the character was introduced on-air on may 8, 2007. kate walks into sonny's office unannounced and demands the use of a phone because her car had broken down. sonny eventually recognizes her as connie falconeri, his former love from bensonhurst. diane miller (carolyn hennesy), sonny's lawyer, later mentions kate is considered one of the "100 most powerful women in america." kate purchases a mansion next door to sonny. soon after, kate is suffering from a headache and mistakenly takes a libido-enhancement pill from a friend instead of ibuprofen. under the effects of the drug, she seduces sonny. when kate is arrested for reckless driving and a hit and run, she is released into sonny's custody, after spending the night in jail. the interim district attorney, ric lansing (rick hearst), refuses the plea agreement, seeking to take revenge on sonny through kate. kate's friend and former lover, trevor lansing, blackmails his son ric, threatening him with losing custody of his daughter if he did not reduce the charges against kate.