 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 Society's representative in your community. A representative of our sponsor, the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. On my block lives a widow with 17-year-old twins, boy and girl, just starting their freshman year at the university. People often wonder how she can afford to keep two children in college. The answer is, she can. Those kids are going to college on an equitable education fund. And that fund was created by the first policy I wrote when I became a representative of the Equitable Society 16 years ago. In approximately 14 minutes, I'll be back to give the whole story of an equitable education fund, an important contribution to American education made by the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. Tonight's FBI file, the meticulous mobster. The Federal Bureau of Investigation cooperates in presenting this program because it feels that the public should know the facts about crime. It does not present those facts somber as they are in an effort to frighten you, but merely to acquaint you with the true picture of things as they are. From statistics already compiled, it seems certain that there will be more than a million and a half major crimes committed in this country this year, an average of better than 5,000 a day. There are some to whom that fact will mean nothing, for they labor under the misconception that crime is far from their daily lives. That is simply not true. For whoever you are and wherever you are, you are a victim of every crime that takes place anywhere in the nation. A crime wave such as this country is currently witnessing ultimately touches everyone and makes him share the financial cost of that wave, nor is that cost small enough to be dismissed. For the crime bill literally runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars each year. A sum so great that it now more than doubles the amount of money spent everywhere in the 48 states on education. The night's file opens on the shore of a large lake located in the Midwestern state. It is late afternoon, leaves have almost obliterated the gravel walk that runs beside a row of deserted summer cabins. All deserted, that is, except one. And in that one, a man sits, slowly shuffling a doggie deck of cards as the front door opens. Who's that? It's I, John. Oh, where's Pete? He stayed in town. How's Mr. Parks? Oh, he's OK. Where is he? In his room, sleep. I don't know how he puts up with it here. What? What do you mean? This place hasn't been cleaned since he came here. Well, what is he, a guest? Is this a hotel? We kidnapped the guy. Remember, we're holding him here for dough. That still doesn't excuse the appearance of the place. Oh, right over there. Wet swimming trunks on that chair, those clothes piled up in a corner, a stale sandwich on the table. It was that way when we came. Oh, hot shoes. Well, look, I'd rather be living like this than washing my hands every five, five, five minutes like you. Gems are good for you once in a while. Well, you certainly should be in authority on that. Oh, look, did you come all the way out here to pick on me? Hardly. I came to arrange for Mr. Parks to leave here tonight. Oh, how come? Pete has collected the ransom money. Mr. Parks goes back home. Well, in the next morning at an FBI field office, Special Agent Jim Taylor is seated at his desk when Agent Paul Madison approaches. Hi, Jim. Oh, hello, Paul. How was the vacation? Fine. Busy? Yeah. I'm what? Well, I guess you could call it a jigsaw pleasant. Huh? See these papers? Yeah. Well, each one has a different clue. What's the case? A man named Eugene Parks was kidnapped just a week ago, picked up outside of his home. His family notified us as soon as they received the first note. Is he your wealthy man, Jim? Yes. Family put ads in the papers, negotiated. Finally, yesterday morning, the ransom money was picked up by the kidnappers. Has Parks been released? Yes, he came home late last night. I just left him for a while. He's still extremely tired and nervous. What was his story, Jim? Two men that costed him outside his home, they bundled him in a car. He was blindfolded and driven for what he felt was over about five or six hours before he arrived at their hideout. They might have just driven around in circles. Yeah, that's true. Well, once at the hideout, his blindfold was removed. He found himself in a small room of what was obviously a roughly constructed cabin. Any windows? No. Could he describe the two men? No, they wore masks whenever they came in to see him. Then what are your clues? Well, Mr. Parks very wisely paid attention to sounds, sounds outside the cabin. Uh-huh. They let him keep his watch so he was able to keep a time pattern on what he heard. That's what's out in these pieces of paper here, boy. Oh, what are they? Well, this first one has to do with boat whistles. Parks says he's specifically heard them at about 10.30 in the morning and 4.30 each afternoon. And put some near water. Yeah. He also heard music, band music. It came from a distance, fading on and then fading off. Fading on and on? Mm-hmm. Could have been on a boat. Yeah. Then there was a plane that crossed overhead at approximately 11.35. Each morning? Yeah, that's right. Any other clues? Well, one more. That's the real puzzle. The night before he was released, Parks heard a lot of trucks drive past the place where he was being held. Now, prior to that, he had never heard any traffic. Hmm. And that's all I could get from him this morning. Well, you have got a jigsaw there. Yeah. Well, I'm interviewing him again this evening. He should be rested by then. If we can learn where he was, Paul, we should get a good lead on who did the kidnapping. Who is it? Oh, come in. Hi, boys. Hi. How did it go last night? Fine. Where'd you drop Parks out? On the outskirts of town. What do you mean outskirts? We were still in the country. Like where? By Blue Hills Bridge. I told you to drop them in town. What happened? Parks started to sneeze. That's what happened. And old Jersey here dumped them out. That had nothing to do with it. Oh, no? We passed several police cars on the road, and I thought it was best to get rid of it. Oh, yeah? Well, then why did you do that? Oh, hold it. Both of you. We got business to tend to. Money business. Oh, blended. How much did you collect? A full amount. 25 Gs? Uh-huh. Here's five for you, Artie. Ha-ha! Thanks, Pete. And John, here's you a five. Thank you. Now, you boys both know about ransom money. It's always hot. Cereal numbers are in banks and stores, so I'd advise you to stash it away for a while. Well, how long? A couple of months, at least. But I ain't holding, Pete. I'm a real empty pocket. I'll advance you some cash to operate with. A very wise decision. Why? Because you couldn't resist spending the ransom. Now, look. You know your weakness for whiskey. What do you mean weakness? Now, wait. This is my strength. All right, boys. All right. That's enough. Well, why don't you try to stop picking on me? Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Here's what I think you both should do with the money. Stash it in a bank. That's how I operate. I keep a safe deposit box in a joined up state. Do you do the same? After a few more jobs, we'll all have enough to retire. Hi, Paul. Oh, hello, Jim. The interview with Mr. Parks again? No, I checked over there. He's still sleeping, but I have made some progress. Good. What happened? Well, the first step was to get a general location in a cabin, knowing it was near water I checked first on Walnut Lake. And? And it seems to be the right location. Good. You remember the boat whistles that Parks heard? Well, there's an excursion line on Walnut Lake. Two boats. They pass each other twice a day at 10.30 and 4.30. And that's when Parks heard the whistles. Yes. And those boats, poor, they have small bands aboard. That would account for the music fading on and fading off. Well, then just for insurance, I checked with the local airlines. I found that Central has a plane that flies directly over Walnut Lake at 11.55 daily, and that's when Parks heard the plane. There's one drawback, of course, Jim. Walnut Lake has a pretty big shoreline. Well, I think we can localize that some too. How? Well, the excursion steamers travel along the North Shore. And I think we can assume the cabin is located some place along there. That's 15 miles long. Yeah, I know. Oh, you got a call from the sheriff up at Lakeville. I want you to contact him out of the way. Oh, fine. I gave him a list of all the clues. Asked him to help us check them. He might have some information for us, Bob. Yeah, I'm trying to remember just how thickly populated that North Shore is. Ah, there's hundreds and hundreds of cabins along there. Hello, Sheriff. This is Special Agent Taylor. Are you called me? Yes, I think I have a lead for you. Good. What is it? Well, remember all those trucks your victim heard on Tuesday night? Yes. I found out that the National Guard moved the convoy through. Oh, what highway do you use? It wasn't really a highway. They took Old Oak Road. That's a shortcut, leads to 101. Well, does that pass near the lake? Just for about 100 yards. On there where? A place called Elbow Point. Well, thanks, Sheriff. We'll get out there right away. I'm in here. Oh, Pete, I wonder if I might talk with you for a few minutes. You're here, aren't you? Go ahead. It's not exactly a pleasant subject. Get with it, John. And don't rub your finger on my desk. There's no dust on it. Sorry? Now, what's your problem? It has to do with Artie. What about him? He's going to get us into trouble. How? Well, for one thing, I asked him to clean up the cabin when he left. He promised he would. I went up there this morning just to check and the place was a shambles. So? If the police had ever come there, they could have gotten a dozen leads. I spent most of the day scrubbing and cleaning it up. Must have had fun. Now, Pete, this is no joking matter. I've got more to report on, Artie. What? You remember the advice you gave him yesterday to keep the ransom money, not spend it? Uh-huh. Well, he was in every saloon on State Street last night. Every time he bought a drink, he'd break up 20. I advanced him some dough. This wasn't the money you gave him. How do you know? I have one of the bills he spent right here. I checked it with my take. Judging by the serial number, I'd say this is definitely part of the ransom. Let me see that. Here. Where's Artie now? Still carousing, I should imagine. Go look for him. Tell him I want to see him right away. It should be coming to another cabin. Paul, flange your light over there to the left, will you? Sure, Jim. Yeah, there's one. Run in the trees, come on. It has nothing more dismal than a summer resort out of season. Hey, listen, one of the winter residents. Yeah. Now, how many more cabins on this stretch of shore? Well, let's see. We've searched 14. Four more to go. Looks like the front of the cabin over there. Uh-huh. The friendlies are your character, isn't he? Got the keys? Yeah. There's a number on the door, Paul. Uh, 15. Let's see. Now, I can't take a set of 15 and 16. Now, we're doing the same key. Paul, turn it a little, will you? Sure. Thanks. Yeah. Here you go. Go ahead. Thanks. It looks like the other is the light switch. It should be right here. I got it. Well, let's take a look around, huh? Okay. One good thing about these places, Jim, is only three rooms. They're easy to search. Paul, wait a minute. What? You notice anything about this place? What do you mean? Anything different from the other cabins we searched? Let's see. Look around here. No empty tin cans. No old newspapers, no moldy bathing suits. Yeah, the place is practically spotless. That's right. Paul, this cabin hasn't been empty since Labor Day. Look. You're on this table. Not a speck of dust. This place has just been cleaned. Yes. Come on, let's get the kids in the car. If we give this place a thorough going over, I think we can identify the kidnappers. We will return to tonight's exciting FBI file in just a moment. Now, another type of thrill. One that millions of Americans will enjoy tomorrow afternoon when the radio announcer of a college football game says, An old Bobby Gilbert's off again. Wow. Look at him run. Old man in blue can't catch him. And he's over. Another touchdown. Well, upsets are common on the football field. But in later life, when a college trained man beats his competitors, it's not an upset. He's merely running true to form. Right. For instance, a college man is 15 times more likely to make $10,000 a year or over than a non-college man. Think of it. Odds are 15 to 1 in favor of a college education. That's one of many reasons why the equitable life insurance society created the famous Equitable Education Fund. It's a plan for parents who want to make certain that their children get the higher education that means so much to their future success. First and foremost, an equitable education fund is sure. Right. This fund combines planned regular saving with life insurance. So if the father dies or becomes permanently disabled, this plan makes it certain that his children will still be able to get the education fund. He'll be able to get the education he was ambitious for them to have. Second advantage, an equitable education fund is easy. Yes. It's like buying your child's education on the installment plan with 12 or 16 years to pay. A comparatively small monthly payment gradually builds a sum ample to see a boy or girl through college. Remember, fathers and mothers, in the increasingly competitive years that lie ahead, the biggest prizes of life will go to college trained men and women. Put your children in line for a more successful future by starting an equitable education fund now. Get in touch with your Equitable Society representative soon. Or send a postcard care of this station to the Equitable Life Insurance Society of the United States. And now back to the FBI file, the meticulous mobster. In this dramatization of tonight's case from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, you see two special agents working at all hours around the clock in an attempt to apprehend the perpetrators of a vicious crime. They would also work as hard if the crime were of any other nature if it were not the terrible thing that kidnapping is. They would work that hard because as part of their training, they have been taught that every special agent of your FBI is a defender of democracy. And only by victory over the American Army of Criminals can our democracy be assured. For defeat would mean that the citizen on the streets would lose the one thing that makes him part of a free nation. Respect for the law. In nations where that respect has been lost, freedom has been lost. For when the citizen loses the feeling that the law is his protection, chaos follows. Out of that chaos, one of two things happens. Either the nation collapses entirely and disappears as nations have, or a dictator emerges with a program of promises, glittering impossible promises that enable him to take command. That is why it is important to you, the American citizen, to have not only a strong unfettered FBI, but also a strong politically unhampered local police force. For in them, you have the guarantee that every crime will be prosecuted, that every effort will be made to maintain that important ingredient of democracy. Respect for the freedoms of every decent human being. The night's file continues early the next morning in the office of Pete Carson. Who is it? Come in. Oh, I'm glad you're still here. I've been waiting for you. I've been waiting all morning. Didn't you get worried I wanted to see you? Yeah, yeah, but now I... What's this I hear about you spending the ransom dough? Look, Pete, look, that can wait. Don't try to change the subject. I hear you've been passing it in every saloon in town. Pete, I've got something to tell you. Just wait till I finish. You didn't clean up the cabin after you left here. If you're only... You left it looking like a pigsty. The cops had found out we'd have had real trouble. Luckily, John cleaned it up. But, Pete, that's what I come to talk to you about. Will you let me finish? But this is about John and his cleaning up the cabin. He's in the clink. Huh? John was picked up by the FBI this morning. How do you know? I heard he was looking for me. I went by his hotel to find out what he wanted. One of the bell boys told me he got nailed. What for? The park's job. What? The bell boy was on the area when the pinch was made. He heard the FBI guy say they knew somebody was in the cabin. How do you know that? All the other cabins were crummy looking, but our joint was too clean. How'd they nail John? Because old James, he rubbed all the debt away and left his fingerprints. Hi, James. I got you a message asking me to meet you out here at the cabin. Good. I came out of the lake this morning. I checked with the storekeepers in the village. I showed them John Douglas' picture. They wouldn't identify him? No. I thought of another angle. There must have been a lot of trash in the cabin. When it was cleaned out, it had to be thrown someplace. Well, there's a trash pile out in back there. I just about to look it over. Come on. Okay. Oh, Paul, did you re-interview John Douglas? Yeah, for over an hour. Get anything? No, just the same old double talk. You never heard of your gene part. Oh, and he's got a new explanation for his fingerprints being all over the cabin. Oh, what's that? We put them there. We're framing them. Oh, sure. Here's the trash, though. Mm-hmm. Now, that pile of dry papers there should be a good place to start. Looks like the only stuff that's been dumped here since it rained. Yeah. Oh, by the way, Paul, I talked to Mr. Parks again. He's thinking a lot more clearly. He believes there were three men on the job. Yeah, why's that? Well, they overheard two of them talking. They addressed each other as John and Idy. I think the dick of the dirtiest playing guards I ever saw might be able to get some prints of them. What about the third man, Jim? Uh, these men who were talking referred to someone else. Someone named Pete. Any last name? No. What's that you have there? Real paper bags, red wrappings. Well, according to Parks, they talked as if this Pete was the boss of the out there. They said he... Hey, wait a minute. What? Yeah. Take a look at this. It's a charge slip from a gas station. Let's see. Yeah. The signature on the bottom is pretty well blurred. First name looks like... Pete. Yeah. Yeah, I doubt it. Paul, this could be a valuable find. We better check this from this gas station. Did you find out anything? Yeah. Well, Jim hasn't talked? Not at Pete. Well, that gives us time, then. What for? To get out of town. Up to now, he hasn't. Later, it could be different. Well, where are we going? I don't know. I haven't consulted the travel folders. Travel folders? Look, just get over here. We're pulling out tonight. Hey, Jim, how'd you make out? Well, I checked with the gas station. I showed them the charge slip. They sent me down to the company's office. Get anything there? Yes. The account number sure was signed by a man named Pete Carson. He lives at 723 Post Street. There are files. I dug out his record and picture. Did you go to his home? No. Why not? Well, I talked to the SAC. He doesn't think this gas station slip is strong enough evidence. Oh, I suppose not. And if we'd found it in the cabin, I could... Hey, wait a minute, Paul. Huh? I'm going back to that company office. What for? I'll just thought of something. I'll call you back if I get it. Special Agent Madison speaking. Oh, Paul, it's Jim. Oh, where are you? Up in Baldwin Junction. What are you doing up there? Well, I found out... Does he know what he was doing up there? No, but he... Well, that's not much help, Jim. What's in it? Oh, all the papers from your file. We burned it. You know, I... I was just thinking. Thinking what? Ha-ha. Old Germs, he must be blowing his marbles in that jailhouse. No clean bed, no clean place. That's why he won't be able to take it much longer. What did you do with that big keyster? Oh, I put it in the back room. Well, I'll go load it up. Why don't you go home and pack the train leaves in an hour, you know? Well, okay. You can meet me back here. Right. Excuse me. Huh? Huh? Is Pete Carson in? Yeah, but he's busy, mister. I'm a special agent of the FBI. Here are my credentials. Well, what do you want? I believe you're Artie Bishop. Yeah, why? I'm looking for you, too. I have a warrant here for your arrest. What... What for? The money you spent last night in several bars was turned into us. It was part of the ransom paid for the release of a man named Eugene Park. Listen, a guy loaned me that dog. Bishop, I've just come from your room. I had a search warrant. I found a lot more of the ransom money there. No, just a minute. No, let me... What's the matter, Artie? Who is this guy? It's a pinch. I'm a special agent of the FBI, Carson. What? I've got a warrant here for your arrest, too, and I'll come along, both of you. Pete Carson, John Douglas and Artie Bishop were placed on trial in a federal court and were given 25-year sentences for kidnapping. Special Agent Taylor found the evidence at Baldwin Junction that linked Pete Carson to the Johnson kidnapping. Evidence in the form of $15,000 worth of the ransom money. In making his survey of the main street of the town, Special Agent Taylor took the trouble to show Carson's picture to each person he interviewed. And when he reached the Baldwin Junction National Bank, his troubles were rewarded. The clerk at the safety deposit box section recognized Carson's picture. And from that point on, the case came to a rapid conclusion. A rapid but wholly satisfactory conclusion since, as you have seen, all three members of the ring were arrested and convicted. And so another case from the files of your FBI was solved. Solved because two special agents refused to become discouraged at their parent lack of clues. Refused to stop working through the day and night so that the Federal Bureau of Investigation could keep its record of the last three years clean. A record which shows that not a single kidnapping case has gone unsolved. In just a moment, we will tell you about next week's exciting case from the files of your FBI. But first, let's hear briefly from an equitable society representative on the subject of an equitable education fund. An equitable education fund is the painless way to pay for a college education. You spread the payments over 14 or 17 years instead of taking a beating in four. A man whose words you have just heard speaks for 6,000 equitable society representatives from coast to coast. We're always ready to give you friendly help and counsel. If you do not know the name of the equitable man in your community, 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. A case presenting factual evidence that the female of the criminal species is as deadly as the male. Its subject, jailbreak, its title, the friendly stowaway. The incidents used in tonight's equitable life assurance societies 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 D. Lewis. Your narrator was William Woodson, and special agent Taylor was played by Stacey Harris. Others in the cast were Polly Bear, Ed Begley, Tony Hughes, Wally Mayer, and Carlton Young. 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 friendly stowaway on this is your FBI. This is ABC, the American Broadcasting Company.