The story you are about to hear is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. Fatima cigarettes. Best of all, king-sized cigarettes brings you Dragnet on both radio and television. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned a robbery detail. A jewelry salesman is slugged and robbed of $20,000 in precious stones. After months of investigation, you finally discover the man responsible for the holdup. You've got the evidence to prove him guilty. Your job, bring him in. Fatima, America's first largest selling blended cigarette. Now, best of all, king-sized cigarettes. Give it yourself. Today, compare Fatima with any other king-sized cigarette. One, Fatima's length filters the smoke 85 millimeters for your protection. Two, Fatima's length cools the smoke for your protection. Three, Fatima's length gives you those extra puffs, 21% longer than standard cigarette size. And in Fatima, you get an extra mild and soothing smoke. Plus the added protection of Fatima quality. Definitely the best quality in its class, but the same price as a cigarette you're now smoking. Bye, Fatima, in the bright, sunny yellow pack. Best of all, king-sized cigarettes. Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime. For the next 30 minutes in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will travel step-by-step on the side of the law through an actual case transcribed from official police violence. From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. Was Thursday, July 18th. Was sultry in Los Angeles. We were working the day watch out of robbery detail. My partner's Ed Jacobs. The boss is Captain Didion. My name's Friday. It was 1.35 p.m. when we got back to the city hall, the interrogation room. What's going on, Mr. Grabby? Yeah, sorry. You want to call the captain, Ed, let him know we're back? Okay. Thanks. I'd still like to know what this is all about, Sergeant, dragging me down here in the middle of the day. I've got an offer. Just a minute, Mr. Grabby. Yeah, I just got back. All of them? Good. Yeah, interrogation room, right. Letters check in yet? Yeah, they're all back. Worked out fine. Would you please explain what this is about, why you brought me down here? You think you know why? I don't. I haven't any idea. You take me away from my store on a busy day, you put a police guard on it, you insist on bringing me down here. What's it all about? Tell me. You know you tell us, Mr. Grabby. Tell you about what? The jewel robbery nine months ago, that holdup. What holdup? My store hasn't been robbed. Talk about your friend, Thomas Ashley. Ashley? What about him? We think you remember it. Nine months ago, parking lot back of the building down on Poyth Street. Oh, sure. Some holdup man slugged him, stole his case as sample. I remember it now. Poor Tom. The thief made a big haul, didn't he? And said dime is $20,000 worth. I remember it now. I don't think Tom's gotten over it yet. He was a jewelry salesman for the same company at the time, you know. Same company Tom was working for him. Yeah, we go all the way. Some of the big bosses thought Tom had a hand in it. They figured it was a put up job. Nothing was further from the truth. That's how. Sure, I know Tom. He's a close friend of mine. He wouldn't be mixed up in a deal like that. Tom and I worked out of the same office for years. We've had him over the house for dinner. We've even been on vacations together. He's one of the most honest men I know. You sure of all the signs? Of course I'm sure. That isn't why you called me down here, is it? You don't think Tom had anything to do with that robbery, do you? You don't think he was in on it? He had nothing to do with it. I think you know that as well as we do. Then why am I here? There's nothing I can tell you about the hold up. Only what I heard from Tom, what I read in the news. No, you can tell us a lot more, Garvey. We didn't bring you here just past time of day. Tom was slugged and his sample cases of stones were taken. That's all I can tell you. You're a liar, mister. You engineered the whole thing. We know it and so do you. Well, is this some kind of a joke? If it is, I think it's inverting... You're a long way from a joke, Garvey. You planned the job, you got the loot. We can give you chapter and verse. I really think you're serious. You think I robbed Tom? We're past the thinking stage, Garvey. We already told you. We know you robbed him. Wait a minute. This thing is ridiculous. The whole idea is ridiculous. I don't know who gave you the so-called information on me, but it's wrong. There's nothing further from the truth. Nobody gave us the information. We got it ourselves. You're really serious, are you? I robbed Tom and you can prove I didn't. You're giving me an idea. I don't know what to say. It's fantastic. I robbed my best friend Tom Ashley nine months ago. I have $20,000 worth of diamonds and you can prove every bit of it. What about it? I think you're out of your mind. My name is George Garvey. Are you sure I'm the man you want? There couldn't be a mistake. No, there's no mistake. This thing would be funny if I didn't think you were serious. Let me ask you just one question. Maybe that'll clear it up for you. If I held up Tom Ashley, how is it he didn't recognize me? You're no better than that, Garvey. What? You didn't hold up Tom Ashley yourself. He had someone do it for you. Oh, well, cloak and dagger. I'm afraid this is getting a little too wild for me, Sergeant. Maybe you can waste time making ridiculous charges. I can't. I'm going back to my store. It's a weak bluff, mister. It's not going to do it. Excuse me. Are you sure you two men haven't been drinking? Sit down, Mr. Garvey. I told you I'm going to make my store. Sit down. Look, you have no right to keep me here. These are ridiculous charges. You think I'm one of those cheap hoodlums you're used to dealing with? No, and I'll come off it, mister. You've got a $5,000 car and a $40,000 home. That doesn't rate you a special treatment. You're a thief and you know it as well as we do. I don't have to take this from you. You haven't got much choice. We just finished five months' leg work proving it. Proving what? All right, now sit down there. You engineered that holdup. We know who you got to do it. We know how it was carried out. We know how you planned on disposing of the diamonds. We know who your fence was. We know what the split was. We know what you did with part of the money. We know how much you got left. Is that right? Yeah, that's right. What can I say? I don't even know what you're talking about. Any way you want it, Mr. Garvey. Maybe you'd like to tell me why I did all this. You know it better than we do. No, I mean it. Tell me. You weren't making enough money at your job to suit yourself, suit your wife either. That's pretty good, Maryland would get a big kick out of that. All right, fellow, we can wait it out as long as you want. We spent nine months on this already. In another few days, how are you going to make that much difference? Just as a matter of curiosity, how'd you first start off on this tangent? Whatever gave you the idea that I had anything to do with the holdup? When you started to spend money. New car, new office for yourself, fur coat for your wife, transferred your two children to that private school. And that makes a holdup man out of me because I wanted to send my kids to a better school? Where'd the money come from? Can you explain that? Do you think that's my business, Sergeant, before I get my money, what I do with it? Not when you get it stealing. I'm afraid you're going just a little too far. You insist I'm a thief. I'm going to insist you prove it. All right. Have a look over here, Mr. Garvey. Yeah? Some of the reports on the investigation, reams of them. They cover everything from the time of the jewel robbery up to late yesterday. It's all right there. Everything from the crime report to signed statements. How would that concern me? Three quarters of the stuff concerns you. Have a look for yourself. I still can't get it straight in my mind. What makes you think I had anything to do with that robbery? You know what this is, Mr. Garvey, this machine right here? No. Some kind of recording apparatus? That's right. It's a tape recorder. You've been taking down this conversation. And why? No, not this one. We've been recording every conversation that took place in your office for the last four months, every word. What do you mean? Just that, Mr. Garvey. Every time you talked on the phone, every visitor you had, it's all down on tape. 25 reels of it. Interesting. Is that supposed to frighten me? No, no. We don't care if it frightens you or not. Something else here. Yeah? The reports on what you've been doing for the last four months, daily reports, every movement you made. I guess so. Everywhere you went, everybody you talked to, everything you did. Want to hear a sample? This must be some kind of a joke. That's the only explanation I can think of. May 12th, Thursday. Sergeant's Bitteroff and Rafferty, those are the two officers who were tailing you at the time. You checked in at your new office at 9.38 a.m. At 10.03 a.m. you had a visitor, Kenneth Tyson. You talked to him in your office. Conversations recorded. Tyson left at 10.18 a.m. At 10.32 a.m. You left your office. If you're trying to impress me, I'm afraid it isn't working out very well. You care for a cigarette, Rafferty? No, thanks. I have my own. All right. Well, I've wasted enough time. Exactly what's the point of all this? Pretty simple. You're responsible for a robbery. You can prove it. We're giving you the chance to make a statement. That's nonsense. Is it? Of course. People following me, checking everything I do, where I spend my money, where I send my kids to school, what's it all about? It doesn't make any sense. All right, Mr. Garvey. We've said it before. We can wait it out as long as you want. Look, let's get this thing straight. Let's go back to the beginning and take it step by step. That's fine. The holdup was last fall, wasn't it? Sometime in October. October 7th, Monday, 5.20 in the afternoon. All right. Now, just what am I supposed to have done? None of your vague references about a new coat from my wife or where I send my kids to school. Let's have some facts. Joe? All right, Mr. Garvey. You went to work as a jewelry salesman for the company 10 years ago. Your friend Tom Ashley, the victim, started the same year. The two of you have been pretty close friends. That's right. I told you that. I will skip the rest of your background for now. Two weeks before the robbery on September 24th, you had a meeting with a Kenneth Tyson. We met in the cafeteria on South Broadway. Tyson's 19 years old. Lives with an older sister. He works in the gas station on Olympic Boulevard. He's done some work on your car for you. That's how you happened to know him. Yes, I think I remember the boy. I don't know him well, though. I don't recall the meeting either. No, you know the boy very well. The time of the meeting, you promised him $1,000 if you'd hold up your friend, Tom Ashley. Ridiculous. Tyson agreed to it, and you briefed him on the plan. The following day, you gave him a gun. 32 caliber Smith & Wesson, serial number 36274-4. Nonsense. Where did you get that information? Tyson. Well, he's lying. Believe me, if he told you that, he's lying. Is he the one who robbed Tom? October 7th, at your direction, he was in the parking lot behind the Hunter Crosswell building. Tom Ashley came out to get in his car. He had his case of sample diamonds with him. Tyson held him up, slugged him, took the stones, and got away. Of course, it's obvious. Tyson's trying to say I put him up to it. He's trying to get out of it, that boy. I'm afraid not, Mr. Garvey. Boy couldn't have carried off the holdup by himself. Of course he could. It's obvious he's trying to cover up. There were six people in the company you worked for who knew that on Mondays, Ashley always took the case of sample diamonds along when he made his calls. Only on Monday, you were one of the people who knew that. I suppose you've considered the other five people. They were all checked out at the time. They were all cleared you along with them. But I'm not clear anymore. Is that it? Miss Young Hoodlum Tyson, you're willing to take his word over mine? After the robbery, he took the case of diamonds to you. That was the next day. You paid him $500 and promised him the other $500 when he got rid of the stones. Oh, I suppose I've gotten rid of them, or do I still have them? Two months after the holdup, you contacted a fancy in San Francisco. You drove up there and sold him some of the stones, and he broke them up and sold them. We know who he sold them to. We know what he got for them. Well, this fancy is supposed to be another good friend of mine. He's still doing business with them. His name's Fred Lawrence. And who went on me? I don't know any Fred Lawrence, can't even recall the name. Well, maybe this will help you, Mr. Garvey. Listen to him on the tape recorder. It's reel four, isn't it? Yeah, I think so. All labeled there, right on the back of the box. Yeah, here we are. Well, what's all this about? Phone conversation, Mr. Garvey. One of the things we recorded from your office. I told you about it before. Let's see. This one was on March 18. I always thought wiretapping was against the law. Do you pay any attention to that? You didn't slap your telephone line. We recorded everything from tick to grass we installed in your store and back in your office. They started recording the day you moved in. That was the first of March, wasn't it? I don't know why you're telling me. I can sue you for that, you know. I can sue you for your last dollar. All we're concerned with right now is Fred Lawrence. And you say you don't know him. I'd like to have you listen to this. This was recorded March 18 in your office. Okay? Here we go. Here we go. Yeah, Marion. Mr. Lawrence? Yeah, sure. Put him on. Hi, Fred. How are you? I'm good. Nor are they fine. No ease at all. I can know he's all right. Believe me, he's a good kid. Right. All right, where? I don't know. It might not be so good if you were to see something here. Only the clock. He's 30. Okay, fine. It's about 8.30. See you later. Bye, Fred. Bye. Mr. Garvey, you recognize that? How about it, Garvey? I understand they can do clever things with tape recorders nowadays. There's a way of piecing words together in there. They can record your voice and then fix the tape, take a simple sentence and change the words around. I mean, just the opposite. You can examine the tape if you like. We didn't make a splice in at all. You'll find it's a usual factory splice. It's just where it comes from, the manufacturer. What difference does it make anyway? There's nothing criminal about that conversation, nothing at all. You told us a few minutes ago you didn't know Fred Lawrence. You never heard of him on that recording. It sounds like you know him pretty well. Fairly common name, wouldn't you say? Must be quite a few Fred Lawrence's. I didn't happen to remember their name right off. How about Tyson? What? Tyson. You told us you didn't know him well at all. I don't. Well, it didn't sound that way on that tape, did it? You were telling Lawrence that he was all right. You said, believe me, he's a good kid. Now what you said, now how about it, Mr. Garvey? How about what? Is this some kind of a frame? What are you trying to make me say? We're not going to make you say anything, Garvey. We work robbery detail. That's the job. Robbery is they pay us to clean them up. I can pay you. What? Never mind, I didn't mean that. I meant I pay my taxes, I pay your salaries, I help to anyway. I don't know why I have to be treated like this. No reason to make a big headache out of this for anybody, Garvey. Now you engineered a holdup, we can prove that. We're giving you a chance to make a statement. That's all we want here. I've got nothing to say. Make a statement about what? All you're going on is hearsay, circumstantial evidence. You can't say I planned that robbery. You admit you know Tyson, you know him well. I don't, I admit nothing. What about phone conversation? It's a fake. They phone those things up all the time. You know it as well as I do. You admit you know Fred Lyons. Prove that from the recording. I admit nothing. You don't even know Tyson. Is that what you want to say? I know him, that's all. He worked on my car a couple of times. I don't know him well. All right, sir. I'll explain you another recording. It's a waste of time. I haven't got the whole day to spend here. I've got to get back to my store. I've got a business to operate. This won't take very long. Here we are, April 5th. A lot of foolishness anyway. How do I know you made those recordings? Could have gotten accurate. Maybe you made them up yourself. There weren't any dictographs. You make those things. There were dictographs, Mr. Garvey. Remember before you moved into that new suite of offices, you had them redecorated? Yeah. There were sound technicians from our crime lab out there working side by side with the painters and carpenters. Installed dictographs in your store and back in your offices. They bugged the entire place. Wire tapping. I'll bring this into court if it's the last thing I do. Look, now we already told you, Mr. Garvey, we didn't want wire tapping. We didn't touch your phone lines. We didn't have to. Invasion of privacy. I'm going to take this into court. Well, let's listen to this recording right here for a few things. Clear up what? What are you trying to prove? Okay, Joe. Yeah, it's coming in here now. Date on this is April 5th. Yeah, Mary. Hello, Tyson. Well, does he know I'm in? Yeah, okay, send him back. You got the money? Hi, Mr. Garvey. Ken, how are you? Come on in, sit down. Thanks. How are you doing, anyway? Pretty good. Trying to get a hold of you last week. It's so hard to do. You know, I didn't bring much. Pretty busy, yeah. It's been a time of year, you know. It keeps you going. I don't want to waste any time. I'd like to know how the deal is working out, though. Going back east to Albany next month. I'd like to get the rest of my money if I could. Well, just like I told you the last time, Ken, sending the stuff north, I hope to hear from you. I'll be there. I'll be there. I'll be there. I'll be there. I'll be there. I'll be there. I'll be there. I'll be there. I'll be there. I'll be there. I'll be there. I'll be there. I'll be there. I'll be there. I'll be there. I'll be there. I'll be there. I'll be there. The King Size Fatima gives you an extra mild and soothing smoke, plus the added protection of Fatima quality. Switch to Fatima today. Best of all, King Size cigarettes. Thursday, 3.55 p.m. Ed Jacobs and I continued questioning the robbery suspect, Ernest Garvey. Despite the evidence at hand, we still refused to admit any knowledge of the $20,000 jewel theft nine months before. The questioning went on. Garvey's answers became more and more confused. We kept pressing, laying out the case against him step by step. 4 p.m., 4.30. We stayed at it. Must have taken quite a bit of money, didn't it, Garvey? My wife knew for a coat, knew Carver yourself. Where'd he come from? Now look, there has to be an answer. Where'd that money come from? Simple. I borrowed it. Some from friends, some from the bank. I don't see how it concerns you. How much money did you borrow? Don't you think that's my business? Wasn't it about $7,000? Is that about right? No, it was more. Well, what's the difference? It's my business. You want to grab that folder, Ed? The one with the dark brown... That's it. Got it. Complete financial file on you, Mr. Garvey. It took us quite a few weeks getting this together. A lot of work. You must like snooping in other people's affairs. No, not especially. It's pretty dull. Here's a copy of your bank statement. It's a photo stab. It doesn't make much sense. What do you mean? Well, we checked your income for that month. Amounted to $620.18. Your bank statement here shows you made deposits totaling $760 the same month. Now how is that possible? Well, for your information, I made a loan that month. That's probably some of the loan money I deposited. I quit my old job that time. I was going in business for myself. I needed the money to redecorate the new store in the office. It's as simple as that. Yeah. The photo stab's your loan papers right here. The loan was for $2,000. The month before that, February, you'd bought from another bank. Let's see, for $3,000. I made another one in April, too. That was for $1,500. Different bank again. That's right. Do we have to go over this line by line? In three months, you made bank loans for $6,500. Besides that, in the same three months, you earned a total of $1,713.88. Together, that makes $8,213.88. What's the point? Top is your bank statements, Garvey. You have five different savings accounts in five different banks. They show from February to April. The same three months, you made deposits of more than $11,000. Now, how do you explain that? Garvey, any explanation? It's almost five o'clock. Can I use the phone? I have to call my wife and let her know. All right. We'll have to listen in on the extension. Conversation's gonna be marred. Go ahead. I don't care. Okay. Dial nine to get an outside line. Oh, yeah. I see. What is that? The dead point exam, Garvey. I see him. You want to give us an explanation? You only had $8,200. How could you bank $11,000? It had to come from somewhere, didn't it? It's purely a personal matter, that's all. I borrowed $3,000 from a brother of mine who lives back in Minnesota. You'd already made three loans. Why'd you have to borrow from your brother? You mind telling us? Yes. As a matter of fact, I do. Well, that still doesn't balance the books, Mr. Garvey. You earned and borrowed $8,200. You got another $3,000 from your brother. You say that's $11,200. You banked $11,000. Yes, that's right. You always have to repeat. That'd leave you with $200. You and your family live for three months on $200? Is that right? That could easily be. A lot of people do it. Yes, but not your family. I'm getting sick and tired of this. You're trying to tell me you know my family better than I do, what they eat, what they spend, what it takes to support them. We've been on this thing for nine months, Garvey. We've put in a lot of hours. We know your family pretty well. If you'd like, I'll tell you the last time you ordered steak from the meat market when you paid your gas bill, the last time your wife bought a pair of shoes. I guess this is standard procedure for you, on threatening people. I'm not threatening you, Mr. Garvey. We're giving you facts. Here's another file here. It took us over a month to get this one together. Complete record of your expenses from February 1st. Covers February, March, April, May, June. I hope the police department has a good lawyer, Sergeant. You've got a fair warning. You say you and your... I'm sorry, go ahead. I hope the police department has a good lawyer, Sergeant. You've got fair warning. I'm going to sue you for your last dollar. Let me say you and your family live three months on $200. That doesn't jive with what we've got here. Take a look if you want to. It's all lies, forgeries. It's all lies. I promise you. Photo stat of the receipt for your wife's coat, Garvey. $1612.34. That includes the tax paid in full. Photo stat of the contract for your new car, down payment, $2,000. Liquor bill for the big party you threw in March. March 20th. Liquor bill, $387. Catering bill, 194. Full year's check for tuition, room and board for your kids at the private school. You sent them to $1864.07. That's only the beginning, Garvey. Comes to a lot more than $200. Have you heard enough? I better try to get my wife again. I have to let her know. They had a new handling statute. Yeah. All right, go ahead. I'm going to get outside, Garvey. Yeah, I know. She's still talking. She might know I'm trying to get her. Stupid. Well, wait a couple of minutes. I'm going to have to get her to the office. I'm going to have to get her to the office, Garvey. I'm going to have to get her to the office, Garvey. That's not true. Gabbing on the phone all day long. Gab on the phone and play cards. It's all she ever does. I have some more figures here for you, Garvey. It'd be a good idea if you're here. And bill for two more parties you threw last month. Food bill. Why do you have to keep pushing that stuff at me? So you've been sneaking around finding out about my personal affairs. That's supposed to be good police work. This is a kind of... You carried off a robbery, Garvey. We're giving you a chance to make a statement. Why should I? What for? I know, I know you do. What's the matter? What's the matter with her? Stupid chiller. No, I'm trying to get her. What's the matter, Garvey? I don't know if you get down on that. One more recording out of here. I don't want to hear it. I'll just play a piece. I think you ought to hear it. That's the same reel there. Just fan it over there to that other part. All right. You can go to Mr. Garvey. Same place, the office. But you told me on the phone you said you had the dope for me today. You said today, sure. Now wait a minute, Tyson. I didn't say that at all. I said maybe I'd have it for you. I didn't say definitely. Look, I can't give you what I haven't got. I want the 500, Garvey. I needed that. I stuck my neck out on a robbery job. I get five delights. All right, Ed. You can be proven. You couldn't be any plainer. Now what do you say? Never mind. I've just... Now what? She was never satisfied. She never couldn't be satisfied. Always more. She always had to have something else. How do you mean, your wife? Playing cards, gaving on the phone, that's all. She just kept writing me day in, day out. I wasn't making enough money. She didn't have any clothes. Kids ought to go to a better school. We ought to have a new house. On and on. I ought to go in business for myself. Make money, lots of money. Same thing, all the time. Talk, talk, talk. There's only so much you can take. You figured the robbery'd solve the problem, is that it? I guess so. I wouldn't have tried anything just to shut her up, get her off my back for a while. I guess you got Tyson out, the other man too, Fred Lawrence. Yeah, they were picked up this afternoon, Lawrence, at the airport. Tyson and the show downtown, all three of them, all at the same time. What about your wife, Garvey? She knew you planned this robbery. Well, I didn't tell her. I think she knows, though. Pretty sure she does. Maybe she'll be satisfied now. Lousy money, she ought to have it. Didn't even leave me enough to pay off that kid Tyson. Private school for the children, wall-to-wall carpets in the house, new dishwasher, new coat, new car, everything. She just had to have them. You want to take me, book me in? I don't care. Well, we'll stop off down the hall, and take your statement. Sure, I don't care. All right, let's go. I'll stay just a minute, huh? Yeah. I'll only take a minute. Yeah. That's what I figured. The story you have just heard was true. The names were changed to protect the innocent. On November 4th, trial was held in Superior Court, Department 87, City and County of Los Angeles, State of California. In a moment, the results of that trial. And now here is our star, Jack Webb. Thank you, George Fenomen. Friends, I make it a habit to carry two packs of Fatimas around with me. One's for my smoking, the second one's for smokers I see with other king-sized cigarettes. All I have to say is, here, compare Fatima. I know they're going to be sold on Fatimas the next time we meet. How about comparing Fatima yourself? You'll find Fatima's length filters the smoke 85 millimeters, cools the smoke, all for your protection. You get those extra puffs because Fatima is 21 percent longer than standard cigarette size. And Fatima gives you an extra mild and soothing smoke, plus the added protection of Fatima quality. Prove it today. Buy Fatima. Ernest W. Garvey and Kenneth Tyson were tried and convicted of first degree robbery one count and received sentences as prescribed by law. Fred Lawrence was tried and convicted of receiving stolen property one count. First degree robbery is punishable by imprisonment from five years to life. Receiving stolen property is punishable by a prison term of not more than five years. You have just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases from official files. Technical advice comes from the office of Chief of Police W. H. Parker, Los Angeles Police Department. Heard tonight were Barney Phillips, Big Perrin, and Eddie Firestone. Script by Jim Moser. Music by Walter Schuman. Hal Gibney speaking. Fatima cigarettes, best of all, king size cigarettes, has brought you Dragnet, transcribed from Los Angeles. Music by Walter Schuman. February 18th, hear the Gala City Service and the New York Jubilee on NBC.
