‘Mob City’ recap: LAPD detective kills for love, not money

There are many reasons to kill a man, such as for money or revenge, observes L.A. police Det. Joe Teague (Jon Bernthal).

But Joe kills for love -- love for his sexy ex-wife Jasmine Fontaine (Alexa Davales), a good girl apparently gone bad.

Killing for love “doesn’t make your hands any cleaner,� Joe admits in a voiceover. “But maybe it’ll let you sleep at night.�

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Joe’s act of murder without remorse kicks off the premiere of “Mob City,� a TNT drama created by Frank Darabont, former executive producer of “The Walking Dead.�

Set in the 1940s, “Mob City� is based on John Buntin’s nonfiction book, “L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America’s Most Seductive City.�

Notorious gangsters Benjamin “Bugsy� Siegel (Edward Burns) and Mickey Cohen (Jeremy Luke) -- resplendent in their flashy shoes and silk ties -- are trying to take over the City of Angels, turning it into the West Coast base for their criminal network.

Stubbornly standing in the way is Mayor Fletcher Bowron (Gregory Itzin). And by his side is L.A. police Capt. William H. Parker (Neal McDonough), an incorruptible “Boy Scout� fighting to topple the mob while rooting out rampant corruption in the police ranks.

In westerns, the good guys wear white hats and the bad guys wear black hats. But Joe’s post-World War II Los Angeles is a world of gray hats where the line between right and wrong is murky at best.

Joe plunges into that gray area when he considers performing an after-hours job for small-time comedian Hecky Nash (Simon Pegg), who’s trying to sell incriminating photos to Siegel for $50,000. Hecky needs Joe, a former Marine gunnery sergeant, along for protection.

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By the way, Hecky is dating Jasmine. And Jasmine has packed her bags so she can flee Los Angeles as soon as the blackmail deal is done.

“You do know I’m a cop,� Joe says to Hecky during their rendezvous at a downtown jazz joint.

“These people, they don’t kill cops,� Hecky assures him, promising $1,000 for a night’s work.

Joe reports Hecky’s offer to Capt. Parker, who regards this as a chance to score a “righteous win� against a high-ranking mobster. But it doesn’t turn out that way.

The swap of photo negatives for cash goes smoothly enough, perhaps because sociopathic hit man Sid Rothman (Robert Knepper) spots the shiny Los Angeles Police Department badge on Joe’s belt.

As soon as the gangsters drive away, however, Joe puts a bullet into Hecky’s back and another between his eyes.

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When cops arrive at the scene, Joe claims he got there too late and Hecky was already dead.

Looks like Jasmine, now under LAPD surveillance, shot the mob pix. That’s why she hastily packs her camera equipment in a suitcase and stashes it at Union Station.

And the $50,000 payout to Hecky? Joe gives it to war buddy Ned Stax (Milo Ventimiglia), an attorney and mob “fixer.�

Siegel doesn’t care about retrieving the money, Ned says. He cares about “not being taken by a two-bit loser.�

But Joe’s refusal to accept payment for killing Hecky ignites Siegel’s suspicion.

“Nobody does a 50-grand favor,� Siegel warns his hoods. “This cop is slipping something past me and I need to know what it is.�

“Should’ve just kept the money,� Ned tells Joe when they meet again. “Would’ve made my life easier.�

Then Joe pulls out a well-worn photo from his wallet -- a photo he showed to Ned almost every day when they served together in the Pacific. It’s a wedding picture of Joe and Jasmine.

“Burn it,� Ned urges as Joe fingers his cigarette lighter. “Somebody sees you with that, it’s over.�

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