The title of this 2-part episode is taken from Chapter 18, verse 251 of the Buddhist scripture "The Dhammapada" : "There is no fire like passion. There is no shark like hatred. There is no snare like folly. There is no torrent like greed."
This episode appears to be based on several different cases/incidents:
- The life and crimes of John Gotti and his crime syndicate (who were responsible for Paul Castellano's assassination). John Gotti and five of his brothers all joined the Mafia at early ages, and Gotti soon became boss of the well known Gambino crime family, one of the Five Families in New York City. He became widely known for his outspoken personality and flamboyant style, which were factors leading to his downfall. In 1992, Gotti was convicted of racketeering, thirteen murders, obstruction of justice, truck hijacking, conspiracy to commit murder, illegal gambling, extortion, tax evasion, loansharking, and other crimes. He was sentenced to life in prison, where he died ten years after his incarceration.
- The 1975 disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa. Jimmy Hoffa disappeared on July 30, 1975, and was legally declared dead on July 30, 1982. The exact circumstances of his death have never been resolved.
- The 1985 assassination of Paul Castellano. Castellano was an American crime boss who succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family. Castellano was killed in an unsanctioned hit on December 16, 1985.
Corpus delicti is Latin for "body of the crime". It is a legal principle that the prosecution must prove that a crime actually occurred in order for a person to be convicted of committing that crime. For example, in a murder trial where the body of the victim hasn't been found and the prosecution cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the alleged victim is dead, the defendant can't be convicted of murder. Many jurisdictions hold as a legal rule that a defendant's out-of-court confession alone is insufficient evidence to prove the defendant's guilt beyond reasonable doubt--one of the main reasons it is very difficult to win a murder case in such jurisdictions without having the body of the alleged victim.
This episode marks actor Bruce Altman's first appearance in the Law & Order universe. In addition to appearing in seven episodes of this series, he also appears in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999), Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001), and Chicago P.D. (2014).
Bruce Altman has played four different characters over the course of the series:
- Episode 1.15 The Torrents of Greed: Part 1 (1991) - Harv Beigal.
- Episode 1.16 The Torrents of Greed: Part 2 (1991) - Harv Beigal.
- Episode 4.10 The Pursuit of Happiness (1993) - Tom Morrison.
- Episode 11.5 Return (2000) - Brad Feldman.
- Episode 12.6 Formerly Famous (2001) - Brad Feldman.
- Episode 15.6 Cut (2004) - Dr. Alvin Lawrence.
- Episode 19.11 Lucky Stiff (2009) - Brad Feldman.