Astonishingly, gangster Ray Luca (Anthony John Denison) and his doltish henchman Paulie (John Santucci) have managed to survive the atom bomb explosion that ended season one of the serialized cop drama Crime Story. This allows the duo to resume their criminal activities, ever keeping one step ahead from relentless federal agent Mike Torello (Dennis Farina) and his men. Since the series is still taking place in the 1960s, chasing mobsters remains far easier than catching them, even when an overambitious Kefauver-like senator begins hauling in Luca's cronies to appear before the Organized Crime Commission. Meanwhile, Torello's private life is still in tatters, as proven when his ex-wife, Julie (Darlanne Fluegel), marries another man, played by David Soul -- then prevails upon Torello to rescue her husband from kidnappers merely for "old time's sake." Adding insult to injury so far as Torello is concerned, Luca is given immunity in exchange for his cooperation with the Crime Commission, and soon is back in Vegas pulling his old underhanded tricks. This compels one of Torello's strongest allies, liberal prosecutor David Abrams (Stephen Lang), to resign in disgust, leaving the "good guys" still another man short. Eventually, Luca overplays his hand and is hauled in on racketeering charges -- but manages to slip through Torello's fingers one more time, thanks to an unexpected incident in faraway Vietnam! It is not until the series' three-episode finale that Torello finally corners the fugitive Lucas in Mexico -- but though this is the end of the series, is it really the end of the Torello-Luca blood feud?
by Hal Erickson
synopsis
