 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. Before opening tonight's file, let's give a few moments' thought to a frequently asked question. Since these programs began almost a year ago, a number of people have written to the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States asking how they could become members of the Equitable Society. They agree with the aims of the society and want to know what they have to do to join. Well, of course, the answer is very simple. When you take out life insurance with the Equitable Society, you automatically become a member of the society. You become part of a great cooperative enterprise that is run entirely for the benefit of its members. Yes, the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States is a voluntary association of men and women who have joined together for security. Who, because they have banded together, are able to assure each individual member greater security than he could attain by his own unaided efforts. Tonight's FBI file, The Corrupt City. Which of these two standing before the Supreme Court of Public Opinion would merit the severe judgment, the greater moral condemnation, the professional criminal whose business is violating the law for profit, or he who occupies a position of public trust and uses its power to protect the criminal for self-gain. It is eloquent testimony of the worthiness of a system of free elections that there is in America a minimum of corruption in public office. It is proof of the essential integrity of the overwhelming majority of those who seek office. Proof also of the conscientiousness of the people in selecting their public servants. And as demonstrated in tonight's case from the files of your FBI, it is proof of the uncompromising devotion of America's law enforcement officers to their sacred duty to uphold the law against all transgressors. No matter who they may be. In a midwestern city along the waterfront, midnight darkness and a light fog shrouded the deserted docks and warehouses. A little while ago, a man standing in the deeper shadows behind a bale of cargo heard a large powerboat idle its motors and watched it drift in against the pier. Two of its crew clambered onto the pier, past several heavy crates to those on board and then... How many more cases, Mike? That's all of them. Okay, get aboard and let's shove off. The man in the shadows snaps on a flashlight and steps swiftly out along the pier. Just a minute there. Stay where you are. Who are you? This badge will tell you who I am. A cop, huh? That's right. You have authority to move those cases of cargo? Sure. Why? Because there's been quite a lot of cargo moved from piers lately. Without any authority. Hop aboard, Mike. Wait a minute. I want to see your papers authorizing movement to those cases. Mike, hop aboard. Let me straighten this copper out first. Well, go ahead, stupid. We're pulling out of here. Stop that boat! Looks like you missed them, copper, so you'd better arrest me. Do you want to see me, Chief? Yes. Come in, Donovan. Donovan. Yes, sir. If I were asked what I think of you and your work, I'd say you're one of the most promising young men on the force. Well, thank you, sir. And the thing that really sold me on your earnestness about your work was last fall when you asked for a leave so you could attend the FBI's National Academy and at your own expense, too. And that diploma you came back with, well, I guess I was almost as proud of it as you were. Thanks, Chief. You have a great future ahead of you as a law enforcement officer. If you can stand the test of hard knocks, they can come in a million forms. Sometimes they're hard enough to break a man's spirit completely if it's not strong enough to take it. Yes, sir. Personally, I want to commend you, Donovan, for the arrest you made tonight to go at Pier 26. Thank you, sir, but I... I read your report. I think you're on the right track. And somehow that gang of river thieves has got to be broken up. I bungled the job the other night by getting only one, but I'll get the rest of them, sir. The man you arrested was released this morning. I'll get... What did you say, sir? My cane was released this morning. Released? But... And here is your first test in the school of hard knocks, Donovan. A statement from the councilman in charge of our appropriation. You may read it all later, but I'll read only the last paragraph. Okay, sir. Therefore, in view of the evidence furnished me by reliable authority, it is my conclusion that Detective Donovan acted wholly without cause and recklessly endangered the lives of the crew by unprovoked and unjustified use of his pistol. What? Therefore, I demand his transfer to another assignment, patrolling a beat, and his promotion canceled. Well, that's a pretty sorted story, Donovan. Well, Mr. Craig, I didn't come here to the FBI office looking for sympathy. You don't have to tell us that. I don't blame the chief for not going to bat for me. His hands were tied. Apparently, that goes for everybody on the force. Yes, I know. I don't know who the Mr. Big is who's running the show in this town. Well, whoever he is, there's one set of hands he can't tie. The FBI. That's right. But where's our angle in the case, Donovan? There has to be one or we can't touch it. Well, those goods were part of an interstate shipment. Where's your evidence? Well, the river is the state line, isn't it? Yes. Well, the rest of the gang got away in the boat the other night and they headed for the other side of the river. But you don't know for sure that the boat went all the way. No. It could have turned and cut back to this side at a point farther up or downstream. Yeah. Yeah, that's true. I guess I was just a little overeager to get you boys into the picture. Well, we may get into it yet. But until there's a definite federal violation, I'd suggest you keep your eyes open for anything on Mike Haynes. Watch where he goes. Who his pals are. Maybe you'll stumble onto something. Yeah, something Mr. Big can't cover up. Yeah. It might be pretty risky business for you. I'll get on Haynes' trail starting tonight. Busy, Sam? Oh, no. Come on. Yeah, got me sprung, huh? Yeah. I don't know why, though. What do you mean? That was a real stupid play, Mike. What? Playing the big shot for that copper. He acted like he had protection sticking out all over you. Well, that's the deal, ain't it? No, not for publication, sucker. There's still honest cops, you know. Well, how was I to know? The big guy didn't like it. He sprung you this time, but from now on, take it easy. Something's got to be done about that cop. Why? He's been tailing me ever since I was sprung. I go in for a beer and he comes in for a beer. I go in the bowling alley and he comes in. I go home and he walks by the house. Well, he hasn't tailed you across the river any time, has he? How could he? That's out of bounds for him. The guy's driving me crazy. Maybe that's what he wants to do. Huh? Figures you'll get too jumpy sometime and make the wrong kind of move. Oh, not me, Sam. We're not going to take a chance on that. What do you mean? You want to get that copper off your neck? Sure. And here's what you do. Tomorrow, as soon as you know. Can I see you a minute, Mr. Craig? Oh, come ahead, Donovan. Any evidence on a federal violation yet? No, but I've got a pretty good idea how they operate now. They've got a legitimate front here in River City. What kind? It's a small river freight business. They don't do much. I watched it for three days. But it gives them a front just the same. Yeah, and license to operate any kind of boat they want to anywhere on the river. Who's the company? Sam West, an ex-rum runner, but I'm pretty sure he's not Mr. Big. Where do they keep the stolen stuff? Across the river. You have proof? Well, I can prove that they go across the river. How do you know? I watched them with glasses last night in the moonlight. Oh? It was clear, you see. And I could follow the boat all the way across to the pier line on the other side. And then it turned up upstream and I lost it in the shadows. Were they carrying stolen merchandise? I couldn't swear that, but... Well, at least we know two facts now. They steal merchandise and they operate across the river. I'm going to send the Bureau headquarters a report on this, Donovan. But I'm afraid we can't move in yet. Okay, but I'll make you a bet, Craig. What's that? Before I finish my war of nerves against my canes, you will have something to move in on. Well, don't stick your neck out too far. River City needs it. What are you drinking, mister? Well, maybe I'm not drinking. That's about all you can do in here. The sign outside says, uh, bar and grill. Okay. How'd you like some nice grilled salami on Graham Crackers? That's what we got left. Thanks. You looking for somebody? Yeah, I, uh... I thought I saw a fella come in here just ahead of me. I guess I never saw a fellow come in here before. You got a back door? Yeah, it's out back. Thanks again. Looking for somebody, Copper? Yeah. My canes? That's right. He's right behind you. There you are, Mike. Now, that guy don't bother you. We'll return to this FBI file in just a moment. In the meantime, since it's still only a few minutes, I'm going to send you a report. In the meantime, since it's still only a few hours past Valentine's Day, let's consider a subject that's very close to every man's heart and every woman. This week at the Equitable Society, one of the representatives told me about a unique Valentine which he helped prepare. The giver of this Valentine was a young man who came home from the Navy just three months ago to marry his childhood sweetheart. It seems that this newly wedded husband made up a giant Valentine complete with cupids, forget-me-nots, and all the customary fixings. And in the center of it all was a brand new life insurance policy in the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. Well, when you come to think of it, what better proof of his love can a husband give his wife than to provide her with the security of life insurance? You see, here in the Equitable Society, we're not just guardians of the dollars and cents sent in by our members. We're guardians of human hopes and human happiness. Our job is to keep home fires burning and to give boys and girls wider opportunities for education and advancement. Our mission is to help banish fear from the hearts of men to save widows and elderly people from the humiliations of poverty, charity and dependence. So is it any wonder that we of the Equitable Society are proud to call ourselves life insurance men and life insurance women and that we're equally proud to say that this week and every week for 86 years the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States has been building security for you, your home, and your country. And now back to the FBI file, The Corrupt City. Every day and night, 24 hours around the clock, your law enforcement officers risk their lives to keep their covenant with you, to protect your lives and properly and to uphold the sanctity of your laws. And many of them risk their lives in keeping that faith. It is nearly noon now, the second day after Officer Donovan walked into the trap set for him by Mike Haynes of the River Gang. Agent and charge Craig of the River City Office of the FBI is sitting at his desk with Special Agent Tom Farrell. I'll take your time. OK. Craig speaking. Oh, hello, Chief. What? Yeah, I was afraid of something like that. Where? Uh-huh. I see. Well, I guess that puts it up to us now, Chief, and we're moving in on the case right away. Thank you, sir. And we'll keep in touch with you. Right. Trouble? Yes, that young policeman Donovan. What about him? A farmer on the other side of the river found him in a ravine this morning. Five slugs, anybody still alive. He had to be kidnapped. OK, what's our first move? No, no, we've got to get the proof first. And we'd better start on that stolen goods angle. That might lead us to Mr. Big himself. Mr. Big could be that councilman. Why? He made the Chief break Donovan, didn't he? Proving what? Well, in his memo, he referred to evidence furnished by a certain reliable authority. But he could be that certain authority, you know. Yeah, it's plausible. The Chief of Police might be mixed up with him. Oh, I doubt that. The Chiefs of Police are clean, Tom. They've got to be to get that far. Sometimes they've got to take a dirty order and like it and ask no questions in order to do a bigger job. Oh, where do we start on this case? Well, let's watch their boats first and see if they'll lead us to a cache somewhere on the other side of the river. OK. And then we'll figure out a way to get Mr. Big. Come in, Tom. You want to see me? Yeah. Donovan. Oh, OK. So he was getting too nosy, so we got rid of him. Did I tell you to? I take protection from you, Adams, not orders. Really? Now, what are you squawking about Donovan for? You might have found his way all the way up to you, you know. I could have handled that. Are you kidding? It goes to the papers then and you can't handle them. You may be the party boss, councilman and run everything in this town, but you can't... Shut up. Now listen to me. OK. You know what you've done by kidnapping Donovan? Shooting him, dumping him across the state line? What? That's not a local police case. That belongs to the FBI. You heard this. All right, but that ain't my worry. Protection's still your job, Adams. You can't fix the FBI. So what are you going to do? I'm going to give the orders from now on or pull out. Just a few days. No more jobs until I tell you. Understand? Put a head on that for you, mister. No thanks. It goes better with the music when it's flat. A comedian. Tom, make Haynes down the barways. Yeah. Wish we could take him in now. Don't worry, we'll get him. Looks like he's about ready to shove off. Imagine he'll head for home. We've been watching them three days now. We've got orders to lay off for a while. Yeah. Come on, let's get back to the office and plan our next course of action. What about Haynes? Let him get home by himself. We've got more important work to do right now. Sam. I got a hot tip on something big, Sam. Big like what? Big like a big pile of dough. The boss said to lay off. He likes the cut he gets, doesn't he? Then he'll drop his teeth when he hears about this. We've got to split 100 grand. Where is it? It's on Pier 42, waiting for us. I'll leave him out of it. We'll do it now and tell him afterwards. Suits me. It is nearly midnight on the river now and the ferry boat crossing far upstream seems to be the only sign of life on the surface of the water. Three hours ago, shortly after dark, four small boats put out from the river city shore deployed and took up assigned positions. Three are now hidden in the shadows at widely separated points along the pier line on the far side of the river. The fourth on this side is hidden among the pilings under Pier 42. A man speaks into a portable radio transmitter. Hello? Hello? Agent in charge, Craig. Oat number one, report, please. Over. Oat number two reporting, standing by. Oat number three reporting, standing by. Standing by. I don't know how much longer we'll have to wait, men. Maybe the plan's not going to work at all. But we'll stick it out. It's gotta work, Craig. Pains fell for the tip anyway, I know. Agreed to cut me in. Maybe Sam West or Mr. Big put the nicks on it. Time will tell. And it looks like time's beginning to tell a sad story, so I guess we'll just... Craig, listen, motorboat. Yeah. Let's not give the boys a false alarm until we're sure it's the boat we're looking for. That's it, all right. It's cutting in this way. Hello? Hello, Craig speaking. I think we're in. There's a boat heading in for this pier. Keep radio silence and stand by. Hello? Oat number two, come in. Oat number two reporting. They've loaded and pulled away. Headed across the river for your position. Turned upstream and headed your way, number three, over. Oat number three reporting. They've passed my position and continuing upstream toward your position, number four. Over. They've had time to pass number four by now, Craig. What's happened, I wonder? Maybe we'll hear something in a minute. I don't want anything to go wrong now, just one. Hello? What are your orders, Craig? Over. Stand by, number four, until we all reach your position. We'll move in. Number two and three, let's go. First up on the table here, Mike. Okay. Break her open and let's see what we got. Right. Adams is going to be real, sir. He passed this one up. Yeah. It's not going to be worth a hundred grand. It's all for us. I wouldn't be too sure of that. Adams. You pulled this job against my orders. Understand? I hear you. And if you don't clear out of this county and stay out, I'll have you slammed in jail so far it'll take you 40 years to walk to the front gate. That's enough, Adams. I said put down that gun. No dice. We're special agents of the FBI. You're all under arrest. Thank you, gentlemen. Save it, Adams. You're in this, too. Just a minute. I'd like to explain. Explain it to the people of River City. I don't want to hear it all, I'm sure. The hand comes on a man. And by the way, I think you all should know that Donovan is recovering rapidly and will be happy to testify at your trial. The vicious political influence of John Adams and his accomplices was broken up by their trial and conviction in a federal court. They were sentenced to long terms in a penitentiary. The significance of tonight's case can be best illustrated by a quote from an article written by J. Edgar Hoover, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in this month's American Magazine. In this article, Mr. Hoover stated, A great menace to successful law enforcement is the crooked politician or policeman who places the pork barrel above the welfare of society. These politicians either corrupt policemen or destroy their morale. I must say here and now that if we are to stem the rise of crime, we must take police and sheriffs the first line of defense against terrorism out of the hands of venal politicians. The police department must be placed like so many municipal fire departments and school systems in the control of a non-partisan commission. It may be a hard job, particularly when a powerful political machine exists in a city, but it can be done if every decent citizen puts pressure on his local lawmakers. Before we tell you about next week's thrilling case from the files of your FBI, a word about a man worth knowing. To your FBI you look for national security and to the equitable society for the financial security of life insurance. In the past 26 years, the equitable life insurance society has weathered four wars and seven major depressions. During that time over five and one half billion dollars have been paid to policy holders and beneficiaries. This tower of strength, security and stability is represented in your community by a man whom hundreds of your fellow citizens know as their good friend, the equitable society representative who, like your FBI, is dedicated to the protection of you, your home and your country. Next week, we will bring you another colorful story from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, revealing for the first time the inside story of South American espionage, the Pan-American Patriots. The incidents used in tonight's Equitable Life Assurance Society's broadcast are taken from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The role of J. Edgar Hoover was impersonated. However, all other names used are fictitious and any similarity thereof to the names of persons living or dead is accidental. Tonight, the music was under the direction of Frederick Steiner, the author was Frank Ferres and the 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 for this is your FBI. Friday nights, there are great programs on ABC for a laughing good time listen to the Alan Young show with guest Darvira Vague which follows next. This is the American Broadcasting Company.