Steve Fishman

Frenchy is waiting in the visitor's room for Robert Hill. He's serving 18 years to life. He's not expecting her.

Frenchy is waiting in the visitor's room for Robert Hill. He's serving 18 years to life. He's not expecting her.

But for Robert Hill, talking about Teresa Gomez is not an easy decision. He's about to come up for parole. And one of the things that's drilled into somebody applying for parole is you got to go in, take responsibility, show remorse. You got to ask forgiveness. Now, that's going to be hard to do if you're also telling a New York Times reporter, hey, I didn't do it.

But for Robert Hill, talking about Teresa Gomez is not an easy decision. He's about to come up for parole. And one of the things that's drilled into somebody applying for parole is you got to go in, take responsibility, show remorse. You got to ask forgiveness. Now, that's going to be hard to do if you're also telling a New York Times reporter, hey, I didn't do it.

That's our Frenchie. She'll save your life at your peril. And Robert Hill, let's face it, he needs his life saved. So maybe it's worth the risk. Hill starts talking, and he tells Frenchie, Teresa Gomez is a liar. Frenchie goes on her way, and soon she's working on a front-page story for The Times, one that she hopes will make a splash.

That's our Frenchie. She'll save your life at your peril. And Robert Hill, let's face it, he needs his life saved. So maybe it's worth the risk. Hill starts talking, and he tells Frenchie, Teresa Gomez is a liar. Frenchie goes on her way, and soon she's working on a front-page story for The Times, one that she hopes will make a splash.

A copy of Frenchie's story eventually arrives at the prison library.

A copy of Frenchie's story eventually arrives at the prison library.

By this point, Chewbacca's been incarcerated for 22 years.

By this point, Chewbacca's been incarcerated for 22 years.

It's Derek and his jailhouse law firm that will lead the charge against Scarcella. With Derek and Louie, it will be a zero-sum game. If one rises, the other must fall. We got to get at this guy. Here's where I enter the story. It was a few years after Frenchie's scoop. I was a New York Magazine journalist back then.

It's Derek and his jailhouse law firm that will lead the charge against Scarcella. With Derek and Louie, it will be a zero-sum game. If one rises, the other must fall. We got to get at this guy. Here's where I enter the story. It was a few years after Frenchie's scoop. I was a New York Magazine journalist back then.

I'd just moved to a new neighborhood in Brooklyn, and on a whim, I decided to open a cocktail bar. I did not have a grand vision. There was an empty space, 224 square feet. How hard could it be? I called it Irv's after my dad, and I loved the place. The neighborhood loved it. The people on the block loved it. Some even worked there. But that little dead end on which Irv's resided? What a block.

I'd just moved to a new neighborhood in Brooklyn, and on a whim, I decided to open a cocktail bar. I did not have a grand vision. There was an empty space, 224 square feet. How hard could it be? I called it Irv's after my dad, and I loved the place. The neighborhood loved it. The people on the block loved it. Some even worked there. But that little dead end on which Irv's resided? What a block.

Old school. Hey, it was like the 90s in New York City, that block. One day, there was a guy chasing somebody with a machete. Another day, a guy ran down the block shooting at someone. Fortunately, not a terrific shot. Intellectually, politically, I'm skeptical of the police. I marched in the marches. Their methods sometimes frighten me.

Old school. Hey, it was like the 90s in New York City, that block. One day, there was a guy chasing somebody with a machete. Another day, a guy ran down the block shooting at someone. Fortunately, not a terrific shot. Intellectually, politically, I'm skeptical of the police. I marched in the marches. Their methods sometimes frighten me.

But when violence erupted on my block, the block where my bar resided, I needed someone to call. Who else was I going to call but the police? It turned out that Luis Scarcella had spent a good part of his career patrolling my bar's dead-end block. And there was a moment I found myself wondering if I needed a tough cop to come in and restore some order so I could run my little business.

But when violence erupted on my block, the block where my bar resided, I needed someone to call. Who else was I going to call but the police? It turned out that Luis Scarcella had spent a good part of his career patrolling my bar's dead-end block. And there was a moment I found myself wondering if I needed a tough cop to come in and restore some order so I could run my little business.

Later, Louie would come by, and he'd offer an appraisal, an appraisal which proved prophetic.

Later, Louie would come by, and he'd offer an appraisal, an appraisal which proved prophetic.