Episode 5: "Hip Hop on the Gravy Train"
Credits :: Screen Captures :: Video Clips

The guy from MusicBlitz has squealed on the scam he and Isaac were pulling, and now the Feds want to try to get Isaac to turn on Winston, but he refuses. He finds it dishonorable to turn on "friends." Amber wants him to do it; she tells him that they can start again, but only if he stays out of jail.

Regarding the card game itself, the dealer is a known crook. That game was probably fixed. While at first it seems the game has landed Vinnie in the thick of things, Winston is shutting him out, keeping him in the office with Bobby while all the hot shots do business elsewhere.

In order to facilitate Bobby working on his own once Vinnie leaves the case, Vinnie has to "break up" with him. He tells him they're no longer partners and he needs to work his own deals. Vinnie then crashes the hot-shot party. But Bobby's not so easy to shake. He follows Vinnie into the party.

Vinnie puts a bug into Claudia's ear: she owns half of Radiance, and she can choose to make that work for her. She decides to start asserting herself to get Winston to pay attention. At the same party, we discover that Eddie is not a happy camper. He's been suckered into making a deal that says unless he can record an album every six months, he'll have to extend his contract with Radiance. With Winston controlling the recording schedules and delaying him with touring, he's going to have Eddie by the short hairs in two years. Eddie is so upset he breaks a glass and cuts his hand. Then he watches Vinnie stand up to Winston and decides, without consulting Vinnie first, that he's going to make Vinnie his manager.

Things get worse for Eddie. Later, when he tries to buy a house, he discovers that he doesn't have "sufficient funds" in his account. Although Bobby is still hurt that Vinnie tried to ditch him earlier, he agrees to help Eddie analyze the books and find out where the money went. Sure enough, under the corrupt "guidance" of Winston's money manager, Eddie has spent almost everything he's earned on the road, and what's left has been going to Winston in ways that don't seem quite legal. The only concrete evidence they have is that Winston wrote a check to that poker dealer using Eddie's money.

Winston desperately tries to put the money back in Eddie's account before any wrongdoing can be sniffed out and has to make transfers himself instead of through his dummy corporation as a result. Furious with the money manager, he orders him to Nassau to try to fix the books. Then, he yells at Claudia for allowing Eddie to see his records in the first place, but she counters that she intends to be a lot more involved now.

Meanwhile, Vinnie decides to play his "wiseguy" role to the hilt with the corrupt card dealer who had to leave Vegas under a cloud of suspicion in 1982. Threatened by Vinnie, he admits to fixing the card game to Isaac. Isaac is so angry he shoves the dealer into a liquor cabinet. Isaac wants his company back, but Vinnie tells him that it's going to be next to impossible to nail Winston with just the dealer's testimony. Vinnie proposes that instead of trying to get the company back, Isaac confront Winston and convince him to let him run Shakala for Winston. However, Isaac can't do much of anything while he has jail time hanging over his head, and he still hasn't agreed to turn state's evidence against Winston. At both Amber and Vinnie's urgings, though, he finally consents. Later, Frank arrives at Isaac's and offers him the return of his company if he helps nail Winston. Frank also takes custody of the card dealer.

Over at Bobby's office, Eddie happily tells Bobby that Winston has "come around" and provided the funds. Bobby is not exactly impressed. Of course Winston provided the money - he'd been caught red-handed! Bobby tells him he needs to wise up - get a lawyer, get out of his contract, and start keeping track of where his money goes. Finally it dawns on Eddie what's been happening, and how Winston has screwed him over. He storms out of the room.

The next day, Amber approaches Winston about letting herself and Isaac run Shakala under him. He agrees, even though Amber turns down his sexual advances. Claudia arrives and demands to be included, only to be insulted, even when she reminds Winston that it's their anniversary. His response is to throw her ring into the pool. After he leaves, Amber tries to get Claudia to stand up to him, but Claudia reacts defensively and angrily. Resigned, she goes into the pool to salvage her ring.

Later that day, Eddie calls up Claudia and asks to meet with her about an "urgent" problem. He comes over to her place, tells her about Winston's funny business with money management, and asks for her help. Then, he comes on to her, and she falls into his arms.

Winston calls Isaac back into his office to talk about business, and Isaac finally confronts him about the game. Winston laughs it off and tells him he'll make more money now that he's with Radiance anyway. Then, he remembers he has to get home and get a fax into the shredder, unaware that Eddie's getting busy with Claudia there. In another surprising twist, Eddie and Claudia fall through the skylight in flagrante delicto and land at Winston's feet just as he walks in the door. Both are killed by the fall.

Vinnie and Bobby ensure that Eddie's mother gets the house - Bobby regrets getting Eddie all stirred up, but Vinnie reassures him that wasn't the cause of his death. Vinnie is chilled when Bobby tells him that Winston joked that with all the money Claudia spent, her death balanced against the lost revenues of Eddie makes him come out even.

 

Solo Filmography :: Wiseguy