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Transcript

Dragnet: The Big Check (EP4526) · 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. If you have a comment,
• 0:38
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  Speaker 1: the financial support of our listeners. You can support the
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  Speaker 1: to Adam Graham peelbox one five nine one three. That's
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  Speaker 1: Detectives dot net and supporting the podcast for his little
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: last two dollars per month. Well, now it is time
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: for this week's episode of Dragnet. The original air date
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: August thirty first, nineteen fifty and the title is The
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: Big Check.
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: The story you're about to hear is true, only the
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: names have been changed to protect the innocent Dragnet. You're
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: a detective sergeant. You're assigned a forgery detail. An accomplished
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: check forger is at work in your city. His victims
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: small businessmen. You know his mo O. You don't know
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: his identity.
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: Your job get him.
• 2:31
  Speaker 4: Dragnet the documented drama of an actual crime. While the
• 2:35
  Speaker 4: next thirty minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department,
• 2:39
  Speaker 4: you will travel step by step on the side of
• 2:41
  Speaker 4: the law through an actual case, from official police violence,
• 2:45
  Speaker 4: from beginning to end, from crime to punishment. Dragnet is
• 2:49
  Speaker 4: the story of your police force in action.
• 2:54
  Speaker 5: Was Monday, February fourth, was cold in Los Angeles. We
• 2:58
  Speaker 5: were working a day watch out of forgery detail. My
• 3:00
  Speaker 5: partner's Ben Romero or the boss's Captain Elliot. My name
• 3:03
  Speaker 5: is Friday. I was on the way home from the office.
• 3:06
  Speaker 5: And this was eight twenty five pm. When they got
• 3:08
  Speaker 5: to Collis Avenue. Remember forty six fifty six.
• 3:15
  Speaker 6: Joseph said, you, Yama, We're in the living room.
• 3:18
  Speaker 7: We have companies.
• 3:19
  Speaker 8: Oh that's all.
• 3:21
  Speaker 7: Hello Joe remember Mary found Jersey?
• 3:24
  Speaker 4: I sure do.
• 3:25
  Speaker 5: How are you?
• 3:25
  Speaker 8: Miss Faller?
• 3:26
  Speaker 9: Just signed Joe, thank you. He's doing some shopping out
• 3:28
  Speaker 9: this wedd thought I stop buying have a cup of
• 3:30
  Speaker 9: tea with your mother.
• 3:31
  Speaker 8: It's good to see. How are things in the old neighborhood?
• 3:34
  Speaker 9: Oh? Pretty much the same? Oh, miss Daily remember her?
• 3:37
  Speaker 9: Finally die? I suppose it was for the best. So
• 3:41
  Speaker 9: I was just telling you mother, Jim and Louise watching
• 3:43
  Speaker 9: finally move. Jim got a new job. I'll buy all
• 3:46
  Speaker 9: the diners.
• 3:46
  Speaker 8: Oh that's all.
• 3:47
  Speaker 9: Yeah, n you certain looking to find Joe.
• 3:51
  Speaker 7: Don't you wear your police uniform anymore? I no, Mary
• 3:54
  Speaker 7: and Joseph's and the detective girl now hasn't born his
• 3:57
  Speaker 7: uniform from there?
• 3:58
  Speaker 9: Oh that's right, I've but now that note you sent
• 4:02
  Speaker 9: me to Christmas card here before last? What do you
• 4:05
  Speaker 9: do now?
• 4:06
  Speaker 5: Joe?
• 4:06
  Speaker 8: Forgery? Detail?
• 4:07
  Speaker 5: My partner and I an a bum checkcases.
• 4:10
  Speaker 6: That certainly must be intern.
• 4:13
  Speaker 8: Yes, ma'am. Might stopped at the place out in Santa
• 4:15
  Speaker 8: Monica and had something.
• 4:16
  Speaker 7: Yes, well, Mary brought me some nice coffee cakes, fineapple filling.
• 4:20
  Speaker 7: Would you like one of a couple of coffetres?
• 4:23
  Speaker 8: No, I don't know.
• 4:23
  Speaker 7: Then you sit down your chair there and rest yours
• 4:26
  Speaker 7: were so tired? How hard I.
• 4:33
  Speaker 9: You remember Genevieve, don't you Joe, my oldest girl?
• 4:36
  Speaker 8: Oh? Yeah, sure. How is she just fine?
• 4:39
  Speaker 9: Lots of boyfriends as usual, going out all the time.
• 4:43
  Speaker 8: Well, that's good.
• 4:44
  Speaker 9: She asked to be remembered to you. I think you
• 4:48
  Speaker 9: and jen were stuck on each other at one time.
• 4:50
  Speaker 6: We're to Joe.
• 4:51
  Speaker 5: We went to a couple of dances in high school.
• 4:54
  Speaker 5: I think she started going to stay with another fellow.
• 4:56
  Speaker 9: Young girls never open their will.
• 4:58
  Speaker 6: Off and soon set it here in the end table.
• 5:03
  Speaker 8: I don't think I can use it much.
• 5:04
  Speaker 6: Delicious coffee cake.
• 5:06
  Speaker 7: You smell pressure?
• 5:08
  Speaker 8: Yeah? Nice?
• 5:09
  Speaker 6: Oh, my quarters of nine.
• 5:11
  Speaker 9: I should have left half an hour ago.
• 5:13
  Speaker 10: You have to go there?
• 5:15
  Speaker 6: Visits strong? We're so sure?
• 5:16
  Speaker 9: Well, I got a lot of ironing to do, and
• 5:19
  Speaker 9: I have to make Carl's lunches. That was so fussy
• 5:21
  Speaker 9: about his lunch.
• 5:21
  Speaker 6: Yes, I get your coat.
• 5:23
  Speaker 9: Well, it's nice seeing you again, Jim. Do you want
• 5:27
  Speaker 9: to be remembered to Jennevieve?
• 5:28
  Speaker 8: Yeah? Tell her hello, William is father.
• 5:30
  Speaker 9: If you're over our way, be sure and drop you
• 5:33
  Speaker 9: see Jenney's home office by six. She often says she'd
• 5:37
  Speaker 9: like to see you again. All things, good night, Joe.
• 5:41
  Speaker 9: You'd be sure to come and see us now. Jenny'll
• 5:43
  Speaker 9: be looking forward to it.
• 5:44
  Speaker 8: Okays followed tonight, she's.
• 5:50
  Speaker 6: All right, you know I wouldn't good Night's person.
• 6:01
  Speaker 7: Hind time trying to find a husband virginiated.
• 6:04
  Speaker 8: Yeah, I'm not very hungry. I can't even now.
• 6:09
  Speaker 6: Seems such a shame. Waiste's lovely complicate.
• 6:19
  Speaker 7: Then used to on the same case.
• 6:21
  Speaker 8: Yeah, same one.
• 6:24
  Speaker 6: It's taking it off it on, come.
• 6:26
  Speaker 8: No, we've been on it two months here.
• 6:29
  Speaker 7: Never understand that when people write bad checks always get caught.
• 6:34
  Speaker 8: Well, it's easy living while it lasts.
• 6:36
  Speaker 7: Now you know what the man's handwriting is like? Don't
• 6:43
  Speaker 7: you know who the man is?
• 6:44
  Speaker 5: Well, we think so much, we're not sure. There's hundreds
• 6:46
  Speaker 5: of checkmen who work almost alike. Some of them even
• 6:49
  Speaker 5: look alike. There's always a big enough field to pick from.
• 6:52
  Speaker 8: Our problems picking the right one.
• 6:54
  Speaker 11: I don't know much about it, but the whole thing
• 6:56
  Speaker 11: is kind of silly to me, that what's this man
• 7:01
  Speaker 11: supposed to be doing. They're on your small neighborhood stores,
• 7:06
  Speaker 11: cashing fifteen twenty dollars checks. You got himself a job.
• 7:10
  Speaker 11: He's probably bearing that much in money day, doing good
• 7:13
  Speaker 11: honors work.
• 7:15
  Speaker 5: See Ben didn't call before I got home, did he?
• 7:17
  Speaker 5: M' he was going to interview one of the bum
• 7:21
  Speaker 5: check victims on his way home the grocery store on
• 7:22
  Speaker 5: her down in Highland Park.
• 7:24
  Speaker 8: It might be him, now, I.
• 7:25
  Speaker 12: Don't sang on that.
• 7:26
  Speaker 5: Joe, Yeah, Bridy talking, it's Ben.
• 7:31
  Speaker 8: Joe got a partial identification from the grocer's nothing great.
• 7:35
  Speaker 8: Which mug shot did he like? Stanley Bulbeck grocer thinks
• 7:38
  Speaker 8: it might have been the guy pushed the check. It
• 7:39
  Speaker 8: can't be sure.
• 7:41
  Speaker 5: Thirty three bum checks passed, Samemo, not one positive identification.
• 7:46
  Speaker 8: Something's funny, isn't it? Got me stuff? We know the
• 7:49
  Speaker 8: endorsements on every one of those checks was written with
• 7:51
  Speaker 8: the same guy. He's practiced the same story on every
• 7:54
  Speaker 8: one of his victims. Those thirty three people are either
• 7:57
  Speaker 8: blind and they're kidding it. There was only one of
• 7:59
  Speaker 8: the answer. We're looking for the wrong man.
• 8:04
  Speaker 5: For two months and two days, in different shopping districts
• 8:07
  Speaker 5: throughout the city, a man described as well dressed, middle
• 8:10
  Speaker 5: aged have been passing worthless checks on independent neighborhood businessmen.
• 8:15
  Speaker 5: Most of the victims were proprietors of small shops, meat markets,
• 8:18
  Speaker 5: liquor stores, grocery stores. In none of the cases was
• 8:21
  Speaker 5: the check written for more than twenty five dollars. With
• 8:24
  Speaker 5: the help of the Stat's office and our record bureau,
• 8:27
  Speaker 5: we've gone through the list of experienced checkmen until we
• 8:29
  Speaker 5: found one man whose description and m. Matt's perfectly with
• 8:32
  Speaker 5: out of a suspect. A man's name was Stanley Buebeck.
• 8:36
  Speaker 8: We can't locate him, Captain. Another thing, we can't get
• 8:39
  Speaker 8: a plositive identification from any of the victims and.
• 8:41
  Speaker 13: Find a suspect they can't identify. You've been tracking the
• 8:44
  Speaker 13: guy for two months. What's the big mystery?
• 8:46
  Speaker 5: Oh, he tabbed the man of Stanley Bubeck and his record,
• 8:49
  Speaker 5: his m is descriptionly all tie in perfectly.
• 8:51
  Speaker 8: Now we're not.
• 8:52
  Speaker 5: Sure it's him, but a man Well, if it is
• 8:54
  Speaker 5: bu Beck, it's almost a sure thing that one of
• 8:56
  Speaker 5: the victims could have made him on one of his
• 8:58
  Speaker 5: mug shots.
• 8:59
  Speaker 8: None of them can make up them.
• 9:00
  Speaker 13: Look, maybe one of you two would like to be
• 9:02
  Speaker 13: kept in the forgery for a day, sit in this
• 9:05
  Speaker 13: office and listen to complaints come in over that phone
• 9:07
  Speaker 13: about this guy at the front office. Neighborhood, businessmen's clubs,
• 9:10
  Speaker 13: retail merchants. They tell me they're troublesome and passing them
• 9:13
  Speaker 13: on to you. Now, whoever this paper hanger is, we
• 9:16
  Speaker 13: want him. We want him fast.
• 9:17
  Speaker 8: A thousand, little twenty dollars checks. We'll probably have a
• 9:20
  Speaker 8: lot better target if you drive something bigger.
• 9:22
  Speaker 13: And don't think he and a hundred other checkmen like him,
• 9:24
  Speaker 13: don't know that you won't find them stealing company paychecks
• 9:27
  Speaker 13: and flood in the town with paper. They take it
• 9:29
  Speaker 13: from the little guy, and they take it in small amounts,
• 9:31
  Speaker 13: but add up those small amounts at the end of
• 9:33
  Speaker 13: the year and they'll scare you.
• 9:34
  Speaker 8: It's a rotten part about it. None of those victims can.
• 9:36
  Speaker 13: Afford a bad check at grocer. Don only stands on
• 9:39
  Speaker 13: his feed all day, and at a profit of ten
• 9:40
  Speaker 13: to fifteen dollars, he gets tagged with one bad check
• 9:43
  Speaker 13: and he's working for nothing.
• 9:44
  Speaker 8: We've got bulletins out on the suspect to all the
• 9:46
  Speaker 8: small businessmen in town. We've all been alerting.
• 9:50
  Speaker 10: Excuse me, cap'n Ellian.
• 9:54
  Speaker 13: Okay, Don right away, Don Myers, he went over the
• 9:58
  Speaker 13: handwriting those last three checks to see you. Okay, how
• 10:02
  Speaker 13: about that special bullet and you got out to the
• 10:04
  Speaker 13: prisons on Stanley bu Beck and it replies, nothing else together,
• 10:08
  Speaker 13: all right, stay on it right, let's go back.
• 10:14
  Speaker 8: It's sour DM. I'd give a right arm for a
• 10:17
  Speaker 8: line on this guy.
• 10:18
  Speaker 5: Yeah, a little move a lot faster if somebody'd help
• 10:21
  Speaker 5: us follow those checks closer. The way it's running now
• 10:23
  Speaker 5: we hear about the paper two weeks after it's been
• 10:25
  Speaker 5: cash and buback.
• 10:26
  Speaker 8: Then isn't over much, you know, you just find another
• 10:28
  Speaker 8: line and we'll get a seven.
• 10:32
  Speaker 10: Hi don hi, just finished up on those last three
• 10:36
  Speaker 10: checks that came in.
• 10:36
  Speaker 8: You want to give me a look, how do they say?
• 10:38
  Speaker 10: But you know you can see for yourself right here?
• 10:42
  Speaker 14: Yeah, uh, here the three I just went over and
• 10:46
  Speaker 14: uh here are half a dozen bad ones for cash
• 10:48
  Speaker 14: last month.
• 10:50
  Speaker 10: The endorsements on this half doesn't match perfectly.
• 10:52
  Speaker 8: And those other three, well.
• 10:54
  Speaker 14: I'd say they were endorsed with the same person. Oh
• 10:57
  Speaker 14: look here, you can notice the letters and he still
• 11:01
  Speaker 14: handles them the same way. Disconnected from the other letters
• 11:04
  Speaker 14: in the first name.
• 11:05
  Speaker 10: Yeah yeah, but he connects the capitals in the last name.
• 11:09
  Speaker 14: Yeah. Not very bright, Yeah, that much doubt my mind.
• 11:14
  Speaker 14: All the other handwriting factors tie in form skills, shading,
• 11:17
  Speaker 14: They all match up. The movement terminals are all the
• 11:20
  Speaker 14: same for my mind. Yeah, here the way he writes
• 11:24
  Speaker 14: the lower case letters. Yeah, that's interested for me. How's
• 11:27
  Speaker 14: that done?
• 11:28
  Speaker 8: Well?
• 11:28
  Speaker 14: Here the inclination of the terminal stroke on the s
• 11:33
  Speaker 14: see the grist land above the horizontals, is about fifty
• 11:36
  Speaker 14: five degrees in all cases. Now, the finger movement in
• 11:39
  Speaker 14: his capitals have plenty of freedom. They're not shaded much. Yeah,
• 11:44
  Speaker 14: nothing like this in his lower case letters though, you see.
• 11:46
  Speaker 8: Yeah, yeah, kind of what you mean?
• 11:49
  Speaker 10: That much freedom here? Lots of shading and the pressure
• 11:53
  Speaker 10: on the lifts.
• 11:54
  Speaker 14: Yeah, they match up same on the downstroke. Now, I'd
• 11:59
  Speaker 14: say the skill is medium in all cases. Embellishment's both
• 12:01
  Speaker 14: class two. No changes the doll in the style. Oh
• 12:05
  Speaker 14: he made the signals just look a little different. All
• 12:08
  Speaker 14: eight factors match up though. It's the same person.
• 12:10
  Speaker 8: All we have to do is find him.
• 12:12
  Speaker 10: Hey, how about this fella, Stanley Bubick? I thought you
• 12:15
  Speaker 10: had him tap I.
• 12:16
  Speaker 5: We're not too sure about him, but it's the only
• 12:18
  Speaker 5: line we got to work on, so we'll have to
• 12:20
  Speaker 5: do for now.
• 12:21
  Speaker 6: Lamearo.
• 12:22
  Speaker 8: A man in the office, say you and names Loomis right,
• 12:24
  Speaker 8: Fred me there in a minute. Well, thanks, John, we'll
• 12:28
  Speaker 8: check you later. Sure, okay, see you let's go back.
• 12:42
  Speaker 8: How do you doing you, mister Loomis.
• 12:43
  Speaker 15: Yes, Sergeant Romero, No.
• 12:45
  Speaker 5: This is sergeant Romero. Here, my name is Friday. All right,
• 12:50
  Speaker 5: what can we do for you? It's about these texts, Seran.
• 12:55
  Speaker 5: These are right here. Yeah, you see, I run the
• 12:58
  Speaker 5: Delicate Pessan out on Sunset, said. A few days ago,
• 13:01
  Speaker 5: a new customer came in for a few things and
• 13:03
  Speaker 5: paid for them with these checks.
• 13:04
  Speaker 16: He came in twice.
• 13:06
  Speaker 8: Yeah, go ahead.
• 13:07
  Speaker 15: Well I got the checks back today. They're no good.
• 13:10
  Speaker 15: I tried to look up the man at the address
• 13:12
  Speaker 15: he gave, but there's no such address. You can see
• 13:16
  Speaker 15: once for fifteen dollars, the other ones for twenty. The
• 13:19
  Speaker 15: reason I asked for you, man is because I know
• 13:22
  Speaker 15: the man who runs a drug store across the street,
• 13:24
  Speaker 15: George home Quist. He had some bad checks about a
• 13:27
  Speaker 15: month ago.
• 13:27
  Speaker 8: He said. You took care of him. Oh yeah, yeah,
• 13:30
  Speaker 8: you recall a man who passed these checks.
• 13:32
  Speaker 15: Mister, Yes, I think I do. He told me he
• 13:36
  Speaker 15: was new in the neighborhood and he was looking for
• 13:37
  Speaker 15: a place to trade. Well, I guess we're all anxious
• 13:40
  Speaker 15: for new business. I took the checks he.
• 13:42
  Speaker 5: Got those munch shots there man. Yeah, yeah, thank you.
• 13:48
  Speaker 5: How about these men, mister loomis any of them look
• 13:50
  Speaker 5: anything like the person who passed the checks on you?
• 13:52
  Speaker 15: No, let's see this one. Yes, he does look like
• 13:58
  Speaker 15: the man in a way. I don't know if I
• 14:00
  Speaker 15: could be absolutely sure. Stanley Buback, same m O pot. Well,
• 14:05
  Speaker 15: it looks like you're stuck with a couple of bad ones.
• 14:07
  Speaker 15: Mister lumis probably the same man who passed checks on
• 14:09
  Speaker 15: your druggist friend. We're doing everything we can to run
• 14:11
  Speaker 15: this man down. Look, what about the checks? Isn't there
• 14:15
  Speaker 15: anything I can do about them?
• 14:17
  Speaker 5: No, sir, I'm sorry, not right now. We would like
• 14:19
  Speaker 5: to have you make out a crime report, if you will,
• 14:21
  Speaker 5: and would you leave.
• 14:22
  Speaker 8: These checks with us? About it?
• 14:24
  Speaker 6: From our own here as much.
• 14:25
  Speaker 13: Another as just came in for you, I replied from
• 14:29
  Speaker 13: Salt Lake City, Utah. On that bulletin you sent out
• 14:31
  Speaker 13: on the Stanley Buberck, Yeah, he's been in jail for
• 14:34
  Speaker 13: five months.
• 14:37
  Speaker 5: We sent a request to Salt Lake asking him to
• 14:40
  Speaker 5: question Stanley Bubeck if he knew of any forger who
• 14:43
  Speaker 5: matched his description or used his m O.
• 14:45
  Speaker 8: Bu Beck could tell us nothing.
• 14:48
  Speaker 5: Wednesday, February sixth, we threw away the results of two
• 14:51
  Speaker 5: months of investigation.
• 14:52
  Speaker 8: We went back and started from the beginning.
• 14:55
  Speaker 5: Despite all precautions and warnings, the checks kept coming in
• 14:57
  Speaker 5: at the rate of half a dozen a week. The
• 14:59
  Speaker 5: same mo was used, the same handwriting showed up in
• 15:01
  Speaker 5: the signatures on the checks.
• 15:03
  Speaker 8: Again.
• 15:03
  Speaker 5: With the help of the staff and the statisticians office
• 15:06
  Speaker 5: and the record Bureau, we waited through hundreds of names
• 15:08
  Speaker 5: of known checkmen and compiled a new list of thirty
• 15:11
  Speaker 5: eight possible suspects. Each one fitted the general description of
• 15:14
  Speaker 5: the forger. Each one, at some time in his forgery career,
• 15:17
  Speaker 5: had used the same general method of operation. Well after
• 15:21
  Speaker 5: days of leg work, we finally boiled down the list
• 15:23
  Speaker 5: of possibles to three names, George Roberts, James Young, and
• 15:27
  Speaker 5: Harry L. Johansson. We got out a flyer to all
• 15:29
  Speaker 5: the small businessmen in the areas.
• 15:31
  Speaker 8: Where the forger operated.
• 15:32
  Speaker 5: Another week passed, the worthless checks kept showing up at
• 15:35
  Speaker 5: the rate of two.
• 15:35
  Speaker 8: And three a day.
• 15:37
  Speaker 5: On February twenty first, Ben and I answered a call
• 15:39
  Speaker 5: from a druggist in the Echo Park district.
• 15:41
  Speaker 17: He bought some toothpaste and a cotton of cigarettes, sergeant
• 15:44
  Speaker 17: asked me to cash a twenty dollars.
• 15:45
  Speaker 16: Check for it.
• 15:46
  Speaker 8: Did you ever see the men before?
• 15:48
  Speaker 18: No?
• 15:48
  Speaker 17: He gave me the same old story about being new
• 15:50
  Speaker 17: in the neighborhood. That's when I remembered that police full
• 15:53
  Speaker 17: of the department sent me.
• 15:54
  Speaker 8: Do you still have that boe?
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: No?
• 15:56
  Speaker 10: I looked it over, and then I guess it got
• 15:57
  Speaker 10: mislaid interviewed.
• 16:00
  Speaker 8: Mind taking a look at these pictures here? Not at
• 16:02
  Speaker 8: all these right here?
• 16:04
  Speaker 10: M sure this one right on top that's.
• 16:07
  Speaker 8: The man you sure?
• 16:09
  Speaker 13: I am?
• 16:09
  Speaker 10: It only happened a.
• 16:10
  Speaker 8: Few hours ago. Do you know who he is? Harry L. Johansson,
• 16:14
  Speaker 8: that's the name we have on him. Doesn't mean anything
• 16:17
  Speaker 8: to me.
• 16:18
  Speaker 17: He got real happy when I wouldn't take his check,
• 16:19
  Speaker 17: stalked right out of the store, very suspicious.
• 16:21
  Speaker 8: Did you follow him? No? I told Ralph, my clerk,
• 16:24
  Speaker 8: to follow him.
• 16:25
  Speaker 17: Ralph, you want to tell these officers about that man
• 16:29
  Speaker 17: this morning.
• 16:30
  Speaker 10: I followed him down the street for a block and
• 16:32
  Speaker 10: then turned the corner. That's where I lost him.
• 16:35
  Speaker 8: Too bad?
• 16:35
  Speaker 10: Yeah, well, I got was a license number.
• 16:48
  Speaker 4: You are listening to dragnet the case history of a
• 16:51
  Speaker 4: police investigation presented in the public interest.
• 17:01
  Speaker 5: September twenty first, Thursday, three pm. We took the license
• 17:05
  Speaker 5: number which the drugstore clerk had given us. We went
• 17:08
  Speaker 5: back to the office and checked it through DMV. We
• 17:10
  Speaker 5: found the car was registered to a Russell Burrows on
• 17:13
  Speaker 5: Pico Boulevard.
• 17:14
  Speaker 8: We checked him out.
• 17:16
  Speaker 5: He told us that he had loaned his car the
• 17:17
  Speaker 5: day before to a friend of his. He identified the
• 17:20
  Speaker 5: friend as Harry L. Johansson and gave us his last
• 17:23
  Speaker 5: known address, six fourteen Elderwood Avenue.
• 17:27
  Speaker 8: We got out a broadcast on the car.
• 17:30
  Speaker 5: The Elderwood Avenue address turned out to be a single
• 17:32
  Speaker 5: story wooden frame house in the southern part of the city,
• 17:36
  Speaker 5: on the edge of the industrial district.
• 17:38
  Speaker 8: It needed a coat of paint.
• 17:40
  Speaker 5: A woman in her elderly thirties answered the door and
• 17:42
  Speaker 5: identified herself as Missus Johansson. She invited us into the
• 17:46
  Speaker 5: living room. It was a baby playing on the floor.
• 17:50
  Speaker 6: I don't expect my husband home for another two weeks. Project.
• 17:53
  Speaker 6: He's a cosmetics salesman travels all over the Western State.
• 17:57
  Speaker 8: When did he leave on his last trip, Missus Johnson.
• 18:00
  Speaker 6: First of the month. Why is anything wrong?
• 18:03
  Speaker 8: What's the name of the cosmetics company that your husband works.
• 18:06
  Speaker 6: For Harrington Universal offices are down on East Maine.
• 18:10
  Speaker 8: Do you know a friend of your husband's named Russell Burrows.
• 18:12
  Speaker 6: Yes, I do. He's kind of a friend of the family. Please, sergeant,
• 18:16
  Speaker 6: if there's anything wrong, I don't know.
• 18:18
  Speaker 8: We talked to mister Burr's this afternoon. He told us
• 18:21
  Speaker 8: your husband's in town. Burr's London.
• 18:23
  Speaker 6: His car, Harry, that's silly, is still on the road.
• 18:26
  Speaker 6: He'd certainly let me know if he was coming back early.
• 18:29
  Speaker 8: You sure that man?
• 18:31
  Speaker 6: Would you excuse me a minute? So I do now
• 18:32
  Speaker 6: have to put the baby to bed. Certainly, I'll be
• 18:37
  Speaker 6: back in a minute.
• 18:41
  Speaker 5: Kind of a funny setup in it. I mean, Johansson's
• 18:45
  Speaker 5: pushing bum checks. That money isn't going into his home here.
• 18:48
  Speaker 5: My life doesn't not like she knows anything. Seems cooperative, Craig.
• 18:53
  Speaker 5: We're gonna have to level whether we're gonna find out anything.
• 18:57
  Speaker 5: You've got a cute girl.
• 18:58
  Speaker 8: I'm sorry, sir, perfectly, all right, just a few more questions.
• 19:03
  Speaker 8: Is it possible that your husband could be in town
• 19:05
  Speaker 8: and you might not know? What I mean? Could he
• 19:06
  Speaker 8: be staying with a friend or some relevance.
• 19:08
  Speaker 6: No, If Harry was in town, he'd come home. Why
• 19:10
  Speaker 6: would he stay with anyone else?
• 19:12
  Speaker 8: When did you last year from your husband?
• 19:13
  Speaker 6: Last week? He wrote from San Francisco? The letters write
• 19:17
  Speaker 6: there on the mantle.
• 19:19
  Speaker 8: Well, besides that letter, do you have any other samples
• 19:22
  Speaker 8: of your husband's handwriting? Run? Huh?
• 19:24
  Speaker 6: Well I think so?
• 19:25
  Speaker 11: Yes?
• 19:26
  Speaker 6: Where did you say you were from?
• 19:28
  Speaker 8: Central Division? Fortune? Detail?
• 19:30
  Speaker 6: You investigate checks bad checks?
• 19:32
  Speaker 8: That man? That's right?
• 19:34
  Speaker 6: And you know about my husband just prison record. Yes,
• 19:38
  Speaker 6: Harry promised me he was through with all that. He
• 19:40
  Speaker 6: gave me his word. Sorry man, About a month ago
• 19:44
  Speaker 6: he had some extra money. He wouldn't tell me where
• 19:47
  Speaker 6: he got it. Look, sergeant, maybe you've made a mistake.
• 19:51
  Speaker 6: Maybe it's not Harriet all. You're not sure, are you?
• 19:54
  Speaker 8: Did your husband use the phone much? I mean for
• 19:57
  Speaker 8: out of town call.
• 19:58
  Speaker 6: Sake, no one toll call a long beach number. I
• 20:02
  Speaker 6: think he has a business friend down there I used
• 20:04
  Speaker 6: to call.
• 20:04
  Speaker 8: Do you know the number? Man?
• 20:06
  Speaker 6: I can show you. It's on last month's phone bill. Please, sergeant.
• 20:11
  Speaker 6: If Harry's done something wrong, he did it for us,
• 20:14
  Speaker 6: me and the baby. Harry's not bad. He's done something.
• 20:18
  Speaker 6: He did it for us. Harry hasn't had it easy
• 20:22
  Speaker 6: he wanted to get things for the baby, clothes, a
• 20:25
  Speaker 6: better house. Oh, he wanted with a little happiness, little happiness.
• 20:31
  Speaker 8: We had it wrong, man, You don't buy it with
• 20:34
  Speaker 8: bum checks.
• 20:39
  Speaker 5: Before we left missus Johansson, we called and had a
• 20:42
  Speaker 5: stake out placed on the house, and then we got
• 20:44
  Speaker 5: a sample of her husband's handwriting and the Long Beach
• 20:47
  Speaker 5: telephone number that he was.
• 20:48
  Speaker 8: In the habit of calling.
• 20:49
  Speaker 5: The next morning, Don Myers and handwriting compared Harry Johansson's
• 20:53
  Speaker 5: letter with the signatures on the worthless checks amantised. We
• 20:57
  Speaker 5: called the Harrington Universal Cosmetics Company. Never heard of Harry Johansson.
• 21:02
  Speaker 5: We call that Long Beach phone number. A woman answered
• 21:04
  Speaker 5: and gave us the address where the telephone was installed.
• 21:07
  Speaker 5: Turned out to be a swanky modern apartment house. In
• 21:09
  Speaker 5: apartment eighteen, we interviewed a good looking brunette. She identified
• 21:13
  Speaker 5: herself as Harry Johansson's commonweal white.
• 21:15
  Speaker 8: She was well dressed in the apartment was richly furnish.
• 21:19
  Speaker 6: What's it all about?
• 21:21
  Speaker 4: What do you want?
• 21:21
  Speaker 8: Harry Lae business? You know where he is, But what's
• 21:24
  Speaker 8: he done? Do you know where he is?
• 21:27
  Speaker 6: I drove into Hollywood this morning. Might be back tonight,
• 21:29
  Speaker 6: and I don't know for sure.
• 21:32
  Speaker 8: Is this your apartment?
• 21:33
  Speaker 6: Yeah, mining, Harry, Yeah, sure.
• 21:36
  Speaker 8: Joh Hans is not here now, I'm sure well, and
• 21:40
  Speaker 8: you won't mind if we come in and look around.
• 21:42
  Speaker 6: Now I have a right to know what it's all about.
• 21:44
  Speaker 5: Johnson's wanted for forgery. Now, if you want to get involved,
• 21:47
  Speaker 5: you'll help him hide out.
• 21:49
  Speaker 6: I'm not asking for that kind of trouble.
• 21:51
  Speaker 16: Go ahead and look, take the bedroom, leave in all right, cup,
• 22:02
  Speaker 16: Thanks for having honey.
• 22:05
  Speaker 7: I don't want any part of your troubles, Harry. I
• 22:07
  Speaker 7: didn't know a thing about.
• 22:08
  Speaker 5: It all, Ben, Yeah, you better come along to lady.
• 22:15
  Speaker 6: We'll tell him here.
• 22:17
  Speaker 7: I don't know what it's about.
• 22:19
  Speaker 6: What's the idea getting me mixed up in this?
• 22:21
  Speaker 16: How do you think I was paying for this place,
• 22:24
  Speaker 16: taking you out, buying us clothes for you.
• 22:27
  Speaker 7: I don't want any part of it. Three room apartment,
• 22:30
  Speaker 7: a couple of addresses. That's all he ever got me.
• 22:32
  Speaker 8: You've got no complaints, lady. That's morning bought his kids.
• 22:39
  Speaker 5: One pm Friday, Ben and I took Harry Johansson to
• 22:42
  Speaker 5: the County jail where he was booked for suspicion of forgery,
• 22:45
  Speaker 5: but called missus Johansson a notifier. She immediately contacted friends
• 22:49
  Speaker 5: and relatives and raised enough money for a writ to
• 22:51
  Speaker 5: have her husband released from jail.
• 22:53
  Speaker 8: Three days later, Johansson was arraigned on a date set.
• 22:55
  Speaker 5: For his preliminary hearing. After the arraignement, Ben and I
• 22:58
  Speaker 5: took him back to the county jail rebooking.
• 23:01
  Speaker 8: I'd like to ask you a question, John Yeah, you've
• 23:05
  Speaker 8: got any money if your own there w't just stick
• 23:07
  Speaker 8: to your own business, Copper.
• 23:09
  Speaker 5: That family of yours is having a pretty rough time.
• 23:11
  Speaker 5: Your wife barred every since you could find to bail
• 23:13
  Speaker 5: you out, and what she gonna live on?
• 23:14
  Speaker 8: You got relatives, no as y elevator.
• 23:17
  Speaker 16: Come on, Johnson, and not gonna put me back in
• 23:27
  Speaker 16: false Not in a hundred years.
• 23:30
  Speaker 8: You've done two stretches already for hanging paper. You should
• 23:33
  Speaker 8: have known better, mister, you.
• 23:34
  Speaker 16: Got it all figured out, having your fuzzy well, I'm
• 23:38
  Speaker 16: not going back.
• 23:39
  Speaker 8: You had a couple of more weeks on bail before
• 23:41
  Speaker 8: the trial.
• 23:42
  Speaker 16: Yeah, a couple of weeks.
• 23:47
  Speaker 8: What's the matter with you? Don't you feel well? I
• 23:50
  Speaker 8: won't get me back to fulsom.
• 23:52
  Speaker 5: You're not making it an easier on yourself. All right,
• 23:55
  Speaker 5: aren't you.
• 24:03
  Speaker 16: A bunch of cops understand I hate it, every lousy
• 24:07
  Speaker 16: bit of an I'm not going back to fulsom I'm
• 24:10
  Speaker 16: not going back, and they understand.
• 24:13
  Speaker 5: It's a good idea. Mister, You remember that when you
• 24:14
  Speaker 5: get out. We booked Harry Johanson in the county jail
• 24:21
  Speaker 5: as bail was continued and he was released pending the trial.
• 24:24
  Speaker 5: During the next week. Along with the District Attorney's office,
• 24:26
  Speaker 5: Ben and I helped prepare the case against Johansson. Three
• 24:29
  Speaker 5: days before the trial opened, we had a phone call
• 24:31
  Speaker 5: from Missus Johansson and she told us that her husband
• 24:34
  Speaker 5: had disappeared. Well, there was nothing we could do until
• 24:36
  Speaker 5: he actually failed to appear in Superior Court at the
• 24:38
  Speaker 5: appointed time. On Monday, April third, the case of the
• 24:43
  Speaker 5: State versus Harry Old Johansson officially opened where defendant failed
• 24:46
  Speaker 5: to show a bench warrant was immediately issued and we
• 24:49
  Speaker 5: got out of broadcast on an apb on the suspect.
• 24:51
  Speaker 5: Stakeouts were placed in his house and at the apartment
• 24:53
  Speaker 5: of his common law life.
• 24:55
  Speaker 8: Two days passed, no sign up, nothing, You umbly just
• 25:03
  Speaker 8: checked it out.
• 25:05
  Speaker 5: How about those two ex compounds of Johansson's to check
• 25:08
  Speaker 5: with them.
• 25:09
  Speaker 8: Yeah, nothing, then, I don't see I can last out
• 25:12
  Speaker 8: much longer. When to sort of clothes? No money?
• 25:15
  Speaker 5: You still got a check book when the skipper, say
• 25:17
  Speaker 5: was coming back on seven nine, seven fifteen.
• 25:21
  Speaker 8: Now I get a forgery Friday, Josh.
• 25:28
  Speaker 12: This is your mother.
• 25:29
  Speaker 8: Oh yeah, I am.
• 25:30
  Speaker 12: I forgot to tell you when you're called earlier. You're
• 25:33
  Speaker 12: supposed to be home tonight by eight o'clock.
• 25:36
  Speaker 8: What's that?
• 25:36
  Speaker 12: My Mary Powler. She's coming over to visit tonight and
• 25:40
  Speaker 12: Genevieve's coming with her.
• 25:42
  Speaker 5: Yeah, well, look, will you try to explain to them
• 25:45
  Speaker 5: that I'm working and I can't get away?
• 25:47
  Speaker 12: Huh well, all right, Jose, I'll try if.
• 25:51
  Speaker 5: I possibly can, I'll try to make it home by ten.
• 25:53
  Speaker 8: I'll I'll be all right.
• 25:55
  Speaker 12: I'll see what I can do. Genevieve's going to be disappromed.
• 25:59
  Speaker 5: Yeah, if I'm later than that, don't wait up for me.
• 26:02
  Speaker 19: Huh bye, man, Yes, oh thanks, giv All just came in.
• 26:13
  Speaker 8: Yeah, I found Johnson.
• 26:20
  Speaker 5: Captain Elliott Ben and I drove out the highway to
• 26:22
  Speaker 5: the Jehuga Wash. We turned off and headed into the
• 26:25
  Speaker 5: mount policing area. Captain Elliott directed us onto a dirt
• 26:28
  Speaker 5: road half way up one of the mountains. We spotted
• 26:30
  Speaker 5: a group of cars pulled off on the shoulder of
• 26:32
  Speaker 5: the road.
• 26:33
  Speaker 8: We parked behind them and got out and started over.
• 26:37
  Speaker 8: Who found the cars? Givin.
• 26:39
  Speaker 13: One of the people living back in my house spotted
• 26:41
  Speaker 13: the next way home.
• 26:42
  Speaker 8: From w huh. Clarner got here in a hurry. Yeah, hi, Dave.
• 26:46
  Speaker 8: Oh you doing Joe cap Melly? How long has you
• 26:49
  Speaker 8: been dead? This last night? I figured come on over.
• 26:55
  Speaker 8: You talked to the man who found Johnson's body day. Yeah,
• 26:58
  Speaker 8: he didn't touch the thing. What'd you find?
• 27:00
  Speaker 17: Powder burns on the temple, powder on the hands. Boys
• 27:03
  Speaker 17: from homicide found the note. He was on the seat
• 27:06
  Speaker 17: right next to him. Here it is here then checked? Yeah, thanks,
• 27:11
  Speaker 17: I'll tijanah Dave pretty tight. Yeah. Jane Beckel from Hamaside
• 27:16
  Speaker 17: wants to talk to you, Captain. Okay, I be right back.
• 27:18
  Speaker 8: Joe right Who do you address the note too? Joe? Why?
• 27:22
  Speaker 12: No?
• 27:23
  Speaker 8: The girlfriend? Look what he wrote it on? Yeah? Blank check.
• 27:36
  Speaker 2: The story you just heard was true, only the names
• 27:40
  Speaker 2: were changed to protect the innocent.
• 27:42
  Speaker 4: On April ninth, an inquest was held in the Coroner's
• 27:44
  Speaker 4: office on the main floor of the Hall of Justice,
• 27:46
  Speaker 4: Los Angeles, California. In a moment the results of that inquest.
• 27:50
  Speaker 10: And now here is our star, Jack Webb, thank you.
• 27:54
  Speaker 5: The working detective comes in contact with many people in
• 27:57
  Speaker 5: his daily tour of duty, people who were willing to
• 27:59
  Speaker 5: couet operate and those who won't even try. It's a
• 28:03
  Speaker 5: difficult task, but the police officer has been trained to
• 28:05
  Speaker 5: try to please everybody.
• 28:07
  Speaker 8: To the best of his ability.
• 28:18
  Speaker 4: On April ninth, the coroner's jury returned a verdict that
• 28:21
  Speaker 4: the death of Harry L. Johansson was caused by a
• 28:23
  Speaker 4: gunshot wound in the head, self inflicted. You have just
• 28:31
  Speaker 4: heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases from official files.
• 28:36
  Speaker 4: Technical advice for Dragnet comes from the Office of Chief
• 28:38
  Speaker 4: of Police W. H. Parker, Los Angeles Police Department.
• 28:42
  Speaker 5: Coming up Duffy's Tavern More good Times on NBC.
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: Welcome Back. I found myself wondering if police today might
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: have taken any other action when the forger started to
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: make statements about not going back to prison. It seems
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: like in this case, Friday and Romero assumed that this
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: was a typical defined whining by a criminal who wanted
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: to avoid jail and our much more mentally health aware society.
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: I wonder whether it could have been considered a suicide
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: threat by the suspect, or at least something where they
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: might have done some sort of mental health check or monitoring. Regardless,
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: you have to feel bad for his wife and kids
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: in the whole sorry affair in the way it played out.
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: Joe Friday's mom, played by Peggy Weber, was in this
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: episode once again, with a sublot that ends up reminding
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: us that Joe's too married to his job to have
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: a social life. I'm not quite sure or how I
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: view her presence in the series at this point. Well,
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: I thought she might be serving as a bit of
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: padding for a case that didn't have as much plot
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: to it, but thinking about it further, she seems to
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: be filling a need for human level banter and interaction
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: that we actually would later see represented in Joe's interactions
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: with Frank Smith once Ben Alexander became the permanent partner.
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: I think there's a sense that Web or Jim Moser
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: felt a need to have the stories have a ground
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: and relatable human element for the hero, and one of
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: the things that Frank Smith brought was making that element
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: work and also feel organic without having to shoehorn something in.
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: All right, Well, listener comments and feedback now, and we
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: have a comment from m regarding the Big Youngster. He writes,
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: just a bit too straightforward this episode. Well, thanks for
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: the comment, Emmett, and I can definitely see where you're
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: coming from, and sometimes right now and I think this
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: is true throughout its run, has an episode that's relatively
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: straightforward in its solution because there's some other element of
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: the process that they want to feature or highlight, and
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: if it's interesting enough for the viewer or listener, then
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: it can work as an episode. If it's not interesting enough,
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: then it doesn't work. I guess. The other thing some
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: people might argue is that sometimes the police have cases
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: that are fairly straightforward. So what happened in this case
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: was not unrealistic. But of course just because the case
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: happened doesn't make it a good candidate for dramatization. I'll
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: say that for my part, I find a lot of
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: cases which you wouldn't generally think would work for drama
• 32:08
  Speaker 1: to actually be quite entertaining with the things that Dragnet
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: does that enhances the stories, but that's definitely your mileage
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: will vary sort of situation. All right, Well, now it
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: is time to think our Patreon supporter of the day,
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: and I want to thank April, Patreon supporter since February
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: twenty seventeen, currently supporting the podcast at the Detective Sergeant
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: level of seven dollars and fourteen cents or more per month.
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for your support, April, and that
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: will do it for today. If you're enjoying the podcast,
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: please follow us, use in your favorite podcast software, and
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: be sure to rate and review the podcast wherever you
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: download it from. We'll be back next Saturday with another
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: episode of Dragnet, but join us back here tomorrow as
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: we celebrate fifteen years of the great detectors of old
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: time radio.
• 33:02
  Speaker 18: Wa mister bad noise, Yeah that's right. You make too
• 33:07
  Speaker 18: much for a thief or not enough for a customer?
• 33:08
  Speaker 18: What do you want about ten words? If you're Dixie Gillian,
• 33:11
  Speaker 18: go ahead, you better look up a timetable.
• 33:12
  Speaker 8: What makes you that this?
• 33:15
  Speaker 4: Why do you look coping with a gun?
• 33:16
  Speaker 8: Does it make you talk faster?
• 33:17
  Speaker 5: I'm gonna say it's slow, mister pack up your robbers
• 33:19
  Speaker 5: and get out.
• 33:20
  Speaker 18: Is that you talking to somebody else.
• 33:21
  Speaker 8: I'm just the guy with a gun.
• 33:22
  Speaker 5: Adrian does the talking and he says get out.
• 33:24
  Speaker 8: That's right. You've got the whole message now, all right?
• 33:27
  Speaker 18: You told me so, wander out and spend it though.
• 33:29
  Speaker 12: I will.
• 33:29
  Speaker 18: You'll need part of it though, because I'm going to
• 33:31
  Speaker 18: give you an asker for Adrian. I've got to take
• 33:33
  Speaker 18: that gun away from you.
• 33:33
  Speaker 8: Mister.
• 33:34
  Speaker 18: You can pick the pieces out of your head on
• 33:35
  Speaker 18: the way home.
• 33:36
  Speaker 8: You better stand back or I'll show it with you. You've
• 33:38
  Speaker 8: got your offer, mister.
• 33:39
  Speaker 3: Let's see you make good here.
• 33:40
  Speaker 8: Save your muscle?
• 33:42
  Speaker 5: Will you save your muscles?
• 33:43
  Speaker 8: All the contempt.
• 33:48
  Speaker 5: Somebody sometimes can get a home run with a half swing.
• 33:55
  Speaker 5: That's the way it was this time. He couldn't have
• 33:57
  Speaker 5: made it with a prayer book in both hands.
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: I hope you'll be with us then and in the meantime.
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: Send your comments to Box thirteen at Greatdetectives dot net,
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives, and check us
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: out on Instagram, Instagram, dot com slash Great Detectives from Boise, Idaho.
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: This is your host, Adam Graham signing off.