Joe Fontana (Law & Order)

This article is about the Law & Order character. For the Canadian Member of Parliament and London, Ontario Mayoral candidate, see Joe Fontana. Template:LawandOrderCharacter Det. Joe Fontana was a fictional character portrayed by Dennis Farina on NBC's long running drama series Law & Order.

Character Overiew

Joe Fontana was a homicide detective in the 27th Precinct of the NYPD. Fontana was partnered with Det. Ed Green and, for a brief time, with Det. Nick Falco while Green was recovering from a gunshot wound. He was supervised by Lt. Anita Van Buren.

Fontana was named after Homicide: Life on the Street producer Tom Fontana, a close friend of Law & Order producer Dick Wolf.

Personality

Fontana, from the Little Italy neighborhood of Chicago, was a member of the Chicago Police Department before coming to New York. He left his posting in Chicago because of conflict with a superior officer, although he refused to elaborate further. He had never been married. Prior to partnering with Green, Fontana worked with a homicide squad in The Bronx.

Fontana was known for his flashy lifestyle — he drove a silver Mercedes-Benz SL500, was fond of impeccably tailored suits, and often carried a 'walking-around' money roll of several thousand dollars. That initially was cause for suspicion with his new coworkers, who wondered how he could afford those expensive things on his salary. On multiple occasions he bemoaned job-related damage to valuable articles of clothing. Although Fontana paid a great deal of attention to his appearance, he did have his limits; in one episode, for example, he saw a woman who had died after having liposuction, and said he would rather go on the South Beach Diet.

Fontana was originally a very dry character, but this made him unpopular with fans, so he was given a better sense of humor.

Character Highlights

Fontana originally had a rocky start with Green, who was still upset about the retirement of his old partner, Lennie Briscoe. Green initially wondered if Fontana was a "wiseguy" (mobster) or a cop. Given time, however, Green warmed up to Fontana, and the two established a strong partnership. Fontana initially complimented Green on his appearance, and alluded to former partners not being "smooth". Nevertheless, Green had more than once found himself caught in the middle of a fight between Fontana and Van Buren. Fontana somewhat resembled Mike Logan, a popular character who left the show in 1995, in that he sometimes bent, and even broke, the ethical code. His unorthodox methods were even a little bit like those of Green when he first joined the 27th precinct. Prior to partnering with Green, Fontana worked with a homicide squad in the The Bronx — although (L&O: "Ghosts") suggests that the Bronx may not have been Fontana's first stop in New York.

In 1995, he started a two-year investigation, while in the Special Victims Unit (since it was a sex crime), into the murder of 12-year-old Sara Dolan. Convinced that her father was involved, Fontana would not let go of the case until another murderer confessed to the crime. Only after the father had to testify against the second culprit did Fontana question his original judgment. (L&O: "Ghosts).

He once got entangled with his department when he repeatedly dunked a suspect's head into the toilet in order to force him to tell him where his kidnapped victim was (L&O: "Thinking Makes It So"). The evidence thus recovered was nearly thrown out, but thanks to Jack McCoy's efforts, Fontana was exonerated and the suspect found guilty.

Fontana was in touch with his Italian background. He had mentioned traveling to Italy, and was fluent in the language. Although he occasionally joked about not paying attention in school, he appears to have been fairly well-read — enough so, for example, to identify a quotation from John Keats. Even though he didn't serve in Vietnam, he uses this against suspects (L&O: "Paradigm" & "America. Inc.").

Fontana from time to time used the phrase "We're authorized" or "I'm authorized" when dealing with people he needed something from (such as medical records or access into a room) and they were hesitant to give him what he wanted. It was usually successful and the term became a popular catchphrase associated with the character.

Fontana would also "educate" people by speaking to them in a low voice at extremely close range if they were disrespectful towards him or his partner.

To explain the character's departure, it was revealed that Fontana had retired, and had been replaced by Green as senior detective.

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