The Black Hand Man

**The Black Hand Man** is the third episode of the fourth season in the remake version of *S.W.A.T.*, and the sixty-ninth episode overall, which was aired on November 18, 2020.

## Summary

Hondo is conflicted when Leroy, his incarcerated childhood friend and Darryl's father, asks him to speak on his behalf at a parole hearing. Also, SWAT helps the FBI track down a mob informant on the run from the crime family he is meant to testify against, and the team dynamic becomes complicated when Street and Tan sign up for a leadership competition Chris has been training months for.

## Recap

The team is running drills. The team does so every once in a while because it keeps them on their toes and it also serves as a lesson to the incoming class. Their drills were considered teaching lessons. There were new groups every year who try out for SWAT and some made it. Others didn’t. Erica made it to SWAT because Chris took a shine to her and she helped train the other woman. Chris was Erica’s mentor. Erica still comes to Chris with questions and her latest question was how to move up the ranks. Erica needed advice. Chris mentioned that she was shooting for a position with the TLI. It stands for Tactical Leadership Institute. It’s also about creating working liaison trips with other countries like what Luca is doing now in Germany and so Chris was aiming for a position there because she wanted to show she could lead.

Chris knew she would have to jump through hoops to get this position. She had to show leadership. She had to interview with Hicks and she had to be prepared at all times. She could be called upon whenever with such a job. Chris didn’t mind it because she was ready for that responsibility and Erica had faith in her. Erica said that Hicks would be crazy to turn her down. Chris was hoping that was true and, in the meantime, she was working with her team like she always does. SWAT was later called out to a shootout. This shootout seems to involve FBI Special Agents. The agents were all dead by the time the team showed and so they had no idea what was going on.

The team did find an empty car. The Bureau should have notified LAPD of any mission in their city and yet neither the team nor their superiors knew anything about this job with the FBI. Fortunately, someone was willing to talk at the Bureau’s office. The FBI had a safe house in the city and they were protecting a witness in the Venuti crime family. The witness was identified as Rocco Contoursi. He was the capo in a crime family for over twenty years and his younger brother just joined the family business. Also, according to word on the street, Rocco’s brother Tony was actually helping the Venuti family to hunt down Rocco and so there’s no way he’ll be able to turn to his brother now.

Rocco was probably injured in the shootout. His body wasn’t found at the scene and so he wasn’t killed. He most likely ran off when the bullets started to fly. The team needed to find him. They wanted to return to the FBI and so they had to ask himself where would he go? Who would he turn to? Rocco couldn’t depend on his brother because his brother just tried to kill him. He couldn’t turn to his friends because they’re all a part of the family and so his safest bet was his ex-wife Gina. Gina was brought in. She was told about the situation and they told her that they just wanted to keep him safe. And she wanted him safe as well.

Gina told the team that Rocco contacted her. She later met up with him and LAPD was able to bring him in peacefully. Rocco had been injured in the shootout. He couldn’t fight back even if he really wanted to. He was bleeding from several wounds and so he needed emergency care. Rocco received just that thanks to the LAPD. He was also given a new safehouse at the LAPD command center and the only thing he wanted before he had to testify was his brother. Rocco joined the Venuti crime family to feed his own family. The only thing he asked was that they didn’t bring in his brother and the leader of the crime family crossed that line by enlisting Tony.

The Venutis also tried to turn Tony against Rocco. They brought Tony to the safehouse where Rocco was hiding and they put a gun in Tony’s hand and they ordered him to kill his own brother. Only Tony couldn’t do it. He refused to shoot and that’s when everything popped off. Rocco got away because his brother couldn’t kill him and now Rocco wants to protect him. He wanted Tony safe and unharmed or he wasn’t going to testify. He didn’t care if Venuti got off or what else may happen. His first priority was his brother. His brother wouldn’t be needed after Rocco testified and he knew the Venuti would kill Tony the moment he couldn’t use him to silence Rocco.

The team agreed to do what they could. They went looking for Tony and he was still with the crime family, but he had a moment to escape and he didn’t take it. He chose to stay with them. There was nothing the team could do about it and they also found it odd as well. Tony had shouted at them that they needed to tell Rocco he was the biggest disgrace since Uncle Bobby. Hondo had passed on the message to Rocco and Rocco explained this uncle to them. He told them that when Tony was small he didn’t know where all the money was coming from. Rocco had created a story a mythical uncle who was a congressman. Now, whenever they see a two-faced politician on the screen, Tony would ask if that was their Uncle Bobby. It was a running joke for them.

But it was a warning to SWAT. Tony was trying to tell them that a politician was about to be hit and they got the message after they spoke with Rocco. The team looked into politicians in the area. There was one senator who was holding a fundraiser. The fundraiser would be black tie and that men would show up with watches and women would show up with jewelry. The team checked surveillance cameras and they spotted both Tony and the Venuti going into the fundraiser. They, therefore, came to surround the building. They moved steadily inside and they took down one bad guy after another until they got to Venuti. The man behind everything.

They arrested him. They also saved Tony’s life because he was almost killed and, with that, they got Rocco back onboard. Rocco is willing to testify. He may no longer have to since Venuti was actually caught committing a crime, but it doesn’t hurt to help take down the rest of the family as well. Chris also got to impress Hicks with the work she did on this case. She was going against both Street and Tan for the job and so she had needed this to stand out.

And Hondo’s old friend Leroy was up for early parole, but Hondo couldn’t speak up for Leroy at his parole hearing because he knew that Leroy would return to life and he didn’t want to put his name on the line for that. And it also didn’t hurt that Hondo was now basically raising Leroy’s son as his own.

It didn’t really matter what were Hondo’s motives for not testifying. Leroy still won’t forgive him for the betrayal and he’s promising retribution for when he gets out.

## Cast

### Main

* Shemar Moore - Daniel Harrelson
* Alex Russell - Jim Street
* Lina Esco - Christina Alonso
* Kenny Johnson - Dominic Luca
* David Lim - Victor Tan
* Patrick St. Esprit - Robert Hicks
* Jay Harrington - David Kay

### Recurring

* Amy Farrington - Piper Lynch
* Lyndie Greenwood - Erika Rogers
* Lou Ferrigno Jr. - Donovan Rocker
* Michael Beach - Leroy Henderson
* DeShae Frost - Darryl Henderson
* Adam Aalderks - LAPD Officer Lee Durham

### Guest

* Gareth Williams - FBI Agent Melvin Woods
* Tacey Adams - Georgia Porter
* Abigail Marlowe - Gina Albert
* Jully Lee - Lulu Wan
* Alexandria Bedria - Rocco Contoursi
* Hunter Sansone - Tony Controursi
* Al Sapienza - Peter Venuti
* Gilbert Glenn Brown - William

## Trivia

* Cmdr. Bob Hicks mentioned about his daughter Molly is going to a dinner date with Jim Street.
* FBI Agents Earl and Damon are killed and went to the road.
* SWAT team captures Rocco and he is looking for his brother and Venuti.
* Venuti pointed gun to Tony and he shoots the light before they vanished.
* Hondo finally grabs Tony in the pool and Chris catches Venuti on the ground.