Dragnet 1967 (1967) s01e14 Episode Script

1
[Friday Narrating]
This is the city— Los Angeles, California.
It's a big city with a big heart,
and it offers a lot—
museums, libraries, galleries,
playgrounds, beaches,
valleys and mountains.
Angelenos are proud
of our new Griffith Park Zoo,
which houses animals
from all over the world—
the king of beasts and his jester,
the proud and the profane.
Not all of the wolves and jackals
who come to Los Angeles are in the zoo.
A lot of them wind up in the city jail.
My job is to put 'em there.
I carry a badge.
It was Tuesday, January 1 7.
It was cold in Los Angeles.
We were working the day watch
out of Frauds Division, Bunco Section.
The boss is Captain Lambert.
My partner's Bill Gannon.
My name's Friday.
Public Information Division
wanted a favor.
Sergeant Dan Cooke had set up
an interview for Lieutenant Ron Breiter
to talk about petty bunco artists.
He was to appear
on a local TV show that afternoon,
but he was involved
in the fake bank examiner swindle.
The captain asked if Gannon
or I would substitute for Breiter.
[Man Narrating]
The story you are about to see is true.
The names have been changed
to protect the innocent.
Now, let's be fair about this, Joe.
You or me. Call it.
Heads. Friday wins.
You mean Gannon does it.
You do it. Put aside
the magazine scam you're
working on for a few hours.
Yes, sir.
Bill can help you
with the exhibits.
We're expecting a call
on the magazine kids, Skipper.
I'll let you know if it comes in.
Take the toys along.
[Friday Narrating]
1:05 p.m. We drove to the Hollywood studio
which telecasts The Jerry Dexter Show.
It was seen at night,
but they taped it in advance
at 2:00 in the afternoon.
Sergeant, you're on
after this commercial.
Those the props?
[Both]
Hmm?
The things you're
gonna use in the show.
He is.
Okay. Well, stand by.
You nervous, Joe?
I've been more relaxed.
You sure look nervous.
Well, I'm not.
There's nothing
to be nervous about.
I'm not nervous.
You act nervous.
All right.
Have it your way.
What?
I'm nervous.
There's nothing
to be nervous about.
You said that.
It's true.
Then why don't you go out there?
Not me. I'd be nervous.
Sergeant?
Uh, sit down.
Just relax, Sergeant.
Don't be nervous.
Welcome back
to The Jerry Dexter Show.
We have returned from
our film festival of spot commercials.
I used to be Jerry Dexter,
and if there are no volunteers,
I'll continue to be.
Our next guest tonight is gonna tell us
how some other people make a living,
a dishonest living,
swindling honest, gullible people.
The Los Angeles Police Department
is one of the finest in the nation,
so let's welcome one of their members,
Sergeant Joe Friday.
Sergeant, I read recently
that authorities estimate
over one billion dollars a year
are lost by trusting people
who are victimized by bunco artists,
con men and women
who prey on the public.
- Yes, sir.
- Can you tell us some of the ways
the con men operate these days?
For instance,
what have you got
in that box?
Well, sir—
There's this.
Oh, it's rubber.
- Could've fooled me.
- Yeah, fools a lot of people.
What's a rubber rattlesnake
got to do with a con man?
They work it like this—
They pick a house, ring a doorbell,
and they tell the owner there's been
a report of rattlers in the area.
They ask if they can go
under the house to check.
Naturally, the owner approves.
You bet your sweet knees I would.
The con man goes under,
then comes out shaking this rubber snake,
tells the homeowner,
"They're there all right,
a whole nest of 'em."
- And he offers to clear 'em out for a fee.
- What do they charge for this so-called service?
Well, whatever they can get away with.
Ten dollars, 50, a hundred.
- People have actually gone for that swindle?
- Yes, sir. They're still going for it.
What else do we have there, Sergeant?
Well, would you say this is
a branch of a tree, Mr. Dexter?
- Yeah, that's what it looks like.
- A branch or a twig?
All right.
A twig or an ape's swizzle stick.
Yes, sir. A stranger comes to your door
and offers to trim the dead branches
from the tree in your yard
for only 25 cents a branch.
- Reasonable enough?
- Yeah.
You let his crew go to work.
They cut branches, all right.
Dead ones, dying ones and good healthy ones.
Then from each branch,
they cut these twigs.
And when you go to settle,
they count each twig as a branch,
and they stick you with a bill
that can run into $200, $300, $400.
- And people pay it?
- Sometimes if they argue long enough,
they'll settle for less.
But the victim is still cheated,
and by buncos who have
no real knowledge of tree surgery and
who frequently kill trees in the bargain.
Sergeant, all of these things
sound like petty schemes.
What about some of the bigger swindles?
Well, there's this.
I'd have to check with the band first.
That looks like it could be a portable still.
What is that?
Would you believe
a moneymaking machine?
That makes money?
For the con man, thousands.
What's the gimmick here?
Look, I'll show you.
They claim that by placing
a real $20 bill here,
along with two pieces
of blank paper,
and then closing it,
turning it on,
adjusting the dials
and going through
a lot of hocus-pocus,
the one 20 is reproduced
on both pieces of the blank paper.
Actually, when you twist this knob,
it slides back this false bottom here
in this compartment,
where two real 20s
have been hidden all along.
And some poor suckers believe
it actually manufactures money,
and they buy it?
They either buy it
or invest in it.
One man bought a machine
just like this for $ 10,000 in cash.
Incredible.
It's people's own greed
that makes them victims
of the bunco artists.
Trying to get something
for nothing.
Sergeant, how can we
protect ourselves against the swindlers
who go from door-to-door?
Well, you're always safe when you deal
with reputable, established firms
with whom you've dealt before
or who are recommended by friends.
Thank you.
Before we continue, Sergeant,
let's take this minute
to hear from this reputable,
established firm who sponsors us.
Thank you, Sergeant.
Very good. Very good.
I'll have our floor manager
bring these things out to you.
Thank you very much.
Can I go now?
Yeah, sure. Good job. Good job.
Thank you.
Yep, sure am, Joe.
Real proud of you.
Did I seem nervous?
Not to me, partner.
You didn't look nervous.
That's good.
I sure was though.
Here are your props.
[Both]
Huh?
Your stuff.
Thank you.
- Hey, Sergeant there.
- Yeah?
Can I see you a minute there?
Hi there.
My name's Tate. Cliff Tate.
I'm the film cutter
at the station here there.
Yes, sir.
I was in the control room
while you were taping
the Dexter show there, Sergeant.
Good. Real good there.
Thanks.
A public service—that's what you
were performing there, Sergeant.
Thank you.
Uh, can I ask you
something there?
What's that?
- It's my wife.
- Yes, sir?
She's always buying stuff.
Any Tom, Dick or Jasper knocks
at our door, she'll buy it there.
Maybe she better watch
the Dexter show tonight,
hear what Sergeant Friday has to say.
- The latest thing is this marine.
- What marine's that?
He says he's a war hero
from Vietnam there.
Sold Marilyn some magazines.
- Subscriptions?
- Okay.
First she buys subscriptions to help a girl
win some points and get a scholarship
to a nursing school.
- What about the marine?
- Then she buys more magazines
three days later
from a foreign exchange student
from New Zealand there.
The marine, Mr. Tate.
What about him?
He shows up two days later there
and sells Marilyn 35 bucks' worth
of magazine subscriptions one day.
And he comes back again
less than a week there
and sells her 50 bucks' worth.
- Same marine?
- Is this some kind of racket?
- Yes, sir. We'd like to talk to your wife.
- I wish you would.
- She's home. 10655 Rancho View.
- That's in the Valley.
Tarzana. Burroughs Estates.
It was named after Edgar Rice Burroughs
there, the man that wrote Tarzan.
- Yes, sir.
- We got a few old Tarzan movies here.
The ones with Mia Farrow's mother.
Remember?
She played Jane. Johnny Weismuller
played Tarzan with her.
That's right. Elmo Lincoln.
He was the first Tarzan there.
- Who played Jane with Elmo?
- What do you say you and me play?
- Hmm?
- Policemen.
[Friday Narrating]
3: 15 p.m. We called Captain Lambert
and filled him in.
For a month we had been
working on the magazine kid
using the marine scam.
His doorbell crew had taken
Mrs. Marian Ballard in Hollywood
for $ 1, 800 in magazine subscriptions.
Now it looked like
they had switched operations
to the San Fernando Valley.
3:50 p.m.
We arrived at the Tate address.
- Joe, take a look.
- Yeah.
[Rings]
Police officers, ma'am.
You're Mrs. Tate?
Yes, my Cliffie-boy called
and said to expect you.
Which one of you
is Sergeant Sunday?
Friday, ma'am.
I knew he mentioned a day.
Come on in. You must have
a cup of tea and a piece of pie.
I'm puffy-pigeon proud
of my pies.
No, ma'am, but thank you.
Mrs. Tate, we'd like to ask you
about that marine that sold you
the magazine subscriptions.
♪[Singing]
Oh, so gallant, so brave
and so very considerate.
- How's that, ma'am?
- To let Glenn do that.
Glenn. Is that his first name
or his last?
Just Glenn's all I call him.
No last name.
Of course he has. It'll come to me.
He's a hero, you know.
- He showed me his medal.
- What medal's that, Mrs. Tate?
Well, I told you he's a hero.
The medal from Congress.
- You mean the Congressional
Medal of Honor?
- Exactly!
There was a movie
called The Purple Heart.
That's a medal too.
And Dana Andrews
was so brave in that.
Yes, ma'am.
I was a stand-in once
for Helen Twelvetrees.
Now, there was an angel.
Yes, ma'am. Mrs. Tate, we'd like
to know what you can tell us
about the marine who sold you
the magazine subscriptions—this Glenn.
The magazines aren't for me, you know.
They're for the boys in Vietnam
and the hospitals.
- Is that what he told you?
- That's why the Marine Corps
let him sell subscriptions.
You see, the boys desperately need
reading material.
Mrs. Tate, the Marine Corps
doesn't send its members out
to solicit magazine subscriptions.
- They don't?
- No, ma'am.
- I'm afraid you're the victim of a swindle.
- I am?
Yes, ma'am.
Crews of nice-looking young people
have been passing themselves off
as marines, medical students,
nursing students,
bilking well-meaning people like yourself
out of thousands of dollars
in magazine subscriptions.
Well, goodness to Marie.
I bought from a lovely young nurse.
Just look! Just look!
Love Stories, Movie Pic,
Love Novelettes, Thrilling Stories,
Sensations and Spring Bride.
Yes, ma'am.
Now, whether you get
those magazines or not,
the subscriptions
were sold to you
under false pretenses.
What's the difference?
If I get my magazines,
why won't the boys in the war zones
and the hospital zones get theirs?
Mrs. Tate,
did this Glenn give you a receipt?
Did he sign anything?
Of course he did.
Honestly, you're just like Cliff.
All you men so cynical. Excuse me.
Glenn wouldn't be a crook.
He's such a nice boy.
And what he went through
in those jungle battles.
Here it is—a receipt.
May we have that, please?
No, I need it for income tax.
It's a charity donation, you know.
Wouldn't you rather have
a piece of pie instead?
No, ma'am.
Could we just look
at it, ma'am?
Oh, yes.
- There, he signed it.
Can you make that out?
- Same number?
I have to check it,
but this one he signed.
Glenn P-R-O-C-U-S-T-A-N.
I remember now! Procustan.
Sergeant Glenn Procustan.
- Here's the serial number.
- Allied Subscription Service?
- Same as the others.
- Thank you very much, Mrs. Tate.
- You might tell your husband
to paint your fence.
- We do every spring.
- You better do it right now, ma'am.
- Fiddle-faddle, why?
The confidence men
have you marked with their code.
Small numbers written
on one of the pickets
on your front fence.
They tip off the next man
that this house is good for a sale.
Wait. If you won't take any pie,
here, take some magazines.
- Those are brand-new.
- I just bought them to help out
those nice young people.
- Yes, ma'am.
- Don't tell Cliff, but I don't read them.
- Is that so?
- My eyes are going bad.
[Friday Narrating]
4:45 p.m. We had checked R&I and C. I. I.
There was no local record
on the suspect.
I pulled the file
on Mrs. Marian Ballard,
the elderly victim
of the $ 1,800 subscription bunc.
Her receipts had no signature,
just a serial number.
It was the same as the military
serial number Procustan had signed
on Mrs. Tate's receipt.
I put the name Glenn Procustan
and the serial number
through the Marine Corps files
in Washington.
Bill wrote a letter
to Universal Registry,
a national clearing house for subscription
salesmen all over the country.
Their office is in Chicago.
He requested all information they might have
concerning the suspect— if any.
Wednesday, January 18, 8:40 a.m.
A Teletype came in
from Headquarters, Marine Corps.
The serial number was accurate.
It had been assigned to a gunnery sergeant,
Emanuel G. Procustan.
He had been decorated
with a Congressional Medal of Honor.
Take a look, Bill.
How do you like that?
Procustan's a Medal of Honor winner.
Read on.
It was awarded posthumously.
[Friday Narrating]
3: 15 p.m. Captain Lambert
wanted to see us.
Mrs. Ballard.
What about her?
She's been swindled again.
Her daughter-in-law
just found out.
The marine?
A nurse in uniform.
Workin' her way
through school.
Took her for 52 bucks.
They won't be back.
How do you know?
This Mrs. Ballard?
Yeah?
That's about all the money
she had left.
[Friday Narrating]
Thursday, January 19.
Another cold day,
but our lines kept hot.
A lot of people had seen
The Jerry Dexter Show the night before.
They had a lot of questions.
Sergeant Friday.
Mrs. Tate, Mr. Tate.
We want to see you there,
Sergeant.
We came in person.
What can we do for you?
You can catch that marine there.
I'm so disappointed in Glenn.
- Has he been back again?
- Tell 'em, Marilyn.
- Oh, I'm so ashamed. You tell.
- Would you like to sit down?
No time for that. We have to leave.
But the bank called there.
What bank?
Manager's a neighbor of ours.
He said that we were overdrawn.
It was Glenn who did it.
- Did what, Mrs. Tate?
- The $50 check Marilyn wrote him there,
he changed the amount to 500.
Did you make out the check,
Mrs. Tate, or did he?
Well, he.
But I saw it was only 50—5-0.
Gannon, pick up three,
long-distance.
Excuse me.
Surely. We have to go.
Yeah, we just wanted you to know
about the check there.
- We have an appointment.
- Is that so?
I'm having my eyes checked
for glasses.
Bye there.
Good-bye.
Right. That was
Universal Registry in Chicago.
They have a Glenn Procustan
listed, all right.
He was registered with them
all last year, employed by
Allied Subscription Service.
Any address?
It floats.
Out of Pueblo, Colorado,
originally.
The magazine crew he was on
was workin' the Southwest
last they heard.
They could be working here now.
Doesn't matter.
He quit the crew.
When?
They're not sure.
Maybe Yuma can tell us.
How's that?
Procustan was arrested there.
[Friday Narrating]
We sent a Teletype to Yuma detectives,
requesting information
and mug shots of the suspect.
12:20 p.m.
1: 10 p.m. Yuma detectives
responded with information
that Procustan had been arrested
the previous October 9 for petty theft.
He served 30 days.
They were sending mug shots via airmail.
We'd have them in the morning.
Meanwhile, we had the F. B. I. number
on the pictures.
Using that number,
we ran Glenn Procustan's name
through the F. B. I.
Friday, January 20.
The mug shots from Yuma arrived.
The arresting officer
had sent along a letter
stating that the suspect had been charged
by his former employer, Pete Benson.
F.B.I. kickback on Procustan.
Two months service, Paris Island,
dishonorable discharge
from the Marine Corps.
Yeah, his father'd be real
proud of him, wouldn't he?
Yeah.
His father won
the Medal of Honor.
[Friday Narrating]
10:20 a.m. A check of every motel
in the area was begun
to locate Pete Benson.
Meanwhile, we took the mug shots
of Procustan to Hollywood
and asked Mrs. Ballard
to identify him.
She said he had sold her
enough magazine subscriptions
to last her 38 years.
She was 79 years old.
11:15 a.m.
We drove out to Tarzana.
We showed a group of mug shots,
including Procustan's, to Mrs. Tate.
That's him. That's Glenn.
You're positive?
Oh, absolutely.
You know something, Sergeant?
Yes, ma'am.
He's not as good-looking now, is he?
How's that?
Now that I've got my glasses.
[Friday Narrating]
12:00 noon. We got a message
to call the captain.
They'd located Pete Benson
at a motel on Wilshire Boulevard.
We headed for the Diploma Motel.
The manager had told
Sergeant Binstein and his partner
that Benson and his crew
usually had lunch in the coffee shop.
12:23 p.m. We checked with
the manager of the Diploma Motel.
While we were talking,
a station wagon pulled up.
The manager
identified the driver as Benson.
Pete Benson?
Yeah.
Police officers.
Later, mates. Lunchtime.
You can afford to wait.
Is that a crack, skinny?
Yeah. We wanna talk to you.
Well, this ain't
no information booth.
Make it one.
- Okay, gumshoe. What's on your head?
- We want to know about one of your solicitors.
- Don't try to roust me.
I run a square shoot.
- Sure, you do.
You got nothin'. My kids sell,
and we deliver the books.
You got no clouds on me,
and I don't have to tell you nothin'.
I know my constituted rights.
I'm glad you know your rights.
Maybe you know ours too.
Gumshoes.
Never change, do you?
Up and down the home of the brave
and the land of the free.
All ofyou— a pack of pinheads.
Look, Benson, don't make us lean on you
because when my partner leans,
he goes in hot and heavy
and deep enough to strike oil.
Now, either you talk to us
about this Procustan here,
or we go downtown, talk all night!
Procustan?
What about that crud?
- Yeah. What about him, Benson?
- Look, I got no use for Procustan.
Him and me had a beef.
Is that right?
Yeah. The bum quit the crew
in Yuma, Arizona.
- Ran off with a week's receipts.
- Anything else?
Yeah. One of my best salesgirls,
Norma Bryant.
This Bryant girl,
what kind of scam is she working?
- Who knows if she’s still workin'?
- She work the nurse bit in Yuma?
I don't know what the kids do.
I told you. I run a square shoot.
- Just sell the books, babies.
- Yeah, sure.
Some of ‘em come up
with a little white lie
here and there maybe.
- Or come up with something else maybe?
- Like what?
- Like a bigger number on a check.
- You prove that.
- We will.
- When?
- When we dig out Glen Procustan.
If that weasel's within a hundred miles
of L.A., we'll sniff him.
All right. Start sniffing.
[Friday Narrating]
3:55 p.m. Benson made good.
He located the suspect.
Glenn Procustan was registered
under his own name at Hunter's Lodge
in Studio City.
4:4 1 p.m.
Bill and I went up to Room 64 1.
The suspect was cooperative.
We advised him of his rights,
and he agreed to talk to us.
You know a man named Benson?
If it's a fat pig named Pete Benson,
I sure do know him.
- It's Pete Benson.
- He's bad news. I used to work for him.
What happened?
I quit his crew in Yuma.
When I left, he planted a cheap
wristwatch in my bag, then called
the police and said I stole it.
- How much time did you do?
- Thirty days.
- That's the only spot on my record, honest.
- There's gonna be another one, fella.
I don't follow you.
[Key Turning In Lock]
- Must be my wife.
- Hi, honey. Company?
- Norma Bryant?
- Yes.
- Police officers.
- What is it, Glenn? What's wrong?
They want to talk about Pete.
Pete Benson?
He should be arrested.
Before we question you,
the law requires we inform you
of your rights.
Any statement you make
may be used against you
in a court of law.
You have the right to remain silent.
You have the right to the presence
of an attorney.
If you cannot afford one, one will
be appointed before any questioning.
Why should I need an attorney?
- Do you understand your rights?
- Yes.
Did you sell some magazine subscriptions
to a Mrs. Marian Ballard
- at 1655 Winona Boulevard in Hollywood?
- An elderly lady?
That's right.
Yes, sir.
Did you tell her you got points
for each sale that would help you win
a scholarship to complete nursing school?
That's what Pete told us to say.
- Did you tell Mrs. Ballard that?
- Yes.
- You're under arrest.
- [Gasps]
Now you.
Yes, sir?
Did you sell magazine subscriptions
to a Mrs. Ballard
and to a Mrs. Marilyn Tate
of 10655 Rancho View in Tarzana?
- Yes, sir.
- You're under arrest.
Why? For what?
Forgery, grand theft, bunco
and at least 10 misdemeanor counts
we know of.
You want more?
Surely there's been a mistake.
You've made a mistake.
No, you made the mistake
when you revised that last check.
- What last check?
- The one from Mrs. Tate.
I did no such thing, Officers.
All right.
Maybe I stretched the truth.
- [Friday] Until it broke.
- But I didn't raise a check.
I did. I wanted to
get it over with, honey,
get the money we need
and go home and get married.
Forget all this house-to-house
doorbell ringing.
Oh, baby. Why'd you do that?
We had it almost made.
I know.
Another few weeks,
we'd have had it all.
- We could have
gone back to Denver, lived honest.
- He didn't do it. I did it.
Take me, but not Glenn.
Sorry, miss.
Benson. He's the one you should take.
That fat slob. He got us started.
Did he give you that
Congressional Medal of Honor to flash?
He did not.
This medal was my father's.
- And he lost his life
winning it, didn't he?
- Yes, sir.
Well, you're gonna lose a little
for using it.
[Narrator]
The story you have just seen is true.
The names were changed
to protect the innocent.
On March 20, trial was held in Department 182,
Superior Court of the State of California,
for the County of Los Angeles.
In a moment, the results of that trial.
The suspect was found guilty
on three counts of grand theft.
Grand theft is punishable
by imprisonment in the county jail
for not more than one year
or in the state prison
for not more than 10 years.
The suspect was found guilty
on three counts of grand theft
and one count of forgery.
Pete Benson and his magazine crew
were tried in Municipal Court
for the County of Los Angeles
and were found guilty
of fraudulent solicitation.
Under the Los Angeles Municipal Code,
fraudulent solicitation is a misdemeanor
punishable by six months’ imprisonment
or a $500 fine or both.
Pete Benson received
the maximum punishment.
The sentences of his crew
were suspended.