 The Equitable Life Assurance Society presents, this is your FBI. This is your FBI, an official broadcast from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, presented as a public service by the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and the Equitable Society's representative in your community. How we think about the future determines in large measure the way we act today. Before opening tonight's file, let me tell you how your Equitable Society views the years to come. Does the year 1996 seem a long way off to you? To us of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, 1996 often seems just around the corner. You see, the future is our business. Every week we sign life insurance contracts which may not be paid off until the 21st century. This means that we of the Equitable Society have to be constantly alert to the requirements of the future. We have to be progressive and forward-looking. Because the Equitable Society has to take a long-range viewpoint, it invests its funds in ways that promote the long-range prosperity of the country. So that by serving its members, the Equitable Life Assurance Society will serve America. Tonight's file, the Unwelcome Guest. The valley of the Hudson River which runs north from New York City is very attractive country. Driving along the River Highway, you can see the homes of people who lead normal, useful lives. We refer to these people for one of a better phrase as middle class. They live neither in mansions nor in slums. Their lives are well regulated. They work six days a week. They go out on Saturday night. They rest on Sunday. On rare occasions, their lives are disturbed by crimes. On very rare occasions, as this case from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows, they're victims of a dramatic crime. A crime like extortion. As our story opens, it is dinnertime in the attractive home of the Pultons located near a small city in upstate New York. And the Fulton is in the dining room, doing what so many wives do every night. She's waiting for her husband to come home. Hi, I'm John. Hello, dear. Hello, darling. I am late. Oh, that's all right. The food's still hot. Here, let me take your coat. Oh, thanks, dear. You look tired. I am. These meetings every night are beginning to get me down. Say, you know what I've been thinking? Know what? I've been thinking maybe we ought to get away for a little vacation when these meetings are over. Oh, sounds wonderful. This isn't another business trip, though, is it? No, no, just the two of us. Oh, wonderful. Oh, my goodness. What's the matter, dear? That man who called while you were out last night. You know the Connecticut call? Oh, Mr. Parker. Yes, I forgot all about him. He came here about an hour ago, and he's waiting for you in the den. Parker just can't seem to place him. Oh, but he said he's a new friend. Well, I'll see him. We'll be back in a minute. All right, dear. Hello. Hello, John. Leonard Parker. Remember me? Well, I don't mean to be rude, Mr. Parker. Think hard. I'm afraid I don't. And after all we meant to each other, too. Mr. Parker, you're obviously enjoying this, but I'm afraid I'll have to be getting back to my telling. Hey, wait a minute. You aren't very hospitable to an old monkey after 21 years. Oh, remember now, huh? Yes. You don't sound very happy to see me. Why did you come here? Hey, kid, easy, John. I'm not going to blow any whistles. I wouldn't if I were you. When I escaped from that road gang, you were with me, remember? Like it was yesterday. There's one thing you don't know. What's that? I was caught about a year later and went back to finish my time. Well, that's too bad. I ain't coming for sympathy. Why did you come here? Because I'm hot. I'm so hot right now that if you touched me, you'd burn yourself. Hot? You mean you've been a gentleman so long you don't know what the word hot means? That means the coppers are looking for me. Look, my dinner's getting cold. Drop by the office, huh? Tomorrow afternoon we can... Cut it, John. I'm not leaving. You're a solid citizen in this community. I checked on it. Nobody suspects you were running a hideout. Well, I... I always wanted to live like this. Now I'm gonna find out what it's like. I'm staying here. John, may I come in? Oh, Emma, this is an old friend of mine, Leonard Parker. I introduced myself before. Yes, yes. Would you care to join us for dinner, Mr. Parker? Thank you. I think I would. Emma... Yes? Mr. Parker's going to stay with us for a while. Oh, that's fine. Welcome, Mr. Parker. That same evening, in fact, at just about the time John and Emma Fulton and their guests were sitting down to dinner, there was a conference being held in the New York offices of the FBI. Special agents Beckley and Preston were going over what facts they had on the robbery of a bank in Peekskill, New York, that afternoon. Well, Bob, we've got enough to get us started. How many were there? As far as we can find out, only two. They entered the bank just as it was closing. That's right. Getting a description? Mm-hmm. The bank teller and the guard are right. We've got a pretty good description. Good. I've already flashed the alarm to Connecticut, Jersey, Pennsylvania, and upstate New York. They couldn't have gone any further than that since this afternoon. I don't think so. I've also been watching the Guardiaire Port, Grand Central, Penn Station, the bus terminals. The only way they can keep moving is by car, then. Mm-hmm. I have to steal a new one. I sent out the description on the car they used and even had the license plate numbers. Look on the teletype. Mm-hmm. Description, your office, 425 p.m. covers Leonard Parker and Robert King. Complete records follow. Back to you, speaking. Yes, Sergeant. One of them, huh? Okay, we'll be right up. The police found the car. Where? Up in the parkway near Peekskill. One of them was in it. Dead. What? Come on, grab your hat. We can talk in the car. Yes, dear. I... I've got to talk to you about something. What's wrong? John, in all the time we've been married, I've never tried to... to pick your friends. Oh, I know that. And I've never tried to tell you who you could or couldn't invite here as a guest. Parker? Yes. Since you invited him last night, dear, he's taken over the household. He even went into your closet today and took out one of your suits. You've got ashes all over the library rug, and when I mentioned it to him, he simply said, skip it, Emmy. Well, I... I'll speak to him, dear. John, I... I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to do more than that. What's that? I'm afraid you'll have to ask him to leave. If you feel that way, dear, I will. I'll go in and tell him right now. Oh, John, come on in. Leonard, I want to talk to you. That's fair enough. You'd like me to pick a subject or did you come prepared? Leonard, this is very serious. You'll have to leave. I thought you said this was going to be serious. You can't stay here any longer. John, that's no way to run a hideout. You'll never get any prisoners that way. You've got to be courteous to your guests. I'm not joking. Look, you want me to tell your wife about you? No. Then let's not discuss it anymore. How long are you going to be here? Maybe three or four weeks. I may have to go out of town before that on business. Go ahead. I can stay here long. Oh, by the way, that reminds me, we should do something for me. What? Speak to your wife and tell her to be a little more polite to me. The way she acts, she thinks she didn't want me around here. She doesn't. I know that. She's got no choice. I'm your guest. Leonard, I've got a proposition to make. What is it? There are trucks that go from here to California with shipments of everything from fruit to piano. Yeah. I'd be willing to ship you out there. No doubt. But you'd be perfectly safe. John, I'm going to stay right here. That makes me a scratch and soda with you. And nobody can say I'm not democratic. Take one by yourself. Special agents Beckley and Preston had discovered upon examining the body of the man in the bank robber's car that he was Robert Keane. Keane had been killed when the car ran off the parkway and pushed into a concrete bridge. There was no clues on which way Leonard Parker had gone. But there was one thing that could work on, one clue which might break open the whole case. Hi, Bob. Come on in, Dan. What'd you get? Well, I checked that key we found in Keane's pocket. Yes. It was from a small hotel called the Benton Arms. Never heard of it. Neither did I until today. It's near Greenwich, Connecticut. What'd they say at the hotel? Parker and Keane were registered there under aliases. But I found enough fingerprints to show they used the room. The clerk remembered them, too. How long were they there? One night. They had no luggage, so they paid cash for the room when they checked in. They must have had their plans pretty well set if they were in town for only one night. Yeah. They made one phone call while they were in the room. Who'd they call? A number up in Westchester. What was the number? I've got it written down here. It belongs to the home of a fellow named John Fulton. What about Fulton? Who's he? I checked the neighborhood. He's a substantial businessman and owns a trucking company up there. And he's one of the town's leading citizens. Did you call him? Yeah, but he wasn't in. You know what I vote for him? Going up to sea, Mr. Fulton? Right. Good idea. Let's go. Yes, Dad. Look at this. What is it? This newspaper. His picture's in it. Whose picture? Mr. Parker. And read this story. The police are looking, are connecting him with a bank holdup. Oh. I knew there was something about him. John, you've got to call the police at work. Well, dear, I... He's a dangerous criminal, dear. Call them, John. Wait, Emma. Let's reason this out. But there's nothing to reason. If you don't call them, I will, John. Just a minute, Mrs. Fulton. You're not calling the police. But I... You want me to tell her why, John? Okay. I'll tell her. London. John and I were in prison together and we broke up. Oh, no. That was a long time ago. 21 years ago. The cops are looking for me. But remember, they're also looking for John. If I go, he goes with me. Now do you want him to call? Perhaps he does. I want to thank you, Lenin. I feel better now than I have in 21 years. What do you mean? I never wanted to keep this story from the world. That didn't make any difference to me. But I did want to keep it from Emma. Because I thought it would hurt her. Oh, John. Now that she knows I'm willing to take my chances with the law. Ah. The FBI called the night before I got in. It was undoubtedly about you. I'm going to call them back. Hand me the phone. Well, certainly, John. Here you are. Now we can hang the phone up again. We will return to the file on the unwelcome guest in just a moment. Meanwhile, let me tell you about an incident that might have happened at the drugstore just around the corner from your house. This week at the Equitable Society, one of the executives told me a story. He was treating his little girl to a chocolate malted down at Sam McGuire's drugstore, and the kids were having great fun watching Sam juggling glasses, putting on a show for the kids. Sam, he said, someday you'll miss. And there go your profits. I won't miss, Sam said, the kids would lose faith in me. I've got to be good. Well, if Sam, the soda man, has to keep faith with children, what about us who work for the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States? The safety and soundness of Equitable Society policies are responsible for all the joy there is in a lot of children's lives. Yes, the big job of thousands of Equitable Society policies is keeping homes together and boys and girls in school. Maybe that will help you understand why we of the Equitable Society take our business so seriously. Why we make every effort to keep ahead of the times, to keep our life insurance policies fitted to the needs of all Equitable Society members. You see, all of us in this society, we all want to be able to keep on saying that this week and every week for more than 86 years, the Equitable Society has been building security for you, your home, and your country. And now back to the FBI file, the unwelcome guest. Roughly speaking, criminals can be divided into two classes, those who suffer from an inferiority complex and those who have inflated egos. The criminal with the inferiority complex takes to a life of crime because he does not feel equipped to make his living by ordinary methods. Those others, like Leonard Parker, suffer from too exalted an opinion of themselves, an opinion which makes it beneath their dignity to work for a living. That class is the group which practices extortion because it gives them a peculiar pleasure to see their victims squirm. A peculiar pleasure to see their victims lose their every shred of personal dignity. Leonard Parker grew brutal assault. Now rules the Fulton household. What are you doing? I'm just going to move this husband of yours. Where are you taking him? Well, I think I ought to move him to a bed so he'd be comfortable. Well, I'll call the doctor. No, you won't. Oh, but he's badly hurt. Look, I slugged a lot of guys like this. Nothing happens. They get a headache and then they get over it. I insist that we call a doctor. Shut up. I'm giving the orders around it. You got any ideas about calling the cops? Forget them. And one more thing. June said something about the FBI calling. If they call again, you tell them there's no such person here as Leonard Parker that you never heard of anyone with that name, that your husband left town on a business trip. Very well. And if you remember all those answers, nothing more will happen to John. Is that a deal? Yes. Yes, it's a deal. As John Fulton was being dragged to his bedroom, a Black Sea Dan was being parked in front of the Fulton home. A Black Sea Dan which had carried Special Agent Beckley and Preston from New York. They walked across the snow-covered lawn past the garage, up a few steps to the front door and rang the bell. This must be the house. Yes. Yes? Good evening. Are you Mrs. John Fulton? That's right. My name is Beckley. I'm a Special Agent of the FBI. And this is Mr. Preston who's also an agent. Here are our credentials. Well, what can I do for you gentlemen? Is Mr. Fulton at home? No, I'm sorry, he's not. I just came back from driving him to the station. Where'd he go? To New York. I see. When do you expect him back? Tomorrow night. Mrs. Fulton, your husband got a telephone call the other night from a gentleman named Leonard Parker. Well, he may have. Do you know Mr. Parker? No. He must be a business acquaintance. I see. You don't remember hearing your husband mention Mr. Parker's name, do you, Mrs. Fulton? No. No, I don't. But then my husband and I never discuss his business. One more thing. Yes? Can you tell us where Mr. Fulton is going to spend the night in New York? No, I'm sorry. I can't. Well, thank you. We'll drop by tomorrow night when Mr. Fulton returns. I'll tell him you called. Thank you. Goodbye. Goodbye. That story about Fulton being driven to the station is a phony. Yes, I know. I noticed the same thing you did. There isn't a fresh mark in the snow in front of the garage. I think we ought to go into the village, get a search warrant and come back here. Hey, Emma. I'm real proud of you. I didn't do it for you. I know that. What do we do now? Why? Well, you heard them. They're coming back here tomorrow night. Let them come. Where are you going? I'm going in to see John. Sit down. No. Sit down. I've got to figure out something. You don't think I'm going to be here waiting for those coppers to come back tomorrow night, do you? What are you going to do? We're going to drive into New York. We leave in about a half an hour in your car. They know your car in this town. They won't stop it. You'll drive. Then what about John? He stays here. Oh, no. Look, he's got to stay. He's dead. The third time I've rung this thing, the car's gone. She must have left. Look, if she doesn't answer this time, let's move in. We've got the warrant. Let's move in now. Hello in here. Sounds like nobody's home. Yes. They can't have been gone long. There's still a cigarette burning in the ashtray. They sure left in an awful hurry. Why? Looking ahead in the kitchen. What's that? Something's still cooking in the stove. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Let's see what's in this room over here. Right. Hey. Yes, I see him. I don't know who he is, but my guess is that it's Fulton. Looks as if he died about an hour ago. That means he was dead when we were here before. Yes. That also means that Parker must have had the drop on her when she was talking to us. More than likely. Say, look at the sleeve of this coat here. What about it? These spots are old blood stains. You think they might be Parkers? Let's take a look inside the pocket. Here's a label with a name. That's not Parkers. Fultons? No. The name is Ralph Cousins. Cousins. Let's call a tailor and find out who Mr. Cousins is. Right. And send out an alarm on the Fulton automobile. Right. I think Mr. Parker has finally run into a red light. Where are you taking me? To Marius. And where's that? In New York. But don't worry. We won't get caught. I'm not worrying about that. That's good. You just let me do all the thinking that way would be safer. See, I thought this out a thousand times, so we're pretty well prepared. Any apartment house where I live, I'm a respected businessman named Ralph Cousins. Remember that? Why? Because when we go in, if you mention my name, call me Ralph or Mr. Cousins. Forget that Leonard Parker business. When are you going to let me go? As soon as we leave my apartment? What are you slowing down for? This is where I show you how to steal a car. What? First we park here. See that car up ahead? Yes. See the boy and girl sitting in the car? Yes. And you walk up there and ask the boy if you'll come back and give your hand. No. Tell him you're stuck. No. Do as I say. Because if you don't, you'll be very, very dead. This is where I live. You were nice enough to have me as a guest at your place? Now I'll return to come. This ground floor apartment for you. The FBI. That's right, Mrs. Fulton. My name is Ralph Cousins, not Parker. Either one will do. Just stand still while I remove this gun. Tell me one thing. What is it? I don't know. It was Ralph Cousins. Remember the suit you were wearing when you arrived at Fulton's? Yeah, sure. That pepper and salt job? It had your name inside. That suit is going to convict you for murder. You know something? I always liked that suit, too. Leonard Parker was tried on a charge of murder, convicted and sentenced to death in the electric chair. He was right when he said that you can't be too careful, especially if you're a criminal whose path crosses that of the FBI. John Fulton's life might have been spared if he had followed the simple instructions issued by the FBI. Criminals cannot be defeated by ordinary decent law-abiding citizens unless those citizens avail themselves of the help that lies at the other end of every telephone line. The Federal Bureau of Investigation. Remember that. The reign of terror which struck at the home of John and Emma Fulton could have struck at your home. If it ever does, remember that the FBI works on a 24-hour-a-day schedule. A schedule which continues to prove beyond any doubt that crime does not pay. Before we tell you about next week's thrilling case from the files of your FBI, a word about a man worth knowing. The Equitable Society Representative in your community. To your FBI, you look for national security and to the Equitable Life Assurance Society for the financial security of life insurance. In the past 86 years, the Equitable Society has weathered four wars and seven major depressions. During that time, over five and one-half billion dollars have been paid to policy holders and beneficiaries. This tower of strength, security and stability is represented in your community by a man whom hundreds of your fellow citizens know as their good friend. The Equitable Life Assurance Society Representative who, like your FBI, is dedicated to the protection of you, your home, and your country. Next week, we will bring you another colorful story from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the sinister Souvenir. The incident used in tonight's Equitable Life Assurance Society's broadcast are taken 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 under the direction of Frederick Steiner. The author was Jerry Lewis and your narrator was Dean Carlton. This is your FBI is a Jerry Divine production. Now this is Carl Frank 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 for This is Your FBI. This is ABC, the American Broadcasting Company.