Good morning, Mr. Phelps.
The man you are looking at is Constantine Victor,
the syndicate's boss contractor,
known to his associates as Mr. V.
Recently, a grand jury indicted Victor for murder
and he has been out on bail awaiting trial.
Then yesterday,
the prosecution's star witness was killed,
and it appears the case will have to be dropped.
Only one other man, Johnny Costa,
Victor's close friend for over ten years,
knows enough to convict Mr. V.
Costa himself seems invulnerable
as he currently runs the syndicate's gambling operation
in an area where gambling is legal.
Your mission, Jim, should you decide to accept it,
is to get Costa to talk and make sure that Mr. V is convicted.
As always, should you
or any of your IM Force be caught or killed,
the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions.
Please dispose of this tape in the usual manner.
Good luck, Jim.
There are no windows, one door.
It's made of reinforced steel.
It's...
impenetrable.
What's the activating pressure on the floor, Jim?
A piece of paper will set off the alarm, Willie.
So I'll make sure
that my feet never touch the floor.
All right now, we've made special arrangements
to have any calls that Costa makes
to New York telephone booth transferred to us.
How long is our control, Jim?
24 hours.
Because of their fear of bugging devices,
they communicate telephone booth
to telephone booth only.
And as an added precaution,
every 24 hours they change booths.
How about the voices, Rollin?
This is Markus.
Mr. V'll be on in a minute.
This is Markus.
Mr. V'll be on in a minute.
Hello, Johnny, this is Mr. V.
From what I've been hearing...
...business is doing great.
I've been thinking about opening up another casino.
Good. That's perfect, Rollin.
Jim, what is Costa really like?
Well, he's a man who is totally in control,
totally secure,
and to all appearances... totally detached.
Odds off, coming out.
- Coming out... - Come on seven!
Settle!
Four is the point.
Thataway.
Do it again, honey.
Come on, four... Hello, four.
Five dollar chips, please.
Shooter coming out.
All right, coming out. Here we go now.
Now seven.
Hello, seven.
Seven again.
Another seven.
Seven.
Hello, seven.
Pay the line. Seven a winner.
Nine. Coming out, coming the hard way.
Come on. Let's see it again.
Here we go.
All right, hello, seven.
Come on.
Shooter needs an eight.
Place the eight.
Who wants the eight the hard way?
Okay, everybody, ready?
Here we go.
Hello, eight.
Big winner rolls again.
One more time,
let's see a seven... here we go.
Seven... hello, seven.
Seven a winner, seven.
- Pay the line. - Hey, how about that?
Coming out again.
All right, let's do that again.
Here we go.
Seven. Seven a winner.
Coming out again.
Yeah.
Which table?
Right.
Trouble, Johnny.
Where?
The big guy hitting numbers on one.
Coming out.
Make that seven.
Here we go now.
And here we go again and...
seven.
Seven. Pay the line.
I knew I could do it.
Good evening, uh, Mister...
Uh, Mason... Vince Mason.
Mr. Costa wants a few words with you.
Okay.
Don't worry about your chips.
We'll take care of them for you.
Sure.
Kindly come this way.
Don't forget to lose, Cinnamon.
Excellent fakes.
Where did you get them?
It's a trade secret.
I wouldn't do that if I were you, Mr. Costa.
Why not?
I came a long way to sell you
a very valuable piece of information.
If I go to the hospital, you'll never hear it.
Are you saying the dice are calling cards?
Figured you'd listen seriously
to a man who'd risk a beating just to talk to you.
Go ahead. Talk.
Well, uh... what I'm selling is strictly private.
You've got exactly 60 seconds.
All right, Mr. Costa. I'm not a gambler.
I'm a hit man for the organization.
Last week I was offered a contract.
So?
So, the contract is on you.
I don't believe you.
Well, it doesn't really make any difference
whether you believe me or not; you're marked for extinction.
Why didn't you take the job?
I don't like big hits.
They make waves. I don't like them.
Just what is it you're selling?
I'm selling the face of the man who's going to hit you.
I know who they hired.
Who is "they"?
They, I don't know, middlemen.
But I know who's going to kill you.
Your time's up.
I don't believe you.
Nobody would dare put out a contract out on me.
That's where you're wrong, Mr. Costa.
I don't buy cheap hustlers.
No dice.
Sooner or later you're going to believe me.
If either one of these guys lays a hand on me,
the price of what I'm selling goes up double,
and maybe even triple.
That'll make it an expensive beating.
Let him go.
If you change your mind and want to do business,
I'm at the Gulfstream Motel.
Make sure he gets out of here.
Good evening.
Long distance.
I want to place a call to New York.
Hello.
This is Johnny Costa.
I want to talk to Mr. V.
What's your number?
Hang up and wait.
Hello, Costa?
Where's Mr. V.?
He's busy. You got a problem?
Maybe.
Do you know if there have been any contracts
put out in the last week?
Why?
Do you?
No. No one's out to get hit.
Why do you ask?
Some guy just told me there was a contract out on me.
He's crazy. What's his name?
He didn't tell me.
Where is he? Still around the casino?
No. Why?
I know Mr. V. would want
to take care of anybody that worried you.
By the way, Mr. V. Is sending a guy
by the name of Anderson out there.
He's a bookkeeper.
You open the books to him.
Don't hold anything back. Mr. V's orders.
Now wait a minute.
Got to go.
It's 19 pay 20.
Who do I see to get credit?
Can I help you?
If you can okay some credit for me you can.
Mr. Costa okays all markers.
Where would I find Mr. Costa?
Why don't you have a drink in the bar?
He'll find you.
Whenever I win, I just double my $25 bet.
Then every time I lose a bet
I double my bets three times in a row.
It'll never work.
Oh, it does.
I've won thousands with this system.
No chance. The percentages are against you.
They'll just grind you down.
You're just saying that
because you're afraid I might win a fortune from you.
We love system players.
In fact, if I had known you had a system,
I'd have sent a car for you.
All right, I'll have to show you.
You just okay some gambling credit for me,
and you'll see just how well it works.
How much?
$500.
All right.
I'd say you're worth 500.
I say I'm worth more than that.
Just take this
to the cashier's cage
and he'll give you $500 in chips for it.
How do I thank you?
We'll figure something out.
Perfect.
All right.
Hello, Mr. V.
Don't talk. Just listen, Arnie.
Anderson says you're clean, and that's good enough for me.
But you're to take no more orders from Costa,
understand?
All right, now he'll say "yes" or "uh-huh"
or "I understand, Mr. V."
He's dipped into the till for the last time.
Now he's got to pay for it.
Until the whole matter's settled,
you'll take orders from Anderson.
Afterwards, you're in charge of the operation.
Now.
This is Arnie, Mr. V.
I know who it is.
Just shut up and listen.
Anderson says you're clean, and that's good enough
for me, Arnie.
But you're to take no more orders
from Costa, understand?
Good. Now, whatever Arnie says in the way of assent,
Barney'll go into your "dipping into the till" speech.
Right.
Now, let's try it
all the way from the top again.
Who's this?
You know who it is, Arnie. It's Mr. V.
Keep quiet and listen.
Anderson says you're clean, and that's good enough for me.
Who's there?
Guy named Anderson wants to see you. Send him in.
You're in. Anderson.
Herbert Anderson, Mr. Costa.
The bookkeeper.
Yes, uh...
Mr. Victor would like an audit of the books.
He would also like me to organize a new
bookkeeping system. What's wrong with the one we've got now?
Well, there's nothing wrong with it.
It's just that, uh...
What?
The new system will, uh,
bring everything into more prescribed business practices.
Everything will be, shall I say, more controlled.
By who? By New York.
Why? There was no need to operate that way before.
I'm only relating Mr. Victor's instructions.
There's nothing personal in all this.
We, uh, merely intend
to use this new system in all of our enterprises.
We're starting here at the casino
to see if it works.
And now if we can get down to business,
I'd like to see yesterday's count.
Shall we start with that?
What was last night's count?
One hundred and seventy-three thousand,
six-eight-four.
My count is one hundred and ninety-eight thousand,
six-eighty-four,
which is $25,000 more than you declared.
That's impossible.
You must have added wrong. No.
I checked my figures twice. They're quite correct.
It's you who made the mistake.
I've been making this count
for the past seven years, and there's never...
First time they've been cross-checked.
There was never any need to.
That's somebody else's mistake.
I don't like what you're saying.
I don't like what I've seen.
You're pushing for a hospital bed or the morgue.
Funny...
I'd think it was the other way around.
However, before tempers flare,
I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for the discrepancy,
and I'm sure you will find it...
...quickly.
Hi, Mr. Costa.
I got your message.
You can drop that smile off your face.
I still haven't bought that "contract" story yet.
So, why'd you send for me?
These middlemen,
did you get any of their names?
No, they, uh... talked about a Mr. A,
said he'd deliver the money after I made the hit.
Can you spot the hit man if he shows?
I can spot him.
You'd better be able to, if you're on the level.
Otherwise, I'm not the only one that will get killed.
I've, uh, got to check on a few things.
I'll be back in a few minutes.
Oh, well, that's good because I can use the time.
I've got a new system that's going to break you.
If you'll just okay a check, you can go back to work.
How much?
$250.
Do you mind if I thank you later?
Fine.
I was counting on it.
I'd like to cash this, please.
Yes, ma'am.
There's no problem.
Mr. Costa has already okayed it.
I understand that, ma'am, but on checks of this size,
I like to get Mr. Costa's personal okay.
$25,000.
$50 chips,
please.
Here you are.
19 pay 20.
17.
Pay 18.
He's here.
Where?
Thousand dollar chips, please.
I'll mark these a thousand.
Window.
What was that all about?
Nothing... just a cheap swindler.
Forget it.
I dealt her seconds
till she hit $30,000.
I see.
This is a private office.
Yes, I didn't think you'd mind if we waited here for you.
What we have to say is quite private.
Like what?
Shut the door.
Why aren't you in the cage?
Because I pulled him out.
Because he cashed a check for $25,000 for your girlfriend.
$25,000?! What are you talking about?
But you okayed it, Mr. Costa.
I even double-checked it with you on the floor.
Don't you remember?
I never okayed any check for $25,000!
Is that your signature?
How could it be?
I didn't write it.
It's got to be a forgery.
What about this one?
A little note to your house mechanic
telling him to feed your girlfriend winning cards
up to $30,000.
$30,000.
You dealt her $30,000
worth of winning cards?
But it had your okay on it, Mr. Costa.
I never wrote this either.
Somebody is setting me up.
It's a big mistake.
Yes.
You seem to be making a lot of mistakes, Mr. Costa.
Unfortunately, you don't know how to rectify them.
I'm being framed.
I'm going to get to the bottom of this.
Yes, so am I.
Perhaps Mr. Victor will know the answer.
Where are you going?
To make a telephone call.
There's a phone right here.
Yes, I know.
It's a private call.
I want him stopped.
For good.
All right, come with us.
I'm waiting for a phone call.
No, you're not.
If you had any brains, you'd wait for it, too.
Come on.
You're as stupid as Costa.
If you keep this up, you'll be as dead as Costa.
Hello.
Oh, yes, Mr. V.
Yes, it's just as you suspected.
No, it's just Costa.
No one else is involved.
As a matter of fact, he's right here now.
Just a moment.
Arnie, Mr. V. would like to talk to you.
Yes, Mr. V.
Don't talk. Just listen, Arnie.
Anderson says you're clean, and that's good enough for me.
But you're to take no more orders from Costa, understand?
Yes, Mr. V.
He's dipped into the till for the last time.
Now he's got to pay for it.
Until the whole matter's settled,
you'll take orders from Anderson.
Afterwards, you're in charge of the operation.
Yes, Mr. V.
Now listen: after the casino closes tonight,
I want all security pulled out, understand?
I want you and Wilson
to be out of here, too.
Make sure you've got alibis for all your movements, understand?
How do you know Costa will come back here?
He might just run.
Not with $200,000 in the safe.
He'll be back.
All right, I'll tell you.
I was just trying to beat the casino, that's all.
I'll give you all your money back.
No sale.
I've been set up.
I want to know who.
I want to know why.
Now talk!
Victor sent me.
Victor?!
Victor sent me to frame you
so that when he...
you were hit,
he could justify it to the organization.
Victor? No!
You're lying.
Are you all right?
Hello.
Hello. This is Johnny Costa.
Get Victor to the phone fast.
Costa.
Sounds like he's in a sweat about something.
Johnny, you know better than to call me direct.
Now call me through channels.
You've put a contract out on me.
Don't cut me off. Contract?!
Johnny, you call me through channels. We'll talk then.
And give your boys time to set me up again? No, thanks.
Johnny, I haven't got a hit out on you.
Believe me: I don't know what's happening,
but if you'll call back...
How could you do it?
How could you run so scared?
Sure, the heat's on you, but we're like brothers.
I wouldn't have squealed on you.
You could have trusted me.
I do trust you, Johnny.
Now if you call back and tell me what's happened.
No.
You come to the trial.
I'll tell you what happened.
Now wait a minute, Johnny.
Something's wrong. Believe that.
I don't know what it is, but I'm not out to hit you.
There's no contract out on you. Believe that.
It's all right, Mr. Victor, we've got him.
He's not going to give you any more trouble.
Hey, who is this?
All right, Costa, let's go.
Mr. Costa, there's been a misunderstanding, Mr. Costa.
There's room for negotiation.
Mr. Victor would like to make a deal.
Tell Mr. Victor I'll see him in court.