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Dragnet - "Big Phone Call" (Old Time Radio, 1952) · Dragnet | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: On February 14th, 1952, NBC brought Dragnet to the air
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: with program number 140. Tonight's case, Big Phone Call, takes
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Sergeant Joe Friday and Sergeant Ed Jacobs of Los Angeles
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: Robbery Detail into the questioning of Garvey after jewelry salesman
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: Tom Ashley is attacked and robbed of $ 20, 000.
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: In precious stones.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: Months of investigation have brought the detectives to the City
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: Hall interrogation room where bank records, witness accounts, and concealed
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: recordings become part of the inquiry. Jack Webb stars as
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: Joe Friday, with Barney Phillips as Ed Jacobs and Vic
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: Perron as Garvey. James Moser wrote the script. We now
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: take you back to the original broadcast.
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: ¶ ¶.
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: The story you are about to hear is true. The
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: names have been changed to protect the innocent. You're a
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: detective sergeant. You're assigned a robbery detail. A jewelry salesman
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: is slugged and robbed of $ 20, 000 in precious stones. After
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: months of investigation, you finally discover the man responsible for
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: the holdup.
• 1:27
  Speaker 4: You've got the evidence to prove him guilty.
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: Your job, bring him in.
• 1:37
  Speaker 4: Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime.
• 1:40
  Speaker 5: For the next 30 minutes, in cooperation with the Los
• 1:43
  Speaker 5: Angeles Police Department, you will travel step by step on
• 1:46
  Speaker 5: the side of the law through an actual case transcribed
• 1:49
  Speaker 5: from official police files. From beginning to end, from crime
• 1:53
  Speaker 5: to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force
• 1:57
  Speaker 5: in action.
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: It was Thursday, July 18th. It was sultry in Los Angeles.
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: We were working the day watch out of robbery detail.
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: My partner's Ed Jacobs. The boss is Captain Didion. My
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: name's Friday. It was 1.35 p.m. when we got back
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: to the city hall, the interrogation room.
• 2:16
  Speaker 4: What's going on, Mr.
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: Garvey?
• 2:19
  Speaker 4: Yeah, sorry.
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: You want to call the captain, Ed, let him know
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: we're back? Okay. I'd still like to know what this
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: is all about, Sergeant, dragging you down here in the
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: middle of the day. I've got an office. Just a minute, Mr. Garvey. Yeah,
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: I just got back.
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: All of them?
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: Good.
• 2:33
  Speaker 4: You got an interrogation room, right?
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: You want this check in yet?
• 2:36
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm all back. Worked out fine.
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: Would you please explain what this is about, why you
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: brought me down here?
• 2:41
  Speaker 4: We think you know why.
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: I don't. I haven't any idea. You take me away
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: from my store on a busy day. You put a
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: police guard on it. You insist on bringing me down here.
• 2:48
  Speaker 4: What's it all about?
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: Tell me. No, you tell us, Mr. Gardner. Tell you
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: about what? The jewel robbery nine months ago, that holdup.
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: What holdup? My store hasn't been robbed. Talk about your friend,
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: Thomas Ashley. Ashley, what about him?
• 2:59
  Speaker 4: We think you remember it. Nine months ago, parking lot
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: back of the building down on 4th Street. Oh, sure.
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: Some hold-up man slugged him, stole his case of samples.
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: I remember it now. Poor Tom.
• 3:08
  Speaker 4: The thief made a big haul, didn't he? Unset diamonds, $ 20, 000 worth.
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: I remember it now. I don't think Tom's gotten over
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: it yet. He was a jewelry salesman for the same
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: company at the time, you know, the same company Tom
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: was working for. Yeah, we know all that. Some of
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: the big bosses thought Tom had a hand in it.
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: They figured it was a What a job. Nothing was
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: further from the truth. Not so. Sure, I know Tom.
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: He's a close friend of mine. He wouldn't be mixed
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: up in a deal like that. Tom and I worked
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: out of the same office for years. We've had him
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: over the house for dinner. We've even been on vacations together.
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: He's one of the most honest men I know. You
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: sure of all this, aren't you? Of course I'm sure.
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: That isn't why you called me down here, is it?
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: You don't think Tom had anything to do with that robbery,
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: do you? You don't think he was in on it?
• 3:46
  Speaker 4: He had nothing to do with it. I think you
• 3:47
  Speaker 4: know that as well as we do.
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: Then why am I here? There's nothing I can tell
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: you about the holdup. Only what I heard from Tom,
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: what I read in the newspaper. No, you can tell
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: us a lot more, Darby. We didn't bring you here
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: just past time of day. Tom was slugged and his
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: sample case of stones were taken. That's all I can
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: tell you. You're a liar, mister.
• 4:01
  Speaker 4: What?
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: You engineered the whole thing. We know it and so
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: do you. Was this some kind of a joke? If
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: it is, I think it's... You're a long way from
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: a joke, Garvey.
• 4:08
  Speaker 4: You planned the job. You got the loot. We can
• 4:09
  Speaker 4: give you a chapter and a verse.
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: I really think you're serious. You think I robbed Tom?
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: We're past the thinking stage, Garvey. We already told you.
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: We know you robbed him. Now, wait a minute. This
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: thing is ridiculous. The whole idea is ridiculous. I don't
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: know who gave you the so-called information on me, but
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: it's wrong. There's nothing further from the truth.
• 4:23
  Speaker 4: Nobody gave us the information. We got it ourselves.
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: You're really serious, are you? I robbed Tom, and you
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: can prove I didn't.
• 4:29
  Speaker 4: You're getting the idea.
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: I don't know what to say. Fantastic. I robbed my
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: best friend Tom Ashley nine months ago. I have $ 20, 000
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: worth of diamonds, and you can prove it. Every bit
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: of it. What about it? I think you're out of
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: your mind. My name's George Garvey. You sure I'm the
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: man you want? There couldn't be a mistake? No, there's
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: no mistake. This thing would be funny if I didn't
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: think you were serious. Let me ask you just one question.
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: Maybe that'll clear it up for you. Yeah?
• 4:52
  Speaker 4: If I held up.
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: Tom Ashley, how is it he didn't recognize me?
• 4:55
  Speaker 4: You know better than that, Garvey.
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: What?
• 4:57
  Speaker 4: You didn't hold up Tom Ashley yourself. You had someone
• 4:59
  Speaker 4: do it for you.
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: Oh, a cloak and dagger, huh? I'm afraid this is
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: getting a little too wild for me, Sergeant. Maybe you
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: can waste time making ridiculous charges. I can't. I'm going
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: back to my store.
• 5:09
  Speaker 4: It's a weak bluff, mister. It's not going to do it.
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: Excuse me. Are you sure you two men haven't been drinking?
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: Sit down, Mr.
• 5:13
  Speaker 4: Garvey.
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: I told you I'm going back to my store.
• 5:16
  Speaker 6: Sit down.
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: Look, you have no right to keep me here. These
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: are ridiculous charges. You think I'm one of those cheap
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: hoodlums you're used to dealing with? No, now come off it, mister.
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: You've got a $ 5, 000 car and a $ 40, 000 home. That
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: doesn't rate you a special treatment. You're a thief, and
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: you know it as well as we do. I don't
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: have to take this from you. You haven't got much choice.
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: We just finished five months' legwork proving it.
• 5:36
  Speaker 4: Proving what?
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: All right, now sit down there. You engineered that holdup.
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: We know who you got to do it. We know
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: how it was carried out. We know how you planned
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: on disposing of the diamonds. We know who your fence was.
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: We know what the split was. We know what you
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: did with part of the money. We know how much
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: you got left.
• 5:48
  Speaker 4: Is that right?
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right. What can I say? I don't even
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: know what you're talking about.
• 5:52
  Speaker 4: Any way you want it, Mr.
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: Garvey. Maybe you'd like to tell me why I did
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: all this.
• 5:55
  Speaker 4: You know it better than we do.
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: No, I mean it. Tell me.
• 5:57
  Speaker 4: You weren't making enough money at your job to suit yourself,
• 5:59
  Speaker 4: suit your wife either.
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: That's pretty good. Marilyn would get a big kick out
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: of that one. All right, fella. We can wait it
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: out as long as you want. We spent nine months
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: on this already. In another few days, I'm going to
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: make that much difference. Just as a matter of curiosity,
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: how did you first start off on this tangent? Whatever
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: gave you the idea that I had anything to do
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: with the holdup? When you started to spend money. New car,
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: new office for yourself, fur coat for your wife. Transferred
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: your two children to that private school. And that makes
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: a holdup man out of me because I wanted to
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: send my kids to a better school?
• 6:26
  Speaker 4: Where'd the money come from? Can you explain that?
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: Don't you think that's my business, Sergeant, where I get
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: my money, what.
• 6:31
  Speaker 4: I do with it?
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: Not when you get it stealing. I'm afraid you're going
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: just a little too far. You insist I'm a thief.
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: I'm going to insist you prove it. All right. Have
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: a look over here, Mr. Garvey. Yeah? Some of the
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: reports on the investigation. Reams of them. They cover everything
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: from the time of the jewel robbery up to late yesterday.
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: It's all right there. Everything from the crime report to
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: signed statements. How would that concern me?
• 6:51
  Speaker 4: Three-quarters of the stuff concerns you.
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: Have a look for yourself. I still can't get it
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: straight in my mind. What makes you think I had
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: anything to do with that robbery? You know what this is, Mr.
• 7:00
  Speaker 4: Garvey?
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: This machine right here.
• 7:02
  Speaker 4: No.
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: Some kind of recording apparatus? That's right. It's a tape recorder.
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: You've been taking down this conversation, and why? No, not
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: this one. We've been recording every conversation that took place
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: in your office for the last four months, every word.
• 7:12
  Speaker 4: What do you mean? Just that, Mr. Garvey. Every time
• 7:14
  Speaker 4: you talked on the phone, every visitor you had, it's
• 7:16
  Speaker 4: all down on tape, 25 reels of it. Interesting.
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: Is that supposed to frighten me? No, we don't care
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: if it frightens you or not.
• 7:24
  Speaker 4: Something else here? Yeah.
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: Reports on what you've been doing for the last four months.
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: Daily reports, every movement you've made. That's so. Everywhere you went,
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: everybody you talked to, everything you did. Want to hear
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: a sample? This must be some kind of a joke.
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: That's the only explanation I can think of. May 12th, Thursday.
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: Sergeants Bitteroff and Rafferty. Those are the two officers who
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: were tailing you at the time. You checked in at
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: your new office at 9.38 a.m. At 10.03 a.m., you
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: had a visitor, Kenneth Tyson. You talked to him in
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: your office. Conversations recorded. Tyson left at 10.18 a.m. At 10.32 a.m.,
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: you left your office. If you're trying to impress me,
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: I'm afraid it isn't working out very well.
• 8:05
  Speaker 4: You care for a cigarette, Garfield?
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: No, thanks. I have my own. All right. I've wasted
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: enough time. Exactly what's the point of all this?
• 8:13
  Speaker 4: Pretty simple. You're responsible for a robbery. You can prove it.
• 8:16
  Speaker 4: We're giving you the chance to make a statement.
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: That's nonsense. Is it? Of course. People following me, checking
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: everything I do, where I spend my money, where I
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: send my kids to school. What's it all about? It
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: doesn't make any sense. All right, Mr. Garvey. We've said
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: it before. We can wait it out as long as
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: you want. Look, let's get this thing straight. Let's go
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: back to the beginning and take it step by step.
• 8:35
  Speaker 4: That's fine.
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: The holdup was last fall, wasn't it? Sometime in October?
• 8:38
  Speaker 4: October 7th, Monday at 5.20 in the afternoon.
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: All right. Now, just what am I supposed to have done?
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: None of your vague references about a new coat for
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: my wife or where I send my kids to school.
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: Let's have some facts. Joe? All right, Mr. Garvey. You
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: went to work as a jewelry salesman for the company
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: ten years ago. Your friend Tom Ashley, the victim, started
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: the same year. The two of you have been pretty
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: close friends. That's right. I told you that. I will
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: skip the rest of your background for now. Two weeks
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: before the robbery on September 24th, you had a meeting
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: with a Kenneth Tyson. You met in a cafeteria on
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: South Broadway. Tyson's 19 years old. Lives with an older sister.
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: He works in a gas station on Olympic Boulevard. He's
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: done some work in your car for you. That's how
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: you happen to know him. Yes, I think I remember
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: the boy. I don't know him well, though. I don't
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: recall the meeting either. No, you know the boy very well.
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: At the time of the meeting, you promised him $ 1, 000
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: if you'd hold up your friend, Tom, actually. Ridiculous. Tyson
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: agreed to it, and you briefed him on the plan.
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: The following day, you gave him a gun. 32 Caliber
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: Smith and Wesson. Serial number 362741. Nonsense. Where did you
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: get that information, Tyson? Well, he's lying. Believe me, if
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: he told you that, he's lying. Is he the one
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: who robbed Tom? October 7th, at your direction. He was
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: in the parking lot behind the Hunter Crosswell building. Tom
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: actually came out to get in his car. He had
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: his case of sample diamonds with him. Tyson held him up,
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: slugged him, took the stones and got away. Of course,
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: it's obvious. Tyson's trying to say I put.
• 9:56
  Speaker 4: Him up to it.
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: He's trying to get out of it that.
• 9:57
  Speaker 4: Great not mr garvey boy couldn't have carried off the
• 9:59
  Speaker 4: hold up by.
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: Himself of course he could it's obvious he's trying to.
• 10:02
  Speaker 4: Cover up there were six people in the company you
• 10:04
  Speaker 4: worked for who.
• 10:04
  Speaker 6: Knew that on mondays actually always took the case of
• 10:06
  Speaker 6: sample diamonds long when he made his calls only on
• 10:08
  Speaker 6: monday you were one of the people who knew.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: That i suppose you've considered the other five people they.
• 10:12
  Speaker 4: Were all checked out at the time they're all cleared
• 10:14
  Speaker 4: you along with them.
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: But i'm not clear anymore is that it This young hoodlum, Tyson,
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: you're willing to take his word over mine?
• 10:20
  Speaker 4: After the robbery, he took the case of diamonds to you.
• 10:22
  Speaker 4: That was the next day.
• 10:23
  Speaker 6: You paid him $ 500 and promised him the other $ 500
• 10:26
  Speaker 6: when he got.
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: Rid of the stones. Oh, I suppose I've gotten rid
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: of them, or do I still have them?
• 10:30
  Speaker 6: Two months after the holdup, you contacted a fence up
• 10:33
  Speaker 6: in San Francisco. You drove up there and sold him
• 10:35
  Speaker 6: some of the stones, and he broke them up and
• 10:37
  Speaker 6: sold them. We know who he sold them to. We
• 10:38
  Speaker 6: know what he got for them.
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: Well, this is Fence. He's supposed to be another good
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: friend of mine. He's still doing business with them. His
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: name's Fred Lawrence. It's a new one on me. I
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: don't know any Fred Lawrence. Can't even recall the name. Well,
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: maybe this will help you, Mr. Garvey. Listen to him
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: on the tape recorder. It's reel four, isn't it?
• 10:54
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I think so. I'll label it right on the
• 10:56
  Speaker 4: back of the box.
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: Yeah, here we are. Oh, what's all this? Mr. Garvey,
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: one of the things we recorded from your office, I
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: told you about it before. Let's see. This one was
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: on March 18th. I always thought wiretapping was against the law,
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: or do you pay any attention to that?
• 11:15
  Speaker 4: We didn't type your telephone line. We recorded everything from
• 11:17
  Speaker 4: tictographs we installed in.
• 11:18
  Speaker 6: Your store and back in your office. They started recording
• 11:21
  Speaker 6: the day you moved in. That was the first of March,
• 11:22
  Speaker 6: wasn't it?
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: I don't know why you're telling me. I can sue
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: you for that, you know. I can sue you for
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: your last dollar. All we're concerned with right now is
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: Fred Lawrence. And you say you don't know him. Why
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: can't you listen to this? This was recorded March 18th
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: in your office. Here we go. Yeah, Marion. Mr. Lawrence? Yeah, sure.
• 11:47
  Speaker 4: Put him on.
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: Hi, Fred. How are you?
• 11:52
  Speaker 4: I'm good.
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: Nothing's fine. No need at all. Tyson? No, he's all right.
• 11:57
  Speaker 4: Believe me, he's a good kid.
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: Nice. Yeah, all right, where? Oh, I don't know.
• 12:04
  Speaker 4: It might not be so good if you've seen coming here.
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: Oh, 8 o'clock, 8.30? Okay, fine.
• 12:10
  Speaker 4: I suppose 8.30 seems like it.
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: All right, friend.
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: Bye.
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: Mr. Garvey, you recognize that? How about it, Garth? I
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: understand they can do clever things with tape recorders nowadays.
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: There's a way of piecing words together, isn't there? They
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: can record your voice and then fix the tape, take
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: a simple sentence and change the words around. I mean,
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: just the opposite.
• 12:30
  Speaker 6: You can examine the tape if you like. We didn't
• 12:32
  Speaker 6: make a splice in it at all. You'll find it
• 12:33
  Speaker 6: a usual factory splice. It's just the way it comes
• 12:35
  Speaker 6: from the manufacturer.
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: What difference does it make anyway? There's nothing criminal about
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: that conversation.
• 12:39
  Speaker 4: Nothing at all.
• 12:40
  Speaker 6: You told us a few minutes ago you didn't know
• 12:41
  Speaker 6: Fred Lawrence.
• 12:42
  Speaker 4: You never heard of him on that recording. It sounds
• 12:44
  Speaker 4: like you know him pretty well.
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: That's a fairly common name, wouldn't you say? Must be
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: quite a few Fred Lawrences. I didn't happen to remember
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: the name right off. How about Tyson? What? Tyson. You
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: told us you didn't know him well at all. I don't. Well,
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: it didn't sound that way on that tape, did it?
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: You were telling Lawrence that he was all right. You said,
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: believe me, he's a good kid. Know what you said? Now,
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: how about it, mister? How about what? Is this some
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: kind of a frame? What are you trying to make
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: me say?
• 13:07
  Speaker 4: We're not going to make you say anything, Garvey. We
• 13:09
  Speaker 4: work robbery detail. That's the job.
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: Robberies.
• 13:11
  Speaker 4: They pay us to clean them up. I can pay you. What?
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: Never mind. I didn't mean that. I mean, I pay
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: my taxes. I pay your salaries. I help too, anyway.
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: I don't know why I have to be treated like this.
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: No reason to make a big headache out of this
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: for anybody, Garvey. Are you engineered to hold up? We
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: can prove that. We're giving you a chance to make
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: a statement. That's all we want here. I've got nothing
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: to say. Make a statement about what? All you're going
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: on is hearsay, circumstantial evidence. You can't say I planned that, Robert. Well,
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: you admit you know Tyson.
• 13:38
  Speaker 4: You know him well.
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: I don't.
• 13:39
  Speaker 4: I admit nothing. What about the phone conversation?
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: It's a fake. They phony those things up all the time.
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: You know it as well as I do.
• 13:45
  Speaker 4: You admitted you know Fred Lawrence. We proved that from
• 13:47
  Speaker 4: the recording.
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: I admit nothing. You don't even know Tyson? Is that
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: what you want to say? I know him. That's all.
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: He worked on my car a couple of times.
• 13:53
  Speaker 4: I don't know him well.
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: All right, sir. I'd like to play you another recording.
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: It's a waste of time. I haven't got the whole
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: day to spend here. I've got to get back to
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: my store. I've got a business to operate. This won't
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: take very long. Here we are. April 5th. A lot
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: of foolishness anyway. How do I know you made those recordings?
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: You could have gotten actors. Maybe you made them up yourself.
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: There weren't any dictographs. How'd you make those things?
• 14:15
  Speaker 4: There were dictographs, Mr.
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: Garvey.
• 14:16
  Speaker 4: Remember, before you moved into that new suite of offices,
• 14:19
  Speaker 4: you had them redecorated?
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 14:20
  Speaker 6: There were sound technicians from our crime lab out there,
• 14:22
  Speaker 6: working side by side with the painters and carpenters. They
• 14:25
  Speaker 6: installed dictographs in your store and back in your offices.
• 14:27
  Speaker 4: They bugged the entire place.
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: Wiretapping? I'll bring this into court if it's the last
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: thing I do. Well, we already told you, Mr. Garvey,
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: it's not wiretapping. We didn't touch your phone lines. We
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: didn't have to. It's an invasion of privacy. I'm going
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: to take this into court. Yeah, well, let's listen to
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: this recording. Might clear up a few things. Clear up what?
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: What are you trying to prove? Okay, Joe. Yeah, it's
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: coming in here. Data on this is April 5th. Yeah, Larry. Who? Tyson? Well,
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: does he know I'm in? Yeah, okay. Send him back.
• 14:58
  Speaker 4: Yeah, come on in.
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: Hi, Mr. Gardner.
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: Ken, how are you?
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: Come on in. Sit down.
• 15:09
  Speaker 4: Thanks. How are you doing, anyway?
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: Pretty good. Trying to get a hold of you last week.
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: It's so hard to do you. I didn't very much.
• 15:15
  Speaker 4: Pretty busy, I understand.
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: The time of year, you know, it keeps you going.
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: I don't want to waste any time. I'd like to
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: know how the deal is working out, though. Going back
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: east to Albany next month, I'd like to get the
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: rest of my money if I could. Just like I
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: told you the last time, Ken, I'm sending the stuff north.
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: I hope to hear in a couple of days. Yeah,
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: I know. That's what you told me before.
• 15:31
  Speaker 4: It was a pretty heavy job.
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: I could use the money.
• 15:33
  Speaker 4: I mean, it wasn't so heavy. I wouldn't mind, but
• 15:36
  Speaker 4: I got it coming, I think.
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: Of course you do, Ken.
• 15:38
  Speaker 4: There's no question there.
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: It's just that I haven't got it right.
• 15:40
  Speaker 4: Believe me, you'd have it in a minute if it.
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: Was mine again.
• 15:43
  Speaker 4: Yeah, but that was the agreement, wasn't it?
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: $ 500 before the job, $ 500 after. It happened last October.
• 15:47
  Speaker 4: So it's a pretty good.
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: Ruth, I just haven't got it.
• 15:51
  Speaker 4: Now, why don't you drop back in a week or so?
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: No, no. How about it, Mr. Garvey? What do you
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: say to that? It's ridiculous, that's all. It's an obvious fake.
• 15:58
  Speaker 6: You can look at the tape if you like, inspect it.
• 15:59
  Speaker 6: You can check every one of those 25 reels. We'll
• 16:02
  Speaker 6: play every one of them, probably if you want.
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: Fakes, and there are bad ones at that. Now, look,
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: I'll give you both a chance. Either you book me
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: in on a charge or else release me. You try
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: booking me in and I'll sue you for false arrest.
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: I'll break you. I'll sue you blind. I can promise
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: you that. Release me and I'll get back to work.
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: I'll forget all about it.
• 16:17
  Speaker 4: Now, you name it.
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: Which one? Book me in or release me? Oh, that's
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: fair enough. You're going to give us a choice, huh?
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: You bet it's fair. You could get in a lot
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: of hot water. Now, it's up to you which one.
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: You ran a bad bluff, mister. What? We're booking you in. Thursday, 3.55 p.m.
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: Ed Jacobs and I continued questioning the robbery suspect, Ernest Garvey.
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: Despite the evidence at hand, he still refused to admit
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: any knowledge of the $ 20, 000 jewel theft nine months before.
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: The questioning went on. Garvey's answers became more and more confused.
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: We kept pressing, laying out the case against him step
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: by step. 4 p.m., 4.30. We stayed at it.
• 16:59
  Speaker 4: Must have taken quite a bit of money, didn't it, Garvey?
• 17:01
  Speaker 4: My wife's new fur coat, new car for yourself. Where'd
• 17:03
  Speaker 4: he come from?
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: Now, look, there has to be an answer. Where'd that
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: money come from? Simple. I borrowed it. Where'd you borrow it?
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: Some of it from friends, some from the banks. I
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: don't see how it concerns you.
• 17:14
  Speaker 4: How much money did you borrow?
• 17:15
  Speaker 2: Don't you think that's my business? Wasn't it about $ 7, 000?
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: Is that about right? Yeah. No, it was more. Well,
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: what's the difference? It's my business. You want to grab
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: that phone, Red? The one with the dark brown... That's it.
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: All right. Complete financial file on you, Mr.
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: Garvey.
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: Took us quite a few weeks getting this together. A
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: lot of work. You must like snooping in other people's affairs. No,
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: not especially. It's pretty dull. Here's a copy of your
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: bank statement. It's a photo stab. It doesn't make much sense.
• 17:40
  Speaker 4: What do you mean?
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: Well, we checked your income for that month, amounted to $ 620. 18.
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: Your bank statement here shows you made deposits totaling $ 760
• 17:49
  Speaker 2: the same month. Now, how is that possible? Well, for
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: your information, I made a loan that month. That's probably
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: some of the loan money I deposited. I'd quit my
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: old job that time. I was going in business for myself.
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: I needed the money to redecorate the new store in
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: the office. It's as simple as that. Yeah.
• 18:03
  Speaker 4: Before this test, your loan paper's right here. Loan was
• 18:05
  Speaker 4: for $ 2, 000. That's right.
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: The month before that, February. For $ 3, 000.
• 18:09
  Speaker 4: We had another one in April, too. That was for $ 1, 500,
• 18:12
  Speaker 4: different back again.
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: That's right. Do we have to go over this line
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: by line? In three months, you made bank loans for $ 6, 500.
• 18:20
  Speaker 2: Besides that, in the same three months, you earned a
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: total of $ 1, 713. 88. Together, that makes $ 8, 213. 88. What's the point?
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: Copy your bank statements, Garvey. You have five different savings
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: accounts in five different banks. They show from February to April,
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: the same three months you made deposits of more than $ 11, 000. Now,
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: how do you explain that?
• 18:41
  Speaker 4: Garvey, any explanation?
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: It's almost 5 o'clock. Can I use the phone? I
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: have to call my wife and let her know. All right.
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: We'll have to listen in on the extension. Conversation's going
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: to be mine.
• 18:51
  Speaker 4: Go ahead. I don't care.
• 18:52
  Speaker 2: Okay. Dial 9 to get an outside line. All right.
• 19:14
  Speaker 4: I see him. Put us there at the airport to
• 19:16
  Speaker 4: examine him, Garvey.
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: I see him. You want to give us an explanation?
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: You only had $ 8, 200. How could you bank $ 11, 000? It
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: had to come from somewhere, didn't it? It's purely a
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: personal matter, that's all. I borrowed $ 3, 000 from a brother
• 19:29
  Speaker 2: of mine who lives back in Minnesota.
• 19:31
  Speaker 4: You'd already made three loans. Why'd you have to borrow
• 19:33
  Speaker 4: from your brother, you mind telling us?
• 19:34
  Speaker 2: Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. Well, that
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: still doesn't balance the books, Mr. Garvey. You earned and
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: borrowed $ 8, 200. You got another $ 3, 000 from your brother. You
• 19:41
  Speaker 2: say that's $ 11, 200. You banked $ 11, 000. Yes, that's right. You
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: always have to repeat. That'd leave you with $ 200. You
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: and your family live for three months on $ 200, is
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: that it? Why not? That could easily be. A lot
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: of people do it. Yes, sir, but not your family.
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: I'm getting sick and tired of this. You're trying to
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: tell me you know my family better than I do,
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: what they eat, what they spend, what it takes to
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: support them.
• 20:03
  Speaker 4: We've been on this thing for nine months, Garvey. We've
• 20:05
  Speaker 4: put in a lot of hours. We know your family
• 20:07
  Speaker 4: pretty well. If you'd like, I'll tell you the last
• 20:08
  Speaker 4: time you ordered steak from the meat.
• 20:10
  Speaker 6: Market when you paid your gas bill, the last time
• 20:11
  Speaker 6: your wife bought a pair of shoes.
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: I guess this is standard procedure for you. I'm threatening people.
• 20:15
  Speaker 4: I'm not threatening you, Mr. Garvey. We're giving you facts.
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: There's another file here. It took us over a month
• 20:20
  Speaker 2: to get this one together. Complete record of your expenses.
• 20:23
  Speaker 4: From February 1st.
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: Covers February, March, April, May, June. I hope the police
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: department has a good lawyer, Sergeant. You've got a fair warning.
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: You say you and your... I'm sorry. Go ahead. I
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: hope the police department has a good lawyer, Sergeant. You've
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: got fair warning. I'm going to sue you for your
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: last dollar. Let me say you and your family lived
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: three months on $ 200. That doesn't jive with what we've
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: got here. Take a look if you want to. Lies, forgeries,
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: it's all lies, I promise you. Photostat of the receipt
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: for your wife's coat, Garvey, $ 1, 612. 34. That includes the tax
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: paid in full. Photostat of the contract for your new car,
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: down payment $ 2, 000. Liquor bill for the big party you
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: threw in March, March 20th. Liquor bill, $ 387. Catering bill, $ 194.
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: Full year's check for tuition, room, and board for your
• 21:06
  Speaker 2: kids at the private school. You sent them to $ 1, 864. 07.
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: That's only the beginning, Garvey. Comes to a lot more
• 21:13
  Speaker 2: than $ 200. Have you heard enough? I better try to
• 21:16
  Speaker 2: get my wife again. I have to let her know.
• 21:19
  Speaker 2: And you handle extension, right? Yeah. All right, go ahead.
• 21:23
  Speaker 4: Darlin', I'm gonna get outside, Garvey.
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I know.
• 21:31
  Speaker 4: Thank you.
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: I know I'm trying to get her. Stupid. Well, wait
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: a couple of minutes. She'll get through. Gabbing on the
• 21:48
  Speaker 2: phone all day long. Gab on the phone and play cards.
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: That's all she ever does.
• 21:51
  Speaker 4: That's some more figures here for you, Garvey. It'd be
• 21:53
  Speaker 4: a good idea if you hear them. Bills for two
• 21:55
  Speaker 4: more parties you threw last month. Food bills.
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: Why do you have to keep pushing that stuff at me?
• 21:59
  Speaker 2: So you've been sneaking around, finding out about my personal affairs.
• 22:02
  Speaker 2: That's supposed to be good police work, is it? You
• 22:04
  Speaker 2: carried off a robbery. Ray Garvey, we're giving you a
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: chance to make a statement. Why should I? What for?
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: Give you a statement and have you twist it around,
• 22:10
  Speaker 2: incriminate me? I haven't had anything to do with this
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: kid Tyson. I'd better try that call.
• 22:14
  Speaker 4: And we'll dial 9-1-1.
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: I know, I know.
• 22:16
  Speaker 4: You told me.
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: What's the matter? What's the matter with her? Stupid, she
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: ought to know I'm trying to get her. What's the matter, Garvey?
• 22:37
  Speaker 4: Don't forget dial nine. One more recording. I'll just play
• 22:56
  Speaker 4: a piece.
• 22:56
  Speaker 2: I don't want to hear it.
• 22:57
  Speaker 4: I'll just play a piece. I think you ought to
• 22:59
  Speaker 4: hear it.
• 22:59
  Speaker 2: Same reel there. Just fan it over there to that
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: other part, Ed. All right.
• 23:02
  Speaker 4: Tyson and Mr. Garvey, same place, the office.
• 23:09
  Speaker 2: But you told me on the phone, you said you'd
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: have the dough for me today.
• 23:12
  Speaker 4: You said today, sure. Now, wait a minute, Tyson.
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: I didn't say that at all. I said maybe I'd
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: have it for you. I didn't say definitely. Look, I
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: can't give you what I haven't got.
• 23:19
  Speaker 4: I want the $ 500, Darby. I need it.
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: I stuck my neck out on the robbery, Joe. I
• 23:22
  Speaker 2: get five to life. All right, Ed. Couldn't be any plainer. Now,
• 23:25
  Speaker 2: what do you say? Just a minute. Down on it. Yeah.
• 23:53
  Speaker 2: She was never satisfied. She never couldn't be satisfied. Always more.
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: She always had to have something else. How do you mean?
• 23:58
  Speaker 2: Your what? Playing cards, gabbing on the phone. That's all.
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: She just kept writing me day in, day out. I
• 24:03
  Speaker 2: wasn't making enough money. She didn't have any clothes. Kids
• 24:07
  Speaker 2: ought to go to a better school. We ought to
• 24:08
  Speaker 2: have a new house. On and on. I ought to
• 24:10
  Speaker 2: go in business for myself. Make money. Lots of money.
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: Same thing. All the time. Talk, talk, talk. There's only
• 24:15
  Speaker 2: so much you can take. You figured the robbery would
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: solve the problem, is that it? I guess so. I
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: would have tried anything just to shut her up, get
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: her off my back for a while. I guess you
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: got Tyson out, the other man too, Fred Lawrence.
• 24:26
  Speaker 4: Yeah, they were picked up this afternoon.
• 24:27
  Speaker 6: Lawrence at the airport, Tyson on a show downtown, all
• 24:29
  Speaker 6: three at the same time.
• 24:31
  Speaker 2: What about your wife, Garvey? She know you planned this robbery?
• 24:34
  Speaker 2: I didn't tell her. I think she knows, though. I'm
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: pretty sure she does. Maybe she'll be satisfied now. A
• 24:38
  Speaker 2: lot of money, she had to have it. Didn't even
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: leave me enough to pay off that kid Tyson. Private
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: school for the children. Wall-to-wall carpets in the house. No dishwasher,
• 24:46
  Speaker 2: no coat, no car, everything. She just had to have them.
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: You want to take me, book me in?
• 24:52
  Speaker 4: I don't care.
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: All right. We'll stop off down the hall and take
• 24:55
  Speaker 2: your statement.
• 24:55
  Speaker 4: Sure, I don't care.
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: All right. Let's go. Just a minute. All right. Yeah.
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: That's what I figured.
• 25:36
  Speaker 3: The story you have just heard was true. The names
• 25:42
  Speaker 3: were changed to protect the innocent.
• 25:44
  Speaker 5: On November 4th, trial was held in Superior Court, Department 87,
• 25:48
  Speaker 5: City and County of Los Angeles, State of California.
• 25:50
  Speaker 4: In a moment, the results of that trial. No! Ernest W.
• 26:01
  Speaker 5: Garvey and Kenneth Tyson were tried and convicted of first
• 26:04
  Speaker 5: degree robbery, one count, and received sentences as prescribed by law.
• 26:08
  Speaker 5: Fred Lawrence was tried and convicted of receiving stolen property,
• 26:12
  Speaker 5: one count. First degree robbery is punishable by imprisonment from
• 26:15
  Speaker 5: five years to life. Receiving stolen property is punishable by
• 26:19
  Speaker 5: a prison term of not more than five years. You
• 26:31
  Speaker 5: have just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases from
• 26:34
  Speaker 5: official files. Technical advice comes from the office of Chief
• 26:38
  Speaker 5: of Police, W.H. Parker, Los Angeles Police Department. Heard tonight
• 26:42
  Speaker 5: were Barney Phillips, Vic Perrin, and Eddie Firestone.
• 26:45
  Speaker 4: Script by Jim Moser. Music by Walter Schumann. Hal Gibney speaking.
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: That concludes Dragnet, episode 140, Big Phone Call. Follow Dragnet
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: for more classic broadcasts.