 This is your FBI in just a moment. You'll find some of the most thrilling action in sports history in the prize fighting ring. Cavalcade of sports presents high-attention excitement from ringside every Friday night on ABC. Don Duffy brings you a vivid blow-by-blow description of leather punching home as his eagle eye catches the lightning lefts and rights in the fleet footwork of some of the nation's top-ranking fighters. Teaming with Don is Bill Corham, to give you between rounds a swift run down of the fight's progress and the history of the fighters. Yes, listen to ABC tonight for the 10-round Vince Martinez, Carmen Fiora, Welterweight Bout on the Cavalcade of sports. This is your FBI, the official broadcast from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Presented transcribed as a public service by the American Broadcasting Company. Tonight's the subject of our FBI file, homicide, it's titled The Red-Headed Blackmailer. Our code of laws include penalties for every criminal category, from petty theft to murder. Each of them is an example of man's inhumanity to man. But perhaps the most inhuman crime of all these, the most fiendishly cruel crime is blackmail. The victim of the blackmailer lives in constant fear of exposure. Lives under a nervous tension that ultimately becomes unbearable. Because the victim never knows when the next payment becomes due. Maybe next week, maybe tomorrow, or maybe even in the middle of the night, tonight. In this crime the victim learns the full meaning of one word, torture. Tonight's FBI file opens in the dingy office building located in the business section of a Midwestern city. On the door of a small suite in this dilapidated structure is a sign reading Wally Irvin, private investigator. Inside Irvin is just reading a prospective client. Sit down Ms. Dampen. Thank you. Now who was the saint you hear? A friend of mine, Ruth Clark. Oh, how's little old Ruthie? She's fine. She told me that you did some, well, confidential work for her. Yes, ma'am, that's right. Well, she doesn't know that I've come here, but, well, I'm in need of help. A lot of help. My dear lady, that's my business. Now, what's your problem? Well, a little over two years ago I wrote a number of letters to someone. A man, maybe? Yes. They were very foolish letters. This man has taken advantage of them. You mean he wants money before I give him back? It's gone further than that. Oh, I've already paid him several times. On each occasion he's promised me the letters and then when he's gotten the money he's failed to keep his word. That's a pretty familiar pattern, ma'am. Does your husband know about these letters? Oh, no. So do I love letters, are they? I'd rather not discuss them. Oh, okay. All I'm interested in is getting them back. Who is this fellow? His name is Dixon. Matt Dixon. Where does he live? I don't know. Ma'am, you're not making it easy. He's been out of town. He called me last night. Said he had to see me at once. He was desperately in need of money. What did you tell him? I said I'd meet him tonight. Where? At a cocktail lounge on Main Street called the Coral Room. How much you paid him already? Almost $4,000. Oh, man, he's got a nice business. How much do you want this time? Another thousand. I just can't go on paying, Mr. Irvin. Can you help me? I think so. Can you get back the letters? I should be able to, yes. That would be wonderful. What time are you meeting him? My husband's going out of town right after dinner. I said I'd be there at nine o'clock. Well, I'll be there, too, ma'am. You mean you'll confront him? No, I'll just be watching. You bring the money along, let him have it, and that should be your last payment. Thank you, Mr. Irvin. Oh, by the way, what will your fee be? Oh, let's not talk about that till I get you the letters. Here, let me help you with your quarter, ma'am. I'm keeping it on. Okay. What do you have to drink? Another thing. Really playing the chill, aren't you? I came here because I have to. Well, honey, that sounds as if you didn't love me anymore. Stop that. Please. You did once. At least that's what you told me in your letters. You know how I happened to write those letters. My husband was overseas. I was lonely, confused. And then I came along. Yes. Darling, you just don't have any salary. Remember that summer we spent together? Remember that? Matt, get down to business. Where are my letters? Oh, I still have them. Are you prepared to return them to me now? Do you bring any money? Yes. How much? The amount you ask. Well, where is it? I have it right here in my bag. Well, let's see it. It's in this envelope. Wait, what about the letters? I'll mail them to you. That's what you've told me every time. Darling, this time you have my word. Now, give me the money. But you can't. Honey, you're in no position to bargain. Now, let me have the money. Here. Thank you. Now let's have one sociable drink. No, I'm leaving. Not even for old times sake. When will you mail the letters? Tomorrow. Very well. Good night. Good night, darling. Is that... All right. Hello, Mr. Elder. That's the fella? Yes. You run along now. I'll take over. In the same city at the FBI field office, Special Agent Jim Taylor is standing at the teletype machine as a message chatters in. Oh, Jim. Yeah, and he... Mr. Carter said I should check with him. Yeah, he has an assignment for us. The follow-up on it coming in over the wires now. What is the assignment? Well, I'd try to bring it to date, huh? Okay. We had a request from the Dallas office to try and locate a man named Matt Dixon. Yeah. There's a detail in his record that just came in. Do you want to take a look at it? All right. Hmm. That's quite a history, isn't it? Yeah. I should say so. Bad check, passive. Gordier. Blackmailer. Ten arrests. Yeah. He's pretty bad. What specific charges Dallas got on it? Well, he left a trail of bad checks halfway across the country. He prays almost exclusively on gullible females. They missed him by less than an hour at his last known address in Dallas. They learned from his landlady that he was heading for here. Can he lead on one he'd be here? No, nothing specific. They did say that he always stays at smaller family hotels. Oh, Andy, I've gotten together a list of those hotels. Suppose we divide them up and go to work. Who is this? Wally Irvin. Oh. Hello, Mr. Irvin. He's kind of late for me to call. Oh, that's all right. What happened? I got your letters. What? Oh, that's wonderful. How did you do it? Oh, of course. Oh, yes, I will. What time? It's about 9.30. Well, I'll be there. Thank you, Mr. Irvin. Thank you. Good morning, Andy. Good morning, Jim. How late did you work last night? All in the left to midnight. Hope you had better luck than I did. Yeah, I did. I found the hotel and Matt Dixon is living. Good. Which one was it? Sides the Central down on South Main Street. Pick them up? No. What happened? I just missed him. He'd left there about 10 minutes before I arrived. Oh, too bad. I waited around for him until about one. Then I had a surveillance set up for the rest of the night, but he never did return. I just called it a few months ago. Maybe he's run out. No, I don't think so. His clothes and possessions are still in his room. Could the hotel management give you anything on him? Well, very little. Said he'd been out earlier and had just returned as if he'd gotten any mail. He had a companion with him. He described him as tall, slender, red-headed, Southern accent. They had no idea where he'd gone on. No, they did say, however, that Dixon appeared to have been drinking quite ever. I see. Oh, I picked up another fact at the hotel. It's sort of a puzzle. What's that? Phone operator said that Dixon had made one call since he'd been there. He'd get a woman named Arlene Stanton for him. Did you get the phone number? Yeah, I checked on. The woman's married to a prominent local businessman. Talked to her? Just called her. There was no answer. Inasmuch as Dixon was drinking, I checked the bars in that vicinity. I thought I might turn up something. No, no luck. Someone's still coming to the hotel? Yeah. And all we can do now is wait. Mr. Irvin? Yes, you, Ms. Stanton? Yes. I'm back here in office. Come in. Thank you. Good morning, ma'am. Good morning. Sit down, won't you? Thank you. I can't tell you how happy I am, Mr. Irvin. I can see it. You look positively radiant. Where are the letters? They're right here. In my desk. Oh, thank you. I still don't understand how you were ever able to get them. Trade secret, ma'am. Oh, I wasn't trying. Believe me, I'm so glad you have them. I really don't care how you did it. I must apologize for one thing, ma'am. What? You did a sort of un-gentlemanly thing. I read your letters. Oh. Allow me to say, ma'am, that you use a pretty warm pen. Mr. Irvin, I'd rather not discuss them. Okay. Just let me have them, please. Surely. Don't you think we should settle something first? What's that? My fee. Oh, of course. How much do I owe you? Well, I've just been trying to figure that. Yes. How much do you say you pay that Dixon boy? Well, counting the last payment, nearly $5,000. Then let's set my fee at, oh, see, double that? What? And I'd like mine to be paid all in one lump. Blackmail knows no geography. And it is extremely possible that some one of you listening to this program tonight is currently a victim of a vicious blackmailer. Perhaps you have done nothing worse than the victim in tonight's case. Or perhaps you have committed a crime which is as yet undiscovered by the police. In either event, your FBI has the same bit of advice. Don't allow yourself to be blackmailed. Go to your local police. Whatever wrong you have committed will be given the full understanding of the law. And the fact that you have confessed of your own free will must stand in your favor when judgment is passed. You are digging a bottomless well when you allow the blackmailer to milk you. And you are also allowing him to go on to other extortions. If you are one of these unfortunate victims, put an end to your fears and to your blackmailer's career. Call your local police tonight. Tonight's file continues at the FBI field office. Special Agent Jim Taylor is just approaching his death. Jim, I've been looking for you. Oh, hello, and you haven't been pretty busy these last few hours. Anything to do with Dixon? Yes, very much so. Dixon's dead. Well, what happened? He was murdered. What? He was found about two hours ago over in National Park. That's government territory. Yeah, I know. I've just been out there. Well, he'd been shot through the head and he's probably buried in a shallow grave. The body might have been there for weeks, but for the fact that a group of hikers stumbled across the grave this morning. He examined the body? Yeah. Find any clues? Several. One of them is rather important. What was that? Well, there are indications that Dixon had been in a fight before he was shot. His face was bruised and clutched in his hand were several strands of red hair. Didn't you say he had been seen in the hotel lobby last night with a red-headed man? Yeah, it's pretty safe to assume that he was the killer. Well, unfortunately, there are plenty of people in this town with red hair. Yeah. I've arranged for an artist to question the hotel clerk, or I'll see if he can put some sort of picture together from his description. Good. There's one other lead that might tell us something more about the red head. What's that? Well, I found a hat check in Dixon's pants pocket at number 23, nothing else. Now, he was drinking last night. He could have left his hat somewhere on route, or else he could have forgotten to present the check. Willie Carroll has most of the nightclub hat check incisions in town. Yeah, I know. I've already sent the check over to his office to see if he could determine what club it could have been used. Where else to find him? I was an envelope in Dixon's inside pocket at the initials AMS monogram on a flat. AMS? I believe that could be the woman he phoned, Arlene Stanton. Oh, yeah, yeah, of course. Anything in the envelope? No, it's empty. But there are ridges that indicated that at one time it could have contained a large number of bills. Jim, Dixon was a blackmailer, wasn't he? I know what you're thinking, Andy, and I agree. She could very easily have been one of Dixon's victims. In fact, I'm going over there right now and find out. Hello? Hello, Miss Stanton. Oh, it's Irving. That's the office. Whatever you have to say, please get to the point. Oh, my, my real estate template. What do you want? Money. I told you before that I couldn't possibly pay that much. I couldn't get it from him. You know that. Why not? Look, in the first place, he's out of town. I tell you it would be impossible. Well, just a minute. Miss Stanton? Yes. Miss Stanton, my name is Taylor. I'm a special agent at the FBI. Here are my credentials. Oh. May I talk to you for a few moments, please? Yes. Come in. Thank you. What did you want? Well, I came here to find out if you knew a man named Matt Dixon. No. No, I don't. I have information that he called you last night. That's not true. Well, this information came from the hotel switchboard operator. Dixon gave her your number. Oh, perhaps he called my husband. Oh, no. The operator said he asked for you. I've never heard of him. Look, what's this all about? Dixon's body was found this morning. He was murdered. Oh. And this envelope was found on his pocket. It has your initials on it, Miss Stanton. Well, that's not my station, Henry. Dixon was a blackmailer. These ridges here indicate that this envelope contained money. Now, Miss Stanton, if you did know this man, if you were paying him blackmail, please tell me. I don't know the man. Well, let me ask you one more question. Did you know anyone with red hair who might have been a friend or an acquaintance of Dixon? No. We're almost certain that he's the one who committed the murder. I don't know anything about it. I see. Thank you, Miss Stanton. It's you. Yeah. You weren't going to call for a day or two? I changed my plans. Let me come in. Wait. Sorry, man. What a charming place. Look, I have something to tell you. A man from the FBI was just here. What did he want? He said that Matt Dixon had been murdered. He said that the man that they were looking for, the man responsible for the killing, had red hair. You know that much, do they? That sort of changes things, doesn't it? How? I now have more on you than you have on me. Oh, I don't know about that. You killed Dixon. That's right. There's really an accident, though. I got acquainted with him. I got him drunk and tried to make a deal for the letters. Bill O. Dixon didn't like that, so I had to shoot him. You admit it? Why, sure. I read in the paper that they'd found the body. That's just my luck. I thought he'd stayed there for months. Well, why did you come here? Sweet child, I need money more never now. I'm not giving you a penny. You mean those letters are worth nothing at all? No. This has gone too far. What about your husband? I'm perfectly willing to tell him everything now. I don't believe you. Fine, mean it. Well, I guess you do with that. What's more, I'm calling FBI right now. Just a minute. Oh, my arm. Let me point out something, you little lady. I'd just come off doing one killing. My second one wouldn't make that much difference. He wouldn't dare. Oh, but I would. Chris crossed my heart. I would. Look, I have the same gun. Yeah, he was on Dixon. Now, give me some money. I wouldn't know where. You had a bank account? It's in my husband's name. I told you he was out of town. Must have a lawyer or something. Someone who would send you cash. You told him it was a real emergency. Well, doesn't it? He's a lawyer. And get him on the phone. Tell him you need 2,000. Tell him to send a messenger over with it right away. Andy. Hello, Jim. Slide in, Andy. Hi. I asked you to meet me here in front of the office. Save us time. What are the latest developments? I interviewed the Stanton woman. She claims she didn't know Dixon. To ask her about the redhead? Yeah. But she'd never heard of him either. But I don't think she's telling the truth about either one of them. Think she was involved in the shooting? No, but she is covering up. I didn't think she was involved in the shooting. No, but she is covering up. I didn't think she was involved in the shooting. I didn't press her at all. I thought I'd save that for a later interview. Where are we going now? Well, I went to Carol's office after I left the Stanton. You know, the hat check concessionaire? Yeah. He identified the hat check as the one that was used at the 2 o'clock club. I went to the club and interviewed the hat check girl. She remembered both Dixon and the redhead. Do you know the redhead? I had never seen him before. Said the Dixon was very drunk and disorderly. They had to throw him out of the club. The redhead went with him. In the excitement, both of them left their hats. That's a break. Yeah. Oh, they're right there in the back of the car. Oh. The one belonging to the redhead had several strands of hair in it. The initials of their WI. Wow. We're heading to the store now where he bought the hat. How'd you make out, Jim? I just talked to the manager. I showed him the hat. Yeah. Fortunately, it's a very large head size. You remember selling it? The redhead? Yeah. You know? He's the director of his name and address. It's Wally Irvin. He lives at 712 Elm Street. I called the office. They checked the file. He's an old-time extortionate. Let's get right over there. Any luck here? No, Irvin was out. Did you talk to anyone? Yeah, his landlady. Did she know where he was? Said he'd been out all day. So we set up a surveillance here for him? No, not yet, Andy. Landlady gave me his office address. I think we should check over there first. Andy? Yeah, Jim. Look here. What do you got? I found an Irvin's desk drawer. They have the same monogram as the letter that I found on Dixon. AMS? Yeah. Andy, I think we should post some in here while you go over to Irvin's roaming house. I'll go back and re-interview Mrs. Stanton. Please, ma'am. Stop crying, will you? I just can't stand to see a woman shedding tears. Oh, good luck. You know, I just decided on something. You're being so nice to me. I'm giving you back your letters. I don't care about them. I'll find them in my office in the desk drawer. Sorry I can't present them personally, but I'll be out of town. Look, don't even talk to me. Oh, okay. Say, you've got a piano around this place. I might sing a song or two until that messenger comes. It might help to soothe you. Folks at home were always very complimentary about the way I sang. Why are they? Messenger? Hold on a minute. Let me tell you something good. What is it? Don't try any fancy stuff when he comes in. Just act like I'm an old friend of the family. Because if you don't, I'll still have a gun. All right, now go answer it. Just a minute. Hello, Mr. Stanton. Hello. You're from my husband's lawyer, aren't you? Come in, please. Thank you. You're right in here. Yes, ma'am. If you bring $2,000, that's what I asked for. Is it for Mr. Irvin here? How'd you know me? I've been looking for you all day. Look out, it has a gun. I know it. Thank you. I'll just put the cuffs on it. And Mrs. Stanton, I'd like to have you give me the real facts. Wally Irvin was prosecuted for murder on a government reservation, found guilty and sentenced to be executed. With this conviction, your FBI was able to close another case involving murder and extortion, two of the most serious crimes in the federal code of law. But these crimes and others like them will continue to be committed so long as the general public retains its present apathy regarding the very serious and dangerous rising tide of lawlessness. You, the decent citizen listening to this program tonight, can do something about this if you want to take the trouble. The biggest step you could take in the right direction would be to join with your fellow citizens in seeing to it that you have a strong and alert and above all, a politically unhampered local police force. Your FBI will always be available as a final bastion against crime. But your first line of defense against the criminal army in America today is in your hometown. And the stronger you make your local police force, the better your protection will be. That is the job you can do if you want to help in fighting America's rising tide of lawlessness. Productivity is a two-edged sword in the defense of America's economic system. Increased production means increased armaments for repelling attack from without. At the same time, it means more consumer goods for repelling inflation from within. And you are one of the people who helps to forge this mighty sword. Yes, you, for the efforts of every single individual in the United States, play a part in this drive. Our unrivaled ability to produce is a result of a combination of things. Increased use of machine power, individual freedom, free competition, free collective bargaining, individual labor skills, efficient methods of distribution all contribute their share. But now, as the defense effort expands and the inflationary pressure increases, there is a greater need for teamwork than ever before. For a fuller explanation of how our economic system works, write to Box 10, Times Square Station, New York, for the free booklet, The Miracle of America. Meanwhile, remember, the better we produce, the stronger we grow. The incidents used in tonight'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 Special Agent Taylor was played by Stacey Harris. Others in the cast were Whitfield Conner, Georgia Ellis, Bill Johnstone, and Barney Phillips. Bill Spargrove speaking. With tonight's transcribed program, we conclude the present series of This Is Your FBI, a Jerry Divine production. Stay tuned for the adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. There's fun for the whole family when Ozzie and Harriet come your way next. This program came to you from Hollywood. The Lone Ranger celebrates its 20th anniversary today on ABC Radio Network.