Dennis Farina
Birthday: Born in 1944-02-29 in Chicago, Illinois, USA
Deathday: 2013-07-22
Donaldo Gugliermo "Dennis" Farina (February 29, 1944 – July 22, 2013) was an American actor. Often typecast as a mobster or police officer, he is known for roles such as FBI Agent Jack Crawford in Manhunter, mobster Jimmy Serrano in the comedy Midnight Run, Ray "Bones" Barboni in Get Shorty, Cousin Avi in Snatch, and Walt Miller in New Girl. He starred on television as Lieutenant Mike Torello on Crime Story and as NYPD Detective Joe Fontana on Law & Order. From 2008 to 2010, he hosted and narrated the television program Unsolved Mysteries on Spike TV. His last major television role was in HBO's Luck, which premiered on January 29, 2012.
TV Credits
Unsolved Mysteries
Character: Host
Combines four to five segments of dramatic re-enactments, interviews and updates of real human and paranormal mysteries. An audience interactive call-to-action request allowed viewers to call in with tips to help solve the cases....
Hardcastle and McCormick
Character: Ed Coley
Hardcastle and McCormick is an American action/drama television series from Stephen J. Cannell Productions, shown on ABC from 1983 through 1986. The series stars Brian Keith as Judge Milton C. Hardcastle and Daniel Hugh Kelly as ex-con and race car driver Mark "Skid" McCormick. The series premise was somewhat recycled from a previous Cannell series, Tenspeed and Brown Shoe....
Dinner for Five
Character:
Dinner for Five is a television program in which actor/filmmaker Jon Favreau and a revolving guest list of celebrities eat, drink and talk about life on and off the set and swap stories about projects past and present. The program seats screen legends next to a variety of personalities from film, television, music and comedy, resulting in an unpredictable free-for-all. The program aired on the Independent Film Channel with Favreau the co-Executive Producer with Peter Billingsley. The show forma...
Law & Order
Character: Joe Fontana
In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place....
Remington Steele
Character: Uniform
Laura Holt, a licensed private detective, opens a detective agency but finds that potential clients refuse to hire a woman, however qualified. To solve the problem, Laura invents a fictitious male superior whom she names Remington Steele. Through a series of events that unfold in the first episode, "License to Steele," a former thief and con man, whose real name is never revealed, assumes the identity of Remington Steele. Behind the scenes, Laura remains firmly in charge....
Miami Vice
Character: Albert Lombard
The story of the Miami Police Department's vice squad and its efforts to end drug trafficking and prostitution, centered on the unlikely partnership of Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs - who first meet when Tubbs is undercover in a drug cartel....
China Beach
Character: Lt. Colonel Edward Edward Vincent
Dateline: November 1967. Within klicks of Danang, Vietnam, sits a U.S. Army base, bar and hospital on China Beach filled with wounded soldiers and one very lovely but damaged Army Nurse Colleen McMurphy. Many heroes, dead and alive, try to make sense of life and death in between bourbon, bullets and battles....
Tales from the Crypt
Character: Antoine
Cadaverous scream legend the Crypt Keeper is your macabre host for these forays of fright and fun based on the classic E.C. Comics tales from back in the day. So shamble up to the bar and pick your poison. Will it be an insane Santa on a personal slay ride? Honeymooners out to fulfill the "til death do we part" vow ASAP?...
Law & Order: Trial by Jury
Character: Joe Fontana
The inner workings of the judicial system, beginning with the arraignment, and continuing through the prosecutors' complicated process of building a case, investigating leads and preparing witnesses for trial....
Crime Story
Character: Lt. Mike Torello
The hard-boiled saga of hair-trigger cop Lieutenant Mike Torello and his obsessive pursuit of ruthless gangster Ray Luca....
Hunter
Character: Vic Terranova
Hunter is an American police drama television series created by Frank Lupo, and starring Fred Dryer as Sgt. Rick Hunter and Stepfanie Kramer as Sgt. Dee Dee McCall, which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1991. However, Kramer left after the sixth season to pursue other acting and musical opportunities. In the seventh season, Hunter partnered with two different women officers. The titular character, Sgt. Rick Hunter, was a wily, physically imposing, and often rule-breaking homicide detective with the Los ...
Lady Blue
Character:
Lady Blue is a crime drama starring Jamie Rose as a Chicago female homicide detective Katy Mahoney. The show was produced by MGM/UA Television and aired on ABC-TV from September 26, 1985 to January 25, 1986 for 13 episodes. It was cancelled after one season after low ratings in its Thursday night slot, but also because it was considered too violent for its time. The show later aired on Saturday nights but the show failed there as well. It ranked 72nd out of 82 programs that season, and averaged...
In-Laws
Character: Victor Pellet
In-Laws is an American situation comedy that aired on NBC from September 2002 until January 2003. Newlyweds Matt and Alex move in with her parents, Victor and Marlene, to save money so Matt can attend cooking school, thus beginning a fight to the death between son and father-in-law over the affections of Daddy's little girl....
The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn
Character: Self
Craig Kilborn hosted this zany talk show, which followed David Letterman's show, from 1999 until 2004. Kilborn left The Daily Show in 1999 to be this show's host after Tom Synder retired. The segment "5 Questions" was carried over from when he was on The Daily Show. Kilborn was frequently beaten in the ratings by his NBC timeslot rival, Conan O'Brien. Kilborn left The Late Late Show to pursue new opportunities....
Buddy Faro
Character: Buddy Faro
Buddy Faro was the best private detective in the business, until he disappeared in 1978 after a case went bad. Twenty years later, he's brought back to Los Angeles by private detective Bob Jones and they reopen Buddy Faro Investigations....
Luck
Character: Gus Demitriou
A drama set in the world of horse racing focusing on lives of owners, jockeys, trainers and gamblers who are all tied to the same horse track....
Justice League Unlimited
Character: Wildcat (voice)
The galaxy's most powerful superheroes return to battle the allied villains and criminal plots that endanger the universe....
New Girl
Character: Walt Miller
Jessica Day is an offbeat and adorable girl in her late 20s who, after a bad breakup, moves in with three single guys. Goofy, positive, vulnerable and honest to a fault, Jess has faith in people, even when she shouldn't. Although she's dorky and awkward, she's comfortable in her own skin. More prone to friendships with women, she's not used to hanging with the boys—especially at home....
Drug Wars: The Cocaine Cartel
Character: Mike Cerone
A D.E.A. Agent goes to Columbia to take on the Cartel. He learns that the Cartel is not above killing anyone who opposes them, like judges and Police. Eventually a man who worked for the Cartel, who is in an American prison, offers to help them take down the Cartel. So another Federal Agent poses a money launderer and the try to take the Cartel down....
Blind Faith
Character: Prosecutor Kelly
Successful insurance salesman Rob Marshall, his bright and devoted wife Maria, and their three sons are the perfect American family. Then the nightmare begins. One night, Rob is attacked and Maria is shot dead. At first, Rob seems the a grieving widower. But, as incriminating secrets come out, he must prove his innocence before the judicial system-- and the horrified suspicions of his sons....
Cruel Doubt
Character: Tom Brereton
A college student and two friends are accused of murdering one's stepfather and injuring his mother whom refuses to believe her son had anything to do with the attack....
Empire Falls
Character: Walt Comeau
The humorous, poignant story of a declining New England town and its inhabitants, whose lives are deeply rooted in and influenced by the Knox River and its vacant mills, their class differences, and ghosts of the past....
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Character: Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time....
MacGruder and Loud
Character: Bodyguard
MacGruder and Loud is an American crime drama from Aaron Spelling Productions that aired on ABC in 1985. The series stars John Getz and Kathryn Harrold as married police officers Malcolm MacGruder and Jenny Loud in a Los Angeles Police Department-styled police agency. They fought a battle every day to keep it a closely guarded secret from their boss, Sgt. Hanson. Malcolm and Jenny lived in a duplex-type apartment complex where there was a secret door behind the grandfather clock in her apartme...
The Looney Tunes Show
Character: Frank Russo (voice)
Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and the rest of the “Looney Tunes” characters are back with more adventures for a new generation of viewers. The animated series features roommates Bugs and Daffy moving out of the woods and into the suburbs, interacting with their neighbors, who happen to be other "Looney Tunes" favorites -- including Sylvester, Tweety, Porky Pig and Foghorn Leghorn....
Family Guy
Character: Dennis Farina (voice)
Sick, twisted, politically incorrect and Freakin' Sweet animated series featuring the adventures of the dysfunctional Griffin family. Bumbling Peter and long-suffering Lois have three kids. Stewie (a brilliant but sadistic baby bent on killing his mother and taking over the world), Meg (the oldest, and is the most unpopular girl in town) and Chris (the middle kid, he's not very bright but has a passion for movies). The final member of the family is Brian - a talking dog and much more than a pet,...
Movie Credits
Snatch
Character: Cousin Avi
Unscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookmakers, a Russian gangster, incompetent amateur robbers and supposedly Jewish jewelers fight to track down a priceless stolen diamond....
Saving Private Ryan
Character: Lieutenant Colonel Anderson
As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger captain John Miller and seven men are tasked with penetrating German-held territory and bringing the boy home....
Out of Sight
Character: Marshall Sisco
Meet Jack Foley, a smooth criminal who bends the law and is determined to make one last heist. Karen Sisco is a federal marshal who chooses all the right moves … and all the wrong guys. Now they're willing to risk it all to find out if there's more between them than just the law....
Reindeer Games
Character: Jack Banks
After assuming his dead cellmate's identity to get with his girlfriend, an ex-con finds himself the reluctant participant in a casino heist....
Big Trouble
Character: Henry Desalvo
The story of how a mysterious suitcase brings together, and changes, the lives of a divorced dad, an unhappy housewife, two hitmen, a pair of street thugs, two love struck teens, two FBI men and a psychedelic toad. Based on Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist Dave Barry's best-selling first novel, "Big Trouble."...
Purple Violets
Character: Gilmore
Patti Petalson is a promising writer, but her marriage and conventional job keep her from her dream. She longs to return to her writing, especially after running into her first love Brian Callahan, a successful crime novelist. Kate is Patti's best friend since college; she's a tough-talking schoolteacher who plays therapist to all Patti's problems, while she's got a few of her own....
Striking Distance
Character: Capt. Nick Detillo
Coming from a police family, Tom Hardy ends up fighting his uncle after the murder of his father. Tom believes the killer is another cop, and goes on the record with his allegations. Demoted to water-way duty Tom, along with new partner Jo Christman, navigate the three rivers looking for clues and discovering bodies. This time the victims are women Tom knows, he must find the killer to prove his innocence....
Code of Silence
Character: Det. Dorato
A Chicago cop is caught in the middle of a gang war while his own comrades shun him because he wants to take an irresponsible cop down....
Eddie
Character: John Bailey
Eddie is a New York limo driver and a fanatical follower of the New York Knicks professional basketball team. The team is struggling with a mediocre record when, in mid-season, "Wild Bill" Burgess, the new owner, as a public relations gimmick, stages an 'honorary coach' contest, which Eddie wins. The fans love it, so "Wild Bill" fires the coach and hires her. She takes the bunch of overpaid prima...
Thief
Character: Carl
Frank is an expert professional safecracker, specialized in high-profile diamond heists. He plans to use his ill-gotten income to retire from crime and build a nice life for himself complete with a home, wife and kids. To accelerate the process, he signs on with a top gangster for a big score....
Sidewalks of New York
Character: Carpo
The film follows the marital and dating lives of three men and three women who unknowingly form a tangled web of relationships. Interspersing "man on the street" interviews with scenes from the six characters' lives, the film weaves a humorous and biting commentary on the game of love -- easy to start, hard to finish....
Little Big League
Character: George O'Farrell
When the owner of the Minnesota Twins passes away, he bequeaths the team to his preteen grandson. The newly minted head honcho quickly appoints himself manager, causing unrest in an organization that struggles to take orders from a 12-year-old....
Manhunter
Character: Jack Crawford
FBI Agent Will Graham, who retired after catching Hannibal Lecter, returns to duty to engage in a risky cat-and-mouse game with Lecter to capture a new killer....
Get Shorty
Character: Ray 'Bones' Barboni
Chili Palmer is a Miami mobster who gets sent by his boss, the psychopathic "Bones" Barboni, to collect a bad debt from Harry Zimm, a Hollywood producer who specializes in cheesy horror films. When Chili meets Harry's leading lady, the romantic sparks fly. After pitching his own life story as a movie idea, Chili learns that being a mobster and being a Hollywood producer really aren't all that different....
You Kill Me
Character: Edward O'Leary
While drying out on the West Coast, an alcoholic hit man befriends a tart-tongued woman who might just come in handy when it's time for him to return to Buffalo and settle some old scores....
Bagboy
Character: Marty
Bagboy is the "from bags to riches" story of a lowly grocery store clerk who endeavors to win the international competitive bagging championships and the girl of his dreams....
Another Stakeout
Character: Brian O'Hara
A pair of immature detectives are joined by a pesky assistant district attorney in staking out a lakeside home where an important Mafia trial witness is believed to be heading....
Midnight Run
Character: Jimmy Serrano
A bounty hunter pursues a former Mafia accountant who embezzled $15 million of mob money. He is also being chased by a rival bounty hunter, the F.B.I., and his old mob boss after jumping bail....
What Happens in Vegas
Character: Richard Banger
During a wild vacation in Las Vegas, career woman Joy McNally and playboy Jack Fuller come to the sober realization that they have married each other after a night of drunken abandon. They are then compelled, for legal reasons, to live life as a couple for a limited period of time. At stake is a large amount of money....
Stealing Harvard
Character: Mr. Warner
John and his girlfriend have vowed to marry once they save $30,000 for their dream house. But the minute they achieve their financial goal, John finds out his niece has been accepted at Harvard, and he's reminded of his promise to pay for her tuition (nearly $30,000). John's friend Duff convinces him to turn to petty crime to make the payment … but Duff's hare-brained schemes spin quickly out of control....
That Old Feeling
Character: Dan De Mora
A bride's divorced parents find their old feelings for each other during the wedding reception and over the course of the next few days upsetting the newlywed's honeymoon....
A Stranger in the Mirror
Character:
A naive young woman arrives in Hollywood to become a star, but after she gets drugged and raped during a shoot, she hardens quickly and catches the eye of a popular womanizing comedian who introduces her to his shady powerful agent....
Bottle Shock
Character: Maurice Cantavale
Paris-based wine expert Steven Spurrier heads to California in search of cheap wine that he can use for a blind taste test in the French capital. Stumbling upon the Napa Valley, the stuck-up Englishman is shocked to discover a winery turning out top-notch chardonnay. Determined to make a name for himself, he sets about getting the booze back to Paris....
The Grand
Character: L.B.J. Deuce Fairbanks
The Grand is in the tradition of improvisational comedies like Best In Show and This Is Spinal Tap. The story is set in the world of professional poker and follows six players who reach the final table of the world’s second most famous high stakes tournament, the Grand Championship of Poker....
Paparazzi
Character: Detective Burton
A rising Hollywood actor decides to take personal revenge against a group of four persistent photographers to make them pay for almost causing a personal tragedy involving his wife and son....
Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling
Character: Freddy
Although Jo Jo Dancer has achieved success as a stand-up comedian, he hasn't found happiness. After receiving severe burns in a narcotics-related incident, Jo Jo remains in a coma, and, while in this state, he looks back on his life. Drifting off into memories of his troubled childhood, Jo Jo revisits his youth, recalling his eventual rise to fame and the decadence that followed. As he considers his existence, he must decide if he wants to go on living or not....
Knucklehead
Character: Memphis Earl
A fight promoter deeply in debt to his crooked rival and desperate for a new fighter catches a break when a 450 pound church handyman who has spent his entire life in an orphanage agrees to wrestle on behalf of his fellow orphans....
The Mod Squad
Character: Captain Adam Greer
Three youthful delinquents escape conviction for their crimes by teaming with the LAPD....
Bella Mafia
Character: Don Roberto Luciano
Following the brutal murder of her husband and male kin, Sophia unites with her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, in a fierce quest for vengeance against their enemies....
Bad Seed
Character: Dick Muller
Preston Tylk is an ordinary guy living in Seattle. When he discovers that his wife, Emily, whom he adores, is having an affair, he is devastated. Storming out of the house, he returns later only to find her brutally murdered....
The Last Rites of Joe May
Character: Joe May
Now in his sixties, Joe is released from the hospital after a long battle with pneumonia and forced to confront the harsh reality of his legacy: everyone he knew had assumed he was dead, and life had gone on around him without missing a beat. Returning to his old neighborhood in Chicago's 'Patch' district, he finds his car gone, all his worldly possessions pawned by his landlord, and the apartment he's lived in his entire adult life rented out to a single mother and her eight-year-old daughter....
Six Against the Rock
Character: Robert Stroud
In May of 1946, Alcatraz inmate Bernie Coy initiates a carefully thought out plan to escape the island prison. His plan, carried out with five accomplices, falls apart when they can't obtain a key to unlock a door leading to the yard....
Final Jeopardy
Character: Policeman #2
A small-town couple find themselves stranded in an unfamiliar, and unfriendly, big city. Weaving in and out of the proceedings are a bunch of murderous criminals with names like DOA, Ice and Slash. The couple are in for a night that they won't forget....
The Case of the Hillside Stranglers
Character: Angelo Buono
The chilling true story of the "two of a kind" killing cousins, Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi, better known as the Hillside Stranglers....
Birthday Boy
Character: Diner Owner
A salesman in a sporting-goods store takes a cross-country trip on his birthday in order to visit his old gym coach, and sell him a supply of basketballs....
Authors Anonymous
Character: John K. Butzin
When a dysfunctional group of unpublished writers accept Hannah into their fold, the last thing they expect is her overnight success. Can these lovable misfits achieve their artistic dreams and avoid killing one another in the process?...
Drug Wars: The Cocaine Cartel
Character: Mike Cerone
This follow-up to "Drug Wars: The Camarena Story" chronicles the fact-based fight by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the Colombian government to bring down billionaire drug lords Don Pablo Escobar Gaviria and José Rodriguez Gacha, leaders of the infamous Medellin Cartel....
The Making of 'Heat'
Character: Self
Behind the scenes documentary on the classic Michael Mann heist film....
We're Talkin' Serious Money
Character: Sal
A couple of bumbling con men go on the lam when they can't repay a loan from the mob....
People Like Us
Character: Elias Renthall
When a wealthy scriptwriter and socialite's daughter is murdered, he feels let down by the courts, and so decides to use his powerful position to enable his own form of justice....
Lucky Stiff
Character: Luigi
An English shoe salesman inherits 6 million dollars from a recently deceased uncle he has never met before, on the condition that he takes the uncle's corpse on a trip to Monte Carlo....
Open Admissions
Character: Fred Carlson
An indifferent speech professor doing hack work in an urban college suddenly finds herself challenged by a ghetto youth with an intense desire to get a good education in this issue-oriented drama....
Men Of Respect
Character: Bankie Como
In this modern day version of Shakespeare's Macbeth, a hitman heeds a spiritualist's prophesies that he will rise to the head of his family. He starts his ascension by clandestinely executing the heads of the family and casting the blame on others. However, with power comes consequences that are also predicted by the seer....
Making 'Snatch'
Character: Self
The making of Guy Ritchie's 'Snatch'....
Hard Knox
Character:
A retired fighter pilot becomes the head of his alma matter military high school for two weeks with hilarious consequences. He shapes up the school and raises morale so that they are able to win the "brass-axe" competition versus another local military academy....
Crime Story: Pilot
Character: Lt. Mike Torello
One former cop goes against the whole Mafia. The feature-length pilot for the cult 80s show....
One Woman's Courage
Character: Craig McKenna
Because Grace's husband Craig is having an affair she starts drinking. One night Grace witnesses a man attacking a girl; she helps her to the hospital but does not want to be a witness in court because of Craig, thinking that he would lose his reputation. Only when the mother of the girl appeals to her, Grace puts herself in contact with Lt. Lawson from the police department. During the trial Grace identifies Bremer as the thug but at the same time she is being asked questions about her private ...
The Corpse Had a Familiar Face
Character: Detective Harry Lindstrom
The Corpse had a Familiar Face is a 1994 American TV-Movie with Elizabeth Montgomery, playing Edna Buchanan, a Miami's criminal journalist....
Romeo Is Bleeding
Character: Nick Gazzara (uncredited)
A corrupt cop gets in over his head when he tries to assassinate a beautiful Russian hit-woman....
Through Naked Eyes
Character: Patrolman
A musician living in an apartment building likes to check out the residents of the building opposite him--until he finds out one day that an attractive woman in that building is checking him out. He strikes up a relationship with her. Soon afterwards a string of serial killings occurs in the neighborhood, and suspicion begins to fall on the musician....
Out of Annie's Past
Character: Charlie Ingle
Annie's got a secret past she's eager to hide from her husband and her family. An iconclastic bounty hunter blackmails her to keep that past a secret. As the stakes increase, though, so do the ruthless and brutal actions of all those involved. Soon, deaths of some major players in the game change the stakes from dollars and cents to life and death....
Bonanza: Under Attack
Character: Charley Siringo
After a rogue band of Pinkerton detectives led by ruthless Charley Siringo bushwhacks reformed outlaw Frank James, he seeks sanctuary on the Ponderosa with the next generation of Cartwrights and his former Civil War compatriots. Will Frank's comrades come to his aid or turn their backs on him? Richard Roundtree also stars in this made-for-TV sequel to the popular Western series....
The Killing Floor
Character: Supervisor
During World War I, a poor black Southerner travels north to Chicago to get work in the city's slaughterhouses, where he becomes embroiled in the organized labor movement....
The Disappearance of Nora
Character: Denton
A beautiful woman is found stranded in the desert with no recollection of who she is or how she got there, so a casino boss makes it his mission to help her....
Mac
Character: Mr. Stunder
Niccolo "Mac" Vitelli is the eldest of three brothers in 1950s Queens. Mac is a construction builder, a trade he learned from his late father, and helps put his brothers on the job. When they can no longer take working for Polowski, who does shoddy work and is abusive to his staff, Mac and his brothers set up their own company. Together, Vitelli Brothers Construction builds houses with pride and care. But Mac turns out to be an overbearing workaholic, with obsessive concern about the quality of ...
The American Gangster
Character: Narrator
They fixed the World Series. They built Las Vegas. They terrorized America with their vicious murders and fearless robberies. They are men named Bugsy Siegel, Al Capone, John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Lucky Luciano. And, for the first time, THE AMERICAN GANGSTER tells the true story behind their ruthless rise to wealth and power. Filled with vintage film and actual photographs, THE AMERICAN GANGSTER is a gripping look at the birth of organized crime. From prohibition to prostitution, from...
Havana
Character: Joe Volpe's Assistant (uncredited)
During the revolution, a high-stakes gambler arrives in Cuba seeking to win big in poker games. Along the way, he meets and falls in love with the wife of a Communist revolutionary....
Street Crimes
Character: Brian
When two cops start a gym to help keep kids out of the drug trade, the local crime lord schemes to keep control of the streets. Meanwhile, officer Brian romances his partner’s blind daughter....
Wait 'Til Next Year: The Saga of the Chicago Cubs
Character: Narrator
Using the frame of opening day, 2006, this documentary examines the Cubs' 100 years without a World Series title. Between conversations with a half-dozen selected Cubs fans in 2006, the film looks back at the Wrigley years, sale to the Tribune, and coming oh-so-close in 1945, 1969, 1984, and 2003....
The Impostor
Character: Detective
After being released from prison, small-time con artist Cade tracks down his old girlfriend. When she rebuffs him, he fakes his past in order to get hired as the principal of the school where she teaches, in the hopes of winning her back. Cade soon begins to take a sincere interest in the welfare of his students, and enlists the help of his friend Matthew to break a drug-dealing network that has infested the school....