 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 the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States nearly four million members are banded together to build better futures for themselves and their families There are reasons for becoming equitable society policy holders are many but certainly among the most unselfish and far-sighted Equitable Society members are those parents who have seen the wisdom of an equitable education fund fathers and mothers in just 14 minutes the Equitable Society will tell you how to make sure that your children Get the funds necessary for the education you want them to have through an equitable education fund Tonight's FBI file the unknown voice That violate the hundred and twenty different statutes under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation It is a matter of record and of performance That the members of your FBI work as hard to apprehend one type of criminal as another But in addition to being law enforcement officers Special agents are human beings with the same set of emotions as any decent citizen And so it is not surprising that the two most venal crimes Kidnapping and extortion are investigated not only with a trained mind, but with the sympathetic heart Most crimes have a suddenness to them The criminal determines when he will commit them he commits them and they are over Not so though with kidnapping and extortion They are crimes of torture for the victim of no other crime knows the terror that constant nerves Shattering terror that comes with waiting for the kidnappers next ransom note or the extortioners next telephone call Hours become eternities and under the unrelenting pressure one thing becomes certain Something has to give tonight's file opens in a hotel room located in the downtown district of a large Western city a Well-dressed gray-haired man sits reading the morning paper just a minute. Hello, Claude come in Sorry, I'm late. I left the house and plenty of time to get here. All right by the time the bus Let's get down to business. Well Claude glad to bring the money. No, I said no Why not I've changed my mind and why did you go to all the trouble of getting up this meeting? I wanted to tell you to your face that I'm not the kind of a man who can be blackmailed Very nice attitude Claude very nice I know that you said in your letter you sent me that but if I didn't pay you'd kill me That's right But I'm a good judge of men and you haven't got the courage to kill anybody. Maybe yes Maybe no you also said you'd go to the papers and tell them what you know about me want me to if you wish Yes, don't believe it then carry out your threat go to them See what happens Claude if you really made up your mind not to pay you'd have gone to the police And had them waiting here for me. Look, I'm not going to pay you a nickel now You can get out of here rather hear you talk Claude. I said get out. I never want to see you again Mind if I smoke didn't you hear me? I'll get so excited. I've asked you to leave this room I don't want to listen to any more of your rotten talk. Do you hear me? Why don't you call the police if you force me to I will I'm not going to stand full another A short time later at the local FBI field office special agent Jim Taylor and agent Paul Morrison are sitting in a small office listening to a record You hear me don't get so excited. I've asked you to leave this room I don't want to listen to any more of your rotten talk Do you hear me? Why don't you call the police if you force me to I will I'm not going to stand for another That's the record we found on the dictaphone that Claude Adams planted in the hotel room. You can see now where he had a heart attack. You certainly can. Unfortunately, he's the only one who could have given us my dent on the extortioner. Well, somebody else must have seen him at the hotel. I've spoken to everybody who was on the front desk this morning to every bell boy made an elevator operator. They couldn't give me a thing. If Adams had only mentioned the extortionist name once during the conversation, we'd have something to work on. I know. Jim, why would a man who owns a mansion like the one Adams lived in hire a hotel room? When I interviewed his wife, I asked her about that. What did she say? She said that her husband insisted that he add some business. He wanted to transact in absolute privacy. I see. Hey, Paul, am I watch right? What? Is it really 5 after 12? Let me see. Yeah. Yeah, why? Mrs. Adams said she was coming up here at 12 o'clock. Come on, let's get back to my desk. Okay. Go ahead. Thanks. You know, apparently, Paul, whoever came up to the hotel room knew Adams pretty well. Certainly sounded that way. And yet we've let every one of Adams' friends and key employees listen to that record. None of them can identify that voice. Has Mrs. Adams heard it yet? Yes. I played it for her at her home early this morning. She didn't know who the man was either. Must have been pretty tough for her to listen to that record. Yeah, it was. That's why she wanted a couple hours' rest before she came up here. I see. Ain't there she is. Hello, Mr. Towns. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Mrs. Adams. Hello, Mrs. Adams. This is Agent Morrison. How do you do? I'm afraid we still have no word for you on who the extortion was, Mrs. Adams. Is there anything I can do to help you? Well, yes. You see, we think it's very possible that whoever was trying to blackmail your husband might turn to you now. So there is one way you could help us. How? If either of these people should contact you, please call us immediately. Oh, I will. I will. Oh, that's fine. Now, Mrs. Adams, I think you'd best go back home and get some more rest. If you like, I'll walk you to your car. They're walking around. I thought you went to see Mr. Adams this morning to get that money. I did. Well? Will you cover those cages, Annie? Those birds are yours make me very nervous. First let me see the money. I didn't get any. Why not? He keeled over and died while we were talking. What? Adams just up and died. What caused it? Hard to take, I suppose. That's great. I warned him not to get excited, but he just wouldn't listen to me. You see, Annie, he had a terrible... Oh, shut up! No control of him. I said shut up! Huh? You've done it again, haven't you? What? You've plummeted another one. Now, look, Annie, could I help it if the man dies a natural death? Yes. Are you serious? You should have collected from him weeks ago. Annie, I did it the best way I could. And that's what's wrong with it. You get no complaint? No complaint? Living in this broken down flat, always wearing last year's clothes. Now, don't start that again. You're going to be the big one. What was it? But like all the others, it never happened. Things aren't too bad, Annie. I can always go back to the plant and get my job back. That doesn't get us out of here. I know. Then I'm going to think of something that will. Gem, I hope you had a better life than I did. Nothing at the bank, huh? No, I went over every castle check and cash withdrawal, and Adam's secretary explained every item. Well, I guess that means that Adams hadn't paid me anything before. No, unless it was a long time ago. We went over his business and personal checks for the past six years. Well, I found out something about the extortion. I don't know how much it'll help us, but he comes from New England. Why do you know that? While you were out, I listened to the record again. I thought I'd noticed something about the man's accent. I see. So I called Joe Harrison in to listen to it. He used to be a professor of speech at State University before he became a special agent. I didn't know that. I didn't either, but it was in the vocation and application file. Well, how did Joe know the man came from New England? Well, he told me, but frankly, it was a little too complicated for me to remember. I see. It has to do with things like the primary accents being placed on the first syllable in certain words. The New England A being flatter and having a nasal quality. I'll take his word for it. Did he tell you anything else about the man? Yes, he said it sounded to him as if the black man was in his late fifties, early sixties. Making him approximately the same age as Mr. Adams? That's right. It's beginning to look like another one of those heavy cases. I'll be surprised if it isn't. Where do we go from here, Jim? I think the only thing to do now is trace Adams' background. That's an angle. I'd like to find out if Adams was ever in New England. And if he was, what he did while he was there. Well, maybe somebody down at his office might know. That's right. They might. Paul, why don't you check down there? I'll go over and see Mrs. Adams. Okay. We'll meet back here and start building the biography. I can be told that they don't have to sing all the time. I like to hear them sing. Oh. I'm going over to the plant this morning and see about my job. You may not have to. Why not? We might still get that money from Adams. How can we do that? I wrote Mrs. Adams a letter last night. Annie, he's dead. She isn't. I don't get it. Well, if it was going to be worth $10,000 to him to keep his name out of the papers, I figured it ought to be worth that much to her. Keep the dead man's name pure. Oh. I'll find out right now whether she's going to pay or not. What did you say in the letter? I don't know about the same thing you had me writing that first letter. I told her what we knew about her husband, how you and he had... Hello, Mrs. Adams. This is the lady who wrote you the letter. Mrs. Adams? Yes. Oh, I thought you hung up. No. No, I'm still here. Have you made up your mind yet? You mustn't go to the newspapers. That's easy to arrange. I have the money for you. Good. Wrap it in a sheet of newspaper. Yes. And leave it at the foot of the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the park. When? In an hour. All right. And I'm warning you. No tricks. I understand. I'm coming for the money alone. If I don't return home within an hour, my husband will see to it that Claude Adams' name is on every front page in the city. I think I found the reason for the extortion. What was it, Jim? It took a lot of checking, but I found that in 1916, Claude Adams was arrested in Denver. What for? Grand larceny. He was convicted and sent to prison. Did Mrs. Adams tell you that? No. No, but I got to thinking and I kind of figured that maybe he was eligible for the First World War draft, so I played the hunch. Actually, I was forced to play it. I didn't have any other lead to work on. Pretty good hunch. Yeah, they look good when they work out, don't they? How long was Adams in jail? Until the spring of 1923. Well, according to what I found out at his office, he came here in 23. That's right. I guess he decided he'd had enough of prison and when he got here, he went it straight. Too bad he couldn't have lived to enjoy his fortune. Yeah, sure is. You know, I wonder if he had the... No, pardon me, Pa. Special Agent Taylor speaking. Hello, Mr. Taylor. This is Mrs. Adams. Did you call me...? Yes, yes, I did, Mrs. Adams. Have you found out who that man is? No, not yet, Mrs. Adams, but I think I may have found out why your husband was being blackmailed. But I don't understand it, Mr. Taylor. My husband conducted his business in a perfectly legitimate manner and our home life was above reproach. Well, I think this matter goes back quite a number of years. But, Mr. Taylor, Claude and I were worried for 21 years and I know there was nothing he had to hide. Did Mr. Adams ever tell you about any trouble he had in Denver? Claude was never in Denver in his life. Oh, I'm afraid he was, Mrs. Adams. You see, in checking back to find a motive for the blackmailing, we learned that Mr. Adams had been in jail in Colorado. Oh. We got that information from the official record. You don't have to let anyone else know about it, do you? No, no, of course not. This entire matter is confidential. I know you've gone to a lot of trouble, Mr. Taylor, but I wish you'd forget about the whole affair. Well, I'm afraid that's going to be a little difficult now, Mrs. Adams. You... pardon me, Mrs. Adams. Paul, will you take it, please? Oh, sure, Jim. As I was saying, Mrs. Adams, I think it would be a little difficult to withdraw from the case at this time. But the case is finished. After all, my husband is dead. Well, it's not finished as far as we're concerned. They can't blackmail him now. Please, please do me that favor, Mr. Taylor. Well, I'll have to talk to my superiors before I can promise you anything. All right. After I've spoken to them, why then I'll get in touch with you. Thank you. Goodbye, Mr. Taylor. Goodbye, Mrs. Adams. That's kind of funny. What's this, Jim? She seems to resent our having learned that her husband was once in prison. She wants us to drop the case. Well, I think that phone call I took explains why. What do you mean, Paul? That call was from the bank. Huh? I think that guess you made before about the blackmailers making her their new target was right. Oh, why? According to the bank, she came in less than an hour ago and withdrew $10,000 in cash. I'll turn in just a moment to tonight's case from the files of your FBI. From scores of ivy-covered towers, the bells of our colleges have summoned young America back to the lecture halls and libraries. Now for a moment, let's forget the current crop of college students and consider the boys and girls who will be members of the class of 1959 or 65 or 69. Jim, how about that boy of yours? What class will he be in? Well, a class of 66 or 67, I guess, Mr. Keating. Boy, that'll be a great day for me when he enters my old college. That's the way you feel, Jim. Why not make sure that your son really does get the chance to go to your college? Make sure by starting an equitable education fund right now. An equitable education fund? Yes. What's that? It's a plan offered by the Equitable Life Assurance Society to make certain that your children get the funds necessary for the education you want them to have regardless of what happens to you. Here are three things about the plan you should consider. First, you start when your children are young and spread their educational costs over 10 or 15 years instead of taking a licking in four. Second, when your boy or girl is ready for education, the money is ready and waiting for him right there in the Equitable Education Fund. Third, this equitable plan works whether you live or die. If you are totally or permanently disabled, the fund continues to build up without any further payments. If you die, the education fund becomes fully established immediately. Well, it makes sense to me. I suppose the man to see is an equitable society representative. Right, Jim. Get in touch with an equitable man soon or send a postcard care of this station to the Equitable Life Assurance Society. That's the way to make sure that when the college bells are ringing for the class of 1959 or 65, your boy or girl will be there to answer the call. Now, back to the FBI file, The Unknown Voice. The Federal Bureau of Investigation cooperates in bringing this series of crime prevention programs to you for a number of reasons. The long-range purpose of your FBI is to tell you what part you can play in the never-ending war against crime. Tonight's case from the files of your FBI offers an illustration of a service that could have been rendered in that war. If Mr. Adams had done what it was his duty to do, his duty not only to himself but to his fellow citizens, he probably would have saved his own life. And he certainly would have prevented the blackmailing of his wife after his death. What neither Mr. nor Mrs. Adams realized, and it is a common mistake among blackmail victims, is that no blackmailer is ever satisfied. The more he gets, the more he demands as his next payment. In a situation like the one you have witnessed tonight, indeed, in any situation in which you know a criminal to be involved, your duty is the same as Mr. Adams's was. It is a simple one. Pick up your telephone and call your local police. Tonight's file continues in the shabby apartment of Tom and Annie Williams. Tom. Yes, dear. What time is it? Almost 11 o'clock. Well, I better get going. With the money? Yeah. Annie, don't you think that's a job I should do? No. I want to make sure we collect. That's not fair. That's how it's going to be. I think she's had time to get the money. Well, if she hasn't, I'll wait on one of the benches near the statue. I can wait a couple of minutes for 10,000. I just hope she isn't leading you into a trap. She wouldn't dare. She'll be afraid not to pay. Hand me my purse, will you? Yeah, sure. You wait right here, Tom. Yeah, I will. Oh, and while I'm gone, don't forget to feed the canaries. All right. Oh, did you see Mrs. Adams? Yes, she finally admitted the blackmailers had contacted her. The instructions you gave her right here in this office couldn't have been any more specific. I know, I know. That's what makes me so annoyed. Well, she had them right in the palm of her hand. We could have arrested them and closed this file. It's a little too late for that now, Paul. They've already gotten their money. Frankly, I can't feel any too sorry for her. No, I can't either. She certainly doesn't deserve to have us go on working and trying to recover her money. What do you have to do around here to have people cooperate with you? Sure, I don't know. Apparently, she doesn't realize that she's only made a down payment. I told her they'll be back next week for more money. She took a lot of convincing, but she finally agreed that we were right and that she would cooperate with us. She'll have to prove it before I believe her. I think she will. She gave me this letter. I'm sending it to the lab along with a letter that Mr. Adams got. They look to me as if they're written by the same person, I think. Yes, they do. Even if they turn out to have been written by the same woman, we still don't know very much. We know that it's a man and a woman, maybe a man and wife. But the man comes from New England. That's not much to show for all our work. What do we do next, Jim? Wait for the lab to send back a report. But in the meantime, let's keep checking on Adam's back. Tom, I've got it. Good work, Annie. $10,000. Did you open the package? Yeah, it's real. Wonderful. Why did you cover those canary cages? Huh? Oh, the poor little fellas, they were bothered by the light. Uncover them. You heard me! Okay. Never do that again. I'm sorry, dear. Can I see the money? Yeah. There. There you are. Beautiful. I never thought we'd see this. You wouldn't have if I hadn't gotten that idea. Annie, I'm not taking any credit away from you. Oh, I stopped by on the way home and picked up these pamphlets. What are they? Travel pamphlets. We're taking a trip. Kind of sudden, isn't it? That's right. You could have at least consulted me. Don't you want to take a trip? You can stay home here, you know, if you like. Might be more fun for me being alone. No, Annie. You'd know I'd love to go. And in fact, I'd go any place just to get rid of these canaries. Paul, I found another piece of the puzzle while you were out. Oh, where does this one fit, Jim? Well, the first thing that came in was the report from the lab. There were no latent fingerprints on the letter. But the lab said both letters were definitely written by the same woman. That's kind of a small piece. Yeah, it merely confirms what we thought. But the big piece came when I called the prison in Colorado where Adams had done his time. What'd you call them for, Jim? Well, come on. Let's walk down to the color type room. I'll tell you the rest on the way. Go ahead. Okay. Thanks. I wanted to find out how many men who were in jail with Adams came from New England. Say, I never thought of that. A blackmailer could have easily been in jail with them. Well, the warden checked back through the records and found there were seven prisoners from New England serving time coincidentally with Adams. A wired Washington and gave them all seven names. Well, let's hope we get a break with this angle. Well, Charlie. Yes, sir. Has anything come in for me from Washington? Yes, sir. It just came in. I was going to bring it over to your desk. Here it is. Thanks, Charlie. It helps a little, Paul. What does it say? Two of the seven are back in jail. Two were dead, and the report on the other three is whereabouts unknown. Let's get to work and try to find out where those three men are. It's not one of these three suspects. I don't know where we'll turn. No. I doubt the blackmailers would be stupid enough to get in touch with Mrs. Adams again. That'd be a little too convenient for us. Oh, thanks, Charlie. It's from Cleveland, Paul. One of the suspects, George Jackson, owns a grocery there. It clears him. One down and two to go. Special Agent Taylor speaking. Yes, Miss Hollinger. What is it? Miss Hollinger. Well, Paul, that takes care of suspect number two. Two down and one to go. Well, grab your hat. Why, Jim, where are we going? I just spoke to the warden in Denver again. He told me that Tom Williams, who was the seventh man from New England, worked in the engraving shop in prison and was an engraver by trade. Well, how does that help us? You know that big engraving plant out on 27th Street? Yeah. I just spoke to them. They said that Tom Williams worked there. Now, come on, let's go. Not sure. A lot of people are going to get on that boat. I hope the ocean don't get too rough. Oh, don't worry about that. I'm not worrying about it. I'm just hoping. We've got pills you can take if you feel sick. Oh, that's good. I just hope the canaries are happy with Mrs. Angelo. You take good care of them now. Did you call up and tell them to stop delivering the papers? I told you twice I called up. I also called up about the milk. Well, come on. We might as well go up onto the boat. What about our bags? The man said he'd put them in our rooms, didn't he? Yeah, oh, yeah, that's right, ma'am. Keep the porter out of the pocket money I gave you. Yes, sir. Let me know when you run short, and I'll give you some more. Yes, sir. Oh, I guess this man here wants our tickets. Hold this package while I look at my purse. Yes, ma'am. I'm afraid you two won't be making this trip. Huh? Why not, mister? I paid for these tickets. Yes, but unfortunately for you, you paid for them with money you got for Mrs. Adams. She had it marked? That's right. Shut up, Tom. Who are you, mister? I'm a special agent of the FBI. I've got a warrant here for the arrest of you and your husband. Where are you taking us? Downtown. And don't look so badly about missing this trip. Why not? You'll both be taking another trip pretty soon, with the government paying the fare for two one-way tickets. Tom and Ernie Williams were tried and convicted for violation of the Federal Extortion Statute. Each was sentenced to a 10-year term. Tom Williams is a fairly common name, but the two special agents of your FBI knew that the Tom Williams who had been in prison in Denver and the Tom Williams who had worked at the engraving plant were one and the same man. His employment record at the plant showed that he had quit the week before, but it also showed that his birthplace and date of birth checked exactly with the information in the Denver prison records. When the special agents found that Mr. and Mrs. Williams had fled from their apartment, they checked all transportation agencies. One of them revealed that a Mr. and Mrs. Williams had purchased space on a steamship for Alaska and had paid for it in cash. Waiting for them to arrive at the pier was a simple matter, but then, as you have seen, that is the only thing about tonight's case from the files of your FBI that was simple. Thus, your FBI not only ended the careers of two blackmailers, but also ensured the fact that the knowledge that he was an ex-convict would remain buried with the man we have called Claude Adams. Tell you about next week's exciting case from the files of your FBI. Now, here's the proud father of a two-week-old boy. He has a question about the Equitable Education Fund. Mr. Keating, that kid's as bright as a dollar. He's going to be head of his class in 1969, but how long should I wait before I start an Equitable Education Fund for him? Don't wait a day, Jim. The earlier you start an Equitable Education Fund in your child's life, the lower the cost per year will be. So why not plan to see your Equitable Society representative soon, or send a postcard care of this station to the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States? Next week, we will dramatize another case from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a case exposing the intricate manipulations of a long-stop fugitive, its subject, crime on the high seas, its title, the Phantom Mind. The incidents used in tonight's Equitable Life Assurance Society's broadcast are adapted from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. However, all names used are fictitious, and any similarity thereof to the names of persons living or dead is accidental. Tonight, the music was composed and conducted by Frederick Steiner. The director was Sid Goodwin. The author was Jerry Lewis. Your narrator was William Woodson, and special agent Taylor was played by Stacy Harris. This is Your FBI is a Jerry Divine production. This is Larry Keating speaking for the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and the Equitable Society's representative in your community. And inviting you to tune in again next week at this same time when the Equitable Life Assurance Society will bring you another thrilling story from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Phantom Mind on This Is Your FBI. This is ABC, the American Broadcasting Company.