Excalibur (Season 18, Episode 18)
Premise: A gold refiner’s murder leads to his brother-in-law’s escort agency, and one of its clients turns out to be the governor who holds McCoy’s political future.
- Air date
- Season/Episode
- Season 18, Episode 18
- Detectives
- Det. Cyrus Lupo (Jeremy Sisto), Det. Kevin Bernard (Anthony Anderson)
- ADAs/DA
- Exec. ADA Michael Cutter (Linus Roache), ADA Connie Rubirosa (Alana de la Garza), DA Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston)
- Guest stars
- Len Cariou as Edgar Beezley, Eric Sheffer Stevens as Frank Beezley, Tom Everett Scott as Governor Donald Shalvoy, Alison Elliott as Rita Shalvoy, Paloma Guzmán as Chanel Barva
- Ripped from the headlines
- The governor’s prostitution scandal reportedly echoes the Eliot Spitzer case, which broke in March 2008.
- Director
- Jim McKay
- Writers
- René Balcer & Ed Zuckerman
Summary
The Investigation
“Excalibur” opens at Madison and Beezley, a family gold refinery, where Victor Madison, who runs the business, is found dead in the cooling furnace after a blow to the head. His wife, Suzanne, was at her father Edgar Beezley’s home that night. Madison had paid $5,000 to 7Q Partners, a mail-drop company funded through the Cayman Islands, and his datebook leads to a hotel room booked for “George Smith,” where detectives meet escort Sarah Shipley. The alias belongs to Excalibur Exclusives, an upscale escort service, and 7Q’s payroll includes Shipley.
A forensic accountant finds a $20,000 company check to Golly Marketing, the vodka-promotion business of Suzanne’s brother, Frank Beezley, signed over to 7Q. Wiretaps lead to a raid, and Frank and two associates are charged with promoting prostitution and money laundering; Edgar tells the court his son will get no family money. Mona Theroux, who takes the agency’s bookings, says Frank arrived late and disheveled on the night of the murder. Escort Chanel Barva says Madison paid only to ask about Frank, and that Frank, hearing of Madison’s monogram, named him while she was with a client called Al.
The Trial
Federal prosecutors want the wiretaps of Chanel’s clients, and McCoy, recognizing Al’s voice as Governor Donald Shalvoy’s, quietly warns him. A blog soon accuses McCoy of misusing public funds to visit his daughter, a story traced to Shalvoy’s campaign publicists, and Shalvoy reminds him he needs his backing to run for district attorney. Cutter faults McCoy for approaching a potential witness and urges him to give the federal prosecutors the tapes, but McCoy refuses, then has Cutter subpoena Shalvoy himself.
Suzanne testifies that Frank wanted back into the business. Rita Shalvoy begs McCoy to keep her husband out of court, and he refuses. Defense lawyer Jake Nemeth then shreds Chanel over her cocaine use and drug sales. When prosecutors add Shalvoy to the witness list, Frank suddenly pleads guilty in exchange for 20 years to life.
Spoiler, the ending: Edgar visited Frank hours before the plea and says a mother with sons reminded him to stand by Frank. McCoy confronts Rita, suspecting a promised commutation, and she replies that family comes first. The federal subpoena is dropped after the state leases land to the DEA for $1, Chanel is deported, and her boyfriend enters witness protection. McCoy learns Shalvoy once booked a room under the name “John McCoy.”
Why it stands out
- The season finale sets McCoy, who has yet to win election as district attorney, against the governor who helped him get the job.
- McCoy rejects the federal request for the wiretaps, saying he would rather bring Shalvoy down himself than help a payback case.
- Shalvoy turns out to have booked an escort’s hotel room under the alias “John McCoy.”