Detective Joe Fontana is a fictional character portrayed by Dennis Farina in the TV series Law & Order.
In the first episode they appeared in, titled Paradigm (season 15), they were 60 years old.
They appear in 46 episodes out of a total of 501 aired so far and have accumulated 455 positive votes.
The character of Detective Joe Fontana is mainly associated with Detective Ed Green, Detective Nick Falco and Lieutenant Anita Van Buren.
Episodes46
Paradigm
episode S15.E1 september 2004Green and his new partner, Joe Fontana, investigate the murder of an Iraq War veteran who has more incriminating Abu Ghraib prison photos. An Iraqi woman who is an American citizen is charged, but she claims to be a prisoner of war.
The Dead Wives Club
episode S15.E2 september 2004A "9-11 Widow" who received a lucrative settlement after her firefighter husband's death is murdered. Another firefighter's ex-wife, who was dumped for the victim after 9-11, is charged.
The Brotherhood
episode S15.E3 september 2004A prison guard is charged with killing a released member of a white supremacist prison gang. The guard says the victim threatened him and his family. The gang also threatens the judge presiding over the trial.
Coming Down Hard
episode S15.E4 october 2004Two student suicides are connected to a university drug study. The investigation uncovers that the pharmaceutical company that commissioned the study may have known about adverse side-effects, but tried to cover it up.
Gunplay
episode S15.E5 october 2004Black market gun dealers murder two undercover officers during a gun buy. During prosecution, McCoy begins to suspect that a bitter defense attorney may have masterminded the entire episode.
Cut
episode S15.E6 october 2004A novelist dies after undergoing multiple plastic surgeries. Detectives believe that her doctor took unnecessary risks and falsified documents to cover it up. The DA's office charges him with criminally negligent homicide.
Gov Love
episode S15.E7 november 2004McCoy takes on gay marriage at the state Supreme Court when a man refuses to testify in a case involving the death of the governor of Connecticut's wife, because he says that he is married to the defendant.
Cry Wolf
episode S15.E8 november 2004A mob boss is accused of ordering a hit on a urban vigilante group leader who was seeing his mistress. However, when the mistress is killed before the trial, he insists that he truly loved her and had absolutely nothing to do with it.
All in the Family
episode S15.E9 november 2004A diamond broker's wife is accused of hiring Russian mobsters to arrange a hit on her husband.
Enemy
episode S15.E10 december 2004An Afghani drug lord is implicated in a drug-related massacre in New York. However, prosecution is difficult because the government considers him an ally in the War on Terror in Afghanistan.
Fixed
episode S15.E11 december 2004A frustrated prison social worker is accused of taking the law into her own hands with a dangerous man whom she knew was violating the terms of his parole agreement.
Mammon
episode S15.E12 january 2005A contractor is suspected in the murder of an investment banker after detectives discover that the home's security system has been tampered with, and he was having an affair with the man's wife.
Ain't No Love
episode S15.E13 january 2005A young hip-hop performer is accused of murdering a rap mogul, but his friend testifies during the trial that he is the killer. Serena objects to prosecution tactics, and Branch fires her.
Fluency
episode S15.E14 january 2005Sixteen people die from influenza after they received counterfeit flu vaccine shots. New A.D.A. Alexandra Borgia helps Jack McCoy prosecute the responsible party for manslaughter.
Obsession
episode S15.E15 february 2005The investigation into the death of a conservative talk show host leads to a stalker who claims to be having an affair with his wife. McCoy suspects that the wife manipulated her into killing him.
The Sixth Man
episode S15.E16 february 2005A hot-tempered basketball star is accused of killing one of his hecklers. The investigation and trial, however, reveal that the heckler's pattern of harassment may have crossed the line of decency on several occasions.
License to Kill
episode S15.E17 february 2005McCoy faces the unpopular decision to pursue charges against a vigilante who used his car to track down a man who murdered a group of hunters.
Dining Out
episode S15.E18 march 2005The host of a popular cooking show is on trial for killing a television executive. However, the trial takes an unexpected turn when a juror enamored with the client is accused of trying to profit from the trial.
Sects
episode S15.E19 march 2005A murder/attempted suicide investigation leads to a religious cult that promotes pedophilia, but finding charges that will stick to the group's leader proves to be difficult.
Tombstone
episode S15.E20 april 2005A lawyer from a prestigious corporate law firm is murdered. One of the firm's senior partners is reluctant to testify against the accused for selfish reasons. Detective Green is critically wounded escorting a reluctant witness.
Publish and Perish
episode S15.E21 april 2005Fontana and his new temporary partner, Nick Falco, investigate the murder of a porn star. After the woman charged with her murder is also killed, they uncover a connection to both victims and a politically ambitious ex-police commissioner.
Sport of Kings
episode S15.E22 may 2005A jockey's murder leads detectives to a businessman who is accused of stealing from his company's pension fund to purchase personal luxury items.
In God We Trust
episode S15.E23 may 2005A man confesses to a nine-year-old racially motivated murder. His defense attorney argues that he should not be punished because he is a born-again Christian and has already done his penance.
Locomotion
episode S15.E24 may 2005A failed suicide attempts leads to a train crash that kills 12 people. The defendant's attorney initially offers an insanity defense. However, he is soon fired, as the defendant represents himself and changes his plea.
Red Ball
episode S16.E1 september 2005When a little girl is abducted as part of a car-jacking, McCoy must bargain with the devil in the form of a system-savvy criminal.
Flaw
episode S16.E2 september 2005The death of a con-man who tried to call Olivia Benson just before he was murdered brings Olivia and Fin to the assistance of Fontana and Green, and leads to a slippery mother/daughter team.
Ghosts
episode S16.E3 october 2005A deathbed confession reopens one of Fontana's old murder cases involving a young model, one in which he believed that the father was the killer. Branch and the father want the case to go away, but McCoy is bent on going to trial.
Age of Innocence
episode S16.E4 october 2005The bombing death of a husband set to remove the feeding tube of his wife, who's in a persistent vegetative state, focuses the investigation on the protesters.
Life Line
episode S16.E5 october 2005A businessman is coerced by a gang to murder an investigative journalist in order to guarantee protection for his son, who is serving time in prison.
Birthright
episode S16.E6 november 2005A nurse is accused of performing illegal sterilizations on troubled teens without their knowledge, which resulted in the death of one of her patients.
House of Cards
episode S16.E7 november 2005A single mother is killed and her baby stolen, and police find the child with a woman who took the baby while pretending to be pregnant.
New York Minute
episode S16.E8 november 2005The murder of a trucker blows open a case involving illegal trafficking and the citizen border patrol
Criminal Law
episode S16.E9 november 2005Three women with identical names are murdered with the same m.o.. And Fontana and Green's investigation turns up a "hit list" with Jack McCoy's name on it, as well as a number of witnesses in one of his trials.
Acid
episode S16.E10 november 2005Van Buren relentlessly pursues a cocky suspect she believes was responsible for driving a friend's daughter to suicide, because he allegedly attacked her with drain cleaner. But her resulting actions could put the case in jeopardy.
Bible Story
episode S16.E11 december 2005A synagogue's Chumash is stolen and desecrated, and the crime must be solved before a religious war breaks out in downtown Manhattan.
Family Friend
episode S16.E12 january 2006After an accountant for the mob is stabbed to death, a corrupt police officer who grew up with the victim takes justice into his own hands. However, pursuing the case could put the officer's other convictions in jeopardy.
Heart of Darkness
episode S16.E13 january 2006McCoy pursues murder charges against a woman in an assisted suicide case, but he finds out during the trial that a third party may have also been involved.
Magnet
episode S16.E14 february 2006A teenager from a rich family kills a schoolmate because he refused to sell him test answers. His defense argues that he was not responsible for his actions because of the medication he was prescribed.
Choice of Evils
episode S16.E15 march 2006A suburban mom ends up admitting to the detectives that she shot and killed her own teenage son out of fear that the boy would become a menace to society.
Cost of Capital
episode S16.E16 march 2006The murder of a banker leads to the discovery that he was having a relationship with his boss. McCoy's case rides on the testimony of the defendant's 14-year-old daughter. However, her testimony also reveals a shocking family secret.
America, Inc.
episode S16.E17 march 2006While Jack is prosecuting a man who murdered a military contractor, the prosecution is interrupted by the recent capture of a terrorist.
Thinking Makes It So
episode S16.E18 march 2006Fontana is accused of using excessively violent tactics to force a kidnapping suspect to reveal the location of the victim. Prosecutors are left to decide whether the ends justified the means.
Positive
episode S16.E19 april 2006A boy's suicide note alleging misconduct of his sister's doctor results in the investigation of a physician administering illegal AIDS drugs.
Kingmaker
episode S16.E20 may 2006A paper reveals the identity of an undercover officer, getting her killed, and the trail may lead to a politician's office.
Hindsight
episode S16.E21 may 2006Fontana and Green investigate Green's former replacement, Nick Falco, who becomes a suspect in an investigation after a woman he had spent the night with is found slashed to death in his bathroom.
Invaders
episode S16.E22 may 2006A case involving fake DEA badges leads to the death of A.D.A. Borgia. McCoy is forced to resort to dubious legal tactics to ensure that Borgia's killers are brought to justice.
- Paradigm
- The Dead Wives Club
- The Brotherhood
- Coming Down Hard
- Gunplay
- Cut
- Gov Love
- Cry Wolf
- All in the Family
- Enemy
- Fixed
- Mammon
- Ain't No Love
- Fluency
- Obsession
- The Sixth Man
- License to Kill
- Dining Out
- Sects
- Tombstone
- Publish and Perish
- Sport of Kings
- In God We Trust
- Locomotion
- Red Ball
- Flaw
- Ghosts
- Age of Innocence
- Life Line
- Birthright
- House of Cards
- New York Minute
- Criminal Law
- Acid
- Bible Story
- Family Friend
- Heart of Darkness
- Magnet
- Choice of Evils
- Cost of Capital
- America, Inc.
- Thinking Makes It So
- Positive
- Kingmaker
- Hindsight
- Invaders
Best moments10
- A deathbed confession reopens one of Fontana's old murder cases involving a young model, one in which he believed that the father was the killer. Branch and the father want the case to go away, but McCoy is bent on going to trial.
- Fontana is accused of using excessively violent tactics to force a kidnapping suspect to reveal the location of the victim. Prosecutors are left to decide whether the ends justified the means.
- A mob boss is accused of ordering a hit on a urban vigilante group leader who was seeing his mistress. However, when the mistress is killed before the trial, he insists that he truly loved her and had absolutely nothing to do with it.
- A single mother is killed and her baby stolen, and police find the child with a woman who took the baby while pretending to be pregnant.
- A jockey's murder leads detectives to a businessman who is accused of stealing from his company's pension fund to purchase personal luxury items.
- A failed suicide attempts leads to a train crash that kills 12 people. The defendant's attorney initially offers an insanity defense. However, he is soon fired, as the defendant represents himself and changes his plea.
- McCoy takes on gay marriage at the state Supreme Court when a man refuses to testify in a case involving the death of the governor of Connecticut's wife, because he says that he is married to the defendant.
- The murder of a trucker blows open a case involving illegal trafficking and the citizen border patrol
- McCoy faces the unpopular decision to pursue charges against a vigilante who used his car to track down a man who murdered a group of hunters.
- Green and his new partner, Joe Fontana, investigate the murder of an Iraq War veteran who has more incriminating Abu Ghraib prison photos. An Iraqi woman who is an American citizen is charged, but she claims to be a prisoner of war.
- Ghosts
- Thinking Makes It So
- Cry Wolf
- House of Cards
- Sport of Kings
- Locomotion
- Gov Love
- New York Minute
- License to Kill
- Paradigm