it was revealed that the drug lord, Cesar Velez, died in prison, and Liam Connors, an assassin hired by Velez to kill her, was extradited to his native Ireland. No longer in Witness Protection, she had been back in the Manhattan DA's office for the past three years, which accounted for her reappearance on Conviction in 2006. Anson Mount as Jim Steele Jim Steele is the Deputy Bureau Chief ADA whose best friend, Mike Randolph, is murdered by drug dealers in the pilot episode of Conviction. Jim is strong-willed and determined to avenge his friend's death. He is shown to have an adversarial relationship with Cabot after she decides to plead out his friend's murderer. Jim is tough on his subordinates, but he is secretly proud of them. He is having an affair with Jessica Rossi, which was private until the media exploited it in an attempt by a woman on trial to detract from Steele's credibility and portray him in a negative light. It is also implied that Cabot and Steele had a sexual relationship, as seen in the episode "Savasana". Eric Balfour as Brian Peluso Brian Peluso is a laid-back and irresponsible ADA that seems to be heavily into partying but is very invested in his clients. He has sex with a number of different women that he does not seem to care about, something that is seen as a defense mechanism because when he does open up to women, they often let him down. Peluso confesses to being in love with Finn in "Hostage". There are subtle references to a potential substance abuse problem, and he has a problem with gambling. He is often seen drinking Red Bull. J. August Richards as Billy Desmond Billy Desmond is smart, politically motivated, and hasn't lost a case during his three years at the DA's office. Initially, he appears to care more about winning cases and his political stature, but over the course of the first season, it became evident that Billy will not compromise the law or the DA's office for either his track record or his aspirations. Billy appears to be closest to Finn and Peluso, who he is seen to go out with after hours, but he also has hit a club or two with new co-worker, Potter. Milena Govich as Jessica Rossi Jessica Rossi is a young ADA who comes from a poor family. In the