All language subtitles for Dragnet S01E10

This is the city— Los
Angeles, California.

On Spring Street, you'll find the Pacific
Coast Stock Exchange and the big banks.

You can borrow a million
dollars on a few minutes' notice...

if your credit's good enough.

The people who make, or
get, the million-dollar loans...

usually live a long
way from their work,

many of them here in Bel-Air.

Hundred-thousand-dollar
homes are commonplace here.

So are
half-million-dollar estates.

The good life of Bel-Air
attracts some of the

best lawyers, doctors,
bankers and merchants.

It also attracts some
of the best thieves.

That's where I come
in. I carry a badge.

It was Wednesday, April 14.
It was warm in Los Angeles.

We were working the day
watch out of Burglary Division.

The boss is Captain Mack.
My partner is Bill Gannon.

My name's Friday.

Fine jade is one of the
world's most precious gems.

Imperial jade is one of the most
scarce. Its value is almost limitless.

A jewel thief operating in
the Bel-Air section of the city...

had stolen $200,000 worth of it.

We had to try and apprehend him.

The story you are
about to see is true.

The names have been
changed to protect the innocent.

Something wrong?
I'm afraid so, Joe.

It's from the army.
Well, how do you know?

I can read, Joe. It says right there
"Department of the Army, Signal Corps."

No, I mean how do you
know something's wrong?

Why else would they be writing to
me? Why don't you open it and find out?

I'm almost afraid to. You know how some
people get premonitions? I'm one of 'em.

Open it.

You got a knife
or a letter opener?

That's no way to open a
letter, Joe. Tears the envelope.

What's it say?

- Specky's dead.
- Who?

Specky. Great old bird, Joe.

- He die in action?
- No. Old age.

Sorry. Friend of yours, huh?

Not personally, no. But all of
us in the Valley loft knew him.

He was a late hatch in
1954. Never trained a mile.

One of the fastest living
birds alive, Joe. Now he's dead.

Right there in the mimeographed
letter. Who are you talking about?

One of the greatest U.S.
Army carrier pigeons ever to fly.

I didn't know you were
interested in homing pigeons.

Ever since that squab deal fell through.
You remember I was gonna raise 'em?

But it's too much work. I
don't have the time to do it right.

So I went into homing
pigeons. Oh, I see.

Got a great bird right now, Joe.

Kids and I took him 50 miles away,
up to Lancaster. Turned him loose.

- Is that right?
- That's what you do, you know.

You start 'em out on short
flights. Work 'em up to longer ones.

- How long did it take your bird to get home?
- We took him up to Lancaster
about three weeks ago.

- Yeah.
- He didn't take off right away.

Kind of walked around and...

pecked at the dry grass
in this vacant lot up there.

- Uh-huh.
- Then he hit the air.

Beautiful sight, Joe. Almost straight
up. Then he headed dead west.

When did he get home?

Well, that was three weeks ago Sunday,
and I figure him being a young bird...

Sort of like his first
solo flight, you could say.

- He isn't back yet.
- No, but we expect him anytime now.

Friday, pick up two.

This is Friday.

What's the location?

Yeah. The estimated loss?

Uh-huh. Have you
called the lab yet?

Good. Let me have your D.R.

Right. I have it.
Thanks, Lieutenant.

- That was Lieutenant Armstrong, West L.A.
- Yeah?

House in Bel-Air was
just hit. Jewel thief.

What'd he get?

Two hundred thousand
dollars' worth of imperial jade.

10:42 a.m. Bill and I
drove to the Bel-Air address.

For the past three weeks,
a series of jewel thefts

had occurred in and
around the Bel-Air section.

The burglar had been hitting during
the daylight hours when no one at home.

We had put out a special
bulletin asking to be notified...

of any jewel burglaries
that fitted this M. O.

The reported loss
was a sizable one,

and a great deal of time would
be involved in the investigation,

so Lieutenant Grover Armstrong, commander
of the West Los Angeles detectives,

had asked that Bill
and I take the case over.

They certainly send enough
of you people out on a case.

Yes, ma'am. This is my partner,
Bill Gannon. My name's Friday.

Yes. You'll have to excuse me. I
have to call the insurance company.

Then I'll be back to
answer more of your

questions, and I suppose
you have a thousand.

As though any of them will help
me get my jade back, will they?

We'll try, Mrs. Graham. Yes.

Hi, Mac. Mac.

Sergeant, you know Frank Adams.
Hello, Frank. Give us the story, Mac.

We got here at 9:35.
Gardener came to work at 9:00.

Said he heard somebody
running out the back door.

- A few minutes later,
Mrs. Graham returned home.
- From where? Do you know?

Charity breakfast. She
discovered the burglary.

Says the safe contained
$200,000 worth of imperial jade.

- Who's the insurance company?
- National Jewelry Indemnity.

- Full coverage, she says.
- What's the gardener's name?

Henry Morito. He's out in back. We'll
take off now. Anything else you need?

No. Thanks, Mac. Adams.

Better get Latent Prints and a
safe man out here right away.

I'll call Walmsley
and Barr. Right.

Just look at this room. Whoever did
it didn't have to make such a mess.

No, ma'am. We're gonna need a
complete inventory of your losses.

- The insurance company has it.
- We'll need it too.

Six pieces of fine imperial
jade. You'll never find it.

- How's that, ma'am?
- It's rare. It's priceless.

- It'll be on a plane today for Asia.
- Is that right?

It's practically sacred there. There
are Chinese and Japanese collectors...

who will give fortunes for
a single piece of imperial.

Look at this. This is all I
have left of my collection.

This one photo.

This little peach is priceless.

Yes, ma'am. Be all right if we keep this?
It'll be returned after the investigation.

Yes, all right. Notice
the rich green color.

It's the quality of the
mineral that counts.

A photo simply
doesn't do it justice.

Latent Prints and Ed
Barr are on their way.

Believe me, I know jade, Sergeant.
I was brought up in Hong Kong.

My father was a dealer,
and I married a dealer.

- Where is your husband now, Mrs. Graham?
- He's dead.

He was on a buying trip to Burma.
Chartered a little plane, and it went down.

- Yes, ma'am.
- I don't see what earthly good
all these questions will do.

Anyone can see what
happened. Yes, ma'am.

The robber cut a hole in the screen,
opened the window, searched the room,

pried the hinges off the
safe, took the jade and ran.

Whoever it was, finished up
when the gardener came to work.

- Henry heard the thief leave, you know.
- Is there anyone else in the household?

I have a maid, Mary Carstairs,
but she had the day off.

- Is Wednesday her regular day off?
- No. She asked for it.

Some sick relative
or something like that.

- Would you happen to know where she went?
- No, I have no idea.

Ask her. She'll be
back tomorrow morning.

How many other people knew
you had this jade collection, ma'am?

Everybody. Simply everybody.
I entertain a great deal.

My club, the Benefit
League. You know, the usual.

Everyone who comes
here insists on seeing it.

You're not going to
hound them, are you?

We're not gonna
hound anyone, ma'am.

We're only interested
in trying to get your

jade back for you and
pick up whoever stole it.

Yes, well, I'd like as
little publicity as possible.

- I certainly don't want
any of my friends disturbed.
- We'll try not to.

- I suppose this'll be
all over the newspapers.
- They won't get it from us.

Just make certain you don't disturb any
of my friends over this dreadful situation.

Like I said, Mrs.
Graham, we'll try not to.

I don't want them involved.

- Well, there's only
one way they might be.
- Yes?

If one of them stole your jade.

1 1:3 1 a.m. Officer Bill

Walmsley of the Scientific
Investigation Division...

had begun trying
to lift latent prints.

All members of the Graham household would
be fingerprinted for elimination purposes.

Any remaining prints could
be a clue to the burglary.

Sergeant Ed Barr, the
Burglary Division's safe expert,

had finished his
examination of the safe.

- This doesn't add, Joe.
- What's that, Ed?

Dust guards have been
pried or knocked off.

Only thing they're good for
is to keep the hinges clean.

They don't have anything to do
with breaking the safe open. Yeah.

Wasn't a knob knocker. No caps.
No prying. No force of any kind.

- Then how was it opened?
- Easiest thing in the world.

- Yeah?
- Whoever opened it
knew the combination.

12:1 7 p.m. Bill and I talked
to Henry Morito, the gardener.

He told us that he had arrived at
the Graham home at about 9:00 a.m.

He was positive of the time because he'd
been listening to the radio in his truck.

When he arrived, he heard
what sounded like someone

running out of the house
and slamming a door.

But he had not seen anyone.

The screen where it's
cut bends out, not in. Yeah.

If it was cut from the outside, the ends
of the wire would bend in, wouldn't they?

Looks that way to
me. And this window...

Once you cut the hole in the
screen, you'd have to pry it open.

No jimmy marks. No pry marks.

This window was
opened from the inside.

3:37 p.m. Bill and I
drove back to the office.

John Benjamin, special
agent for the National

Jewelry Indemnity
Company, was waiting for us.

Benjamin was an ex-police
officer and an old friend.

His company had
insured the Graham jade.

Joe, it smells phony
from beginning to end.

- You gonna deny the claim, John?
- We can't without positive evidence.

An insurance company has to pay off
on a loss. That's the contract we make.

The only out is proof
that there wasn't any loss.

Here's a copy of
what she had insured.

I didn't know any kind
of jade ran this high.

Imperial does. You know her collection
was insured for full value—200,000.

Who evaluated the collection before
you issued the policy? Would you know?

Lin Fong, over in
the Metropolitan

Building. He's the best
expert on the coast.

There's no doubt about it. She
had $200,000 worth of jade all right.

People I work for always take a dim
view of paying off on a phony claim.

My bosses ain't gonna like this.

- Neither are ours, John,
and there's a lot more of 'em.
- Huh?

Last census,
about three million.

4:30 p.m. The Metropolitan
Building at 3 15 West Fifth...

is the jewelry manufacturing center
for Los Angeles... and much of the world.

Every tenant deals in jewelry
in some form or another.

You can order rings for a
high school graduation class...

or diamonds for royalty.

Lin Fong was an old, established
dealer with an established reputation.

Yes, of course. I knew the
complete history of every piece.

Mr. Graham— The late Mr. Graham—

He consulted me
before every purchase.

Not that we always agreed.

He was very headstrong,
very emotional.

Now, uh, this dancing figure...

That's part of the Graham collection? Yes.
I have photos of all the Graham pieces.

But this is nephrite.
Definitely nephrite.

Then it's not jade?

Oh, yes. Jade.

The best jade, the
treasures, the rich pieces,

true or imperial
jade, are jadeite.

They can only come from Upper Burma
or Tibet or the Yunnan Province of China.

- Yes, sir.
- The relatively common nephrite,

which got its name from
the Greek word for "kidney"...

because it was once
worn for kidney diseases,

is found in Turkistan, New
Zealand, Siberia, Poland.

You can even find it in Alaska.

I said to him, "My dear friend,
even you can make a mistake."

He refused to listen.
It has since been sold.

- By whom, Mr. Lin?
- His wife.

She's disposed of most of the
nephrite the last couple of years.

The rest of the collection was
considered very good, wasn't it?

Exquisite. There are merchants in Hong
Kong who would give a great deal for it.

- Is that so?
- She has been selling it off,
piece by piece.

I handled a few minor sales, but
most of it has been going overseas.

Yes, sir. In fact, I was surprised when
the insurance man called me today...

to say that she had
reported this big theft.

- Is that right?
- I didn't think she had any jade left.

Thursday, April 15, 9:35 a.m.

We ran a credit check
on Mrs. Francine Graham.

It indicated her bank balance was low,
and the Bel-Air home was heavily mortgaged.

Her only major asset had
been the $200,000 worth of jade.

We questioned the
maid, Mary Carstairs.

She said that the previous day, she
had gone to the General Hospital...

to see her sister who was
recuperating from a minor operation.

She said she didn't
know anything about the

burglary until she returned
to the Graham residence.

We asked her if she knew
the combination to the safe.

She told us she did not.

No. No one but my husband and myself
knew the combination to that safe. No one.

Are you sure it was
locked? Absolutely.

Did you ever give the combination to
your maid or your gardener or anyone else?

Instead of standing around here
casting suspicion on my help and me,

why aren’t you out
looking for the thief?

Gentlemen, there's
a call from your office.

I'll take it, Joe.

Right this way, sir. Thank you.

- Sergeant, you realize you're
hindering my insurance claim.
- No, Mrs. Graham, we're not.

It's a sizable one. I've paid
enormous premiums for years.

Sometimes these things can be difficult.
I wouldn't want anything to delay it.

You also wouldn't want them to pay
off on a dishonest claim, would you?

Naturally I want everybody to be
sure. You insist I'm being dishonest!

No, ma'am. But there
are a couple of unusual

circumstances
surrounding the burglary.

- Is that so?
- Yes, ma'am. And just like you,
we want to be sure.

- Joe.
- Excuse me, Mrs. Graham.

That was Walmsley,
Latent Prints. Yeah.

He says to hustle back in.
He's come up with something.

10:20 a.m. Bill and I
drove back to the office...

and met with Bill
Walmsley in S. I. D.

Remember the goldfish
bowl in the room out there?

Well, that's where
they were. Both sides.

Indicating that the bowl was
moved, or at least picked up.

Yeah. Look here.

Beautiful set of prints.

Right and left. I
checked 'em through.

Who do they belong to?

Small-time thief,
name of Ben Martin.

10:35 a.m. Bill and I knew Ben
Martin. We'd handled him before.

We drove out to his
last known address.

He had checked out several days before.
His landlady had no idea where he went.

We returned to the office and put out
an A. P. B. on the suspect, Ben Martin.

1 1:47 a.m. We met with
Captain Mack to review

what we had on the
Graham jade burglary.

It doesn't add up for
eight cents, does it?

No, sir. Martin's never been
known to go in for the big-time stuff.

No safe jobs. Mostly
rings, jewelry, clothing.

- Anything else missing from the house?
- No, sir.

- You figure Martin was scared off?
- That's the way it looks.

- Well, one thing's sure.
- What's that?

Martin was in that house before we were.
Maybe he knows something that we don't.

- Yes, sir.
- Find him and ask him.

Monday, April 19, 9:37 a.m.

Four days went by. Bill and I
checked with our informants...

to try and dig up a lead as to
the whereabouts of Ben Martin.

We had no luck.

10:40 a.m. John Benjamin, the
special agent for the insurance company,

said he wanted to talk to us.

You haven't turned
him yet, huh? No so far.

I just had a meeting
with my boss.

He's instructed our people to
start settling the Graham claim.

Naturally if it's legit, we want to pay
off. But, Joe, I just don't think it is.

Friday, take four.

This is Friday.

Yeah, Brown. Where?

Good. We'll be right here.

Yeah. Thanks, Guy.

That was Van Nuys. They just collared
Martin. They're bringing him right down.

1 1:32 a.m. The suspect, Ben
Martin, was brought downtown...

by Van Nuys Detective Sergeant
Brown and his partner, C. T. Zumell.

We advised him of
his constitutional rights.

You understand it? Sure do. Don't mean
nothin' to me. What do you wanna know?

- Talk to us, Ben.
- Which job?

How many have you pulled
since you got out of "Q"?

I've been doin' pretty
good, Gannon. Till today.

Eleven jobs, one dud. That's
the one we're interested in.

The Graham place?
Why? I didn't get a thing.

Didn't you? You know I didn't.

I just picked the wrong
day. That crummy gardener.

- Tell us about it.
- What's to tell? I get inside,

just start to prowl the
place, and he shows up.

Figured maybe he might
have a key. You know, like

they sometimes do to get
inside and water the plants.

- So I blew.
- You didn't take anything along with you?

Like what? I seen the safe.
What good would that do me?

I can't bust no safe. No way.

Ben, did you ever
hear of imperial jade?

I heard of jade.

Now, I want you to
level with us, Ben. Did

you walk off with any
from the Graham house?

Not me, Sergeant! No way! I ain't
never heard of that imperial stuff.

I wouldn't even know what it
looks like. So how could I heist any?

Maybe you got some good advice?

From who? I don't know
one Swedish person.

What's that got to do with it?

That's where it comes
from, ain't it? Switzerland?

You made a pretty good mess
out of that room, didn't you?

Look, I keep telling you, and
I'm leveling, I didn't touch nothin'.

- You touched the goldfish.
- Well, all right. But that's all.

I walked outta the place
empty. That's the truth.

I mean, you know me.
One thing: I don't lie to you.

Yeah? You and Friday
here sent me up twice.

You know me. I don't
even operate at night.

Only daytimes 'cause
it's only second-degree.

I don't even carry no
tools. I'm small-time.

Yeah, well, maybe you figure
you're ready for the big time.

No, sir. Not me. I just
ain't smart enough.

Is that right?

- In the last four months,
I've pulled 11 jobs, right?
- If you say so.

I pull all them jobs, and I walk
off with a pretty fair haul each time.

- You don't grab me for one of 'em.
- Yeah.

I just walk through a house in
Bel-Air, and you put the arm on me.

12:34 p.m. Bill and I drove

out to Bel-Air to see
Mrs. Francine Graham.

We picked up the man who entered your
house Wednesday morning, Mrs. Graham.

- Then you got my jade back.
- No, ma'am.

Then it was as I told you. He
shipped it out of the country.

- No, ma'am. He didn't do
anything with it. He didn't take it.
- Of course he did. He's lying to you!

We've handled this man before, Mrs.
Graham. We've sent him to prison twice.

He doesn't operate in
rare items like imperial jade.

- He does now.
- Afraid not, Mrs. Graham.

This is a small-time burglar, and
they don't change their way of operating.

He didn't take your jade, unless someone
gave him the combination to your safe.

- Maybe someone did.
- You told us you were the only one
that had that combination.

- Maybe he got it somehow.
- Not unless you gave it to him.

- You know better than to say
a thing like that, Sergeant.
- Do I?

Perhaps I should
telephone my attorney. You

seem to be accusing
me of taking my own jade.

- That's entirely up to you, ma'am.
- You really believe that, don't you?

What we believe doesn't matter. All we
know is $200,000 worth of jade is missing.

We know that someone who knew the
combination to that safe took the jade.

And you'd like me to say that I did
and make your job easier for you.

Help you close a case you can't
solve. Isn't that what you want?

- We want the truth, Mrs. Graham.
- Really?

Then why don't you insist
that man you picked up

tell you where he got the
combination to my safe?

- Because we don't think he ever got it.
- Then how did he get into my safe?

He didn't.

- Sergeant— - Yes, ma'am?

When my husband died, he left
no personal insurance of any kind.

He had it all in his jade collection.
That was covered, but nothing else.

He'd borrowed against the mortgage on this
house, against my insurance, everything.

Oh, he had a good business, but
when he passed away, everything went.

- Everything except his collection.
- Yes, ma'am.

I tried to make ends meet.
I sold some of the pieces.

I thought for a while, I
might be able to work it out.

Then it just seemed that bills mounted
up, and there was no money to cover them.

Then when the gardener
reported to me what

had happened Wednesday,
I decided to do it.

- Yes, ma'am, go on.
- I decided to use that man being
in my house as an excuse for a robbery.

It seemed like such a perfect
series of coincidental events.

The man breaking in. My
maid asking for the day off.

Yes, ma'am. I cut
the hole in the screen,

fiddled with the safe, mussed up
the room and called you people.

- Where is the jade, Mrs. Graham?
- Sold. All of it.

Over six months now. I had
to sell it off piece by piece.

- I just had to have the money.
- Who did you sell it to?

This man from Hong Kong. A man
my husband bought some pieces from.

He would come to the house,
bring the cash and pick up the jade.

You have no idea
what it was like...

trying to keep the
house and my car,

the good things that I'd grown
used to having most of my life.

- Yes, ma'am.
- And my friends, the clubs,
the women's leagues.

Some of the money the jade
brought I gave to charity, Sergeant.

Yes, ma'am. A great deal
more than you might imagine.

My charities are
important to me.

The pride of being able
to give so much to them.

Almost $100,000 in
the last nine months.

Yes, ma'am. We'll have to ask you to
come downtown with us, Mrs. Graham.

- I understand. Sergeant,
tell me— - Yes, ma'am?

Do you think I really did wrong?
I mean, after all, it was my jade.

Mrs. Graham, you were trying to
collect insurance on a fraudulent claim.

- I don't think I ever
would have taken that check.
- Is that right?

Not when it came
right down to it.

I don't believe I ever
would have taken it.

Well, we'll never
really know, will we?

The story you have
just seen is true.

The names were changed
to protect the innocent.

On November 1, trial was held...

in Department 187,

Superior Court of
the State of California,

in and for the County
of Los Angeles.

In a moment, the
results of that trial.

The suspect was found guilty on seven
counts of burglary in the second degree.

Each count of burglary
in the second degree...

is punishable by imprisonment in
the county jail not exceeding one year...

or in the state prison for not less
than one year or more than 15 years.

The attorney for Francine Graham
wrote to the insurance company...

withdrawing her claim for
the jade that was insured.

The company decided
not to prosecute.

Mrs. Graham has since
moved to another city.