 The Equitable Life Assurance Society presents This Is Your FBI. This Is Your FBI. The official broadcast from the Files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation presented as a public service by the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and the Equitable Society's representative in your community. At the beginning of the new year, there are few fathers who don't pause to reflect on the 12 months that have gone by to make plans for the future. Plans that will promote the happiness of those they love. That's why so many fathers pick January as the time to increase their family's protection with the Equitable Life Assurance Society. Yes, the finest New Year's resolution of all is this. Resolve to give your family increased security through life insurance. Then keep that resolution by getting in touch with your Equitable Society representative tomorrow. Tonight's FBI file, The Souvenir Gun. It is a fact certified by history that after every war, there has been an increase in crime. It is not a fact, however, that the new criminals are a result of the practice which the army and navy gave our younger generation in the art of murder. The hoodlums who are swelling the files of police departments all over the country are hoodlums because of circumstances. War time is a period of loose morals and easy money, a set of conditions which suits the criminal to perfection. Let us therefore stop pointing at the armed forces and blaming them for our current troubles. Let us stop finding reasons for the crime wave and start finding cure. The night's file opens in a clearing near a small cabin located in the hill country of one of our mid-western states. A man is standing in this clearing firing a pistol at a string of tin cans that are propped on a fallen log. Oh, hi, Evie. What's this? Not bad, huh? No. This is that German luger I bought from a guy. I ain't missed one of them tin cans in the last 20 shots. Why should you? You've been practicing every day for the past two weeks. That sounds like a beef. It is. It's a matter, Evie. You really want to hear it? Sure. I'm bored. Bored stiff. Well, it looks sweet, huh? There's no law that says you got to stick around. Oh, Jack, this has nothing to do with you and me. Well? I just can't take this way we're living. Now, look, Evie, I told you why we... I know. You had to lay low for a while, so we hole up here in the woods. But what happened to the rest of the things you told me? What do you mean? About what a big guy you were going to be. I am going to be a big guy. The biggest. That's why I'm taking my time. I don't get it. Look, Evie, I'll lay it all out for you just once more. There's lots of different ways of making a living with a gun. Up to now, everybody, even Dillinger, has always made one mistake. That's what's licked them. I ain't making that mistake. What's that got to do with us staying up here in this broken down place? Gives me a chance to practice and think. How much longer does it go on? I'm doing a job tomorrow. You are? Where? In town. Then we're leaving here? I am. You're not. What? This is just a small touch sort of a practice. We don't make a big move yet. Look, Jack, I can't take much more of this. You want to call it quits? No. All right, then we do it my way. Now watch me pop off that little tin can on the end. That's right. I'm Detective Sergeant Craft. Oh, hello there. Hello. I heard about you. Oh, I just ended to see your agent in charge. He told me to talk to you. I'll swap. I'll pull up a chair. Thanks. Case came into headquarters this afternoon. There's an FBI angle in it. That's why I'm here. What's it about, Sergeant? A stick up in a building over on State Street. Yes. Messenger carrying an envelope containing money and securities was way laid right outside his office. I see. Armed man forced him into a self-service elevator, took him down the basement, tied him up, made a clean getaway. How much cash was in the envelope? A little over $1,000. What's our angle, Sergeant? It was every indication that the robbers skipped across the state line. Oh, I see. Messenger, did you give you a description of this man? Mm-hmm. I have it here. We've already sent out an alarm on him. Good. Now, is there anything else I should know about? Yeah, we have two good leads. Oh, what are they? Well, a weapon the holed-up man used was a German Luger. Messenger knows guns. He recognizes them. Another souvenir gun? Yeah, it looks that way. We also found the Messenger's envelope in a trash barrel in the basement. It was empty, of course, but there were several fingerprints on it. Can we get us it? You already have them. Oh. They're on the way to your lab right now. Well, Sergeant, let me assemble all these facts on paper, then we'll go to work. Good morning, Evie. I didn't know you were back. You got in late last night. Why didn't you wake me up? I didn't want to disturb you. Oh, I wish you had. I was worried. What about? Well, a job. How'd it go? Well, how'd you expect? It went fine. How much did you get? Oh, about a thousand cash. Well... A few securities. You got rid of them, just kept the cash. Baby, you can pack your things. We're getting out of here? Yep, we're moving into town. Oh, wonderful. I got us a suite of rooms in a good hotel. Jack, a suite? Wait till you see it. Real class. I spent our last hundred bucks for it. Our last hundred? I thought you got a thousand on the job. I did. Well, where's the other nine hundred? I loaned it to a guy. You what? That's why I did the job. You pulled a stick up so you could loan somebody else the money? That's right. Are you out of your mind? No, no, it's like an investment. Oh, brother. Wait a minute. Don't blow your top, honey. The guy's coming around to the hotel to see us tonight. You'll find out then how good an investment I made. Baby? Yeah, honey? Well, you finally got out of that tub, huh? Only temporarily. Oh, after two months of bathing in that mountain stream, I'm gonna live in a bathtub. Look, honey, that guy's on his way up. Oh, you mean the one you loaned the money to? Yeah, I want you to meet him. Oh. Hey, there he is now. Come on. Well, I find out why you made the investment. Mm-hmm. Just a minute. Hello, Jack. Hi, Ray. Come on in. Thanks. Ray, I can meet the wife. Honey, Ray Nelson. Howdy there. Hello. Oh, and this happened, Jack. Getting married? Yeah, a couple of months ago. Well, congratulations. Thanks. Sit down. Okay. Can I fix your drink, Mr. Nelson? No, thanks. Ray, I'll tell you why I asked you to drop over. It's about that dough I loaned you. The 900? Uh-huh. Well, something's come up that sort of puts the squeeze on me. I'm gonna have to take it back. What? Sorry. What? You just gave it to me last night. I know. You also knew that I had to use it to pay off a guy. I ain't got it, Jack. Oh, that's bad. Oh, when you gave me the dough, you said I could keep it as long as I like. I told you something's come up. Jack, I just ain't got it. Mm-hmm. Well, in that case, maybe you can pay me back another way. How do you mean? Do a job with me. What kind of a job? I know where there's a safe that's loaded with dough. It's a real soft touch. No dice. Boston safe is your business. What do you mean? I retire. And big jobs are too tough. This one's a cinch. It's a roadhouse just outside of town. I've cased the setup. I got the whole thing planned. Jack, I just can't do it. Is that the answer I gave you when you wanted to borrow the dough? Is it? No. And why don't you return the favor? Okay. That's better. Evie. Yeah, honey. You make that drink now. Okay. I'll drink to a good investment. Can I come in, Jim? Yes, come ahead, Sergeant. I got your message. Ask me to drop over. As we received a report on those fingerprints. The ones on the messenger's envelope? That's right. They belonged to a man named John Belmont, also known as Jack Belmont. Belmont? Mm-hmm. Never heard of him. Did he have a criminal record? He's wanted by the United States Army. He deserted over two years ago. Oh, yeah. We've had no report on him since. Must have been hiding out. Now that the war is over, he figured the heat was off, huh? Probably. How did you get the report back from Washington so fast? By teletype. Oh, by the way, he deserted from this district. I see. Anything else on him? All mostly routine stuff. There's one note here, however, that states he's an expert shot. Did he serve overseas? No. I wonder where he picked up the loot. He didn't have to go overseas to get that. No. Unfortunately, too many guns brought back as souvenirs are getting into the hands of men like Belmont. Yeah. Well, there's the story, Sergeant. But it still doesn't bring us any closer to apprehending him. That's true. One thing is certain. If he's come out of hiding, he'll undoubtedly attend another job. We've got to pick him up before he does. Okay, let's go inside. What about the car? We leave it here. Right in front of the roadhouse? I gave the doorman a fin. Tell him we didn't want to get all jammed up back in the parking lot. Let's go. Now you know the setup. Once we're inside, we head to the manager's office. Right. It's an old safe. You should crack it no time at all. Uh-huh. Here we are. Go ahead, honey. Great. Thanks. Okay. We head right down here past the bar. Come on. This is a real nice place. Mm-hmm. Maybe we could stay a while. Yeah, that'd be great. That's the manager's office right ahead. Yeah. Maybe you wait here right outside the store. Okay. We're going in. What do you want? We've got something for you, mister. Huh? This. There's a safe, Ray. Uh-huh. How's it look to you? Soft touch. You got the soup? Yeah, right here. How long will it take? Just a couple of minutes, but it'll be noisy. I'll cover that. You get to work. Right. Everything okay? Naturally. What do we do now? You and me are going to have a little dance. What? Come on. Let's get out on the floor. Are you crazy? Come on. We ain't done this in a long time. No. Let's dance over by the dance dance. Why? I want to talk to the leader. What for? I had a request for him. Oh, Jack. Honey, fellas, lead, girls follow. Hello, mister. Yes? I got a request for you. I'll be glad to play it. What's the tune? Oh, no special tune. Just so long as it's loud. Sorry, that's for squares. So is this. What? Don't rumble, mister. You do as I say. I'll keep the gun right under my coat. Now play loud. Feed it out for his loud. Come on. Can I in that door for Nelson, honey? No. Can't you play any louder? More fresh, boys. Feed it out. OK. Keep it that way. Just to take it down. Down, boys. Keep it that way till we get out of here. Thanks for the content. We will return in just a moment to tonight's file, which shows how the FBI brings to justice these criminals who have succeeded in pulling the wool over the eyes of honest citizens. Now, a word about men who pull the wool over their own eyes. I'm thinking particularly of many, many fathers in this country. In the back of their minds, they know there's a question they ought to ask themselves. But they keep dodging that question. They refuse to ask themselves. If I should die, how would my family get through the critical years before our youngest child finished high school? How long would my wife and children continue to be well fed, well housed and well clothed? Please don't say to yourself, oh, I guess they'd get along all right. That's pulling the wool over your eyes again. What you're after now is a true and honest answer. To help you get it, the Equitable Life Assurance Society has prepared a special fact-facing chart which has these three advantages. First, its simplicity itself. You can fill it out in five minutes flat. Second, you are guided every step of the way by easy to understand pictures which illustrate the unavoidable expenses your family will have to meet. Third, when you're finished with this fact-facing chart, you'll have a clear, accurate and complete picture of just what income your family would need during the critical years. Okay, Mr. Cross, I'm ready to pull the wool off my eyes. How about telling me where to get this fact-facing chart and how much it'll cost? Why it doesn't cost a cent, the Equitable Society representative in your community will be glad to bring you a copy of this chart. Phone him tomorrow or send a postcard care of this station to the Equitable Society. That's E-Q-U-I-T-A-B-L-E. The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. And now back to the FBI file, the souvenir gun. Because we are a nation of collectors and souvenir hunters, almost every member of the armed forces brought back something to show the folks at home, something to identify him even more than the uniform with the specific victories in his theater of the war. Many of those souvenirs were foreign weapons, weapons which ranged from single-shot pistols to Japanese machine guns, which had been used to kill. Now, with the war over, those weapons are falling into strange hands and being used again as instruments of murder. Now to protect yourselves, your FBI asks those of you who have possession of souvenir weapons to comply with all laws where required and have them registered if you have not already done so. By doing that, you'll be doing your part in fighting the crime wave. The night's file continues. Several hours have passed since the daring Roadhouse holdup. Detective Sergeant Grant is paying a late evening call at the apartment of FBI Special Agent Jim Taylor. Well, Jim, I hope I didn't wake you up. Not at all, Sergeant. I was reading. Good. What's on your mind? Well, I've just come from investigating a holdup at a Roadhouse out on Route 16. Yes? Their safe was cracked open. Over $12,000 was taken. I think the man who engineered the job was our friend Jack Belmont. Really? Yes. Pretty clever job, too. What are the details? Well, two men entered the manager's office before he could call for help. One of them slugged him with a butt of a gun. He inscribed the men just sketchily, but he caught a glimpse of the gun. Oh? He's certain it was a German Luger. Is that what makes you think it's Belmont? No, no. We have more than that. One of the men went back into the club. He and a girl went on the dance floor, threatened the orchestra leader with a gun, made him play loudly to cover up the noise of the safe being cracked. It was clever. From the description the orchestra leader gave us, the man who threatened him was Belmont. And a girl working with him, too, what? Evidently, yes. Now, Jim, I know this job doesn't come under your jurisdiction, but... We still want Belmont. Wait till I get some clothes on, Sergeant. I'd like to go back with you to that roadhouse. Evie, what time is it? What? I said, what time is it? Oh, it's almost eight o'clock. Are you sleeping? Uh-uh. Just dreaming. What do you mean? A beautiful white bathtub back at the hotel. Oh. Jack, why'd we have to come back to this broken-down cabin? To meet Ray Nelson. Why couldn't he come to the hotel like he did before? Much better meeting him here. When's he coming? He'll do it at eight o'clock. You gonna plan another job? Nope. Aren't you working with him anymore? No. Why not? Honey, I told you before, the plan of operation in this business is to profit by other guy's mistakes. So? So, the first thing I scratch is partners. They liable to get nailed and talked. That's how other guys get trapped. Eventually, somebody working for them blows a whistle. Oh, you gonna work alone now? Not necessarily, but I'm just picking one partner at a time. When we do the job, then I get another one. Honey, aren't those ex-partners liable to talk? Not the way I'm handling it. What do you mean? You'll see. Yeah? Hey, Jack. Hi, Ray. Come on in. Oh, thanks. Hi, Mrs. Belvin. Hello. This is really a high night you got here. Have any trouble finding it? Not with the directions you gave me. I'd hate to try to get out here on my own. Where's your car? Not the foot of the hill. Look, Jack, I can't stay very long, so let's cut up the dough, shall we? Ray, I'm afraid I got bad news for you. What? You ain't cutting in on that job. Huh? I'm keeping the whole thing. You mean you made me come all the way out here? The trip wasn't wasted. Wait a minute. Put that gun away. Sorry, Ray. That's how you handle ex-partners, baby. Now we'll take him down to the river, tie some weights on him, and he can have one of them bears you were beefing about. I heard him. When was he picked up? Early this morning. He was moved right here in the morning. Look at the coronary. He's been dead less than 48 hours. Where was the body found? Near the municipal docks. Bullet wound in the temple. Yeah, he was obviously dead before he landed in the river. You say his name is Nelson? Yeah, Ray Nelson. How did you link him with Jack Belmont? Well, a bullet in his head was found to have been fired from a German luger. So we took a chance, called in the manager, that roadhouse, look at the body. And he identified him as the other man? Right. The Belmont evidently double-crossed his own partner. Looks that way. Find anything in his pockets? Yes, his possessions are right here. Anything in his special interest? Oh, just this card of matches. Thanks. Some writing on the inside flap. Two traffic lights turn left. One traffic light turn right. Highway nine and seven tenths tomorrow. Left one and six tenths tomorrow. Cabin, top of hill. White set of road. What do you make of it, Jim? Find out where this man lives. Yeah, right here in the city. Well, Sergeant, it's possible these are directions to a place that Belmont is using as a hideout. This man Nelson could have gone out there, been killed and dumped in the river. But his body was found right here in town. Yes, I know. But there's a pretty swift current in the river this time of year. He could have been dumped in from any place upstream. Jim, if you're right, these directions should lead us right to them. No, I'm afraid it's not that easy. We don't know where Belmont was when he wrote these directions down. Sergeant, do you know if Nelson had a job of any kind? He had a part-time job in a pool room. Well, then there are three places we know of where he could have been when he took down these directions. His home, the pool room or the roadhouse. Right. Why don't you call headquarters? Give them these directions. See if they'll send out squad cars from all three locations. Okay. And we'll hop over there and wait for the results. Jim. Yes, Sergeant? First squad cars reported. One that left in Nelson's house? Yeah. Any luck? No, it led them to the State University. Well, we'll just have to wait for the next one. Here's a report on the second car, Jim. One that left in the pool room. Yeah, they drew a blank, too. What happened? Took him to the main street of Centerville. Just one more to go. I know. Let's keep our fingers crossed. Now, Jim or Punch didn't work out? Third car checked in? Yeah, they didn't find a thing either. Let's see those matches again. Here. He gave them the right directions. I thought so. Hey, wait a minute. What? Why didn't I think of this before? Come on, Sergeant, this time we'll make the trip. Yeah, honey? Will you stop shooting? What's the matter, baby? I can't stand it anymore. I can't stand this place. Look, are you going to start that again? Why can't we leave? I told you we got to lay low till it heats off. That's all we ever do. Now, wait a minute. We got 12,000 on that last job, didn't we? Well, what good does it do us? What good is stealing money if we're going to spend the rest of our life hiding out? Why can't we have fun with it? Evie, I told you I'm running this show. Then you can keep it. What do you mean? I'm getting out. I mean it. I'm sick and tired of all this. Wait a minute. Look down the hill. What? There's a car parked down there. Where'd it come from? I don't know, but I'm going to find out. Where you are, Billman. What? Look down that gun. Not a chance, Mr. I've done some target practice myself, Billman. Who are you? I'm the general agent of the FBI. How'd you get here? We got the directions from the pocket of a man named Nelson. He's dead. We found his body. The directions you gave him were written in this match cover, the place he called you from. Name is here on the matches. Joe's Bar and Grill. For you see, Billman, you really let us hear yourself. Jack Billman was turned over to the local authorities and convicted of first degree murder. He was sentenced to be executed. His wife, Eve Belmont, was sentenced to life imprisonment. This file was closed successfully by your FBI and the local police department of the city in which the crime occurred. In that respect, this case resembles many others. Cases on which your FBI worked long and hard, but on which they could not have been successful if it had not been for the cooperation of the local police department. Your FBI is very proud of its reputation, but it wishes to acknowledge now what it has repeated in the past. Your local police represent your first line of defense against crime. In just a moment, we will tell you about next week's exciting case from the files of your FBI. When the breadwinner of a family dies, what are the critical years for his wife and children? The critical years are the years before the youngest child finishes high school, years in which the home must be kept together. To help you estimate just what income your family would need during those critical years, the Equitable Life Assurance Society has prepared a special fact-facing chart for fathers. Your Equitable Society representative will be glad to bring you a copy of this fact-facing chart. Phone him tomorrow or send a postcard care of this station to the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. Next week, we will bring you another colorful story from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The sunshine swindler. The incidents used in tonight's Equitable Life Assurance Society's broadcast are adapted from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. However, all names used are fictitious, and any similarity thereafter of persons living or dead is accidental. Tonight, the music was composed and conducted by Frederick Steiner. Your narrator was Dean Carlton. This is your FBI is a Jerry Divine production. This is Milton Cross speaking for the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and the Equitable Society's representative in your community, and inviting you to tune in again next week at this same time, the Equitable Life Assurance Society will bring you another thrilling story from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The sunshine swindler on This Is Your FBI. This is ABC, the American Broadcasting Company.