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| “ | After what he did to my grandfather, my mother, he's dead to me. | „ |
| ~ Richie denouncing his father, Richard Wheatley. |
Richard 'Richie' Wheatley, Jr. is a major antagonist in the first two seasons of Law & Order: Organized Crime. He is the son of crime boss Richard Wheatley and his ex-wife Angela who is responsible for the murder of his girlfriend, Gina Cappelletti.
He was portrayed by Nick Creegan, who also played Marquis Jet in Batwoman.
Biography[]
Overview[]
Richie is the eldest son of gangster Richard Wheatley and his ex-wife Angela, and the grandson of mob boss Manfredi Sinatra. He is widely seen within Wheatley's organization as weak and far less intelligent than his older sister Dana, whom their father openly favors. While he dislikes his father, Richie nevertheless seeks his approval, constantly volunteering to help him in his criminal enterprises. His father usually gives him unimportant jobs, such as running small-time clubs. While he lacks his father and sister's intelligence, however, he shares their ambition and ruthlessness.
He idolizes his grandfather, unaware that Manfredi, a white supremacist, privately dismisses him as a "half-breed".
Law & Order: Organized Crime[]
Richie is first seen approaching Gina at the club and asking her out. That night, Gina meets up with Richie, upset with him because she became worried that her boyfriend, Joey, might see them together. At the club, Richie looks for Gina all over the club. As he walks upstairs, Joey stands in front of Richie and starts teasing him about Gina. Gina then kisses Joey in front of Richie and Richie attacked Joey and Joey retaliated. After Wheatley and his right-hand man Izak Bekher save Richie from Joey, Gina catches up with Wheatley and Richie and tells Wheatley that Richie was defending her from Joey, claiming that she ended things with him. Wheatley then invites Gina to Richie's 30th birthday dinner.
Richie brings Gina to his birthday dinner where he introduces her to his parents and sister. During dinner, Dana and Wheatley are rude to Gina, making underhanded comments insinuating that she is just Richie's latest meaningless fling. Gina tearfully excuses herself from the table, and an enraged Richie goes after her, leaving the party.
Wheatley finds out from Dana that Gina is an undercover detective after catching her on camera planting a bug in his wine cellar. Wheatley then approached Richie while he is with Gina and pulls him aside. Dana and Wheatley break the news to Richie about Gina but Richie refuses to believe it. Dana shows Richie the footage, confirming their suspicions. Wheatley then orders Richie to kill her.
Richie takes Gina for a drive to a lighthouse but stops at an abandoned park on the way. Richie walks with Gina in the park and pulls a gun on her, holding her hostage. Gina admits to being a cop, but professes to have genuine feelings for him. Heartbroken, Richie shoots her twice in the stomach, killing her.
After Richie kills Gina, his father starts treating him like a man and as a son for the first time, referring to him as Richard rather than Richie and inviting him into his inner circle. Wheatley then gathers his new security group inside his house by the pool where he ordered one of them to shoot and kill Bekher. When Richie asks Wheatley why he killed Bekher, Wheatley replies that Bekher witnessed Richie murder a police officer, which he would have held over his head for the rest of his life.
Later that day, Richie and the rest of his family are arrested for their crimes. While in holding, the elder Wheatley's nemesis, Detective Elliot Stabler, and his partner Ayanna Bell confront Richie about Gina's death, with Bell telling him that he took Gina's decency for granted. Realizing that Bell is right, a remorseful Richie breaks down crying in the corner of the cell.
Richie is taken to court along with Wheatley and Dana where he discovers that Wheatley was being charged for murdering his grandfather. As a result, Richie approaches Marcy Killers soldier Hugo Bankole in prison and asks him to help him order a hit on his father while he is being transferred to meet with U.S. Attorney Vince Baldi. Hugo agrees to help him order Wheatley's murder. While he is being transferred, Wheatley is shot at several times, but Stabler and Bell reluctantly save his life because they need him to testify against his Mafia associates.
In November 2021, Wheatley is taken to trial by Assistant District Attorney Dominick Carisi Jr. for the murder of Stabler's wife Kathy. While Richie is in prison, Carisi and the SVU team arrange for him to testify against his father via Zoom call. Richie runs through his testimony with Detective Fin Tutuola, who offers him protection, but Richie declines, claiming that his father is dead to him after what he did to their family.
When Richie is called to testify, Richie tells them that he heard Wheatley conspire with Bekher to kill Kathy. When Wheatley starts verbally abusing Richie, Richie recants his testimony, claiming that he never heard Wheatley and Bekher's conspiracy to murder Kathy. Richie tells Carisi and the court that he lied because he is angry at his father. The elder Wheatley is ultimately set free after the jury deadlocks.
In 2022, after Wheatley and cyberterrorist Sebastian McClane cause a citywide blackout, Wheatley holds the entire city hostage and has a video conference with the NYPD and FBI. Wheatley then televises his list of demands, which include having Richie released from prison and brought to him. The police arrange for Richie's release and he is taken to meet with Wheatley. Wheatley embraces his son, who asks him why he is there. Wheatley tells him that he is considering his future - which Richie is not a part of. Wheatley then shoots and kills Richie while the stunned NYPD watches.
External links[]
- Richard Wheatley Jr. on the Law & Order Wiki
