 This program is transcribed 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 as a public service by the equitable life assurance society of the United States and the equitable societies representative in your community In the equitable life assurance society of the United States nearly four million members are banded together to build better futures for themselves and their families Their reasons for becoming equitable society policy holders are many but certainly among the most unselfish and far-sighted equitable society members are those parents who have seen the wisdom of an equitable education fund Fathers and mothers in just 14 minutes the equitable society will tell you how to make sure that your children get the funds necessary for the education you want them to have through an equitable education fund Tonight's FBI file the telltale bracelet The summer vacation period is drawing to a close and throughout the nation businessmen are getting ready for the fall season Americans earn their daily bread in an endless variety of ways and in almost every one of those pursuits there is a seasonal fluctuation But there is at least one business in the United States which does not depend for its revenue on any such variable circumstances as the weather That business is crime Criminals are reaping a tremendous harvest in this country to tell you one figure out of the welter gathered by your FBI will not tell you the whole story But it may give you some idea of the magnitude of criminal operations in the United States in the past 12 months In that time criminal stole property valued at a total of more than $113 million or almost $10 million a month Of that amount more than $9 million represented the value of stolen jewelry or some which puts jewel theft into the category of big business This would be a somber report if the theft of jewels was diminishing The shocking fact that it is rising and the end is nowhere in sight Tonight's file opens in a small neighborhood theater in a Connecticut city It is early afternoon in a shabby dressing room of this playhouse Jay and Ruth Brooks a comedy team are making up for the first of their daily performances Ruth? Yeah Did I tell you what I told the manager about this dressing room? No I walked right up to him and I said Piermont, who's got top billing on this bill? He says you and your wife have so I said well, I'm glad you recognize that by having our dressing room fixed And he says what do you mean fixed? I says you put a fresh coat of dirt on the walls But come on kid laugh it up What's the matter? That joke is too true This is such a crumby place Oh Ruthie we needed a date to break in the new routines Besides we're getting top billing ain't we? That all helps for what I got in mind Oh, what's that? That story I showed you in Variety about television You know how they need class acts like ours? Is that what it says in Variety? Sure, they figure it just like I do They figure that television has got to have a beautiful name Jay Listen, that's the music for the three balls of fire That means they're on I thought you spoke to the manager about them I did I said to him, Piermont, how can you expect us to get any less following a strip tease act? What'd he say? Well, what could he say? We're the headliners ain't we? Top billing? Why are we still following them? Well, look, Piermont couldn't re-routine the bill on such short notice But after this first show he'll put them all behind us Why couldn't he do it now? Oh honey, forget it will ya? We got important things to think about There may be television scouts out front Oh How do I look? Sensational You like the bracelet? Where'd you get it? I borrowed it from Edna Well, that's kind of junky Leave it on Come on, let's get out on stage You think there'll really be television scouts out there? Sure I hope I remember the new routine Well, what if it don't? Remember me? Ha ha, Ed Lib Sam But I'm not as good as... Stop worrying Come on, let's go down now and murder the people Something's happened Look, come here will ya? Edna, first of all, I want you to know I ain't an Indian giver When I give somebody a present, it's a present for them to keep You understand what I mean? Yeah But something's come up on that last stuff I gave you You mean the bracelet? Yeah, and the two rings Well? Well, to tell you the truth, Edna, that stuff didn't belong to me I borrowed it You borrowed junk like that? That ain't junk The bracelet and those two rings happen to be worth about 12 Gs Are you kidding? No Who'd you borrow it from? Eddie Marshall The racket guy? Yeah Why'd he lend it to you? Well, he didn't actually lend it He gave it to me to hold for him when he got picked up by the cops Ha, so you play the big guy and give it to me Well Edna, at the time I figured you could keep it Why? Well, Marshall figured to be convicted and get 10 years Somehow he beat the rap Now he's loose and I got word he wants to see me So be a good kid and let me have it back, huh? I haven't got it What? Not here Well, where is it? I loaned it to a friend of mine Oh, Ruth Brooks The little Fordville Dame? Yeah Well, go and get it right back I can't Why not? Act went out of town Where? I don't know Oh, fine, look, Edna, this Marshall's a real bad guy Oh, why didn't you think of that when you gave me the present? Oh, stop, will you? We gotta find this Brooks Dame and find her fast I have to get that stuff back tonight The local FBI field office Special Agent Jim Taylor is approached by Agent Leo Schuyler Oh, Jim, that's probably the message I left for you Oh, hi, Leo I just missed you when you went out for lunch I went out a little early, Leo I wanted to stop by police headquarters On the Madison case? No, the supervisor got a call this morning from one of the detectives down at headquarters about some stolen jewelry Well, that's the case I've been assigned to work on with you Oh, good Can you fill me in on the background? Oh, I don't know too much about it myself yet but I'll give you everything we've got Okay A woman named Mrs. Jenkins in Philadelphia had some jewelry stolen a couple of months ago Uh-huh She used to live in New York and she still reads the New York papers pretty regularly One of the papers had a picture of a society girl and a boyfriend dancing at one of the local nightclubs Yes Well, behind them in the picture is another couple The girl's back is to the camera so we don't know who she is but on her wrist is a bracelet that was stolen from Mrs. Jenkins How does she know it's hers, Jim? Because it was designed exclusively for her and it's supposed to be the only one of its kind I see The face of the man, the one who's dancing with a girl is very distinguishable Maybe somebody around the nightclub knows who he is Well, I called the nightclub press agent He came into the office He's there every night and he said he'd never seen the man before Well, maybe one of the waiters knows him Yeah, that's possible I'm having a couple of the prints of the picture blown up Will you take one of them over to the club, Leo? Check with the waiters and the captains? Sure I'll stay here and go over the files I want to see if they can tell us the identity of the man in the picture I thought maybe it was Piermont the manager I figured he might be coming back to apologize For what? Oh, for the run-in I had with him Well, you've been all this time There was a phone call for me out in the box office You knew that's where I went? Oh, yeah, yeah Who was it? It was Edna Gilmer She was calling long distance from New York What did she want? It was about that bracelet in those rings she loaned me She wants them back She's sending her boyfriend Tommy up here for them tonight Well, why all the hurry? She said her boyfriend Tommy was mad at her because she wasn't wearing this stuff Why don't he stop trying to be Humphrey Bogart? Jay, why'd you have a run-in with Mr. Piermont? Oh, it was about making us follow them three balls of fire Wouldn't it change us? Not at first What do you mean? Well, he tried to wiggle out of it He had some phony excuse about us not getting enough laughs the first show We didn't get many Well, that's cause there wasn't many customers That's what I told the guy I say you get us some customers, we'll get you the laughs You notice how the musicians went for us, don't you? They were screaming There are only three of them Well, who cares how many? Those patrilla guys are help Oh, brother, they're plenty hip too They love this smart material Look, how many times do I have to tell you, honey? This is a class act We're building it for television Not the yokels in this town Now, come on, hurry up and change We're on in ten minutes Yes, Lill I went to that nightclub No one could identify the man in the picture Oh, I called you at the club, but you'd already left We found out who he is Oh, good His picture turned up in the files He's a petty larceny thief named Tom Wells He shouldn't be too tough to find Oh, not if he's still in town He may have gone under, though, when the picture appeared in the paper That's true In any event, we've sent out a new alarm on him Oh, here, I've got his record here Have you had a chance to study it? No I can't see how he could have been mixed up in the jewel robbery You said he was a thief, didn't you? Yes, but he's never been arrested for stealing jewelry I think this Jenkins' job is a little out of his league Why? Well, three of his arrests have been for booking policy numbers And all the rest here are for peddling punchboards to high school kids But there's no denying that the bracelet in this picture Is the one that was stolen from Mrs. Jenkins No, it's true enough A juror who made the bracelet for Mrs. Jenkins Positively identified it Jim, I assume the police have already checked on the address Wells gave them when he was last arrested Yeah, they have It's a roaming house, and Wells did not return there After he served his time The only thing to do now, they always hope we get an answer on that alarm Well, you better not fool around with it any more now, honey We're on in a few minutes Honey, getting so soon? You get a break because we're headliners The other acts are doing seven That's on weekdays Of course, on Sundays, you can't tell Jay? Huh? Do you hear... Oh, yeah That's the music for them striptease dames Thought we were supposed to be on ahead of them That's what that pure man told me How do you like that guy? No wonder Vortival is dead That's probably him with another bum excuse Yeah Come in Another chair We had another chair. Where'd we put it? On my shoulders? Oh, no, go away I'm fed up with the way we've been treated around here I thought your boyfriend was coming to see it I decided to come myself How'd you know where we were playing? Called up your agent Look, if you got the bracelet and the rings Oh, yeah, sure Could I have money? Oh, they're not here Oh, after the last show, I left them there Oh, well, let's go over and get them Okay Right after this show Look, I haven't got time to wait Let's go now She can't go now, Edna We're almost on She's got to. I can't wait Why not? I... Well, if you must know That bracelet and those rings are real What? Yeah Yeah, there was 12,000 Oh, my... I gotta get them in a hurry Does Tommy want them back? He isn't interested in them anymore Tommy was killed this afternoon We will return in just a moment To tonight's case from the files of your FBI Soon, from hundreds of well-loved college halls The bells will ring out to welcome Nearly two and a half million young Americans But what about the boys and girls Who are forced by fate to turn a deaf ear To the college bells? Many of them with excellent records in high school Youngsters well-qualified for college But who, for one reason or another Won't get the chance Believe me, Mr. Keating They're never going to say that of my boy I've made certain that he'll have the money to go Regardless of what happens to me After hearing you talk about An equitable education fund last week I got in touch with my Equitable Society representative And signed up Fine, Norman You'll never regret that move And neither will that boy of yours For members of this audience Who didn't hear this program last week I'll repeat some of the advantages Of an equitable education fund As offered by the Equitable Life Assurance Society First, you start when your children are young And spread their educational costs Over 10 or 15 years Instead of taking a licking in four Second, when your boy or girl is ready for education The money is ready and waiting for him Right there in the Equitable Education Fund Third, this equitable plan Works whether you live or die If you are totally or permanently disabled The fund continues to build up Without any further payments If you die, the Education Fund Becomes fully established immediately That's what sold me, Mr. Keating That's why I decided to see my Equitable Society representative And I earnestly urge every Four-thoughtful father or mother to do likewise Or to send a postcard care of this station To the Equitable Life Assurance Society Yes, once you set up an Equitable Education Fund You can be sure that when the college bells are ringing For the class of 1958 or 65 Your boy or girl will be able to answer the call And now back to tonight's file The Telltale Bracelet Tonight's case from the files of your FBI Gives ample illustration of the basic inherent difference Between the criminal and the decent citizen The decent citizen, upon finding himself In possession of something that does not Rightfully belong to him, makes every attempt To see that the property has returned to its owner The criminal, on the other hand, has no such impulse The decent citizen is one who recognizes The temptation of easy gain for what it is And has the strength to resist The criminal likewise recognizes the temptation And succumbs because the emotion which rules His every move is greed To the criminal, getting something for nothing Is the only important thing For it is the keystone upon which His entire world is built What is consuming greed and his overpowering Ego mania prevent the criminal from knowing Is that getting something for nothing Is an impossibility and that you always pay For what you get. Another thing the criminal Never learns until too late Is that the price to him is always high Often his very life. Tonight's file continues In the local FBI field office. Jim. Oh, Jim. Yes, Leo. I just about given up on you. I'm sorry, Leo. I should have called. I've been down at the morgue. On what? The police reported a killing this afternoon. It turned out to be our missing suspect, Tommy Wells. Oh. What happened? Well, the coroner said Wells had been beaten to death At his hotel with a blunt instrument. Possibly the butt of a gun. Any leads? No. Nothing so far. It's not going to be easy to find out who that girl In the picture was now. Oh, I think I know her. Really? Yeah, there were three pictures Of the same girl in Wells' room at the hotel. In every one of the pictures, She's wearing her hair in an upsweep. That's the way the girl in the newspaper picture Was wearing her hair too. Yeah, I know. I checked around the hotel and the bell captain told me This was the only girl he ever saw Wells with. Did he know who the girl is? No, but the pictures were all made by the black And white studios. I took them down there And they identified the girl as Edna Gilmer. Ah. Do they know where Miss Gilmer lives? Yes, they gave me her address, But when I checked, I found out she'd left town. She's gone to Hartford, Connecticut, According to her landlady. Well, Jim, we know her name And we know what she looks like. I don't think we'll have too much trouble finding her. I hope not. I've already notified the police up there To be on the lookout for her. What are we doing now, Jim? As soon as we get an OK, we go to Hartford. Edna, did I hear you right? Did you say that Tommy was killed? Yeah. Ah. He was beaten to death. By who? I think it was a man named Eddie Marshall. Well, who's he? The racket guy. Why did he kill Tommy? On account of the jewelry. What? It belonged to Marshall. Tommy had no right to give it to me. Oh. Are the police looking for Marshall? I don't know. Well, didn't you tell him about him? No. Why not? That's their business. Oh, but Edna... Look, we're wasting time. Let's go to the hotel and get the bracelet and rings. Oh, we told you, Edna. We're due on stage. Edna, what are you planning to do with the stuff when you get it? Turn it over to the police? Yeah, yeah, sure. Well then, what's the hurry? I... Look, I might as well tell you something. Eddie Marshall is smart to the fact that I know where the jewelry is. So? There's also a very good chance that he followed me up here to Hartford. You mean followed you here to us? Yes. When he finds out that you've got the stuff, you're in it, too. Oh. So if you want to be in the clear, let's get over to your hotel. You're on. Yeah. We do the act. Now wait a minute. We've got to, Edna. Come on, Ruth. We'll sure get a lot of laughs this show. On my way to theater. It's... A friend of mine. He said to me, Jay, I have never been so happy in my life. My wife's an angel. And what angel? My wife's an angel. And what did you say to him? I said you're lucky. Mine's still alive. Do that for her. I was... It's guessing about him. Come on, let's go to the dressing room. Hey. Look, tell you what we'll do. We go back to the hotel, get the jewelry, then take Edna down to the police station and explain the whole thing. Oh, Edna's gone. Then we'll take the jewelry down to police ourselves. Go ahead, honey. Oh. Well, Edna, I got the whole thing figured out. We go to the hotel, get the jewelry, then we go to the police station. You ain't going nowhere. That's Eddie Marshall. I checked the railroad station, bus depots, cab drivers. How about the airport? No luck there, either. You know, she probably drove up here. How did you make out of the hotel check? I didn't do any better than you did. This hotel was the last one on our list. What do we do now, Jim? Well, let's reconstruct this thing. Okay. I think it's safe to assume that she was coming here to Hartford for a specific reason to see some. Yes. She's not staying at a hotel, but it's probable that a visit here is going to be a short one. Which makes it that much harder. There are about 200,000 people in Hartford, Jim. She did come to visit someone. We have a pretty wide choice. But the field is narrow in that. Don't forget her landlady did tell us she came up here to see someone named Brooks. We've called every Brooks in the phone book. Yeah. You know, if we only knew her, Moody, for coming here. Leo, why shouldn't an out-of-work chorus girl who comes from Council Bluffs, Iowa, suddenly leave New York for Hartford, Connecticut, and disappear? Well, Jim, if we could go... Hey. Wait a minute. What? I know one angle we haven't explored. Come on. Where are you going? Over to the newsstand. We're buying a Hartford paper. Mr. Marshall. That's right. Well, uh... Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Marshall. Uh... You ever have any relatives in Portable? Used to be an act called... I ain't interested. I ain't interested. Look, Mr. Marshall, this dressing room's kind of small. We gotta change, y'all. I just want one thing. What's that? Jewelry. A bracelet and two rings. Well, we don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Marshall. He knows you got him. Oh. Where are they? They're over at the hotel. All right, let's go over there. Oh, we... We can't go like this. Why not? With this zoot coat and these funny shoes? Gee, I don't want people laughing at me. Nobody'll laugh at you, brother. I know I just seen you right. What do you mean by that? Look, I got a gun here. I don't care what you got. Were you panning the act? Mack, I'm warning you. Jay, do as he says. Honey, he's knocking the act. He's gonna use the gun, Jay. No, he isn't. Let it fall, Marshall. Go on. Try what I said. For who are you? We're special agents of the FBI. We were looking for Miss Gilmer here. Her landlady told us that she'd come to Hartford to see her Mrs. Brooks. You were difficult to locate until we figured that because she's in show business, she might be visiting somebody in a theater here. So we bought the local paper and looked at the amusement page to see what was playing. And you saw our name. That's right. In the ad for this theater. You see, Ruth, that's what I've been telling you. That's how important top billing is. Eddie Marshall was turned over to local authorities, prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to be executed for the murder of Tom Wells. And thus your FBI closed another case. Closed another case and thereby solved two crimes, the Philadelphia Jewel theft and the murder of Tom Wells. It is not an uncommon occurrence for the special agents of your FBI to solve more than one crime with one arrest because it is an axiom among law enforcement officers that one crime invariably leads to another. Sometimes those early crimes are minor, but however trivial they may appear to be and however far from you they may occur, they affect you directly. They affect you because the commission of every crime is an attack against law and order. And should those attacks ever prove to be overwhelming, it would mean an end to your personal liberties and to every shred of your security. That is why the battle against crime, a battle which your FBI fights 24 hours a day, is your battle too. We'll tell you about next week's exciting case from the files of your FBI. Now I have just 25 seconds to answer one last question on the Equitable Education Fund. Mr. Cating, suppose I start one of those funds for my daughter. Then when she gets to be 18, she gets married instead of going to college. What happens then? That's strictly up to you. The money is yours. You can use it to pay for your daughter's trousseau and wedding or for any purpose you see fit. So no matter what happens, it's a good idea to see your Equitable Society representative soon. Or send a postcard care of this station to 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. The exciting account of a relentless search for an international killer, its subject, impersonation, its title, The Great Deception. 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 persons living or dead is accidental. Tonight the music was composed and conducted by Frederick Steiner. The author was Jerry Lewis. Your narrator was William Woodson and Special Agent Taylor was played by Stacey Harris. This is your FBI is a Jerry Divine 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 the same time when the Equitable Life Assurance Society will bring you another thrilling story from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Great Deception on This Is Your FBI. This is ABC, the American Broadcasting Company.