 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 If you're a regular listener to this Equitable Society program you've probably noticed this about the commercial messages There's no high pressure selling Each Equitable Society message is designed to help you to give you expert advice on home and family security to keep you abreast of the latest development in life insurance For instance, tonight our Equitable Society message deals with a type of insurance most people know little about yet it's important in the lives of one out of three Americans So in 14 minutes listen carefully for interesting information on group insurance from the Equitable Life Assurance Society Tonight's FBI file, The Gullible Groom There has never been a time in the long history of the nation when there was so much money in circulation as there is at the present time And where you have that situation it is axiomatic that you will also have a certain proportion of the population trying to get their hands on some of that money illegally Some criminals will take a gun and stalk the highways robbing stores or gas stations or people in parked automobiles Others will break into homes, steal whatever is available and convert the loot into money through the use of a fence But there is one special brand of criminal to whom these days are the days of milk and honey To whom prosperity presents a personal challenge He stalks his prey carefully and makes elaborate plans to separate the victim from his wealth But this criminal does not use force He uses cunning He is the confidence man The next file opens in a football stadium in a small college town The game is in progress It is midway on the second quarter The two teams are lined up on the midfield stripe The ball is snapped, both lines lunge pile up Suddenly out of the pack a player carrying the ball seats straightened down the sideline The 25, the 20, the 15, the 10, the 5 He's over for a touchdown He used to go to games every week back home Honey, just be quiet for a minute I want to watch this conversion What's that? They kick for the extra point after touchdown Oh There it College kicks off And they start all over again? Silly Hey, here comes Walder Well You see us? I guess so I'm sorry, please Excuse me Well, hiya, girls How are you enjoying the game? Never mind that How are you doing? I'm doing fine Who's the man you're with? He's the sucker I'm building up His name is Herbert Franklin Has he got money? Loaded with it Where'd you meet him? Hey, I told you this morning I met him last night at a bar He thinks I'm an old grad too Is that why you're carrying that pendant? Yes, they, yes It's also the reason why I'm wearing this feather This badge, this school tie, and this horse throat They're lining up for the kickoff You'd better go back Yeah, okay When do we go to work? I'll be with Franklin in a cocktail lounge at the hotel At 8 o'clock tonight We'll be there Herbert, you've got a magnificent voice The best voice in this whole saloon Oh, Walder, I think I love to sing, but I I don't get much chance Oh, wait a minute, don't tell me that To sing as gloriously as you do A man has to get plenty of practice No, no, no, really, Walder I never get a chance to sing when I'm home Emma doesn't like noise Emma? Didn't I show you her picture? No Well, wait Here it is That's Emma and the kid Oh, hey, fine-looking woman Yes, she is And those husky youngsters Why, they're going to be football players I certainly hope so Oh, pardon me Yes? I'm Q Herbert Franklin Why, yes? Don't you remember me? Well, I remember your face, but I Oh, we met in New York When you were there last April My name is Grace Carden I was in New York last April Herbert, Herbert, what's wrong with you? Where is your old state spirit? Invite the ladies to sit down Oh, yes Please, pardon me Will you join us? Surely Mr. Franklin, this is my friend, Faye Madison Pleased to meet you, Miss Madison How do you do? Miss Carter, Miss Madison My old shaman classmate, Mr. Robert Well, how do you do? How do you do? It's always nice to meet any of Herbert's friends Sit down, sit down, won't you? Oh, thank you Hey, waiter Waiter, bottle of wine, please Oh, well, I just love wine Do you, Mr. Franklin? Well, uh, yes Bubbly wine? Yes And big bottles? Yes Oh, Mr. Franklin, we have so much in common Say, Herbert Herbert, let's sing the girls our old school song Hey, that's a good idea Yeah, come on, come on, everybody sing Well, you start it, go ahead All right Loyal sons of old state you Loyal sons of old state you It's me, Walter Good morning, Walter Good morning Well, how do you feel, Herbert? Awful Just awful Well, then you'd better sit down, Herbert I have some upsetting news for you What is it? How much do you remember about last night? Not too much Yeah, I was afraid of that What do you mean? Herbert I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know I don't know What do you mean? Herbert, you're in trouble What kind of trouble? Well, last night, when we were celebrating our victory, we met two young ladies I remember that And you remember that we bought them a couple of bottles of wine downstairs in the lounge I remember that perfectly We sang some songs That's right Then you insisted on leaving here and going over to Pete's tavern I used to go there when I was a student Yeah, I know, I know So we went there and we had some more wine Then about 10.30, you and the girl called Faye got up And said you were going someplace with her And that you'd meet us later Did you let me go? Sure, sure You looked sober to me Well, in a couple of hours, Herb, you came back The two of you were giggling like school kids And you told Grace and me you had gotten married What? Well, that's what you said Oh, at the time, I just laughed it off It was a joke That's what I thought But this morning I got to worrying about it And I checked with the justice of the piece you mentioned And the town hall Well, I'm sorry to tell you this, Herbert But you really did get married last night I couldn't have Oh, believe me, you did Oh, Heaven, Walter What am I going to do? Well, I've been thinking about that, Herbert Maybe there's some way of buying people off Let me investigate and you wait right here until you're here for me Meanwhile, in a nearby city in the FBI field office Special Agent Jim Taylor has seated with his fellow agent Carl Putnam Discussing a new case to which they have both been assigned I'm sorry I had to call you away from the family on a Sunday, Carl But the boss wanted you to work with me on this That's all right, Jim. What's it about? Well, I don't know whether you remember a circular Some time ago about a trio of swindlers Two women and a man No, I don't. Who are they? Well, the names are Grace Carter, Faye Madison And Walter Robertson I see. What's a swindle? Well, in the past, we've wanted them Because Robertson was marrying these girls off to servicemen And then taking their allotment checks That must have been some time ago, Jim Yes, it was. That racket stopped with VJ Day But then two months ago, the same trio changed their pattern Oh, what did they switch to? An old racket They found a wealthy married man, took him out Got him drunk, and then in the morning They told him that he had married one of the girls What's their angle? Well, the married man naturally can't afford to have that become known Robertson acts as a go-between and buys off a girl And Robertson also acts as if he doesn't know the girl And somebody actually fell for that swindle? A man named Stewart in New Orleans just two months ago Well, if it worked, how did we find out about it? Well, after thinking it over, Stewart decided that they'd been clipped So he came into the New Orleans office They sent out the circular art But you said all this happened two months ago What in the rush now? Well, New Orleans got a tip that they hid out down there And just set it up this way last week Oh, I see. What's the first step, Jim? I've already taken care of it, Carl The police have been alerted And they're checking all hotels and roaming houses in the city Uh, Mark, while we're waiting for them to call back Why don't you take the records on this for you and study them, huh? Okay I'll check with you as soon as I hear from the police Grace! Grace! I'm... Where's, uh... where's Fay? Down having breakfast Well, how do you feel? Awful Have you seen Franklin? Ha ha ha Uh, yeah, I just came from their dream boat And there's good news tonight He paid off Please, Tempo I haven't asked him for any money yet Why not? I told him I was coming over to see Fay to find out whether I could make a deal for him Did he remember anything about last night? Hmm, remember anything From the amount of stuff you put in his last drink it's a wonder he even woke up I had to do something the way you were going What do you mean? You got that wine in you and almost killed the whole deal How? You told Franklin that he shouldn't marry Fay That he was too good for her I don't believe you Look, you got plastered and you pulled the same thing in Pittsburgh Remember? Ah, in Pittsburgh Shut up! When are you going back to see that guy? I told him I'd return a half an hour How much are you asking him for? Ten thousand That's too much But he's loaded with dough That means nothing I cased the guy last night For ten Gs, he'd rather be a bigot But grace, I... Ask him for five He'll go for that much And when you collect Bring the dough right back here to Mama Carl, I located Robertson and his female accomplices Good work to you No, not too good They were at the central hotel, but they've checked up I see I don't suppose they left any forwarding address No, none at all Did you check with the local hotel accounting department? Yes, most of the charges on their bill were from the cocktail lounge I'm looking for a Sakurai's boss I don't think so, Carl I learned that he spent most of his time there with the piano player An entertainer? Yes, I spoke to him He told me that Robertson had staked him pretty well To teach him the state university song What would he want to know those for? I think I found the answer in this morning's paper Oh, what is it? There's a story on the sports page about state winning its homecoming game, 7-6 You think Robertson was there? I'm sure he was, and probably as an old grad We'd better alert the police up there at once Come in Hello, Herbert Hello, Walter Well, are you feeling any better, old timer? Frankly, no Well, I got some news that should cheer you up It's about your marriage Oh, yeah I've been doing lots of running around trying to fix up things, you know My first stop was to see the justice of the peace, the one who married you Yeah I had to do a big sales job on him, and he finally agreed to do business for $500 What do you mean, business? Well, you know, forget that he ever married you Oh Yeah, then I went to see the man at the town hall who issued the license And for another $500, he'll forget all about the license Walter, I'm sorry you went to all that trouble Ha ha, there's no trouble at all We're old schoolmates, aren't we? I did it for good old state I know, and I appreciate it But what? I wish you hadn't done it Why not? Well, since you told me all about what happened I've been sitting here thinking Yeah Mostly I was thinking about Faye What a... What a pretty girl she is Herb, what's your point? Well, I've decided that I want to stay married to her You... You what? I want to stay married to Faye But you can't Why not? Well, that's obvious, isn't it? Well, what are you talking about? Emma and the kids, you showed me their picture, remember? You'll be arrested for bigamy But Walter, they're not my children, they're Emma's children I just helped to raise them What about Emma? Well, she'll be mad, I suppose But she'll get over it Get over it? Your wife will get over it? Wife? Emma's my sister We will return in just a moment to tonight's case from the files of your FBI Now a 50-second interview on group insurance with a man from Boston That... What are you going to name the new baby girl of yours, eh? Marielle and Ryan, Mr. Keating After her mother But we really ought to name her Equitable Ryan Equitable Ryan Yes, sir Our company has complete group insurance with the Equitable Society My group insurance is going to pay all the bills for Marielle and Hospitals and doctor bills both? 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I don't understand how we could be married to a sister That's bigger than me Honey, honey, just keep out of this, will you? What made you think this Emma was his wife? He showed me a picture said it was Emma and his kids Walter, if he's not married he couldn't have kids I know, Fay, I know that's bigger than me too Now please shut up and let me figure a way out of this You shut up too I'll do the figuring from now on What am I, stupid? Now that you brought it up? Yes You've run this show long enough It's my turn now Okay, Mrs. Genius Now listen to me, both of you Fay, this Franklin guy wants to stay married to you Okay, let him have his way But, Grace, we're not married How can we stay married if we're not married in the first place? I know you're not married but go along with the gang He wants to take Fay back to Aurora with him Where? On the train in a half an hour You can make it You're all packed Sure I'm packed But don't I have anything to say about this? Who wants to live in Aurora? Fay, you go with him The whole trip only takes two hours Walter and I'll be on the same train and we'll see you in Aurora Hello, Jim Oh, hello, Carl I've checked the other two hotels Robertson stayed here, Carl but he'd checked up at the time the police made their call I see Any idea where he went? To a town called Aurora That's about two hours from here It's also across the state line? Yes, I know How did you find out they went there? The transportation desk got two tickets for Robertson a two o'clock train He's there by now Should be I've already alerted the Aurora police to check all the hotels and rooming houses every hour You think there's anything else to do here before we go to Aurora? Yes Now look Robertson must have gone to Aurora to follow a victim That's logical It isn't the kind of a town he'd pick a live in All right, that's point one Point two is that the victim must be an old grad who was back here for the homecoming game Right Point three is that the old grad must be married because that's Robertson's pattern How does knowing all that help us? I'm going over to the alumni office and get a list of the married alumni who live in Aurora I hope you find somebody at the office it's Sunday, you know No, I've already got the alumni assertion secretary on the phone He's going to meet me in his office in ten minutes Good Now what do you want me to do? Well, look, Robertson's room hasn't been cleaned since he checked out The manager will give you a passkey So Carl, why don't you go up there and see if you can find him Okay, well, I'll meet you When you're finished come over to the alumni office I'll wait for you there Are you sure this is a place you're told Faye to meet us? Certainly, I'm sure How many cocktail bars do you think there are in this town? I don't know, and I don't care Father Faye Oh, there she is Hello, everybody Hello, Faye How was the trip? Oh, it was just fine We had lunch on the train and he brought me some magazines with pictures in them and some candy Oh, never mind that What kind of a joint does he live in? Well, it looks like one of those castles and fairy tales I never saw a place so big in my whole life I knew the guy was loaded He hasn't paid off yet But you've got a way to make him pay off, remember? That's right And here it is You're going to call Herbert in a couple of minutes and tell him we just got into town Tell him you've got to see him Why? Tell him you spoke to the justice of peace and the guy in the town hall again and that they're going to give the whole story about the marriage and the attempted bribery to the papers Implicating Herbert in the bribe too? Right Then you tell him that they're both waiting for a call from you and that for 5,000 you can chill a beat Well, that's not bad Thanks Faye, he'll undoubtedly talk to you about this You advise him to pay Then we come over and pick up the 5,000 Grace What? I don't want to do it I don't want to do that Herbert's been very nice to me and I'd like to stay married to him Listen, lame brain You forget you're not married to this guy He only thinks you are Oh, that's right Look You just go back home and keep Herbert there till he gets our phone call Carl, Carl, I'm in here I spoke to the police at Arroy a couple of times since I saw you What are they saying? They've checked every hotel and rooming house twice now and still no sign of any of the trio I don't understand that Transportation Desk at that hotel said no Transportation Desk at that hotel said definitely that Robertson bought tickets to Aurora So they did You know, you might be staying at the home of the victim I never thought of that How about the alumni records? Well, I've come up with 45 alumni who live in Aurora who are married Man, it's not too many We ought to be able to comb through them in time to stop Robertson Carl, I'm afraid we've made a mistake someplace along the line Why? I phoned the list of the police in Aurora and had them contact every one of the names And none of them was the right one? None of them had ever even heard of Robertson or the girls How do you figure that, Jim? You must have made a mistake What do we do now? We retrace our steps and see where we went for them Well, where do you want to start? Look, before we do that let's go over your stuff What did you find in Robertson's room? Nothing very much I'm afraid this football program for one thing Any writing on any of the pages? No, I check through every inch of space Okay, what else? This red feather that I suppose Robertson worn his hat yesterday That's no help And this banner that he probably waved as he sang the state alma mater With tears in his eyes Yeah And then in the waste paper basket there was this ticket stub I guess that's where he sat for the game Let me see that, huh? Yeah There's a red A printed on it That means it was in the alumni section And that also means that that ticket was sold to an alumnus through this office But Robertson's no alumnus? How did he get this kind of a ticket? I don't know but I think we can find out Come on I hope they kept Franklin at home Of course she did She's not that stupid Don't underestimate that girl Well, hello there, Herbert Oh, hello, Walter You remember Miss Carter, don't you? Oh, yes, of course Hello, Miss Carter Hello, Herbert Okay, come in, both of you Thanks, thanks Go ahead, honey Who's that, Herbert? It's Grayson Walter Oh, hello there It's been such a long time since I've seen you Oh, Herbert I want you to know how awful we feel about this shakedown you're getting Thank you Have you got the money, Herbert? Yes, I have it right here Good, good I certainly appreciate you're taking care of this for me I think nothing of it, old man Are there any other steps I should take? No, no, no, no, no I'll handle the whole thing so that no one will know about the marriage until you get ready to announce it yourself Oh, thank you Herbert, I think Fay had better come back to town with us just so nobody sees her around here and starts to talk Well, that's probably a good idea Fay, I'm sorry that you have to start your married life off this way Oh, that's all right, Herbert We'd better be going Yes, yes Go ahead, honey You run along with them I'll talk to you in the morning All right, dear Well, come along girls Good night, Herbert Step back, Robertson Oh, I? I said step back in Are you and the girls still? What is this? Yeah Looks like we arrived here just at the right time Who are you? We're special agents at the FBI Are you Mr. Franklin? Yes Why are you here? To arrest this trio of swindlers Oh, wait Fay's not a swindler She's my wife Mr. Franklin However, I seriously doubt that you are married We can check that though when these people are booked in jail Walter Robertson was tried in federal court and was sentenced to serve five years in prison in violation of the National Stolen Property Act His two female accomplices were also convicted and sentenced to terms of 18 months And so your FBI captured three criminals for whom it had been searching a long time and captured them because of one single slim clue That clue was the stub of the football ticket found in the hotel room Alumni association records showed that the ticket had been sold to Herbert Franklin and it was at his home that the arrests were made Thus once again your FBI showed that one way to help curb the crime wave is to follow every clue however meager it appears to its conclusion That is a part of the training given to every special agent before he becomes an accredited member of the agency which serves every one of 140 million Americans from coast to coast Your National Law Enforcement Agency Your FBI In just a moment we will tell you about next week's exciting case from the files of your FBI Now some more useful facts on equitable society group insurance It enables the company to give its employees the benefit of its wholesale purchasing power It builds loyalty and goodwill decreases personnel turnover improves quality and quantity of production For instance the president of General Tyron Rubber Company William O'Neill says we believe that group protection has made our employees happier by freeing them from some of the major worries of life and has thereby helped to improve the morale of our organization This protection is one of the strongest ties that a man and his family can have with the company that employs him and it comes to him on such easy terms If your company does not have group insurance or if your group program is incomplete get in touch immediately with the nearest office of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States Next week we will dramatize another case in the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation A case that dramatizes the pursuit of an innocent fugitive by a relentless killer It's subject Mob Vengeance It's title The Runaway Dancer 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 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 Lewis Your narrator was Dean Carlton and special agent Taylor was played by Stacey Harris This is your FBI as 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 Stacey will bring you another thrilling story from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation The Runaway Dancer on This Is Your FBI This is ABC the American Broadcasting Company