 'em look light and walk
into the place like we own the joint.
What the hell is in these, Barney?
Tools, nice Genoa salami,
a couple of Thermoses of coffee.
- He's got an appetite.
- Come on, Paulie, just walk.
Three hours in there, you'll be starved.
I'm busting my balls, really.
Okay, you take this.
Ma, do I have a clean T-shirt?
Yeah, it's on
the kitchen chair someplace.
You know, uh... Trusty Dream?
It's a four-year-old filly.
No.
She's in the third at Aqueduct.
Six furlongs.
One-eleven in her last time out.
She must be a nice little place bet.
I like this horse.
Want me to put your game show on, Ma?
Nah, leave it alone.
I can't even think with those assholes
jumping up and down and screaming.
Do I have a clean handkerchief, Ma?
It's in the drawer.
I like your haircut, sonny.
Glad I talked you into it.
At least go to the filters, huh, Ma?
And those highballs,
they ain't doing you any good either.
A little whisky is good for the system.
And it's not the cigarettes
that give me the heart attack.
It's 37 years...
scrubbing floors on my hands and knees
for those rich sons-of-bitches
on Park Avenue.
Do you remember hauling garbage
after dinner every night of your life?
Pulling on dumbwaiter ropes?
I know. Your right arm is bigger.
Yeah, twice as big as my left.
Pulling dumbwaiter ropes
up five-storey buildings.
Look, it'll protect you
from the muggers when I'm gone.
Aw, Ma, one more year.
One more year, Ma,
and I'll have my 20 in,
and we'll head to Phoenix.
Clean air, sunshine.
I'll even teach you
to play a little golf.
With that dumbwaiter arm of yours,
you'll drive the ball a mile.
And what will you do, Walter?
Liquor store.
Big house, hacienda style.
And I'm even gonna
have a little dumbwaiter put in
just to keep that arm of yours in shape.
And all this on a second-class
detective's pension?
I got a little put away, Ma.
That what your little recorder's for?
Keep track of your savings?
It's just a little
personal protection, Ma.
In case things go sour.
I mean, this little box...
well, it gives me a hand to play with,
you know what I mean?
If things go sour, Walter...
I got nobody left.
I know, Ma.
Oh, get outta here.
Come on. Lock the door, huh?
Yeah, yeah. Go on.
No, no, no. On your stomach.
I look down, I'll freeze here
for a fucking week, man.
Oh.
- Come on.
- I don't work this high without a net.
- It's your idea, this whole thing.
- Oh, God.
All right, Charlie.
- Go ahead.
- Why me, man?
Why you? You're the monkey. You go. Go.
Hold me, Charlie. Hold me, man.
It's a tin can all dressed up.
Good for fires.
Got a couple of broads
tucked in here, Barney?
Cover the front, huh, Paulie?
Cover the front.
Barney.
- It must be the phone.
- Paulie, give me a break, all right?
Give me a fucking break.
Barney, what is that?
Could be anything.
- Could be a wrong number.
- Absolutely.
There'll be 150 large there.
Make your usual pick-up
in your usual place.
That's all that counts now.
That was Bed Bug Eddie Grant.
It's September 21st.
11:25 PM.
Heading for my monthly pick-up
on West Street.
From there to Queens Village
to deliver the money
to Inspector Ed Burns,
whose voice will be
on this tape later on.
Hope to be erasing this in Phoenix
in about a year.
Did you ever see those big S&M fags?
They go into old buildings like this.
Charlie, that's somebody's personal
paper you're reading there, man.
Big mothers, too.
All dressed in leather and shit.
These S&M fags get so carried away,
they beat each other up and whatnot...
Will you please shut your mouth? You're
starting to sound like half a fag.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Hey, man, somebody's coming!
Somebody's coming. Somebody's coming.
Somebody's coming.
Get out of sight. Grab the cases, fast!
Come on, Paulie.
- How many?
- One guy.
- Cop?
- No, no, just a guy.
One of the bosses probably
forgot something.
If he comes in here, let me handle it.
- We'll bluff our way through.
- Charlie, I gotta take a leak, man.
Shh. Be quiet.
Oh, fuck. The rope ladder.
Freeze! Freeze or I'll blow you away!
Shit.
- Oh, man.
- Barney, he's not moving.
What are we standing here for?
Let's get the hell outta here, Charlie.
If he's breathing,
our best bet is to get outta here fast
and call an ambulance,
crawl out from under a murder rap.
Murder rap?! Nobody came
within 20 feet of that yo-yo.
He dived into that hole
like a fucking gopher!
If somebody dies during a crime,
it's murder, end of story.
Barney, it's a dead cop down there.
- Aw, man.
- A cop? Shit.
You got a lot of explaining
to do now, Paulie.
What?
Hey, Barney,
what the fuck are you doing?
- I'm a couple of seconds...
- No!
It ain't gonna change the rap
one way or the other.
No!
Charlie, I ain't leaving this joint
with nothing in my kick after all this!
I don't...
What the hell
is a plainclothes cop doing
wandering around in here after midnight?
- Shit, I don't know.
- You don't know? Hey, you bastard!
You know. You know!
Guaranteed it, you know, Paulie.
You know, you piece of shit.
Charlie, maybe he wasn't
even a real cop, man.
Man, there must be 100 phony cops
wandering around out there,
shaking people down and whatnot.
Charlie, Charlie.
- Charlie.
- Get off me, Paulie.
Jesus, the kid was right.
There's a hell of a lot of money here.
- The fucking lottery, Charlie!
- The fucking lottery?
Paulie, there's a dead cop down there!
What are you talking about?
You screwed us.
You screwed us. You screwed me, man.
I didn't screw you, Charlie.
He knows. Guaranteed, he knows.
And you're gonna tell me.
There is nothing to tell, Charlie.
Nothing to tell, huh?
You're full of shit, Paulie.
And you're so busy acting stupid,
that you got us on FDR Drive
with commercial plates,
thank you very much.
You shoulda let me drive, Barney.
- Charlie.
- Paulie, shut up.
I gotta take a leak, man.
Charlie... I gotta take a leak, man.
Jesus Christ.
You know, he's got a bum bladder
ever since he was a kid.
Charlie, whatever your beef is with him,
you gotta forget it now.
We gotta find out
what the score is here.
Ooh, man.
Yeah, I know, I'm doing it wrong.
With him, you gotta be calm, right?
Yeah.
Charlie, what are you doing? Barney,
talk to him. Get him back inside.
Fucking shut up! Paulie, come out here!
Come out here. Come out here.
- Paulie, get the fuck out here!
- Charlie! Charlie, the cops!
I wanna know what the fuck
is going on right now, you tell me.
You're not telling me something.
I wanna know now.
I ain't holding back nothing!
- Charlie, what the fuck are you doing?
- Shut up! You tell me right now.
I ain't holding back nothing. I swear.
I wanna know. I want answers.
You talk to me.
I wanna know what's going on.
- I ain't holding back nothing. I swear.
- Paulie, Don't you lie to me.
- I swear.
- You swear on your kid brother, Vito.
Say "Vito should get stomach cancer
if I'm lying to Charlie." Say that.
That ain't fair, Charlie,
Vito got nothing to do...
Say it. Say it. "Vito should get slow
stomach cancer if I'm lying to Charlie."
Jesus Christ, Barney...
- Tell me right now.
- Vito should...
Jesus Christ,
you don't leave a guy no room.
Tell me. Tell me.
I didn't wanna bother you
with every last detail.
There are things
I can take care of, you know.
Like what? Huh? Like what?
Like about Eddie Grant.
Like what?
You know, Bed Bug Eddie.
What about Bed Bug Eddie?
What's the use
of kidding ourselves, Charlie?
That's his trucking company.
Paulie, what's wrong with you?
I don't...
- What is wrong with you?
- What's the matter?
What is wrong with you? Huh?
What is wrong with you?
What's the matter with a score
like we made tonight, man?!
You been living
with that WASP girl too long.
I don't wanna tell you
things to worry you, man.
I brought you guys together, man.
Kid who tipped you, what was his name?
Frankie Wheels.
He's from the neighborhood.
Frankie Wheels
is gonna know you did it too, Paulie.
Charlie, I wormed it out of him, man.
Bed Bug Eddie,
whoever hung that name on him
sure knew what the hell
he was talking about.
The Bed Bug's got a thing
about hacking people up.
What do you mean, hack up?
Look, we got one shot here.
We don't spend a nickel. Capisce?
Well, we don't have to be crazy
about this either, you know?
100 bucks here for a couple of suits...
Paulie, we don't spend a nickel,
all right?
Not a fucking penny.
You understand me? Not a penny.
Okay, not a penny. Shit.
Just talking about
a couple of suits, you know?
Nickel-and-dime stuff, man.
- Nothing major.
- Hey, not a fucking penny.
You understand me?
We don't spend...
we don't spend a penny.
Not a fucking dime.
Ain't he charming? The fucking idiot.
You all right, honey?
Yeah, everything's fine. Go back
to bed. I'll be there in a minute.
You woke her.
Charlie, relax, man.
I mean, God forbid, things really
go sour, I could reach out for us.
- To who?
- Pete.
Uncle Pete would bail us out, man.
He's my goombah and, Charlie,
I still call him Uncle.
And he's on Eddie Grant's crew, man.
You can't do shit, Paulie.
Aw, Charlie.
Charlie, I never knew nothing
about no payoff to cops, I swear.
I never knew nothing, man. But
what I said would be there was there.
If I'd left it up to you,
we'd have gone out and robbed
that candy store over there, man.
Hey, there comes a time
you got to cowboy it, Charlucc'.
Yeah.
I got five grand for anybody
who brings me these thieves.
I want that all over the street.
- Five?
- That's right!
Where do we stand with the cops, Eddie?
Let those Irish hard-ons
take care of themselves.
I want those guys.
They found him at the bottom
of an elevator shaft.
I got the call just
as I was leaving the house.
Jesus, that means the Internal Affairs
shoo-flies will be poking around.
Brace yourself for worse news, John.
Ritter was wired.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
They found the adhesive marks
and the microphone.
I've worked 27 years putting together
a little something
for myself and the family.
There's 27 years hoarding in there.
Stinking inflation eating it up
just as fast as I could fill it.
Ease up, John.
I'm drinking what I always have.
You're drinking three martinis
in place of lunch every day.
Then chewing up a whole
raw onion like it was an apple.
You look like a neon sign
for Gordon's gin.
Can I offer you a drink?
We're on duty.
Hey! Excuse me.
You on duty, too?
Yeah.
Just a few questions, Mrs. Ritter.
Did Bunky act peculiar
the last few months or so?
Different?
What the hell has that got to do
with some thief
pushing him down the elevator shaft?
He was wearing a tape recorder,
Mrs. Ritter.
Do you know anything about that?
How the hell would I know?
You're the policeman.
Did Bunky have a girlfriend?
Who were some of his friends?
No one.
He went to church a lot.
Sacred Heart.
Most of his free time he spent there.
He must have had some friends.
It's important that we locate any tapes
that Bunky may have had.
Yeah, I bet it's important.
I bet it's very important
to the two of yous.
The Internal Affairs people
were here hours ago.
Two college-educated little pricks.
Acted like they was
born and bred in Ohio.
I'm gonna tell you what I told them.
Walter neither drank nor gambled.
He disapproved of the lottery.
His spare time was spent making novenas
over at the Sacred Heart.
Did they dig around in his room?
I wouldn't let 'em.
Well, we're going to have to.
It's important.
Now, uh... which room is Bunky's?
You are not poking around
in Walter's room.
We're going through this place, madam.
You obstruct me and I'll personally see
that you never see a cent
of his pension.
Get out. Get outta here,
the two of yous.
After you're gone, I'm gonna tear this
place upside down like a cyclone hit it.
I'm gonna call The Daily News
to do a story on how
the New York City Police Department
treats the mother of a hero.
My brother's a priest.
He is an old-fashioned
parish priest with gray hair.
The two of us could do a scene
on the 6:00 news
would have this city in tears.
My Walter was as tough as a bar of iron,
and he didn't get that from his father.
Now, you wanna fight, officer?
Or do you get the hell out of my house?
Seven, eight! And one, two, three, four.
One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight!
To the side, two, three, four!
To the side, two, three, four!
Shoulders.
One, two, three, four! Reverse!
- What are you doing here?
- I have to talk to you.
Three, four, keep going.
Tina, can you take over for me
for a minute, please?
They're trying out for a commercial.
We got a lot of work to do.
Diane, I have to talk to you.
Come on, Diane.
Five, six, seven, eight, and one...
What are you doing here, Paulie?
Thinking of joining?
Maybe. Very possible. Looks nice.
Seven, eight, and smile!
Paulie, give me a break.
Seven and one, two, three,
four, five, six, seven, eight, and hold!
Oka, gang, shake it out
a little bit, loosen up,
and we'll start from the beginning.
How could you have
put me in this, Charlie? Huh?
I'm not... you're not in this.
A policeman died, Charlie.
Do you know what I'm saying?
A man died.
Why don't you tell
the whole fucking world?
There's a way out of this.
There's 50 grand we got.
Yeah, back in the closet.
That could be our way out.
It could be our restaurant.
Are you crazy? What do we do?
Do we sit in our restaurant
and wait for the police to show up
or some psychotic criminal to come
and find you and chop you up?
Oh, man.
You listened to that fool, Charlie.
He's an idiot.
He lives in a fantasy, Charlie.
Look,
Paulie has nothing to do with this.
- Diane, I made my own decision.
- Paulie uses you, Charlie.
Don't you see what you get
for your loyalty to family?
He uses you.
Why are you always one inch away
from becoming a good person, huh?
Maybe, I don't know...
maybe you're too soft.
I'm just too soft?
What are you? Some tough guy?
The men up in Maine make you and Paulie
look like spoiled little brats.
I was raised to believe
that criminals...
criminals were too weak,
too weak to make it honestly.
Diane, maybe that shit works in Maine.
Here, on the streets, it don't work.
Okay? It don't work.
Such a pathetic excuse, you know?
You just miss... you just miss by a...
another fucking inch, you know,
and you could really be someone special.
But you're all caught up
in your tribal loyalty,
your neighborhood, Paulie...
Diane, maybe I don't
wanna change, all right?
You ever think of that? Huh?
If I don't wanna change,
what the fuck are you doing with me?
What the fuck have you
been doing with me all this time?
I always knew this would happen.
What the...
Hit me again. See if I change.
Come on. Hit me again. Come on.
- Huh? Huh?
- Let go of me.
Charlie!
Nicky Dum Dum found out
who robbed my money.
Well, that's great.
How come it wasn't you that found out?
Hey...
all my guys
been knocking their brains out.
So Nicky got there first. Good for him.
Maybe you got there first
and you forget to tell me.
What the hell are you talking about?
Somebody ratted.
It was that kid from Carmine Street.
Paulie somebody.
The kid you call your nephew?
Hey, Paulie don't rob safes.
He's a fucking waiter.
He's a scumbag, that's what he is,
him and whoever was with him.
Aw, man another 200-a-week hard on
looking to shit on anybody
who ain't driving a Coupe de Ville.
- Guy's doing his job.
- Yeah?
- What did you drag me up here for?
- Come on in. Come on in.
What's up?
Paulie. They're gonna nail him, Charlie.
I can smell it. He left the file behind.
- So what?
- Fingerprints!
Fucking shit. God damn him.
And he's gonna feed them me.
He won't give you up.
There's blood there.
Blood. That fucking kid's blood.
We're third cousins. He's...
With Italians, that's like
twin brothers with the Irish.
And when he feeds me to them,
they're gonna press me
to give them you, Charlie.
They're gonna press me hard.
And if I clam up, you skate away,
clean as a whistle.
Yeah? For what? How much?
Charlie, it's not what you think.
My end of this, I want it for my kid.
I leave that money with my wife,
they'll take it off her in 12 minutes.
I need somebody who'll make sure my wife
gets that money if I take a fall.
Whoa, Barney. Whoa.
There's got to be some other way.
No, no, I've been making lists up
in my head for hours.
I got no one else, my friend.
Why don't you just split
with the money now?
I can't.
I can't leave those two
until I'm backed dead into a corner.
And I can't go on a lam
with a 25-year-old
needs the side of his crib
pulled up every night.
Barney, you can't lay this on me.
Can't lay this on me.
- Charlie, I'm making you a deal.
- Open the door.
- You got a sense of honor.
- Open the door.
- I can smell it in ya.
- Open the fucking door, come on.
It's saltwater. Briglia wants
to toughen up her legs.
He's from the South.
She looks like a fucking joke
rather than a racehorse, you know?
Joke? What are you talking about?
I got five grand on this horse, Paulie.
It better be no joke.
I know, I know.
It's just that I never seen a horse
with its legs in no garbage can.
What do you know
about training a horse, huh?
Waiting tables is what you know.
Making cheese is what I know.
Let's stay with what we know here.
You know about making cheese?
Not for nothin', Jimmy,
but my mother sent me over
a hunk of mozzarell'
from your place last week.
It was no big bargain.
Tough, tat mozzarell', and it ain't
the first time I noticed it, either.
- Your mozzarell' is tough sometimes.
- Are you nuts?
The Garguzzos never sold a piece
of tough mozzarell' in our life.
Tough like fucking shoe leather,
that mozzarell'.
- Hey, Paulino.
- Hi, Uncle Pete. I was gonna call you.
Let's go talk private.
Where do you come off
to steal from Eddie Grant?
You ain't even a full-time thief.
You're a waiter, for Christ's sake.
- Can you bail me out, Uncle Pete?
- I'm treading water myself.
Oh, man.
You pay attention,
'cause your life depends on this.
If you won't say
who was with ya, Paulie,
your head gets hung
on your mother's doorknob.
He wouldn't really do that, Pete.
And he'd sit down to a steak pizzaiol'
right after.
Come on.
And what if I rat?
He's still gonna do
a Bed Bug Eddie number on ya.
Man.
He'd be making me a cripple.
He wants to crush me. And for what?
For what? I didn't rape his daughter.
I didn't spit in his fat face.
I took money from him.
I took fucking money.
It don't call for this, Pete.
I gotta take a leak.
Come on.
Oh, man.
Hey.
What would you do,
you was in my shoes, Pete?
Me?
First espresso I carried to the bastard
would have a cupful of lye in it.
What do I do?
I can't put lye in Eddie Grant's coffee.
But I can't rat either.
I ain't built that way.
Paulie, in my life,
I never told nobody to rat.
But it ain't the old days.
Wise guys rat people out now.
I can't, Pete!
What happens to anyone what was with me?
- Who knows?
- Oh, man.
What about the money?
What did you bag?
50 large. That's what my end came to.
Gimme... gimme 43 to bring Eddie.
Just say you blew the rest.
The maniac'll...
The maniac will hardly even count it.
What do they want?
This ain't no joke, Paulie.
I had a partner, Pete.
I was with another guy.
Some old Irish hard-on from the Bronx.
I don't owe him nothing.
Barney. Fixes clocks.
Castle Hill and Westchester Avenue
in the Bronx.
An old guy.
An old-time thief.
Paulie, nothing ever hurts
like you think it will.
You go numb.
Then you wrap
your belt around your wrist
and you get yourself
to the nearest emergency room.
Oh, Uncle Pete.
Oh, Uncle Pete...
Oh, Uncle Pete. Uncle Pete.
Uncle Pete.
Uncle Pete!
Can you believe it?
Bed Bug had that kid's thumb taken off.
Jesus Christ.
He's like some Arab sheik
walking around with that crazy bulldog.
Yeah, but that's why Little Italy
got their own law and order.
Wanna know something?
It's the only neighborhood in the city
where little kids and old ladies
can still walk the streets at night.
Why the hell did Bed Bug
give us this one anyway?
It's a favor, I think.
"You can have the Irish," he told me.
"Keep it in the family."
Fucking humps.
They're all alike.
They think they're real cute.
- There. It's over there.
- We got him here.
Charlie... this is not easy for me.
Our baby needs
a good start in life, Charlie.
So I don't feel guilty about taking
the shoebox full of money for the baby.
I've left you $5,000.
With $45,000, our baby
will have a good chance in life.
It should be a comfort you to know that.
I've been thinking about what
my life would be like, living with you.
The truth is, Charlie,
I can't go through life
living with someone I could never trust.
- Paulie, what happened?
- Charlie...
- they took my thumb, man.
- Who did? Who did?
It hurts so much.
- Paulie, what happened?
- The Bed Bug took my thumb, man.
Oh, no. No. Jesus Christ.
I'm gonna fucking kill him!
No, Charlucc'.
That guy's a fucking psycho, man.
He'll chop you up.
- Paulie...
- Oh, man, it hurts so much.
- Did they give you anything for this?
- Yeah.
- What did they give you?
- Yeah.
They gave me... they gave me this stuff.
They gave me this stuff at the hospital.
But I took all of it.
I've been taking it all day.
- You took all of this?
- It ain't done a fucking thing!
- You took all of this?
- I took it all, man.
- Charlie, I didn't do nothing, man.
- Paulie, what can I do for you?
- What can I do for you?
- It was my life, man.
I didn't wanna give the poor bastard up,
but it was my life, Charlie.
Barney ain't family.
I don't owe him that much.
You gave Barney up?
What about me, Paulie?
Paulie, I'm family.
Did they press you for me?
Yeah. Yeah, they... they pressed me.
They pressed me hard.
They took my thumb, Charlie!
Paulie.
What the hell happened here, man?
Look at that chair, man.
What the hell happened here, Charlie?
She walked out.
She took the money and she left.
That twat robbed ya?
My God, what did you do, Charlie?
I didn't do anything, Paulie.
I didn't hit her. I didn't do nothing.
You can't do that, man.
You don't abuse 'em once in a while,
they'll shit all over ya.
I don't mean that you walk around
morning to night
whacking 'em upside the head
like someone from the other side,
but you gotta terrorize 'em once
in a while just to keep 'em in line.
I mean, like, you know,
sometimes when they embarrass ya
in front of your friends,
you whack 'em with the backhand.
Not out in the middle of the room
like some fucking animal, you know,
but nice, in the bedroom, you know?
Ba-boom. Ow.
What am I? Some kind of asshole?
Ba-boom. Another one. Oh.
Shit. What is this?!
Some kinda fucking joke?!
You get your coat on fast,
and you don't say good night to nobody.
You understand me? Huh? Huh?
That's to keep 'em humble.
When you don't let 'em say
good night to nobody,
they walk out
looking at the fucking floor.
Charlie!
They took my thumb!
Paulie. Paulie.
Bed Bug, I'm gonna fucking kill you,
God damn it!
Paulie... Paulie... Paulie.
The motherfucking...
Paulie. Oh, Paulie.
I know... Paulie...
It's better if you don't know.
Here.
Here's $1,000.
I'll send you $200 every week.
Nora, don't fall apart on me now, huh?
- Huh?
- How did you let this happen to you?
Oh, how did I let my whole
life happen to me?
Why does it never work out right for us?
Why, Barney?
Why does it never work out right?
Nora, maybe I wasn't
the smartest kid on the block, huh?
I did the best I could, huh?
For the three of us.
I gotta go.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa.
- Aw, Jesus Christ.
All right. Here.
I was having a bad dream.
How do you feel? Huh?
How's your hand?
I don't know yet.
You eat some of this.
You'll feel better.
- Absolutely.
- Okay.
Here you go.
Yuck.
- What's the matter?
- It's canned, man.
- It's good for you.
- Yeah.
White bread?
No wonder these WASPs
got no color, huh, Charlie?
Hey, maybe she...
she outgrew me, you know? I mean...
These WASPs, you know,
they outgrow people.
Yeah, right.
Our mothers was right, Charlucc'.
You really gotta stick
with your own kind, you know?
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
Charlie...
you know what really busts my balls?
I gotta go to work for that maniac.
I gotta be a God damn
coffee boy in the club.
- How you doing?
- I'm good.
- All right?
- Absolutely.
Three sugars, Eddie?
Close the door.
Sit down.
No, sit over here.
Do you ever listen to tapes, Paulie?
Them, uh...
tapes that everybody sees all over?
I've been thinking
how you and that Irishman
did that piece of work up there.
It was you and him, no?
Barney. That's his name.
Barney.
This Irishman who you gave
two-thirds the split to?
- Are you comfortable, Paulie?
- Yeah, yeah, I'm comfortable.
Tell me exactly how you handled it.
Who carried the stuff upstairs?
Who watched the window?
I wanna know
each detail of who did what.
Well, uh... me and the Irishman,
you know, the two of us, we had...
Two?
Not three?
Two.
Take it easy. Don't rush.
We're gonna go through this
a couple of times.
Hello?
Diane?
Diane, is that you?
Luna, luna, luna, lu
I'll be waiting here for you
I live by moonlight
So give me moonlight
Who knows? I soon might
Give you my heart
Luna, luna, luna, lu
Hey, Paulie, buddy.
Hey, where are you going?
Take a hike, asshole.
What was so important we had to
stop off at the apartment for that?
I got a phone call from Chicago,
from Barney.
That was his end of it.
50,000?
You just mailed $50,000
to some Irish retard?
Hey, don't be so fucking selfish,
all right, Paulie?
I mean, come on,
I thought about this the whole week.
Had to do the right thing.
Charlie, some thief
is gonna hand the kid a rattle,
and he's gonna give him 50 large.
Shit. He sure as hell ain't gonna
go out and party with it, Charlie.
- You're a selfish fuck, you know that?
- "The right thing."
That's for you.
Grab yourself a beer after work.
Thanks.
- What did you do?
- What did I do? I tipped the guy.
- Big shot.
- Charlie, I only gave him a buck, man.
I mean, what is so terrible?
The poor victim stands in a little
closet breathing car fumes all day.
The job's a sentence.
Gotta throw 'em a beanie once just
to make their day, know what I mean?
Charlie, we made his day. His week.
Big fucking shot you are, Paulie.
Why the hell do you wanna
go to the grandstand?
The clubhouse is nicer.
Hey, asshole, watch out, will ya?
The grandstand's
where the regular guys are.
The clubhouse is full of phonies.
I thought we was going
to the grandstand.
No, man.
The clubhouse is the only place
to really see a race from.
You stay in the grandstand
and you're with every garbage can
walking the street.
Every garbage can walking the...
You'll wind up with crabs
over there, you know?
Hey, Charlie, that's on me, man.
The midnight flight for Miami.
We're gonna make money here today,
then we're gonna party on the beach.
We're gonna live like a couple of sports
instead of busted suitcases, you know?
Starry Hope. Ba-boom.
See "TR"? That means "trainer."
- No kidding?
- Yeah.
See where it says "F"?
"F," that means "filly."
They call girl horses fillies.
And if you see a "G," Charlie,
that means "gelding."
That's when they whack
the horse's dick off.
- Ba-boom, it's a memory, man.
- The balls, the balls.
- The balls. The dick, man.
- No, they whack the balls.
They whack the balls off.
They don't whack the dick off.
Yeah, okay.
Look at that pile of garbage
she's up against, man.
There'll be a flock of seagulls
following 'em around the track, man.
- What's going on with you today?
- What?
You're acting really, uh... nervous.
I'm excited, man. We're gonna
win money here today, Charlie.
I feel it in my bones, man.
How do you wanna go?
How do you wanna bet her?
- What do you mean, man?
- What do you want to do?
Wanna go straight across the board?
Jesus Christ, Charlie, don't jinx her
with place and show bets.
For once in your life,
don't hedge, okay?
You got a chance to win here today,
Charlie, play to win.
Hey, Paulie, sometimes if you play it
a little safe, it don't hurt.
Charlie, think like a winner, okay?
That's what it takes to bounce back,
and I should know, no?
Johnny Black, rocks, man.
What you having, man?
- The usual.
- J&B over here.
Starry Hope.
Post position four. That's okay.
Let's see. Okay, look here.
They tell you the color the jockey
wears, you know,
so you can tell one horse from another.
Okay, let's see. Orange, pink yuk.
- Pink what?
- Yuk.
What the fuck is a yuk?
It's the thing that goes
around their neck.
Hey, stupid, that's a yoke.
- Yeah.
- A pink yoke.
Yeah, pink blocks on sleeves.
Orange cap with pink pompom and visser.
Can you believe that get-up?
What's a visser?
A visser, it's the thing
on the front of the cap.
See, you always do this.
That's a visor. That's a yoke.
That's a visor.
You say "visser" and "yuk."
You get everything fucked up.
You better bet on the right horse.
I'm not worried
about how to say the words.
I'm worried
about how the jock's gonna look.
The Cheese Man has him looking like
some fag partying at Fire Island, man.
Paulie, why don't you
forget about the colors?
Is this horse gonna win here today?
Are we gonna make some money?
Is she gonna win? Is she gonna win?
He asks me "Is she gonna win?"
Charlie, you laughed
when I told you about the champion gene,
but she got it, man.
The champion gene?
The groom who jerked her father off...
was not just winding his watch, okay?
Salut', Charlucc'.
You're a strange man, you know that?
You're gonna be kissing me
at the finish line.
You're a very strange man,
Paulie Gibonni.
Salut', Sambrini.
Easy, baby.
In you go. In there. That's it.
Whoa. Attaboy.
Come on already. Come on already.
They're all in line.
Moving out to get the lead, Persian Rug.
Come on, Starry Hope.
Come on, Starry Hope.
- Starry Hope moves up on the inside...
- Where is she?
Down the back stretch...
There goes Starry Hope now
to get the lead.
Starry Hope. Starry Hope.
Starry Hope. Starry Hope.
All right! Go, Starry Hope!
Go, Starry Hope. Starry Hope.
Hemmings Way moves up quickly
between horses
Starry Hope. Starry Hope. Starry Hope.
Watch, Paulie. Watch.
Come on, baby. Paulie, watch!
Hope, Hope, Hope...
Starry Hope, Starry Hope...
It's Starry Hope on the outside...
Go, Starry. Starry Hope.
- Tell me she won, Charlie.
- This result is not official.
Charlie, tell me she won, Charlie.
Tell me she won, man.
- Tell me she won, Charlie.
- It's a photo.
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Starry fucking Hope. Please, God.
Please, please, please.
Please, God, please, please God.
What do you wanna do?
You wanna go somewhere?
Wanna go have a drink, huh?
- I wanna go to Miami.
- You wanna go to Miami?
Yeah. It's warm there, Charlie.
Sit down over here.
I gotta go take a leak.
- You gotta take a leak?
- Sit down here, I gotta take a leak.
- Okay, hurry.
- All right.
- Just stay there.
- Okay, but hurry up.
Stay there.
Damn. Shit.
By a nose, man.
By a fucking nose.
Hey, you know,
she ran her heart out though, no?
What are you gonna do?
Be nice to get a photo of that finish.
We could blow it up, poster size.
Yeah. I don't need no pictures.
Hey, Paulie, money comes, and it goes.
Things are gonna work out.
You just gotta take 'em
how they come, you know?
You gotta be a... good sport about it.
- Got a dollar?
- You need 50 cents.
Here.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
You didn't tip him.
Poor son of a bitch
stands in a booth all day long.
Fuck him. What am I? Santa Claus?
Fuck him? Hey, Paulie,
let me tell you something.
Don't worry about it
'cause when you connect,
you're gonna connect to big bucks.
Me, I only connected
with a lousy 20 grand.
Charlie.
I knew you kept some of Barney's money.
I knew you weren't no dummy.
No, baby, I, uh... bet
Starry Hope across the board.
That's why she lost!
You jinxed her, Charlie!
You jinxed her, man.
Hey, Charlie, that's a hydrant.
We can't park here.
Hey, please, give me a break.
What do you want me to do,
drive round the block?
It's a $25 ticket, Charlie.
Hey, Paulie, thank God it's here.
It's worth every cent.
Hey, man, this is crazy.
We ought to be on our way
to Miami right this second.
It's warm there, Charlie.
Let's have one drink, huh?
- Okay, one drink.
- Yeah.
- One.
- Yeah.
Absolutely.
I'll have a Remy, soda back.
- I'll have the same, Tony.
- Things could be worse, huh?
Yeah.
Things could be worse.
I mean, I got the restaurant after all.
To the restaurant.
Salut', Charlucc'.
Okay, that's our one drink.
Let's go, Charlie.
Whoa, Paulie, what is the hurry?
Can we stay here, have a drink
and relax a little bit? Huh? Huh?
Yeah.
By the way, I didn't ask, uh...
- How's your pop doing?
- Oh, good. Good, yeah.
Good? Oh, hey.
He's doing good.
He'll be all right.
Charlie, there's something
I gotta tell you.
I'm really sorry about
this whole mess, you know?
Hey, Paulie. Hey.
Don't worry about it, all right?
Okay? Things are gonna work out.
I mean, aside from Diane leaving and...
you know, what happened to your hand.
It's gonna be all right.
Hey, ci andiamo, huh?
Forever. Absolutely.
Okay, that's it, Charlie. Let's go, man.
Put your money away. I got it.
Anthony.
Keep it.
Can we please take a walk
for a minute, Charlie?
What for?
There's something I gotta tell you, man.
So tell me here.
Barney.
Something funny must have gone down
up there in the Bronx, you know?
Uh, those... those cops
who grabbed Barney, you know?
Uh, they must have
made a deal or something, Charlie.
Where you going?
Where the fuck are you going?
Talk to me. What are you talking about?
The Bed Bug knows about you, Charlie.
What?
You fucking little... you fucking rat!
Charlie! Fucking Superman
would have broke, man.
Superman wouldn't have held out.
Charlie, I was just so fucking scared.
Fucking bum.
You're a fucking bum, Paulie.
Charlie, Charlie,
we won money today, man.
We can go to Miami.
We can go to Miami. Please, Charlie.
- You wanna know something?
- We can go to Miami.
You wanna know something,
you piece of shit?
Diane was right.
You're no fucking good, Paulie.
- You ain't no fucking good.
- Charlie!
- No, you screwed me, Paulie.
- Charlie!
Charlie, we could go to Miami.
Make your usual pick-up
in your usual place.
That's all that counts, no?
That was Bed Bug Eddie Grant.
It's September 21st.
11:25 PM.
Heading for my monthly
pick-up on West Street.
From there, to Queens Village
to deliver the money
to Inspector Ed Burns,
whose voice
will be on this tape later on.
Hope to be erasing this in Phoenix
in about a year.
This is a private club, pal.
Well, I'd like to see Eddie Grant.
He's in the back room.
You're Charlie Moran?
You're one of the scumbags
that robbed my money.
You were brought up around here, no?
Carmine Street.
Same thing.
And you know you owe
the neighborhood some respect.
People steal from Eddie Grant,
it makes for a total breakdown.
No one knows right or wrong.
Before you know it,
you got mulenyams moving in.
What the hell brings you in here?
A tape I took off a dead cop
that'll hang you by your balls.
You walked in here to threaten me?
You're fucking right
I walked in here to threaten you.
The last time somebody talked to me
close to that was from the Village, too.
I parcel-posted the scumbag home.
He didn't have the tape
that could put you away for 20.
Okay, let me give you some advice.
You're behaving like
a mammalucc'. Capisce?
You walk in here.
You don't show the club no respect.
You're acting like a scumbag.
You're half Irish, so I...
I make considerations.
I give you this for the tape.
I promised myself
I'd wipe my ass with this hand.
And nobody...
nobody but the Pope
could walk out of here with his hand.
Mister, I am the Pope.
This might be your church,
but right now,
I'm the Pope of Greenwich Village,
because I got a tape, all right?
I like you. You have balls.
I don't get too mad at that.
Coffee, Eddie?
Three sugars, Eddie?
I already put your sugar in, Charlie.
Lye! I filled his fucking
espresso with lye!
You got one shot here.
Run. Run like hell.
- What did you do? I had him.
- What do you mean, what did I do?
I went all the way for you, Charlie.
Come on.
Okay, walk slow and be cool.
- Great.
- Charlie, we got a shot here.
We got tickets for Miami.
Charlie, things could be
a hell of a lot worse, man.
I mean, we got $20,000 in our pocket.
Things are looking up, Charlucc'.
Paulie, you know,
you got a serious thinking disorder.
What are you talking about?
What am I tal... oh, yeah,
things are looking up.
Absolutely.
I had him. I had him, Paulie.
Charlie, what I done back there,
I done 100% for you, man.
For me, right. You tell me about it.
And another thing, man,
you need me, man.
Without me along,
you'd be nickel-and-diming it
in ten minutes, man.
- I'm the one with the moves.
- You the one with the moves?
The summer wind
Came blowing in
From across the sea
It lingered there
To touch your hair
And walk with me
All summer long
We sang a song
And then we strolled that golden sand
Two sweethearts
And the summer wind
Like painted kites
Those days and nights
They went flying by
The world was new
Beneath a blue umbrella sky
Then softer than a piper man
One day it called to you
I lost you
I lost you to the summer wind
The autumn wind
And the winter winds
They have come and gone
And still the days
Those lonely days
They go on and on
And guess who sighs
His lullabies
Through nights that never end?
My fickle friend
The summer wind
Warm summer wind
Mm, the summer wind