 The Equitable Life Assurance Society presents This Is Your FBI This Is Your FBI, an 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. Are you one of the 50 million Americans covered by Social Security? Well, there may be a pleasant surprise in store for you. In a few minutes, you'll learn from our sponsor the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States how easy it is to build Social Security into full security. Tonight's FBI file, death in the tropics. The familiar adage has it that the best laid schemes of mice and men often times go astray, to which we might add while those of criminals inevitably go astray. One of the most monstrous criminals of all times, Adolf Hitler, was defeated by the inexorable truth of this and day after day lesser criminals such as those in tonight's case and the files of your FBI are likewise vanquished by it. For the evil schemes of men are as fragile as the minds which create them and they crush like eggshells against the rock-ribbed eternity of justice. In a rather lavish apartment in the Midtown Manhattan, a young woman is just admitting a guest. It was one Dan Ogden, junior partner of the firm of Durant and Ogden, specialist in interstate commerce. Hi, Jackie. Put me in, Dan. Thanks, Millie. Where's Jack? Inside, getting dressed. You want a drink? No, thanks, baby. Well, tonight's the night, huh? Yep. What's the setup? Pretty big job. Only 4,000 cases of bonded whiskey. Yay! Got to knock off four trucks. That's really a tough order. Yeah, we got it all laid out. Everybody knows what they're supposed to do. Shouldn't be any trouble. How much cash will that stuff bring? A real bundle. Oh, that I like. Hey, Millie, where's that, Dan? Oh, hi there, Dan. Hello, Jack. I'm glad you stopped by here, kid. I got something I want to spring on you and Millie both. What are you looking for, Jack? That big brown envelope. In the table. Oh, yeah, good. There's something in here I want to show you. What is it? Pictures. Huh? Now, sit down, both of you. What is it? Sit down, will you? Okay. Look, Danny, when you and I started in business together, we agreed that if either one of us wanted to pull out sometime, he could. Remember? Yeah. Well, tonight's my last job. What? Are you kidding? I got plenty of letters packed away from me and Millie, going to get out of this large city business for good. What are you talking about? Yeah, baby. Take a look at this picture. What's this? It's a banana plantation. So? Yep. I bought it a month ago. What do you know from bananas? That's your favorite dish, ain't it? Bananas and cream for breakfast? Yeah, but... So you got a whole plantation of them to go against. Where is this joint? Puerto Rico. That's in Africa. Look, honey, it's only 1,400 miles from here. It's right under the floor. Any geography would tell you that. It's still Africa. Okay, okay. Anyway, sweetheart, we're leaving on a boat in the morning. And then on, we're living like dukes and duchesses. How's it sound to you? Well, I... Well, what do you think about it, Dan? Yeah, yeah, I think it's swell. Sure, sure. And so will you, Millie, when you get to thinking about it. Hmm. Hey, hey, wait a minute. Look at the time. I've got to go in case that warehouse we're loading the trucks. I'll pick you up here in 30 minutes, Dan. And look, build Millie up on Puerto Rico when I'm gone, will you? Yeah, yeah, okay. See you later. Well, sweetheart? He thinks I'm going to Puerto Rico with nuts. Why don't you to leave in the morning? Yeah. What are we going to do, Dan? You've got to think of something quick. The idea feels here. Puerto Rico. Plantation. Living safe and easy. Not without you and you know it. Okay, baby. Then I've already thought of something. What do you mean? I mean it was real nice to Jack to buy that plantation. For you and me. Huh? He wants to retire? Okay, I'll see to it tonight that he does retire. For keeps. At 2.30 a.m., Ralph Gardner, an assistant to the agent in charge of the New York office of the FBI, received a report that four motor freight trucks carrying 4,000 cases of bonded liquor had been hijacked. It is now a few minutes before 7 a.m. Gardner has just received a report from an agent on the case. Well, Rankin, that's three of the empty trucks accounted for anyway. Who was that, Jackson? Yeah. All I can say is those hijackers sure had this job organized beautifully. Well, even so, they had to work plenty fast to unload those trucks and then abandon them way out on the number one highway. It's funny about their fourth truck. Why isn't that one shown up? Well, we ought to hear about it soon. Every highway patrol in three states is alerted now. Any clues from the other three trucks? None. You know, this has got all the airmarks of that job over in Pennsylvania two weeks ago. Yeah. Philadelphia office hadn't cracked that case yet, either, has it? No, not yet. Could be the same gang. Excuse me. Not sure. Gardner speaking. This is the New Jersey State Police, Mr. Gardner. Oh, hello. What's up? One of our motorcycle men just phoned in. He found one of those trucks in a ditch on the back road. Good. That's the last one. That is, he found what's left of it. Also, the charred body of a man. What? The truck had caught fire some way and the fellow must have been trapped in the cab. Did the officer find any identification at all? He thought he'd better report this much first. He's gone back to the spot now to wait for you, fellas. All right, then, if you'll give me the location, Special Agent Rankin will be on his way in a couple of minutes. Oh, sweetheart. Better take a good long look at that skyline. Maybe the last time we ever see it. It suits me fine, Danny. You know, too bad I didn't get Jack out of our way a long time ago. This is really living. Danny. Hmm? You don't think there's any possible... What? Nothing. I just want everything to be all right for us. Look, baby, let me tell you what happened. No, I don't want to know. I just... But if I tell you, you'll see for yourself, you got nothing to worry about. Now, this is the way it went. Georgie Fresno was driving Jack's truck last night. The one he hijacked. I had it fixed with Georgie. Out of town somewhere, he gives Jack a tap with a masher, ditches the truck and sets fire to it. Oh. It stops fine, looks like an accident. But are you sure Georgie... Georgie's done jobs for me before. He's never missed yet. I sure hope you're right. But, baby, we better break this up now. Why? You're supposed to be making this trip with your husband, remember? But I told the person my husband was detained at the last minute on business. We still better be strangers till we hit San Juan. That person might start thinking something and remember it later. Well, maybe you're right. Happy sailing, sweetheart. I'll see you in San Juan. It's been a long getting back, Gardiner. What'd you find out? For one thing, the truck catching on fire wasn't any accident. What? The body wasn't charred enough to hide the mark of a blow on the head. Oh. So, there must have been somebody else inside that truck, too. Could you identify the body? Yeah. Signet ring was still in his left little finger. The initial's JD. And his leather wallet that had dropped out on the floor of the cab, and an identification card, Jack Durant. Jack Durant? Yeah. Unless I'm mistaken, he's got a record of... Hey, wait a minute, Rankin. Yeah? Right after you tore out of here, the Philadelphia office called. They got a lead on that Pennsylvania hijacking two weeks ago. Yeah? The same Jack Durant. Wow. I sent Jackson out to pick up Durant at his apartment. His packed bags were still there, but his wife and her bags were gone. Then she must have already heard what happened. No, there's more to it than that. What do you mean? Well, apparently they planned to skip the country after this job last night. Oh. So we made a fast check on all transportation out of New York, and we found out that Durant had booked passage for himself and wife on a boat which sailed for Puerto Rico two hours ago. Yeah, but with Durant dead, his wife probably changed her mind. Mildred Durant sailed anyway. When we better radio the ship to keep her in custody. Oh, what can we hold her for? We've no evidence that she's mixed up in any crime. I know. No, no, let's try to round up Durant's gang first. And if we find anything against his wife, we can have the San Juan office pick her up. Or better, we can fly down there ourselves and bring her back. Millie? Yeah, honey. You may not know it, baby, but according to our little map here, all these banana trees we've been passing for the last 10 minutes belong to us. No kidding. All we need now is cows for cream and your enclosures. Yeah. Millie, look. What? We're driving up to... look, that's our house, baby. I always dreamed about having a joint like that. I just can't believe it. Well, we're pulling up and taking over right now. Well... I guess we got a lot to be thankful to Jack for that. Oh, please, Dan. I'm sorry, sweetheart. Come on. Give me your hand. Okay. Oh, gee, I can't wait to see inside. Let's hurry, huh? Okay. Open the door quick. Hey, don't eat the key. It's not locked. In you go, baby. What a touch. Where'd you like it, Millie? Jack, that's right, Bill. Can't be. No? We thought that is a... Sure. I know what you thought. It's too bad for you. It didn't work out that way. Jack, wait. Jack, so long. Wait a minute, Jack. Give me a chance to accept... Welcome to your new home, sweetheart. We will return in just a moment to tonight's case, which shows how your FBI helps provide national security. Now, let's listen in on a conversation about social security between a brand-new father named Steve Brownell and his friend, the Equitable Society representative. Boy, that's one husky-looking kid. Ways eight pounds, and he looks just like me. Here, have a cigar. Thanks. Say, your wife doing all right? Just fine, Carl. Just fine. Well, Steve, since my business is representing the Equitable Society, I ought to tell you that you now have the equivalent of $9,500 more life insurance than you had yesterday, and it hasn't cost you one red-sat extra. Uh-huh. $9,500 more insurance. How come? Well, it's from your old Uncle Sam. Your benefits under Social Security go up now that there's three in your family. Having this baby gives you about $9,500 of extra insurance protection through Social Security. I'll say, I never knew Social Security was worth all that money to me. Yes, Steve, many Americans don't realize what a wonderful asset they have in Social Security. They've never discovered how easy it is to build Social Security into full security through life insurance with the Equitable Society. For instance, if you already own some life insurance, your Equitable Society man may be able to show you how only a few dollars extra per month will give your family complete protection through the Equitable Extended Income Plan. Remember your Social Security benefits vary according to your age, salary, and family situation. Why not get the facts? Find out exactly what you're entitled to under Social Security. The government has prepared a special card that will help you secure this information. To obtain one of these cards, get in touch with your Equitable Society representative or send your name and address on a postcard to the Equitable Society care of the station. 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. Death in the Tropic. The evil schemes of men are as fragile as the minds which create them. And they crush like eggshells against the rock-ribbed eternity of justice. Thus far in tonight's case, the criminal plot of one man, Dan Ogden, has been shattered by the spouting gun of the man he's schemed against, the gangster hijacker Durant. As for Durant's plan to flee justice himself, well, other events bearing on that are already in motion. Shortly after Dan Ogden walked into his death at the Plantation Cottage, FBI agents Gardner and Rankin from New York landed at the Isla Grande Airport on San Juan and proceeded to the local office of the FBI. At this moment, Gardner has about finished bringing the San Juan agent in charge Houston up to date on the case. So it seems pretty conclusive that the man slugged and burned in the truck was Jack Durant, all right? And you think his wife might be mixed up in it? Well, we don't know that, Houston, but we've got good reason to believe that she didn't make the trip here alone. And how's that? We checked the passenger list again in New York just before catching a plane. And we ran into the name of one of Durant's gang, Dan Ogden. There could have been a romance there between Ogden and Durant's wife. And Ogden got Durant out of the way? He could have. Have you uncovered anything yet? No. When I got your cable this morning, I started a man investigating to see if Durant had bought any property on the island. But so far, nothing's turned up. This may be my man now. He's been over at the Hall of Records for the last two hours. Houston speaking. I think I found what you want, Houston. Yeah? What is it? Well, a real estate broker acting for a man in New York named Durant bought a banana plantation about a month ago. Well, get the location of the place quick, Fred. And then get back over here and drive Gardner and Rankin out there. Look, Jack, you've got to believe me. I didn't have anything to do with it. Stop lying to me. But I tell you... Stop lying, I said. I've got a right to tell my side of it. I already know it. Okay, then. If you're satisfied with what you think you know, kill me. Go ahead. This is the truth to help me. Go on. When you didn't come back from that job by the time morning came, I was scared stiff. Yeah? Yeah. And Dan come to the apartment on the ladder and said something had gone wrong. And you worked plenty hot with the cops right then. Is that a fact? Yeah. And he said that you told him to get me on the boat and to come on down here with me to look after me until you had cooled off and could make it here yourself. No kidding. I didn't want to go off and leave you, but if you thought it was best, there wasn't anything else for me to... Jack, it's the truth. Every word I'm saying. Don't you believe me? Georgie Fresno got cold feet about knocking me off, Mil. And told me the whole story. I don't care what, Georgie Fresno told... I know. It's the way it turned out. You and Danny done me a big favor. What do you mean? As far as the cops are concerned, Jack Durand is a dead man. What? I did to Georgie Fresno what he was supposed to do to me. Then I fixed it so the cops would think he was me. But... Then I grabbed a plane and come on down here to be on hand to greet you and Danny. When you arrived to set up housekeeping. Listen, Jack... Since you and Danny done me such a big favor, now I'm gonna do you one. I'm gonna let you go ahead and keep house with Danny. Only I might have a little trouble explaining to the cops why he has to lie down all the time. You know I couldn't have been the cause of it. Remember? I'm dead. Come back, you kid! So long, sucker. And enjoy the banana. Jack, I knew you'd come. I beg your pardon. Are you Mildred Durand? Who are you? We're special agents of the FBI. FBI? That's right. Well, what do you want here? I mean, what have you... Oh, alright. You might as well come on in. Thank you. Go ahead, Rankin. Thanks. Now the reason we're here, Mrs. Durand... Gardner. Yeah. Over there on the floor. Is that Ogden? Yeah. Take a look at him, Rankin. You don't have to, he's dead. But I didn't do it. Who did? Well, I don't suppose you'll believe me when I tell you. But he did it anyway and he's right here on this island now, no matter what you... Just a minute, Mrs. Durand. Who are you talking about? My husband. Your husband? Don't give us that. Wait a minute, Rankin. Told you wouldn't believe me. Well, under the circumstances, it's rather difficult, since our records at the moment show that your husband is dead. I know the truth about that, too, but you'll believe what you're lying to me. We believe only what we know to be a fact, Mrs. Durand. I'm telling you a fact. My husband, Jack Durand, killed Dan Ogden. He was here in this house not more than 30 minutes before you got here. I better take that, Rankin. Hello? This is Houston. That you, Gardner? Yes, what's wrong? Just got a radiogram from your office in New York. Yeah? That body has been identified positively now, and it's not Durand. What? It's the body of one of his men, Georgie Fresno. We'll be in in a few minutes. Thanks. Right. Mrs. Durand. Hmm? If your husband is not dead, whose body was it that was found burned in the truck? Georgie Fresno. Rankin, I believe she's telling us the truth. And I believe your husband is on the island, too, Mrs. Durand. You come with us, and we'd better hurry. Looks like a storm coming up. Anybody around here? What can I do for you, mister? I want to charter a plane to Cuba. For when? When you think. Now. Are you kidding? What do you mean? You ought to know. You're soaking with it. Mr. Man, are you scared of a little rain? It's not the rain, mister. It's the storm that's going on with it. Okay, so that raises the price. I'll pay it. I got to get to Cuba now. I'll take you to Cuba and at the regular charter rate. But not until the weather clears. Understand? Okay, you can't... There's no argument about it. Take it or leave it. When do you think it'll clear? Please. Don't last long down here. Maybe an hour or two. Okay, okay. Got your identification to get into Cuba? I've been to Cuba before. Okay. But I have to have your name, too. Fresno. George Fresno. Okay. Take it easy. I'll holler when it's time to take off. Trace the team, Houston. We've checked every hotel in San Juan and all the airlines and steamship offices. Not booked, huh? No. So he's probably trying to go under somewhere on the island. Got the police alerted? Yeah. You can charter a plane out of here, can't you? Well, we checked the only two charter services. Durant's not booked with them, either. Well, at the moment, it looks as if Mr. Jack Durant might as well be dead as f... Hey, wait a minute. Hold on. Yeah? I got an idea. I think that we might... Mr. Fresno. Mr. Fresno. Yeah? You can board the plane now if you want to. It's about time. We, uh... We won't be taking off right away, though. What? Okay. Well, you might call it a situation over which I have no control. What do you mean? He means us, Durant. Who are you? Special agents of the FBI. Oh, well, I didn't expect you to... Put on that gun, Durant. You're staying where you are until we take off, Roger. All right, take his gun, Durant. Right. Now, you get up, Durant. We should have spotted you sooner. In fact, we should have known all along you'd be using the name of George Fresno. Jack Durant was tried for the murders of George Fresno and Dan Ogden and sentenced to the electric chair. Information which the FBI got from Durant before the trial led to the arrest and conviction of all other members of the hijacking gang. Durant's wife was released as no criminal charge could be brought against her. Yes, the familiar adage has it that the best laid schemes of mice and men oft times go astray. To which we add again, while those of criminals inevitably go astray. In just a moment, we'll tell you about next week's colorful story from the files of your FBI. And now, friends, let me remind you that no matter how much you earn, you have a valuable asset in social security. And your Equitable Society representative will gladly show you how easy it is to build your social security into full security. He'll explain to you how social security and life insurance can work together for your complete protection and will help you determine exactly where you stand under social security. No obligation, of course. Phone him tomorrow. Your Equitable Society representative is listed in your local phone book under the name Equitable. E-Q-U-I-T-A-B-L-E. 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 Walkie Talkie Stickups. The incident 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 persons living or dead is accidental. Tonight, the music was composed and conducted by Frederick Steiner, the author was Frank Ferries, and your narrator was Dean Carlton. This is your FBI is a Jerry Divine production. Now this is Carl Frank 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 when the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States will bring you another colorful story from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Walkie Talkie Stickups. And this is your FBI. This is ABC, the American Broadcasting Company.