 There are no major developments in the war news to report. Any new developments will be brought to you immediately. Keep tuned to your Blue Network station. This is your FBI. 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. To your FBI, you look for national security. And to the Equitable Society for Financial Security. These two great institutions are dedicated to the protection of you, your home and your country. Tonight, the story of a crime against society. The Confidence Game. There are some people who seem to wait for laws to be made so that they can break them. Break them and make money doing so. To those people, a curfew means a speakeasy. A price ceiling means a black market. A war means a high-pitched gullible nation. They like war, those people, because they can make money out of it in a hundred different ways. Sooner or later, they all get caught, but they try. They try every angle that a nation at war provides, and they try it in the most innocent places. Places like, well, take the sunny boardwalk overlooking the ocean at a resort near New York. Don't you face up, Abby. Let the sun get at it. It only brings out my freckles, Lily, or else I start peeling. Oh, it's good for the bones. Oh, I wish we were really on vacation from school. But I can't help feeling a little guilty about spending money in wartime. I think of poor Mrs. Greenway and... She hasn't heard from her son yet? No. She's hoping he's a prisoner of war in Germany, but... I beg your pardon, ladies. I couldn't help overhearing you mention the name Greenway. Do you by any chance know the lad's first name? Well, I... Forgive my rudeness, but I've just come back from overseas myself, and I thought perhaps... Oh, his name is Herbert. Isn't that it, Abby? Yes. Herbert Greenway? Do you know him? Yes, quite well. Abby, is he all right? Do you know? Madam, you can tell the lad's mother to rest easy. Exactly eight days ago, the Russians freed him from a German prison camp. Then he was a prisoner of war. Oh, so lovely. Nice of you to tell us. Major? Major. Major William Evans Roscoe at your service, Miss. That is, I hope it's Miss. Oh, yes. I'm Miss Tomkins, and this is Miss Bergen. How do you do? Most charming pleasure. You see, I happen to know about the Greenway boy, because... May I sit down? Oh, oh, please do. Of course. Move over a little bit. Thank you. Now, as I said, I've only just returned from some very secret work overseas in connection with prisoners. I leave for Washington shortly to make my report. Oh, when? Well, not for a day or so. I've been granted a short leave, but I... Frankly, I don't know anyone sitting in. Would you ladies think it very presumptuous if I asked you to join me for dinner tonight? Oh, it would be a pleasure, Major. Miss Bergen? Lily, you know I promised the Perkins. Oh, yes. I'm very sorry. Some other time, perhaps? I'd like to. But I will have the pleasure of your company, Miss Tomkins. Well... Please take pity on a lonely service man. You know, I haven't had a real meal or charming company for... Well, let's not say how long. Major. Yes? Wouldn't you prefer a good home-cooked meal? Well, as a matter of fact... Oh, I'd be so honored. I... Oh, please. It would make me very happy. And it's the least a civilian could do. Well, in that case, I'm at your service, ma'am. There are two things about you that I find very hard to believe. Major. One is that you cook that most excellent dinner all by yourself. Well, I did. And the other is that you're really not married or engaged. Oh, Bill. I look at you and I... What's the matter? I think I'd better go. Why? Because I can't do this anymore. Lily, forgive me for what I'm going to say. Bill, I don't understand. Can you understand the feeling of... Oh... Lost time that war gives a man? Can you forgive it? Can you forgive me for saying, Lily, that I love you? Bill... I know we've only just met, but I... I want to run out and buy you flowers, buy you champagne, buy you... I want to buy you a ring, an engagement ring. An engagement? You don't have to say yes this minute. You don't have to answer at all. I know it's sudden for you, but I want to... What, Bill? Here I am talking of buying a ring and thinking of running out and getting one first thing in the morning and have exactly $47 in my wallet. But Bill, that's... It's not enough, my dearest. Not for a ring for you. Oh, now, Bill, listen. No, no, no. Let me think. My banks in Philadelphia... Do you suppose they'd honor a check here in New York? Bill, I refuse to let you... Lily, what's money for but something like this, something with someone like you? Oh, now, my army credentials... Oh, darn it, they're secret. Lily, if you endorse the check, not for much, say $50. Oh, no, no. I couldn't ask you. Oh, why not? Why couldn't? That's all. You're... Well, we're going to be engaged. Oh, Lily. So what I have is yours. And what I have is yours. Lily, I really do love you. The world is filled with people looking for love. And people in love forget to ask questions. They don't care. Lily Tompkins didn't ask, didn't care, didn't know. Didn't know that when Major William Roscoe left her house that night with a check for $50 in his pocket, he walked quickly to the nearest subway station. Not because he was in a hurry to catch that train, but because he had an appointment. An appointment he had made that very afternoon. Miss Bergen! Major! Major, I hope I haven't kept you waiting long. I've been waiting all evening. It sounds like a pretty speech, but it's true. Did Lily say anything? Oh, no. I knew she didn't hear us on the boardwalk and if she had, I wouldn't have cared. I really never should have done this. I'm sorry. You don't understand. I mean, Abby, forgive me for what I'm going to say. I don't understand. Well, can you understand the feeling of... lost time that war gives a man? Can you forgive it? Can you forgive me for standing here on a lonely subway platform and saying, Abby, I love you? The confidence game requires only two players. A gullible rather lonely woman, for example, and a man with a great deal of charm and absolutely no scruples. It's an old game, but it becomes a particularly nasty one when a new twist is added. A twist of taking advantage of a war. Still, it's a game, and like all games, it can't last, particularly when checks are involved. Sooner or later, those checks turn up at the FBI. Are these the checks, Robbie? Yes. Both for $50 and both returned marked no account. Didn't those women ask the major for any credentials? They felt the uniform was enough, and the Army never even heard of William Evans Roscoe. Probably an alias. You know, well, it's a low trick, all right, to use the uniform of a... well, he won't be wearing it long. Has the laboratory reported on his handwriting yet? We're waiting for a teletype from Washington now. $50 from two school teachers. Two checks. And one within 10 hours of the other, which makes me think he's an old hand. I'm looking forward to that report from Washington on Major Roscoe. When a handwriting specimen sent to the FBI laboratory in Washington is identified, the work does not stop there. In a sense, it just begins because agents immediately begin investigating the man concerned. In this case, while the FBI was checking, the criminal who called himself Major Roscoe decided to leave the city and go to a mountain resort. It would be cooler in the mountains. It would be relaxing. And besides, there would be lots of women. Lots of unattached, lonely women. Truly, there was nothing for me to do but bail out. And that was when the Japanese fired at you? Yes. Of course, I got the purple heart, but... But what, Major? Well, I'd rather not talk about it, Miss Hudson. Of course. Oh, I wish I were a man. Why? Well, I could have the kind of life you have now. Personally, I prefer the life I led before I fulfilled my obligation to my country and joined up. What did you do before the Army made you? Exactly what I wanted to do at the moment. If I felt the urge to go to China, the South Seas, I'd take old $25,000, $30,000 out of the bank and go. It always takes money to do things like that. I could probably go as far as Chicago, I guess. Oh, no, no, no. You must have more than $100 in the bank. Well, I do, but... How much? Just a little. Barely $7,000. Well, where's your spirit of adventure? Take that and just pick up and go. Oh, yes, I've always wanted to. I've always felt that I... I don't know why I talk like this to you. I do. You do it because you know that... I understand. I think you do. Martha, can you forgive me for what I'm about to say to you? Say to me? Well, from the first moment I saw you, I knew that... Don't, please, Major, don't say that. Oh, Martha. No, please. Don't you see how much it would mean to a woman like me? Don't you see how seriously I would take it? Martha, I know. I know how I feel. You... You mean... Yes, Martha. You want to marry me? Yes, Martha, I do. Oh, William. Well, what's the matter, my dear? I just never thought I'd be happy. And I am. I am now for the first time in my life. Here, another check marked No Account turned up at FBI headquarters in New York. Another check signed by Major William Evans Roscoe. A check that Major Roscoe had cashed at a resort in the mountains. Now the trail, the path, the road that led to Major Roscoe was getting shorter, much shorter. For the agents went at once to the resort to see the manager and then the major. Well, really, gentlemen, if you can't accept a check from a major in the United States Army and a major who's been decorated and wounded, Lord knows what else... Did you ask to see his credentials? Well, no, but after all, his uniform... Unfortunately, the uniform is not enough for the credential. Not with people like Major Roscoe around. By the way, has the major been very friendly with any particular woman? Yes, with Miss Hudson. Very nice, lady. I... Miss Hudson, huh? Miss Martha Hudson. We'd better see her right away, Leo. Oh, you can't. She's gone too. Oh, yes. They both checked out yesterday and he paid for both. I checked? Yes. You have Miss Hudson's home address? Yes, I'll get it for you. A day too late. Yes. Laboratory report on his handwriting certainly indicted him. The major has quite a record. He's been operating for almost five years under about 20 different names. I think we'll catch him this time. That isn't what worries me. What then? I was thinking of a Miss Martha Hudson of the report from Washington that the major's been married twice and his late wives died almost immediately after the wedding. The investigation file on the fraudulent major. We will return to this case in just a moment. Since the dawn of history, men have been fighting to win security. First, security against marauding enemies. Then security against the despotic power of kings and nobles. Freedom of speech and religion. Trial by jury. Protection against arbitrary arrest and imprisonment. These are some of the great securities which our ancestors bought for us with their blood and their lives. In the last century, men set out to win still another security for themselves. It was freedom from money worries. Protection against the financial uncertainties of the future. To this end, in the year 1859, a group of Americans founded the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. Their idea was that by joining forces, by combining their dollars into a common protective fund, maximum security for each individual member would be achieved. Self-help and self-reliance. Voluntary cooperation by men willing to work together in ways that benefit the entire community. That's the American way. That's the Equitable way. By serving its members, the Equitable the Equitable serves America. And now, back to the file on William Roscoe, Confidence Man. A man signs an assumed name to a check and defraud the woman of $15. He's done it before many times. He's never been caught and he sees no reason why he should be now. But the FBI has his record. They know his method of operation. And now, on a train returning to New York, they are finally on his trail. The description we got at the hotel fits the one of the report, all right. 5'11", 174 pounds. Scars on his forehead. The manager said the major claimed he got those scars in the Pacific. Fighting Japs. Well, it shouldn't take long to get to the Hudson woman's house from the station. She lives with her brother and sister-in-law. What? Oh, yes. What are you thinking about? Same thing you are. What, that chamber maid told us? Yes. Well, just because the major carries a gun, it doesn't mean... I know. I wish this train would move a little faster. So do I. That train was due in New York at 3.45 p.m., but it was 10 minutes late. And at 3.50 p.m., Major Roscoe was waiting in the railroad station, waiting to board a train. Waiting to board a train with his bride-to-be, Mrs. Hudson. You sure you got everything, Martha? Of course, Edna. Now don't worry so. I just wish I could be with you in Boston for the wedding. I wish you could be with your sister too, Mrs. Hudson, but army orders you're known. There's nothing I can do. Of course not. Stop getting so upset, Edna. Well, I can't help it if I care more about your own sister than you. Oh, Martha. Edna, now don't cry. I'm just so happy for you. Oh, yes, that's just it. It's all so wonderful. Oh, for Pete's sake. Let me have your handkerchief, Edna. Martha, my dad, I think we've been... Yes, William. Harry. Sis, I... Well, all the luck in the world to you. Thanks. I think I've got it now. Goodbye, Edna. Goodbye, honey. Goodbye, Major. Take care of her. Do my best. Harry, old man. Goodbye, sir. Bloody mackerel. Here they are. Thanks for picking them up. I'll forget it. You've got my check. Sure. Well, goodbye then. Goodbye. You did enough weeping for a dozen weddings. I know, but I'm so happy for her, Harry. Yes, so am I. She always pretended that she didn't care about not being married, but... Sure. And you know, when it's your own sister, you feel kind of lousy, honey. Well, it's all right now, Harry. The Major's a wonderful man. He sure is. That was a beautiful ring he gave her. Must have cost a fortune. He did. Five hundred bucks. How do you know? His bank's in Philadelphia, so I endorsed the check for him. Oh. Who's that man waiting on our front steps? I don't know. Gee, I hope... What? Nothing. Pardon me. Yes? I'm looking for Miss Martha Hudson. You'll have to go to Boston to find her, mister. Boston? Yes, she just left to be married there. To a Major Roscoe? Yeah. Say, who are you anyway? Special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Gee. Martha hasn't done anything, has she? No. The person we're looking for is the man who calls himself Major Roscoe. I knew it, Edna. I knew it was too good to be true. There is not a section of this country that is not covered by the FBI. Before a train carrying Major Roscoe and Martha Hudson could have arrived in Boston, special agents in that city were notified by teletype to be on the watch. When the train arrived, they were at the station. There was no sign of the Major or Martha Hudson. The agents checked all the hotels, the rooming houses, the churches, but there was no trace of the missing couple. A report was teletype back to New York, and the special agents there immediately paid another call on Martha Hudson's brother and sister-in-law. Mr. Hudson, are you certain that your sister and the Major left for Boston? I can't be certain of anything anymore. Harry. I'm sorry, honey. We know this has been a pretty bad shock, Mr. Hudson, but we're trying to find your sister. Did you put them on the Boston train? No, we said goodbye to them in the station. Maybe they got off before Boston. We're checking on that. But there's also the possibility they never started to go to Boston. I picked up the tickets myself. Did you see them? No. I just picked up the envelope, paid for it, and never looked inside. You say you paid for the tickets? Yes. Do you remember how much they cost? Sure. The Major gave me his personal check for them. Here. Thank you. This checks for $20.38. That's the price. That's the price of two tickets to Washington. William, why did you tell Harry and Ned no we were going to Boston instead of Washington? Oh. Just the incurable rheumaticism in me, I guess. This way we seem like two carefree youngsters running off to this hotel secretly. Oh, William. We're going to have such a wonderful life. Oh, dear. What's the trouble? All the confusion of getting away. I didn't have time to get to the bank. I stripped myself of cash. That's all right. I have some. It's a fine way to begin our life together. What do you mean? Borrowing from you. Oh, it's not borrowing. Whatever I have is yours anyway. I wish you didn't have a single penny. Why? I suppose it's because at heart I'm old-fashioned, my dear. But I wish you were completely dependent on me. I wish you had come to me for every penny. William, may I have your pen? What are you going to do? The pen, please. Thank you. I'm going to make myself completely dependent on you because... Well, because I'm old-fashioned, too. But... What's that check for? All I have. Oh, my dear. I knew... I knew from the very beginning that you were the woman I always... Who's that? My bellboy, I guess. I ordered some champagne for us. Oh, William. Yes? Major Roscoe? At your service, gentlemen. Would you step out into the hall for a moment? Who are you? Special agents of the FBI. William? Just some military matters, my dear. Nothing to be alarmed about. I'll be back in a moment. Now then, gentlemen, I have an idea. Do you mind if we search you? For weapons? Yes. The only weapon I carry is right here in my pocket. My checkbook. What we'd like to talk with you about concerns, checks and impersonation. We have quite a few of your checks. One endorsed by a Miss Lily Tompkins, another by a... No, you don't! My checkbook. I know. Yes. Handy little gun, you had there, Major. Not quite handy enough, it seems. But, you know, gentlemen, I should have known from personal experience that is a weapon that checkbook is much better than a gun. Shall we go? Very often, people will believe things because they want very badly to believe them. But too often, other people, criminals, confidence men will take advantage of this desire. Even to the extent of impersonating an officer of the United States Army. Every representative of this country, every government employee carries credentials. Credentials that you should examine carefully. This is a duty you owe not only to yourself, but to your country. And to the protectors of our internal security, the FBI. These criminals can be among the most difficult to catch. But with a full cooperation of the decent citizens of our nation, they can be the easiest. You will hear about the file on next week's case in just a minute. Yesterday, somewhere on the island of Okinawa, a young American infant woman stepped on a landmine. It blew up in his face. Today, both of that boy's legs are going to be amputated. Compared with his sacrifice, anything that any of us does here at home seems trifling. Nevertheless, while we can't do as much as the men and women at the front, we can do our best. And that best is vitally important to victory. So it'll be a source of satisfaction to equitable members to learn that 44% of this society's assets are now invested in war bonds and government securities. Recently, Thomas I. Parkinson, president of the equitable, pointed out what this means. He said, quote, for every one of its 3,200,000 members the equitable now owns government bonds amounting to $490. For each member, an additional $220 is invested in industries and utilities which manufacture weapons of war. Plus $115 per member invested in railroads engaged in war transportation. That's another reason why we say that in wartime, equitable dollars are fighting dollars. And at all times, they are security dollars. For you, your home, and your country. Next week, a crime against our fighting men. War fraud. The incidents used in tonight's broadcast are taken from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. However, all names used are fictitious. Any similarity thereof to the names used of persons living or dead is accidental. In tonight's cast, William Roscoe was played by Arnold Moss and Martha by Charlotte Hollam. The music was composed and directed by Van Cleve. The author was Lawrence MacArthur and your narrator was Frank Lovejoy. This is your FBI is a Jerry Divine production. Now this is Carl Williams Now this is Carl Frank speaking for the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and inviting you to tune in again next week at this same time. For this is your FBI. This is the Blue Network of the American Broadcasting Company.