 Ladies and gentlemen, this true story concerns the heart of a great city. It took 58 minutes to resolve the question of its safety or its total destruction. This is the story of those 58 minutes. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. Fatima cigarettes, best of all long cigarettes, brings you drag met. If you want a long cigarette, smoke the best of all long cigarettes. Smoke extra mild Fatima. Yes, Fatima is the king size cigarette which contains the finest Turkish and domestic tobaccos, superbly blended to make it extra mild. To give Fatima a much different, much better flavor and aroma than any other long cigarette. That's why Fatima has more than doubled its smokers coast to coast. Enjoy extra mild Fatima yourself. Best of all, long cigarettes. It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. Drag met, 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, drag met is the story of your police force in action. It was Tuesday, November 15th. It was raining in Los Angeles. We were off duty reporting in on an emergency call. My partner's Ben Romero. The boss is Lynn White, Deputy Chief of Police. My name's Friday. It was 825 a.m. when I walked into the main street entrance of the city hall. Yeah, that's right. Right. Thank you. I'm going to run you up to 16. Chief's waiting for you up there. What's the pitch? Only one elevator here in service out of 10. The place looks deserted. What's going on? Nobody in the building, Sergeant. All the office people have been sent home. Lots of trouble. Somebody declare a holiday? No joke, Sergeant. Big trouble. You convinced me. What is it? Here we are. 16th floor. Okay. Over here, Friday. Right. Hi, Jim. Hello, Ben. You made a good time. I came as soon as I got the call, Lynn. I'm sorry to have to bring you back in. You worked last night, didn't you? Yeah, midnight to 8 this morning. Sorry. Come on. What is it, Skipper? Why all the hush-hush? Where do we get inside? In here. Okay. Number one, let's keep our voices down. All right. I'll make it as brief as I can every night counts. What time do you got Friday? 8.33. All right, here it is. 55 minutes ago, a man walked into this building with a homemade bomb under his arm. If we don't release his brother from the county jail by 9 o'clock this morning, he says he'll pull the trigger on the bomb and blow up the whole building. Are you kidding, Skipper? Who is the guy? The name's Vernon Kearney. He's his package. He and his brother have been in and out of jail since 1937, small-time thieves. FBI kickback here. We had them once before, both of them. Brother's name is Elwood, serving a year for car stripping. And this two-bit thief is sitting here in the city hall with a bomb on his lap? That's right, in the next room. What kind of a bomb is it, Lynn? You think he's bluffing? Could be bluffing. The crime lab says no. Will he join us from the lab and get a look at it? He's been in here twice. One of the boxes glass says he can't see much without a closer look, but you can't get near the guy. All right, what do you want us to do? It's a volunteer job. I can take it or leave it. I won't order you to do it. How do you want to handle it? You sure you want a piece of this, remember? No, no, he doesn't. He's got a family. Can you get me another single man? We'll give it a try. Wait a minute, Joe, what makes his job so different? Every time we kick in a door, we never know what's on the other side. That's what makes it different this time we do. No, you're not going to cut me out. Not the only time I know what I'm getting into. All right. Chandler's tried, and Hanon, Davis, Watson, they've all tried. This guy, Kearney, knows what he's doing. He's no pushover, but somebody's got to get that bomb away from it. Joe, baby, now. I looked at my watch. It was 8.36. We left Chief White and started down the hall. If Kearney was going to make good his threat to blow up the building by 9 o'clock, we had exactly 24 minutes to talk him out of it. Ben and I figured we'd better look him over first and then work out some kind of a plan. Maybe just talking to him would do it. Vernon Kearney was sitting in a straight back chair against the far wall facing the door. It was seated between two windows that looked out over the city. In the center of the right wall was a connecting door leading to the office where Chief White had briefed us. The door was locked on both sides. Just off the center and favoring the left of the room was a small filing table. There was a dictaphone on it. In the near left corner, shielded by a white screen, was a small wash basin. Vernon Kearney sat erect holding a black box on his lap. He held his right hand inside one end of the box. Ben and I walked into the room. What do you say to a man with a bomb? Cigarette, Kearney? I'm not smoking right now. What are you trying to prove? You know what I want. We're not going to let your brother out of jail. You've got until 9 o'clock to change your mind. And that clock up there, you know what? You've got 24 minutes. If we go, you're going with us, Kearney. Don't take much of a brain to figure that one out, Copper. What made you think you could get away with it? I haven't yet. It ain't 9 o'clock unless that clock's slow. I haven't checked it against my pocket watch lately. That's the one that's running this show. You're giving any thought to all the innocent people that are going to go up with that thing of yours? My brother's innocent. I want him out of jail. The court says he's guilty. He'll get out when he serves his time. That's where you're wrong, Copper. He gets out at 9 o'clock this morning. All right, come on, Kearney. Get your hand out of that box. Put the box on the table. You think I'm bluffing, don't you? I'm going to let you get within five feet of me before I make a lie, Roddy. All right, Kearney. I guess you mean business. You can take three more steps and find out for sure. Suppose we did let your brother out. We'd just come out and pick him up again and you're along with him. If you could find us. Let's get this straight. If we let your brother hell-wood out, how do we know you'll keep your promise? What promise? I haven't made any promises. You just get all wood down here first, then we'll talk about it. Look, there's just one thing I can't figure, Kearney. What's that? If we don't let your brother out, you say you'll pull the trigger on that bomb. What are you going to prove by then? It's 8.37. You got 23 minutes left? No, I wish you'd answer that one for me. Why do you want to kill a lot of innocent people? Don't try to con me, Copper. I know they cleared everybody out of this building 45 minutes ago. I know they cleaned out the whole block. They got it roped off. What'd you get you an information? I got a couple of windows here to look at. What do you think it's about time you sent somebody over to get out with? What's the stop-us from leaving the building along with the other few offices? Isn't that you sit here and touch off that bomb? Go ahead. It won't be a long wait without you. How are you trying to kid? You'd let me blow up $10 million with a taxpayer's money? No, you're going to let out without. You'll wait till the last minute to do it. But you'll let him out. All right, let's go. Lynn, listen. I'm still not convinced that Kearney can back up what he says. Why don't you take the box away from him? Yeah. We're in a spot. Let's face it. How about us getting him first? How are you going to handle it? I'm not top man on the pistol range, but I could wing him. Then he hands the box to you? Or maybe it falls and his reflex action pulls a trigger. Okay, I don't wing him. I stop him for key. Just can't walk in and shoot him down. Why not? You do the same thing with any armed criminal. Yeah, but you warn him first. I'll warn him. And after you shoot him, you find out it's a harmless gadget. Couldn't have gone off in a million years. Gun's not the answer. We can't shoot him until we're positive. We'll be positive by 9 o'clock, but then there might not be anybody around as you. We've located Connie's apartment. There's a detail out there checking it now. But Chelly and Morris. Have you got any ideas at all? Anything we could try? That's why I called you in. None of us have gotten any further than you did just now. But it's just one thing I want to know for sure. Yeah, Friday. Is it or isn't it? We all want to know. Either way, we've got to get that box away from you. I get it. White speaking. Yeah, it did. I'll stay out there. I'll call you. That was for Chelly. They just found 28 sticks of dynamite in Connie's apartment. You are listening to Dragnet, the case history of a police investigation presented in the public interest by Fatima Cigarettes. If you smoke a long cigarette, it will be in your interest to listen to a typical case history of a Fatima smoker recorded last week in New York. Hi there. My name is Bab Beckwith. Bab. That's short for Bethany Ann Beckwith. I live in New York City and I'm a fashion stylist. The other day at a showing of the new fall styles, I ran out of cigarettes. A friend of mine, designer, introduced me to the new long Fatima. I really wish someone had told me about them sooner. Fatimas are a lot milder than the cigarettes I've been smoking, and they have a delightful flavor too. 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From here on in, all of us agreed that Vernon Carney sat in the next room holding in his two hands a force powerful enough to destroy us all. I looked at my watch. It was 20 minutes till 9. How do we get it away from him? I got an idea. It might work. Let's have it. Well, Carney's sitting against the far wall between two windows and they're both open. Then try it. If we could get a man through one of those windows, we might get Carney from behind. How are you going to get him? Well, whoever gets through the window could slug him. What do you do then? Somebody grabs the box. The crime lab can tell us what to do with it then. How do we get a man through one of those windows around the 16th floor? Well, there's some kind of a ledge that runs around the building on each story, isn't it? Wide enough for a man to walk on? Let's take a look. Let's see. Looks pretty narrow, Joe. A good 18 inches could be done. Too risky. It's been raining out. That ledge is slippery. Strong wind out there, Joe. Turn a man right off the building. Yeah, I guess you're right. Well, there's still a way. How about a ladder? 16th floor, Skipper. Well, there might be a way. The fire department would know that. I'll get Battalion Chief Erickson. There's Lee Jones in the building. No, he's over the crime lab. I'll get him up here, too. I don't know if Friday, maybe it'll work. It's got to, Lynn. All right, now look. It's going to take a couple of minutes to set this up. We've got to know what Carney's doing every second of that time. How about the dictophone on the table in there? Good. Get it on without him seeing you. We'll try. A dictophone in there is connected to this one in here. This room is 1614. You got that? Yeah. All right, push down key 1614 on that machine in there and leave it down. Get the receiver off the hook and leave it off. Leave the receiver off. That's right. You know if it doesn't off the hook, we won't be able to hear a thing in here. All right, come on, Ben. Lynn White speaking. Give me Chief Erickson. Still on his cell. Your cop is a long run talk, short on time. Yeah, we know. I'm telling you, if you're alone good, you better get Elwood over here. Carney, I'll bet if we get your brother on the phone here, he'll tell you that he doesn't want any part of this. You mean Elwood doesn't want to get out since when? If he already wants out, but not your way. He's only got a year to serve. Why don't you leave him alone? I told El. I told him I'd get him out. He didn't think I could do it, but I'm doing it. I'll make you a bet, Carney. You let us get your brother on the phone. He won't walk out of here with you. Get him on the phone. All right. Where are you going? Phone's over here. I have to use the dictaphone. I got to get an OK from the chief. Elwood's still a prisoner. What's the matter with the phone? No operators. You know the building's been cleared. That's right. I almost forgot. Okay, you can use the dictaphone. It's Friday, Chief. Carney wants to talk to his brother. I know you'll have to send somebody over. Have him put the call on an extension. Wait a minute. What's that extension number, then? 2351. 2351, Lynn. Right? It'll take a minute. I kind of like to talk to El. Been a couple of months since I've seen him. We've always been together, me and El, most of the time. Joe, let's go in and see if we can't hurry that call. That's a good idea, boy. It's 16 minutes to 9. Yeah. Hey, cop. Yeah? I forgot to hang up the dictaphone, didn't you? I put the receiver back on the dictaphone. Ben and I had failed to make good on the first step of the plan. When we got outside the door, we briefed Davis and Watson. They went in to sit with Carney. It would be their job to keep us posted on Carney's movements. The dictaphone was out. We went back into the office next door. Chief Sam Erickson of the fire department and Lieutenant Lee Jones from the crime lab were already there. What have been a help? We haven't got time to cry over it. Carney's wide awake scupper. He doesn't miss a thing. White told us a plan Friday. We can't run a ladder up from the street. Too high, aren't you? The best we've got is a 100-foot aerial. You figure 12 foot to the story, it'll take you up 96 feet, eight floors. We got the latest equipment. What's that idea you have, Jones? Sam, can you get a hold of a pump here in the harry? Sure, we've got a lot of scaling ladders, but you've got nothing out there to hook them on. You figure on dropping down from the floor above? That's right, and I figure a pump here would do it. Sure, well, you could make it fast the wind to sell up there, but you've got a foot and a half ledge in the way. No, but you want a lifeline. You mean nor a man in a rope, Chief? Yeah, Amaro, that's the quickest and the quietest. Could you rig it so one of my boys could do it? Sure, Lane. What's the risk? None. If you work it right, we'll strap on a life belt, give the man heavy leather gloves. Two of my men will lure him down. Pick your lightest man. What do you think, Lee? That's it. What do we do with a bomb when we get it? I figure that box Carney's holding is about a foot square. Here's what I'll do. I'll get you a bucket with a foot and a half mouth, and it'll be full of water. Yeah. I'll have it right outside the door of that office. If you get that box, place it in the water. We'll get the bucket out of the building as fast as we can. And once we get the bomb under water, we're in and clear, and you can't promise you that, but it's the safest way to handle it under the circumstances. All right, that's it. Sam, you take care of your hand? Right away. I'll get a detail to give me a hand out on the street, and we'll take the bomb to a safe area and decommission it. Let's move on it. All right, then. Which part do you want the rope or the bomb? You call it. Our Chief Erickson said the lightest man on a rope. That's mean, Joe. All right, I'll get the bomb out of the building. Okay, that's the routine. We carry this with you. The man that comes down that rope has one chance to make good. Slug him and make it count. There's no second try. Yeah. And, Joe, when you grab that box, you've got to get it away from Carney before he can squeeze the trigger. Then you've got to get it down the street. The elevator. You know how to operate it? Well, it's pretty simple, but I'll double-check with the operator. And you've got to do it right now. Okay. Say we better get Carney's brother on the phone for him. You seem anxious. That might be a pretty good idea. All right, Romero, that's the outside phone. Get the city jail. All right, together. Get going, Friday. Hi. Hey, you, elevator, man. Yeah. We'll see if I know how to work this thing in yours. You taking over the elevator? In a couple of minutes. You want to check me out? Nothing to it, Sergeant. Here's the control. You push this lever right to go up, left to go down. You see this little trigger on the underside of the handle? Yeah. That's a safety lock. Be sure you squeeze it. You can't move the lever. That's all right. If I try it. Okay. Where'll I turn off the master switch? All right. That's it. Right to go up, left to go down. All right. Now, how do you operate the doors? Automatic. They work off the control lever. When the control lever's locked, the upper down position of the doors will close. I got it. Now, in case they jam, this red emergency button appears. Yeah. Yeah, push it. If that doesn't close, then we call a repairman. Okay. I think I got it. You want to turn that switch back on? All right. You sure now. I have my artiste out of the building. I'll just leave the elevator right here and take the stairs down. All right. Thanks a lot. Sergeant, just curious. You going to take the bomb down this car? We're going to try. You won't have any trouble. We haven't had an elevator failure in 18 months. The elevator man turned and went down the stairs. I started down the corridor and met Ben outside the office. He told me that Lee Jones and Chief Erickson were on their way up in the freight elevator at the rear of the building with the necessary equipment. The two fire department volunteers were with him. The phone call had been put through the city jail and in a minute, Elwood Carney would be ready at the other end of the line. We went in to tell Carney. I told him over to jail to put the call through on extension 2351. When's it coming through? Right now. You got Elwood with you? No. We told you we'd get him on the phone for you. The call will be through in a minute. A minute's a long time, cop. You only got 12 of them left. Elwood's going to talk you out of this. Oh, sure, sure. Everybody's going to talk me out of this. First, it was them other two cops, the little porky guy and another monkey. And you and this dixie doughhead here. Now it's Elwood. Now come off it. Will you get my brother over here? That's him now. It's your brother, Carney, I guess. They put you... Just going to get the phone. You want to talk to your brother, don't you? I'll take care of the phone. I'll just disconnect it from... Now get this straight, copper. I'm throwing this spinking rotten lion. I'm going to get you any place. Are you the big boss around here? Maybe. Are you lunch? I answered you. All right, big boy, I got a piece of advice for you. You take your rookie cops here and get it through their thick heads. I mean what I say. I want my brother over here in... Now you tell him that, will you? All right, Carney. Sure, sure. The phone's everything set for you. Get the bucket with the water right here, because I was waiting down the street. All right, Erickson, your boy's ready? Upstairs waiting. And we all know what to do. I don't need somebody to give me a hand with Carney when he falls. I'll be in there with you Friday. Ready to go upstairs, chief? Anytime. One thing you ought to know. What's that? Wind's getting stronger about 20 miles an hour out there right now. That's going to last us up? No, but it's going to increase the sway you've got to allow for it. How do you mean? Wind's coming from the south. We'll lower you just to the right of the window if I figure right, the wind will do the rest. Bigger risk, but we don't control the weather. How are you going to do it, Ben? Soon as I get in position, I'll reach in through the window on his right and I'll use the building. Try to catch him on the right side of the head and one good hitch and put him away. Make it two and be sure, huh? All right, you ready, chief? Let's go. What's the time, Friday? 8.50. Shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes for Romero to get down to that window unless the wind gives him trouble. Jones, there's no use for you sticking around. I'll get Friday a hand. That's my job. I've got to keep you allowed to decommission the bomb. Bomb Joe, see you downstairs. You ready, Lynn? Yeah. Scared Friday? Makes us even. Come on. Lynn White and I went into the next room with Vernon Kearney. Ben was going to make a try from the window on Kearney's right. Somehow, he had to keep his attention on us and away from that window. If anything went wrong and Kearney got out of position, the plan had failed. Chief Erickson didn't estimate the force of the wind correctly. The plan had failed. I looked at my watch. It was 8 minutes to 9. Kearney, anything we can say that will make you change your mind? I've asked you a hundred times. Now I'm ordering you. They're going to get to a phone and have somebody send Elwood over here right now. I'm through waiting. Now move. You rip the phone out, Kearney. Well, then find another one. I told you, I'm sick of your two-bit stolen. We've got until 9 o'clock to make up our mind about this. You had until 9. You wouldn't do what I told you. Now I'm cutting you short. You guys got exactly one minute to get a phone in this room right in here. You call a jail and have him send Elwood over here. You said 9, Kearney. All right, Joe. We'll give him what he wants. David, son, I can connect you to his office. I'll get the phone, Lynn. Record reach? Just a minute. Yeah. Your brother's a prisoner. He's in our custody and he's under our protection. We can't place his life in jeopardy. Leave that up to El. Kenworthy, this is Lynn White. We want Elwood Kearney over here at City Hall. His brother wants to see him. Explain the situation. If he wants to come, get him over here. Leave it up to him. Room 1614, you'll have to use the freight elevator. And tell him to hurry. Yeah. Tell him to hurry. Now, that's the only smart thing you've done today. Why don't you go next door and figure out another angle? We'll wait for Elwood too. You don't think I'd let you get out now, do you? We're all going to wait right here for my brother. In case he don't show up, you're going to see me pull the plug. Now, sit down. Not so close. Right where you are. Sit down. It's windy. It's getting cold in here. Maybe I had a closer window. Turn on the heat. Stay put, cop. What's that? What's going on? Get the wind, cop. Stop! There's somebody out there and see his feet. You're a stupid cop! You're a cop as you didn't think I'd miss a trick like that. Now we'll just close the windows, boys. And lock. Here's your brother, Connie. Yeah. Ah, yeah. You did it. I told you. I told you I'd do it, didn't I? That's far enough for the rest of you. El, you come on over here. Crazy, Vernon. You're crazy. That's what they've been trying to tell me. We're going home now. How are you going to do it? There's a million cops outside. People all over town heard about this. They're holding the crown. They ain't going to stop us now. You'll never make it either one of you. I got him this far, didn't I? We'll make it. Vernon, do you think we could do it? Yo. Yeah? They're going to get a car ready for us. A fast one. Have it in front of the building. Move! All right, Friday. Do what he tells you. All right. Hold it. Yeah? If you ain't back by nine o'clock, the deal still holds. I told them I'd pull a pin at nine now if they didn't let you out. You didn't fool an eye, Vernon. Did that gadget really blow? Four miles high. And what about your bullets? We're getting out. All right, Copper, get the car. You got four minutes. Hey, Ben. Captain, you spot me? Yeah. No time to explain now. Listen, we got to work fast. Yeah? We had to bring Carney's brother over from the jail. How much time we got? Less than four minutes. How about the ledge? Think you can do it? Strong wind. You'll have to hang on like a fly. I don't know. I can give it a try. Okay. Same plan. Every second counts. Now, I can't brief Lynn. He's in the room with a guy. It's up to you and me. I'll get on the ledge from one of these offices. How old will make you? He's got the windows. The one on his right. He locked it. He'll have to crawl around on the one on the left. You got it? Right. Okay. Carl, be ready in two minutes out in front. Fine. Ellen and I would just sit here and wait. It's going to be good being back together, huh? We always were real good together, Vern. Well, that's the way. Brothers ought to be together all the time. You're Vern. I'd feel better with a gun. We don't need no gun. We got the bomb. We need the gun. We want to get out. We get on the road. Okay. Take your pick. They all got them. Joe. Give him yours. I'm not carrying a gun. I left it in the other room. A cop without a gun? Who's getting who? I left it in the other room. First the big boy, though. He's got one. It's about time for that car, ain't it? It's two minutes to nine. Yeah. This way as I get right in his hip. Hey, you plan to enjoy? I got it. Get the box. See that guy alone? The elevator, 16 floors, isn't very much. But I never shared an elevator with a live bomb. It seemed like hours between floors. I kept watching the bucket. The bomb was completely under water. A small stream of bubbles was hissing to the surface. I waited. I picked up the bucket and ran to the street. I missed the first step. Forward, the bucket spun out of my hand. I sprawled flat on the sidewalk. I waited for the explosion. It didn't go off, Friday. I gave it a good chance, Lee. It was all there. Look, at least a dozen sticks of dynamite. Snyder, bring that over here. Here you are, Lieutenant. Thanks. Here's why it didn't go off. Yeah. Had it rigged for a hard trigger pull. Would have taken a good yank to set this one off. Hi, Joe. Hi, Ben. Clumsy. The story you have just heard was true. Only the names were changed to protect the innocent. On February 15th, trial was held in Superior Court, Department 87, City and County of Los Angeles, State of California. In a moment, the results of that trial. It's amazing how many long cigarette smokers are changing to extra mild Fatima. Here is the actual report. From coast to coast, extra mild foot bookers. Yes, more and more smokers every day are discovering that Fatima is the king size cigarette that is extra mild. Extra mild because it contains the finest Turkish and domestic tobaccos, superbly blended to make it extra mild. To give it a much different, much better flavor and aroma. Enjoy extra mild Fatima yourself. Best of all, long cigarettes. It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. It's wise to smoke extra mild Fatima. Vernon Carney was examined by five different psychiatrists appointed by the Superior Court and found to be mentally incompetent. He is now confined in the state mental institution for the criminally insane. Elwood Carney is now serving the balance of his sentence with no time off for good behavior. Fatima cigarettes, best of all, long cigarettes has brought you dragnet transcribed from Los Angeles. Sarah's Private Caper with Comedian Sarah Berner on NBC.