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| “ | I'm sorry. I really am. But it's part of the game. You understand. | „ |
| ~ Vargas after trying to frame Melanie Carver |
Victor Vargas (real name Victor Montero) is the main antagonist of the Law & Order episode "Political Animal". He is a con artist who murders three people to cover up his long history of political campaign fraud.
He was portrayed by John Ortiz, who also portrayed Arturo Braga in the Fast & Furious franchise and Dr. Powell in Bumblebee.
Early life[]
Born Victor Vargas Montero in Coral Gables, Florida, he is a career con artist with a pathological need to feel important and well-liked; it is implied that he suffers from borderline personality disorder.
He was originally an importer, but he was arrested in 1998 for stealing from his clients. He was convicted of fraud, but he evaded prison by skipping his bail and moving to New York City, where he earned a law degree and became a civil attorney. He spent the next five years using his new career to pull new and bigger scams, until he was finally disbarred for embezzling from his clients.
He changed his name to Victor Vargas and reinvented himself as a bundler for political campaign contributions, worming his way into the inner circles of New York's political elite. He also employed his talents as a con artist to scam wealthy donors out of huge sums of money by creating phony investment charities.
Shortly before the events of the episode, one of Vargas' clients, State Assemblyman Jim Gilles, introduced him to his wealthy associate Todd Stewart and Stewart's roommate Sean Witt. Vargas convinced Stewart and Witt to invest $5 million with him, and they in turn convinced another wealthy associate, Josh Perlberg, to invest $20 million. Eventually, however, Witt discovered Vargas' scam and threatened to go to the police unless he gave the money back. Fearing that he would lose his newfound wealth and power, Vargas bought a gun, broke into Witt's apartment, and shot him dead. At that moment, Stewart and Witt's other roommate Dan Pressman returned home unexpectedly, so Vargas shot and killed them as well, trying to make it look like Pressman killed the others and turned the gun on himself.
"Political Animal"[]
NYPD Homicide Detectives Ed Green and Cyrus Lupo, who are investigating the murders, question Vargas, who claims that he hardly knew Witt and had never met Stewart or Pressman. Realizing that the detectives do not believe the murder-suicide ruse, Vargas tries to manipulate them into suspecting Gilles, a closeted gay man who was having a secret affair with Stewart, by lying about an argument that the two had supposedly had during a fundraiser. Green and Lupo briefly arrest Gilles, but they clear him after he proves that he was with another secret boyfriend at the time of the murders. He also reveals that Witt was one of Vargas' clients and that he knew both Stewart and Pressman, proving that Vargas lied to them.
Green and Lupo once again question Vargas, who claims that Gilles is lying; when they ask him for an alibi, he says that he was cleaning up after a campaign event. Further investigation reveals that Vargas arrived at the event soon after the murders and that he had bought a new shirt after changing out of one that had a spot of blood on it. Finally, they discover Vargas' criminal record, including a bench warrant for his fraud arrest. They arrest him in front of his biggest client, Senator Mellanie Carver, as they head to an event for her re-election campaign.
During his arraignment, Vargas pleads not guilty, claiming that the fraud charge was a "misunderstanding". After posting his bail, he once again flees, even as he sends a letter to Executive Assistant District Attorney Michael Cutter claiming that he had to make an emergency trip to see a client in South America and apologizing for the "inconvenience". He uses his client Michael Calderone's identity to buy a plane ticket, but when the flight is delayed, he panics and hides out in Calderone's apartment, where he attempts suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills. Green, Lupo, and Assistant District Attorney Connie Rubirosa track him down to Calderone's apartment in time to save his life, however, and they arrest him for murder.
Vargas fires his lawyer and makes a motion to represent himself, even though his license to practice law had been revoked following his fraud conviction. He meets with Cutter and Rubirosa and surprises them by using his own history of fraud and embezzlement as a defense; he says that he had no motive to kill Witt because he needed him alive to continue scamming him. During his trial, he calls one of his clients, Lieutenant Gubernatorial candidate Franklin Slater, as a witness, and accuses him of killing Witt because he knew that the funds Vargas had raised for him were fraudulent, which would have destroyed his bid for office and damaged his career. Vargas then submits his witness list, which includes Carver, a close ally of District Attorney Jack McCoy.
Sure enough, Vargas calls Carver as a witness. He accuses her of killing Witt to keep her campaign donations flowing and of using her connection to McCoy to frame him. Seeking damage control, Carver meets with McCoy and asks him to let Vargas enter an insanity plea and be institutionalized in lieu of prison. McCoy refuses, but he offers to help Carver rid herself of the stain of Vargas' accusations; he tells her to wear a wire and get Vargas to incriminate himself, which would help put Vargas in prison and vindicate her in the eyes of voters.
McCoy meets with Vargas at his office and lets him use the bathroom to freshen up. There, Carver approaches him and asks him to confess to the murders in order to protect her career and, with it, his legacy as a political power player. Carver refuses, coldly rationalizing his betrayal as part of "the game" that they both play.
Cutter plays the recording during the trial and asks Vargas if he really believes that Carver or Slater could have committed the murders; Vargas admits that they are innocent, but he insists that he is innocent, as well. Cutter then confronts Vargas about being completely disposable to "powerful friends" like Carver, which so upsets Vargas that he begs Carver, who is in the gallery, to say that she likes him. The jury finds him guilty of all three murders and sentences him to life in prison without parole.
External links[]
- Victor Vargas on the Law & Order Wiki
