M. Gessen

He'd seen people agree to kill someone for as little as $200.

On the tape, David assures Alan that his friends in the North End are more dependable and affordable than those other guys, the Israelis or the Eastern Europeans, and adds that they can get the job done quickly.

Alan likes this, and he clarifies, more definite.

The prosecutor asked, when you heard Mr. Gesson say, and more definite, what was your understanding of that?

The agent answered,

More definite is permanent, dead.

I'd seen FBI agents testify in court before.

Often I've been skeptical.

Their interpretations of what people say to them can be far-fetched.

Their entrapment techniques are often crude and mendacious.

I've seen cases where the undercover agent talks a person into a crime they had no intention of committing.

But this was different.

I couldn't imagine any alternative interpretation of the tape I'd just heard.

Alan wanted Priscilla killed, and he wanted David to know that he wanted Priscilla killed.

He said that with the bribery scheme, he was worried that Priscilla could fight her deportation in court and maybe even win.

Murder is better than deportation that way.

He doesn't want the kids to see their mother getting killed.

Reassured, Alan asks about the cost.

Okay.

Very happy to proceed with it.