Mike Giardello

Mike Giardello
Special Agent Mike Giardello
First appearance	September 25, 1998 (7x01, "La Famiglia")
Last appearance	May 21, 1999 (7x22, Forgive Us Our Trespasses) February 13, 2000 Homicide: The Movie
Created by	Tom Fontana
Portrayed by	Giancarlo Esposito
In-universe information
Nickname	Mike
Gender	Male
Title	Officer Agent (formerly)
Occupation	Patrolman FBI Agent (formerly)
Family	Al Giardello (father) Joanne Giardello (mother, deceased) Teresa (sister) Charisse (sister)
Relatives	Rosina Giardello (great-grandmother) Al (nephew)

Alphonso Michael Giardello Jr. is a fictional character from the television drama Homicide: Life on the Street . The character was played by Giancarlo Esposito.

Biography

Mike Giardello is an FBI agent who is the estranged son of Baltimore Police Lieutenant Al Giardello. He comes to Baltimore from Arizona when a family relative is killed to assist the BPD in their investigations. He applies for and gets a job as a liaison to the Homicide unit. Although his FBI resources often help the unit's cases, he and his father often clash over media leaks; in one case, Mike's decision to give case information to his FBI superiors leads to the death of a key witness in a politically charged murder investigation. Later, he is called in to engage in hostage negotiations with a man who is holding his son and daughter at gunpoint; the man ultimately kills the boy and then himself, leaving Mike devastated. He quits the FBI in disgust after his inquiries into the death of a Baltimore resident result in the killer – a mobster in Witness Protection – being offered a lenient plea deal because he is needed to testify at a major trial. In the series finale he talks of returning to the Baltimore streets, and the 2000 TV movie reveals that he has joined the BPD as a patrolman in hopes of earning a detective's shield. ^[1]

Family

Mike Giardello appears as the middle child of Al and Joanne Giardello. He has two sisters Teresa and Charisse (who refers to him as Al Jr.) and at least one nephew by his sister Charisse. His great-grandmother Rosina is known to him as "Nonna". He was raised in Baltimore's Little Italy. Michael tends to have an estranged relationship with his father at first but is improved upon when he becomes an FBI liaison to the department. Michael remains proud of Al however mainly due to his accomplishments in blazing trails for African American officers in the BPD (Michael claims Al was one of the first black Lieutenants in the department and encourages Al to take the captain's position on the finale as a means of improving the bad relationship between the city's black community and the police department).

References

1. J Bobby. "The HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET Glossary".