  |
This article's content is marked as Mature The page contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, strong drug use, extremely traumatic themes, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature pages are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
| “ | You can't make your prima facie case. I grew up in courtrooms, Mr. Stone. On my father's knee. | „ |
| ~ Katharine mocking Ben Stone's case against her brother Frank |
Katherine Masucci Biegel is a supporting antagonist in the two-part Law & Order episode "The Torrents of Greed". She is the sister of mob boss Frank Masucci who pursues a vendetta against her brother after he has her husband killed.
She was portrayed by Christine Baranski, who also portrayed Becky Granger in Addams Family Values, Cinderella's Stepmother in Into the Woods, Amelia von Butch in Scooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy?, Chef Bergen in Trolls, Joyce Crandall in The Loud House, and Beverly Hofstadter in The Big Bang Theory.
Early life[]
Katherine is the younger sister of mob boss Frank Masucci and grew up watching their father, Frank's predecessor as Don of the Masucci crime family, repeatedly get away with his crimes. She often accompanied the elder Masucci to court, in the process becoming very knowledgeable about criminal law.
While she was more intelligent and careful than her brother, however, she, as a woman, was forbidden by Sicilian Mafia tradition from having any part of the "family business", so Frank succeeded their father after his death. She married corrupt real estate mogul Harv Biegal, whom Frank put in charge of the various front businesses through which the Masucci crime family laundered the proceeds of their criminal empire. She was fully aware of what her husband and brother were doing, but feigned ignorance to protect herself and her and Biegel's two children; she was well aware that Frank would have no compunction about killing his own family members if he thought they were in his way or posed a threat to him.
"The Torrents of Greed"[]
When Frank and Biegel order enforcer Joe Pilefsky to kill shopkeeper Isaac Skolnick for refusing to take part in a cigarette bootlegging scam, the investigation by NYPD Homicide Sergeant Max Greevey and Detective Mike Logan eventually uncovers Biegel's role in several murders, all ordered by Frank. Executive Assistant District Attorney Ben Stone and Assistant District Attorney Paul Robinette try to get Biegel to testify against Frank, but he refuses, while Katherine tries, unsuccessfully, to give her husband an alibi.
While the murder charges against Frank and Biegel are dismissed thanks to Pilefsky's perjured testimony, however, Frank still sees his brother-in-law as a liability, so he orders hitman Vincent Ruffo to kill him. After Biegel goes missing, Greevey and Logan inform Katherine that he had been contacted by Ruffo shortly before his disappearance; she understands immediately that her brother had him killed. Frank takes her to dinner to try to smooth things over, but she publicly accuses him of murdering her husband and slaps him in the face.
Stone and Robinette meet with Katherine, who bluntly tells them that she knows Frank had her husband killed and that they do not have enough evidence to prosecute him. She then directs them to a vacant lot in New Jersey where Frank's minions have buried the people he ordered killed.
Frank is granted $1 million bail, which, to Stone and Robinette's surprise, Katherine posts. That night, Frank and his bodyguards go out to a restaurant, only to be surprised by men from a rival mob family who gun them all down. Stone and Robinette suspect that Katherine ordered the hit, but they cannot do anything about it; she and her children have moved to Florida, out of the Manhattan District Attorney's jurisdiction.
External links[]
- Katherine Masucci-Biegel on the Law & Order Wiki
