| Dick Hennessey | |
|---|---|
 Dead to Rights character | |
| Gender | Male |
| Race | White |
| Faction | Bad |
| Status | Deceased |
| Location | Grant City |
| Voiced by | Patrick Dollaghan |
Dick Hennessey is a character in the first Dead to Rights game. He is the head of the Grant Anti-Crime Unit and the primary antagonist of the game.
Biography[]
Dead to Rights[]
Hennessey always wanted one thing: power. To that end, rather than merely arresting criminals, he simply gathered evidence of their misdeeds and blackmailed them with it. His known victims include Augie Blatz, Fahook Ubduhl, and even Mayor William Pinnacle himself. The mayor appeared to be a favorite target of his: he influenced him to set aside funds for GAC, which Hennessey used as his own private army. He was not above framing innocent people for crimes, either. He managed to get Preacherman Jones falsely incarcerated for selling drugs out of his church, and Frank Slate disgraced and dismissed from the Grant City Police Department.
At some point, he discovered Fahook and Mayor Pinnacle's scheme to mine long-lost gold underneath the city under the guise of an urban renewal plan. Holding his knowledge of their fraud over their heads, Hennessey occasionally demanded a cut of their profits. As far as Hennessey was concerned, everything was going his way… until Gloria Exner declared her candidacy for mayor of the city. The would-be reformer hired Frank Slate to investigate the proposed subway and soon discovered the gold mine. Unwilling to lose his meal ticket, Hennessey hired an assassin from Mayhem Inc. to silence the former police officer. From there, Hennessey could simply block any proper investigation into the murder and hope things would die down. However, Frank's son Jack, also a police officer, was the first responder, and refused to let the matter drop. Thinking quickly, Hennessey suggested that Augie Blatz, Frank's old enemy, may have been responsible for his death. While Jack went off looking for Blatz, Hennessey called upon Patch, a Mayhem boss, to kill Blatz and frame Jack for the crime. The plan went smoothly, and Hennessey personally arrested the younger Slate.
"He's gone!"
Seven months later, Hennessey, along with Mayor Pinnacle and Blatz' friend Rafshoon Diggs, witnessed Slate's escape from Iron Point Penitentiary moments before he was scheduled to die in the electric chair. Knowing that the former cop knew Blatz was a patsy and would likely make trouble for him, Hennessey sent GAC units disguised as clowns to kill Slate when he visited his father's grave. Even though Hennessey himself appeared on the scene, Slate managed to disappear into the fog.
Exner also had to go. In a twist of irony, Hennessey used the cover of a bomb threat to plant bombs in the candidate's campaign headquarters. When Jack defused the bombs, Hennessey decided to simplify things and sent the GAC squad to burn it to the ground. Slate fought them off and rescued Exner.
Hennessey sent more GAC clowns to find and kill Slate as he investigated the docks near Pinnacle and Fahook's gold mining operation, which he eventually discovered. Slate confronted Pinnacle at Iron Point and learned who his father's true killer was. The fugitive and the mayor teamed up to distract Hennessey and retrieve his blackmail files. The GAC commander later learned that Slate not only stole his evidence, but killed Pinnacle and Fahook as well. However, he did not worry; their deaths were an opportunity to take direct control of the mine and use the wealth it provided to amass even more power.
Hennessey finally feels the heat.
After an army of GAC units failed to kill Slate at the Bay Bell Hotel, Hennessey suited up and confronted Jack himself. Hoping to learn the location of the blackmail material, he was shocked and enraged to discover that Slate had given the files to reporter Kip Waterman, who promptly exposed his crimes to the public and federal authorities. The ensuing fight raged from the ruined hotel lobby to the boiler room. When Slate started to gain the upper hand, Hennessey opened the furnace to make the room even hotter. Jack threw him inside, apparently killing Hennessey. However, Hennessey rose again, weakened but still alive. Blocking Hennessey's attack, Jack knocked him to the floor where Hennessey finally died of his burns, telling Jack he'd see him in Hell.
Though Jack Slate brought Hennessey down for his crimes, he was burned out and had no further interest in Grant City. He faked his death and left for parts unknown, never to return. Not long after he disappeared, Slate sent Hennessey's file on Preacherman Jones to the imprisoned minister, which he presumably used to secure his release.
Dead to Rights 2[]
Jack Slate states that Hennessey reluctantly assigned Jack to the case of a missing judge.
Later, Jack calls to get Robert Blanjov's address, but is interrupted by Hennessey who orders Jack to come in. Hennessey tells Jack that he is being busted down for violent behavior. Jack decides to ignore this, but wonders if Hennessey is trying to stop him and if he is connected to everything somehow.
Personality and traits[]
Hennessey was already disliked by some of his fellow officers, but the true extent of his corruption was only known to a select few. His only ambition in life was to amass wealth and power, and he used blackmail and the muscle of the GAC squad to realize it. Anyone who threatened his hold over the city's criminals had to die or otherwise be put out of the way. If he didn't send people to kill his enemies, he falsified evidence against them. Hennessey, being the head of GAC, was a proficient hand-to-hand combatant. He also had access to military-grade weapons that no one else did.
Trivia[]
- Hennessey may have been the person who posted the open hit on Gloria Exner in chapter six.
- Hennessey's rank is inconsistent over the course of the game. In promotional artwork and during the execution scene, he is called a captain, while Kip Waterman refers to him as chief inspector before the assault on Exner's headquarters. During the attack on the Bay Bell, Waterman calls him a lieutenant.
- Hennessey uses an electrified riot shield, a stun gun, and flammable gauntlets during his fight with Jack. This is the only instance such weapons are seen in the game.
- When discussing Frank's murder in prison, Preacherman Jones says "Whoever done him in is gonna burn in hell, that's for sure." Jack replies, "I'd like to see him burn here on Earth if I could." In an ironic twist, Jack does indeed get to see his father's killer burn when he throws Hennessey inside the Bay Bell's furnace.
- Hennessey does not appear in Retribution. Captain Redwater plays a similar role as head of GAC, but where Hennessey's goal was amassing ill-gotten wealth, Redwater planned to use the Grant Anti-Crime Unit to impose martial law on the city.