breaking the law to cover up another crime theme

Someone must choose whether to commit a further transgression of the law in order for a past transgression not to become publicly known.

17 total · 11 choice · 4 major · 1 minor

StoryLevelMotivation
ahp2x01 choice Mr. Princey went to elaborate lengths to frame Captain Smollet for a murder that George's own daughter had committed. George committed various crimes in the process, including assault and battery.
columbo1971e10x12 choice he funeral director Eric Prince bludgeoned a gossip columnist who threatened to expose his crooked operation.
columbo1971e10x14 choice Justin Prince killed Linwood because Linwood threatened to reveal Justin had covered up Vanessa's having accidentally killed her ex-husband in self-defense.
columbo1971e3x04 choice Dr. Bart Keppel resorted to murder to cover up his history of blackmailing wealthy clients.
columbo1971e4x01 choice The fitness guru Milo Janus murdered Gene Stafford, a franchisee of Janus' successful gym chain, to stop Gene from outing him as a tax fraud and a shyster.
columbo1971e4x06 choice Dr. Mark Collier came up with the following elaborate plot to rid himself of his partner in crime, Nadia.
columbo1971e6x03 choice Oliver murdered Bertie before Bertie could expose him as a thief.
columbo1971e7x02 choice Paul Gerard and his mistress killed Vittorio Rossi to stop him from exposing them as extortionists.
columbo1971e8x02 choice Leonard Fischer threatened to out his childhood friend, Alex Brady, for having abandoned Leonard's sister to die after she had a motorcycle accident. Alex killed Leonard to prevent this from happening.
columbo1971e9x01 choice The famous painter Max Barsini drowned his ex-wife, Louise, at the beach to prevent her from inadvertently expose him as a murderer.