Latest / Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Volume 2|Mystery Audio Dramas / Dragnet: The Big Pair (EP1694)

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Dragnet: The Big Pair (EP1694) · Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Volume 2|Mystery Audio Dramas

• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: This is your host, Adam Graham. If you have a comment,
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  Speaker 1: Before we do get started, I do want to let
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  Speaker 1: over a Great Detectives dot net. This weekend, be sure
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  Speaker 1: and check out my review of the Doc Savage novel
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  Speaker 1: The Whistling Wraith, and you can get all of my
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• 1:19
  Speaker 1: You can try that out free for two weeks. Well,
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: now it's time for today's episode of Dragnet. The original
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: air date September the twenty first of nineteen fifty and
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: the title is The Big Pair.
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: The story you are about to hear is true, only
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: the names have been changed to protect the innocent.
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: Dragnet.
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to burglary d Unidentified
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: thieves start a campaign of burglaries in your city. Homes
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: are broken into and.
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: Stripped of their furnishings.
• 2:08
  Speaker 4: There's no lead on the criminals.
• 2:11
  Speaker 5: Your job get them.
• 2:22
  Speaker 6: Dragnet the documented drama of an actual crime. For the
• 2:26
  Speaker 6: next thirty minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department,
• 2:30
  Speaker 6: you will travel step by step on the side of
• 2:32
  Speaker 6: the law through an actual case, from official police files,
• 2:35
  Speaker 6: from beginning to end, from crime to punishment. Dragnet is
• 2:39
  Speaker 6: the story of your police force and action.
• 2:44
  Speaker 7: It was Monday, August third, was warm in Los Angeles.
• 2:47
  Speaker 7: We're working a day watch out of burglary detail. My
• 2:49
  Speaker 7: partner's Ben Romero. The boss's Thad Brown, Chief of Detectives.
• 2:52
  Speaker 7: My name is Friday. I was on the way back
• 2:54
  Speaker 7: from the business office and it was nine to twenty
• 2:56
  Speaker 7: five am when I got through them. Forty five burglary detail.
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: You get all the money together, Joe.
• 3:02
  Speaker 8: Yeah, dollar from each man in the detail.
• 3:05
  Speaker 4: We got to buy the gift. When's Austin gonna get
• 3:07
  Speaker 4: married next Sunday. You haven't got too much time. Why
• 3:10
  Speaker 4: we always have to pick out the gift.
• 3:12
  Speaker 8: Somebody has to do. If you got any ideas what
• 3:14
  Speaker 8: we got to get him.
• 3:14
  Speaker 4: Talk to my wife over the weekend. She thinks it'd
• 3:16
  Speaker 4: be nice we get him time to start housekeeping with
• 3:18
  Speaker 4: maybe some nice kitchen table lamp.
• 3:21
  Speaker 7: Yeah, I don't know if we have enough to do
• 3:23
  Speaker 7: for a good lamp. But maybe they might like a
• 3:26
  Speaker 7: bedspread you can always use them, or maybe a nice
• 3:29
  Speaker 7: little blanket.
• 3:29
  Speaker 4: Huh, I don't know. Gotta be careful about those personal things.
• 3:33
  Speaker 4: What do you mean, what's personal about a blanket? Well,
• 3:35
  Speaker 4: we don't know much about the girl Austin's gonna marry.
• 3:37
  Speaker 4: She might not need anything. What's that?
• 3:44
  Speaker 8: Well, what'd you want to know? A little girl?
• 3:46
  Speaker 9: Since stolen things?
• 3:48
  Speaker 8: I know that all depends. Why don't you come on
• 3:50
  Speaker 8: in and tell us all about it?
• 3:51
  Speaker 4: Huh? Like to sit down a little girl?
• 3:57
  Speaker 9: I'm twelve years sold Standford? Sorry?
• 4:00
  Speaker 4: All right?
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: Now?
• 4:00
  Speaker 4: Would you like to tell us what's been stolen?
• 4:02
  Speaker 9: Everything? Everything's been stolen? We came back this morning and
• 4:06
  Speaker 9: found it that way. Grandpa's awful mad.
• 4:09
  Speaker 8: Maybe we better get the facts to start with what's
• 4:11
  Speaker 8: your name.
• 4:12
  Speaker 4: Ruth Emory Janette Jeannette, that's your last name?
• 4:15
  Speaker 9: No, Snyder, Ruth emorigion as Snyder.
• 4:18
  Speaker 8: Did you come down here alone?
• 4:19
  Speaker 4: Ruth?
• 4:20
  Speaker 9: Yes, Grandpa sent me. He's awful mad.
• 4:22
  Speaker 8: Where do you live with Grandpa? Where's that?
• 4:24
  Speaker 9: We're on College Avenue. Grandpa's lake's bothering him arthritis. So
• 4:30
  Speaker 9: he told me to come down and tell you about it.
• 4:32
  Speaker 4: About what man?
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  Speaker 9: Everything. We came back this morning on the train and
• 4:36
  Speaker 9: when we got home we found everything was stolen. It's terrible.
• 4:39
  Speaker 4: What do you mean by everything?
• 4:41
  Speaker 9: I walked all over here to tell you. I'm thirst, sir,
• 4:44
  Speaker 9: drinking fat in the hall.
• 4:45
  Speaker 8: Oh, we've got a cool over here. Let me get
• 4:47
  Speaker 8: your copa.
• 4:48
  Speaker 9: Thank you.
• 4:54
  Speaker 8: You like to drink? Man?
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: Oh?
• 4:56
  Speaker 4: No, things.
• 5:02
  Speaker 7: All right, little lady, there you go, Thank you very much. Well,
• 5:08
  Speaker 7: so I tell us what it's all about.
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  Speaker 9: Grandpa and I got back to Los Angeles on the
• 5:13
  Speaker 9: train this morning. It's been on a trip back to Indiana.
• 5:17
  Speaker 9: We took a taxicab home from the station. When we
• 5:20
  Speaker 9: got there, everything was gone. Everything that the rug in
• 5:22
  Speaker 9: the dining room.
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  Speaker 8: Yeah, all the furniture.
• 5:24
  Speaker 9: Everything's a bit sold for the chairs, my desk upstairs.
• 5:27
  Speaker 9: The stole everything's been stolen. I want you to find it.
• 5:31
  Speaker 4: I mean someone broke in while you were gone and
• 5:33
  Speaker 4: took all your furniture. Is that what you think?
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: You know?
• 5:35
  Speaker 9: They did a lock on the back door. It was broken.
• 5:38
  Speaker 9: They took everything to the dining room rug. That's why
• 5:41
  Speaker 9: grandpa's home now. He thinks the crooks will be back.
• 5:44
  Speaker 9: He's sitting on the rug because he says if they
• 5:46
  Speaker 9: take that, they'll have to take him too. We better hurry.
• 5:49
  Speaker 8: Yeah, Grandpa's not very big.
• 5:57
  Speaker 7: Am Ben and I drove little ruth and Snyder back
• 5:59
  Speaker 7: to where home on College Avenue was an old fashioned
• 6:02
  Speaker 7: wooden frame structure of few doors up from.
• 6:04
  Speaker 8: College Avenue in Everett Way.
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  Speaker 7: Ruth Anne showed us inside and introduced us to her grandfather,
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  Speaker 7: mister John H.
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  Speaker 8: Snyder, aged seventy eight.
• 6:12
  Speaker 7: He told us that a year ago he and his wife,
• 6:14
  Speaker 7: ruth Anne's grandmother had come to California from Indiana and
• 6:17
  Speaker 7: rented the house on College Avenue. The grandmother had fallen
• 6:20
  Speaker 7: ill and passed away. Suddenly, three weeks ago, he and
• 6:23
  Speaker 7: ruth Anne closed the house and took the body back
• 6:26
  Speaker 7: to Indiana on the train for burial. On their return
• 6:29
  Speaker 7: that morning, they found the house stripped of every piece
• 6:31
  Speaker 7: of furniture. We checked room by room and listed the
• 6:34
  Speaker 7: missing articles. We put in a call to latent fingerprints.
• 6:37
  Speaker 4: Do you happen to know the serial numbers of your
• 6:39
  Speaker 4: home appliances, Missus Noddy, No.
• 6:42
  Speaker 10: Sir, I've lived with most of the furniture for forty years.
• 6:46
  Speaker 10: You get to know the things you own in forty years.
• 6:48
  Speaker 9: I know it was in my room, Sergeant, my DES's
• 6:50
  Speaker 9: my table and share the bed, the curtains.
• 6:52
  Speaker 11: I took every Well, how.
• 6:53
  Speaker 4: About the estimated value of the furniture, sir? What would
• 6:56
  Speaker 4: you say it was worth?
• 6:58
  Speaker 8: Dallas?
• 6:58
  Speaker 10: And since I don't know what's a household of furniture
• 7:03
  Speaker 10: wor anyone is there? Everybody puts thrown value on their things. Yes,
• 7:08
  Speaker 10: salad on on a dining set, a wedding present, my
• 7:12
  Speaker 10: hug in the front room table. Solid too got money
• 7:16
  Speaker 10: in their day all gone.
• 7:19
  Speaker 4: Were there any leans against the furniture? Sir? Did you
• 7:23
  Speaker 4: owe anything on the furniture? I mean there was no
• 7:25
  Speaker 4: trouble with the finance company or anything like that.
• 7:27
  Speaker 12: We didn't even know what the finance company was. When
• 7:30
  Speaker 12: the wife and I was married. It was sad enough
• 7:33
  Speaker 12: trip as it was.
• 7:35
  Speaker 10: And Ruthy and me get here this morning and everything's gone.
• 7:39
  Speaker 10: All we own, Ruthie, where the thieves broke in? Would
• 7:44
  Speaker 10: you show the officers please spack this way?
• 7:50
  Speaker 8: How are you and your grandfather going to make out here, Ruth?
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  Speaker 9: Grandpa says, we'll buy two cuts for the night, Army
• 7:56
  Speaker 9: surplus smooth stove to cook on. We'll have to eat out.
• 8:01
  Speaker 9: Maybe we'll have to go back to Indiana. Grandpa doesn't
• 8:04
  Speaker 9: have much money. It's on a pension. Where's the back door?
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  Speaker 9: And see what they did to get in?
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  Speaker 4: M must use the hammer and the crowbar smashed and
• 8:16
  Speaker 4: playing through.
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  Speaker 9: You'll find the crooks, won't you start?
• 8:18
  Speaker 4: We're gonna try, Ruth. Better have the crime lab check this.
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: Huh yeah.
• 8:22
  Speaker 4: How about your neighbors, Ruth? You know an of them?
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  Speaker 13: Well, I know who they are.
• 8:26
  Speaker 9: I don't know any of them good. They're not very friendly.
• 8:29
  Speaker 8: We'd like to ask you and your grandfather a few
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  Speaker 8: more questions.
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  Speaker 4: Ruth.
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  Speaker 9: All right, I don't know what I'm going to do
• 8:36
  Speaker 9: when school starts. I stole on, I stop even my composition,
• 8:39
  Speaker 9: chat it.
• 8:40
  Speaker 4: Then they have to take those what's greaty in Ruthy?
• 8:44
  Speaker 9: I was in age seven, I'll be nba. Why did
• 8:47
  Speaker 9: they take my school things?
• 8:48
  Speaker 12: I don't know you see how they got in back there?
• 8:51
  Speaker 7: Yes, sir, we did, by any chance? Did any of
• 8:54
  Speaker 7: your neighbors know that you and ruth here were going away?
• 8:57
  Speaker 12: Why I didn't mention it?
• 8:59
  Speaker 4: No? Then no one kept an now on your house
• 9:01
  Speaker 4: while you were going.
• 9:02
  Speaker 12: No, I didn't figure it was necessary.
• 9:05
  Speaker 9: I just remember Grandpa, Missus Murton, I told her we
• 9:08
  Speaker 9: were going away. Who's that ruth She wants store down
• 9:12
  Speaker 9: to the corners, bird storeph canaries, other kinds of birds too.
• 9:15
  Speaker 9: Missus Murton's her name, stores right down the corner.
• 9:18
  Speaker 4: You figure she's the only one who knew you'd be
• 9:20
  Speaker 4: going from the house, or sometimes must have been the
• 9:22
  Speaker 4: only one.
• 9:24
  Speaker 7: All right, mister Snyder, we'll be back to see you
• 9:25
  Speaker 7: later on. And here's our card. We'll see if we
• 9:28
  Speaker 7: can't do something to help you out here.
• 9:31
  Speaker 10: Let's see here Friday merrow burglary detail. All right, thank
• 9:44
  Speaker 10: you boy. Ruthie will show you to the door. Oh say, yes,
• 9:53
  Speaker 10: you understand, but I'd like to apologize anyway.
• 9:56
  Speaker 12: I just couldn't do it. What's that sir offer you chair.
• 10:05
  Speaker 7: Ten thirty am, Ben and I called the Salvation Army
• 10:07
  Speaker 7: and told them the Snyder's situation, and then we went
• 10:10
  Speaker 7: down the street to the store at the corner of Cooley.
• 10:12
  Speaker 8: Javenue and Everett Way.
• 10:14
  Speaker 7: The sign on the window said Missus Merton's bird Land
• 10:16
  Speaker 7: Manager Agnes Merton.
• 10:18
  Speaker 4: We tried the door was locked.
• 10:20
  Speaker 7: Cardboard clock hanging on the glass door read be back
• 10:23
  Speaker 7: at one pm. So we went back up to Collige
• 10:26
  Speaker 7: Avenue and we started ringing doorbells.
• 10:29
  Speaker 8: Some of the residents on the block didn't even know
• 10:31
  Speaker 8: the Snyders.
• 10:31
  Speaker 7: Of those that did, only two had noticed any activity
• 10:34
  Speaker 7: at the house during the three weeks mister Snyder and
• 10:36
  Speaker 7: his granddaughter had been away. They told us that they'd
• 10:39
  Speaker 7: seen a moving van park in front of the house
• 10:40
  Speaker 7: about a week before. They also saw a man moving
• 10:43
  Speaker 7: furniture from the house into the van. Neither of the
• 10:45
  Speaker 7: two could describe the vehicle or remember its license number.
• 10:48
  Speaker 8: Twelve forty five PM. We had a cup of coffee.
• 10:50
  Speaker 7: And a hamburger, and then we headed back for Missus
• 10:52
  Speaker 7: Merton's bird store. Yes, ma'am, police officers, you have a
• 11:05
  Speaker 7: few questions for you.
• 11:07
  Speaker 4: Something about free, No, ma'am, but one of your neighbors. Oh,
• 11:10
  Speaker 4: the Snyders. I lived just at the street running.
• 11:12
  Speaker 13: Oh, yes, old couple. Poor missus Snyder passed away, you
• 11:15
  Speaker 13: know a few weeks ago.
• 11:16
  Speaker 8: Yes, we know.
• 11:17
  Speaker 13: They have a wonderful granddaughter, Ruthy. She and I are
• 11:20
  Speaker 13: getting to be great friends. The Snyder's having some kind
• 11:23
  Speaker 13: of trouble.
• 11:23
  Speaker 4: We're investigating a burglary at their house.
• 11:25
  Speaker 13: Oh that now you'll be fie.
• 11:28
  Speaker 12: Mary.
• 11:28
  Speaker 13: You heard what I told Blackly just see two fo
• 11:30
  Speaker 13: wouldn't be.
• 11:31
  Speaker 8: Fat I guess you knew the Snyders have been away
• 11:33
  Speaker 8: for the last few weeks.
• 11:34
  Speaker 13: Yes, I did, but they're back. I saw Ruthy pass
• 11:36
  Speaker 13: the window this morning.
• 11:37
  Speaker 4: Have you noticed any activity around the Snyder's house since
• 11:40
  Speaker 4: you've been going?
• 11:41
  Speaker 13: Yes? I did.
• 11:42
  Speaker 4: And just what you noticed? Ms Martin?
• 11:43
  Speaker 13: Well, it was seven or eight days ago. I think
• 11:46
  Speaker 13: some white moving trucks stopped in front of their place
• 11:49
  Speaker 13: and the two men started moving out to Snyder's furniture.
• 11:52
  Speaker 8: Huh.
• 11:53
  Speaker 13: Thought it was a little strange because Ruthy hadn't told
• 11:56
  Speaker 13: me anything about moving. In fact, she said definitely she
• 11:59
  Speaker 13: and her grandpa was coming back after poor missus Snyder's
• 12:02
  Speaker 13: funeral in Indiana.
• 12:03
  Speaker 8: Did you investigate it?
• 12:04
  Speaker 13: All Man's What was that you, Fred? Yes, you ought
• 12:10
  Speaker 13: to be ashamed. You can see I'm Busy's never out
• 12:13
  Speaker 13: like that.
• 12:14
  Speaker 9: And all three of them bred Blackie Mary.
• 12:16
  Speaker 13: I'll take care of you.
• 12:19
  Speaker 4: What was I You saw the moving van from the Snyders.
• 12:22
  Speaker 10: Oh?
• 12:22
  Speaker 13: Yes, and I went up to the moving men and
• 12:25
  Speaker 13: asked them if the Snyders were going back to Indiana. Well,
• 12:28
  Speaker 13: of course they didn't know anything about it.
• 12:30
  Speaker 8: Did you inquire at the Snyder's house, Well.
• 12:32
  Speaker 9: No, it so happened.
• 12:33
  Speaker 4: I didn't.
• 12:33
  Speaker 13: I was on my way to one of the big
• 12:34
  Speaker 13: avia areas in the valley and I just didn't have
• 12:36
  Speaker 13: time to stop.
• 12:37
  Speaker 4: How about the moving vans? You haven't to notice the last.
• 12:40
  Speaker 13: I don't remember the numbers.
• 12:42
  Speaker 7: Any identifying marks about the truck. You might remember maybe
• 12:44
  Speaker 7: a sign on the side.
• 12:45
  Speaker 13: Yes, the side of the truck was painted white and
• 12:48
  Speaker 13: there was large blue lettering on it. Van in storage
• 12:50
  Speaker 13: that said I remember that much?
• 12:52
  Speaker 4: Is that all?
• 12:53
  Speaker 12: Well?
• 12:54
  Speaker 13: Yes? As I said, I was in a hurry. I
• 12:55
  Speaker 13: had to pick up three sick canaries out in the valley.
• 12:58
  Speaker 4: Is there anything else about the Internet? You can remember
• 13:00
  Speaker 4: or anything at all.
• 13:03
  Speaker 13: No, I'm afraid not.
• 13:05
  Speaker 4: Well.
• 13:05
  Speaker 8: Thank you very much, missus Merton.
• 13:06
  Speaker 7: Here's our card if you happen to come across any
• 13:09
  Speaker 7: further information.
• 13:10
  Speaker 13: Yes, all right, I have to go see the Snyders.
• 13:12
  Speaker 13: Maybe I can help.
• 13:13
  Speaker 8: Bye, goodbye, ma'am. Thank you very much, Yes, goodbye.
• 13:23
  Speaker 4: Yeah, not much help there, not much. Give me an
• 13:27
  Speaker 4: idea though, waiting present for the Austins. Yeah, maybe a
• 13:31
  Speaker 4: couple of canaries and a nice cage. Five pm we
• 13:40
  Speaker 4: went back to the office.
• 13:41
  Speaker 7: Reports had come in from two more victims that night,
• 13:44
  Speaker 7: Than and I drove out to interview them. The circumstances
• 13:47
  Speaker 7: of the theft and them of the criminals matched identically
• 13:49
  Speaker 7: with the Snyder case.
• 13:51
  Speaker 8: Both of the families victimized had gone.
• 13:53
  Speaker 7: Off on vacations and neglected to notify either the neighbors
• 13:56
  Speaker 7: or the patrolmen in their area.
• 13:57
  Speaker 8: Both had allowed daily.
• 13:58
  Speaker 7: Newspapers to collect on their doorsteps in their absence, and
• 14:01
  Speaker 7: otherwise left signs that their homes were vacant.
• 14:04
  Speaker 8: In both cases, the thieves had forced an.
• 14:06
  Speaker 7: Entrance through a back door or window, stripped the house
• 14:09
  Speaker 7: of every last piece of furniture, and either hauled away
• 14:11
  Speaker 7: themselves or hired somebody to do it for them. We
• 14:13
  Speaker 7: started canvassing the two areas where the crimes had been reported. Again,
• 14:17
  Speaker 7: the neighbors saw the moving vans, but none were able
• 14:20
  Speaker 7: to definitely identify the vehicles or their license numbers. Captain
• 14:23
  Speaker 7: Fulton called us into his office.
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: You're going to have to try harder. I know they're hard.
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: To get them, to get them, get them fast?
• 14:28
  Speaker 4: Is that about everything we can so force?
• 14:30
  Speaker 8: Given only one small lead.
• 14:32
  Speaker 7: The thieves seemed to be using a different moving van
• 14:35
  Speaker 7: on each job.
• 14:36
  Speaker 8: We started the checking the movers around town, the transfer.
• 14:39
  Speaker 14: Companies, they and friends come up with any and yet
• 14:41
  Speaker 14: no no luck there allows the rackety bad? Since I
• 14:44
  Speaker 14: came on this detail, whole house, fls of furniture, everything up,
• 14:47
  Speaker 14: family owns.
• 14:48
  Speaker 7: We'll stay on top of it. The Stat's office may
• 14:51
  Speaker 7: come up with something.
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: How about an outlet for all that stuff that's been stolen?
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: Thieves can't be sitting on it.
• 14:55
  Speaker 4: Foreign shopping, second hand details been alerted.
• 14:58
  Speaker 7: They're checking regular outlets, auction, how the second hand place?
• 15:00
  Speaker 7: There's nothing yet?
• 15:01
  Speaker 4: What about some kind of preventive idea at least slow
• 15:03
  Speaker 4: them down? Good dose of publicity on the whole thing
• 15:06
  Speaker 4: with help. Only people wouldn't give it a secret when
• 15:09
  Speaker 4: they're going away. Neighbors aren't alerted. That's why a lot
• 15:11
  Speaker 4: of them didn't think much of it. When you saw
• 15:13
  Speaker 4: the moving events park.
• 15:14
  Speaker 7: Goes out and drawing blinds, and the newspapers on the
• 15:16
  Speaker 7: doorsteps didn't help much either.
• 15:18
  Speaker 8: It's an open invitation.
• 15:19
  Speaker 14: Well, i'll see what we can do on the publicity.
• 15:21
  Speaker 14: And we've had one campaign on this already. Now excuse me,
• 15:26
  Speaker 14: regulary Captain Polton.
• 15:31
  Speaker 4: What's the address? Okay, I god, thank you?
• 15:36
  Speaker 14: There you go another one. M sixty three are just
• 15:39
  Speaker 14: call it in family back from vacation. Furniture all gone.
• 15:42
  Speaker 4: Here's your dress, sire, thank you.
• 15:43
  Speaker 3: Got to get on it right away.
• 15:45
  Speaker 4: Let's go. I'll have a little more help for you
• 15:47
  Speaker 4: on this tomorrow.
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: Crowley and Barnes will be free.
• 15:49
  Speaker 4: They can work with the OKI.
• 15:51
  Speaker 13: Check you later, right, Sorrgy Friday, remember me, don't you missus?
• 16:00
  Speaker 3: Burton?
• 16:00
  Speaker 4: Oh?
• 16:00
  Speaker 3: Sure?
• 16:01
  Speaker 8: The bird story, yes, ma'am. How are you well?
• 16:03
  Speaker 13: They told me to wait here. I guess everything will
• 16:05
  Speaker 13: be all right now. Yeah, I saw it today on
• 16:07
  Speaker 13: Olive Street. Here the truck became to Snyder's house. That's
• 16:11
  Speaker 13: the license.
• 16:12
  Speaker 6: Number you are listening to Dragnet. The case history of
• 16:25
  Speaker 6: a police investigation presented in the public interest by Dragnet.
• 16:35
  Speaker 7: Tuesday, August eleventh, six pm. The license number which missus
• 16:38
  Speaker 7: Merton had given us was checked through DMV. We found
• 16:41
  Speaker 7: that the truck was registered in the name of a
• 16:43
  Speaker 7: local secondhand furniture dealer by the name of Ralph Grismore.
• 16:46
  Speaker 7: We checked his name to the Police Commission and then
• 16:48
  Speaker 7: the Eye Bureau. He had a good reputation, no criminal record.
• 16:51
  Speaker 7: Early the next morning we picked up mister Snyder and
• 16:53
  Speaker 7: his granddaughter Ruth, and we drove to Grismore, a secondhand
• 16:56
  Speaker 7: furniture store. We identified ourselves and asked to look at
• 16:59
  Speaker 7: his bibook. Under the date of July twenty seventh, Brismore
• 17:02
  Speaker 7: had recorded the purchase of more than three dozen articles
• 17:04
  Speaker 7: of furniture from a house on College Avenue.
• 17:07
  Speaker 8: The address was that of the snyders.
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: Man and a women's sergeant. They said they'd sold their house.
• 17:11
  Speaker 15: And there going east Man said the company worked for
• 17:13
  Speaker 15: a transferred them to Boston, told me how to get
• 17:16
  Speaker 15: back to.
• 17:16
  Speaker 3: Take all his new job.
• 17:17
  Speaker 4: Would you recognize the people if you saw him again, Grismore.
• 17:20
  Speaker 3: Oh, I think so. A woman was a great talker.
• 17:22
  Speaker 9: She said.
• 17:23
  Speaker 15: They figured on selling the stuff piece by piece they
• 17:25
  Speaker 15: get more, but since they had to leave town the
• 17:28
  Speaker 15: next day, she decided to sell a whole lot to
• 17:29
  Speaker 15: a dealer.
• 17:30
  Speaker 8: You got the furniture for a pretty low price, didn't say.
• 17:32
  Speaker 15: That pretty good price. Yeah, that's why I went along
• 17:34
  Speaker 15: in the fast deal. Wasn't going to talk myself out
• 17:36
  Speaker 15: of a bargain. They wanted to sell fast. I want
• 17:39
  Speaker 15: to buy.
• 17:39
  Speaker 3: I don't think anything was wrong, Sergeant, Yeah.
• 17:42
  Speaker 12: Missus Snyder, how long a dining room said?
• 17:45
  Speaker 3: That's it?
• 17:45
  Speaker 10: Right over there is sherman snip cigarburne on top, just
• 17:49
  Speaker 10: above one of the legs.
• 17:50
  Speaker 3: Know it anywhere?
• 17:52
  Speaker 12: Seems to me that time I huged the table.
• 17:54
  Speaker 9: I'll look, sergeant, the table my best hear they all
• 17:57
  Speaker 9: right here? Miss schools up too?
• 17:59
  Speaker 3: All right?
• 18:00
  Speaker 15: Yeah, they sure stuck me. All right, that's the last
• 18:02
  Speaker 15: fast deal I am. I mean, how did they contact you, Chrismore?
• 18:06
  Speaker 15: What kind of approach did you call me on the phone?
• 18:08
  Speaker 15: And I came out and gave him the praise alund
• 18:10
  Speaker 15: of stuff. Nothing suspicious about either the man or the woman.
• 18:13
  Speaker 4: That's so.
• 18:13
  Speaker 15: She was in a house dress man then around her head.
• 18:16
  Speaker 15: The guy was in old clothes, just as home as
• 18:18
  Speaker 15: you please, look like he was doing a little repair
• 18:20
  Speaker 15: work around the house.
• 18:21
  Speaker 8: You know you noticed that they had a car park
• 18:23
  Speaker 8: for the house.
• 18:24
  Speaker 3: No matter of fact, I didn't. It wasn't any in
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: the driveway.
• 18:28
  Speaker 4: No argument over the price you offered him to the phone.
• 18:31
  Speaker 15: You know, I seemed to hesitate a little, but they
• 18:33
  Speaker 15: took my first offer.
• 18:35
  Speaker 3: I thought I had a good deal. I know.
• 18:37
  Speaker 4: How'd they react after you agreed on the price, didn't it?
• 18:39
  Speaker 15: Hurry said they had to boil the train that night
• 18:42
  Speaker 15: for Boston. They asked me to get the furniture out
• 18:44
  Speaker 15: right away. The woman said they had other business to
• 18:47
  Speaker 15: wind up. So if they weren't at the house when
• 18:49
  Speaker 15: I came back with the van, why she leave the
• 18:52
  Speaker 15: back door open for me?
• 18:53
  Speaker 8: I guess you realized you were going to have to
• 18:55
  Speaker 8: place a hole on this furniture.
• 18:56
  Speaker 3: That you boy, I know, I had no one didn't
• 18:58
  Speaker 3: blame but myself.
• 19:00
  Speaker 8: And you gave this man a woman a check for
• 19:01
  Speaker 8: the full amount of the sale. Is that right?
• 19:03
  Speaker 4: Chrismer?
• 19:03
  Speaker 3: Five hundred and fifty dollars down the drain.
• 19:06
  Speaker 4: Do you have the cancel check?
• 19:08
  Speaker 3: No, not yet.
• 19:09
  Speaker 15: If you like, you'll probably get us from the bank.
• 19:11
  Speaker 15: Don't imagine those crooks would waste any time cashing.
• 19:14
  Speaker 8: We'd appreciate it if you'd run down the bank with
• 19:16
  Speaker 8: us now, O case.
• 19:17
  Speaker 10: Sir, sergeant, could I speak with mister Grismore, show him missus,
• 19:22
  Speaker 10: nanny and mister Grismoer.
• 19:24
  Speaker 3: Yes, sir, I'm sorry about all this. I didn't know.
• 19:27
  Speaker 12: Oh, I understand, sir.
• 19:30
  Speaker 10: You buy furniture, don't you, Yes, sir, what could you
• 19:33
  Speaker 10: give me for two army surplus cuts?
• 19:39
  Speaker 7: Grismore made arrangements to round up mister Snyder's furniture and
• 19:42
  Speaker 7: ship it back to his home. Then we took him
• 19:44
  Speaker 7: down to his bank, where he recovered the canceled check
• 19:46
  Speaker 7: for five hundred and fifty dollars.
• 19:48
  Speaker 8: The endorsement read mister Thomas Butterworth.
• 19:51
  Speaker 7: According to the bank teller who waited on them, the
• 19:52
  Speaker 7: suspects had cast the check shortly after the sale of
• 19:55
  Speaker 7: the Snyder's furniture. From the second hand dealer and the
• 19:57
  Speaker 7: clerk at the bank, we got a complete description of
• 19:59
  Speaker 7: the man in one known as mister and Missus Butterworth.
• 20:01
  Speaker 7: We also had photostatic copies made of the check and
• 20:04
  Speaker 7: specimens of the handwriting from the endorsement. From the descriptions,
• 20:07
  Speaker 7: we checked the suspects through the stats office.
• 20:09
  Speaker 4: We got nowhere.
• 20:11
  Speaker 7: During the next two weeks we found six more second
• 20:13
  Speaker 7: hand dealers who had been taken in on the same
• 20:15
  Speaker 7: furniture deal. The description of the man and woman matched,
• 20:18
  Speaker 7: and so did the handwriting and the endorsements on each check.
• 20:20
  Speaker 7: It was only one variation. The couple went under a
• 20:23
  Speaker 7: different name on each occasion. Wednesday, August twenty six to
• 20:26
  Speaker 7: nine am.
• 20:27
  Speaker 3: Questions like this today? That right, that's it?
• 20:29
  Speaker 4: Captain got the description? M all handwriting? Still can't reaching once?
• 20:33
  Speaker 3: These have been free wheeling for a month? Now, what's
• 20:35
  Speaker 3: going to take a stopping?
• 20:36
  Speaker 9: Oh?
• 20:36
  Speaker 8: Ben came up with a pretty good idea this morning.
• 20:38
  Speaker 8: We'd like to talk it.
• 20:39
  Speaker 4: Over with you. How's that kind of a system of
• 20:41
  Speaker 4: decoy skipper? We were thinking might be a good idea
• 20:44
  Speaker 4: to contact all the division captains and have them ask
• 20:47
  Speaker 4: their men if they have any neighbors going on vacation.
• 20:50
  Speaker 3: Yeah, go ahead. Well, we've got.
• 20:51
  Speaker 4: A few dozen houses spotted around the city. We could
• 20:54
  Speaker 4: plant a few things make them look obviously vacant. We'd
• 20:57
  Speaker 4: keep the houses covered at all times. They got to
• 20:59
  Speaker 4: ma pretty good bait for those thieves. How would you
• 21:02
  Speaker 4: set it up? They could make arrangements to get a
• 21:04
  Speaker 4: key to each home, keep the milk from favorite delivers coming,
• 21:07
  Speaker 4: let them pile up on the doorstep. They could reimburse
• 21:10
  Speaker 4: the people for whatever it cause we're not making any headway.
• 21:14
  Speaker 4: We could run this for a couple of weeks to
• 21:16
  Speaker 4: what happens.
• 21:17
  Speaker 8: What do you think?
• 21:18
  Speaker 3: Try it?
• 21:22
  Speaker 7: Nine thirty am we contacted all division commanders, requesting them
• 21:25
  Speaker 7: to ask their men to contact burglary Detail if they
• 21:28
  Speaker 7: knew of any of their neighbors about to leave on
• 21:30
  Speaker 7: a vacation. During the next two days, the response came
• 21:33
  Speaker 7: in and the plan went into effect. Forty homes throughout
• 21:36
  Speaker 7: the city were spotted as decoys. They were kept under
• 21:38
  Speaker 7: surveillance at all times. In the week that followed, two
• 21:42
  Speaker 7: more burglaries are the same type were reported, but the
• 21:44
  Speaker 7: suspects failed to try any of the decoy homes. The
• 21:47
  Speaker 7: men in the pawn shop and secondhand details continued to
• 21:50
  Speaker 7: work right along with us.
• 21:51
  Speaker 8: The stolen furniture kept turning up, but not the thieves.
• 21:54
  Speaker 7: Again, the homes that had been broken into displayed all
• 21:56
  Speaker 7: the usual signs if the occupants were away, old circulars,
• 22:00
  Speaker 7: newspaper scattered on the lawn, milk bottles, land up of
• 22:02
  Speaker 7: the door, all the blinds drawn.
• 22:05
  Speaker 8: The decoy plan continued, no results.
• 22:07
  Speaker 4: August thirty.
• 22:08
  Speaker 7: First, we had a report of another burglery involving the
• 22:10
  Speaker 7: theft of furniture.
• 22:11
  Speaker 8: We made our investigation. Two pm.
• 22:13
  Speaker 7: We went back to the office to get out a
• 22:15
  Speaker 7: list of stolen articles.
• 22:18
  Speaker 4: Hi man, Joe, Hi Austin, when'd you get back from
• 22:21
  Speaker 4: your honeymoon late last night?
• 22:24
  Speaker 3: Say tell them?
• 22:24
  Speaker 4: And I sure like to thank all you fellas for
• 22:26
  Speaker 4: that wedding present you sent us. They aren't nice of you.
• 22:29
  Speaker 4: We're over glad you liked it. Austin.
• 22:31
  Speaker 3: Sure a beauty.
• 22:33
  Speaker 4: I'd like to ask you a question about it, though,
• 22:35
  Speaker 4: I hope you won't take it wrong. Oh go ahead,
• 22:37
  Speaker 4: Well what is it? You've got an early American house? Answer? Yeah,
• 22:43
  Speaker 4: that's right, it's an NT. Yeah, it's an apple theeter
• 22:47
  Speaker 4: when the first ever bill?
• 22:48
  Speaker 3: Oh, sure, thanks a lot.
• 22:51
  Speaker 4: I get it.
• 22:54
  Speaker 8: Burglery Friday, Yeah, where right away?
• 22:59
  Speaker 4: Thanks? One of the decoy houses.
• 23:01
  Speaker 7: Yeah, we got a bite.
• 23:05
  Speaker 8: Together with Sergeants Crowley and Austin.
• 23:07
  Speaker 7: We drove out to the decoy house, where an unidentified
• 23:09
  Speaker 7: man and a woman had been seen forcing entry through
• 23:11
  Speaker 7: a back door. It had been spotted by a police
• 23:14
  Speaker 7: officer's wife who lived next door and who had called
• 23:16
  Speaker 7: in the report. We parked down the street from the
• 23:18
  Speaker 7: decoy home and waited. Five minutes past we saw a
• 23:21
  Speaker 7: woman dressed in a house coat come out onto the
• 23:23
  Speaker 7: porch of the house, look up and down the.
• 23:25
  Speaker 4: Street, and then go back inside.
• 23:27
  Speaker 7: A few minutes after that, a gray Chevrolet Sedan pulled
• 23:29
  Speaker 7: up in front of the house. A man in a
• 23:31
  Speaker 7: dark suit got out and entered through the front door.
• 23:33
  Speaker 7: Ben called communications for a make on the car.
• 23:37
  Speaker 4: Eighty K to control four eight OK to control four
• 23:46
  Speaker 4: request DMV on six Mary six seven seven mate repeat
• 23:49
  Speaker 4: six AM six seven seven mate information urging.
• 23:54
  Speaker 13: Roger EIGHTYK.
• 23:57
  Speaker 3: We waited.
• 23:58
  Speaker 7: There were no signs of activity from the dcoy house.
• 24:01
  Speaker 7: Two minutes after Ben put in the call, we got
• 24:03
  Speaker 7: our make on the gray sedan.
• 24:06
  Speaker 11: Troll forty eighty K eady K go ahead.
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: Six Mary six.
• 24:13
  Speaker 13: Seven seven eight six M sixty seven seven eight is
• 24:17
  Speaker 13: registered to the Donahe Furniture company legal the same seven
• 24:21
  Speaker 13: eight one one Harvard Boulevard. It is the Chevrolet Deluxe
• 24:25
  Speaker 13: two doors to dam nineteen forty one, model engine number
• 24:28
  Speaker 13: Z six VA four.
• 24:30
  Speaker 4: Four one four eighty k Roger M A three six seven.
• 24:36
  Speaker 7: A few minutes after the call back, a moving van
• 24:38
  Speaker 7: drove down the street and backed into the driveway of
• 24:40
  Speaker 7: the decoy house. The sign on the side of the
• 24:42
  Speaker 7: van read Donnahoe Furniture Company. Two men got out, went
• 24:46
  Speaker 7: up to the front door and were let in. They
• 24:48
  Speaker 7: came out in a couple of minutes and loaded the
• 24:50
  Speaker 7: sofa into the moving van. Okay, so Charlie and Austin
• 24:54
  Speaker 7: get to sign any times. Hey, you would probably want
• 25:02
  Speaker 7: to cover the back Austin.
• 25:03
  Speaker 4: Right, let's go Crown.
• 25:11
  Speaker 11: H Yeah, see you want something police officers like the
• 25:21
  Speaker 11: then steal you.
• 25:24
  Speaker 8: Boston probably got her, all.
• 25:25
  Speaker 4: Right, Holt, what's this all about, you cops?
• 25:30
  Speaker 15: That's right, younks, Donald, I'm buying this lot of furniture
• 25:33
  Speaker 15: something the matter.
• 25:34
  Speaker 7: You're buying from the wrong people and not for the owners.
• 25:35
  Speaker 7: You better have your man move that stuff back in
• 25:37
  Speaker 7: the house.
• 25:38
  Speaker 8: Okay for saying all right, relax, take it easy, Helen.
• 25:44
  Speaker 3: There's no use fighting.
• 25:44
  Speaker 4: They got it.
• 25:46
  Speaker 13: I told you that doesn't last forever.
• 25:48
  Speaker 12: Okay, all right, don't make it worse.
• 25:49
  Speaker 3: All right, let's go.
• 25:50
  Speaker 4: I'll take you better, fix you. Sure? Yeah, come on, man,
• 25:59
  Speaker 4: the matter with you shared Austin looks to happen and
• 26:02
  Speaker 4: she's trying to get away. Yeah, let's stick all over
• 26:05
  Speaker 4: the car there. It doesn't look very good. Yeah it doesn't.
• 26:08
  Speaker 8: What are you gonna tell your new bride?
• 26:10
  Speaker 4: I got nothing to hide, and I'll tell her the truth. Yeah.
• 26:13
  Speaker 4: She'll believe me, won't she?
• 26:22
  Speaker 2: The story you just heard was true, only the names
• 26:26
  Speaker 2: were changed to protecting innocent.
• 26:28
  Speaker 6: On November twenty fifth, trial was held in Superior Court,
• 26:31
  Speaker 6: Department eighty seven, City and County of Los Angeles, State
• 26:33
  Speaker 6: of California.
• 26:34
  Speaker 3: In a moment the results of that trial.
• 26:36
  Speaker 4: And now here is our star, Jack Webb, thank you.
• 26:39
  Speaker 7: Under our system of law, the jury selected the hearer
• 26:42
  Speaker 7: cases accorded complete freedom. The jury's decision is the final
• 26:46
  Speaker 7: result of the testimony and evidence presented in the course
• 26:48
  Speaker 7: of the trial.
• 26:58
  Speaker 6: The suspects where I as mister and Missus Thomas Dunbar.
• 27:02
  Speaker 6: They were arraigned on fifteen counts of burglary and tried
• 27:05
  Speaker 6: and found guilty on all counts. They are now serving
• 27:08
  Speaker 6: their terms in the state penitentiary. You have just heard
• 27:15
  Speaker 6: Dragnet a series of authentic cases from official files. Technical
• 27:19
  Speaker 6: advice came from the Office of Chief of Police W. H. Parker,
• 27:22
  Speaker 6: Los Angeles Police Department.
• 27:30
  Speaker 3: Coming up Duffy's Tavern.
• 27:32
  Speaker 11: Bob Hope returns October third on NBC.
• 27:54
  Speaker 2: HI.
• 27:54
  Speaker 16: This is Andrew from OTR Westerns dot com. I wanted
• 27:56
  Speaker 16: to invite you to come take a look at our site.
• 27:59
  Speaker 16: We streamline. I have OTR Westerns twenty fours a day,
• 28:02
  Speaker 16: seventies a week, along with putting out podcasts of old
• 28:06
  Speaker 16: time radio Westerns. Check us out at Otrwesterns dot com.
• 28:10
  Speaker 16: You're listening to the great detectives of old time Radio
• 28:13
  Speaker 16: with Adam Graham. Now let's get back into the show.
• 28:23
  Speaker 17: Welcome back. Well.
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: This is an example of what Dragnet consistently did well.
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: Is that they were able to educate as well as entertained,
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: and they provide some very vital home safety tips for
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: the nineteen fifties and some even do carry over to today.
• 28:43
  Speaker 17: In some ways, you can also.
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: See the lack of connectedness that many of us have
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: with our neighbors can also be a security risk. There
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: are other steps, particularly stopping mail delivery. There's certainly a
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: good idea as well as if you do somebody letting
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: them know, and they were able to illustrate that in
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: a way that wasn't a pedantic but felt really natural
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: in terms of what was going on, and they still
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: managed to sprinkle it with a nice few bits of humor.
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: I do get a little nervous when Friday and Romero
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: are planning on buying a present for someone, just because
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: usually if it's on the police force, about maybe a
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: third to half of the time, it signals that that
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: person might end up getting killed in the course of
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: the episode. But thankfully this one didn't involve violent crime.
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: Listener comments and feedback, and we have a comment from
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: Kate who said I enjoyed the quote and tribute at
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: the end of the episode The Big Poison Resting Paradise.
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: Martin Milner, Well, thanks so much. I appreciate your comment.
• 29:47
  Speaker 17: Kate.
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: Also over on Facebook, and I'm going to be trying
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: to do this every now and again, I did a
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: pull of Facebook fans as to how soon after an
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: episode mode is released do they listen to it, and
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: of our Facebook users, thirty four percent listen to a
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: show within thirty four percent of it being released, twenty
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: three percent listen to it on the same day, and
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: eleven percent listen to it between eight and thirty days,
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: and nineteen percent were less than a year behind, eleven
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: percent were more than one year but less than two behind,
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: and two percent were.
• 30:36
  Speaker 17: Two years or more behind what I was playing.
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: And it's a kind of an interesting point about the audience.
• 30:46
  Speaker 17: It definitely does make me.
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: About when I do time sensitive things, because sometimes I
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: do the show expecting that most of my listeners are
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: going to be listening to this program the same day.
• 30:57
  Speaker 17: This full suggests that may not be a bet.
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: Of course, the poll was taken from a relatively small
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: sample and may not technically mean much, but the same
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: could be said of many polls that have been in
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: the news recently. At any rate, it's an interesting day
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: to point and something I do need to think about
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: when we come to other listeners support campaigns and things
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: of that sort.
• 31:28
  Speaker 17: All right, Well, that will do it for today.
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: We will be back on Monday with Michael Shane and
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: then join us back here next Saturday for another episode
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: of dragnet in the meantime, Sender comments to Box thirteen
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: at Great Detectives dot net, follow us on Twitter at
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: Radio Detectives, and become one of our friends on Facebook,
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: Facebook dot com. Slash Radio Detectives from Boise, Idaho. This
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: is your host, Adam Grahamson and Off