Latest / The Great Detectives Present Dragnet (Old Time Radio) / Dragnet: The Big Pair (EP4544)

Transcript

Dragnet: The Big Pair (EP4544) · The Great Detectives Present Dragnet (Old Time Radio)

• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: This is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment, we're
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: going to bring you this week's episode of drag Nap.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: If you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: favorite podcast software, and today's program is brought to you
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: in part by the financial support of our listeners. You
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: can support the show on a one time basis by
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: mailing a donation to Adam Graham Pielbox one PIP nine
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: one three that's Peelbox one nine thirteen Boise Ataho eight
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: three seven one five, and you can become one of
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: our ongoing Patreon supporters for as little ass two dollars
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: per month that Patreon dot Great Detectives dot neck. But now,
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: from September twenty first, nineteen fifty, here's the big pair.
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: The story you are about to hear is true, only
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: the names have been changed to protect the innocent. You're
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: a detective sergeant. You're assigned to burglary detail. Unidentified thieves
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: start a campaign of burglaries in your city. Homes are
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: broken into and stripped of their furnishings. There's no lead
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: on the criminals. Your job. Get them.
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: Dragnet the documented drama of an actual crime. For the
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: next thirty minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department,
• 2:15
  Speaker 3: you will travel step by step on the side of
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: the law through an actual case from official police files,
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: from beginning to end, from crime to punishment. Dragnet is
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: the story of your police force in action.
• 2:29
  Speaker 4: It was Monday, August third. It was warm in Los Angeles.
• 2:32
  Speaker 4: We're working a day watch out of burglary detail. My
• 2:35
  Speaker 4: partner's Ben Romero. The boss's Thad Brown, Chief of Detectives.
• 2:38
  Speaker 4: My name is Friday. I was on the way back
• 2:40
  Speaker 4: from the business office and it was nine to twenty
• 2:41
  Speaker 4: five am when I got through forty five burglary detail.
• 2:46
  Speaker 5: You get all the mine together, Joe, Yeah.
• 2:48
  Speaker 4: Dollar from each man in the detail. We got to
• 2:50
  Speaker 4: buy the gift.
• 2:51
  Speaker 5: When's Austin going to get married next Sunday? You haven't
• 2:54
  Speaker 5: got too much time. We always have to bick out
• 2:56
  Speaker 5: the gift.
• 2:57
  Speaker 4: Somebody has to do it. We got any ideas what
• 2:59
  Speaker 4: we got to get them to?
• 3:00
  Speaker 5: My wife over the weekend. She thinks she'd be nice.
• 3:02
  Speaker 5: We get him something to start housekeeping with, maybe some
• 3:04
  Speaker 5: nice kitchen table, lamp, yeah.
• 3:07
  Speaker 4: I don't know if we have enough to do for
• 3:08
  Speaker 4: a good lamp. But maybe they might like a bedspread
• 3:12
  Speaker 4: you can always use them, or maybe a nice little blanket.
• 3:14
  Speaker 5: Huh, I don't know. Gotta be careful about those personal things.
• 3:18
  Speaker 4: What do you mean what's personal about a blanket?
• 3:20
  Speaker 5: Well, we don't know much about the girl. Aw since
• 3:21
  Speaker 5: going to marry, she might not need anything.
• 3:24
  Speaker 4: Excuse me?
• 3:25
  Speaker 6: Did you tell me something?
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: What's that?
• 3:27
  Speaker 6: Could you tell me something? Well?
• 3:29
  Speaker 4: Would you want to know? A little girl?
• 3:31
  Speaker 6: Since where you come to report about stolen things?
• 3:33
  Speaker 4: I know that all depends. Why don't you come on
• 3:35
  Speaker 4: in and tell us all about it? Huh?
• 3:36
  Speaker 6: Thank you.
• 3:39
  Speaker 5: Like to sit down? A little girl?
• 3:41
  Speaker 6: I'm twelve years old. Standford's all right?
• 3:44
  Speaker 4: All right? Now? Would you like to tell us what's
• 3:46
  Speaker 4: been stolen?
• 3:47
  Speaker 6: Everything? Everything's been stolen? We came back this morning and
• 3:51
  Speaker 6: found it that way. Grandpa's awful math.
• 3:54
  Speaker 4: Maybe we better get the facts to start with. What's
• 3:56
  Speaker 4: your name?
• 3:57
  Speaker 6: Who's Emory? Janette?
• 3:58
  Speaker 5: Jeanette? That's your last name?
• 4:00
  Speaker 6: No, Snyder, Ruth, I'm Regina Snyder.
• 4:03
  Speaker 4: Did you come down here alone? Ruth?
• 4:05
  Speaker 6: Yes? Grandpa sent me. He's also mad.
• 4:07
  Speaker 4: Where do you live with Grandpa. Where's that?
• 4:09
  Speaker 6: We're on College Avenue. Grandpa's lake's bothering him arthritis, So
• 4:15
  Speaker 6: he told me to come down and tell you about it.
• 4:16
  Speaker 5: About what man?
• 4:18
  Speaker 6: Everything. We came back this morning on the train and
• 4:21
  Speaker 6: when we got home we found everything was still. It's terrible.
• 4:23
  Speaker 5: What do you mean by everything?
• 4:26
  Speaker 6: I walked all over here to tell you. I'm thirst
• 4:28
  Speaker 6: to sir drinking fat in the hall.
• 4:30
  Speaker 4: Oh, we've got a cool over here. Let me get
• 4:32
  Speaker 4: to your kapa.
• 4:33
  Speaker 6: Thank you.
• 4:39
  Speaker 4: You like to drink? Man? Oh? No, thanks, all right,
• 4:47
  Speaker 4: little lady there you are, thank you very much. Well,
• 4:52
  Speaker 4: like tell us what it's all about.
• 4:55
  Speaker 6: Grandpa and I got back to Los Angeles on the
• 4:57
  Speaker 6: train this morning, and on the trip back to Indiana
• 5:01
  Speaker 6: we took a taxicab home from the station. When we
• 5:04
  Speaker 6: got there, everything was gone. Everything that the rug in
• 5:07
  Speaker 6: the dining room, yeah, all the furniture, everything bit so
• 5:10
  Speaker 6: for the chairs, my desk upstairs, the stone. Everything's been stolen.
• 5:14
  Speaker 6: I want you to find it.
• 5:15
  Speaker 5: I mean someone broke in while you were gone and
• 5:17
  Speaker 5: took all your furniture? Is that what you think?
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: You know?
• 5:19
  Speaker 6: They did a lock on the back door. It was broken.
• 5:22
  Speaker 6: They took everything to the dining room rug. That's why
• 5:25
  Speaker 6: grandpa's home now. He thinks the crooks will be back.
• 5:28
  Speaker 6: He's sitting on the rug because he says if they
• 5:30
  Speaker 6: take that, they'll have to take him too well. A
• 5:33
  Speaker 6: better hurry. Yeah, Grandpa's not very big.
• 5:40
  Speaker 4: Nine five am, Bet and I drove little ruth Anne
• 5:43
  Speaker 4: Snyder back to her home on College Avenue. Was an
• 5:45
  Speaker 4: old fashioned wooden frame structure of a few doors up
• 5:48
  Speaker 4: from College Avenue. Whenever it way. Ruth Anne showed us
• 5:51
  Speaker 4: inside and introduced us to her grandfather, mister John H. Snyder,
• 5:54
  Speaker 4: aged seventy eight. He told us that a year ago
• 5:57
  Speaker 4: he and his wife, ruth An's grandmother, had come to
• 5:59
  Speaker 4: California from Indiana and rented the house on College Avenue.
• 6:03
  Speaker 4: The grandmother had fallen ill and passed away suddenly three
• 6:06
  Speaker 4: weeks ago, he and ruth Ann closed the house and
• 6:09
  Speaker 4: took the body back to Indiana on the train for burial.
• 6:12
  Speaker 4: On the return that morning, they found the house stripped
• 6:15
  Speaker 4: of every piece of furniture. We checked room by rome
• 6:18
  Speaker 4: and listed the missing articles. We put in a call
• 6:20
  Speaker 4: to latent Fingerprints.
• 6:21
  Speaker 5: Do you happen to know the serial numbers? Of your
• 6:23
  Speaker 5: home appliance as missus Noddy.
• 6:25
  Speaker 7: No, sir, I've lived with most of the furniture for
• 6:28
  Speaker 7: forty years.
• 6:30
  Speaker 8: You get to know the thing is jon in forty years.
• 6:32
  Speaker 6: I know it was in my room, sergeant, my desk,
• 6:34
  Speaker 6: my table, I'm sure, the bed, the curtains, I took everything.
• 6:37
  Speaker 4: Well, how about the estimated value of the furniture, sir?
• 6:40
  Speaker 4: What would you say it was worth in Dallas?
• 6:42
  Speaker 7: And since I don't know what's a house for of
• 6:46
  Speaker 7: furniture worth anyone?
• 6:48
  Speaker 6: Is?
• 6:48
  Speaker 8: Everybody put their own value on their things.
• 6:50
  Speaker 4: Yes, I do.
• 6:52
  Speaker 7: Salad on a dining set, a wedding present, my hug
• 6:56
  Speaker 7: in the front room table solid too money in their day,
• 7:02
  Speaker 7: I'm gone.
• 7:02
  Speaker 5: Were there any leans against the furniture, sir? How that
• 7:06
  Speaker 5: did you owe anything on the furniture? I mean there
• 7:08
  Speaker 5: was no trouble with the finance company or anything like that.
• 7:11
  Speaker 8: We didn't even know what the finance company was.
• 7:13
  Speaker 7: When the wife and I was married. It was sad enough,
• 7:17
  Speaker 7: tripp as it was. And Ruthy and me get here.
• 7:20
  Speaker 8: This morning and everything's gone. All we are, Ruthie way
• 7:27
  Speaker 8: the thieves broke in.
• 7:28
  Speaker 6: Would just show the officers please spack this way.
• 7:30
  Speaker 4: Okay, how are you and your grandfather going to make
• 7:35
  Speaker 4: out here? Ruth?
• 7:37
  Speaker 6: Grandpa says, we'll buy two cots for tonight, Army surplus
• 7:40
  Speaker 6: smooth stove to cook on. We'll have to eat out.
• 7:44
  Speaker 6: Maybe we'll have to go back to Indiana. Grandpa doesn't
• 7:47
  Speaker 6: have much money. He's on a pension. Here's the back door.
• 7:52
  Speaker 6: See what they did to get in.
• 7:56
  Speaker 5: You must use the hammer and a crowbar smashed the
• 7:59
  Speaker 5: planes through.
• 8:00
  Speaker 6: You'll find the crooks, won't you start?
• 8:02
  Speaker 4: We're gonna try, Ruth. Better have the crime lab checked this, hir.
• 8:05
  Speaker 9: Yeah.
• 8:05
  Speaker 5: How about your neighbors, Ruth? You know im well?
• 8:08
  Speaker 6: I know who they are. I don't know any of
• 8:10
  Speaker 6: them good. They're not very friendly.
• 8:12
  Speaker 4: We'd like to ask you and your grandfather a few
• 8:14
  Speaker 4: more questions. Ruth.
• 8:15
  Speaker 6: All right, I don't know what I'm going to do
• 8:19
  Speaker 6: when school starts. I stole all my stuff, even my
• 8:22
  Speaker 6: composition tabs. I didn't have to take those.
• 8:25
  Speaker 5: What's greatty in, Ruth.
• 8:27
  Speaker 6: I was in age seven. I'll be in the baight.
• 8:30
  Speaker 6: Why did they take my school things?
• 8:32
  Speaker 4: I don't know?
• 8:33
  Speaker 8: You see how they got in back there?
• 8:35
  Speaker 4: Yes, sir, we did. By any chance, did any of
• 8:37
  Speaker 4: your neighbors know that you and ruth here were going away.
• 8:40
  Speaker 8: Why I didn't mention it?
• 8:42
  Speaker 5: No, then, no one kept now in your house while
• 8:44
  Speaker 5: you were gone.
• 8:45
  Speaker 8: No, I didn't think it was necessary.
• 8:48
  Speaker 6: I just remember Grandpa. Missus Murton, I told her we
• 8:51
  Speaker 6: were going away.
• 8:52
  Speaker 4: Who's that roof?
• 8:54
  Speaker 6: She runs a store down at the Corner's bird Store.
• 8:56
  Speaker 6: She stills canaries, other kinds of birds too. Missus Murten's
• 8:59
  Speaker 6: are named.
• 9:01
  Speaker 5: You figure she's the only one who knew you'd be
• 9:03
  Speaker 5: going from the house, or some time must have been
• 9:05
  Speaker 5: the only one.
• 9:07
  Speaker 4: All Right, mister Snyder, we'll be back to see you
• 9:09
  Speaker 4: later on. Here's our card. We'll see if we can't
• 9:12
  Speaker 4: do something to help you out. Here.
• 9:14
  Speaker 9: Let's see here Friday mirror burglary detail. All right, thank
• 9:27
  Speaker 9: you boy. Ruthie'll show you to the door.
• 9:33
  Speaker 4: Oh oh site there, Yes.
• 9:34
  Speaker 7: Sir, Yes, you understand. But I'd like to apologize anyway.
• 9:39
  Speaker 7: I just couldn't do it.
• 9:40
  Speaker 4: What's that, sir?
• 9:41
  Speaker 8: Offer you?
• 9:42
  Speaker 4: Chair? Ten thirty am, Ben and I call the Salvation
• 9:50
  Speaker 4: Army and told them the Snyder's situation. And then we
• 9:53
  Speaker 4: went down the street to the store at the corner
• 9:54
  Speaker 4: of Cooley Javenue and ever Way. The sign on the
• 9:57
  Speaker 4: window said Missus Merton's bird land manager Agnes Murton. We
• 10:01
  Speaker 4: tried the door was locked. Cardboard clock hanging on the
• 10:05
  Speaker 4: glass door read be back at one pm. So we
• 10:08
  Speaker 4: went back up to Collige Avenue and we started ringing doorbells.
• 10:12
  Speaker 4: Some of the residents on the block didn't even know
• 10:13
  Speaker 4: the Snyders. Of those that did, only two had noticed
• 10:16
  Speaker 4: any activity at the house during the three weeks mister
• 10:18
  Speaker 4: Snyder and his granddaughter had been away. They told us
• 10:21
  Speaker 4: that they'd seen a moving van park in front of
• 10:23
  Speaker 4: the house about a week before. They also saw a
• 10:25
  Speaker 4: man moving furniture from the house into the van. Neither
• 10:28
  Speaker 4: of the two could describe the vehicle or remember its
• 10:30
  Speaker 4: license number. Twelve forty five pm. We had a cup
• 10:32
  Speaker 4: of coffee and a hamburger, and then we headed back
• 10:34
  Speaker 4: for Missus Merton's bird store. Yes, ma'am, police officers have
• 10:47
  Speaker 4: a few questions.
• 10:48
  Speaker 5: For you, something about free No, ma'am, but one of
• 10:51
  Speaker 5: your neighbors, Oh, the Snyders. I lived just at the
• 10:54
  Speaker 5: street front.
• 10:55
  Speaker 6: Oh, yes, old couple. Cool Mister Snyder passed away, you
• 10:57
  Speaker 6: know a few weeks ago.
• 10:58
  Speaker 4: Yes, Maam, we knew.
• 11:00
  Speaker 6: Well, they have a wonderful granddaughter, Ruthy. She and I
• 11:02
  Speaker 6: are getting to be great friends. The Snyder's having some
• 11:05
  Speaker 6: kind of trouble.
• 11:05
  Speaker 5: We're investigating a burglary at their ass.
• 11:08
  Speaker 4: Oh was that?
• 11:09
  Speaker 10: Now?
• 11:09
  Speaker 4: You'll be flat?
• 11:10
  Speaker 7: Mary?
• 11:11
  Speaker 6: You heard what I told Blackie. Just eat your food
• 11:13
  Speaker 6: and't be flat.
• 11:14
  Speaker 4: I guess you knew the Snyders had been away for
• 11:16
  Speaker 4: the last few weeks.
• 11:17
  Speaker 6: Yes, I did, but they're back. I saw Ruthy pass
• 11:19
  Speaker 6: the window this morning.
• 11:20
  Speaker 5: Have you noticed any activity around the Snyder's house since
• 11:22
  Speaker 5: you've been gone?
• 11:23
  Speaker 6: Yes, I did.
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: Just what you noticed, Mss Murphy.
• 11:26
  Speaker 6: Well, it was seven or eight days ago. I think
• 11:29
  Speaker 6: some white moving trucks stopped and tried their placing. The
• 11:32
  Speaker 6: two men started moving out to Snyder's furniture. Huh. It
• 11:36
  Speaker 6: was a little strange because Ruthy hadn't told me anything
• 11:38
  Speaker 6: about moving. In fact, she said definitely, she and her
• 11:41
  Speaker 6: grandpa were coming back after poor missus Snyder's funeral in Indiana.
• 11:45
  Speaker 4: Did you investigate it all? Man?
• 11:47
  Speaker 6: That's what was that you? Fred? Yes, you ought to
• 11:52
  Speaker 6: be ashamed. You can see I'm Busy's another outburst like
• 11:56
  Speaker 6: that and all three of them, Fred, Blackie, Mary, I'll
• 11:58
  Speaker 6: take care of you.
• 12:01
  Speaker 5: Oh what was I You saw the moving van front
• 12:03
  Speaker 5: of the Snyders.
• 12:04
  Speaker 4: Oh?
• 12:04
  Speaker 6: Yes, and I went up to the moving man and
• 12:08
  Speaker 6: asked them if the Snyders were going back to Indiana. Well,
• 12:10
  Speaker 6: of course they didn't know.
• 12:11
  Speaker 5: Anything about it.
• 12:12
  Speaker 4: Did you inquire at the Snyder's house?
• 12:14
  Speaker 6: Well, no, it so happened. I didn't. I was on
• 12:15
  Speaker 6: my way to one of the big avi areas in
• 12:17
  Speaker 6: the valley and I just didn't have time to stop.
• 12:19
  Speaker 5: How about the moving vans? You happen to notice the license?
• 12:22
  Speaker 6: I don't remember the numbers, any.
• 12:24
  Speaker 4: Identifying marks about the truck? You might remember maybe a
• 12:26
  Speaker 4: sign on the side.
• 12:27
  Speaker 6: Yes, the side of the truck was painted white and
• 12:30
  Speaker 6: there was large blue lettering on it. Van and Storage
• 12:32
  Speaker 6: It said, I remember that much?
• 12:34
  Speaker 5: That all?
• 12:35
  Speaker 6: Well? Yes, as I said, I was in a hurry.
• 12:37
  Speaker 6: I had to pick up three sick canaries out in
• 12:39
  Speaker 6: the valley.
• 12:39
  Speaker 5: Is there anything else about the internet? You can remember
• 12:42
  Speaker 5: anything at all?
• 12:44
  Speaker 6: No, I'm afraid not.
• 12:46
  Speaker 4: Well, thank you very much, missus Merton. Here's our card
• 12:49
  Speaker 4: if you happen to come across any further information.
• 12:51
  Speaker 6: Yes, all right, I'll have to go see the Snyders.
• 12:54
  Speaker 6: Maybe I can help.
• 12:55
  Speaker 4: Fine, goodbye, ma'am, thank you very much, Yes, goodbye.
• 13:05
  Speaker 5: Yeah, not much help there, not much. Give me an
• 13:09
  Speaker 5: idea though, waiting prison for the Austins. Yeah, maybe a
• 13:13
  Speaker 5: couple of canaries in a nice cage. Five PM we
• 13:22
  Speaker 5: went back to the office. Reports had come in from
• 13:24
  Speaker 5: two more victims that night. Ben and I drove out
• 13:27
  Speaker 5: to interview them.
• 13:28
  Speaker 4: The circumstances of the theft and the mo of the
• 13:30
  Speaker 4: criminals matched identically with the Snyder case. Both of the
• 13:33
  Speaker 4: families victimized had gone off on vacations and neglected to
• 13:36
  Speaker 4: notify either the neighbors or the patrolmen in their area.
• 13:39
  Speaker 4: Both had allowed daily newspapers to collect on their doorsteps
• 13:42
  Speaker 4: in their absence, and otherwise left signs that their homes
• 13:45
  Speaker 4: were bacon. In both cases, the thieves had forced an
• 13:48
  Speaker 4: entrance through a back door or a window, stripped the
• 13:50
  Speaker 4: house of every last piece of furniture, and either hauled
• 13:52
  Speaker 4: away themselves or hired somebody to do it for them.
• 13:55
  Speaker 4: We started canvassing the two areas where the crimes had
• 13:57
  Speaker 4: been reported. Again, the neighbors saw the moving vans, but
• 14:01
  Speaker 4: none were able to definitely identify the vehicles or their
• 14:03
  Speaker 4: license numbers. Captain Pultman called us into his office.
• 14:06
  Speaker 11: You're gonna have to try harder. I know they're hard
• 14:08
  Speaker 11: to get, but get them, get them fast.
• 14:10
  Speaker 4: Is that about everything we can so farce give only
• 14:12
  Speaker 4: one small lead. The thieves seemed to be using a
• 14:16
  Speaker 4: different moving van on each job. We started to check
• 14:19
  Speaker 4: of the movers around town, the transfer companies, laden friends
• 14:22
  Speaker 4: come up with anything?
• 14:22
  Speaker 11: Yet, no no luck there allows the rackety vat since
• 14:25
  Speaker 11: I came on this detailed whole house was of furniture,
• 14:28
  Speaker 11: everything of family owns.
• 14:30
  Speaker 4: We'll stay on top of it. The Stat's office may
• 14:32
  Speaker 4: come up with something.
• 14:33
  Speaker 11: How about an outlet for all that stuff? It's been
• 14:34
  Speaker 11: still lon thieves can't be sitting on it.
• 14:36
  Speaker 5: Foreign shopping, second hand details been alerted.
• 14:39
  Speaker 4: They're checking regular outlets, auction house, a second hand place.
• 14:41
  Speaker 4: There's nothing yet.
• 14:42
  Speaker 11: What about some kind of preventive idea at least saw
• 14:44
  Speaker 11: them down.
• 14:45
  Speaker 5: Good dose of publicity on the whole thing with hell,
• 14:48
  Speaker 5: if only people wouldn't give it a secret when they're
• 14:50
  Speaker 5: going away. Neighbors aren't alerted. That's why a lot of
• 14:52
  Speaker 5: them didn't think much of it when they saw the
• 14:54
  Speaker 5: moving vans, parts, throes out.
• 14:56
  Speaker 4: Drawn blinds, and the newspapers on the doorsteps didn't help
• 14:58
  Speaker 4: much either. It's an open end.
• 15:00
  Speaker 11: Well, I'll see what we can do on the publicity.
• 15:02
  Speaker 11: And we've had one campaign on this already. Now excuse me.
• 15:07
  Speaker 4: Regularly, Captain Holton.
• 15:12
  Speaker 11: What's the address? Okay, I got it, thank you. There
• 15:17
  Speaker 11: you go, another one.
• 15:18
  Speaker 4: M hm, sixty three hours, just.
• 15:20
  Speaker 11: Call it in the family. Back from vacation. Furniture all gone.
• 15:23
  Speaker 4: Here's your dress here, thank you.
• 15:24
  Speaker 11: Gotta get on it right away, let's go. I'll have
• 15:27
  Speaker 11: a little more help for you on this tomorrow.
• 15:28
  Speaker 4: Crowley and Barnes will be free.
• 15:30
  Speaker 11: They can work with you.
• 15:30
  Speaker 5: Okay, giving check you later.
• 15:38
  Speaker 6: Sergeant Friday, remember me, don't you, Missus Burton?
• 15:41
  Speaker 4: Oh sure, the bird story? Yes, whim?
• 15:43
  Speaker 6: How are you? They told me to wait here? I
• 15:45
  Speaker 6: guess everything will be all right now. I saw it
• 15:47
  Speaker 6: today on Olive Street. Here the truck became to Snyder's house.
• 15:51
  Speaker 6: That's the license number.
• 16:03
  Speaker 3: You are listening to Dragnet.
• 16:11
  Speaker 4: Tuesday, August eleventh, six pm. The license number which Missus
• 16:14
  Speaker 4: Merton had given us was checked through DMV. We found
• 16:17
  Speaker 4: that the truck was registered in the name of a
• 16:19
  Speaker 4: local secondhand furniture dealer by the name of Ralph Grismore.
• 16:22
  Speaker 4: We checked his name through the Police Commission and then
• 16:24
  Speaker 4: the Eye Bureau. He had a good reputation, no criminal record.
• 16:27
  Speaker 4: Early the next morning we picked up mister Snyder and
• 16:29
  Speaker 4: his granddaughter Ruth, and we drove to Grismore, a second
• 16:31
  Speaker 4: hand furniture store. We identified ourselves and asked to look
• 16:35
  Speaker 4: at his bybook. Under the date of July twenty seventh,
• 16:37
  Speaker 4: Grismore had recorded the purchase of more than three dozen
• 16:40
  Speaker 4: articles of furniture from a house on College Avenue. The
• 16:42
  Speaker 4: address was that of the Snyders Men.
• 16:45
  Speaker 12: And Women's sigest. They said they'd sold their house and
• 16:47
  Speaker 12: there going east Man said the company worked for a
• 16:49
  Speaker 12: transferred him to Boston, told me how to get back
• 16:51
  Speaker 12: to take always new job.
• 16:53
  Speaker 5: Would you recognize the people if you saw him again, Grismore.
• 16:56
  Speaker 4: I think so.
• 16:56
  Speaker 12: A woman was a great talker.
• 16:58
  Speaker 8: She said.
• 16:58
  Speaker 12: They figured on selling stuff piece by piece that get more,
• 17:01
  Speaker 12: but since they had to leave town the next day,
• 17:04
  Speaker 12: she decided to sell a whole lot.
• 17:05
  Speaker 4: To a dealer. You got the furniture for a pretty
• 17:07
  Speaker 4: low price. Didn't she a.
• 17:08
  Speaker 12: Pretty good price. Yeah, that's why I went along in
• 17:10
  Speaker 12: the fast deal. Wasn't going to talk myself out of
• 17:12
  Speaker 12: a bargain. They wanted to sell fast.
• 17:14
  Speaker 11: I want to buy.
• 17:15
  Speaker 8: I don't think anything was wrong.
• 17:16
  Speaker 7: Sergeant, Yeah, missus Snader, I well, in a dining room
• 17:20
  Speaker 7: sets that's it.
• 17:21
  Speaker 4: Right over there is sher, Miss snap.
• 17:23
  Speaker 8: Cigar Burne on top, just above one of the legs.
• 17:25
  Speaker 8: Know it anywhere? Seems to me that time I hugging
• 17:29
  Speaker 8: the stable.
• 17:29
  Speaker 6: I'll look, sergeant at the table. My best hear the
• 17:32
  Speaker 6: all right here we schools too, all right?
• 17:35
  Speaker 4: They sure stuck me.
• 17:36
  Speaker 11: All right, that's the last fast deal, I e.
• 17:38
  Speaker 5: I mean, how did they CONTACTI chrismore? What kind of approach?
• 17:42
  Speaker 12: Did they call me on the phone? And I came
• 17:44
  Speaker 12: out and gave him appraisal alund of stuff. Nothing suspicious
• 17:46
  Speaker 12: about either the man or the woman.
• 17:48
  Speaker 4: That's so.
• 17:49
  Speaker 12: She was in a house dress and then around her head.
• 17:51
  Speaker 12: The guy was in old clothes, just as home as
• 17:53
  Speaker 12: you please, look like he was doing a little repair
• 17:55
  Speaker 12: work around the house.
• 17:56
  Speaker 4: You know, you noticed that they had a car park
• 17:58
  Speaker 4: with a house or as.
• 18:00
  Speaker 12: A matter of fact, I didn't it wasn't any in
• 18:02
  Speaker 12: the driveway.
• 18:04
  Speaker 5: No argument over the price you offered him for the furniture.
• 18:06
  Speaker 12: You know, I seemed to hesitate a little, but they
• 18:08
  Speaker 12: took my first offer. I thought I had a good deal.
• 18:11
  Speaker 6: I know.
• 18:12
  Speaker 5: How'd they react after you agreed on the price, didn't it?
• 18:14
  Speaker 12: Hurry said they had to boil the train that night
• 18:17
  Speaker 12: for Boston. They asked me to get the furniture out
• 18:19
  Speaker 12: right away. The woman said they had other business to
• 18:22
  Speaker 12: wind up. So if they weren't at the house when
• 18:25
  Speaker 12: I came back with the van, why she leave the
• 18:27
  Speaker 12: back door open for me?
• 18:28
  Speaker 4: I guess you realized they were going to have to
• 18:30
  Speaker 4: place a hole on this furniture that you bought.
• 18:32
  Speaker 8: I know I had no I didn't blame but myself.
• 18:35
  Speaker 4: You gave this man a woman a check for the
• 18:36
  Speaker 4: full amount of the sale. Is that right, Chrismer?
• 18:38
  Speaker 11: Five hundred and fifty dollars down the drain?
• 18:41
  Speaker 5: Do you have the cancer check?
• 18:43
  Speaker 6: No?
• 18:43
  Speaker 12: Not yet. If you like, you'll probably get it from
• 18:45
  Speaker 12: the bank. Don't imagine those crooks would waste any time
• 18:48
  Speaker 12: cashing it.
• 18:49
  Speaker 4: And I would appreciate it if you'd run down the
• 18:50
  Speaker 4: bank with us.
• 18:51
  Speaker 7: Now, okay, sir, sergeant. Could I speak with mister Grismore
• 18:56
  Speaker 7: so missus Nudding and mister Grismer. Yes, sir, I'm sorry
• 19:00
  Speaker 7: about all this.
• 19:01
  Speaker 8: I didn't know.
• 19:02
  Speaker 4: I understand, sir.
• 19:05
  Speaker 7: You buy furniture, don't you, Your sir? What could you
• 19:08
  Speaker 7: give me for two army surplus cuts?
• 19:14
  Speaker 4: Gwismore made arrangements round up mister Snyder's furniture and shipped
• 19:17
  Speaker 4: it back to his home. Then we took him down
• 19:19
  Speaker 4: to his bank, where he recovered the canceled check for
• 19:21
  Speaker 4: five hundred and fifty dollars. The endorsement read mister Thomas Butterworth.
• 19:25
  Speaker 4: According to the bank teller who waited on them, the
• 19:27
  Speaker 4: suspects had cast the check shortly after the sale of
• 19:30
  Speaker 4: the Snyder's furniture. From the second hand dealer and the
• 19:32
  Speaker 4: clerk at the bank, we got a complete description of
• 19:34
  Speaker 4: the man and woman known as mister and Missus Butterworth.
• 19:36
  Speaker 4: We also had photostatic copies made of the check and
• 19:38
  Speaker 4: specimens of the handwriting from the endorsement. From the descriptions,
• 19:42
  Speaker 4: we checked the suspects through the stats office. We got nowhere.
• 19:45
  Speaker 4: During the next two weeks we found six more second
• 19:48
  Speaker 4: hand dealers who had been taken in on the same
• 19:50
  Speaker 4: furniture deal. The description of the man and woman matched,
• 19:52
  Speaker 4: and so did the handwriting and the endorsements. On each check.
• 19:55
  Speaker 4: There was only one variation. The couple went under a
• 19:57
  Speaker 4: different name on each occasion. Wednesday, August twenty six nine,
• 20:01
  Speaker 4: am uestas like this today? That right? That's it?
• 20:04
  Speaker 5: Captain got the description. M all handwriting still can't reaching us.
• 20:08
  Speaker 11: Thieves have been free wheeling for a month. Now, what's
• 20:10
  Speaker 11: going to take to stop? And?
• 20:11
  Speaker 4: Oh, Ben came up with a pretty good idea this morning.
• 20:13
  Speaker 4: We'd like to talk it over with you.
• 20:14
  Speaker 5: Oh what's that kind of a system of decoys, skipper.
• 20:17
  Speaker 5: We were thinking it might be a good idea to
• 20:19
  Speaker 5: contact all the division captains and have them ask their
• 20:21
  Speaker 5: men if they have any neighbors going on vacation.
• 20:24
  Speaker 11: Yeah, go ahead.
• 20:25
  Speaker 5: Well, we've got a few dozen houses spot around the city.
• 20:28
  Speaker 5: We could plant a few things make them look obviously vacant.
• 20:32
  Speaker 4: We keep the houses covered at all times to make
• 20:34
  Speaker 4: pretty good bait for those thieves. How would you set
• 20:36
  Speaker 4: it up?
• 20:37
  Speaker 5: We could make arrangements to get a key to each home,
• 20:39
  Speaker 5: keep the milk and paper delivers coming. Let them pile
• 20:42
  Speaker 5: up on the doorstep. We could reimburse the people for
• 20:45
  Speaker 5: whatever it cast.
• 20:47
  Speaker 4: We're not making any headway. We could run this for
• 20:49
  Speaker 4: a couple of weeks to what happens. What do you
• 20:52
  Speaker 4: think try it? Nine thirty am we contacted all division commanders,
• 20:59
  Speaker 4: request them to ask their men to contact Burglery Detail
• 21:02
  Speaker 4: if they knew of any of their neighbors about to
• 21:04
  Speaker 4: leave on a vacation. During the next two days, the
• 21:07
  Speaker 4: response came in and the plan went into effect. Forty
• 21:10
  Speaker 4: homes throughout the city were spotted as decoys. They were
• 21:12
  Speaker 4: kept under surveillance at all times. In the week that followed,
• 21:16
  Speaker 4: two more burglaries are the same type were reported, but
• 21:18
  Speaker 4: the suspects failed to try any of the decoy homes.
• 21:21
  Speaker 4: The men in the pawn shop and second hand details
• 21:24
  Speaker 4: continued to work right along with us. The stolen furniture
• 21:26
  Speaker 4: kept turning up, but not the thieves. Again. The homes
• 21:29
  Speaker 4: that had been broken into displayed all the usual signs
• 21:31
  Speaker 4: if the occupants were away, old circulars and newspapers scattered
• 21:35
  Speaker 4: on the lawn, milk bottles lanned up at the door,
• 21:37
  Speaker 4: all the blinds drawn. The decoy plan continued no results.
• 21:42
  Speaker 4: August thirty first, we had a report of another burglery
• 21:44
  Speaker 4: involving the theft of furniture. We made our investigation. Two pm.
• 21:48
  Speaker 4: We went back to the office to get out a
• 21:49
  Speaker 4: list of stolen articles.
• 21:52
  Speaker 5: Hi man, thank Joe, Hi Austin. When'd you get back
• 21:55
  Speaker 5: from your honeymoon.
• 21:56
  Speaker 13: Late last night? So they tell them, And I'd sure
• 21:59
  Speaker 13: like to thank you. Call you fellas for that wedding
• 22:01
  Speaker 13: present you sent us. Darn nice of you.
• 22:03
  Speaker 4: We're over glad you liked at Austin.
• 22:05
  Speaker 13: Sure a beauty. I'd like to ask you a question
• 22:08
  Speaker 13: about it, though, I hope you won't take it wrong.
• 22:10
  Speaker 5: Oh, go ahead, Well what is it? You've got an
• 22:15
  Speaker 5: early American house, haven't you. Yeah, that's right, it's an antique. Yeah,
• 22:19
  Speaker 5: it's an Apple theater on the first ever built. Oh sure,
• 22:24
  Speaker 5: thanks a lot.
• 22:25
  Speaker 4: I get it up Burglary Friday, Yeah, where right away? Thanks?
• 22:34
  Speaker 4: One of the decoy houses, Yeah, we got a bite.
• 22:39
  Speaker 4: Together with Sergeants Crowley and Austin, we drove out to
• 22:42
  Speaker 4: the decoy house where an unidentified man and a woman
• 22:44
  Speaker 4: had been seen forcing entry through a back door. They
• 22:47
  Speaker 4: had been spotted by a police officer's wife who lived
• 22:49
  Speaker 4: next door and who had called in the report. We
• 22:51
  Speaker 4: parked down the street from the decoy home and waited.
• 22:54
  Speaker 4: Five minutes past we saw women dressed in a house
• 22:56
  Speaker 4: coat come out onto the porch of the house, look
• 22:58
  Speaker 4: up and down the street, and then go back inside.
• 23:01
  Speaker 4: A few minutes after that, a great Chevrolet Sadan pulled
• 23:03
  Speaker 4: up in front of the house. A man in a
• 23:05
  Speaker 4: dark suit got out and entered through the front door.
• 23:07
  Speaker 4: Ben called communications for a make on the car.
• 23:11
  Speaker 5: Eighty K to control four eight okay to control four
• 23:19
  Speaker 5: request DMV on six Mary six seven seven may repeat
• 23:23
  Speaker 5: six M sixty seven seven may information urgent.
• 23:28
  Speaker 14: Roger eighty K.
• 23:31
  Speaker 4: We waited. There were no signs of activity from the
• 23:33
  Speaker 4: decoy house. Two minutes after Ben put in the call,
• 23:37
  Speaker 4: we got our make on the gray sedan.
• 23:40
  Speaker 5: Control for eighty K eighty K go ahead.
• 23:45
  Speaker 14: Six Mary six seven seven eight six M sixty seven
• 23:49
  Speaker 14: seven eight is registered to the Donahole Furniture Company, legal
• 23:53
  Speaker 14: the same seven eight one one Harvard Boulevard. It is
• 23:57
  Speaker 14: the Chevrolet de Lucks two doors of Dan nineteen forty
• 24:00
  Speaker 14: one model engine number the six D A four four.
• 24:04
  Speaker 15: One four eighty K, Roger M A three six seven
• 24:09
  Speaker 15: A few minutes after the call back, a moving van
• 24:12
  Speaker 15: drove down the street and backed into the driveway at
• 24:14
  Speaker 15: the decoy house.
• 24:15
  Speaker 4: The sign on the side of the van read Donahoe
• 24:17
  Speaker 4: Furniture Company. Two men got out, went up to the
• 24:20
  Speaker 4: front door and were let in. They came out in
• 24:22
  Speaker 4: a couple of minutes and loaded the sofa into the
• 24:24
  Speaker 4: moving van. Okay, probably in Austin, get the sign any time.
• 24:29
  Speaker 4: That's good. Hey, you would probably want to cover the
• 24:36
  Speaker 4: back Austin.
• 24:36
  Speaker 8: Right, let's go crowd.
• 24:39
  Speaker 4: Monday.
• 24:51
  Speaker 5: Yuh see, you want something?
• 24:52
  Speaker 4: Police officers like these then steal you Austin trolley got her?
• 24:58
  Speaker 6: All right?
• 24:58
  Speaker 5: Hold stale, mister, what's this all about?
• 25:02
  Speaker 4: You cops? That's right you thanks, donah I'm buying this
• 25:06
  Speaker 4: lot of furniture something the matter. You're buying from the
• 25:08
  Speaker 4: wrong people, are not the owners. You better have your
• 25:09
  Speaker 4: men move that stuff back in the house. Okay, you
• 25:12
  Speaker 4: say something?
• 25:13
  Speaker 5: All right, let me be relaxed.
• 25:16
  Speaker 4: Take it easy, Helen.
• 25:17
  Speaker 11: There's no use fighting.
• 25:18
  Speaker 4: They got us.
• 25:19
  Speaker 6: I told you luck doesn't last forever.
• 25:21
  Speaker 8: Okay, all right, don't make it worse.
• 25:23
  Speaker 4: All right, let's go.
• 25:24
  Speaker 5: I'll take you better fix your sure. Yeah, come on, man,
• 25:32
  Speaker 5: it's the matter with your shirt, Austin.
• 25:34
  Speaker 11: Look, it needs to happen. And she tried to get away.
• 25:37
  Speaker 16: You know, let's stick all over the car there. Doesn't
• 25:39
  Speaker 16: look very good, doesn't What are you gonna tell your
• 25:42
  Speaker 16: new bride? I got nothing to high and I'll tell
• 25:45
  Speaker 16: her the truth. Yeah, she will believe me, won't she.
• 25:55
  Speaker 2: The story you just heard was true, only the names
• 25:59
  Speaker 2: were cha used to protect big innocent.
• 26:01
  Speaker 3: On November twenty fifth, trial was held in Superior Court,
• 26:04
  Speaker 3: Department eighty seven, City and County of Los Angeles, State
• 26:06
  Speaker 3: of California. In a moment the results of that trial and.
• 26:09
  Speaker 4: Now here is our star, Jack Webb, thank you. Under
• 26:13
  Speaker 4: our system of law, the jury selected the here A
• 26:15
  Speaker 4: cases accorded complete freedom. The jury's decision is the final
• 26:19
  Speaker 4: result of the testimony and evidence presented in the course
• 26:22
  Speaker 4: of the trial.
• 26:31
  Speaker 3: The suspects were identified as mister and Missus Thomas Dunbar.
• 26:35
  Speaker 3: They were arraigned on fifteen counts of burglary and tried
• 26:38
  Speaker 3: and found guilty on all counts. They are now serving
• 26:41
  Speaker 3: their terms in the state penitentiary. You have just heard Dragnet,
• 26:48
  Speaker 3: a series of authentic cases from official files. Technical advice
• 26:52
  Speaker 3: came from the office of Chief of Police W. H. Parker,
• 26:55
  Speaker 3: Los Angeles Police Department. Coming up, Duffy's Tavern, Bob Hope
• 27:12
  Speaker 3: returns October third on NBC.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: Welcome Back. First of all, I have to say that I,
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: just like Friday and Romero, have no idea why they
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: keep getting put in charge of buying wedding gifts for
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: other detectives, unless it's the fact that the detectives who
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: got married and got a gift from them figure everyone
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: else ought to have to suffer an apple peeler. Really,
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: I mean they pulled their money for this present, and
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: then again, wedding gifts may have been more stereotypically useless
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: before most couples started to go to registries. As to
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: the case itself, it's a great example of an episode
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: that does more than entertain, but it also helps the
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: police in educating the public to prevent crime. Because Dragnet
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: isn't a show that like most other series focused on homicide,
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: which most of us aren't going to deal with, Dragnet
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: could educate its audience about all types of crimes and
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: their prevention. This sad case provides some great best practices
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: for vacationing homeowners and also the owners of second hand
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: stores and illustrating why making an exception in cutting corners
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: is a really bad idea. Well, listener comments and feedback,
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: and we go over to YouTube and we have some
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: comments regarding a specific character in the episode The Big Check.
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: Betsy writes, no wonder Joe stayed a bachelor with that mother,
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: and Matt g writes that old bird sounds tired all over.
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: Gee whiz, I try to bounce out of that pad
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: a sap. Well, thank you so much, appreciate you taking
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: the time to comment. In terms of blaming Joe's mother,
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: I won't get into the psychology of it because I'm
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: not qualified, But one thing I will say is that
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: Joe's mother, played by the great Peggy Weber, was actually
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: written out of the series with a subtle line with
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: Joe being asked if he had gotten a letter from
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: his mother and him mentioning that his mother had moved
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: back east. That was in nineteen fifty two or fifty three,
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: and that was because Peggy Weber was in her mid
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: twenties and and not work in the TV series. Now,
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: Joe Friday remains single throughout the rest of the nineteen
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: fifties TV series, which ended Your Call in nineteen fifty nine,
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: some six years after Mom Friday was out of the picture.
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: So while parents can definitely set you on, of course,
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: I tend to think that as an adult, you really
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: do need to proactively make choices as to how you're
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: going to live your life. And Joe Friday did that.
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: I think that, truth being known, He's just married to
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: his job and I couldn't imagine him getting into a
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: serious romantic relationship. So whatever you think of Mom Friday,
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: I can't really blame her for Joe not ever getting married.
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: All right, well, now it is time to think our
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: Patreons the day, and I want to thank Michael, Patreon
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: supporter since August twenty sixteen, currently supporting the podcast at
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: the Shawmas level of four dollars or more per month.
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for your support, Michael, and that
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: will actually do it for today. If you're enjoying the podcast,
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: please follow us using your favorite podcast software, And if
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: you're enjoying the podcast on YouTube, be sure to lock
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: the video, subscribe to the channel, and mark the notification bell,
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: all those great things that help YouTube channels to grow.
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: We'll be back next Saturday with another episode of Dragnet,
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: and tomorrow we will be back with an encore from
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: several years ago, and resume your regular lineup on Monday
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: with an episode of The Falcon Wear.
• 31:49
  Speaker 10: If you could find out anything about a mister Richard
• 31:51
  Speaker 10: or a mister Inshaw, well, that's what I don't know.
• 31:55
  Speaker 10: But from the way that we behaved yesterday morning, I
• 31:57
  Speaker 10: suspected that something is going on. And mister Riddard folled
• 32:01
  Speaker 10: the house. I couldn't make out much of the conversation,
• 32:04
  Speaker 10: except that Louis said that mister Riddard still wasn't talking
• 32:07
  Speaker 10: loud enough and he couldn't hear him, and he said
• 32:10
  Speaker 10: it was too late anyway, because Earnshaw already spoke English.
• 32:14
  Speaker 4: Oh that's a great conversation.
• 32:16
  Speaker 2: And you don't know who either of these men are
• 32:18
  Speaker 2: you I never mentioned it before.
• 32:19
  Speaker 4: Is there anyone who might know them?
• 32:21
  Speaker 10: Well, the only one I can think of is my
• 32:22
  Speaker 10: husband's assistant, Pete Kerns. But the police asked him about them,
• 32:26
  Speaker 10: and he came he.
• 32:26
  Speaker 2: Didn't know thee Oh maybe I'll have better luck by
• 32:29
  Speaker 2: the way, missus Breddy, And what did your husband and
• 32:32
  Speaker 2: Kerns do?
• 32:33
  Speaker 10: They had a little art studio. They made silk screen
• 32:35
  Speaker 10: reproductions and etching things like that. But I always had
• 32:39
  Speaker 10: an idea they were doing something else too, only I
• 32:42
  Speaker 10: never could find out what it was.
• 32:44
  Speaker 2: Just goes to show man shouldn't keep secrets from his wife.
• 32:47
  Speaker 2: It's dangerous.
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: How if you'll be with us then in the meantime,
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: send your comments to Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot nat,
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives, and check us
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: out on Instagram, Instagram, dot com slash Great Detectives from Boise, Idaho.
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: This is your host, Adam Graham signing off.