 Ladies and gentlemen, the story you're about to hear is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned a narcotics detail. A steady flow of drugs is coming into your city. The prime buyers are juveniles. Weeks of effort fail to turn up any lead to the source. Your job? Find it. The documented drama of an actual crime. For the next 30 minutes in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will travel step by step on the side of the law through an actual case transcribed from official police files. From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. It was Monday, January 10th. It was cold in Los Angeles. We were working the day watch out on narcotics detail. My partner's Frank Smith. The boss is Captain Wallers. My name's Friday. We're on our way back from the cell block and it was 947 a.m. when we got to the interview room. Fell on the section. Sit down there. All right, Marley. You want to tell us? About what? Why you're here. It's on the booking slip. You saw it. We'd like to hear it from you. No go. You won't tell us. I'd like to, but I can't. All right, let's go over it again. From where? The beginning. Where were you picked up? Corner 5th in Maine. For what? The cop said I had a handful of pot. Did you? Well, he found it, said it was mine. But it wasn't. No. Where'd it come from? I don't know. How much you turned? A couple of joints. And you don't know where it came from. You heard it once. Marley, you think that story's going to hold in court? I got to tell the truth. Yeah, well, why don't you start? Okay, you win. Get your notebook out. Go ahead. I just got out of the movie. Triple feature. Spent the whole afternoon in the place. Tom, I left it was dark. I walked up to the corner trying to figure out what to do. All of a sudden this guy came down the street running fast. He came right at me. I thought he was going to bang into me the way he was running, not looking where he was going. Yeah. Now, I'll get the picture. I'm standing there, minding my own business, and here comes his fellow, perfect stranger. I never saw him before in my whole life. He runs right up to me and he gives me a package. He just hands it to me and says, hang on to this, I'll be right back. After that, he left. Mm-hmm. Next thing I know, a car pulls up, two cops get out. I got a chain on, I'm brought in here. That's the way it happened. That's right. You didn't know anything about what the guy was giving you, huh? No. You like to tell us what this fellow looked like? You mean the one who gave me the package? That's it. He's a tall one. Mm-hmm. About 12 foot 2. Mm-hmm. Pure green hairy wart and kind of a crew cut, you know, short. Yeah. You shouldn't have any trouble picking up a guy like that. You think you're doing yourself any good with this kind of an attitude? I don't know what you're talking about. I'm trying to give you the story. All right, Morley, you just pulled the top in. We got you made and you know it. Officers shook down your house this morning. We found a couple of pounds of manicured Mary over 56. We don't need your word to nail you. You've already had it. Then why you're rousing me now? We want to know where it came from. I buy it from a fellow. The one 12 feet tall. That's right. Let me see your arms, Morley. Why? Come on. You've been this way. Roll up your sleeves. All right, now the other one. How long have you been off? Boy, somebody tell me what's going on around here. This place is full of crackpots. You got a question hanging, Morley. Well, the answer ain't here. You know where to find it. All right, I'll lay it out. I bought the grass. I bought it from a couple of fellas I know. Who are they? You've had it. Only part way. That's as far as I go. You're afraid of them? I'm not afraid of anybody. Then why not give us the names? We'll be able to find a place on the street. We'll build a wall around you. Now they get through. We'll be in front of you. Well, you'll get hurt. Why won't you tell us where your marijuana connection is? I won't be a finger. They're pretty good friends, aren't they? These men, you're protecting. They think a lot of you, don't they? I guess so. So much that they'll let you sit here while they're on the outside. I'll get out. It'll be a while. Yeah, but when I do, I'll stay alive. I'll be able to walk around and look them in the face. Sure you will. They'll know what I did. I carried the beef. They'll know. Well, don't look too close. Kenneth Harris Morley was returned to his cell and held to answer charges of violation of the state narcotic act of felony. Frank and I went back to the office no closer to the source of marijuana that had been flooding the city. In the past three months, juvenile crime had risen sharply. Neighborhood merchants were reporting burglaries and acts of vandalism attributed to teenagers. In talking to some of the youngsters, we found that most of the crimes were the result of tea parties. We'd been working with a narcotic detail of juvenile division, but even by pooling our knowledge of the drug traffic in Los Angeles, we'd been unable to come up with a head person in the operation. Arrests had taken place, but none of the people apprehended could or would tell us who was running the campaign. Known peddlers were questioned. Informants were checked and rechecked. But when all of the work was evaluated, we were right back where we'd started. Monday, 12.15 p.m., we met with Captain Walters and filled him in on the latest developments. 1.42 p.m. That's right, Mike. Yeah. Well, we talked to him. Uh-huh. Now, he wouldn't give us time of day. Oh, sure, he knows. Yeah. Well, at least to step up, but it'd be something. Uh-huh. Well, the only thing we can figure is that gun has got all the boys lined up and they're scared. Mm-hmm. Well, until we find a way to open them up, we're gonna stay there. Yeah. Yeah. If we turn anything, we'll let you know. Right. Goodbye. Mm-hmm. They do any good? No, they knocked over another plant last night. Where? Not in the valley. Guys sell them drive-in style. Mm-hmm. Customers pull in the driveway, honk the horn. A couple of minutes later, the pusher comes out and makes a sale. You said nearly? No. They talk to him for a couple hours. Won't even admit he's in California. How's he explain the plant? Doesn't drive to. Says the weeds his, just won't tell where it comes from. Yeah. Another dead end. Yeah. I'm getting to think we've seen everyone in town. Neucotics Friday. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, sorry, remember? Is that right? Mm-hmm. But you name it. Well, it's 1.45 now. I was 15 minutes. All right, we'll see you there. What's that? Smith, my partner. You know him. All right, we'll see you there. Right. What do you got? Remember Hugo Kenley? Kenley? A mule we talked to last year on the Redford thing. Oh, yeah, a little guy. Kind of nervous. That's right. What about him? Says he wants to see us. Yeah. He's got info on some heroin that's coming into the country. From where? European stuff. Mm-hmm. Three kilos, over six pounds. Frank and I left the office and drove out to see Hugo Kenley. A year prior, he'd been instrumental in adious with the apprehension of the gang bringing heroin in from Mexico. Because of his cooperation, he'd been placed on probation, and neither of us had seen him since. On the telephone, he said he'd meet us in a small restaurant down on Spring Street. When Frank and I entered the place, we saw Kenley in one of the rear booths. Right there. Hi, Mr. Friday. Hugo? You know Frank Smith? Sure. How are you, Mr. Smith? Hi, Kenley. All right, Hugo, what do you got for us? You got to promise one thing. What's that? I'm a mile away. All right, that's the way you want it. It's got to be. All right. Go ahead. The way it came to me was a rumble, nothing for sure. Yeah. About three weeks ago, I tagged the place out in the south end of town. Stopped in there once in a while for some fish and chips, you know, when I can eat. Yeah. Well, there was a couple of guys at the bar, and we got to talking. One thing led to another. All of a sudden, we're buddies. You say this was three weeks ago? Yeah. All right, go ahead. Got so I'd drop in every night and shoot the breeze with him. A couple of times we went out together, had dinner, get a couple of the strip joints on Western, you know, moved around. Yeah. A week ago, one of them took me home. I got sick, and he said he dropped me off, told me it wasn't out of his way. So we stopped at a drugstore and I got some pills. Well, we were there, he had a cup of coffee, we got to talking. Yeah. He wanted to know if I'd go to work with him. Doing what? Pushing. Age? Yeah. Said they were expecting a shipment here, and good stuff. European. Mm-hmm. Said as soon as it got here, they'd want to unload it fast. Said I could make myself a couple of bills. When's the stuff come in? I don't know for sure, sometime next week, the way they talk. You said something on the phone about it being a good-sized shipment. Word I got was three kilos. Cut? No, they're going to do that here. You know who's shipping it? No, I figured it'd be better if I didn't show too much interest. Yeah. These guys are using agates. They don't want to lose. What can you tell us about them? Two of them. They're the guns? Well, I don't think so. Somebody else has got the keys. They're just along for the ride. What about the names? Milo Goff and Drew Franzen. Mm-hmm. They stood before? Yeah. On what? Milo's fallen for 211. Drew's had a couple of 459s and 245s. Any big time? Milo's seen the joint. What about Franzen? Yeah. Q and Fultzen. They owe any time now? They didn't say. What about jobs? Nothing. They wouldn't work if it was against the law. Who else is in with them? Well, they're it. As far as I know. They got a lot of mules pushing grass for them now. All waiting for the heavy stuff. Anybody know who the power is? No. Even Milo and Drew don't talk about him. Just now and then they mention the man. That's all. The man. Anything about him? Nothing. You can tie down. They talk to him? No. I'm not sure. Milo said once they had a pad over on Adams. How'd they pick you? Why'd they open the door for you? Well, you set them up. They're pretty hinky. Why ring you in? Well, I told you we got to talking when we met. We had a couple of friends we both know. In the business? Yeah. How come they didn't call one of them? And they want no part of a needle. They don't want anybody with them that might cop. I guess they figured I was safe. What do you want out of this, Hugo? What do you draw your play? You're not dealing for free. In this time, I don't like what they got planned. What? They got the whole town sliced off. They're going to set up distributor ships. Get the route started and then bow out. Figure this shipment will get them going. You said something about grass too, didn't you? Yeah. There's a lot of it around town now. Did it come from the same two guys? Most of it. They really got it made. Going to go big time. Make a killing and get out. Where's the weed coming from? I don't know for sure. Same gun behind it? The way they talk, yeah. You can't tell us anything about him? No. All right. You want to give us a description of this Milo and Drew Franson? Sure. Everything. Where they live, what they eat, who their friends are. It's going to take some time. We got it. Yeah, I figured. Okay, if we go someplace else, it's tough. Sure. Where? Don't make any difference. As long as it's out someplace. I don't want word to get back to him. All right, let's go. You know, there's only one way you're really going to nail these guys. Yeah. Join them. You want to set it up? You asking? Your idea. Yeah, but I don't want any part of their action. I told you they play too rough for me. Well, you know how we can set up a contact? Who? One of us. Who's going to know? Nobody else. For real? If you want it that way. Now, how about it? A long way around. Well, you said yourself it's the only way. What happens if they find out? We'll be there. I'm not worried about that. Well, what? Will I? We left the restaurant and drove over to MacArthur Park. Kenley gave us complete descriptions of the men who knew as Milo Goff and Drew Frenzen. We made arrangements to meet with them again the following day, and then Frank and I went back to the office. We ran the names and descriptions through R&I, and we found that both men had records listing charges of robbery, burglary, and assault with a deadly weapon. A check through our file showed that neither of them had been involved in narcotics operation before. We checked their friends and the places they were known to frequent. Every place we went, we ran into the same wall. Nobody had talked to us. The following day, we met with Hugo Kenley again and outlined a plan to introduce me as an narcotic buyer from out of town. Kenley said that it takes some time to make the arrangements and we set up another meeting for Saturday, January 15th. Frank and I began to make plans for my going underground. I established residence at one of the better hotels in downtown Los Angeles. Through Captain Walters, I was able to obtain the money necessary to put up the front. Friday night, Frank and I met in the hotel bar to go over the final details of the operation. Anything from Hugo yet? No. The way we left it, he's going to call in in the morning. Yeah. I don't like it, Joe. You know, if there was another way, I'd take it. I still think we ought to keep a tail on you. Now, the way Hugo's laid these fellows out, they'd spot it for sure. Anything goes wrong, they'd be gone before you could come in anyway. Yeah. The Skipper doesn't think it's good either. Neither do I, Frank. If you've got an idea how we can pull it off without taking the chance, let me know, will you? Yeah. All right. Let's go over it again. Okay. We lay it out that I got to see the stuff before I buy the usual thing. Yeah. Once they show, I call you. I've got the money. That's right. You hustle over to where we make the mean. Mm-hmm. Now, if I get the chance to call before the buy, I will. Otherwise, you'll know I got hung up. Okay. I'll be home. You've got the number. Yeah. As soon as I have any information, I'll try to get it to you. You can relay it to the Skipper, all right? How are we going to know if there's trouble? When I phone, if I use your first name, you'll know everything's all right. Yeah. If I call to your Smith, don't waste any time. Get there, and get there as fast as you can. Okay. Do you have the ID for him? Oh, yeah. What do you got? Well, here's the driver's license. A couple of hotel receipts from up north, all made out to Jerry Whittner. Jerry Whittner. Mm-hmm. Here's some letters, your phone book. Where'd you get the numbers? Jules Zimmerlin dug them up. Bars, hotels, a couple of places that ran a book in the Bay Area. Yeah, looks all right. Yeah. I hope it works. Anybody from your office in the hotel? Yeah. Luke's in the lobby. They took one of the rooms on your floor, a couple of men there. They've got the place covered as much as we can. Mm-hmm. As long as you're inside, we can see you. As soon as you go through the door, you're by yourself. Mm-hmm. You continue to make it sound good, don't you? I'll be leaving anything out, Joe. Yeah. You're going to have dinner here at the hotel? I figure, too. There's no reason to leave. Mm-hmm. Well, I'm going back to the office. All right, see you in the morning. I'll be here. Okay. As soon as I hear you left the hotel, I'll get home and wait to hear from you. Yeah. And try to keep us posted, huh? Yeah, well, this isn't the first time, Frank. Well, it looks like the wrappers, though. It comes off. It'll be worth it. Three kilos. Pure heroin. You know what that's worth. I don't know what they think. Yeah. I know what it's going to cost you. The next morning at 8.46 a.m., I got a call from Hugo Kenley. He said he'd set it up for me to meet the two men. I was to pick him up at the corner of 7th and Broadway, and then together we'd drive to Milo Goff's. I went down to the lobby of the hotel and made arrangements to rent a car. As soon as it was delivered, I put in a call to the office and told them what had happened. After that, I left and picked up Kenley. He directed me to drive down the harbor freeway and then turn off onto Figueroa and on down to Imperial Highway. On the way, he said that he told Goff and Franzen that I'd gotten into town from San Francisco and was in a position to take their entire supply of heroin. From what he said, the deal looked good. We cut off Imperial and turned left to Grand Avenue. Kenley told me to turn north and drive to the corner of Grand and 113th Street. We parked the car and walked the remaining half block. The house was well kept, quite stucco. In the front yard, there was a child's tricycle and a plate pan. We went up onto the porch and rang the bell. Come on in. Well, this is Jerry Whitner, the fella I told you about. Hi, Jerry. Glad to know you. Yeah. Sit down. Thank you. Get you anything? Drink? Cup? Cup? No. No, nothing for me. Where's Drew? I'm not to get something for breakfast. Is this your house? You don't even know that. It's not important. Well, let's just keep it that way. Okay. Let's deal. You're in a hurry, aren't you? I don't have a lot of time. Maybe you want to go too fast. If I buy, it's the way it's going to be. Not with us. Okay. See you later. How about the money? As soon as you show the H, I'll make a call. Scratch will be delivered. You won't have it with you? Oh, you're out of your head. You know me better than that. I'm not going to carry a pocket full of money around so somebody can walk off with it. Mm-hmm. Where do we make the meet? You get a call. When? Day after tomorrow. Nothing you can do to speed it up. Nothing. Okay. I'll hear from you. Yeah. This is going to be the place? We'll tell you that, too. You play it pretty tight, don't you? You want to stay in the game? Yeah. You want to go back with me, Hugo? Sure. The reason you have to leave, is it? Nothing to keep me. Okay. Have it your way. I usually do. You talk big, Wettner. That's the way I work, too. You got a big mouth. Now look, punk, I don't like this deal. None of it. You can't deliver. You don't know for sure when the stuff is going to be ready. You talk big, but it don't fit. I've seen chief operators like you before. Don't make any difference to me how you talk, but you better be able to come through. Anything goes wrong with this deal, and I'm going to come looking for you, fella. You scare me. The only reason I even talk to you is I think maybe you got something to sell. If it's what you say, I want it. You got the money, we can make a deal. Let's leave it there. Come on, Hugo. Yeah. We'll give you a call. You do that. Don't make it later than you said. Keep the money handy. If we get through with this, I want to get out of town. I got a date Monday night. I want to keep it. You will. I went back to the hotel and waited. Monday morning, I got another call from Hugo to tell me that the meet was to take place at the hotel lobby at 10.45 a.m. From there, we'd go to where the buy would be made. I got in touch with Frank and told him what had happened. He said the hotel was covered, also the house on Grand Avenue. He went on to say that other officers would be standing by for my call to bring the money. As soon as the buy was made, all of the people in the place would be placed under surveillance in the hope that either Goff or Fransen would lead us to the head man in the operation. 10.36 a.m., I went downstairs and met Hugo Kenley and Milo Goff. We waited for Fransen to show up. Goff told me that the buy would be made in an apartment out in the Hollywood area. As soon as Fransen gets here, we'll shove up. I got time to make a call. To who? The man with the money. Tell him to stand by. You got to be told? You want the money, don't you? I want to make sure he's there. Go ahead. We'll be right back. Go with you. All right, come on. Got a dime? Yeah. Here. Thanks. Make it snappy. Here comes Fransen. Just take a minute. Where you been? Had to see the man. Get the package. As soon as Jerry finishes here, we can move. Is this the guy? Yeah, why? You bonehead, dumbest trick I ever heard of. What do you mean? All right, Mr. Put your hands down by your side. Make a move and I'll blow your spine out. What are you doing? What's wrong? There's a friend of yours. What about him? I know him. He's a cop. Drew Fransen told me to stand up slowly. When I did, he moved in and took my gun away from me and directed me to move out of the phone booth and across the lobby to the hotel. I did as I was told. Keep your head front, cop. Walk a line. You got it wrong. No, I haven't. You're made. I ran into you a couple of years ago. You hung a pinch on a friend of mine. Name's Friday, isn't it? Joe Friday? You're doing the talking. I didn't have any partner friends and you got to believe that. You make it hard. Where are we going? Outside. After that, we'll tell you. You know you're not going to make it. I don't see anything to stop us. From here I can see five guns. You've been using bad stuff. All right. Keep moving. Take him, Roxy. All the right there, Fransen. Get your hands off of me, cop. Come on. I'll take that gun, Fransen. You think you're pretty smart, don't you, cop? You figure. Huh? I'm not going to jail. Suspects were searched and then they were taken to the first street station. In Fransen's pocket, we found a check from a parking lot. Sergeant Roxy Lucarelli and his partner checked it out. And going over the car, they found the heroin. Frank came into the office and we talked to Drew Fransen for over an hour without getting anything out of him. He was booked in at the main jail. 12, 14 p.m. We had Milo Kenley brought to the interview room. Didn't going to do you any good, you know. Is that right? Sure. I'm not going to tell you anything. You don't have to. We know you plan to set up a distributing organization. You know, you ought to write this. We sent a couple of officers out to your place. They found a list of names. I got a lot of friends. Most of them have narco records. I like different people. We're going to talk to all of them. Call first. Some of them move around. You'll tell us nothing, huh? What I've got to say you've had. Okay. But I want to tell you something. I can't turn it off. Go ahead. You know when I first met you, you were pretty smart. Looks like I was all wrong. Yeah? You've got to be thick in the head to take a beef by yourself. It won't be long. You better check the narcotic act again with the new laws. We've got enough on you to lose the key and the cell number. Well, we'll see how it comes out in court. You're going to be there all by yourself. What about Franson? He's out. What do you mean? Just what I said. He isn't here. Well, where is he? I wouldn't know. Is this true? He left here about 20 minutes ago. Bail, huh? Is that how he made it? It won't hurt to tell me that. He isn't here. All we got is you. Well, what about me? Nobody put up bail for me? I didn't see a line anywhere, did you? You're not lying. We don't even have to talk to you, fella. I just figured that you wouldn't want to stand all by yourself. You sure you got good friends, Gough? Who's sprung him? I don't know. Well, a guy had to leave a name. Maybe. We didn't check. It was Burt. All the odds in the world it was Burt. Maybe. I told you I don't know. It had to be. He only wanted to do it. You'd know that. The guy didn't say anything about getting me out, huh? That does. Call somebody with a book. You said you wanted a statement, I'll give it. I'll check. I can't figure why he'd do it. What do you mean? Burt, he's the man, the guy who set the whole thing up. The only one who'd go bail for friends and the only one. Sad back and didn't want any part of it. Let us do the work, make the connections, plant the pushers and mules. We did it all. He just sat back. You got any idea where we can pick him up? Yeah. Still doesn't make sense. Why do you leave me here? You keep asking the same question. I don't know. Lousy deal. Leave me to stand for it by myself. Real chintzy. Sure is. Big Burt. Sitting in his house while we do the work. Taking the biggest cut. Everything's the best with him. Best house. Best car. Best clothes. All his suits Taylor made. That's him. Yeah. He won't put a suit on his back, it isn't special made. They'll find something that'll fit him. The story you have just heard is true. The names were changed to protect the innocent. On June 14th, trial was held in Department 97, Superior Court of the State of California, in and for the County of Los Angeles. In a moment the results of that trial. Milo Harald Goff, Drew Walter Frenzen, and Burt Michael Lorimer were tried and convicted of violation of the State Narcotic Act of Felony, and received sentence as prescribed by law. Violation of the State Narcotic Act of Felony is punishable by imprisonment for a period of not less than 10 years in the state penitentiary. 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.