Gale Bertram is one of the major antagonists of The Mentalist TV-show. He is CBI director and one of members of Blake Assosiation and Red John. He was played by Michael Gaston.
Biography[]
After Minnelli leaves the CBI, one of Patrick Jane's new bosses is Gale Bertram. He shows that he likes Patrick, although he does not trust him completely. For example, at one point he seems to like Patrick's unethical strategy. Later, he acts somewhat suspicious. It gets to the point that when Patrick arrests Todd Johnson (a serial cop killer) and later Todd Johnson is killed, Bertram is one of the suspects. Later, a hitwoman sent by Red John to kill Madeline Hightower, who is accused of killing Todd Johnson, goes to the very room that Bertram was told (which reinforces the idea that Bertram is Red John's mole). However, Patrick figures out that the real mole was Craig O'Laughlin. Craig tries to kill Hightower, but is killed by Grace van Pelt. Bertram is acquitted. He vows revenge on Jane. He hires Oscar Ardilles to work with Jane as biased as possible when he is arrested for the murder of Timothy Carter. But Patrick is acquitted. Bertram, angry about this, decides to replace Lisbon's team with other people. Then Patrick says that he will not work for the CBI unless Bertram returns Lisbon's team. Bertram is forced to comply. Later, Bertram helps Patrick get the right to work with Lorelei Martins, but she escapes. Patrick, having learned that Bertram plays poker, teaches him how to play correctly. Bertram wins a lot of money and this helps in the future. It also turns out that Bertram is somehow connected to Robert Kirkland. Both Robert and Bertram himself are by that time on Patrick's list of suspects for the role of Red John. But the plot never makes it clear what this relationship is. Later, when Robert Kirkland and another suspect from the list, Brett Partridge, die, Patrick learns that Red John has a tattoo of three dots on his shoulder. Patrick gathers all the remaining suspects at his house. He demands that they show their shoulders. Bret Stiles and Ray Haffner do not have such tattoos. Bertram, Thomas McAllister, and Reede Smith do. However, Patrick does not have time to find out anything else. An explosion occurs in his house. Haffner and Stiles are killed. Bertram and Reed escape. Bertram demands that his assistant Oscar Cordero (another member of the Blake Association) kill Reed. But Reed manages to voluntarily surrender to the police and confess to his crimes. This means that he is not Red John (Red John would not have done that). Patrick puts Bertram on the wanted list, calling him Red John. At this time, Bertram himself is in the bar. The bartender identifies him. Bertram kills the bartender, which immediately becomes known to the police. Soon, Bertram arranges a meeting with Patrick at the cemetery where his family is buried. Patrick arrives there with difficulty. Bertram explains that he is not Red John and that he is just a simple member of the organization. And although he loves Patrick, he was forced to lure him into a trap. Therefore, he orders Oscar Cordero to kill Patrick. But Oscar first kills Bertram himself. As it turns out later, this is exactly what the real Red John (who turned out to be Thomas McAllister, who was thought to be killed in the same explosion in Patrick's house) ordered him to do.