Sal Castelli is the cousin of Joey and Julia Scianti, who was working with Joey to sell a stolen 15th century triptych, The Madonna of the Spirits, first to a Greek buyer, Nikos Plato, then to an undercover NYPD Detective, Jeffrey Whitehead. When both deals fall through, Castelli is arrested for his part in the Madonna's theft as the police had two of the three parts of the painting.