 Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to bunco fugitive details. A man tells you he's been taken for a large sum of money. He thinks it was a swindle. You're a job, run it down. 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 to official police files. From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. It was Monday, September 12th. It was hot in Los Angeles. We were working the day watch out at bunco fugitive detail. My partner, Frank Smith, the boss's captain did him. My name's Friday. I was on my way back from communications. It was 2.17 p.m. when I got to room 38. Bunco fugitive. Oh, hi, John. Hi. I get it. Bunco fugitive Friday. Yes, that's right. Well, when did you see him last? Well, how much was it? How much? Mm-hmm. All right, sir. We'll be here. Well, right away, if I were you. All right, fine. Tell us coming in to talk to us. Yeah. Says he gave a friend to give us $40,000. Oh. Kind of broke up their friendship. What do you mean? The guy skipped out. 2.42 p.m. The man who had telephone came into the office. He told us that his name was Jeff Craner. He said he had a real estate business on Wilshire Boulevard, and that his home residence was on Rossmoire near Olympic. He also said that on the previous two days he had given $40,000 to a man who called himself Phillip Bonham. You know where this Phillip Bonham lives, Mr. Craner? I don't know where he used to live. Where's that? Our apartment out in Westwood, real fancy. Beans, shillings, lots of glass, swimming pool. The whole works. He's not there anymore, huh? The manager of the building says he moved last Tuesday. The day I gave Phil the money. Whose day? Phil and his brother had the place together. What's the brother's name? Steve. Does the manager have any idea where he went? Well, claims he didn't leave any forwarding address. Just shut the door. How long have you known the Bonham's, Mr. Craner? Six or eight weeks. How'd you happen to meet up? A through friend, a mutual friend. What would you tell us about it? Well, well, it's not going to come out, is it? Newspapers, anything like that? What do you mean? Well, you see, I'm married. Yeah. We hadn't been getting along so well for the last year or so, but I'm still married. Well, the way I met up with the Bonham's, you see, was through a girl. Yeah. What was her name? Barbara. Barbara West. I don't see. Oh, just a girl, that's all. Maybe she was in on a tour. I don't know. Anyway, she introduced me to him. About how long have you known her? Oh, the three months, maybe, a few weeks before I met them. I see. We got acquainted at Knox, and one of those houses out on Beverly Boulevard, where they sell all furniture and things from movie stars houses. You spend a lot of my free evenings at those auctions. Or at any point, staying home, not my wife feeling towards me the way she does. I didn't buy my sister's piece every once in a while. It looked like a bargain. And that's where you met this woman, huh? Yes, yes. Where was she living, do you know? Had a room at a hotel in Hollywood to count George. So go ahead, Mr. Craner. What happened next? Well, we got to be pretty good friends. And one night she offered to put me in touch with a couple of guys she knew. She said they were interested in buying some real estate and that I might as well handle the deal. Well, that's how I met up with the Barnards, is it? We went out to their apartment there having a little party. A couple more girls were there on a Friday night. I guess we all got kind of loaded. Next thing I knew, we were all flying down to Vegas for the weekend. Well, we sure had quite a time for ourselves. We stopped at one of the best hotels, Chateau Lafayette. Everybody making a big fuss like the Barnards were VIPs. Yeah. After that we had some deals together. Most of them worked out. Whenever they didn't, the Barnards took care of me anyhow. What kind of deals? Mr. Craner? I guess maybe they weren't... well, strictly ethical, but there wasn't anything illegal about it. You've got to cut a couple of corners if you're going to get ahead in this world. Is that right? I'm getting a little tired of this, Sergeant. You act like I'm at fault, like I'm the one who's in the wrong. Now, you remember it was me that got swindled in $40,000 worth. I'm not the criminal, you know. They are. Sure. You want to tell us about the $40,000 that's Craner? If you're all through with these accusations. Go ahead, Mr. Craner. All right. It was last Tuesday, so Barnum called me at my office. He had to see me right away about a proposition or a really big one. We met for lunch, Barnum said they'd just had words from one of their contacts in Las Vegas. A couple of Eastern gamblers had tapped the casino of the Chateau Lafayette for a quarter of a million dollars. Now the Chateau needed some money and they needed it fast. So the owners were willing to sell a 5% interest in the hotel for $100,000. Our Phil said it was a sin that we'd get our investment back inside of six months and from then on, it was just crazy. Everybody knows how much those hotels in Las Vegas mean. So you gave him the money. I drew it out of the bank that afternoon and had to be in cash. Did you know the denominations of the bill? There were all hundreds. What happened then? I went back to the office and the Barnums took off for Las Vegas. At least that's what they were supposed to do. They said they'd call me from there. But when I still hadn't written in by Friday, I went over to their apartment and talked to the manager. He said they'd moved out Tuesday at 5 p.m. Why didn't you get in touch with us then? It didn't seem like crooks, not a bit. What were they like? What? What would you describe them for? Well, Phillips, the oldest, is about 45. Light hair, complexion. How big is he? He's called my six foot man, thin for the ranger. What about his brother? Well, Steve's maybe three or four years younger. A little shorter, not much though. A little heavier. What color is his hair? Reddish. The girl who introduced you to him, he said her name was Barbara Wiss. Yes, that's right. How do you spell that? W-I-S-T. You want to describe her too? Well, it's pretty hard to say how old she is. She's not very good at judging a woman's age. Well, approximately then. Oh, 28, 29, 30? Could even be 35. Mm-hmm. One, real white street across the front, very attractive. Good company, nice build. You know what I mean. Mm-hmm. Have you tried to get in touch with her since you saw the Barnum's last? Yes, I called a hotel. Well? She moved out last Thursday morning. Mm-hmm. Well, how are you supposed to know? What? Well, who to trust? They were so darn nice to me, the Barnum's and Barbara. There wasn't any way of figuring what they were after. Like you say, that they were just kind of setting me up. Mm-hmm. Well, you had a tip-off. Yes? Well, where? When you thought you were getting something for nothing. At 3.08 p.m., we ran the names Phillip and Steve Barnum and Barbara Whist through our eyes. They had nothing on them. We went back to the office and showed the victim mug shots of known confidence, ma'am. He was unable to identify any of the photographs. 3.32 p.m., we showed him mugs of confidence women. No, not on that page, son. Uh-huh. So, my wife won't find out about all this, will she? Not for less. We hadn't been getting along for quite a while, but, you know, she just wouldn't understand. Mm-hmm. Funny, aren't they? How's that? Women, even if they won't have anything to do with you themselves, they just don't want another day moving in. Want to go on the next page? Oh, sure. Same, same now. Yeah. That looks like her. Well, is it? No. Well, guess not. There's something different there. Sure is resemblance, though. Be on this page. Now, wait a minute. What was her? Where? Here, right here, the one I pointed out before. Oh, let's see. That's Barbara all right, right there. You said there was something different about this woman. Well, there is, but now that I think about it, any gal's out to do that. You're what? Dye his hair. The victim was positive in his identification of the photograph. Frank and I pulled the woman's package. Her true name was Mabel Salton, WFA, 36 years old, five feet four, weighed 117 pounds, blue eyes, blue hair. Her record showed two convictions for grand theft and an arrest for suspicion of theft the previous June. 4.15 p.m., we talked to Johnny DeBetta, the officer who had made the June arrest. Yeah, that's right, Joe. That and I pulled her in. We couldn't make it stick to her. Why not? Well, the victim gave us an eye dim, but we didn't have enough to hold her on. All she did was introduce the march to a couple of con men they did the taking. We couldn't prove that she was in on it. The sucker hadn't given her the money. Yeah. Wouldn't cop out either. She's a looker, not a talker. I don't attack a guy any time of the day like that. Once he decides to keep her mouth shut, he can't get it open with a pair of pliers. What about the guy she was working with? A couple of brothers. Don't remember the names they used offhand. It's in the file, so. Any leads to them? Description, M.O. We put out a local in the APB. We couldn't turn them off though. They must have skipped turns. I see. They had to tell her for a while to see if she'd lead us to them. You know, nowhere. That's where we ended up. They back in L.A.? They were last week. Make another pigeon? Yeah. And I hope you have better luck than we did. You know, we're gonna need it. So we moved on. It won't be very easy to catch up with. Sure. They got a lot of traveling money. Oh, yeah. 40,000. I got to put out a local in the APB on the two male suspects. We also put out a bulletin on the female suspect, Mabel Salton. But we requested that in her case, no arrest be made. We asked to be contacted in the event that she was located. From Johnny to better, we learned that the Salton woman had also met the previous victim at an auction. Auctioneers and owners of auction houses were told to notify us if they saw the suspect. We talked to the manager of the apartment where the male suspects had lived and to check the clerk at the Count George Hotel. They were unable to help us. We contacted Las Vegas and learned that the Chateau Lafayette was in excellent financial condition. We also contacted CII up at Sacramento to see if they could give us an identification of the suspects. We received a negative response. No new leads developed. Five leads passed. Wednesday, October 19th, 946 a.m. Uncle Puget of Friday. Yes, sir. That's right. When? I see. Thank you very much. Goodbye. Tenture auction house out on Third Street. Yeah? Auctioneers says he sold a couple of lamps to an old customer last night. Who? Mabel Salton. At 7 a.m., Frank and I drove out to the Tenture Auction Gallery on West Third. We showed the auctioneer a mug shot of Mabel Salton, and he said he was positive he was the woman he had seen the previous night. We went back to the office and had a conference with a skipper. You're sure picking her up won't do any good? Well, I didn't before, Captain. Yeah? Of course, this might not work either. We don't even know if her pals are back in town. Well, how do you plan to make the contact? Hang out at auctions. Do a lot of bidding. Let her think I'm loaded. I don't know. Maybe it'd be better if Smith went undercover this time. He looks more like a mark for me. Well, wait a minute, Skipper. Oh, you know what I mean. Well, I know. I'm afraid using Smith would give us a problem, Captain. Yeah? Take another look at her picture. Hmm. Not bad, is she? No, that's the trouble. Hmm? Smith's got a wife. She made for me to assume the name of Joe Fawcett. I took a room at a hotel in Hollywood and established myself as a business man recently arrived from Chicago. Auction houses were told that I would be bidding on various items, and if my bid was accepted, the item was to be re-auctioned some future day, and any loss incurred would be made good. During the next week, I attended four auctions. The woman's suspect, Mabel Salton, was present at two of them. 30, October 27th, 9.42 p.m. I attended the fifth auction. It was at the Pinter Gallery. I managed to get a seat next to the suspect. I have $45. I have $25. Go make it 30. Who'll make it 30? All right. Ladies and gentlemen, here I like this far. It's over $100 in every sales store. $25. Who'll give 30? 30. Ladies and gentlemen, this is General Wanda, one of the most glamorous actresses, Mrs. Nora Westlet. You'll all see her dozen designs on the screen. Here's your chance to buy one of her personal possessions. And don't forget whether this mirror was on. In Nora's bedroom. All right. Now, who'll make it 30? I have points. I will give 30. 30 here. Thank you, sir. Thank you, gentlemen. I will appreciate the money. I have 30. I have 30. I only want that 30. $35. $35. Who'll get 40? $35. Who'll get 40? If you really want it, it doesn't matter how much to me. Well, that's very kind of you. Are you all done? $35 once? $35 twice? Who'll get 40? Who'll go with the $35? And now, ladies and gentlemen, our next item is a very unusual piece. It was decided later. Thanks for letting my good friend. That's all right. I forget it. There's no way I can change it back. Look, you've let me buy you a drink after the option. No, that isn't necessary. I didn't even want that mirror anyway. I'd like to. I must share it with you. No, not a bit. You've got a customer. Do you want to see how hard it is for them to lift it? He'll give you the quality of the model. All right, boys, better put it down now again before he's bringing it down. Haven't you done something a lot before? I've loved you. I've thought you looked familiar. Come to see what I remember. There's something new about it. Is that right? Yeah, very good to you. Thank you. My goodness, as senator, this is the table for you. Ladies, it's on the grass. Especially if it's hot. I just love these off. Of course, I always end up buying a lot of things I don't need. Well, that happens to me, too. And after it, if you say it's a darn choice, There's nothing we can do by then, it's too late. Uh-huh, same here. Well, that's true, there isn't poverty free this winter. But this table will never go astray no matter what's going on. Yes, we have something in common, don't we, Mr. I'm 40 minutes from 11. No faucet, no faucet. I'm on it this winter. How do you do? Very nice to meet you, sir. You know, the pleasure is all mine. 11.16 p.m., we left the auction and drove over to the suspect's apartment. He was on the second floor of a two-story building just off Olympic Boulevard. Five got over there, Joe. He'll take charge when I get out of my coat. You bet. Dr. Bourbon. It doesn't matter, whatever you're having. Hey. Is the ice all melted? No, there's a little left here. That's good. I'm really off to glad you could drop by. Don't mind, I'll make you a drink. Okay. Well, cheers. Cheers. Astronomicaly? That's the way I like it. Why don't we sit down? Sure. Please get home, Joe. Well, I really don't have one yet. I got a hotel room over in Hollywood. I've been staying there for the last few days. What about all these things you've been buying? The auction? Oh, they're off to my new place. He hasn't come out of escrow yet. I see. Stop and bellair. Let me stay here. Let me move in for all I know. I may be getting too much stuff. I don't know what you need to furnish your house. Well, isn't your wife? I mean... Oh, I'm not married, Mona. Not anymore. I see. We broke up about a year ago. Funny. What's that? That's what happened to me just a year ago. Is that so? Maybe we have a little too much in common. Yeah. She hurt you, didn't she, Joe? Well... I can see it in your eyes. You have very sad eyes. You're soft and thoughtful. Oh, I don't know. I guess you can tell a lot about a person from your eyes. You do, huh? That's the first thing I noticed about somebody. How did you notice, Joe? Well, I guess I never thought too much about telling the truth. What did you notice faced with me? Well... Well, I guess it was your voice. Oh? You know, when you were bidding, I think that's what I noticed first. Well, that's a compliment or not? Well, you have a very pleasant voice, Mona. Very pleasant. George didn't think so. Who? My husband. Oh. He said I whined and nagged and made life miserable for him. Why'd you split up? Just didn't work out. You think you'll ever try it again? Well, I don't know. It's pretty hard to say. Yeah, I feel the same way. Well, I guess lots of people make mistakes. Yeah, sure. Want a freshener? No, I have plenty here. I'll take you up. Yeah, please. You don't drink very much, do you? No, I just don't feel like it, do I? No. Is it the company? No, of course not. I'm sorry if I was sort of forced you into taking me home. Oh, don't be silly. I just felt it. Well, you didn't look very happy when I thought maybe we both needed to be with someone else for change. Sure, yeah. Thanks. What line are you in, Jill? What's there? What's your business? Well, nothing right now. I guess you might say I'm unemployed. What? I had a company in my own bag in Chicago. Textile manufacturing. I sold it when we split up. What are you going to do now? Oh, I'm sort of looking around. I got a little cash and I skipped buy-on. Oh? The right thing turns up. I guess I might go into it. Oh, I suppose you're tired to tell what to put your money into nowadays. Yeah, well, there's no hurry. You know, that reminds me, if you really do want to get into something good, I know a couple of businessmen. Oh, they're not close friends or anything like that. But they have some excellent contacts. I guess so. I'm sure they could put you into something that would give you a nice return on the investment. You don't have to talk to them, would you? I'm afraid you can't right now. Why not? They're out of town. Too bad, isn't it? Yeah, sure is. A salt woman told me she'd let me know as soon as her friends returned to Los Angeles. During the next 10 days, I saw her on several occasions. As far as I could tell, the so-called Bonham brothers were still out of town. Tuesday, November 8th, 840 PM. I was in my hotel room. Hello? Yes, Mona? Well, how about tonight? Sure, I'll pick you up by 9.30. Bye. Bye. You want to get me Michigan 5211, please? That's right. Extension 2572. That's right. Extension 2572. Smith there? There's Joe. Yeah, I just heard from her. Better get over to the bed and have him stand by. Tonight, says it just blew into town. The phone, the salt woman, had told me her two business acquaintances had returned to Los Angeles. I was to meet them that night. Frank and Johnny, the bed, made arrangements to tail my car. 9.28 PM. I picked up the female suspect. She told me her friends had rooms in the St. Clair Hotel over on Figueroa. We drove over there. It was 9.42 when we arrived. We went up to room 417. She introduced me to two men who matched the description of the male suspects we were looking for. They said their names were Tom and Fred Porst. Sure is nice to meet you, Mr. Posit. Mona's been telling us about you. It seems you've made quite a hit with her. Is that so? She told me about you, fellas, too. Now you've got to understand one thing. What's that? Anything we discuss in the business line. That is, well, it's got to be confidential. Oh, sure. You see, my brother and I, we don't make the practices of taking outside investments, right, Fred? Right. Matter of fact, we don't even need any outside capital at the moment we've sort of got a surplus. Oh, I see. Well, maybe some other time, then, huh? Nice to have met you. Well, what's your hurry, Posit? Well, you said that. I said we don't need any capital. You know? Well, we might make an exception in your case, though. Oh? On a kind of morning. Well, I don't want you to put yourselves out. Something else will turn up. Now, wait a minute. I was just thinking. What's that? Well, it never hurts to spread a good thing around. You've got any plans for this Saturday? Well, I don't know what you have in mind. Well, I thought it might fly down to Vegas. Get us a couple of grills. You can bring along Mona. Why Vegas? Oh, we've got a friend down there who made a killing at the craft table a couple of years ago. Mm-hmm. Stuck it in $1,000 bill. Oh? Now, he sort of forgot to mention it on his income tax, and now he could use a loop, but he's afraid to cash in the bills himself. Yeah, I see. He might be willing to sell him to us at a discount. Are you interested? No, not very. Why not? No kind of game like that. Why? Well, this is the best you can do. The $1,000 bill routine's got whiskers on it. I should have known. What are you talking about? How would you know? Listen, Fawcett, what are you doing here anyway? Why'd you want to meet us? I was kind of curious about how your boys work. I heard a lot about you. Huh? Well, maybe I could pick up a new angle or two. Looks like I was wrong. Well, what's the deal? Oh, don't you see? He was just checking up on our bitch. Huh? Well, he's a gone man, too. Oh, you really pulled one this time on him, picking a pro for a mark. How was I supposed to know? Well, just one look. You should have been able to dump ladies and those on your face. It is, huh? Sure. Don't take it to heart, buddy. You might fool the suckers, but I'm in the same racket. Well, I should have guessed it when you walked in the door. It's written all over you. Yeah. Where have you been pitching lately for the haul? Huh? I'm a police officer. You're under arrest. What you just heard is true. The names were changed to protect the innocent. On February 2, trial was held in Department 98 Superior Court of the State of California in and for the county of Los Angeles. In a moment, the results of that trial. Mabel Harris-Sulton was tried and convicted of grand theft one count and received sentence as prescribed by law. Thomas Herbert Porst and Fred James Porst, Alias Phillip and Steve Bunham were tried and convicted of grand theft two counts and received sentence as prescribed by law. Grand theft is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or in the state prison for not less than one, nor more than 10 years.