Fallow's write-up of the association between Sherman McCoy and Maria Ruskin prompts Assistant D.A. Kramer to offer her a deal: corroborate the other witness and receive immunity, or be treated as an accomplice. Ruskin recounts this to McCoy while he is wearing a wire. When a private investigator employed by Killian discovers a recording of a conversation that contradicts Ruskin's statement to the grand jury - a recording that was obtained from an illegal voice-activated intercom device installed by the landlord of a rent-controlled apartment as a way to remove tenants - the judge assigned to the case declares her testimony "tainted" and dismisses the case.