Missing info from: all episodes since “Panopticon” |
Played by | Kevin Chapman |
Name | Lionel P. Fusco |
Nickname | Don Juan (by Andre Cooper) Secondary Asset (by The Machine) The Fusconator (by Fusco) |
Intro ID | ID.209/1508.24 (“Prisoner's Dilemma”) ID.411/0106.15 (“If-Then-Else”) |
Status | Alive |
Social Security # | XXX-XX-4793 |
Occupation | Police detective |
Residence | New York, NY, USA |
Family | Lee Fusco (son) |
Affiliation | NYPD 8th Precinct Homicide Task Force NYPD Gang Division (temporarily when undercover) Finch & Reese NYPD 51st Precinct Vice Squad (previously) Joss Carter HR (formerly undercover) |
First appearance | “Pilot” |
Flashbacks | “In Extremis” “The Devil's Share” |
“ | At first, I uh, I thought I was helping to clean up the streets, you know? 'Who's gonna miss some drug money from a low-life dealer'. Then it became 'Who's gonna miss the dealer'....Then you find yourself in a situation, a bad situation that you shouldn't be in. I killed people, Carter. I was a dirty cop. | ” |
— Fusco |
Detective Lionel P. Fusco is a homicide detective in the New York City Police Department (NYPD). John Reese has turned him into his own source of information and support within the police department. He has a son, Lee, whom he is close to.
Character Background[]
Life as a corrupt cop[]
Fusco was originally part of the 51st NYPD precinct, and good friends with Detectives James Stills and Louis Azarello. In 2004, Fusco's wife files for divorce and demands full custody of their son, kicking Fusco out of their house. Stills meets with Fusco at a bar and offers to let him stay at his house, which Fusco accepts.
Stills and Azarello begin to manipulate and persuade Fusco to join them in their criminal activities. Fusco is reluctant to help them, but still teaches Azarello how to cover up their killing of a drug dealer who was uncooperative in a deal gone bad. Fusco is later horrified to see Stills and Azarello's killing of several people in a second drug rip off. Fusco shoots another dealer in self-defense, and Stills gives him some of their drug money, welcoming him to their crew (“In Extremis”).
Fusco, however, is not opposed to getting his hands dirty when his fellow officers are hurt. Fusco confesses to a shooting while being questioned by a department psychologist, and tells the story of how when a 24-year old rookie cop was gunned down by a drug dealer named Jules, Fusco exacted revenge by catching Jules off-guard without protection and shooting him twice in the chest, later making it appear justified. Fusco claims that Jules got what's called "the Devil's share", or a cruel form of karma in his eyes (“The Devil's Share”).
Involvement with Reese and Finch[]
Season 1[]
Fusco first comes into contact with John Reese when he, Stills, and Azarello become part of a gang led by ADA Diane Hansen, which Reese was attempting to take down. After catching him, Fusco drives Reese to Oyster Bay to kill him, but Reese escapes from the car and takes Fusco's sidearm. With it, Reese later kills Stills in an armed standoff and hides his body in the trunk of Fusco's car to link him to the crime and blackmail him into working for him. Reese orders Fusco to dispose of Stills' body, and Fusco becomes Reese's source of information inside the NYPD (“Pilot”). He comes under investigation by IAB for his actions and reluctantly aids Reese in identifying the hit man who killed the Whittaker family through one of his confidential informants (“Ghosts”).
After Fusco attempts to have Reese killed a second time in some dealings with the Torrerós drug cartel, Reese blackmails the 8th Precinct's corrupt police captain in order to get Fusco transferred to the Homicide Task Force and partnered with Detective Joss Carter, who was hunting Reese at the time. Fusco is then ordered to keep Carter's investigations directed away from Reese and to keep Reese informed of what Carter is doing (“Cura Te Ipsum”).
Reese later visits Fusco in a coffee line to find out what he learned about Carter's investigation and to get his help looking for clues in the investigation of a missing boy. While usually reluctant to help, Fusco offers Reese any help he can to save the missing kid, saying the case is about a kid and whatever else he is, he's still a cop. However, Reese just walks away. After learning that Carter is investigating the murder of Christina Rojas, Fusco offers to help Reese by solving Rojas' murder, suggesting it could help him find the missing boy. Fusco is able to identify the killer using a security camera and one of the descriptions Reese gave him and links the killer to Coldfield Holdings which he sends to Reese. Fusco and Carter later go to the money laundering headquarters and find the gang "gift wrapped" for them by Reese and take them into custody (“Judgment”).
While providing Reese with more information involving another case, Fusco meets Harold Finch, who is initially uncomfortable about Reese's decision to work with Fusco, but eventually gains his trust (“Witness”).
As time goes on, Fusco does demonstrate a loyalty to Reese. Their relationship is comical; their conversations are filled with dry humor and witty annoyance. Carter later begins working with Reese and Finch as well, (“Legacy”) but she and Fusco do not know that they are working for the same people for the remainder of the season.
Reese later asks Fusco to trail Finch to find out more about him (“Legacy”). Fusco eventually meets with Reese and shows him papers on Finch's Harold Wren identity, one of many aliases Fusco has found for Finch. Fusco is unable to determine who Finch really is and comments that Finch uses so many aliases he doubts Finch even knows anymore (“Wolf and Cub”).
Fusco helps Reese and Finch on another case, where he meets up with his friend, corrupt police officer Patrick Simmons, for information on a smuggler involved with the crime organization HR. When Fusco is later caught destroying the file of an undercover cop and taken out to be executed by Ian Davidson, a corrupt IAB detective, Reese shows up just in time to kill Davidson and save Fusco's life. Fusco, who has grown to enjoy being a good cop, wants to report the shooting which would be ruled self-defense due to the circumstances, but Reese destroys Davidson's phone and asks Fusco to get HR to cover up the killing so he can remain undercover for Reese. Fusco reluctantly complies, burying Davidson and meeting with Simmons who tells Fusco he belongs to HR now (“Blue Code”).
After Carter refuses his calls, Reese turns to Fusco to help him investigate the two Jordan Hesters. Fusco interrogates Kyle Morrison who claims to be the victim of a similar crime and identifies the female Jordan Hester as the fake. On Reese's orders, Fusco rescues Finch and identifies the fake Jordan as Tara Verlander. The two track down Tara and Fusco has her arrested by Detective Desmond Franklin, stating that Tara's arrest is too high-profile for him to make due to a possible connection to HR. With Tara's arrest exonerating Kyle, Fusco secures his release from prison and tells him to go home to his daughter who just turned two (“Identity Crisis”).
When Elias starts making his move against the Mafia Dons, Fusco is asked by Simmons for anything he knows on Reese and is warned to take a few days off as Homicide will be "busy". Not sure who to trust, Carter turns to Fusco for backup with protecting the three remaining Dons and repeatedly refuses his requests to call for backup. As Elias works to break in, Don Vittorio Zambrano reveals Fusco is a dirty cop to Carter then takes a gun from Fusco to make a deal with Elias. Though Zambrano expects Fusco to side with him, either Carter or Fusco shoots him dead and they enter a standoff with Elias and his two men after they break in. Due to the intervention of Finch, the HR cops outside leave and soon after honest cops arrive. Fusco reveals he called for backup from honest cops and Elias and his men surrender to Carter and Fusco (“Flesh and Blood”).
After the fall of Elias, Captain Artie Lynch begins working with Fusco to fund HR operations by shaking down criminals for money. As part of this, Fusco is sent to meet with Tommy Clay to get HR's cut of his robbery operation only to find Reese there and HR's two men dead. Lynch has a hard time believing Fusco's story but agrees to look for the fence Tommy will use for the stolen platinum. At a boxing gym, Lynch murders Tommy's girlfriend Ashley and beats on the tied-up Reese. After Lynch goes to shoot Reese, Fusco shoots him through the back, killing him to protect Reese. Fusco releases Reese and tells him that as he killed Lynch with Ashley's gun, he can make it look like Lynch botched the job and continue his undercover work without suspicion for Reese (“Matsya Nyaya”).
After getting the number of a POI being stalked by her husband, Finch calls upon Fusco for help as he doesn't want to involve Reese and Carter is busy with Agent Donnelly. Fusco loses Sarah and Finch calls him off the case. Fusco later warns Reese and Finch that the Transit Police have arrested Sarah, causing them to realize she's in trouble (“Many Happy Returns”).
While Reese is following Finch, Fusco calls him to tell Reese that Simmons has set up a meeting for him with HR's leadership. However, Reese is more interested in following Finch and Fusco is unaware that Carter is suspicious of him. When Henry Peck is later arrested, Fusco listens to him explain how he ended up in the situation and his theories about a machine the government is using to spy on everyone. Thinking Peck is simply crazy, Fusco leaves. He later watches as Terney talks to Carter about a John Doe found next to a burned-out cab and calls Reese to tell him that the meeting with HR's leadership will occur in three days. Reese promises to be ready before the two banter briefly about Reese's investigation into Finch and hang up (“No Good Deed”).
Fusco contacts Reese to tell him that Simmons is going to bring him to a meeting with the HR leaders, but Reese just asks for his help with Caroline Turing. Simmons later escorts Fusco to a restaurant where he meets HR's leaders: Councilman Seth Larsson, New York Police Department detective Sam Romano and New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police captain Peter Lewis. After being teased about his being a dirty cop, Fusco witnesses the three order Simmons to kill a target they've been hired to target while Fusco will run interference with the Homicide Task Force. Though Fusco is denied the name of the target, he gets a look at their picture and recognizes her as the woman Reese ordered him to look into. After leaving the group, Fusco calls Reese and warns him of the development, telling Reese that within 48 hours, Turing will be dead.
Later, as the FBI tracks Reese using their real-time crime center, Fusco joins them but is constantly texting while HR closes in on Reese and Turing. Carter notices this and confronts Fusco in the bathroom as he's on the phone with what she believes to be HR but is really Finch. Fusco tells Carter that he's undercover in HR for "the Man in the Suit" and describes Finch to her, causing Carter to realize he's telling the truth and they are working for the same person. After being told by Finch Reese needs their help, Fusco tells Carter he knows who HR's mole is along with the entire membership and they will take them down once this job is finished.
As Reese gets cornered by Simmons, Jablonski and another man, Carter and Fusco rescue him, laying down covering fire for Reese to get into their car. The three chase Jablonski and his partner while the detectives question Reese on his separate activities with them. Reese deflects their questions before ordering Carter to slow down. Once she has, Reese detonates a bomb in the two HR cops car, killing them before leaving to meet up with Finch. Later, Fusco emails everything he has on HR to Donnelly anonymously, including the identity of the mole (“Firewall”).
Season 2[]
After receiving a number from the Machine, Reese contacts Fusco who identifies the social security number as belonging to Leon Tao. Fuso is able to use the anti-theft system on Tao's car to get his location for Reese. Fusco questions if Tao can help them find Finch and tells Reese he doesn't want to find out what Reese is like without Finch.
Reese calls Fusco after making sure Tao would be arrested to have Fusco look after him. Fusco is annoyed when he discovers Carter is working on the Alicia Corwin murder, but agrees. Tao later escapes the police station and Fusco tracks him to the impound yard where he is trying to retrieve his car. Fusco and Tao are captured by Aryan Brotherhood gang members Tao stole money from before Reese arrives to save them. After Reese is able to take control of Byron's attack dog, the three are able to escape with Reese teasing Fusco about his predicament. Fusco and Carter later arrest Titus, Byron and the other surviving Aryan gang members. (“The Contingency”)
A day after Finch's disappearance, Reese meets with Carter and Fusco in a bar. He tells them his belief that Hanna Frey is in fact Root and he and Carter will be investigating her disappearance. Reese orders Fusco to continue to investigate Alicia Corwin's murder and the person who is messing with the investigation. Before leaving, Reese leaves Bear in Fusco's care and gives him Finch's forced pairing program to help.
While talking to Carter about the search, Fusco notices Hersh and grows suspisous of him. Fusco finds Corwin's hotel room and is able to remove a few belongings from it including pictures of Finch and Denton Weeks. Staking the hotel out, Fusco spots Hersh and uses a forced pairing of his phone to eavesdrop on a conversation between Hersh and Special Counsel. Fusco learns of their search for Denton Weeks who has disappeared. Fusco contacts Reese and tells him he thinks Root took Weeks too. Fusco is able to locate Weeks' mistress' cabin in Relton, Maryland, helping Reese to find and rescue Finch. After the case, Carter and Fusco go out for a drink together. (“Bad Code”)
After Finch's rescue, Fusco turns the Alicia Corwin case over to Carter, not wanting anything more to do with it. Reese later calls him to protect Sofia Campos for him as he tracks down Paul Romano's killer. While in the bathroom, Sofia gets a call from her boyfriend Jack Hughes and gives Fusco the slip to meet up with him. After being warned by Finch that Jack is part of the operation that killed Romano, Fusco rushes to Sofia's rescue, stopping Monty Spencer from shooting her. Monty overpowers Fusco, but Carter and Reese body-slam him with his own car. Fusco then arrests Monty for Paul Romano's murder and the kidnapping and attempted murder of Sofia. (“Masquerade”)
After getting the number of Riley Cavanaugh, Reese has Fusco stake out George Massey's bar. During his stakeout, Fusco orders drinks then gives them to the man next to him at the bar to keep up appearances. George eventually takes off and Fusco warns Reese and Finch (“Triggerman”).
Agent Donnelly and the FBI arrest over 75 dirty cops working for HR based on the information Fusco gathered while undercover. While Carter congratulates him, Fusco is worried due to his past as a dirty cop and a member of HR meaning he could be arrested too. After getting off the phone with his son, Fusco is threatened by Simmons who saw him helping Reese when HR tried to kill Root. Simmons tells Fusco that HR is down but not out and their boss is setting something up to protect HR's upper management. However, Simmons warns Fusco that the FBI are chasing something that could still bring all of HR down and he wants Fusco to find and destroy it. Simmons tells Fusco that if he doesn't Fusco will end up in prison and lose his son. Simmons promises to let Fusco out of HR if he does this one last thing for them and leaves.
Fusco later meets with Reese and Carter in a park where he lies that he hasn't seen Simmons since he rescued Reese from him. Reese asks him to keep an eye out for Simmons and anything he can find on HR's boss and promises to have Fusco's back, but Fusco is left troubled after looking at a picture of his son on his phone. Fusco later listens to an interrogation of Maxine Angelis and learns of Vittorio Zambrano's ledger that could've exposed HR's head. Reese calls Fusco to talk to Simmons to try to find the head of HR, but Fusco lies that Simmons doesn't know who it is and searches through Christopher Zambrano's property listings for a place the ledger could be located.
After Reese and Maxine are captured by Bogle and Pitt after finding the ledger, Finch calls Carter and Fusco to rescue them. The two former FBI agents realize the two are there without backup and a gunfight ensues. Reese subdues both men and Fusco takes the ledger from Maxine to turn over to the FBI. Before turning it over, Fusco removes the pages with his own name and Simmons and gives Simmons his page. Simmons tells Fusco that "once your in HR, you never leave" and that he's not the biggest threat to Fusco's son, Fusco himself is (“Bury the Lede”).
Fusco is called in on the murder of Dusan Babic who was shot twice in the back at close range. All Fusco finds on him is Carter's business card with a mysterious code on the back so Fusco calls her and gives Carter the card without telling anyone else what he found. Reese later calls on Fusco to watch over Amy who is being threatened by snipers working for Alistair Wesley to force Doctor Madeleine Enright to cooperate with his plot while Reese is forced to share a drink with Wesley. Upon his return, Reese has Fusco create a distraction so that he can slip Amy a cell phone and guide her to safety. Fusco does so by harassing a police officer patrolling the park. As he leaves, Fusco tells another cop he assumes to be the man's partner to send his apologies but learns the man he accosted was not a real cop. Fusco returns in time to distract the fake cop, allowing Reese to overpower him and rescue Amy. (“Critical”)
While working the case of Sabrina and Daniel Drake, Reese tries to call Fusco twice but he ignores his calls. Fusco's behavior draws the suspicions of Reese, Carter and Finch, particularly after Fusco removes the battery on his phone so he can't be tracked. Fusco's behavior ends up being because he's started dating a woman named Rhonda and wants to keep it a secret, causing Finch to have to reach him through a restaurant phone to stake-out Sabrina. At Rhonda's request, Fusco takes her with him on the stake-out and saves Sabrina from Nestor Santiago. After locking the Drakes in the trunk of Carter's car, Fusco's secret is discovered and Reese and Carter leave him to take Rhonda home where she expresses interest in another date.
After dropping Rhonda off, Fusco goes to the Drakes' house to provide backup against the hit men the couple have hired to kill each other. During the confrontation, Fusco is shot in the chest but is wearing a bullet-proof vest and survives. Fusco recovers in time to shoot Santiago and save Carter. As the Drakes, Santiago and the surviving hit man are taken into custody, Fusco expresses disgust over the fact that after everything, the Drakes got back together (“Til Death”).
After HR decides to resume ties with Elias, Simmons demands Fusco take part in the meeting with Scarface alongside him and Bowman. After the meeting is set up, Fusco refuses to join causing Simmons to send him an email with a message saying "not all accidents are caused with a shovel" and a video of Fusco and Ian Davidson together. Fusco reluctantly agrees to join the meeting where Simmons offers up Luciano Grifoni, the last surviving Mafia don to Elias in exchange for him reestablishing ties with HR. Scarface agrees on the condition that HR take care of Grifoni themselves and Fusco and Bowman are assigned to the job. Nervous, Fusco calls Reese for help but Reese is unable to talk to him due to being in a fight with the Estonian mob. Reese later calls Fusco back, but Fusco lies rather than ask for help. As Bowman and Fusco confront Grifoni, one of Grifoni's men kills Bowman and Grifoni gives Fusco a message from Elias: to tell HR to go to hell. Fusco passes on the message to Simmons and seconds the message, ending his ties with HR. Moments later, Carter gets a call which she tells Fusco is an anonymous tip that a cop murdered Davidson. Fusco sees Simmons hanging up his cell phone as he walks away and realizes Simmons left the tip (“C.O.D.”).
Entering the precinct, Fusco finds Carter talking to Detective Cal Beecher about the possible murder of Ian Davidson. Fusco become suspisious as Beecher brings up the possibility of an HR cop connected to a group from the Fifty-First Precinct being involved, the group Fusco had been apart of. Before Beecher can tell Carter any names, they are interrupted by Agent Donnelly. Fusco later asks another detective about Beecher, learning that he had a lot of money and had worked undercover narcotics, furthering Fusco's suspicions that Beecher works for HR. Fusco follows Beecher to a meeting with HR leader Alonzo Quinn, using a forced pairing of Beecher's cell phone to listen in as Beecher reports on activities committed by Peter Yogorov. Fusco is approached by Simmons who he angrily confronts about tipping off Carter about his role in Davidson's disappearance. Simmons tells him he hasn't tipped off Beecher yet about Fusco's role in Davidson's murder to which Fusco responds that Simmons crossed a line to where Fusco doesn't care anymore and threatens an unconcerned Simmons. Fusco realizes that Simmons being there is strange, but Simmons refuses to tell him why and orders Fusco to go home.
Fusco later receives a call from Carter who pretends Fusco is her mother to confuse Donnelly before telling Fusco to warn Finch that Donnelly is onto Reese and is tracking his phone. Fusco quickly warns Finch and agrees to do whatever he can to help Reese escape. At the bank, Fusco leads in officers to help secure the bank and tells Finch, Abby Monroe and Shayn Coleman that he has them covered so they can get out safely. However, Fusco is unable to help Reese who is captured by Donnelly along with Philip Chapple's three mercenaries (“Shadow Box”).
After Reese's arrest, Finch contacts Fusco for help with Caleb Phipps. Fusco tells Finch that Caleb has a couple of minor arrests that Fusco calls "kid's stuff." The two then joke about the nature of high school. Fusco later calls Finch back to tell him that Caleb's brother Ryan died in front of him after getting hit by a train while drunk but finds it odd that the transit cop called for backup and then rescinded the call. Looking at Caleb's test scores, Finch realizes that the boy is actually hiding the fact that he is a genius and the two men ponder on why he would do such a thing.
Fusco visits Caleb's mother under the pretense of checking in on neighborhood break-ins and plants a webcam to spy on her apartment. He tells Finch that he thinks Caleb's mother is alcoholic and identifies two teenagers Finch photographed as being drug dealers formerly working for someone named Lorenzo but who now work for someone the narcotics division can't identify. On Finch's request, Fusco follows the dealers and tracks the drug money across town to a PO box where the mysterious drug lord will pick it up. Fusco and Finch are surprised when their various surveillance efforts bring them across the street from each other and witness Caleb picking up the money. Fusco is shocked to realize that Caleb is the new mysterious drug lord.
The next day, Finch calls Fusco after learning that Caleb is about to meet with his dealer. Fusco is impressed with Caleb's skill in avoiding detection and he and Finch follow Caleb to his meeting where they find him being threatened by Lorenzo. While Fusco prepares to intervene, Finch stops him and they watch Caleb agree to pay the drug money back. As they stake-out Caleb's apartment that night, Fusco suggests that Caleb's not in it for the money but revenge for his brother. Fusco shows Finch the transcripts from the night that Ryan Phipps died which show that the transit cop called for backup as Caleb claimed there were two attackers then cancelled the backup call and filed an accident one instead. Fusco suggests that Caleb's two dealers, Ronnie and Diego, killed Ryan and Caleb is out for revenge. After seeing Chris Beckner setting up a meeting regarding Caleb's revolutionary coding, Finch leaves Fusco alone to stake-out Caleb while he goes to spy on Beckner.
The next day, Finch tells Fusco that Caleb is transferring all of his money into a trust and discovers that Beckner is meeting with his investors at the same time that Lorenzo is expecting to meet with Caleb. Fusco promises to help Finch cover the two meeting and calls in the transit cop, Andrew Murphy to find out what he knows about Ryan Phipps' death. Fusco claims that Ryan's death is connected to a cold case he's investigating and Murphy finally tells him that when he questioned Caleb about his brother's death, he realized Caleb was lying about there being two other men there. Murphy tells Fusco that it was Caleb and Ryan alone and while drunk and bored, the two raced across the tracks in a game. Ryan was killed and Murphy decided to cover it up rather than let it ruin Caleb's life as nothing could bring his brother back. Fusco relays the information to Finch and stakes out where Lorenzo is waiting for Caleb. After seeing Lorenzo preparing to hunt Caleb down, Fusco tells Finch he'll take care of Lorenzo while Finch takes care of Beckner. After taking care of Lorenzo, Fusco arrives at the subway station in time to witness Caleb choose not to commit suicide after being talked down by Finch. (“2πR”)
Fusco receives a phone call that he hopes is Reese and is disappointed to learn is just Finch. Worried about his friends, Fusco offers any aid he can to breaking Reese out, but instead Finch assigns him to watch their next number. While annoyed at first, Fusco is excited to discover that the number is Karolina Kurkova and agrees to protect her. Finch later calls Fusco for a status update, but Fusco has been noticed by Kurkova who sprays him with mace and hits him repeatedly with her bag as Fusco tries to explain to her he's a cop there to help her. Fusco eventually gains Kurkova's trust and they end up on the run from Armenian gangsters with Kurkova refusing to go to a nearby police station. Finch contacts Fusco for help identifying Hersh and Fusco tells him that Hersh is the "government spook" that had been hanging around after Alicia Corwin was murdered. Fusco tries to ask Finch for some help with his own situation, but Finch just hangs up on him. That night, Fusco and Kurkova are cornered behind a car and Fusco insists Kurkova run while he holds the Armenians off but Kurkova refuses to leave. Armed with two pistols, Fusco engages the Armenians and manages to beat them. Kurkova later kisses him goodbye and tells him to call her. Fusco is left stunned until Finch calls to tell him that they have a situation and sends Fusco Carter's last known coordinates. (“Prisoner's Dilemma”)
The morning after Kara Stanton kills Donnelly and abducts Reese, Fusco calls Carter, worried as Donnelly has been found dead and Finch had sent him looking for Reese and Carter the night before. When Carter arrives, Fusco notes she's missing an earing which she quickly lies about. As Carter searches the wreckage for her earing, Fusco hands it to her, having found it and asks what's going on. The two meet with Finch who informs them about Kara Stanton, along with the fact that she's supposedly dead. After finding out that Stanton had Mark Snow steal a hard drive from a technology company, Finch asks for everything Carter has on the stolen hard drive and tells the two detectives that they need to find out what Stanton is doing and for whom to save Reese. Fusco is left worried when Carter mentions that when she saw Snow, he was wired to a bomb vest.
After Reese sends Finch a text message from an unknown number indicating he's strapped to a bomb vest, Fusco and Carter check it out and discover that the men were ATF agents called to a bomb threat at a nearby building. Arriving there, Carter gets a call from Finch who discovers that the 21st floor is a government cyber weapons lab and Stanton intends to steal one for the people she works for which would enable them to cripple a country. Unable to get past the police guards, Carter has Fusco and herself use the stairs to reach the 21st floor to Fusco's annoyance. The two reach the 21st floor in time to find Reese with an activated bomb vest and about to head to the roof to get away from innocent people. While Carter insists on trying to disarm the bomb, Reese refuses to let her as she has too much to lose which Fusco reiterates, reminding Carter of her son. Upset about their friend's impending death, the two cops head for safety as Reese heads for the roof.
Fusco and Carter wait outside of the building, watching the rooftop for the explosion. After it fails to go off, Fusco, not knowing Finch disarmed the bomb, wonders if it was a dud. A moment later, an explosion occurs around the corner and Fusco and Carter race to the edge of the neighboring street to find Stanton's getaway car destroyed after Snow sacrificed himself to kill her with his bomb vest. Two days later, Fusco watches as SAIC Brian Moss tells Carter that they have identified Snow as "the Man in a Suit" and officially closed the case. Fusco asks a clearly worried Carter if everything is alright but she just tells him "we'll see" (“Dead Reckoning”).
Fusco finds Carter continuing to investigate Davidson's disappearance and asks if she's still following up on the anonymous tip that a cop killed Davidson. Carter tells him she thinks a lot of cops had a reason to want an IAB detective dead and has remembered the disappearance of Detective James Stills who had also disappeared the year before. Carter asks about Fusco's past with Stills, but Fusco just tells her that they worked together a long time ago. Carter believes that two cops going missing in the same year with their bodies never being found means that something isn't right, worrying Fusco due to his connection to the two disappearances. They are then interrupted by a phone call from Finch about Logan Pierce. Fusco later finds Carter in the interrogation room continuing her investigation and attempts to tell Carter the truth about his past. Carter stops Fusco, telling him that while she trusts him if he says he's changed and considers him a friend, she is a cop first and will not protect him if his past comes back to haunt him (“One Percent”).
Fusco watches as SAIC Brian Moss offers Carter a chance to join the FBI and asks if she will take the offer which Carter confirms. Finch later calls Fusco in to run surveillance on a hit team member at a hotel bar and Fusco warns Finch when the man goes on the move. On Finch's orders, Fusco follows two of the team outside and subdues them, recovering Charles Harris' body. Fusco then calls for backup to take in the hit men he and Reese captured while he takes Mira Dobrica back to the precinct. Fusco leaves Mira in an office and while he's distracted talking to two other cops, a final hit man sneaks into the office and strangles Mira. Fusco notices in time to shout a warning to Carter who shoots the hit man dead and saves Mira. Fusco then comments that Carter didn't miss all the fun after all (“Booked Solid”).
Fusco and Carter are called in after the "death" of Sameen Shaw. While the patrol cop at the scene believes it to be a homicide, Carter and Fusco pass it off as an overdose or cardiac arrest and ask Leon Tao, pretending to be a paramedic, to take Shaw's "body" to the morgue. Tao asks Fusco for help in rolling the stretcher into the ambulance and while Fusco complies, he seems surprised to recognize Tao. (“Relevance”)
After Detective Bill Szymanski is framed as a dirty cop, Carter asks if Fusco knows anything about Cal Beecher being dirty. Fusco admits he doesn't, but warns Carter that while they took down a lot of dirty cops, HR is not yet finished and she may not like what she finds if she follows the money planted on Szymanski. Carter later follows the money and finds proof to exonerate Szymanski and thanks Fusco for his advice of following the money. Fusco privately warns Carter that this proves that HR had it out for Szymanski and to be careful they don't come after her next. (“All In”)
Fusco is approached by Carter who tells him that Beecher had given the information that led to Szymanski's arrest and eventual murder. After Carter tells him that she needs to know what Beecher knew if anything, Fusco promises to look into it. Fusco confronts Beecher in the men's bathroom, pointing out just how suspicious it is that the marked bills weren't placed into evidence when Elias' bodega was raided. Fusco implies that Beecher is a dirty cop while Beecher implies he knows about Fusco's past as one. Before the argument can go any further however, Raymond Terney breaks them up.
As Beecher visits Elias in prison, rattled by Fusco's accusations, Fusco waits outside and uses his previous forced pairing of Beecher's phone to listen in on and record Beecher's conversation with Elias. The conversation exonerates both Beecher and Szymanski, confirming that Beecher was set up rather than be a member of HR. Fusco plays the recording for Carter but tells her that they can't give it to IAB as its an illegal wiretap and she should let it go now that she knows Beecher is innocent. Fusco tells Carter that Beecher could be walking through a minefield and she needs to be careful before following him. Shortly after, they get a call for an officer needing help in Washington Heights which is where Carter knows Beecher to be. The two detectives rush to the scene to find Beecher dead and Fusco sadly leads Carter away from Beecher's body. (“Trojan Horse”)
Fusco attends Beecher's funeral where he threatens Simmons for his role in Beecher's death. Simmons is unthreatened and tells Fusco that he's only survived so long as he had protection he no longer has and his former friend Louis Azarello is being investigated for a dozen murder cases. Upon returning to the precinct, Fusco is approached by IAB detective Joseph Soriano for his role in Detective James Stills' disappearance. Carter tries to get a despondent Fusco to explain what's happening to her, but he reminds her of how she didn't want to know and refuses to share what's going on, instead of telling Carter it's better for her to stay away from him.
Soriano questions Fusco on his relationship with Stills and Fusco tells him that they came up through the ranks together until Fusco went to Homicide and Stills went to Narcotics. Soriano tells Fusco that he figured out that for Stills' crew to have worked, they had to have someone in the Homicide Division to cover for them and shows him a video of Azarello explaining their system, including how Fusco covered up the murders Stills' gang committed. As Soriano continues his interrogation, he accuses Fusco of not just covering up murders, but of being a killer himself. Soriano brings out stained carpet from Fusco's car, cell phone records showing he made a call from Oyster Bay and satellite imaging of four plots of disturbed ground in Oyster Bay as evidence that Fusco murdered Stills and buried his body. Fusco refuses to cooperate, but Soriano just tells him that he is going to search those plots and find Stills' body so he can arrest Fusco for Stills' murder.
In the men's bathroom, Fusco meets with Carter and tells her that he's going to answer her questions. Fusco explains that he didn't kill Stills but is still going down for his murder and deserves it due to the other bad things he's done. Fusco explains that he'd started out believing he was cleaning up the streets, but eventually became a murderer and dirty cop. Fusco insists that he's changed since he met Carter, Reese and Finch and he doesn't expect Carter to cover for him, but he just wants her to understand. Carter is horrified by Fusco's confession and leaves, telling him that she doesn't know who he is.
The next morning, Fusco is brought out to Oyster Bay where he buried Stills as his body is dug up. Soriano gloats that there is nobody that cares about Fusco while Simmons gloats about Fusco going down for Stills' murder. To everyone's surprise, Stills' body is not there, having been moved the night before by Carter with the help of Bear. Soriano insists that he will catch Fusco for Stills' murder, but Fusco just tells Soriano that he was wrong and asks for his badge and gun back. After Elias gets Azarello to recant his confession, Fusco is fully cleared and returns to duty. Carter asks him to look over a lead she has in Beecher's murder while she goes home. Fusco reads over the file, not noticing that Carter has Bear or that they are both covered in mud. (“In Extremis”)
Season 3[]
After getting the number of a man named Don, Fusco is assigned to work with Shaw to protect the man. As part of his role, Fusco acts as a carriage driver through Morningside Park on Shaw and Don's date. When four mob hitmen show up, Shaw uses Fusco as a human shield as she takes the men down. Afterwards, Fusco is enraged by Shaw's actions, calling her a lunatic to Finch and leaves.
When Carter brings a man she arrested for indecent exposure to the 8th precinct, Fusco is surprised to see her until Carter tells him she thinks the man might be able to help Fusco with a homicide he's working. Fusco tells Carter that everyone knows she's innocent of the crime that got her demoted to patrol officer and is surprised she plans to continue working as one until she is able to retire. After Carter gets a call from Reese, Fusco comments that it looks like her day job has just begun before walking off.
After looping the video feed to the Devil Dogs, Finch calls in Fusco to help Reese with RJ and Jack Salazar. While Fusco is eager to go after the Devil Dogs, Reese instead instructs him to disarm the IED that RJ is wired to. As cutting the power will set the bomb off, Reese tells Fusco to dig out the ignitor instead and leaves before Fusco can get anymore advice. Trying to dig out the ignitor, Fusco chats with RJ about their various jobs and is disappointed to learn that RJ is "a glorified shopkeeper" and thus knows nothing about disarming bombs while RJ is disappointed that Fusco is a homicide detective and thus faces the same problem. In the nick of time, Fusco digs out the ignitor and disarms the bomb as RIP goes to detonate it (“Liberty”).
Carter calls Fusco for an update on Cal Beecher's murder. Fusco hasn't heard anything more about the case and is reluctant to dig around in the files for Carter. However, he eventually agrees to look for her once the precinct clears out somewhat.
In their investigation into the effort to destroy Wayne Kruger, Finch has Fusco run checks on the people involved in the class-action law suit against him. Carter also has Karen Mills bring the anonymous package she received that humiliated Kruger to Fusco. Fusco is able to identify Dennis Paulson as the man who cleaned out Kruger's bank accounts using the picture from the fake ID Paulson used to carry out his work. Fusco reports to Finch that Paulson told him that he'd received the fake ID and Kruger's banking information in an anonymous package like Karen Mills.
Fusco later receives a call from Carter about Beecher's file. After making sure no one is watching, Fusco looks it up and is surprised to find that the file is restricted. Fusco suggests that it was done because of "too many prying eyes." After Carter's new partner comes up behind her, she quickly hangs up on Fusco (“Nothing to Hide”).
After getting the number of Ian Murphy, Finch and Reese send Carter, Shaw and Zoe Morgan undercover as possible dates in Club Blur and post Fusco inside as a patron. Fusco complains about the prices but enjoys the view of the women around him before alerting the others when Murphy arrives. Fusco watches Murphy flirting with Carter and outside the club, notices Murphy following Carter and warns her not to go home. After Carter reaches Reese safely, Fusco tells them he saw Murphy disappear up the street and figures that he has picked Carter to be his next victim.
After Carter and Shaw take down two men trying to kill Murphy, Fusco interrogates them and reports to Finch that they told him they were hired by a man named Kip Davis who Fusco has learned is the head of security for Bruce Wellington (“Lady Killer”).
After getting the number of Vanessa Watkins, Finch and Reese contact Fusco and have him monitor Vanessa's interrogation by Detective Gary Cameron with Fusco feeding the interrogation to them through his cell phone. After Vanessa demands to be left alone with her attorney, Fusco is forced to leave the room, but when he checks on Finch's request, he finds that Vanessa has knocked out her attorney, stole her clothes and escaped disguised as the attorney. When Cameron begins his manhunt, Fusco is enlisted as part of it and sends the security camera footage the searching police officers receive to Finch.
Fusco later contacts Reese and Finch and tells them that he rechecked the evidence against Vanessa and discovered that the greatest concentration of gunpowder residue was on her cosmetics, suggesting that it was planted. Fusco gives the two the name of the man who helped the police locate the murder weapon, Scott Rollins, and comments on how nice the Watkins' yacht is. Finch then has Fusco look into the yacht which he discovers is worth five million dollars and leveraged heavily to a shell company owned by a mobster. Fusco tells Finch that Jeremy Watkins is deep in debt in all of his accounts except one to a charity in Greenwich, Connecticut called Innocents Now. Finch then sends Fusco and Shaw to check out the charity.
At a Greenwich bank, Fusco is bored while waiting for the bank manager to slowly access his computer. Finch calls and asks if he is able to find out if Vanessa is the co-signer on the account, but he is unable to due to the slow nature of the manager's work on the computer. Fusco quickly hangs up when he notices Shaw preparing to kill the manager with a letter opener out of frustration and manages to talk her down. Finally, the manager lets them know that the account was emptied out that morning by the co-signer Henry Shain. Fusco and Shaw then contact Reese, Carter and Finch and send them the picture of Henry Shain which is actually an alias of Jeremy Watkins, meaning that Vanessa is innocent and was framed by Jeremy (“Reasonable Doubt”).
After Root kidnaps Shaw, Fusco locates the car Shaw was taken in and meets Reese in an alleyway to tell him that Root and Shaw had stolen a medical supply van and abandoned the car. Fusco warns Reese that Root and Shaw are working as a team which he finds scary and is annoyed when Reese walks away without thanking him (“Mors Praematura”).
While meeting with an antiques dealer named Sven Vanger who is being used by HR for money laundering, Carter calls in Fusco for backup. As Sven holds a shotgun on Carter, Fusco ambushed him from behind at gunpoint and the two cops tie Sven up and interrogate him. Sven explains how he was blackmailed by Simmons into laundering HR's money and the two explain that Hayden Price conned him into buying a baseball actually worth 4.4 million dollars with HR's money which Sven had then sold to a young boy. As Sven panics about being killed by HR for his mistake, Fusco shoves him over and begins pouring fake blood all over Sven's face to fake his death. After hearing from Mike Laskey that Simmons knows that HR got ripped off, Fusco jokes about the expensive baseball and how they should've brought him in since he's a baseball fan.
After tracking down Hayden, Reese brings Fusco with him to check out the stolen baseball, calling Fusco his baseball expert. Fusco determines that the ball looks real and they allow Hayden to call his girlfriend only to have him learn that she is being held hostage by HR (“The Perfect Mark”).
After the death of Mike Laskey, Fusco meets with Carter on a pier and tells her that he thinks there's more to the deaths of Laskey and Terney, that someone else killed them both and staged the scene. Carter claims she doesn't want to know what happened and Fusco points out how Terney had been the one to tell her that HR killed Cal Beecher. Carter claims that she realized it's not worth the risk to know why and doesn't any part of it before suggesting that Fusco lay low for awhile. Fusco then tells Carter goodbye and heads back to work.
Reese contacts Fusco for anything he might know about threats to HR and Fusco directs him to a location where someone hijacked an office supply truck. Fusco is surprised when Reese uses James Stills' badge to access the scene but is able to question the driver in Russian. After learning that the truck is an office supply truck, Fusco pulls Reese aside and explains that Peter Yogorov uses office supply trucks to smuggle drugs into New York and HR is supposed to provide them safe passage. Fusco tells Reese that the threat to HR could come from the fact that they lost a truck full of contraband they were supposed to be protecting for the Russians. Reese then asks Fusco to get him the feed from a camera on a nearby overpass which he reluctantly agrees to.
As Carter prepares to take down HR, she meets with Fusco outside of his apartment. Fusco tells Carter that Reese has informed him of what Carter is up to and accuses Carter of still not trusting him and that being the reason she was keeping him in the dark about her operation. However, Carter tells Fusco that she knows how hard he worked to get out from HR and was just trying to protect him. Telling Fusco that he's the best partner she's ever had, Carter gives Fusco the key to a safe deposit box at OneState Bank where she has stashed all of the evidence she has gathered against HR in case something happens to her. Carter convinces Fusco to agree by telling him that he is the only one she trusts with the job and Fusco insists on coming with her. Carter pretends to agree and sends Fusco inside to grab a shotgun and a bullet proof vest before throwing away his keys and leaving, continuing to believe that she needs to do the job herself. Fusco then calls Reese and warns him of what Carter did and that if HR finds out what she did, they will kill her (“Endgame”).
Later that night, Fusco puts Lee to bed and gets asked about Carter's key which he is wearing. Fusco simply tells his son that he's looking after something important for a friend and finds Shaw in his kitchen to his displeasure. Shaw tells Fusco that Carter and Reese have captured the head of HR and need backup getting him to the Federal Building. Annoyed with having to work with Shaw again, Fusco agrees to help and as they drive, Finch gives Shaw the two likely routes Carter and Reese will use to get to the Federal Building and decides to split Fusco and Shaw up to cover both.
Fusco is posted to cover the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge where HR has set up a checkpoint to search for Reese and Carter. As Fusco watches from a distance, Simmons spots the stolen ambulance the two are using due to a bloody handprint on the side and orders his men to take it down. As the ambulance crashes its way through the checkpoint, Fusco shoots an HR cop firing at the ambulance in the legs from a distance, allowing Reese and Carter to escape into Manhattan. Fusco reports his success to Finch and Shaw, but is pistol-whipped unconscious by Simmons and captured by him and HR Detective William Petersen.
Fusco is taken to a fortune cookie factory by Simmons, Petersen and Lin. There, Simmons demands to know the location of Carter's safe deposit box that Fusco has the key to and begins torturing him by breaking his fingers. Simmons continues to torture Fusco who refuses to break despite Simmons' threats of having Petersen and Lin take him apart. Simmons then remembers Fusco's son Lee and threatens to have him killed if Fusco doesn't give up the location of the bank the safe deposit box resides in. Fusco finally gives Simmons an address and he sends Lin to watch over Lee until he can check out the address he was given.
Simmons later calls Petersen and tells him that Fusco lied and sent him to the wrong bank. Simmons tells Petersen that he will continue searching for the right bank and orders Petersen to kill Fusco and have Lin kill Lee. Though Fusco promises to send them to the right bank, Simmons refuses and hangs up. Petersen calls Lin and gives the execution order but lets Fusco say goodbye first. Crying, Fusco tells Lee that it will be alright and to close his eyes. Sobbing, Fusco listens as his son is apparently murdered. Moments later, Shaw comes on the line and reveals she rescued Lee, having realized HR would go after his family. However, she warns Fusco that helping Lee means she can't reach him in time. Fusco thanks Shaw and acknowledges she did the right thing before Petersen hangs up and prepares to shoot him. Petersen taunts Fusco that his luck ran out and Fusco counters by telling Petersen that so did Lin's as his friend killed him and rescued Lee. Fusco acknowledges that its impossible to bring down an organization of dirty cops without people getting killed and that all someone can hope for is for someone to hold their hand as they bleed out. Petersen taunts Fusco that they broke his fingers which Fusco agrees with, stating that it was no big deal for him to break his thumb as a result. With his fingers broken, Fusco is able to slip his left hand out of his handcuffs, grab Petersen and strangle him to death with his handcuff chain.
A few days later, Fusco calls Carter and welcomes her back and promises to be into work later. As he watches his son, Shaw enters his car and the two banter briefly before Fusco thanks Shaw saving Lee. Shaw simply tells him to "shut up and drive Lionel" causing Fusco to smile (“The Crossing”).
Along with dozens of cops, Finch, Shaw and Paul and Taylor Carter, Fusco somberly attends Carter's funeral.
Shortly after the funeral, Fusco calls Finch to tell him that someone t-boned an SUV carrying three criminals, interrogated them while their car burned and then left, leaving one dead and two in critical condition. Fusco is shocked to hear that both Reese and Shaw are on the loose and Finch explains that they are likely trying to find and kill Simmons. Fusco admits that they all want to get Simmons but warns that the "scorched earth" policy will only cause more damage than help. Fusco identifies the three men as working for a forger named Seamus Yorke and Finch tells Fusco that they need to find Yorke.
Finch and Fusco locate Shaw and a beaten Yorke who Shaw tells them was in bad shape when she found him due to Reese. Shaw reluctantly agrees to play things their way due to Reese's injuries being life-threatening and has Yorke tell them that only Alonzo Quinn knows where to find Simmons. As Quinn turned state's evidence, everyone is hunting him and Fusco tells Shaw that as Quinn ran an organization of corrupt cops, the FBI won't tell him where to find him. Finch suggests they start looking by talking to Quinn's lawyer Jimmy Ransone who is still allowed to see him even in custody. Shaw and Fusco find Ransone dead having been tortured and murdered and find security footage showing that both Reese and the Russians visited Ransone. Fusco realizes that both Reese and the Russians now know where Quinn is and they have no way to follow. However, Shaw tells them that they do: Root.
With Root guiding them, Fusco, Shaw and Finch make their way to the safe house where the US Marshalls are holding Quinn with Fusco being disturbed with working with Root due to her past. After arriving at the motel the Marshalls are using, Root lists personal facts about Fusco to prove her ability to help them before warning Shaw of an approaching Marshall who she takes out. Root then leads them to a room opposite the one Quinn is in and as they wonder if Reese is there, a car is blown up by him. As Reese invades the motel, Fusco, Finch ,and Root follow and Shaw reluctantly arms Root who takes out six Russian assassins with the help of the Machine. While Root watches the door, the other three make their way upstairs where Reese passes out after being found before he could kill Quinn. While the others take Reese to get medical treatment, Fusco stays with Quinn to ensure he can't escape before more US Marshalls can arrive. As Quinn is led away, Fusco finds the piece of paper Quinn wrote Simmons escape route on the floor.
At an airfield, Simmons is confronted by Fusco who had sent away Simmons' getaway plane. Simmons asks if Fusco will shoot an unarmed man but Fusco instead engages Simmons in a brutal fight. While Fusco loses at first, he eventually manages to gain the upper hand and break Simmons' arm before subduing him. Simmons expects Fusco to kill him, calling Fusco a killer, but Fusco tells Simmons that he changed because he met Carter. Fusco states that Carter made him a better cop, friend and father and saved his life because she believed in him and he refuses to undo all the good she did by murdering Simmons. Instead, Fusco places Simmons under arrest and leads him into the 8th precinct the next morning to the shock of everyone there (“The Devil's Share”).
At a bar in Colorado, Reese spots a disguised Fusco who is watching him for Finch. Fusco tells Reese that his friends are worried about him and refuses to leave. Reese agrees to let Fusco drink with him as long as Fusco doesn't talk which he agrees to. Hours later, Reese continues to drink while Fusco only drinks club soda. When Reese insults him for his drinking choices, Fusco explains that he's been sober for two years, ever since he met Reese who made him reexamine all of his choices. Fusco reminds Reese that he lost Carter too and asks how Reese hiding out in his father's old bar would fix his grief. Fusco explains that after seeing the sign for a nearby Army base he thought the area used to be where Reese was stationed until he saw the resemblance between Reese and his father in a picture in the bar. Reese explains that his father served four tours in Vietnam but died in a refinery accident shortly after returning home. Coupled with the death of Carter, Reese tells Fusco he feels that what they do is pointless as bad things still happen to good people. Enraged that Reese finds all of the lives he's saved, including Fusco's irrelevant, Fusco challenges him to a fight. The men brawl in the rain outside of the bar before being arrested by the local police (“Lethe”).
Fusco wakes Reese in a jail cell where they argue briefly about the fight before Fusco tells Reese that he was unable to get them out of there using his influence as a cop. The next morning, the two argue about being locked up and Fusco tells Reese that they need to get out and back to what they were doing - keeping people safe so that they can return home to their loved ones. Reese explains to Fusco that he now feels that they weren't helping people, they were just delaying the inevitable while Fusco acknowledges that no one ever said that they would win but it's not a reason to stop fighting. Reese tells Fusco that he believes that everything is entropy and they might save someone that day, but they will still lose the next one and even accuses that Fusco will return to being a dirty cop someday. Fusco tells Reese that Carter was the best of them and that even because she's gone, they don't have to give up. He then calls for the guard to release them from their cell and tells Reese to tell Finch that he tried and Reese is free to go wherever he wants to now. Fusco then warns Reese that as he hasn't heard from Finch since the night before, he is likely in trouble and needs their help then points out Reese's new belief that it likely wouldn't be worth it to save him as it would just be delaying the inevitable. Fusco then leaves Reese contemplating his words.
Disguised as members of Hersh's SWAT team, Reese and Fusco storm the bank that has been taken over by Vigilance. Locating Finch, Shaw and Arthur Claypool in trouble, Reese and Fusco shoot two Vigilance operatives and drive off the rest, saving their friends. Fusco and Shaw briefly banter before they then escape through a hole Shaw has blown into the sewers (“Aletheia”).
While planning to rob Symmetric Security Solutions for the Guttenberg Bible to help Kelli Lin, Reese, Shaw and Finch call in Fusco who is able to get them the architectural plans to the building. Fusco sits in on their planning session and then, as part of their plan for the heist,contacts Interpol agent Alain Bouchard and claims to have seen someone matching the description of a thief Interpol is looking for. Fusco claims to be busy and offers the address of the thief's apartment if Bouchard watches it and contacts him when he sees something. Bouchard agrees and Fusco gives him Kelli's address. Fusco then pulls over Supervisor Farrow, claiming that his car was reported stolen. Supposedly checking Farrow's license and registration, Fusco uses the opportunity to lift Farrow's fingerprints from the registration and send them to Finch so he can create a fake hand with the fingerprints using a 3D printer.
As the heist goes down, Fusco pretends to be a police officer in the area and arrives to arrest a thief the security guards caught, in actuality extracting Reese who allowed himself to be caught as part of the plan. Reese then instructs Fusco to drive him to JFK causing Fusco to make a quip about charging for all of the rides he gives the team. Fusco later extracts Shaw after she shoots Cyril at a bar to protect Kelli and takes part in the arrest of Kelli and Cyril, later letting Bouchard into Kelli's interrogation room.
After the successful mission, the Team celebrates over drinks and Fusco jokingly suggests they rob Fort Knox next or steal the Crown Jewels. After Fusco comments on how good of a team they are, Reese pours a drink for Carter, their missing member (“Provenance”).
Following his arrest of Simmons, Fusco gains great esteem amongst his peers leading them to constantly ask him for help on their cases. Fusco gets annoyed as many of the questions he's asked are ones the other detectives should know the answers too. Fusco then gets a call from Finch who he tells his situation to, causing Finch to remind him that it comes from bringing down Simmons and he deserves the praise. Finch then asks Fusco about Sandra Nicholson who he'd had Fusco look into but all Fusco was able to find is that she has a couple of parking tickets and a sealed juvie record. While Finch asks for Fusco to take a look at the record, Fusco tells him that the department is under too much scrutiny for him to risk it and hangs up after Finch suggests he enjoy the new esteem he rightfully deserves. Fusco then goes to Jake Harrison, a rookie homicide detective who had asked him for help with the murder of Tara Cooke and points out how the bruises and carpet fibers on the body show that she was moved after death. Fusco then begins aiding Harrison in solving his case.
Continuing their investigation, Fusco and Harrison check out the equity firm where Tara worked and CSU tells Fusco that the carpet fibers aren't a match, meaning that Tara wasn't killed at work. Fusco then receives a call from Reese, annoyed that Reese didn't get the message from Finch that he can't help them. After Reese tells Fusco that a ten-year-old boy is in danger, Fusco changes his mind and Reese asks him where to find the Templario Cartel. Fusco directs him to a bar the Templarios used to hang out in before hanging up. Fusco and Harrison are then approached by Tara's coworker Brett Holme and Tara's bosses Ron and Gina Kincaid who offer any help they can give. Fusco asks the Kincaids to give the security footage from Tara's last day of work which they agree to do.
As Fusco works on his notes on the case, Harrison shows him the security footage from Tara's work which only shows her arriving and leaving work with no suspicious activity. Harrison also gives Fusco a map on which he has marked Tara's three most frequented locations, her work, home, and gym, but none of them have carpet fibers that match Tara's body. At Fusco's suggestion, Jake goes to question Tara's concerned coworker. Fusco then receives a call from Finch and asks about his investigation into the disappearance of Aaron Hollander. Finch tells Fusco he needs his help sorting through 312 911 calls for a suspicious one that someone would want to be deleted. Finch sends Fusco 156 of them to go through while he goes through the other half along with the phone numbers, call history and a map of the location data of each caller. Finch also warns that they only have five minutes to go through the list.
After going through several calls unsuccessfully, Fusco finds one where a woman is clearly afraid, stating she shouldn't have slept with someone who has hurt her. The caller states that they were driving and she told the man she is speaking about that she was leaving him and he hurt her. However, the call cuts out before the woman can identify herself. Checking the location data map, Fusco sees that the caller's most visited locations match up with Harrison's map and realizes the caller is Tara Cooke. Fusco alerts Finch that he found the call and that they seem to be working the same case, explaining that Tara called from a burner phone that died before the police could find her. Fusco sends Finch Tara's information and suggests that the person threatening Aaron is the same person that killed Tara. Fusco then requests that Finch access Tara's voicemail for him which Finch agrees to attempt to do and hangs up.
Fusco calls Finch and tells him that he's found something interesting on Tara and her bosses the Kincaids that can possibly help to save Aaron. Joined by Harrison, Fusco questions the Kincaids and shows them the security footage of Tara leaving work. Fusco points them at the cell phone Tara was using in the footage then shows them that they found Tara's phone in her apartment. Fusco explains to the two that the phone she was holding was a burner phone that they never found and someone had gotten rid of after killing her. He then tells them that the phone only ever called two numbers, one of which was 911 the night of Tara's death and Fusco had someone, presumably Finch, hack the voicemail of the other number and retrieve a deleted voicemail that reveals that Tara had been having an affair with Ron Kincaid and wanted to tell the world so Ron killed her. Harrison then shows the Kincaids the carpet fibers from Tara's body which he believes will match the ones in Ron's car. Fusco accuses the Kincaids of hiring someone to kidnap a kid after they realized that Tara had made a 911 call and didn't know what was on it in order to get the call deleted. A shocked Gina admits to hiring someone to delete the call to cover up Tara's murder by Ron but tells the two detectives she knows nothing about a kidnapped kid. She also doesn't know how to call off the man she hired.
The next day, Harrison tells him that the Kincaids have hired lawyers but the carpet fibers in Ron's car were a match to those found on Tara's body and with the phone records, they should be able to convict the Kincaids for her murder. Harrison thanks Fusco and suggests that they make a pretty good team, but Fusco tells a disappointed Harrison that they aren't a team and to get back to work on his other cases (“Last Call”).
After Root purposefully gets Cyrus Wells arrested to protect him, Finch calls upon Fusco to look after Cyrus. Fusco is able to get Cyrus into his custody and clear up the charges against him, but Root arrives disguised as an FBI agent to take Cyrus with her. Fusco refuses to cooperate even when Root describes the many dangerous bad guys coming for Cyrus from both Vigilance and Decima Technologies, but when she produces a real warrant, Fusco is forced to cooperate and let her leave with Cyrus. An annoyed Fusco then alerts Reese who is less than pleased with Fusco letting Root take Cyrus.
While rescuing Cyrus from Decima agents, Reese calls upon Fusco for backup. The two arrive in time to stop Cyrus' execution but his fear of gunfire keeps him from rushing to them. When Root shows up, she hands Fusco her gun and risks her life to pull Cyrus to safety. Now armed with two guns, Fusco helps cover Root and get Cyrus out alive. However, the Team is unable to stop Decima from stealing the chip they need to get Samaritan online. As a gesture of their new working relationship with Root, Finch later calls in Fusco to give her a ride to the airport to catch a flight to Paraguay. As they leave, Root hands Fusco the battery to his smoke detector and warns him of when it will go off (“Root Path (/)”).
Shaw recruits Fusco to help her run surveillance on Maria Martinez outside of the UN, bringing him along so she can use his badge to park closer to the UN than is normally allowed. Fusco complains about the UN and shows a lack of knowledge of other cultures, causing Shaw to tell him he should take the time to learn and he has food on his tie. She then leaves Fusco's car after noticing Maria taking pictures of Rene Lapointe and placing a GPS tracker on his car. The two follow Maria and Lapointe to a restaurant where Fusco continues to complain about the UN and Shaw suggests that he visit another country. When Maria enters the restaurant, Fusco tells Shaw to go after her while he watches the front door for her.
That night, Fusco and Shaw follow Maria home and upon learning that Fusco doesn't have any extra ammunition, calls for backup. As three members of the French Foreign Legion attempt to kill Maria in her apartment building hallway, Fusco provides backup for Shaw, taking on one of the Legion members who escapes. When Reese kills a fourth Legionnaire by throwing them both out the window, Fusco is surprised by his actions and comments on his recklessness to Shaw. Fusco then arrests one of Legionaries who was injured.
After learning from Omar that Ken Davis shipped six hydroelectric generators off to an unknown location instead of Iraq and was responsible for Omar's situation, Finch contacts Fusco who brings Davis in for questioning. Fusco accuses Davis of forging a letter to the UN to frame Omar as a terrorist and attempting to have him deported to cover up his own corrupt activities. Davis is unconcerned by Fusco's questioning and leaves when his lawyer arrives with the parting shot that if Fusco is going to be dealing with the UN, he is going to need a bigger boat.
As part of their plan to break into the UN to rescue Maria, the Team steals a fire truck driven by an overenthusiastic Fusco. Fusco, Reese, and Omar are able to get into the UN disguised as firefighters after Shaw uses a smoke grenade to set off a fire alarm. Inside, they are confronted by three Legionaries but a second smoke grenade from Shaw creates a distraction allowing them to take out the Legionaries. During the fight, Fusco knocks out one that goes after Omar with a blow from a small ax. Reaching Lapointe's office, they arrive in time to stop Christos Sevon from murdering Maria. Though Sevon has a brief standoff with Fusco, he surrenders after Fusco threatens to shoot him. After Reese reveals that they have proof of Sevon's corrupt activities, he attacks Fusco with a knife but Fusco punches him away and Maria knocks Sevon out with a bowl. The group then flees as the police arrive.
As Maria and Omar have a date at a restaurant on the harbor, Fusco approaches them and tells Omar that his request for asylum in the United States has officially been approved. Fusco also tells them that Greece revoked Sevon's diplomatic immunity and the NYPD arrested him for Lapointe's murder. He then goes to Shaw who is at the bar and orders her a glass of champagne in honor of the Persian New Year. Fusco tells Shaw that someone doesn't have to leave the country to learn about other cultures due to the diversity of New York and Shaw tells him that her father took her mother on their first date at that restaurant after bringing her to the US. Fusco wishes Shaw a happy New Year, calling her by her birth name of Sameen and leaves (“Allegiance”).
After the suicide bombing of a taxi that kills Leona Wainwright, Fusco contacts Finch, Reese, and Shaw and tells them that the FBI are also at the crime scene and won't let him anywhere near the investigation. He is then approached by Root in her FBI guise and is less than pleased to see her. Root tells Fusco that one of Leona's many responsibilities was security clearances but that "she" hasn't told Root what for yet. Root warns Fusco to be careful and spooked, he leaves.
While sending Reese and Shaw to Westchester, New York to look into new number Matthew Reed, Finch enlists the help of Fusco to dig deeper into Leona Wainwright. Reese later contacts Fusco to get the police report on Claire Klien's death and he comes through for the two and emails it to them.
With Finch disguised as his forensic photographer, Fusco visits Leona's office in time to find the same FBI agents from the scene of her murder having cleared out her entire office. Finch recalls what Root told Fusco about Leona handling security clearances and realizes that as a result, she would have access to the names of everyone who could access the confidential information within the Office of Personnel Management where she worked. While the physical copies would be in her office safe, Finch decides to hack into the OPM's Intranet and find the digital copies and sets them up in a nice hotel to do so. However, Finch tells Fusco the next afternoon that the information has been deleted and they need to break into the FBI's evidence lockup and the safe to find out what Vigilance might be interested in.
As part of their plan, Fusco requests evidence from the Leona Wainwright murder as an NYPD detective and while the guard at the lockup checks to see if he's cleared, Fusco steals his keys from the desk and lets Finch into the lockup. When the guard returns, Fusco distracts him while Finch is gone but Peter Collier and two Vigilance operatives break-in. When they threaten the guard, Fusco is forced to surrender which he informs Finch of. As Fusco is helped captive, Root arrives and takes out one of the operatives, enabling Fusco to knock out the other one. However, Collier escapes with a black budget report on Northern Lights which Finch warns Root and Fusco of. Root tells them that she has intercepted another communication from Collier to Vigilance: "disseminate." Following Collier's orders Vigilance then disseminates the black budget report and exposes Northern Lights to the world. Fusco returns to New York afterwards but Finch chooses to stay in Washington, DC rather than return with him since Vigilance is operating in Washington, DC (“Most Likely To...”).
Reese and Shaw subdue a pair of drug dealers who's numbers came up as they were each planning to kill the other and then make off with the money. Afterwards, the two dump the dealers drugs over them and call Fusco to arrest them. Finch later calls upon Fusco to help him track down a license plate number and is able to connect it to Decima Technologies with Fusco's help (“Death Benefit”).
After an attempt to kidnap Grace Hendricks, Reese and Shaw bring her to Fusco. Fusco is upset as its not safe for Reese, as a wanted fugitive, to be at the 8th precinct. Reese reminds Fusco of his cover as Detective James Stills which draws Fusco's ire. Noticing all of the cameras around the precinct, Reese asks if Fusco can shut them off but he can't. After being told that Grace is in danger, Fusco leads her to an office to rest. He later brings Grace coffee and they joke about how serious Reese and Shaw are. When a man claiming to be Agent Maybank of the FBI arrives and argues with Shaw, Fusco grows suspicious of the man's intentions. Fusco pretends that he will take Grace to meet Maybank in the interrogation room but really leads him into a trap set by Reese, smirking as he listens to Maybank be dealt with. Fusco then finds Root who got herself arrested to be in position to help. Root gives Fusco instructions on some things to get her and when he returns, Grace has discovered that Reese is not really Stills and tries to run. Root is able to convince her to stay and then builds an induction coil which she shorts out the precinct's cameras with. After the cameras are down, Root uses Fusco's cell phone to cause an explosion in a nearby building and he gives her an unmarked police car to escape with Reese, Shaw and Grace in during the diversion of the explosion.
After Greer demands that Finch trade himself for Grace, Reese and Shaw bring Fusco along to the exchange. Fusco voices his opposition to doing the exchange in such an open spot and Shaw tells him that there are also a lot of cameras so he's not to fire. Fusco watches as Grace and Finch are exchanged and then drives Grace away on Reese's orders. Fusco takes Grace home where Reese gives her a manila envelope with a new identity and job and Italy and leaves Fusco to watch over Grace until she gets on her plane. As Reese leaves, Fusco leads Grace inside her home to pack (“Beta”).
After Niall Jacobs, a Vigilance operative shoots up a coffee shop before Reese wounds him, Root calls in Fusco to arrest him (“A House Divided”).
Reese and Hersh make their way to a location given to them by Root. There, Fusco arrives in a Hummer with Bear and tells them that Root sent Bear to him with a note to meet them there. Fusco is surprised to see Reese and Hersh working together and Reese tells him that Vigilance caused the blackout and put together a kangaroo court for anyone tied to the Machine. Fusco questions what Reese means by a machine and Hersh asks if the NYPD has figured out where the trial is being streamed from. However, Fusco knows nothing of a trial and tells them that the NYPD is dealing with looters on 5th Avenue. Hersh realizes that its a diversion tactic by Vigilance and Reese orders Fusco to take a lap around the block so they can rob a sporting goods store for supplies. After Reese and Hersh catch and interrogate the looter, Fusco takes him into custody, pleased as he'd been searching for the guy for a long time.
After Jeremy Lambert kills a police officer while killing Vigilance member Steven E. Soto, Fusco rushes to the cop's aid while yelling for help (“Deus Ex Machina”).
Season 4[]
As the teams war with Samaritan intensifies the NYPD gets more bodies because of the three sided war with The Brotherhood, Elias, and the Russian Mafia. Fusco is assigned Reese as his new partner to replace Carter. (“Panopticon”)
Concerned about Reese Fusco agrees to help him and Finch track down Claire Mahoney. Their efforts are in vain when Claire switches sides and begins working for Samaritan and is declared Missing in Action.(“Nautilus”)
When the newest POI needs to be taken out The Machine temporarily transfers Fusco over to the Gang Unit undercover so they can track down Andre Cooper a professional wingman working for the mob. The team works together to round up the mobsters and find out Andre's contact Mickey is laundering guns for The Brotherhood and Samaritan. The stakeout is a success and the team lands up capturing their guns and the Latvian Mob is arrested by the NYPD.(“Wingman”)
With The Brotherhood as a new threat Reese and Fusco have their hands full with gang related shootings. Their newest POI's Traci and Malcolm Booker complicate things when they steal money from the Brotherhood. The team makes a deal and they trade Agent Lennox for Traci's and Malcolm's mother with Dominic shooting Lennox and dumping her body in an alley for betraying them and the Bookers. (“Brotherhood”)
Season 5[]
From the beginning of Season 5, Fusco seems to drift further apart from Team Machine, being the only main character not aware of the Machine's existence. He begins an investigation into the suspicious rise missing persons, that unknown to Fusco, Samaritan has arranged. This leads to Samaritan labeling him as a "possible obstructionist". (“ShotSeeker”). Later on, he finds the missing bodies, including the body of Bruce Moran, dead inside of a tunnel system. The tunnel system is rigged with explosives and Fusco ends up in the hospital. (“A More Perfect Union”) (“QSO”) After the explosion, Fusco severs ties with Team Machine, and files for a new partner at the NYPD.
While waiting for his new partner, Fusco is given the case of Amir Salik, a cab driver who was carrying a gun used in a murder Fusco investigated two years before. While Amir puts up an innocent act, Fusco ties him to murders in several other states and Amir drops the act. Reese later asks for Fusco's help while he rescues Terry Easton's wife, but Fusco refuses due to Reese's secrets. After the power goes out, Fusco finds Reese and Easton and the Templario gang free. Reese and Fusco subdue two Templarios and question Amir who reveals that he kills those who the Voice uses for his purposes. Amir offers them the Voice's true identity in exchange for a deal, but is nearly killed by a cop blackmailed by the Voice. The Templarios attack the outnumbered Reese and Fusco, leading to a shootout in which most of the Templarios are killed and the two cops run out of ammunition. As Reese goes for a Templario gun, Finch warns him that Terry Easton really is the Voice. Fusco jumps in the path of a bullet for Reese, getting grazed on the shoulder while the Voice uses the distraction of a final Templario gang member to escape. Afterwards, Fusco is patched up and Reese takes him up to the roof where he finally tells Fusco about the Machine, deciding to fully trust him. Now knowing the truth, Fusco joins the reunited Team beneath the Queensbro Bridge, becoming its newest member. (“Sotto Voce”)
Fusco attends Root's funeral and expresses sorrow at her death and the fact that she couldn't be buried under her real name. After the Machine gives them the relevant number of the President of the United States, Fusco joins Shaw and Reese in saving the President and is able to get them the list of every known threat to the President from a contact of his. As Shaw and Reese plan to attend a fundraiser the President will be at, Fusco is annoyed he's not invited and questions Shaw on her state of mind, something she blows off. As Reese and Shaw attend the gala, Fusco monitors them from their hotel room, continuing to express concern about Shaw's state. After Reese and Shaw stop a bomb, Fusco warns them that the threat against the President has been broadcast all over the news. When Reese tells him that Logan Pierce was at the gala and could've done the hacking, Fusco tells him that Pierce was all over the news for refusing to share data with the NSA. However, Pierce escapes from Reese.
The next day, Reese assigns Fusco to keep an eye on the President while he and Shaw interrogate Charles Vaida. Fusco later switches with Reese and he and Shaw follow Vaida to a house in DuPont circle. Shaw enters in alone, worrying Fusco who follows her. Fusco arrives just as a blackout occurs, allowing the two to take down the terrorists before both realize they didn't cause the blackout. Shaw figures out where the assassination is going to take place and leaves it to stop it herself, unsure of who to trust in the Secret Service while Fusco remains behind with the captured terrorists.
As Reese and Shaw attempt to stop things on site, Fusco monitors the situation through the terrorists surveillance feeds and questions Tracey on where the assassination will come from. While Tracey refuses to answer, Fusco notices her glance at the drone feed and realizes the attack will come from the drone monitoring the President and warns Reese and Shaw. Fusco tracks the drone's progress and reports on it to his friends. After the drone destroys the Presidential SUV, Fusco is able to confirm that the attack failed and the President survived. Before he can leave, a Secret Service agent warned by an anonymous tip arrives. Fusco is able to get the agent, who confirms he's a real police officer, to listen, but is questioned on why an NYPD detective is running an off-the-books operation in Washington, DC. Harper Rose shows up and is able to cover for and extract a surprised Fusco. Harper then takes Fusco to meet with Reese, Logan Pierce and Joey Durban who reveal that they also work for the Machine and had been protecting them. Fusco realizes that Pierce was the one who cut the power, letting him rescue Shaw. After the three head off after another number of their own, Reese tells Fusco they have to go back after Finch again and face "one hell of a fight" (“Synecdoche”).
After returning to the precinct, Fusco is surprised to find that the bodies from the tunnel have been discovered and is interrogated and then kidnapped by Agent LeRoux who is a Samaritan operative and the killer. LeRoux takes Fusco to the beach and shoots him twice, but Fusco is wearing a bulletproof vest and overpowers LeRoux, wondering whether or not to kill him as he would've done in the past (“.exe”). Fusco later confirms to Reese that he killed LeRoux and stuffed him in a trunk, stating he hasn't changed that much (“return 0”).
After the uploading of the ICE-9 virus at Fort Meade, Fusco returns with Reese to the 8th precinct to use their resources to find Finch. Fusco is reluctant and they are brought into their lieutenant's office where he reveals that he knows Reese is "the Man in the Suit." Reese knocks the lieutenant out, but they are captured outside the office by ESU officers and they are taken to the pier for their execution by three police officers bribed by Samaritan. The two are rescued by Finch and a sniper hired by the Machine before they can be killed however.
After the assassination attempt, Fusco is taken to the Subway where he is finally introduced to the Machine properly. Fusco comments he thinks they are all nuts but agrees to stay and protect the Machine with Shaw while Reese and Finch destroy Samaritan's backups. Following the Machine's instructions, Fusco blows the entrance to the subway tunnel and they flee on the Machine's train car. Along the way, Jeffrey Blackwell attacks them but Fusco is able to capture him. After arriving at the next stop, Blackwell cuts himself free and stabs Fusco twice in the side, seriously wounding him before running off. Shaw helps Fusco outside where they witness a cruise missile fired by Samaritan on its way to kill Reese.
A week after Samaritan is destroyed, Fusco recovers from his injuries and takes care of Bear. He meets with Shaw in a café, telling her he doesn't know if Reese or Finch survived or not. Fusco tells her he is back to work and gives Shaw Bear before the two say goodbye and Shaw departs (“return 0”).
Victims[]
- A drug dealer - Shot in self-defense on March 2, 2005 (“In Extremis”).
- Jules - Murdered in revenge for Jules murdering a 24-year old rookie cop with a child on the way (“The Devil's Share”)
- Unknown number of people killed as a member of HR.
- John Reese - Attempted to execute on HR orders; failed (“Pilot”). Turned over to gangsters after him to kill; failed (“Mission Creep”). Briefly engaged in a brawl (“Aletheia”).
- Vittorio Zambrano - Shot twice by either Fusco or Carter in self-defense (“Flesh and Blood”).
- Artie Lynch - Shot through the back to protect John Reese (“Matsya Nyaya”).
- Nestor Santiago - Shot and wounded to protect Carter (“Til Death”).
- Unknown number of Armenian gangsters - Shot in a gunfight protecting Karolina Kurkova (“Prisoner's Dilemma”).
- One of Colonel Rudko Petrovic's hit men - Shot and wounded to subdue him (“Booked Solid”).
- An HR cop - Shot in the legs to protect Reese and Carter (“The Crossing”).
- William Petersen - Strangled with a handcuff chain in order to escape (“The Crossing”).
- Patrick Simmons - Fought a brutal brawl with, ultimately breaking his arm and leaving him with injuries requiring hospitalization (“The Devil's Share”).
- Three Vigilance operatives - Shot two with Reese while rescuing Finch, Shaw and Arthur Claypool, (“Aletheia”) knocked one unconscious in the FBI lockup (“Most Likely To...”).
- Two French Legionaries - Attacked one; defeated, knocked a second out with an axe handle to the head (“Allegiance”).
- Christos Sevon - Punched in the face when attacked by Sevon with a knife (“Allegiance”).
- Several Templarios - Killed in a shootout with Reese and Fusco in the 8th Precinct (“Sotto Voce”).
- Three domestic terrorists - Shot and wounded to rescue Sameen Shaw (“Synecdoche”).
- Martin LeRoux - Shot and placed in a trunk to protect himself and his family (“.exe”) (“return 0”).
- Multiple unnamed Decima Technologies operatives.
Trivia[]
- Fusco's home address is 160 Morris Ave, Apt. 4F, Bronx, NY 10468 (“Title Sequence/Season 2”).
- His email address is lfusco@fast1mail.com (“Witness”).
- Fusco has 55 open cases and 8 active cases (“Title Sequence/Season 2”).
- Despite his corrupt past, he has no official criminal record, although the Machine estimates his violence probability index as high. His level of social networking is low (“Title Sequence/Season 2”)
- In “Number Crunch”, after making a series of mistakes, another law enforcement officer refers to him as "Detective Fiasco."
- Fusco's sidearm is a Glock 17. Detective Riley and some NYPD officers are also armed with the Glock 17. In reality, the Glock 19 is the only Glock approved for onduty carry by NYPD officers.
- Fusco has a habit of wearing a bullet-proof vest which allowed Reese to non-fatally shoot him in their first meeting (“Pilot”), survive getting shot by one of Nestor Santiago's men (“Til Death”) and an assassination attempt by Agent LeRoux who Fusco chides for not checking him for a vest (“.exe”).
- Fusco is the first ally of Reese and Finch to be given the forced pairing program. He uses it to spy on Hersh (“Bad Code”) and later Cal Beecher in his efforts to discover if Beecher is a dirty cop (“Shadow Box”) (“Trojan Horse”).
- Fusco is one of only a few who know that Alonzo Quinn has an affiliation with HR (“Shadow Box”). He later learns that Quinn is in fact the head of HR (“Endgame”).
- Fusco, Simmons, and Quinn are the only named characters known to not be in HR's ledger.
- His shield number is 7565 (“Q&A”).
- Fusco and Root are the only main characters who haven't appeared in some episodes (This applies to Root only in Season 3, when she was promoted to a main character). Fusco has not appeared in “Mission Creep”, “The Fix”, “Root Cause”, “Risk”, “The High Road”, “Proteus”, “Zero Day”, “God Mode”, “Razgovor”, “4C”, “RAM”, “Death Benefit”, “A House Divided”, “Truth Be Told” & “6,741”.
- Fusco was until recently the only main character (excluding Bear) who had no knowledge of the Machine's existence, until Reese's revelation in “Sotto Voce”. He later meets the Machine properly and protects it during “return 0”.
- Despite rarely getting into a fist fight, Fusco has shown himself to be a skilled hand-to-hand combatant proficiently using boxing to subdue his opponents, having taken down Simmons in a fight. As well as this, he also was able to match Reese for a while, though Reese was not fighting back at first and claimed he was holding back after the fight. He was also able to beat Jeffrey Blackwell in a fight, impressing Sameen Shaw who had been dismissive of him minutes before.
- Lionel was named after a lion cub his father fed at the Franklin Park Zoo when he was a child (“The Devil's Share”).
- Lionel is the only main character who hasn't had his number come up at least once (excluding Root and Shaw whose numbers came up before they became series regulars, and Bear).
- In the simulation where the Machine was not created, he was still working with HR. After HR was discovered, Fusco was the first cop to rat out his fellow corrupt cops and avoided most if not all jail time. He lost his job and fell on some hard times after everyone he ever knew turned their backs on him or went to prison. It is suggested that he became a private investigator to pay his bills (“.exe”).
- Fusco displays an understanding of surveillance technology that surprises John Reese while helping to stop an assassination attempt on the President of the United States (“Synecdoche”). He also proved good at following Finch undetected and discovering his aliases, causing Reese to comment that if Fusco hadn't been a dirty cop, he could've been a good detective (“Wolf and Cub”). Fusco gets annoyed at several times when the Team underestimates his skill as a detective, even after he's long-since become a good cop.
Nicknaming[]
Fusco has a tendency to refer to Harold Finch, John Reese, and others by nicknames he creates, rather than their real names. Most notably:
- Finch
- Mr. Four-Eyes, Mr. Vocabulary (“Flesh and Blood”), (Mr.) Glasses (“No Good Deed”) (“The Perfect Mark”) (“The Devil's Share”), Mr. Peabody (“Blunt”)
- Reese
- Wonderboy (“Many Happy Returns”), Captain America, various nicknames in the form of "Tall, Dark and X" (e.g. "Tall, Dark, and Fearsome" (“Triggerman”), "Tall, Dark, and Deranged" (“The Devil's Share”) ), Detective Sunshine (“Blunt”)
- Root
- Cuckoo's Nest (“Root Path (/)”), Cocoa Puffs (“Root Path (/)”) (“Beta”), Superpowered Nutball (“Root Path (/)”), Nutella, Banana Nut Crunch (“If-Then-Else”)
- Shaw
- Miss Congeniality (“The Crossing”), Maybelline (“Point of Origin”), Looney Tunes (“return 0”)
Quotes[]
- Carter: “I need you to tell me the truth about something”
- Lionel: “There’s no Santa. It was your parents”
- "No one ever said we were gonna win, but it doesn't mean you stop fighting." -Lionel Fusco
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