Maxwell Greevey

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Sgt. Max Greevey
Law & Order character

Time on show	1990-1991
Preceded	None
Succeeded	Phil Cerreta
First appearance	Everybody's Favorite Bagman
Last appearance	The Blue Wall
Portrayed by	George Dzundza

Sgt. Max Greevey was a fictional character played by George Dzundza on NBC's long running drama series, Law & Order. He was featured on the show throughout its first season, 1990 to 1991.

Greevey was a homicide detective working in Manhattan's 27th Precinct. He began his career in the 1960s as Don Cragen's partner. Later in his career, he was promoted to sergeant and partnered with Mike Logan, with Cragen as their captain. Greevey was very close to Logan (even while having authority over him), providing his young partner with advice and someone to confide in.

Greevey was happily married with three children. His life as a devoted family man, as well as his conservative Catholic faith, often led him to look down upon people, even murder victims, whose lifestyles he disapproved of.

Greevey also had an open distrust of doctors, stemming from an incident early in his career when he was attacked by a suspect who hit him in the head. He began slurring his words and sought advice from a doctor, who pronounced that he had an inoperable brain tumor. Seeking a second opinion, Greevey learned that he only had a subdural hematoma, and a month later was completely healthy again.

In 1991, Greevey was murdered outside his home, right in front of his family, by a criminal he was investigating. Logan, desperate with grief, cornered and nearly killed Greevey's murderer, relenting only at the last minute. He was nearly fired for this transgression, but gradually came to accept his partner's death with the help of police psychiatrist Dr. Elizabeth Olivet.

Greevey was replaced by Sgt. Phil Cerreta.

Prior to his death, Greevey had worked on a case involving the murder of a college student named Jennifer Talmadge, and the disappearance of her infant son, Stephen. He took the case very seriously, working on it on his off time. After his death, Cragen took the case over and kept in touch with Jennifer Talmadge's parents. In 2003, 12 years after Greevey's death, Cragen, by now the head of a sex crimes unit, found Stephen Talmadge while investigating a corrupt adoption agency. Cragen and his detectives later determined that the wife of Stephen's biological father killed Jennifer Talmadge and gave Stephen to the adoption agency, where he was given a home. In the end, Stephen's biological father won custody of him.