 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 transcribed as a public service by the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and the Equitable Society's representative in your community. If your plans include sending your youngster to college or providing for a pleasant, comfortable life after 60, owning your own home free and clear years ahead of time, we have a plan. By we, I mean the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and its 8,000 representatives from coast to coast. It will pay you to get acquainted with your local Equitable Representative. He's friendly, helpful, and he knows the answers. In about 13 minutes, I'd like to tell you more about him and how he may help you to enjoy the many advantages of membership in the Equitable Society. Tonight, the subject of our FBI file, homicide. It's titled, The Death Cruise. It is the proud record of your FBI that 97% of those the Bureau apprehends and takes to court are later found guilty and sentenced. That record indicates a thoroughness and a basic respect for detail in every investigation. Because it often happens that the only testimony for the prosecution is given by special agents of your FBI. After conviction, the file on that case is marked closed. Those files are records of jobs well done, records of which the Bureau is justifiably proud. For that reason, it is understandable that your FBI does not like to reopen a file that has been marked closed, does not like to have to do its job all over again. That does not happen very often, but as you will see in tonight's case, it does happen. Tonight's FBI file opens on the mouth of a river located in one of our eastern seaboard states. A cabin cruiser courses slowly down the stream. Rounding a bend, it noses into a weather-worn dock. Its pilot, a young man in his middle 20s, ties the boat to a stanchion and walks down the dock to a dilapidated waterfront hotel. He opens a sun-warped stream door and enters the lobby. Anyone here? What do you want? Are you in charge here? Yes, why? I'm, uh, looking for information. What about? One of the boats that's tied to the dock out there. Which one? Seamade 2nd. Who owns it, you know? No. Yeah, isn't that, uh, dock connected with your hotel? No, everybody uses it. Oh. Well, look, mister, if you just came here to ask questions, I haven't got the time. Oh, wait, please. Well, what is it? The, uh, Seamade passed me an hour or so ago upstream. I thought I recognized its pilot. Did, did you see the boat tie up? No, I didn't. Well, uh, perhaps you know this man. He's about my size, blond hair, moustache. His name is Sanderson. I never heard of him. Well, if he uses this dock, you... Well, I told you anybody can use it. Well, he couldn't have docked more than 10 or 15 minutes ago. Where could he have gone from here, do you know? Well, to town maybe. What town? Fairport, Clear Falls, Cedar Point. They're all near here. I see. Well, I guess I'll just have to wait for him. Sometimes people leave their boats here for days. I'll wait. Who's there? Alice. Well, what is it? What do you want? All right, come in. I told you, Alice, that I wanted to take a nap. I know. Well, why do you disturb me? Well, a man was here looking for you. Who was he? I don't know. What did he want? He didn't say. Did he ask for me by name? Yes. He said you passed him in your boat upstream. He thought he recognized you and followed you down here. Where is he now? He left. He returned to his boat. What did you tell him? That I didn't know who you were or where you'd gone. I see. But he's going to wait for you anyway. This is bad. Well, I tried my best to get rid of him, John. Raise the window, Shade. Sure. Adjust the travel. How's that? Fine. Now, which one is his boat? Well, it's at the very end of the dock there, you see? Yes. He must be below. Where's your husband? He went into town. As soon as he returns, send him up here. Hello, aboard there. Are you the owner of this boat? Yeah. Let's see your license. Boat license? Nope. License for using this dock. Uh-oh. Oh, I didn't know one was necessary. It's a town ordinance. Who are you? Deputy Sheriff. See? Well, look, could I arrange to get a license from you? Nope. Got to get one in town. Are they open this time of night? Nope. And what do I do? Leave the dock. I couldn't do that. Look, mister, that's an order. Sheriff, I might as well tell you why I'm here. All I'm interested in is a license. Listen, that, uh, boat right over there. That's Seamade 2nd. I followed down the river this afternoon. There was a man aboard it. I think I recognized. Huh? I know that government agents would be very anxious to apprehend him if he's the man I think he is. Are you a government agent? No. Any kind of policeman? No. And why are you so interested? I was in army intelligence during the war. Buddy, the war is all over. Yes, but... Look, which boat are you talking about? That one down there. The black hole. Her name ain't Seamade 2nd. Yes, it is. That's the Ebony Queen. I'm sorry you're wrong. Come on, have a look for yourself. I'll prove to you that's the Ebony Queen. Owned by a man named Smith who lives at Cedar Point. He ain't been in no trouble with the government ever. This Smith about my size. Blonde hair, moustache. No, sir. He's short, fat, and bald. Well, would anyone else be using his boat? No. Well, what does that say there? Ebony Queen. Yeah. I don't understand. That's the boat I followed. Look, mister, your story just don't make no sense. You go on back to your boat, cast off your lines, and pull out of here. Oh, sorry, sir. I'm staying. Some 50 miles away in an FBI field office, Special Agent Jim Taylor is just approaching the desk of the agent in charge. Mr. McComb. Yes, Jim. Can I see you for a minute, sir? Well, surely. What's on your mind? I received a phone call late this afternoon from a friend of mine named Ed Bartlett. No. Ed was in army intelligence during the war. We worked together on a number of cases involving enemy aliens. That was when I was with the New York office. I see. One of the men we picked up at the beginning of the war was a Nazi named John Sanderson. He'd been engaged in subversive activity. He was convicted on several counts and sent to a federal prison. I remember hearing about him. Well, you may also recall, sir, that Sanderson was released at the end of the war and deported to Germany. Yes, yes, I do. But what's this got to do with your friend's phone call? Well, Ed's been out on his boat on a fishing trip for the past week. This afternoon, a small pleasure cruiser passed him. Ed was almost certain the man at the wheel was John Sanderson. What? Yeah, he said he followed the boat to a dock down near Cedar Point. No one was aboard her, so he inquired at a nearby hotel as to where the man had gone. He couldn't learn anything there. Well, Jim, this sounds more like a case of mistaken identity. I thought so myself at first, sir, but Ed insisted he had the right man. Knowing him, I'm inclined to believe him. Well, we have a file on Sanderson here. Check it. It's possible we were both mistaken. Maybe he wasn't deported. Sir, I've already checked. He was sent out of the country over five years ago. I see. Where's your friend now? He's standing by down there waiting for the man to return. Has he contacted the local police? I advised him to. I'm not so sure that he will. Mr. McComb. Yeah? I wonder if you'd give me permission to get out of there. If this is a false lead, I'll be back by tomorrow night. Go ahead, Jim. Yes? It's me, Henry. Come in. What happened? Weren't you watching from the window? It was too dark to see, but I didn't hear his boat pull away. He ain't going. Why not? He just said he was going to wait until you came back. Did you impersonate a deputy sheriff? Yep. Well, didn't you threaten to arrest him? Yep. He just said, go ahead. What about the boat? Did you repaint the name? Mm-hmm. But he's still going to stay. What did you find out about him? He said he was an army intelligence during the war. Oh. Also said the government agents would be very happy to grab you. He's really going to be difficult to get rid of. Yep. Where's Alice? Downstairs. Bring her up here. Can you see all right, Mr? Yeah. Yeah, I'll just lead the way. When did this man come to your hotel? About 20 minutes ago. He took a room for the night. His name is Sanderson. That's right. And he's got blond hair and a mustache, just like the fellow that you were looking for. Mm-hmm. That's why I came right down to your boat to get you. Oh, I appreciate it. Oh, here's the back door. You can go in this way. Right. Now, his room is right at the head of these stairs. Thanks. Wait. Yeah? Well, I just happened to think, now there ain't going to be any trouble between you two, is there? Well, to tell you the truth, there might be. Oh, well, then I'd better get the sheriff. He's right out front in the lobby. Yeah, that might not be a bad idea. Bring him up to the room. Okay. Yes? Hello, Mr. Sanderson. You remember me? Yes, of course. You're the young man who was in army intelligence. That's right. What brings you here? Your boat passed mine on the river today. I recognized you. So you were deported from this country about five years ago, weren't you, Sanderson? That's right. Then how did you get back here? Illegally. Well, you admit that, huh? Yes. I'm going to have to see to it that you're deported again. Really? How? By turning you over to the FBI. Have you with the authority to make an arrest? No. Then how are you going to do it? Well, this should be your answer. Come in. Here's the sheriff. Good. Come in, Sheriff. Okay. You wanted to see me? Yes, Sheriff. This is the man I was looking for. Well? He's in this country illegally. He should be arrested and turned over to the FBI. Did you hear that, Sheriff? Yep. Well, what are you going to do about it? Well, now, let me see. You should obey the man, you know. You think so? Of course. What is this? Show him, Henry. Okay. Nice work, Sheriff. We will return in just a moment to tonight's exciting case from the official files of your FBI. But right now, here's a question. When was the last time you saw your doctor for a complete physical checkup? Everybody should see his doctor regularly. Keeping healthy is protection for your family. Just as the right kind of life insurance is protection for your loved ones no matter what happens in the future. What is the right kind of protection? Perhaps the experience of Mr. Frank Murphy may help you. Mr. Murphy, before you became a member of the Equitable Life Assurance Society, what was your problem? Protection for my wife and kids. You see, I make a comfortable living, I've got big money. My social security would help, but it certainly isn't enough to keep my family well fed, well housed, and well clothed until my youngest gets through high school. So when I heard you talk about a plan that would provide me with that kind of security, I got interested. That's our Equitable Family Security Plan. Right, and a good name for it, too. So, as you suggested, I called my local Equitable Representative and he came right over. He didn't try to sell me anything. I made it simple and easy for me to figure how much more income my wife would need to keep her and the kids in comfort. That's the famous Equitable Fact finding chart for fathers and mothers. Incidentally, there's no charge for this chart. It's available to everyone who wants to know exactly how much protection his family needs. The chart was a big help, and our Equitable Man was a bigger help. Now that my family is secure, I'd advise anybody to call up his Equitable Man. They're good men to do business with. They are. You see, Equitable Men are more than life insurance men. They're interested in your problems and in presenting a plan that fits your needs and your budget. So please remember, no matter what your insurance problem may be, talk it over with your local Equitable Society Representative. Ask him for your free copy of the Fact Finding Chart for Fathers and Mothers. Consult your local telephone directory for the name of this friendly, helpful neighbor, your local representative of 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 tonight's FBI file, The Death Crew. The desire to see that justice is done is strong in almost every one of us. But sometimes that desire leads to trying to take the law into your own hands. As tonight's case from the files of your FBI illustrates, that is the wrong course of action. In every city there is a local police force. In every state there are state troopers. And in every section of the country there are field officers of your FBI. It is their job to see that laws are enforced, that justice is dealt out fairly. Your job as a citizen is to respect and obey those laws. And when, as will sometimes happen, you know of a crime that has been committed or a criminal who has gone unpunished. This is from the responsibility of seeing justice done. Your responsibility ends when you have done your duty. When you have notified your local police. Tonight's file continues at the police station in the town of Cedar Point. Special Agent Jim Taylor has just introduced himself to the chief of police. Sit down, Mr. Taylor. Thanks. Now, what can I do for you? Did a man named Ed Bartlett contact you any time yesterday or this morning? Bartlett? No, he didn't. Why? Well, he called me yesterday afternoon. He'd been out on his boat on the river. I thought he recognized a man who had been deported from this country some five years ago. Where was this? On the river. This man was in another boat and he trailed him to a dock about two miles north of there. The one near the Ocean View Hotel? Yeah, that's right. I told him to contact the police. I thought he might have come to you. He didn't. Have you tried the Fairport police? Yes, I have. How about Clearford? No, they hadn't heard from him either. Have you looked for him? Yeah, I went out of the dock. I couldn't find any trace of his boat, though. Did the man took off again and Bartlett followed him? Yeah, that's very possible. Did he give you a description of the other boat, the one suspect was on? No, no, he didn't. Well, I'm afraid. Excuse me. Sure. Chief Jenkins. Yes? Yeah. What's that? Where was this? I see. What's the name of the boat? All right. Thanks a lot. I'll be right down there. Mr. Taylor, what does Bartlett look like? He's about six feet tall, dark hair. Was the name of his boat the Lucky Star? It sounds like it, yeah. I'm afraid I have some bad news for you. What is it? The body of a man of that general description was just found in the boat named the Lucky Star. Oh, no. We can't be sure that it's Bartlett, of course. Where was this? About 10 miles downstream. It drifted in the shore. Let's get down there at once. That you, Henry? Yeah. We're here in the back room. Did you go into the village? Yeah. Any news of the boat? Nope. It'll probably be found sometime this afternoon. That soon? I imagine so. But what do we do? I'll leave tonight, just as I plan. I suppose the police should come here. I don't know what it means to make it appear that his death was accidentally. Look, Alice, stop worrying. Everything is going to be okay. There's the body right over there, Mr. Tiller. Yeah, I said. Yeah, I said Bartlett, right? Too bad. I guess we'll have to examine him. Look at the back of his head. Yeah, I see. Say there's blood in the back of that boat hook there. From the position of the body, he could have very easily slipped and fallen against it. Yeah, he could have, but I don't think he did. I'd say this is very carefully staged to appear that way. You think he caught up with the man he was looking for? Ah. If he'd only contacted your chief, instead of trying to do the job alone. Yeah. Well, shall we go below? Oh, boy, I'd want to search his pockets first. It's just barely possible. You might have left a note of some kind. Telling you more about this man he was following? Uh-huh. If we just had a description of his boat... Yeah, I know. Find anything? Ah, just this book of matches might be of some help to us. How's that? Well, they're from the Ocean View Hotel. That's the place for the dock, isn't it? Mm-hmm. Well, then you must have gone in there at some time. You, uh, you know the people who run it? Yeah, it's a couple named Fowler. Well, they might be able to give us some information. Well, we can follow it. There's some blue painter on the deck. See it? Yeah. It's a very odd shade of blue. It didn't spill here. Looks like it rubbed off or something. Mm-hmm. I'm going to scrape a few flecks of it off. You want a knife? No, I've got one. Thanks. Oh, Chief, why don't you go ashore and notify the coroner. I'll finish up here. You're a headless tiller. Police Jenkins, Mrs. Fowler. Oh, hello, Mr. Jenkins. Oh, this is Mr. Taylor, Mrs. Fowler. Howdy-do. Mr. Taylor is a special agent of the FBI. I see. You might be able to help him. How? Well, yesterday afternoon a man named Ed Bartlett put his boat into that dock outside there. Ed Bartlett? That's right. He's a man about six feet tall, dark hair, slightly broken nose. You see him by any chance? No, sir. Is there a reason to believe he came here to your hotel? Well, I didn't see anybody that looked like him. Did you see his boat? It was called the Lucky Star. No, sir. Oh, it is Mr. Fowler. He might be able to help us. Mr. Fowler? Oh, hello, Chief. Hello, this is Mr. Taylor. He's from the FBI. Hi. We're looking for information, Mr. Fowler, about a man named Ed Bartlett who docked his boat outside here yesterday afternoon. It's called the Lucky Star. Do you see it? No, I didn't. Maybe you saw him. He was six feet tall, dark hair, slightly broken nose. Nope. Didn't see him. All right, Chief, I'm afraid this is a bad lead. We'd better be going. Thanks a lot anyway, folks. Come on, Chief. Okay. All right. Henry? Hmm? Get upstairs and tell John who was here. Let's head out here to the end of the dock, Chief. Okay. Say, don't you think we should question the Fowlers a little more? I purposely cut that interview short. Why? Do you notice Fowler's trousers? No, I didn't. There was a streak of blue paint on the right leg. I'm certain it was the same color paint that I scraped off the deck of Bartlett's boat. Well... It reminded me of where I'd seen that paint before. I noticed a can of it yesterday when I came out here under the dock. Where about? It's right alongside this boat up here. Man, there's a pink can. Yeah, I think that's the one. Hey, it's that same odd shade of blue. Yeah. Now, I wonder if you... Wait a minute. Shine your light again on the stern of the boat there. Right there? Yeah. Hold it. Fuck, Chief, the name on that boat's been freshly painted. Heavenly Queen. All right. I suppose it was called something else before. The name was changed to avoid suspicion. Well, if it was, then that's Sanison's boat. There's whole paint-cycle ties together. You think Fowler's mixed up in it, too? Yeah. Well, you go board and search the boat. Okay. I'm heading for the nearest phone to call my office. I want to see if anyone named Fowler's ever been mixed up with Sanison. Is that you, Mr. Taylor? Kindly put up your hands. What are you doing on this boat? I'm Chief of Police Jenkins. You haven't answered my question. Who are you? That doesn't matter. Would your name be Sandison? Yes. And you know why I'm here? Yes, but it isn't going to do you any good. What do you mean? I'm about to take a trip down the river. I need to change. You won't get very far. I will if I travel alone. Is that you, Henry? Yep. Come below. We have company. We have to take care of them. Go above and cast off the line first. I would prefer that this happen while we're out in the river. Well, do as I say. I can't. Why not? Because I've got a gun in his back. Drop your Sanison. All right, pick up his gun, Chief. Okay. Well, I was told that Fowler was Sanison's brother-in-law. I dropped by, picked him up, and brought him down here. Sure glad you did. Now I can place them both under arrest. It was probed that although Ed Bartlett was assaulted in the hotel, his death occurred on the boat. Therefore, Sanderson was convicted in federal court for murder on the high seas and sentence to be executed. Henry and Alice Fowler were convicted as accomplices and given a life prison term in a federal penitentiary. This time your FBI marked its file not closed, but dead. And it was able to do that only because of the shrewd powers of observation of a special agent who remembered where he had seen an offshade of fate. Sanderson is not a talent that anyone is born with, but they are a talent that can be developed that has been developed. That has been developed in the course of study that every special agent must pass before he becomes a qualified member of your FBI, before he goes to work for you, the American people. One primary cause of much needless worry is money. Husbands worry about the future security of their wives and children. Others worry about poverty in old age. Others worry about assuring their children's education. Now there is one man who can help you enjoy freedom from such worries. He is your local equitable representative, the friendly, helpful neighbor who knows the answers to your problem. Consult your local telephone directory for the name of your local representative of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. Next week we will dramatize another case from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is a project homicide. It's titled The Astrological Breakout. 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 thereof to the names of places or persons living or dead is accidental. Tonight the music was composed and conducted by Frederick Steiner. Your narrator was William Woodson and Taylor was played by Stacey Harris. Others in the cast were Herb Butterfield, Lamont Johnson, Bill Johnstone, Mary Ann Cape, Lou Merrill and Vernon Ridge. This is your FBI is a Jerry Devine production. This is Larry Keating 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 to bring you another thrilling transcribe story from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Astrological Breakout on This Is Your FBI.