sit down and shut up, will ya. try not to live up to all my expectations. we were told you know a hustle artist named johnny hooker.
do ya know him or don't ya?
well we do. he's chummin' around with a big c named henry gondorff. ring any bells?
there's word he's gonna run a con on the north side here. we got a year-old florida warrant on him, but it's a thin beef, and he can beat it in court unless we catch him cold. all we want you to do is pick up hooker for us.
cause the stoolies are used to street dicks jumpin' him. if word gets around that feds are in on it too, gondorff'll fold up the whole thing.
don't crack wise to me, flatfoot. i spent a lotta time in dumps like this, eatin' gondorff's dust while the bunco squad gets rich tippin' him off. but it's not gonna happen this time. we're not even gonna let the police know we're here. if you keep your mouth shut and do a job, there'll be a promotion in it for ya. and you better take it, cause i can make ya work for us without it.
he's gonna set up gondorff for us.
i think he will.
hello, mr. hooker. captain polk,
you want a drink or something?
we want to talk to ya about henry gondorff.
well give yourself a couple seconds, crumb. you wouldn't wanna lie to me. lt. snyder here says you done a lotta griftin' in this town.
we'll get it, and if we can't, we'll just make it up. grand larceny, extortion. counterfeiting, anything you want.
look, i got nothin' against you, but you're in trouble here. all you gotta do is tell us when gondorff's gonna play his chump. we come in at the sting, make the pinch, and you walk out free as a bird. no questions, no court appearance, nothing.
you've already done time twice, and judges don't like three time losers. you wanna sit in the can for forty years, startin' tonight?
like hell. you won't even get a review till you're seventy. and if the board starts to go soft, we'll let ya out in the yard some night with a hard-nose young bull who'll put fifty slugs in your face and ask what you were doin' there later.
don't be a sap, kid. you could save us a little trouble. but henry gondorff is through whether you help us or not. there's nothin' left to do now but save yourself.
hell yes. we don't care about the mark. he deserves what he gets.
all right, hooker, but you take it on the lam, and we'll shoot you down on sight.
whoever gondorff's playin' for is bound to be a wheel. as soon as we're inside, i want you to get the guy outa there as fast as possible, before the reporters show up. we can't afford to embarrass any big shots.
all right, hooker, you can go.
he's gone.