| “ | You're at my mercy. And I don't have any. | „ |
| ~ Richard Wheatley preparing to kill a disloyal underling. |
Richard M. Wheatley, Sr, also known as Richard Sinatra, is the main antagonist of Law & Order: Organized Crime. He is a wealthy businessman and a powerful crime boss who becomes Detective Elliot Stabler's archenemy.
He was portrayed by Dylan McDermott, who also portrayed Tim Wattley in The Campaign, Johnny Morgan and Bruce in the American Horror Story franchise, and John Stark in The Cowboy Way.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Wheatley is the CEO of Contrapos, an online pharmaceutical company, which he uses as a front for his narcotics empire. His latest scam involves smuggling COVID-19 vaccine and selling it to his wealthy business associates at an inflated price.
He has a son and daughter, Richard Jr. ("Richie") and Dana, with his ex-wife Angela, and a son, Ryan, with his current wife, Pilar. The son of mob boss Manfredi Sinatra, Wheatley has inherited his father's vast ties to organized crime in the U.S. and Europe. Nevertheless, Wheatley despises his father, a racist who disrespects his Black daughter-in-law and disavows his mixed-race grandchildren; Wheatley took Angela's last name when he married her to spite Manfredi and declare his independence from him.
Shortly after their divorce, Wheatley murdered Angela's son Rafiq, who was stealing from his drug operation. He lied to Angela that Rafiq was killed in a raid ordered by Detective Elliot Stabler of the NYPD's Organized Crime Task Force, who was also investigating him and his father. He offered to have Stabler's wife, Kathy, killed so Stabler, too, would know the pain of losing a loved one; Angela, mad with grief and rage, agreed.
Introduction[]
After having Kathy Stabler killed, Wheatley turns his attention to his father, who is informing on him to Stabler in return for leniency. Wheatley asks Manfredi to meet with him under the pretense of repairing their relationship, and has his right-hand man Izak Bekher kill him. Stabler, who had arranged to meet with Manfredi at the same time and location, finds his body, and steals his cell phone so he can find out more about Wheatley's crimes.
Robbery of COVID-19 vaccines[]
When COVID-19 vaccines are stolen from a federal laboratory, Stabler confronts Wheatley, accusing him of being behind the robbery. Wheatley orders Bekhar to beat Stabler up, intensifying their rivalry. Meanwhile, Richard Jr. becomes involved with Gina Cappelletti, a waitress at one of Wheatley's clubs, unaware that she is actually an undercover detective working with Stabler. Meanwhile, Stabler finds out that Wheatley didn't order Kathy's murder - Angela did.
Arrest and ordering Gina's murder[]
When Wheatley discovers that Cappelletti is an undercover police officer, he orders Richie to kill her. After Izak witnesses her murder, Richie has him murdered as well.
Richard and the whole Wheatley family are eventually arrested. Three months later, the drug trafficking, money laundering and assault charges against Richard are dropped, but the murder charge still stands. Wheatley is imprisoned at Rikers Island awaiting trial.
Trial for Kathy Stabler's murder and release[]
Wheatley is tried by Assistant District Attorney Dominick Carisi Jr. for Kathy's murder, and he is represented by Rafael Barba, who once worked as an ADA with the NYPD's Special Victims Unit. When Stabler baits Wheatley by lying about sleeping with Angela, Wheatley demands to testify in his own defense, against Barba's advice. As Stabler intended, Wheatley loses his cool and threatens Carisi in open court. Nevertheless, the jury returns deadlocked, meaning that Wheatley has escaped going to prison for murdering Kathy. Barba visits Wheatley in his cell and tells him that he is a free man and the murder charge against him has been dismissed. Wheatley is ultimately released from prison.
Involvement with McClane[]
After Wheatley and cyberterrorist Sebastian McClane hack into the New York Stock Exchange and steal millions, Stabler and his team go after them, but Stabler jeopardizes the investigation by beating Wheatley up upon discovering that he used the date of Kathy's death as his password. Stabler retaliates by pretending to go on a romantic date with Angela, sending Wheatley into a jealous rage.
Death[]
Soon afterward, Wheatley and McClane disrupt the city's power grid, causing rolling blackouts. After double-crossing McClane and leaving him to die, Wheatley contacts the NYPD and demands Richie's release from prison, a private jet to take him and Angela out of the city, and for Stabler to admit "framing" him for Kathy's murder on livestream. The NYPD releases Richie into his custody as a show of good faith, but Wheatley stuns them by killing his own son. He then reveals that he has kidnapped Stabler's elderly mother, Bernadette, and will kill her unless Stabler makes his "confession". Stabler refuses to absolve Wheatley of Kathy's murder, however, and manages to rescue his mother.
After NYPD cyber-technician Jet Slootmaekers restores the city's power grid with help from a repentant McClane, Wheatley and Angela try to escape. Stabler calls Angela and tells her that Wheatley murdered Richie, which provokes her to deliberately crash her car into the ocean, with her and Wheatley inside. Angela's body is discovered in the crash, but Wheatley is nowhere to be found.
External links[]
- Richard Wheatley on the Law & Order Wiki
