 The story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. Fatima Cigarettes. Best of all, long cigarettes brings you dragnet. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to forgery detail. A United States postal inspector comes to your office. You've received the same complaints he has. Somebody is stealing mail in your city. Your job? Help get him. Friends, compare Fatima with any other king-size cigarette. You'll find a world of difference. Yes, in Fatima, the difference is quality. Quality of tobaccos, the finest domestic and Turkish varieties, extra mild, superbly blended, to give you a much different, much better flavor and aroma. Quality of manufacture, smooth, round, perfect cigarettes. Ruled in the finest paper, money can buy. Manufactured in the newest and most modern of all cigarette factories. Quality, even to the appearance of the bright, clean, golden yellow package, carefully wrapped and sealed, to bring you Fatima's rich, fresh, extra mild flavor. So compare Fatima yourself, today. You'll find Fatima's now cost the same as other long cigarettes. But your first puff will tell you... Ah, that's different. Yes, in Fatima, the difference is quality. Bye, Fatima. Criminal 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 Monday, March 3rd, it was raining in Los Angeles. We were working the day watch out of forgery detail. My partner's Ben Romero. The boss is Captain Harry Elliott. My name's Friday. It was 7.45 a.m. when I got to room 29, forgery detail. Good morning, Joe. Hi, Ben. Sure coming down out there. Yeah. Look at this coat. It's soaking wet. Is that the same trench coat, that English one? Yeah. Ever since I had it cleaned, it seems to soak up the water a little more. Does it leak? Oh, no, it just seems to take on a little more water. Keeps me dry. Got something to show you, Joe. Yeah. Remember that old raincoat of mine? You used to leak up through the seams over the shoulders. Oh, yeah, sure. Take a look at this. What do you got there? What do you need, huh? Yeah, what is it? A new raincoat. Never know, would you? Small, compact, whole things hard, any bigger than a pack of cigarette. Not bad, huh? Yeah. What'd you get? Wife bought it for me. Amy says it's regular, full-sized raincoat, size 40 long. Amy says it. Didn't you try it on? Oh, no, you know how they make something like this. It's made out of plastic, size isn't too important. Just plain coat. Slips right on over your suit, just like any other raincoat. I know it'll fit. You haven't worn it yet, huh? No, it hadn't started raining on the left, don't you? Could I see that? Sure. Real compact, isn't it? Now, something like this is really practical. Yeah. Little packages like that you carry around with you all the time. Never take up any room at all. Yeah. What's it look like? Just like that little box here. Same stuff. It's transparent, you know, regular plastic. Well, could we look at it inside, Amy? Okay, let's see. Well, here, you better go. Yeah, okay. Well, just unzip it here. Here is compact, isn't it? Yeah. There we go. Look here, Joe. All folded up nice and neat. Yeah. Sure is lightweight, too. Plastic's great, isn't it? Fine, yeah. There we go. Full-sized raincoat. See here? It fits fine. Never know a full-sized coat of going to thing like that little pouch there, would you? It's no bigger than a tobacco pouch. Yeah, that's pretty good. You know what dried on, Joe? Never know you had anything on. Sure is light and nice. Yeah, I can see. Now, now we just put it back in the pouch till I'm ready for it. That's it now. The collar goes up. One fold in like this. No. No, that isn't right. Goes this way. Let's put it down on the table. Let's put it down on the table. That'll be better. Yeah. Yeah, that's better. Now, here we go. Now we fold the arms in here. Now the bottom part comes up this way. Now we fold it over again. Easy, isn't it? Just follow the trace marks when you're home, Joe. Yeah. Now if you'll hand me that little pouch, Joe. Oh, yeah. There you go. Oh, thank you. Now, you know, I guess that's too big. Well, we'll make one more folding, right? Yeah. Well, it's small enough this way, but it's too fat, isn't it? You better watch it there. You're going to tear that little sack. That's funny. I folded it right over the old creases there. Too fat, isn't it? Yeah. Well, couldn't you just carry it in your pocket like that without the pouch? Sure, I'd say. I'll slip it in my coat pocket. No. No, that won't do, Joe. It bulges right out. It's kind of springy. It jumps out. It's like a piece of bungee sale. Yeah, it seems to. Well, it's still lightweight. Easy to handle. Sure. Well, easy to carry just like that anyway. Yeah. Well made little pouch there. Seems a shame not to be able to use it. You smoke a pipe? No, you know that. Just a cigarette. Yeah, I'll find some use for it. Probably a hundred things a fella could use a little pouch like this for. But you just think of them, right ole? Yeah, that's right. Righty, Romero, you want to step in here for a minute? Right, Cam. You fellas know Inspector Smith, Post Office Department. Sure, how are you? Romero. Good to see you, Leo. How you doing, Joe? So now, won't you? Thank you. That's very well. Inspector Smith's over here on that mail-deep case that we've been working on. Oh, yeah. Did you receive those reports we sent over to you yesterday? No, I haven't been to the office yet. Came straight over here. Well, Berglary turned it over to us yesterday afternoon. Ben and I ran it down. Seems to us like it might fit in somewhere here. Miller and Ashton have probably got your reports now. I was just going to call in. You mind filling me in on it? The apartment house over on that veranda. Landlady reported a theft of part of a mailbox out there. Somebody stole a master panel off the front of the community mailbox at the apartment house. Figured it must have happened sometime during the night. Oh, yeah. I believe we got something on that, too. A postman on the route reported it. And that's how he's getting into the mailbox. He steals a front panel, makes a key for himself, and now he's in business. A smart guy like we're after could put a key like that to good use for the great many different mailboxes around town. Yeah. It's the same MO. We've been on this guy for a long time. He pulled the same thing down in San Diego. He was knocking down about $2,000 a month. Then he laid out. Now he's at it again up here in LA. Mm-hmm. Well, as you know, we've been getting reports of the thefts and the passing of the checks about 10 days ago. Yeah, I know. We've got five checks passed by this same thief, according to handwriting analysis. We know it's the same guy. Talk to the victims and the bank tellers. Description of the guy seems to tally with what you people have on him. Yeah. Just one thing we haven't been able to piece out yet. What's that, Joe? When he steals a check, how does he know what bank to pass it on? I think we got the answer to that one. Well, let's say that he steals a letter. We know he doesn't only hit the community mailboxes. Sometimes he goes to a private residence, fishes the letters right out of the mail slots in that case. Yeah, he's got some kind of a gimmick he gets down in those slots with. Yeah, that's what we figure, Leo. But we'll say after he's got a letter with a check in it, now it's easy enough for a good forger to put an endorsement on it. But how does he know what branched the bank to pass it on? Well, at some time or other, he's stealing bank statements as well. Maybe he's just lucky. At the time he steals a check, there's other mail in the box too, the victim's bank statements. Well, as far as that goes, I suppose he's stolen more than once from the same party. He could probably get away with bank statements easy. Well, that's it. People never seem to report anything missing in the mails until weeks after it's happened. It's easy to see why. They're not sure anything's wrong until they wait several days. They don't want to bother us in the case of anything routine like monthly bank statements. And in the case of a check, well, sometimes it's from a relative or someone who owes them money and they don't want to embarrass them by writing or calling to find out about it. Well, I suppose in the case of anything like a dividend check, we got a couple of those, Leo. The people who lose them just don't think it's time for them to arrive yet, so they just wait, huh? That's it. And that's why he's been so successful. Plus the fact that it takes about a week for any kind of check to be processed through central clearing at any bank, and then, too, the bank wouldn't necessarily know that anything was wrong at that time. Until the bank receives a complaint from the party who missed the check, they couldn't have any way of knowing that anything was wrong. That's right. Tell them what you were telling me this morning, Leo. Well, you people aren't in it deep enough to know this yet, but this guy's been hitting the same branch bank maybe two, three times in a row. Not here in LA, Eddie. No, not yet. It looks to us like he's just started up his operations here in town. That's the way he worked it down to San Diego. Well, it's easy enough to figure if he got a teller in some bank to go along with him, someone who didn't suspect him, and since the victims reported so late, he could get away with it at least that many times at the same bank, couldn't he? Yeah. If people report missing mail immediately, they make it a lot tougher for their thief. And at last name, I'm still good. Harvey Fletcher? That's what we're going on, yeah. We've got bulletins out to all the banks carrying that description on him, and he changed their name. WMA, average build, 150, 160 pounds, gray eyes, about 32 to 35, well-dressed, carries a briefcase. Like old personality. That's what we got on him. Oh, there's a little something we picked up yesterday from a bank teller. She told us the man had long sideburns for what it's worth. You might add that. Okay. Don Myers and handwriting his check through his files, Leo. They haven't got anything on him. And the stats office hasn't been able to make him on his MO. And we know you people are doing everything you can for us. We appreciate it. Yeah, I wish we could do more. That name, Harvey Fletcher, of the five checks that we've got on the guy, according to handwriting analysis on him, he's only used that name once. Rest of the time, he signs the same last name as the payee's name on the face of the check. He impasses himself off as a brother, husband or some relation to the rightful payee. Yeah, that's what's taking in all those bank tellers, plus a smooth personality. He's cool, collected all the confidence in the world. Yeah, that figures. Yeah, we got one day before yesterday with a little different twist. He's going to help us any, but here's the way he's working it in some cases. Deposits a large check to the victim's account, then he only takes out a small portion in cash, throws the tellers off even more. Here's those photo stats, Leo. What's this? Copy to the last five checks that we got on the guy. Oh, yeah, thanks, Harry. Maya says they're all in the same handwriting. Is there anything else we can do for you, Leo? We've got all the banks in the area covered, got bulletins out on them. That's fine. I don't think we've overlooked anything, but all units have been alerted. Well, this latest theft of that mailbox panel, it's too bad we can't localize his operations a little. Leo, didn't you say that if he makes a key, that key would fit any number of boxes in the city? We couldn't pin him down to one neighborhood, could we? That's right. That key will work on different mail rods. He probably knows a neighborhood around Alvarado's hot now. He'll leave it alone anyway. It's impossible to stake him out on the actual thefts of the mail. It's too bad we can't get to him through one of the banks when he cashes him. Well, your man, Pa, and ours put together they couldn't cover all the banks in LA at one time, but we've been spot-checking throughout the city, hoping maybe to tab him just by luck. You might get a break from one of our bulletins. Maybe some teller will spot him. I'm not sure yet. That's one of the reasons I came over here this morning, but maybe we've got a little something. What's that? Well, a bank out in Westwood phoned us yesterday. A teller thought she recognized the guy from his description, didn't dawn on her till after the guy left her window. She rushed out in time to get the license number of his car. Maybe it's a break, huh? Yeah, it looks pretty good. The check was drawn on the account of a William E. Scott, and that's the number two victim here in LA. That's right. You got the photos out of his check right there. Yeah, I know. Well, everything seems to fit. This check he passed yesterday out in Westwood was probably stolen at the same time as the first one, or at least it came from this Scott's mailbox. That we know. Well, didn't this William Scott report the theft of two checks? I know he didn't, does. Maybe he did to you. No, he didn't. Said he couldn't be sure. He gets quite a few checks through the mail. Owns a lot of stock, gets dividends. Probably doesn't know when they come each month. That's right. He didn't miss the first one till it was way overdue. Might even be others missing. He doesn't know for sure yet. Well, anyway, he's positive on this latest one out in Westwood that the bank teller caught, huh? Sure. As soon as the bank manager called him, he knew he hadn't authorized anybody to cash any of his checks. The M.O. seemed to match. Well, that's what's got us going on it. Looks real good. Smooth operator. Deposited part of the money, took the balance and cash. The major switch in his operation was the fact that he didn't go to the victim's regular bank as he did on that first check. That sounds good, doesn't it? And we kind of think so. That's the reason I came over here this morning. Conway, our handwriting man, thinks it's the same as the guy we're after. He asked me to check it through Don Myers to be sure. What signature do you use on this last one? Now, that's another part of the M.O. that checks out. You remember on the first check, he forged the victim's name, William Scott. Then he made it a second-party check by signing the phony name, George Scott, passing himself off as a nephew of the victim. Pretty smart. He goes to this victim's regular bank and he doesn't take the chance of being tabbed as the payee. He covers by using that nephew gimmick. Yeah. This time he goes to a different branch. Not the regular branch that the victim deals with is in the first case. He simply forges the victim's name and lets it go at that. You been doing anything on that license number? Well, Ashton and Miller checked it out late yesterday afternoon. They're on it now. Need any help? No, not so far. I'm interested in what Don Myers has to say about the handwriting. He ought to be through about now, huh? I'll give him a call. Thanks, Harry. Hello, Don. Who's this? This is Elliot. You know if Don's checked that stuff through for Inspector Smith yet? Okay, thanks, Lon. No, that's all right. We'll get to him. Don was called out of the office for a minute. That was Sloan. He says he's sure Don's finished with it. Oh, fine. You say when he'll be back? He just dug down to that Brown's office for a minute. I'll call down there for you. That's all right. I'll walk down there myself and need the exercise. Okay. Go and I'll walk on down with you. That's well. Let's go. All right. You fellas will be back there once. I'm sure as soon as I check with Myers. All right. Which way is it from here? Hall looks the same from one end to the other to me. What's this way, Leo? Huh, okay. This affects you like the federal building does me. I get all turned around up there. Yeah. Well, those fellas down in San Diego had a rough go on this thing. Yeah, I was talking to McGuire and Ormsby down there just the other day. They said they were going around in circles on it. They broke a lot of ground for us. Checked out a lot of suspects, cleared them. Checked out all that stuff that Barrett and from CII sent down. Yeah. You know how thorough that guy is. He figures they've done a lot of leg work. Friday, you say you just talked to him down there? Yeah, that's right, Leo. Well, then you know about all those bulletins they got on the guy. Description, exemplars of his handwriting. Sent him to every police department in the United States. It's a big job. I'll go get Don. It's right in here. Thanks, Joe. Right. Don? Yeah, Joe. Leo Smith in the post office department's waiting to see you. Right, Joe. That's on my way back to the office. Fine. Hello, Don. Sorry, Leo. I had to duck out for a minute. Oh, that's all right. Said you get a chance to look that sky check over? Yeah, I did. Got a couple of things to show you back in the office. Okay, fine. Was Conway positive on this one? Well, he said he thought we had the right man, but he wanted your opinion to be absolutely sure. That couldn't be positive, but I think maybe he's your man. There's a great similarity, but too much pressure on the downstrokes. Knees, the yos. Just not too sure. They're a little different than some of the previous samples of the guy's handwriting. Uh-huh. I can show you better back at the office. Got a few things for you. Think there's a possibility, Don? Let me put it this way. I won't say it is. I won't say it isn't. Let's pick them up and find out for sure. Here we are. Go ahead, fellas. Thank you. I've blown those things up here. Uh-huh. Call for you, Leo. I'm afraid. Oh, thanks, Harry. Excuse me. Is Smith talking? You did? Uh-huh. We did. All right. Look, why don't you bring him down a forgery detail here at the city hall? We'll talk to him here. Write it. Right. Thanks. Well, looks like the end of the trail. That was Ashton. He and Miller picked him up. He's our man, admitted to forgery. Looks like San Diego did all the work, and we get all the luck. Anyway, we got him. We're in the scientific investigation division of a metropolitan police department, the ballistics room. You have just heard a test bullet fired from a .38 caliber revolver found in the possession of a suspect. The test slug is removed from the ballistics box and compared with the slug found at the scene of the crime. There they are. Side by side, they look alike. But examination will prove a world of difference. Now, examine a Fatima. Compare it with any other king-sized cigarette. Side by side, they'll look alike. But right away, you'll find there's a world of difference. Yes, in Fatima, the difference is quality. You see, Fatima is the quality king-sized cigarette because it contains the finest domestic and Turkish tobaccos superbly blended. And Fatima is extra mild, with a much different, much better flavor and aroma than any other long cigarette. So compare Fatima yourself. Fatima's now cost the same as other long cigarettes, but your first puff will tell you. Ah, that's different. Yes, in Fatima, the difference is quality. Ask your dealer for Fatima, the quality king-sized cigarette. Best of all, long cigarettes. Start enjoying Fatima tomorrow. In the routine solution of a case, the police officer is always benefited by the legwork of his fellow officers. In this case, the men of the San Diego Police Department, in conjunction with the Post Office Department, had done most of the spade work and the actual apprehension of the suspect appeared to be almost too easy on our end. Even though Ben and I hadn't participated in the physical arrest of the suspect, we felt the same gratification for the speedy solution of the case as did the postal authorities. Monday, March 3rd, 327 p.m., Miller and Ashton of the Post Office Department brought the suspect in for questioning. The prisoner was turned over to Inspector Leo Smith. Ben and I sat in on the interrogation. Carver Gleason, that's your true name? Yes, sir, it is. You say you've never been arrested before? No, sir, I never have. You know we're going to check that out. Yes, sir. All right, now let's go over it again. In the same way? That's up to you. We want the truth. I've told you the truth. You asked me questions about stealing mail, about forging checks. You said I was down in San Diego. Well, that's not true. None of it's true. Have you ever stolen from the mails? No, sir, I never have. I know this is a pretty serious offense. What makes you think forging isn't? Is that what you're trying to say? No, I'm not. I didn't say that, but this was the first time I've ever done anything like this. I didn't even think about the consequences. You should have thought about them. When's the last time you were in San Diego? I've never been there. I don't even know for sure where it is. How long have you been in Los Angeles? About three months now. Where's your home? Akron, Ohio. How old did you say you were? 25. What have you been doing since you got out here? Just did. Nothing. Can't find a job. Well, how have you been getting by? How have you been living? Been staying down at the YMCA. Hope Street, I guess it is. What have you been doing for money? Well, my folks gave me a loan when I left Akron. Thought I'd have a job by now. I didn't want to write home for any more, so when I found that check, I figured I could get away with it. I needed money, and I cashed it. Where'd you say you found it? Over on, um, let's street out that way, uh, Las Cigarnega, is that how you say it? Las Cienega, yeah. Now, what were you doing out there? Well, I was answering an ad in the classifiers trying to find a job. I had to park the car down the street from the place, and on my way back, I found this check on the sidewalk right near the bank on the corner. Where'd you get the car? It's my father's. The car is registered in your name with California plates. How do you explain that? Well, the folks told me when I got to California to go right to the authorities and register the car, if I was going to stay, so I wouldn't get in any trouble. That's where part of my money went. You got anything else you want to tell us? Well, I did it. I admit that. I want to make it up somehow. The check was for $57. I gave the men that arrested me $50 of it, and I spent $7. Yeah, that's all on the record. I did wrong. I'll pay the $7 back. Well, you can take that up with the judge, Gleason. Friday, Romero, you want to step outside with me a minute? Yeah, right. Gleason, you wait here with that officer. Yes, sir. And what do you think? He's telling the truth. He's not the one we want. How about you, Joe? Yeah, I'll go along with Ben. That makes three of us. Monday, March 3rd, 5 p.m. We went in and checked with Don Myers. In carefully going over exemplars of Carver Gleason's handwriting, he had definitely eliminated him as our suspect. Carver Gleason remained in custody awaiting trial. Three months went by. During this time, the burglaries and forgeries continued. Suspects were picked up, checked out, and released. We got nowhere. Tuesday, July 12th. We received a communication from Chief Adam Jensen of the San Diego Police Department who stated he was forwarding a radiogram from Chief John W. Polescene of the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Police Department. The radiogram from Chief Polescene stated that his handwriting man in Milwaukee had identified the suspect's handwriting, as listed in one of the San Diego bulletins, as belonging to Philip E. Holloway. Holloway was arrested two years previous on a reckless driving charge. The physical description of the man matched closely with the one that we'd received on the suspect known to us as Harvey Fletcher. They further stated that although he was at one time a resident of Milwaukee, they had nothing further on him. It was just an outside chance, but we decided that in all probability, this could be the suspect's true name, Philip E. Holloway. This information was forwarded to the postal authorities. Ben and I started to check through our channels to determine the whereabouts of the suspect, Philip E. Holloway, with a possible alias of Harvey Fletcher. Well, that's it, Joe. Nothing in any of the phone books. Yeah. Covered everything I can think of. Our records, sheriff's records, nothing from CII, a utility company. Yeah, well, maybe Smith found something on him. We haven't got anything here. Think I'll give him a call, huh, Joe? Yeah, I'd like to know. That's the extension of 664. Yeah, I know. Now, 664. Hello, Inspector Smith, please. How's that? Oh, I see. No, that's all right, thank you. Going his way over here, he left five minutes ago. I sure hope he's got something. Joe, Ben. Hi, Leo. Think maybe we ran it down. Good. How'd you do it, to the Postal Service? Yep, didn't figure, did it? Well, we didn't think he'd stay put long enough to have a permanent address. Well, he's been on the move, but we got the last known address on him. Received mail there two days ago. You want to check with Don Myers? He's been working over those exemplars, Milwaukee senders. I just did. Called him about 15 minutes ago. Oh, we just got back from Mar and I. What do you have to say to that, son? Well, he and Conway agree all the way this trip. Yeah. Holloway's our man. Together with the Postal Authorities, Ben and I helped in the 24-hour surveillance placed on the suspect, Philippe Holloway. Our findings disclose that he was living in a modest apartment house, and he was employed by a local vacuum cleaner company as a door-to-door salesman. This type of occupation would enable anyone to have suspicion-free access to any and all types of home mailboxes. The first three days of the surveillance failed to disclose any further incriminating evidence. Thursday, July 17th, fifth day of the 24-hour surveillance, 2.30 p.m. Holloway came out of his apartment building, got into his car, and drove approximately four miles to the Echo Park residential district. He parked his car, got out, and went up the steps of a small apartment house. Together with Inspector Leo Smith, Ben and I followed him. You want to pull up here, Ben? This is good. Yeah, all right. Yeah, he's going for that mailbox, isn't he? Yeah. He's got the key. It's opening the panel. Not a worry in the world. Broad daylight. Look at that. He's got all the letters out of the box. Got him in his pocket. Not his way back to his car. Leo, there's a bank right up there on Sunset Sea. Okay, let's stay with him. How's it look, Joe? You can see up ahead in there. Is he pulling out? Wait a minute. All right, let's go. Better pull up here, huh? Well, look at that. Just like it was blueprinted. Going right in the bank. Come on. Yeah. Joe, you see him? There he is. Second window. Let's get in line right behind, Larry. Yes, sir. May I help you? Yes. I wonder if you can pass the check for me. Yes, sir. Would you endorse it for me? Sure, may. As you can see, this is one of my mother's checks. I guess I can cash it all right for her. Do you have any identification? I'm sorry. I don't. I'll say I have this envelope for check with mail being collected. Yes, I think that's all right. How would you like this, sir? He doesn't want it anyway, miss. Just hold that check for us, please. Post it in the inspector. Yes, sir. I beg your pardon. I believe you're making a mistake here. No, there's no mistake. Come on. Step over here. Shake him down. I don't understand all this. That key you used over there on Baxa Street, that the one you made from that panel you stole over on Alvarado about four months ago? You know about that, huh? Yeah, we do. I did all right for a while, didn't I? That key angle's a pretty good one, isn't it? There's no lock in the world I can't make a key for. If we got one in mind, you might have trouble with. The story you have just heard was true. Only the names were changed to protect the innocent. On October 15th, trial was held in United States District Court, State of California, in a moment the results of that trial. And now here is our star, Jack Webb. Thank you. Friends, all of us on Dragnet are convinced that Fatima is the best of all long cigarettes. We think you'll like them as much as we do. But the only way you can tell is to buy a pack of Fatimas and compare them with any other king-size cigarette. Now side by side, they'll look alike, but in Fatima, the difference is quality. Quality that gives you extra mildness, a much better flavor and aroma. Compare Fatima. You'll agree, Fatima is the best of all long cigarettes. The suspect, Philip L. Wood Holloway, was found guilty on all counts. He was sentenced to 10 years in the federal penitentiary. Five years of his sentence was suspended and he was placed on probation, one of the conditions being that he make restitution of the stolen money. Ladies and gentlemen, accidents of all types kill more persons from one to 35 years of age than does any single disease. America's homes and children can best be kept safe if every father, mother and child develops the personal responsibility to know and observe home safety rules. Make home safety a family affair. Be careful. The life you save may be your own. 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's cigarettes, best of all, long cigarettes has brought you Dragnet, portions transcribed from Los Angeles. Stay tuned for Counter-Spire next over most NBC stations.