Why did Santimassino check off Dans name?
After their first meeting, Santimassino goes to a list of cops, including Levy & Mascone, & checks off Dan’s name. I took this to mean he was adding Dan to a list of cops he thought were crooked & intended to indict. He’d already formed an opinion of Ciello while putting together targets for his anti-corruption operation (“I’ve been studying Det. Ciello’s file very closely”) and had probably already tagged him as corrupt. There's a shot of him looking at Ciello intently--he's very interested in this guy, but as a target--not as the colleague Rick & Brooks see him as. The interview allowed Santimassino to confirm his suspicions. All he needed to hear was Dan’s flexible attitude towards law enforcement:
Dan: We don’t like to make too many arrests during the holidays. Nobody wants to put people in jail at Easter.
Santimassino (smiling indulgently): It’s a little different on the federal side.
Compared with his own rigidity, Santimassino would see that laxness as an indication of corruption. That was all he needed to add Dan to his list.
Other thoughts?