this is "nightline." cop plot? the mother of two and decorated nypd officer accused of breaking the law allegedly hiring a hit man to kill her ex. >> i can't believe it. i'm still in shock. >> inside the undercover operation. one of her alleged targets playing dead. how authorities moved in for the arrest. plus, scene-stealers. >> ah, you're in! >> dynamic dialog, then. >> how about a woman president. >> and now. >> well, how about a woman president. >> "all in the family" and "the jeffersons", brought to life once again. >> it's the same as being in my house. >> with all the risks of live

tv. >> it's live. >> the barrier-breaking sitcoms movin' on up. ♪ to the east side ♪ to that deluxe apartment in the sky ♪ ♪ >> but first, the "nightline" five.

discovery. a veteran new york city police officer under arrest for allegedly hiring a hit man to kill her estranged husband. authorities enlisting his help in an elaborate undercover sting operation. here's t.j. holmes. >> reporter: this is a new york city police officer, tasked with protecting and serving, who according to the fbi went ot and tried to hire a hit man in order to kill her estranged husband and the daughter of her boyfriend. it's not something that you expect from any police officer. >> reporter: at first look, 34-year-old valerie is a role model, a 12-year decorated veteran of the nypd and mother of two. but federal authorities say behind the scenes she was plotting murder for the past few months. her story made headlines last friday. >> a accused of hiring a hit ma to kill not only her estranged

husband but her boyfriend's teenage daughter as well. >> i didn't want to believe it, but apparently, it's true. >> reporter: what convinced you? >> when the feds staged my death. >> reporter: isaiah was supposed to be dead by now. if not for a botched murder for hire plot with two targets. him and a teenaged girl. the alleged mastermind behind it all, once the love of his life. does that sound anything like the woman you married is capable of? >> i didn't think she would be capable of it, but now i don't put anything past her. the authorities never explain why they think she allegedly went to these great lengths, but they say she was actively involved in the plot throughout. >> reporter: investigators say she asked her boyfrie t kill hi her boyfriend's daughter. >> no one seems particularly savory here. but the boyfriend, according to

court records, says i know a guy who can do it for $7,000. and the plot unfolds from there over several months' time. >> reporter: instead, investigators say her boyfriend turned to authorities and agreed to have his conversations with her recorded by the fbi. the couple met in 2012 when she saw a photo of him on his stepfather's desk at work. then contacted him on facebook. >> what were your first impressions of her? >> at first i just thought she was a single mother, and she seemed, she was a cop. so, you know, i thought she was a good person. >> reporter: had she ever been violent towards you in the past? >> mentally. and emotionally, yes. >> reporter: not physically. >> not physically. >> reporter: he says the marriage went south when she found out she was pregnant with their son. >> the relationship did a turn. very distant. it was very hard. hard experience. >> reporter: at one point, she

took action against her husband. >> she has a restraining order against me and motions set forth for works of me having one as well. >> reporter: she filed for divorce months ago. how ugly had things gotten? >> we were about to reach settlement, so i didn't think it was maybe as bad as she portrayed it to be. >> reporter: according to a rs, allegedly withdrawing $7,000 in cash and giving it to her boyfriend who converted it to gold coins, the hit man's preferred method of payment. >> there was a concern about bunching the two jobs together. and according to records, she said let's get the girl this weekend. so that's when the boyfriend says i don't know where she's going to be. she says let's track her on social media. >> reporter: on may 13th her boyfriend says the hit man wants an extra $3,000 and that the hit man didn't want to carry out the daughter's murder near the school to which she responded,

run her the blank over. how about that? then just days later, last friday, authorities break the news to him. >> they told me, we don't know how to tell you this, but your wife put a hit out on you. and my first response was where's my son? >> reporter: why was that your first thought? >> i was worried about him. >> reporter: when you hear that the woman you loved and married wanted you murdered, how do you react to that? >> i was shocked. i'm completely appalled. that she would even attempt or think this up. >> reporter: but that wasn't the only surprise the cops had for him. >> they're like, we need your help. we're going to need you to do something for us in order to further our investigation. they ended up taking me to an undisclosed location and had me fake my death.

and took pictures of it. >> reporter: what did they have you do that morning? >> they had me sit in my car. they put glass in the floor and all over me and had me hunch over into the passenger seat. >> reporter: what was that lake for you? >> the craziest thing i ever had to experience in my life. >> reporter: as part of the fbi sting, detectives went to the home to say her husband was murdered. and later fbi agents posing as the hit man text the fake death photos for her to see. she was arrested a short time later after allegedly discussing aal p an alibi with her boyfriend. >> we've seen this before, that the authorities will want to stage a murder, when someone's trying to get someone killed. to be able to use that person's reaction against them in court. >> reporter: the case, similar to the story of dahlia, the florida woman caught on tape saying she was 5,000% sure she

wanted a hit man to kill her husband. >> is your husband michael? >> reporter: police seemingly told her, her husband of since turns out police duped her. the crime scene was faked. it was all part of a plan orchestrated by the police afte money and condo and him out of the way. >> when people hear the name dahlia, what do you think comes to mind? >> everything negative. all the headlines. the person they're describing, it's definitely not me. >> reporter: she has maintained that she was acting in that video. >> the tape was, it was a show. it was a tape. that was the purpose of it. >> reporter: her effort for a fourth trial was denied when an appellate court upheld her conviction. she's slated for release from prison in 2032. sentnellie also behind bars.

>> the judge is not releasing her on bail, based on the strength of the evidence against her. >> reporter: her family has come to her auteoct this. it will come out in court. this, this guy that she's involved with is a wacko psycho. is focus now is on his son, telling him only that his mom is on a military trip. are you still fearful of your life in any way? >> yes, i am. >> reporter: what are you fearful of at this point? >> i heard that she was going and contacting other people. i'm scared to go to where i work. and put anybody in danger. >> reporter: if or when you have an opportunity to speak to her again, what are you itchin' to say to her? >> why? >> reporter: do you need answers from her? >> to be honest, i don't even think i want them. i guess i really didn't know her.

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characters. not shying away from contentious issues. then or now. ♪ well, we're movin' on up >> reporter: it's that iconic theme song that thanks to jennifer hudson has a new ring to it tonight. "the jeffersons", moving on up to 2019. along with their old neighbors from "all in the family." ♪ songs that made the hit parade ♪ ♪ guys like us, we had it made ♪ those were the days >> you're in! >> reporter: all part of a star-studded reboot of two of television's most revolutionary shows. >> don't you turn your back on me! >> ah, there you are! >> reporter: with its big applause lines. and some unexpected moments. >> so -- it's live. >> reporter: that only a live show can produce. >> everyone sitting at home just think their tv just messed up.

[cheers and applause] >> reporter: woody harrelson and marissa tomei playing archie an playing george and louise jefferson. anthony anderson as uncle henry. ike farn holtz as meathead and ellie kemper as gloria. >> well, how about a woman president? >> reporter: the words still the same as the original script 46 years ago. but tonight the punch lines taking on new relevance. >> a woman president? >> mr. jefferson, this may come as a big surprise to you, but women are much more oppressed than blacks. >> well, i don't see no ghetto for women. >> what do you call a kitchen? >> reporter: both shows were

unafraid to tackle controversial issues. >> this show has many words in it that you would be fired for using on television today. >> what do you know about it, you dumb polock. >> race, religion, politics is never an easy conversation to have. >> reporter: the use of the n-word pushing the envelope then and now. >> you know damn well what it means. if you had been going at it inside of five minutes he'd be calling you [ bleep ]. >> it wasn't bleeped. it wasn't censored. she just said it. >> even when we've had our worst fights you've never called me [ bleep ]. >> that doesn't mean it never crossed my mind. >> and we struggled a lot with how we were going to deal with that. we're saying it, but we're bleeping it, and i feel like that's a really beautiful middle

ground to honor the truth and not shy away from it but also do it responsibly. >> in our worst fights you never called me [ bleep ]. >> it hasn't crossed my mind. >> reporter: tonight's reboot trending on twitter, thousands of people weighing in. jimmy kimmel and norman lear who created both shows. >> for those who are new to "all in the family", maybe who have just heard about the show, what do they need to know about the bunkers? >> that they are a family that could be living up the street, down the street or across the street from them. >> black people have arrived. they're here! >> i ain't letting them in. >> reporter: "all in the family" first aired in 1971 amid controversy. >> america was going through sweeping change. >> we don't want your racist war. >> conflict running through american life. >> reporter: that conflict still

resonating today. >> gloria, the feminist daughter. >> do you have to treat ma like she was a slave? >> i treat her like a housewife. >> case closed! >> married to a very liberal guy who was forcing his father-in-law to confront his racism. >> archie bunker was afraid of tomorrow, was afraid of progress. >> he was the father of the white girl you dated that you never wanted to meet. okay? >> michael is always my favorite character in the show. he was just like the perfect foil. >> let me tell you something, mr. bunker. >> no, let me tell you something, mr. stiffic. you are a meathead. >> what did you call me? >> meathead. dead from the neck up. meathead. >> it was the ultimate generational clash. >> i did misjudge you. you're a lot more ignorant than i thought. >> that tension between those two also represented an

important class tension in america. >> now i see what your idea of a free country is. you're free to say what you want, but if anybody disagrees with you they're thrown into jail or called a meathead. >> that's right. >> i protest when i think things are wrong. >> these are real arguments in american culture at the time and now. and they're being put on tv. this is a case of laughing sometimes at things that are painful. >> reporter: that class tension also extended to "the jeffersons." despite their upper middle class standing, louise was uncomfortable hiring a maid >> she is late. >> reporter: that tense scene giving way to one of the show's most nostalgic surprises. >> i'm florence johnson. >> reporter: marla gibbs, the actress to played florence reprising her role. >> my very first scene, of course, was coming in from the

agency, and announcing that i was flence jefferson. i always say i ain't got no right to waste time when other people are paying for it. >> she was like the people i grew up with. the maids that my mother knew, they took over. >> do you folks mind if i ask you something? >> no, go right ahead. >> you live in this apartment, right? >> uh-huh. >> and you got an apartment in in buildin' too? >> yes, that's right. >> how come we overcame and nobody told me? >> reporter: the jeffersons and "all in the family" paved the way for some of today's most popular shows. >> give you any cake you want just as long as it's not for a gay wedding. >> we took a page from that in what we're doing with "black-ish." >> say a race that you are attracted to sexually. >> white and indian. >> i think the office carried on this legacy, because there are so many topics on that show that

are uncomfortable, that are squirm inducing. >> you would maybe not be a very good driver. >> oh, man, am i a woman? >> it's hard to imagine there being a kerry washington or olivia pope in the world if there weren't for a norman lear. >> it works. the trooth truth works. >> he was honoring the community that wasn't known. >> his vision, his passion and dream still lives on. up next, a community coloring the town pink to show and tell one little girl that she's not alone. it's either testing an array of advanced safety systems. or it isn't. it's either the peace of mind of a standard 5-year unlimited mileage warranty. or it isn't. for those who never settle, it's either mercedes-benz certified pre-owned.

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and finally, standing in solidarity and in a sea of pink in ashland, massachusetts. 7-year-old ellie atherton is a fighter, battling alopecia, and now she's inspiring her community each year to wear the bright-colored wigs bringing awareness to her condition. her message heard and seen loud and clear.

p the whole town pink in solidarity with their little warrior. bravo. and that's "nightline" for tonight. when you can't stay up with us, you can always catch our full episodes on hulu. goodnight, america. (wholding you back? excessive underarm sweating qbrexza is the first and only once-daily prescription cloth towelette approved to treat excessive underarm sweating. also known as axillary hyperhidrosis. open one today and see what unfolds. (man vo) do not use qbrexza if you have certain medical conditions.

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