Steve Crosetti
Encyclopedia
Det. Steve Crosetti is a fictional character
on the television
drama
series Homicide: Life on the Street
portrayed by actor Jon Polito
for the show's first two seasons. He is believed to be based on Baltimore Police Department
Det. Terry McLarney, who was in the BPD homicide unit in David Simon's Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets
book; ancestry of the character was changed to Italian because Polito got the role.
Crosetti was a veteran police detective who was partnered with Det. Meldrick Lewis
. Crosetti loved conspiracy theories, which he always recited to Lewis (or anyone who would listen). This was somewhat different than John Munch
's interest as Crosetti's pet conspiracies tended to be more arcane and less connected to current events. For example the conspiracy theories Crosetti talked most often about were those that concerned the Abraham Lincoln assassination
. A deeply religious man, Crosetti was shown to have both a scapular
and a rosary
. In one episode he recounts about a time several years before where he had been gunned down, hit with at least three rounds. He spent considerable time in recovery, requiring multiple operations.
A dear friend of Crosetti's, a police officer named Chris Thormann, was shot in the head while apprehending a suspect. Thormann survived, but was left blind and despairing. Crosetti tried his best to help him and his wife get through it, and forced himself into the investigation. He was too close to it, apprehending the wrong suspect, but his partner, Meldrick Lewis
, eventually arrested the right one. This storyline was based on the real-life shooting and blinding of BPD Officer Gene Cassidy, and is a major part of the David Simon book which spawned the series.
Crosetti's own marriage had fallen apart sometime before the beginning of the series. He had a daughter, Beatrice, who was a teenager and whom Crosetti said "was as close to perfection as God allows." He apparently had at least joint custody. Crosetti was very protective of her, and was appalled that her mother was indifferent to the girl having a boyfriend over to spend the night.
Crosetti took an extended vacation at the end of season 2. Lewis mentioned that he went to Atlantic City. In the season 3 episode (S3, Ep6)"Crosetti," Detectives Bolander
and Munch
are called when a body is fished out of the bay. The body turns out to be Crosetti and the initial evidence suggests a suicide
. Lewis refuses to believe that Crosetti would kill himself, especially in light of his faith and his daughter. Lewis does everything he can to get the death classified a homicide, even going as far as to tell Crosetti's friends and neighbors not to give any information to Bolander (the primary on the case). He finally accepts the truth when he hears the medical examiner's report, which states that Crosetti had high levels of alcohol, tranquilizers, and antidepressants in his system when he died. Lewis later recalls that before his vacation Crosetti had offered to give a him a childhood possession of his, a yo-yo
, and realizes this was possibly a kind of going-away present.
Because his death was a suicide, the department refused an honor guard at the funeral. Det. Frank Pembleton
, standing alone in his dress blues on the station house steps, saluted the fallen detective as the procession went by. Lewis carried a lot of guilt over Crosetti's death, thinking back constantly to see if there had been any hint of it beforehand. The death also deeply affected the other detectives in the squad (especially during the third season), as the reasons for Crosetti's suicide are never explained. The episode itself mentioned job stress, the divorce, and a possible gambling addiction
as possible motives; but never confirmed any specific reason. The actor who played Crosetti, Jon Polito, also expressed a certain discomfort with the character committing suicide. Because NBC aired some of the Season 3 episodes out of order, a mention of a still-alive Crosetti appeared after the episode that reveals the suicide.
Crosetti's final appearance was in the TV movie Homicide: The Movie, which concluded the series. Both he and fellow fallen detective Beau Felton
appear in an afterlife sequence, playing cards in the squadroom and waiting for a new arrival, who turns out to be Al Giardello
, their old shift commander.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
series Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street is an American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Homicide Unit. It ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1993 to 1999, and was succeeded by a TV movie, which also acted as the de-facto series finale...
portrayed by actor Jon Polito
Jon Polito
Jon Polito is an American actor and voice artist, who is known for working with the Coen Brothers, most notably in the major supporting role of Italian gangster Johnny Caspar in Miller's Crossing. He also appeared in the first two seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street and on the first season of...
for the show's first two seasons. He is believed to be based on Baltimore Police Department
Baltimore Police Department
The Baltimore Police Department provides police services to the city of Baltimore, Maryland and was officially established by the Maryland Legislature on March 16, 1853...
Det. Terry McLarney, who was in the BPD homicide unit in David Simon's Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets is a 1991 book written by Baltimore Sun reporter David Simon describing a year spent with detectives from the Baltimore Police Department homicide squad...
book; ancestry of the character was changed to Italian because Polito got the role.
Crosetti was a veteran police detective who was partnered with Det. Meldrick Lewis
Meldrick Lewis
Meldrick Lewis is a fictional character on the television series Homicide: Life on the Street played by Clark Johnson. The character was in the series for its full run and had the very first and last lines of the series...
. Crosetti loved conspiracy theories, which he always recited to Lewis (or anyone who would listen). This was somewhat different than John Munch
John Munch
Sergeant John Munch is a fictional character played by actor Richard Belzer. Munch first appeared on Homicide: Life on the Street. Upon that series' cancellation, the character was transplanted to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, the first spin-off of the Law & Order franchise...
's interest as Crosetti's pet conspiracies tended to be more arcane and less connected to current events. For example the conspiracy theories Crosetti talked most often about were those that concerned the Abraham Lincoln assassination
Abraham Lincoln assassination
The assassination of United States President Abraham Lincoln took place on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, as the American Civil War was drawing to a close. The assassination occurred five days after the commanding General of the Army of Northern Virginia, Robert E. Lee, and his battered Army of...
. A deeply religious man, Crosetti was shown to have both a scapular
Scapular
The term scapular as used today refers to two specific, yet related, Christian Sacramentals, namely the monastic and devotional scapulars, although both forms may simply be referred to as "scapular"....
and a rosary
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
. In one episode he recounts about a time several years before where he had been gunned down, hit with at least three rounds. He spent considerable time in recovery, requiring multiple operations.
A dear friend of Crosetti's, a police officer named Chris Thormann, was shot in the head while apprehending a suspect. Thormann survived, but was left blind and despairing. Crosetti tried his best to help him and his wife get through it, and forced himself into the investigation. He was too close to it, apprehending the wrong suspect, but his partner, Meldrick Lewis
Meldrick Lewis
Meldrick Lewis is a fictional character on the television series Homicide: Life on the Street played by Clark Johnson. The character was in the series for its full run and had the very first and last lines of the series...
, eventually arrested the right one. This storyline was based on the real-life shooting and blinding of BPD Officer Gene Cassidy, and is a major part of the David Simon book which spawned the series.
Crosetti's own marriage had fallen apart sometime before the beginning of the series. He had a daughter, Beatrice, who was a teenager and whom Crosetti said "was as close to perfection as God allows." He apparently had at least joint custody. Crosetti was very protective of her, and was appalled that her mother was indifferent to the girl having a boyfriend over to spend the night.
Crosetti took an extended vacation at the end of season 2. Lewis mentioned that he went to Atlantic City. In the season 3 episode (S3, Ep6)"Crosetti," Detectives Bolander
Stanley Bolander
Stanley Bolander is a fictional character in the American crime drama / police procedural Homicide: Life on the Street. He is portrayed by Ned Beatty and appears in the first three seasons and Homicide: The Movie.-Character overview:...
and Munch
John Munch
Sergeant John Munch is a fictional character played by actor Richard Belzer. Munch first appeared on Homicide: Life on the Street. Upon that series' cancellation, the character was transplanted to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, the first spin-off of the Law & Order franchise...
are called when a body is fished out of the bay. The body turns out to be Crosetti and the initial evidence suggests a suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. Lewis refuses to believe that Crosetti would kill himself, especially in light of his faith and his daughter. Lewis does everything he can to get the death classified a homicide, even going as far as to tell Crosetti's friends and neighbors not to give any information to Bolander (the primary on the case). He finally accepts the truth when he hears the medical examiner's report, which states that Crosetti had high levels of alcohol, tranquilizers, and antidepressants in his system when he died. Lewis later recalls that before his vacation Crosetti had offered to give a him a childhood possession of his, a yo-yo
Yo-yo
The yo-yo in its simplest form is an object consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a length of twine looped around the axle, similar to a slender spool...
, and realizes this was possibly a kind of going-away present.
Because his death was a suicide, the department refused an honor guard at the funeral. Det. Frank Pembleton
Frank Pembleton
Francis Xavier "Frank" Pembleton is a fictional homicide detective on the television drama series Homicide: Life on the Street portrayed by Emmy Award winning actor Andre Braugher. He is a primary character of the show through the first six seasons...
, standing alone in his dress blues on the station house steps, saluted the fallen detective as the procession went by. Lewis carried a lot of guilt over Crosetti's death, thinking back constantly to see if there had been any hint of it beforehand. The death also deeply affected the other detectives in the squad (especially during the third season), as the reasons for Crosetti's suicide are never explained. The episode itself mentioned job stress, the divorce, and a possible gambling addiction
Compulsive gambling
Problem gambling is an urge to continuously gamble despite harmful negative consequences or a desire to stop. Problem gambling often is defined by whether harm is experienced by the gambler or others, rather than by the gambler's behavior. Severe problem gambling may be diagnosed as clinical...
as possible motives; but never confirmed any specific reason. The actor who played Crosetti, Jon Polito, also expressed a certain discomfort with the character committing suicide. Because NBC aired some of the Season 3 episodes out of order, a mention of a still-alive Crosetti appeared after the episode that reveals the suicide.
Crosetti's final appearance was in the TV movie Homicide: The Movie, which concluded the series. Both he and fellow fallen detective Beau Felton
Beau Felton
Det. Beauregard D. 'Beau' Felton is a fictional character on the television drama series Homicide: Life on the Street portrayed by Daniel Baldwin for seasons 1-3. He was loosely based on Det...
appear in an afterlife sequence, playing cards in the squadroom and waiting for a new arrival, who turns out to be Al Giardello
Al Giardello
Alphonse Michael Giardello, Sr. is a fictional character from the television drama Homicide: Life on the Street. The character was played by Yaphet Kotto...
, their old shift commander.