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Remember, Fatima's cost the same as the cigarette you're now smoking. But in Fatima, the difference is quality. Next time, by Fatima. Best of all, king-size cigarettes. Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime. For the next 30 minutes in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will travel step-by-step on the side of the law through an actual case transcribed from official police files. From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. It was Tuesday, August 22nd. It was hot in Los Angeles. We were working the day watch out a burglary detail. My partner is Ben Romero. The boss is Captain Wisdom. My name's Friday. It was 2.18 p.m. when we got to Anthony's store for women. The general manager's office. Mr. Radion? Come right in. Thank you. Thank you. My name's Romero, sir. I talked to you on the phone. This is my partner, Sergeant Friday. How are you doing? How are you? Certainly glad to see you. Let me get another chair here. Thank you very much. I haven't had time for my after-lun cigarette yet. Can you join me? No, thank you, sir. I got a light for you. Well, I guess you know what the problem is. No need for me to go all the way back and start from the beginning. I didn't get it quite clear on the phone, Mr. Radion. When did this last thing come in? Well, the way we have figured it out, it must have happened around closing time yesterday, between 5.00 and 5.30, we figured. The store was pretty crowded at that time, was it? Yeah, it's pretty busy. We had a special pre-winner showing in the fur department. No one noticed it was gone until after we closed up. Can you give us a description of the piece of merchandise, Mr. Ellingham? Yes, yes. We got it right here. Complete description, you see. Silver, blue, mink, stole, satin lining, two slash pockets, silver chain fastener, complete description of it for you. Yes, I see. Thank you. These are the code numbers and the serial numbers on it? Yes, that's right. The whole thing is getting way out of hand, Sergeant. We had a lot of things lifted from the store the last few weeks, but nothing this big. This keeps up. I don't see how we're going to get our insurance renewed. I guess your store detectives are working on this latest one, the missing fur? Yes, but it's the same as all the recent cases we've had. They haven't been able to find a thing. All the personnel have been checked, all the people who were around the department when the fur was stolen. I mean, those that was possible to check on, as far as we know, they're all clear. What were the circumstances of this thing, Mr. Ellingham? I mean, was this mink stole on the display rack? Did one of the models have it on exactly? How was it? Well, it was modeled, yes. After it was shown to several parties, it was put back in stock. We have a special rack for the stole, regular enclosed cabinets, sliding doors on it. Cabin is usually open during store hours. I see. There was a store detected in the department at the time, although salespeople were standing around it. I can't understand why one of them didn't see it happen. Mr. Ellingham, you say this is the first time an expensive item like this has been lifted from your store? That's right. How about the personnel, Mr. Ellingham? You say there's been a check made on each one of them since this thing started? Yes, that's correct. And there's no reason to be suspicious of all of any one of your people? Well, as a matter of fact, there is one sergeant, a sales girl. She was up in five in the Suite 16 shop, and she was moved down to cosmetics on the street floor. What is it that makes you suspicious of her? Well, before I say anything, I want to make it very clear to you. We've never had any real proof that there was something wrong there. Dorothy started with us eight years ago. That's a girl's name, Dorothy Curtin. She came to us right out of high school. She seemed to be doing all right, and along with the customers dressed neatly, always on time. And all of a sudden, their shoplifting started. We didn't think there was any connection at first. I thought it was only coincidence. How do you mean? Well, just for instance, wait a minute, I'll get the file on that right here in the desk. I see. There you go. Here it is. Out of the first 14 items that disappear, six of them are out of Dorothy Kirkman's department, right out of her section. Cashmere sweaters, expensive blouses, scarves. As I say, at first, we wrote it off to coincidence, but it kept recurring. Her section almost seemed to be the focal point of all the shoplifting. That was at the beginning, of course. Did you have the Kirkman girl watch, Mr. Elliott? Yes, we did. The department had kept an eye on her, and well, I guess Dorothy noticed that she resented it quite a bit, had a little spat with the head of the department. We thought it'd be best for everyone if she transferred. So we had to move downstairs to cosmetics. How did that arrangement work out? Well, for the first few weeks, fine, and we started missing things out of cosmetics. A lot of it didn't amount to too much. A lot of it did make up kits, expensive perfumes. This time, we called her in and tried to talk to her about it in a nice way. She got very resentful. She denied knowing anything about it? Yes, she got very upset. Of course, there is one thing I will say. The items in cosmetics are on display all over the counter. It felt easy for anybody to pick them up. The fact still remains, the stealing began in her department upstairs. She moves over to cosmetics, and all of a sudden, the losses increased there. What would you figure? Yes, I see what you mean. I wonder if you could have somebody point out this Dorothy Kirkman for us, Mr. L.A.? I think maybe we'd better have a talk with her. You'd like to help yourself. I'm afraid that's not possible. Oh, how do you mean? She quit last Saturday. We got all the information available on Dorothy Kirkman from the store's personnel files, and then we called the office and gave them a description of the stolen fur. We asked them to check the Kirkman girl through our eye. She had no previous criminal record. Before we left the store, we went to the fur department, talked to all the sales people concerned, but we were unable to come up with anything new regarding the theft of the silver-blue mink stole. We drove out to Dorothy Kirkman's last known address. She wasn't at home, but her mother was. The mother told us that the day before, her daughter had started on a new job as a sales girl at the House of Raymond, an exclusive shop specializing in all types of cosmetics. We checked the phone book and found that the House of Raymond was located in the same 10-block stretch along Wilshire Boulevard where the shoplifting campaign was going on. It was one of the few places along there that the thieves hadn't bothered. It was three blocks from Anthony's store for women, the Kirkman girl's former place of employment. 4.05 p.m. We located her behind one of the front counters. Across the aisle, half a dozen women were listening to a makeup demonstrator giving a talk on complexion care. Dorothy Kirkman seemed pleasant and cooperative. No, I don't mind telling you. I got sick and tired of being called a thief. That's why I quit Anthony's. Little event goes a long way. You started work here at Raymond's yesterday, Miss Kirkman. Is that right? Yes, that's right. I think I'm going to like it a lot better than Anthony's. While you were working here at Anthony's, ma'am, I suppose you'd heard that quite a bit of shoplifting was going on. Yes, I knew about it. I guess every girl in the store knew it. They had a big personnel meeting about it. You have any suspicions of your own, Miss Kirkman? How do you mean that? Well, I mean, was there anyone in particular that you might have been a little suspicious of? Maybe one of the customers? No. I've waited on some real weird ones, but I didn't see any of them ever try to walk out with anything. All I knew was what Mr. Elliott told us at that meeting. Well, this might be an embarrassing question for you, Miss, and we'd appreciate an honest answer. Yes? What about the sales girls you worked with? Did any of them ever give you a cause to be suspicious? You mean do I think any of them were doing the stealing? No. There were some of them I didn't like. I didn't trust them either, but I wouldn't accuse them of stealing. I wouldn't accuse anybody unless I had proof. That's more than I can say for some people I know. Well, by any chance did you happen to be in Anthony's this past Monday? Monday? No, why'd he ask? When you were working on the fifth floor up the street at Anthony's, we understand that when the merchandise first started disappearing, a pretty good percentage of it was out of your section. That's what they told me is. And then when you were transferred downstairs to the cosmetics counter, quite a few things started disappearing from there. Now we'd like an honest answer, Miss Kirkman. Do you have any explanation at all for this? I'll tell you the same thing I told them at the store, Sergeant, I can't explain it. But I didn't have anything to do with it, believe me. Well, you'll have to admit, Miss, it's pretty much a coincidence, isn't it? Sergeant, you can call it anything you want to. I didn't have anything to do with it. The only thing I ever took home from that store was my paycheck. Would you excuse me, please? Customer, I have to wait on you. Yes, ma'am, go right ahead. What do you think? I don't know. She's a nice enough girl. Seems to be telling the truth. Could be a coincidence the way it worked out. Nothing to prove otherwise. 4.38 p.m. We finished questioning the suspect, Dorothy Kirkman, and Ben and I went back to the office and made arrangements to have the girl kept under temporary surveillance. A bulletin had been gotten out on the missing fur stall. The pawn shop detail had been notified and a description of the fur had been placed on the stolen property list. The following day, along with Sergeant Dick Rubles and Jim Tabor, we continued our investigation of the latest shoplifting complaints. It went slow, a lot of legwork and no progress. Like the dozens of other items of merchandise, which had vanished in the last eight weeks, there wasn't a trace of the missing fur stall. More men were added to the special detail on duty in the 10 block area where the stealing was going on. Anybody in the city who'd ever served time for shoplifting was checked and rechecked. Constant surveillance was maintained over a half a dozen known thieves who we figured might be involved. It got us nothing. Wednesday, August 23rd, 5.30 p.m. No leads, no progress. We went back to the office. Sure hope I get home before 6 o'clock tonight. I want to see that shoe repair man out in our neighborhood. What's the matter? You need some half-soles? No. I went in the shop the other day and he conned me into a new set of art supports. Matter of fact, he didn't even call them art supports. What do you say they were? Metatarsal supports. You know, supports of metatarsal? Yeah. That's one of the bones in the foot. He saw me a pair of these things and told me I should wear only one of them in my right shoe. What's the matter with that? Isn't it working out? Measurable. I feel like I've been walking around with one foot in the bucket. Now check the book. Okay. Anything? Yeah, sure is from Robles. What do you got? That mink fur. It's been found. Two hours before at approximately 3.30 p.m. in the main depot of the Santa Fe bus lines, a 38-year-old housewife, or Mrs. Harriet Briggs, noticed an unclaimed parcel lying on one of the benches in the depot waiting room. When it became apparent to Mrs. Briggs that the parcel was either lost or forgotten, she picked it up and took it to the clerk in charge of lost and found articles. In checking the package for some kind of identification, they discovered the silver-blue mink stole inside. The car was dispatched to pick up the fur and it was identified as the garment taken from Anthony's fur salon. Mrs. Briggs volunteered to come along to the office to give what information she could. A stakeout was placed at the bus depot in case anybody called for the package. 5.50 p.m., we interviewed Mrs. Briggs in the squad room. That's right, officer. It was just a little before 3.30 p.m. I was in the bus depot there waiting for my husband. That's when I first noticed this package lying on the bench just across from me. I see. Would you go on, please, Mrs. Briggs? I didn't think anything of it at first. I went on reading the afternoon paper, but no one came for the package. It was just lying there. Was there a long time? How long would you say, ma'am? I mean, before you picked it up and took it to the lost and found clerk? Oh, I'd say 20 minutes, a half an hour. That much at least. I left it with the young man at the counter there, and I told him I'd be back to see if anyone claimed it. Well, when I did get back, that's after I had dinner with my husband, Carl, we found out what was in the package. Certainly strange, don't you think, officer? Yes, ma'am. Did you happen to notice at all who it was that left the package there? Well, I'm not really sure, officer, but I think I know who it was. A tall woman. She had a brown jacket, if I remember rightly. I think you'd say she was in her early 30s. Have you ever seen this woman perform his breaks? No, I never did. Very attractive, as I recall. She wore glasses. Anything else about her you might have noticed. I don't think. She had blonde hair, I remember that much. And the reason I do remember it is because she wore it like I used to when I was a girl, you know, officer of the back in a bun like this. And you're pretty sure that this woman you described is the one who left the package there? I remember rightly she was the... she was the only one that sat across from me. I guess it must be her. If it wasn't her, I don't know who else it could have been. All right, Miss Briggs, thank you very much. We appreciate it. That beautiful fur. I know that woman must be just sick about losing it. Certainly hope you find her, officer. Yes, ma'am, so do we. We had the stats office make a run for us and all females with shoplifting records who fitted the description of the woman who'd left the minx stole in the waiting room at the bus depot. The following morning we checked with the men on stake out at the depot. They told us nobody had come back to report losing such a parcel. Together with Rubles and Taver, we spent most of the day checking out the names on the list of known shoplifters which the stats office had made up for us. Names of possible suspects who physically resembled the blonde woman seen at the depot. We got nowhere. Either they had ironclad alibis or they had since moved out of the city. We ran down every possible angle on the freak recovery of the missing fur stole. During the next 10 days, the case got more involved than it already was. Some of the stolen articles of the new merchandise began showing up, but not through any of the channels we expected. Some of the items were found dumped in sidewalk refuse cans. Some were found in hotel lobbies, some were found tossed in vacant lots. The only logical answer we could figure was that it was the work of somebody who was stealing for just the love of stealing, a kleptomaniac. Tuesday, September 4th, a 15-year-old girl in one of the exclusive residential neighborhoods reported finding two parcels containing women's clothing and expensive costume jewelry. They still had the price tags on them and they totaled $360. Ben and I drove out to talk to the girl, a Patricia Denvers. Where'd you happen to find these things, Patricia? There was an empty lot right down the block there. I was on my way home from the show. I took the things home and showed my mother she called the police. If nobody claims this package with a costume jewelry, can I keep it? Certainly beautiful. No, I'm afraid not, Miss. We know who the things belong to. We're going to have to return them. Oh, I certainly don't understand that. Well, how do you mean? As far as I could see, she threw the things away. I thought she didn't want them. What do you mean? Who didn't want them? I was on my way home from the show just like I told you. I could see this lady walking up ahead of me. She was about a block away, I guess. When she went by the lot, I saw her take these packages from under her arm and toss them in the grass. She wouldn't do that if she wanted them, would she? Did you get a good look at this woman? Do you have any idea what she looks like? She's a good-looking woman. Tall. She has beautiful brown hair. Husbands are doctors. You know who she is? You've seen her before? Well, I don't know where to talk to. I just see her around the neighborhood. Does she live around here? Do you know that? You're my girlfriend. You are listening to Dragnet, authentic stories of your police force in action. If you smoke king-sized cigarettes, listen to Fatima's amazing new offer. Buy a pack of Fatima's. Enjoy their extra mildness and superbly blended tobaccos. 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Tuesday, September 4th, 5.15 p.m. With the help of the 15-year-old girl, Patricia Denver's, we got the name and address of the woman who had been seen tossing the parcels of stolen merchandise into a vacant lot in the west end of the city. The woman was identified as a Mrs. Virginia Sterling, the wife of a Dr. Bruce Sterling, a fairly prominent young surgeon with offices in Beverly Hills. Mrs. Sterling and her husband had no connection. They leased a richly furnished apartment in the residential section of the city that was considered better than the upper middle class. We checked Virginia Sterling through R&I, but she had no previous criminal record that we knew of. Together with sergeants Rubles and Tabor, we covered the various stores along Wilshire Boulevard that had been victimized in the recent shoplifting campaign. We found that Mrs. Sterling had charge accounts at almost every one of the stores. Generally speaking, we found her accounts in very good customer, a good spender, and a good credit risk. Right down to the retail credit association, there was nothing but favorable reports on the woman. 7.15 p.m. Ben and I had a hamburger and some chili and a cup of coffee for dinner, and then we drove out to the apartment of Dr. Sterling and his wife. Mrs. Sterling answered the door and invited us in. We identified ourselves. She told us the doctor was out on a call. She showed us into the living room, modern furniture, indirect lighting, expensive rugs. Won't you sit down gentlemen? Thank you very much. For a drink, I was just having my coffee in Brandy. No, thank you, Mr. I really don't know when the doctor will be back. He was called over to the hospital. Is there anything I can help you with? Well, as a matter of fact, Mrs. Sterling, we came out to talk to you, not your husband. Oh really? What is it you wanted to talk to me about, Sergeant Romero? Well, ma'am, we understand that you do quite a bit of your shopping along Wilshire Boulevard. Is that right? Well, yes, I shop downtown quite often. Except for the problem with parking, I find it a lot more convenient. Why do you have an Anthony's? I believe that's out in the Wilshire District. Yes, I do. For my sports clothes, especially, they have a very good selection. Would you remember if you were an Anthony's on the 22nd of last month? I believe that was a Tuesday. On a Tuesday? No, I don't think I could remember one way or the other. I really don't have any special day for shopping. I just go when I feel like it or when I need something. Have you ever been in the first one on a Anthony's, ma'am? Have you ever made any purchases there? I suppose I can tell you though, I've never bought any fruits there. As I told you, the main reason I go there at all is because of their sports wear. Could you tell me what this is about, please? Routine investigation, ma'am. I wonder if you could tell us this. Do you have any occasion to travel in the area of the Santa Fe Bus Depot? By bus? No. I don't think I've been on a bus since well, since I've been married. That'll be six years just coming December. You've never been in the Santa Fe Bus Depot downtown? No. I think I know where it is. I've driven past it. I've never been inside though. Why should you want to know that? Well, Miss Sterling, we're going to be honest with you. This has to do with an investigation we're on. Now we've had a couple of reports that you were seen at the Santa Fe Bus Depot on August 23rd. That was on a Wednesday. Reports came from pretty reliable people. Well, I certainly consider myself reliable and I say I've never been there. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like some kind of explanation for this questioning. You mean you have no idea why we drove out here to talk to you? Of course not. Number one, I don't understand your questions at all. Number two, I'd like to know what they have to do with me. What has this to do with you, ma'am? Last August 23rd, a woman in a brown sports jacket answering your description left a package in the Santa Fe Bus Depot. This package contained a minx stole taken from Anthony's. The woman who left the package in the Depot fits your description perfectly. Is that so? It's a coincidence. Yes, ma'am. Maybe. I suppose you've read in the papers about the big increase in shoplifting. Most of it's taking place in the area where you say you do most of your buying. Well, we've checked out every single one of the cases, Mrs. Sterling. Took us a long time. We've found a dozen salespeople in those stores. Every one of them tells us that you were around the particular store when the shoplifting took place. Law of averages, Mrs. Sterling. You show up too often in the reports. Would you please leave my house? Both of you, please. I'm sorry, Miss Sterling, but you'll have to come along with us. What do you mean by that? Don't you know you are making false accusations. I'm going to call my husband right now. Yes, ma'am. If you like, go right ahead. Sergeant. Yes, ma'am. What is it? What do you want to know? You can tell me. I think you know already. What do you want? Tell me, please. We've got your story, ma'am. Right up to this afternoon you went shopping today. You stole things as usual. When you tried to get rid of them, you were seen right in this neighborhood. The vacant lot down in the next corner, right there. Somebody saw you. They didn't know it was me. Yes, ma'am. They knew it was you. Yes. How can I make them understand? You know? No, ma'am. Horrible. Shame. I couldn't tell my husband. I couldn't tell Bruce. I couldn't. Oh, never mind. We'll tell him for you. 9.35 p.m. The police were on the car and drove Mrs. Sterling downtown to the city hall. We took her to the interrogation room, called a police stenographer, and we began to take her complete statement. One of the first things she did was to admit full responsibility for the series of shop liftings which had been going on for over two months. She told us that her kleptomania, the urge to steal things, had started with her as far back as her junior high school years. She admitted as a girl she stole books, tablets, pencils, pieces of chalk. And as she grew over into her college years, and that's when her stealing first got her into trouble. It was when I joined this sorority, it was just like high school. I was all alone. We had a lot of clever girls in our house. Some of them were smart, some of them were pretty. All of them seemed to be doing something except me. I had to prove it to them. I guess I had to prove it to myself. I was smart, too. You figured that taking things was the best way to prove that. Yes, I suppose so. Of course it wasn't the most helpful part was I got caught one day. It was kind of a relief in a way. I mean, how could they know I was just as smart as they were? They didn't find out what I was doing. Did you stay on a college after that, Miss Sterling? I don't know. I couldn't after that. They voted me out of the sorority. There wasn't anything to do but leave, so I left. What happened after that? I went to New York and stayed with an aunt I had there. I got a job. I had several jobs. The same thing came up again. I lost everything over again. I just couldn't help it. I always mean so much to me. Taking things, not being caught, getting away. Getting away. Things I took they, they never meant anything to me. Nothing. Just taking them. Not having anyone knowing. That's all it was important. It made up for that feeling. Being all alone. Yes, ma'am. And this thing went on, I mean even after you were married? No. Not at first. I guess maybe a year or two. We were very happy Bruce and I. And then he got busy. Came out here and began to build his practice. I didn't see as much of him. We both wanted children. We wanted them very much. There weren't any. Bruce began to spend more time away from home. Just like before. Same thing. I wasn't important. I was all alone again. I wasn't anybody. You know what I mean, don't you, Sergeant? Yes, ma'am. There ought to be an answer someplace. There isn't anything worse than being alone. Is there? I get it. Interrogation room, Friday. Yeah, Dick. Mm-hmm. He is on his way now? Yeah, right. Yeah, thank you. Dr. Sterling just called. Said he was on his way and he ought to be here in a couple of minutes. I don't want to see Bruce. He's so good. I wouldn't know how to tell him. Don't worry, ma'am. He'll be all right. No. I'm alone. He's alone. It'll never be all right anymore. Well, he's on his way in now and he wants to see you. What can I tell him? What's it gonna be like? What's gonna happen after this? I don't know, ma'am, but you won't be alone anymore. The story you have just heard was true. The names were changed to protect the innocent. On December 9th, trial was held in Superior Court, Department 88, City and County of Los Angeles, State of California. In a moment, the results of that trial. And now, here's our star, Jack Webb. Thank you. Friends, a few minutes ago, we told you exactly why smokers all over the country are switching to king-size Fatimas. It's because Fatimas are extra mild. Because they have a much better flavor and aroma. Now, if you haven't tried Fatimas yet, here's where you come in. We feel so sure that you'll enjoy Fatima quality that we make this offer. Buy a pack of Fatimas. If you don't like Fatimas better than the king-size cigarette you've been smoking, just return the pack and the unsmoked cigarettes and we'll send you your money back. Plus postage. You see, we're convinced that Fatima is the best of all king-size cigarettes. Buy a pack of Fatimas today. I know you'll agree. Mrs. Virginia Sterling was tried and convicted on several counts of grand theft and received the sentence as prescribed by law, the terms to run concurrently. Grand theft is punishable by imprisonment for not less than one or more than 10 years. You have just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases from official files. Technical advice comes from the office of Chief of Police W. H. Parker, Los Angeles Police Department. Fatima cigarettes, best of all king-size cigarettes has brought you Dragnet transcribed from Los Angeles. Stay tuned for Counter-Spy next on NBC. Thank you.