Original subtitles

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.

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.

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? 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.

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.

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.

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.

♪♪

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

- 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.

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.

- 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.

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.