Latest / Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Volume 2|Mystery Audio Dramas / Dragnet: The Big Gangster, Part One (EP1538)

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Dragnet: The Big Gangster, Part One (EP1538) · Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Volume 2|Mystery Audio Dramas

0:28
Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho. This
0:34
is your host, Adam Graham. If you have a comment, email it
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to me Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot net, follow us on Twitter at
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Radio Detectives, and become one of our friends on Facebook, Facebook dot com
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slash Radio Detectives. Well, before we do get started, I want to
0:55
encourage you, if you've not already, to pick up your copy of All
0:59
I Needed to Know I Learned from Dragnet. In it, I examine a
1:03
lite lessons that can be learned from Joe Friday, as well as six other
1:10
great fictional detectives and police officers, including yours truly, Johnny Dollar, and
1:17
Poirot, as well as a brief look at their careers in history. You
1:22
can pick up this copy in the eyebook or nook stores also over at Great
1:26
Detectives dot Net. This weekend. Speaking of Poirot, I have my review
1:32
of the telephone telefilm The Clocks, and you can follow all of my reviews
1:37
right through your kindle and you can brye the Kindle delivery free for two weeks
1:42
to search for Great Detectives of Old Time Radio in the Kindle store. Well,
1:48
now it's time for today's episode of Dragnet. The original air date to
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March the twenty third, nineteen fifty and the title The Big Gangster Part One.
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The story you're about to hear is true, only the names have been
2:12
changed to protect the innocent. Drag meant you're a detective sergeant. You're assigned
2:29
to Homicide Detail. Attempts have been made on the life of a notorious hoodlum
2:34
in your city. His death could mean an open gang war. Your job
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stop it. Drag Metz the documented drama of an actual crime. For the
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next thirty minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will
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travel step by step on the side of the law through an actual case from
3:00
official police files, from beginning to end, from crime to punishment. Drag
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Net is the story of your police force in action. It was Tuesday,
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July eighteenth. It was hot in Los Angeles. We were working the night
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Watch out of Homicide Detail. My partner's Ben Romero. The boss's Tad Brown,
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Chief of Detectives. My name is Friday. It was five point thirty
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five PM when we got out of the car at Sunset Boulevard and Paris Avenue
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and walked down the street to the scene of the machine gunning Glupo's Cafe.
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M nothing that, Jill, Yeah, lit up the whole front of the
3:38
place. Yeah, Hi, Yes, it Romero and Friday homicide. Oh.
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I'm Sheldon from Hollywood Division. Taylor and I picked up the call in
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our car. Nobody heard it. What's the storm? Was just seconds?
3:50
Capta really had hold of him, will you Sheldon? Hi? Hi,
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can now much of it left here was in the cruiser car. He fill
4:00
us in all right. The intended victim was Gus Valentine. He's over there
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with Taylor, my partner. Yeah. According to Valentine, he stopped in
4:08
the restaurant here for a drink. He was in there about fifteen minutes.
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Came out to hail a cab, and this car came around the corner down
4:14
there, Sunset and Clayton. They whipped by close to the curb and opened
4:17
up the laundry there on one side of the place, in a dry cleaning
4:21
joint on the other side. Yes, sir, miracle, but nobody was
4:25
hit. Did you get anything on the car? Nothing so far. It
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happened so fast, nobody got a good look at it. How about Valentine?
4:30
Does he have any idea? I don't know Taylor's getting the information.
4:33
Nobody saw anything. Any witnesses, yes, sir, A couple, newsboy
4:39
Tim Benson, the lady in the dry cleaning place, Agnes Rebart. Neither
4:44
of them got a license. Dom Ther okay, like talk to Valentine.
4:46
Sheldon. Keep the area clear with just labman around their way up? Yes,
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sir, come on, Oh I told you I have many ideas Green
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Forts Yeah, Elliott central Hammer said, yes, sir. This is mister
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Valentine, the intended victim. Yeah, this Sergeant Friday, Sergeant Meryl Sagean
5:09
Friday. How are you fine? It's been a long time and I got
5:12
out of the uniform seven years ago. Who was it? Guys? If
5:15
I know, I tell you I don't like them. Shot at. Let's
5:17
go sit in the car this way, Valentine, you want to get in
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back? All right? All right? What's your story of Valentine? How
5:32
do you mean let's not play it cozy? Who's after you? I suppose
5:36
that would have happened, But I know who's carrying the beef. Somebody's unhappy.
5:40
Whether you must know who, I don't know what kind of a car
5:42
it was. I totally other coup over there Saiday, I'm green Ford.
5:46
We're not going to press you, Valentine. You might as well know how
5:47
we pegged this kind of thing. Yeah, we got your number headed for
5:50
a long time. You're all up and down the bladder from Lincoln Heights of
5:54
the County jail. You got a record everybody in this town knows about.
5:57
I'm sure a little mixed up. And the guy that got shot at.
6:00
We know that I'm paying my taxes for protection all the electro in my past.
6:02
Let me give you the word, Valentine. I've known you for a
6:05
long time, and I've read about you in the newspapers. I've watched your
6:08
so called climb from two bit pennyanny rackets all the way up. Now.
6:11
You've been told more than once about keeping your nose clean. This is a
6:14
switch, isn't it. Man got shot at Cops read riot Act, innocent
6:16
victim. Look, we know you and we know that crowd you run with.
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If you want to start a war unt a battlefield, don't pick the
6:20
streets of Los Angeles to fight it out. I think I asked for it.
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The way you men talk you did somewhere up and down the line.
6:26
We know your operation. You walk the sideline marker all the way. I
6:28
always got one foot inside the law. When you make yourself a target for
6:30
some punk's machine gun, that's where you step outside. Oh what are you
6:33
gonna do? Eat me out and let the men with the machine gun get
6:35
away. We'll get them whether you want to help us or not. We
6:38
just don't have the time to run around jamming a cork in the barrel of
6:40
every gun in town. Before you get out of this car, let this
6:43
sink in. There's not going to be any innocent people cut down by bullets
6:46
or we're meant for you. Oh, I get it. My tax money
6:47
is no good. Huh, A big at chunking most of the clouds in
6:49
this town. You haven't got a clear title of the city yet, And
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until you do, don't set up a shooting gown. What do I do?
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Dig at foxhole? Will you'll get rid of the tab whoever's take a
6:56
punch outs at me? You can tell us who it is. We got
6:58
all I know, thank god. While I'm picked up, I think you're
7:00
a liar. I think you better square your beef a knockoff this gangster stuff.
7:03
It's not going to be any more of this kind of thing. I
7:05
understand. That's the trouble with civil service. It makes a big man out
7:09
of you. Two hundred bucks a month. I've never passed an exam,
7:11
but I keep in step, and you missed the first one. From the
7:13
gut to the sidewalk. Almost without exception, every city in the United States
7:21
says it's Gus Valentine. These men remain out of custody not because of any
7:26
lack of law enforcement, but because of their ability to hide behind the laws
7:30
which are designed to protect the innocent and use them to their own advantage.
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They operate allowing only the thinnest margin possible between themselves and the state penitentiary.
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We drove back to Central Division at six eighteen pm. We were called to
7:43
the Chief of Detective's office. He wouldn't give you anything. Huh, not
7:46
a thing. Here's your line of smart talk. He's ever after a mint
7:48
business. A storefronts were a mess. Oh they won't quit now just a
7:53
minute. What's that Intelliensen's number two eight two win? Oh yeah, it's
8:01
brown. Captain White gone home. No, ask him to come up.
8:05
The office, will you please, We too managed to tag Valentine. It
8:09
cause a pretty sour mess. He's got enough flunkies around to parley it into
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a fair sized shooting war. See them started on less. Was there any
8:16
chance of pulling Valentine in until things simmer down? No chance. We've got
8:20
nothing on it. Nothing we can prove. He's got a few boys close
8:22
to him. Maybe one of them can tell him the same. Two lawyers
8:26
work for all of them. We'd pull them in. There be out in
8:28
an hour in a writ. You want to see me? Yeah, why
8:31
sit down? But uh, Valentine's shooting this afternoon? Yeah, what's your
8:37
guess? There's been some talk. We heard he was hot. You knew
8:39
that way. We figured he's getting too big for his pants. He's coming
8:46
up fast, stepped on a lot of tools on the way. Shouldn't be
8:48
too tough to find out why. That's half of it. We get that
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much. Maybe we can find out who. We got a big field to
8:54
pick for him. I can find you a dozen possibles. We don't need
8:58
a dozen. Well, we wanted the ones in the car that afternoon.
9:00
Who do you figure, Captain Hill? Well, I kind of go along
9:03
with Joe. Like I said, I think maybe we'll be able to peg
9:05
by a little faster and we can go from there. All right, Oh,
9:11
let's take what we know about the guy. Let's just take this past
9:15
year. We know he's got more than good share of the Mexican narcotics traffic.
9:18
That means he's taking business from the Eastern syndicate. That makes one of
9:22
those boys a Canada. That's right. And there's a pinball machines. He's
9:26
giving Big Ernie Jacobs and Monk Watson a big push on those. He puts
9:30
him in the running. It's a long list. The horses, fancy poker
9:33
games, prostitution, the works. He's squeezing them all. A lot of
9:37
guys could be shooting at him with a machine gun. Where do we start
9:39
leg work? Lots of it fast. We'll start nosing around, see what
9:43
we can pick up. Friday, you and the American gives a hand there?
9:48
All right with you? Ellie? Fine, I don't have to tell
9:50
you. We've got to move as quick as we can. We've got a
9:52
lot of places to hit him. We haven't got too much time. We'll
9:54
keep Valentine under surveillas to make sure he doesn't try to square things with a
9:58
gun. Yeah, this is and the taxpayers wouldn't understand trying to keep a
10:01
guy alive. That'd be more dangerous dead. Wednesday, July nineteenth, Ben
10:11
and I started making the rounds to find out why someone was out to get
10:15
Gus Valentine. Captain was right, the list of his enemies was long.
10:18
For two days we talked to gamblers and bartenders at the usual hangouts. The
10:22
few slim leads we picked up lead nowhere. Saturday, July twenty second,
10:28
we met with one of Ben's informants. Bar boy had a cafe out on
10:31
the Santa Monica Boulevard and sim over there on thatf table, Oh yeah,
10:41
er, oh yeah? Hi? Have Ben grabate chair? You know my
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partner? Don't you sure? Sit down? Joe? Want a beer?
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No? No, thanks for working coke? Okay, well one's enough.
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It's good and cold. Doctor cut me down one beer a day. It's
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the spot on a hot day, don't I? Yeah? What about Valentine?
11:15
What about him? You hear any things in cephones? A couple of
11:18
things where it's getting around. He's a welcher horses. I don't know.
11:22
Big money hasn't paid off. Yet what does he go? I can give
11:24
you the name of one of them, salt Tapper. I don't know,
11:28
meat packing business, wholesale. I got a big plant down fifty fourth and
11:31
Commercial. That's a little neighborhood bar. That's where he spends most of his
11:33
time. Where's that? Guardina calls it the mile high? And what about
11:37
this salt Tapper? What do you mean how close is it to Valentine?
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You mean one of his boys? Yeah? Nah, Valentine's his book.
11:45
That's something exposing. Valentine owed him a wata dough. What do you push
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his point? How do you mean would he use pressure to collect maybe a
11:52
meat flavor, not a machine gun. I don't figure him in on that
11:54
Tuesday caper? Sure you don't want to set a coke O? Thank you?
11:58
What time you go to world? Plenty of time? One bottle of
12:03
Beerian hardly enough? An He rumbles about the shooting. How do you mean
12:09
anything worth repeating? Oh, everybody says the same thing. He's got it
12:11
coming. Who is everybody? The homeowner's neighborhood, Joe's they got it all
12:16
paid? What's the popular guess? The dame? What's about it? Hunt
12:20
Jerry, it's about it. What's your guess? Fresh hoot? I don't
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know how come you guys are so worried about Gus Valentine. I didn't think
12:26
you care whether he lived or died. Either way, we're in trouble.
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We left the cafe on Santa Monica Boulevard and drove out the Guardiana into the
12:37
mile high Bar. There's a typical neighborhood tavern with the windows painted in black
12:41
except for two small ovals in the center of each window. They were filled
12:46
with beer signs and red neon. A cloth sign advertised shuffle board and life
12:50
sized television. Inside, the walls were covered with alpine mountain climbers trying to
12:56
fight their way up a mountain and looked twice as steep as the matter horn.
13:00
Nicholas were alone. Can you tell us what we can find? Salad
13:05
Tapper? Yeah, I'm him? Thanks, Lynn. What do you want
13:11
police officers like to talk to you? Sure? What about that's Valentine?
13:16
Yeah? He owes me money. Is that all you've got against him?
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As much as he owns me, that's enough. That's a real tough machine
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to me. How much money does he owe you enough? How long has
13:37
he been booking for you? I didn't see he was booking for me.
13:39
No, we did about two years. Come on, get it? Yeah,
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four thighs and on the first ball. I gotta do better than that.
13:58
Where were you Tuesday afternoon at the packing house? And you prove it?
14:01
Would I say it? If I couldn't prove it? And that little
14:09
gate up there turns green and you go through it, you get an extra
14:11
ball. It's read a double your scar, but it's real tough to get
14:13
in there. How long has valentinoed your money? All? A little over
14:18
a week? When did he say pay He didn't say. He said he
14:22
was trying to raise the dog. You're the only one he owned. No,
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there's a couple more guys in town, remember they are No, how
14:39
do you know he was somebody besides you? I heard? Did he say
14:43
why he hasn't paid up? What did you say? Did he say why
14:54
he hasn't paid out? I told you said he was trying to raise the
14:56
money? You sure you haven't tried to put the bite on him? Sure
14:58
I have, Sure I have. I want the dog. But I didn't
15:03
gun him. Somebody didn't you? I know him? No? It wasn't
15:05
me. You had a reason so a lot of people. Yeah, we're
15:09
looking for the one with a machinery. I can't help you there. Come
15:13
on, get in there. Hey, hey, look at that pre ball
15:24
twenty six thousand. That's a real tough machine to be. What did you
15:28
say you were tuosing at my packing plan fifty fourth and Commercial. How long
15:33
are you known Gus Valentine? But four years? I met him at a
15:35
party out in Hollywood. It's the first time I've ever known him. The
15:39
welch there, No. Twenty seven. I'm not doing so good, am
15:54
I? I don't know. It depends on where you were. Tuesday,
16:00
twelve thirty pm, we talked with the superintendent of Tapper's meat packing house.
16:06
He told us that Sal Tapper had been there all day when Gus Valentine was
16:10
shot at. We talked to several employees of the plant. They corroborated his
16:12
story. We checked Tapper out and found him to be a fairly respectable businessman
16:17
who gambled a great deal on the side. But we felt reasonably sure that
16:19
he had no part in the shooting. We knew that if we could run
16:22
down the others to whom Valentine owed money, we'd be closer to finding out
16:26
why it was being shot at and eventually get to the right man. One
16:30
pm, Ben and I went upstairs to the eighth floor of the City Hall,
16:33
the lunch room. We had a sandwich and coffee. Too close to
16:37
dinner to have a piece of that pie, isn't it? Yeah, I'd
16:41
say, so, have me another nap? Can we? Yes? Yeah?
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Thank you? Think you're doing any good? To talk to Valentine again?
16:48
Maybe I dot it. He's not gonna tell us anything that figure.
16:52
We're on the right track. A lot of reasons why he might be a
16:53
target, but this Welshing business, it's new to him. Could be you
17:00
sage some Friday. That's right, telephone, wait a minute and go away
17:02
the infan know you got the check. I'll get the tip a slide that
17:11
phone of the week. Oh yeah, thank you, Friday. Elip.
17:15
Come down at Chief Brown's office right away, Yes, sir, let's go
17:25
and pie? Sure did little good? Well, let's get that elevator.
17:27
Yeah, Hey, who called the skipper? He wants us to go to
17:32
Chief Brown's out Tembell straight floor. Please, what's up? I don't know.
17:36
We make the runs again tonight. Yeah, a couple of places we
17:38
can hit in the south end of town. I called Charlie Flint's place this
17:41
afternoon. Maybe he'll have something to him. Yeah. Oh somne uh wait
17:49
now I'd had that pie. I'm still hungry. I got a candy bar
17:52
in my basket and here. Yeah, I can't eat those Chulig bars in
17:56
lay with some kind of a fudge bar. Oh come then, yes,
18:03
get over to Georgia Street right away. Gush Valentine. They did it again.
18:07
Yeah, this time they didn't miss. Saturday July twenty second, five
18:27
thirty pm, we drove to the Georgia Street Receiving Hospital and went up to
18:30
the third floor. We talked to the doctor in charge, who told us
18:33
that two slugs had been taken from Gus Valentine's right leg and one from his
18:37
right shoulder. They had been marked for identification. He was in fair condition.
18:42
We talked with the patrolman who made the ambulance follow up. They told
18:45
us Valentine had been shot as he entered his apartment house garage. There were
18:48
no eyewitnesses. We went in and talked to Valentine. You told the officers
18:53
at the guy who shot you was on foot? Yeah, who was it?
18:56
Didn't tell? You? Haven't any idea who it could have been.
19:00
No, you don't expect us to swallow that again. I don't carry the
19:03
way. Why don't you pay? I but you? What do you mean?
19:07
You know some big money you haven't paid off? Where'd you get that?
19:10
That's the word going around. Looks to us like either pay up or
19:12
gets shot up? That I ask for advice? No on, here's something
19:15
else you didn't ask for. Twice in one week, you be mixed up
19:18
in shooting scrapes. We told you this city doesn't belong to you. Listen,
19:21
we've been over this before and this is the last time. Don't push
19:22
us any courage. We know your talk big and you haven't got the guts
19:26
to go along with Yeah, come on, who's shooting at you? I
19:27
know your phone number. I'll call you if I need help. I'll take
19:30
care of this myself, Valentine. The first time you pull a cap gun,
19:33
we're gonna sit on you. If there's any retaliating, we'll do it.
19:36
I'm tired of sitting like a duck on a pond and tell us who's
19:38
gunning for you? That's between me and then I'll meet him when I'm ready.
19:41
All Right, we're through talking. When we get to the bottom of
19:45
this and find out who's been doing all the shooting, we'll have an answer.
19:47
And if we find out you've been withholding evidence, it's going to go
19:48
hard for you, understand. Yeah, sure, and I'll leave me alone.
19:52
Come on, Yeah, yeah, I better call the office Homicide Graham
20:07
Captain Elliott there, I'll see Yaptin when you think too. Elliott, this
20:14
is Friday checking in on the Valentine thing. What's the story. Couldn't get
20:17
anything out of him? He hasn't hurt bad, right, leg and children?
20:21
All right, here's something you run down. Yeah, got a tip
20:23
from white and Intelligence. He's got a man out of Freddy's Fish and chips
20:26
On. Slosson says, a couple of guys and they're blowing off about Valentine.
20:30
Why Billy Keel and Tony Farrar they're not on Valentine's team. That's right,
20:34
whites Men says. The party's getting rough out there. You and me
20:37
a better follow up on it, right. Another thing, if it looks
20:40
like anything, you better bring him in for questioning. Okay, check me
20:42
when you get in right, let's go. What is it? Keel and
20:47
Ferrar? Skipper wants us pick him up and bring him in for questing.
20:49
What do they know about this shoot? You know enough to talk about it?
20:56
Seven pm Relocated Freddy's Fish and Chips Place on Lost in the Montgomery Street.
21:02
A dozen or so tables at the back of the restaurant were already taken,
21:04
with the overflow lined up too deep at the bar. A man from
21:07
Intelligence detail was down at the far end of the steam table, nursing at
21:11
cheese sandwich. He motioned us over and pointed out Billy Keel and Tony Ferrar.
21:17
They were sitting at one of the tables along with four other men,
21:18
drinking boiler makers and eating French fried potatoes. Ben and I made our way
21:22
through the crowd towards the back tables. Sorry, all right, pardon me,
21:30
I get through here, please? All right? So it's the figures,
21:33
done it you? Billy Keel? That's right? Which one is?
21:38
Stony Ferrara? He's getting a beer. What do you want? Police officers
21:44
want to talk to you in Ferrara downtown. What's the matter? I'd like
21:47
to ask you a few questions? You want to get your hat. You
21:48
got any questions you can ask him here? Hey, Vic, how about
21:52
buying around? Come on here, let's go. I got out in totalian.
21:55
Now let me alone. There's two ways to go downtown. The hard
21:57
way in the easy way again as the way, all right, this way?
22:07
Okay, Joe, Joe, Joe, I got bron he was going
22:53
on the back way. Lock it up. Wait a minute to me,
22:57
all right for our color. You are right, Jim. Yeah, you're
23:14
bleeding pretty bad. Yeah, I know. Let's get him to the car.
23:21
Look at your suit's ripped the pieces. My wife's gonna kill man.
23:30
One of the officers in the ambulance follow up drove our car back to the
23:33
City Hall. Tony Ferrar and Billy Keel were taken to Georgia Street Receiving Hospital
23:38
for emergency treatment. We went in the same ambulance. Ben had a broken
23:42
index finger, a two inch cutting his scalp, and a deep gags in
23:45
his right thigh. I had five stitches taken in my upper right arm and
23:49
three above my left eye. My right eye was swollen shut. A man
23:53
from Intelligence detail was taken to the P and F war to be treated for
23:56
a minor concussion was nine to fifteen pm. We got back to the City
24:00
Hall, the interrogation room. How about it, Hill, What what do
24:07
you know about the Valentine shooting? I don't know anything about it. You're
24:10
worried about what you tell us. You started that fight out there. I
24:14
didn't see any reason to go downtown. Does Valentine know you? Any money?
24:18
No, you've been talking a lot. Any law against that? Why'd
24:22
you shoot Gus Valentine? I didn't shoot him, and you account for your
24:26
time Tuesday afternoon? I don't have to answer that. Where were you this
24:29
afternoon? My law is coming and ask him. How much money? Does
24:32
Valentine know you? You ever seen this before? I don't even know what
24:41
it is. You found that machine gun in your apartment doesn't belong to me.
24:45
We got your car downstairs, green Ford sedan doesn't belong to me.
24:48
White slip's got your name on it. Here's something else with your name on
24:52
it. Two chips for seven hundred and fifty dollars signed by Gus Valentine.
24:56
Money he owes you on the horses. You shot him, didn't you.
24:57
I don't see how you can prove it. I'll tell you how we ran
25:00
this tommy gun through the crime lab. We dug the same slugs out of
25:03
the front of those stores where you tried to kill Valentine. Your prints are
25:07
all over the gun. How much more do you want? It's not my
25:10
gun. All we got to do is find the forty five you use this
25:11
afternoon and match it up with the slugs we dug out of Valentine's leg.
25:15
And mister, you'll be away for a long time, all right. We
25:19
used the tommy gun. We didn't hit him, didn't try. I only
25:22
wanted to scare him. I got tired of waiting for my dough. I
25:26
got no use for a welchain. What about this afternoon, No, sir,
25:29
me and feradin't have nothing to do with that. I'll take the machine
25:32
gun wrap. But it wasn't us this afternoon. Step outside a minute,
25:34
yeah, Valentine, Yeah, somebody just blew his hospital room full of holes.
25:48
It took us seventeen minutes with red light and siren to get to the
25:51
Ferndale Sanitarium where Gus Valentine was recovering from his gunshot wounds. Three cruiser cars
25:56
were out front when we pulled up. We went to room twelve in the
25:57
west wing. There's a doctor, Joe. Yeah, how is he doctor?
26:04
He was dead when we got in here. Had a private nurse shot
26:07
her too? Dead? Anyone else hurt? Was visiting Alice, some woman
26:12
was in there talking to him. She got hit. We're treating her down
26:15
in the emergency room. Appreciate a doctor if you keep your staff out of
26:18
the room here until we finish our investigation. Yes, thank you, sup,
26:22
looking sign look at that and didn't fool this time to Betty, wouldn't
26:33
give us more help? Yeah, we know where certain we were. We
26:37
still have to find out who it was without him. I hope we can
26:40
get to him before Valentine's cloud starts shooting back. We got to anyway.
26:44
This cancels out his debts. You know his record. Yeah, he knowed
26:48
a lot more than he could ever pay. The story you I've just heard
26:59
was true, only the names were changed to protect the innocent. On October
27:04
twenty sixth, trial was held in Superior Court Department ninety seven, City and
27:08
County of Los Angeles, State of California. In a moment the results of
27:11
that trial, Billy Keel and Tony Ferrar were tried and convicted of assault with
27:26
intent to commit murder. They were filed on by the Federal Authorities Bureau of
27:30
Alcohol and Tax Unit or the illegal possession of a machine gun and were found
27:33
guilty in federal court. Because they were both in custody at the time of
27:37
Gus Valentine's murder, they were cleared of any complicity of the crime. Valentine's
27:41
killer was still at large. Next week, The Big Gangster Part two.
27:51
You have just heard dragnet authentic cases from official files. Technical advice for Dragnet
27:56
comes from the Office of Chief of Police W. A. Wharton, Los
27:59
Angeles Police Department. Today, the American Red Cross is carrying on a campaign
28:03
to Binan's one of the greatest programs in peacetime history. Give now to the
28:07
Red Cross tomorrow. Here the Halls of Ivy on NBC, welcome back a
28:27
truly interesting episode. I should mention we talked before last time about two parters,
28:37
and I mentioned they're pretty uncommon in the detective drama. They were a
28:40
little more common in Crime Grama. There were several episodes of Gangbusters that were
28:45
two parts, and that seems to be the model here. This one is
28:49
a little bit different than the previous one. Because we're basically listening to two
28:53
interrelated cases. In the Big Man here it's the same case, and the
29:00
police weren't able to prevent the big gangster from getting killed, but to be
29:03
fair, he wasn't exactly helping them out. The episode kind of raises an
29:10
answers a way that somebody on the street might feel as they hear about policemen
29:15
trying to protect a gangster from being killed. And there's a sort of reaction
29:22
from a lot of folks. You know, why don't you instead of spending
29:26
the tax payers money on trying to protect all of these criminals, why don't
29:37
you just kind of let nature take its course. And this episode really illustrates
29:45
that there's a big risk of collateral damage and that's what the police are trying
29:51
to prevent here. And it really you know, in this situa, you
30:00
had two by standards already killed in a risk of so many more in a
30:07
gang war, and we'll find out next week how they're going to try and
30:11
prevent that from occurring. All right, Well, we do have some good
30:17
listener comments and feedback regarding our episode fifteen twenty six The Big Thank You.
30:25
Mark says, this one is interesting apparently they changed the name of the murderers,
30:30
as I couldn't find any Annie Marie Johnston. However, I did a
30:33
search on women executing the United States and appears the closest as a woman named
30:40
Louise Peel who was executed in the gas chamber in nineteen forty seven. Howe,
30:45
her crimes were a bit different and the murderer she was charged with had
30:49
some details difference versus the Dragnet episode. Anyway, this episode was riveting and
31:00
sad that this person repaid a kindness with murder A great work. Adam sad
31:04
to see Crime and Peter's Chambers going away, but looking forward to its replacement.
31:10
Well, thanks so much, Mark, and I hope you've enjoyed Man
31:15
from Homicide. And that was of course, we played the pilot and next
31:22
Tuesday we'll be getting into the actual series such as it was. Then comments
31:32
from Joan, who says, hi, Adam, I never get tired of
31:36
listening to the show. We learn another bit of information about Friday's family when
31:41
he tells Ben his aunt used to live around here until the fall got to
31:45
be too much for her and she moved. I loved how the lady asked
31:48
Friday if he knew how to repair her singer sewing machine some lot comedy in
31:53
the show. As you know, Adam, I always enjoy dragnet from Joan
31:57
in Southern Ontario, Canada. Well, well, thanks so much, Joan.
32:04
I think the one challenge with getting any backstory on Joe Friday is that
32:10
they didn't really keep careful track of what exactly they said about him, so
32:15
he looked for any continuity. You begin to find holes in it. But
32:21
it's interesting to get any background at all, because you know, by the
32:24
time you get to the sixties, he became as a character, became much
32:30
more of an icon than any representation of the police officer rather than an actual
32:39
character. So but thanks so much for the email. And then Haya ask
32:49
what is the song sung and played on the harmonium so innocently by the culprit
32:53
when Joe and Ben first came. It's such a contrast if you compare it
32:59
to who's she actually is and what she actually does. I'm not entirely sure
33:05
what she was singing. It was kind of hard. It was a muffled
33:08
because they were at the door. It sounded a little bit like falling in
33:16
Love again, which would make sense giving Jack Webb's musical taste. But I
33:23
don't know if listeners a little more skilled and identifying songs of the era and
33:30
let us know if they recognize the tune, I'd love to give a more
33:34
definitive answer that's what it sounded a little bit like, but I will defer
33:39
to any musical expert in the audience. Thanks for the question, Hia.
33:45
All right. Also, I did actually receive a comment on the old Facebook
33:52
page for the old Time Dragnet show. Bert messages in with Adam. Just
33:58
wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed both your Dragnet and your Near a
34:00
Wolf podcast. I really appreciate the commentary. Most other old time radio podcasts
34:06
just play the radio shows, but yours gives that added bits of information which
34:10
I really appreciate. You. Thank you, Bert, well, Thanks so
34:15
much, Bert, and that will actually do it for today. We will
34:20
be back on Monday with the Saint and join us again next Saturday for another
34:28
episode of Dragnet and have a great Easter. Send your comments to Box thirteen
34:31
at Great Detectives dot net. Give us a call two eight one one four
34:37
seven eight three and become one of our friends on Facebook, Facebook, dot
34:40
com. Slash Radio detectives from Boise Adahol. This is your host, Adam
34:45
Grahamson and off