 Ladies and gentlemen, the story you're about to hear is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. Dragmint, you're a detective sergeant. You're assigned the forgery detail. A group of check passers is working in your city. They've hit over 50 places of business. You have no lead to their true identity. They're still working. Your job, stop them. It was Wednesday, July 11th, it was warm in Los Angeles. We were working the day, watch out forgery details. My partner, Frank Smith, the boss of two detectives, is that brown, my name's Frank. We're on our way out from the office. It was 1120 AM when we got to the corner of York Boulevard in Buchanan Street, York Cannon Market. Yeah, something you're looking for? Like C. Tuttle Dawson. Isn't the fact that I'm about countin' eleven cold cereals? Thank it. Yeah? Mr. Dawson? Yeah? Police officers would like to talk to you. I'm about to check, huh? That's right. Mind if I go ahead with this display? I'd like to get it finished. I've got enough trouble with the bosses. It is. I don't want to build any more. Oh, sir, you go right ahead. This fellow cop, too? Yes, sir. This is Officer Frank Smith. My name's Frank. Hi. How do you do, Mr. Dawson? Sure hope you can get the guy that gave me the paper. When it stands now, I'm going to have to make it up out of my salary. I don't make that much. I haven't told my wife yet. She's going to scream like an eagle when she finds out. You've got a real strict budget. Sure going to louse it up. You have to check? Yeah. You've got it right here. Came back from the bank this morning. Boss gave it to me. Here you go. Thank you. Same as the others. Looks like it is. How's that look to you? Sir, the display look all right. Oh, yes, sir. Fine. Get this mask finished. It's all done. What can it tell us about the man who gave you the check? What do you want to know? Well, what kind of identification did he use? Just about the whole thing. Driver's license, social security card, gasoline credit card, the works. That's personal notation on the back of the check. Just his license number. Let me take a look here. Yeah. Yeah, that's it. I figured sure to be good. Nice looking fella. Sure never going for a paper. You give us a description of it. Yeah, sure can. We've got a good look at it. This sure is all the stuff. What's that say? I say this ought to sell us stuff. This mask. We're giving them away when you buy the breakfast food extra quarter and you get one of these head things. Kids sure go for it. All displays go around it. See the finished mask goes right there. Makes it look like the cardboard kids wearing it. You want to go ahead with the questions when I put it together? Yes, sir. Have you ever seen this man before? You know, of course, he might have been around. We do a pretty good business. Could have been in. I wouldn't have remembered. What do you say to him? Just came in and bought some groceries. It's been about a dollar and a half's worth. Asked me to cash a check. I told him the manager had to care. Told him the manager wasn't here. He'd have to wait. Well, can anyone else give the OK? Not supposed to. If we do and something goes wrong, we're stuck for it. I see. I told me he didn't have time. Said he was on his lunch hour and he had to get the groceries home. So I asked him if he had any identification. He said he did. Looked all right to me. So I cashed a check. Oh, say, would you hold this mask for me while I get the rubber band around the top? Yeah, sure. Now, wait, I wind it around a couple of times. We put these things up high, but the kids still find a way to get them down. They're not put together good. They don't last long. I guess this is what goes in next. I piece. Take the I piece and put it inside the mask, slip into notches. Why? And see if it succeeds. Did you look at the man's identification closely? How do you mean close? Well, take a good look at it. Good enough to think it was all right to cash a check. It looked genuine. Well, if it didn't, I wouldn't have gone for the money. Was there anything about the man that would make it easier for us to identify him? Not that I could see. He looked ordinary enough, nothing special about him, nothing that had stand out. Hold this a minute. Well, you want to put the earpiece here? Yeah. Thanks. I guess it's all there is. Put it up here on the top. That does it. How's it look? Fine. That's scary. Sure. I don't know if the boss likes it. Sure, but on my back, since that check came back, seems like everything I do is wrong. They glad one this day is over. Yes, sir. You want to give us that description now? The man who gave me the chair. That's right. Sure. I want to do all I can to help. You think if you catch him, I'll be able to get the money back? Well, that's hard to say, sir. I hope so. Eighty-nine-sixty. That's a lot of money. I hate to lose it. How much is it? Eighty-nine-sixty. Yes, sir. I don't even want to think about what my wife's going to say. I'm happy to be pretty rough. Yes, sir, we understand. How old was the man? About twenty-seven. We're not in there. About how tall was he? Five-nine, I guess. Say, if you do catch him, how do you go about getting the money back? Well, it's booked as evidence first. Then I get it back? Well, that depends on what happens at the trial. It's not up to us to decide, sir. You see, the suspect has gotten to several other people, too. If there is anything to recover, they've got to share of it. And I probably won't get what's coming to me. Well, no, sir, but you can be sure of one thing. What's that? Suspect will. It's 7.46 a.m. We got the complete description of the suspect, and we made arrangements for the victim to come down to the city hall and go through the mudbooks. The information on the driver's license was checked through R&I and the Department of Motor Vehicles, and we found it to be false. The first bad check had come to our attention on February 16, five months previously. Between then and the present forgery, the gang had taken approximately $60,000 from businessmen in the Southland area. All attempts had been made to stop them. The checks cashed were all issued for the same amount, $91.10. The checks were drawn on real companies, but on banks where no account existed. Examination of the forgeries by the crime lab and by handwriting showed that the checks themselves were not genuine. The signatures on each of them vary. The typewriter used to fill in the payee, and the date was different in each instance, as was the check protector used. M.O. bulletins carrying pictures of the checks and lists of the companies that they were drawn on were gotten out to all supermarkets and check-catching agencies in the city. None of the precautions we took did any good. The gang continued to operate. Each of the victims was questioned, but the descriptions of the suspect that they gave us was different in each instance. Examination of pictures of known check forgers using the same method of operation netted us nothing. The stats office had made several runs on the information we had, but they were not able to come up with any new evidence. George Brerick and up at Sacramento was contacted, and he furnished a list of possibles. These were all checked out, and several arrests were made clearing up other forgeries, but our prime suspects were still free and they were still operating. Wednesday, 4.15 p.m., Frank and I came back from Captain Welch's office. Well, now we know how to skipper field. Can you blame him? No, I guess not. We're doing all we can. If the people who run the stores won't look at the bulletins, there's nothing we can do. Brerick's are bound to go with us pretty soon. They've got to start sometime. I get it. Forgery Friday. We're just a minute, ma'am. Forgery, huh? I don't know. I'll take a look in back. Hey, forgery, then? Forgery? No, he's not here. He's not here right now. Can I take a message? Mm-hmm. Yes, ma'am. No, he's not working today. Yes, ma'am. Well, if you give me your number, I'll have him call when he gets in. All right. That's 9-8. Yes, ma'am. No, no, it's right in the message book. No, he'll see it. That's right. Yes, ma'am. No, he'll look at the book when he comes in. No, the first thing, you're at it. Well, you're more than welcome. Yes, ma'am. Bye. Problem? No, she just didn't believe the frig you'd get the message. Yeah, I know. Sometimes faith has the same thing. Forgery Friday? Yes, that's all. Hi, B, come on in. I'm sure you'd be him. You know my partner Frank Smith, don't you? Beatrice Dolly? Yeah, we've met. Sure, I haven't seen you in a long time. Sit down, B. Oh, Frank. There you go. Well, what can we do for you? Just thought I'd drop in. Say hello. Been a while. Yeah, it has a path. How's it been going? Pretty good. Got myself a job when I got out. Things are working good for me. How long's it been now? A year ago, last January. Well, is there anything we can do for you? No. Might be the other way around. How do you mean? I never got a chance to tell you, Sergeant, how much I appreciated what you did for me, what you said in court. Well, we just told him the truth. Yeah, I know. It would have gone a lot harder with me if he hadn't been on my side. It's nice of you to think of it that way anyway. It's true. I've never got a chance before, and now maybe there's a way I can pay you back. That's not necessary, you know. I know. I know. I want to. Well, what do you got? You know how it is. When you get out of jail, you need a lot of people in the business. They all got a deal for you, something to put your back on your feet. Yeah, I know. Same thing happened with me. I stayed care of it, though. Never went near them. Well... I'm not going to con you. A couple of times. It's pretty hard, but I'm on the road, and I'm going to stay there. Well, it's good to hear. There are rumbles. You know, things come up. I got one the other day. More than a rumble. How about you right away? Figured there's a way to pay you back. Well, what is it? I met a guy in a bar, a little place near where I work. Usually, after work, I stop and have a beer while I wait for the traffic to clear up before I go home. One other night, I talked to him and started talking. A nice-looking guy. He got to talking about different things, nothing big, just things. You know how you do with a bar. He asked me what I did for a living, how things were going, like that. And he wanted to know if I'd like to pick up a few extra bucks. Yeah. He said he wanted me to cash a check for him. I told him I didn't have the money. He didn't make any difference how small a check was. I didn't have a loop. Mm-hmm. Then he sprung it. He didn't want me to cash it myself. He said he wanted me to take it to the store and get it cashed. He said he'd give me half what the check was for. Well, why didn't he do it himself? I asked him the same thing. That's when he told me, as soon as I heard it, I figured it might be something for you. The check was stolen. Beatrice Dowling had been convicted of forgery three years before. She'd been sentenced to the California Institution for Women at Corona, California. Frank and I had a small part in the investigation that resulted in her conviction. During the trial, we testified that her cooperation had aided us in apprehending the rest of the gang and allowing us to clean up the entire operation. Since she'd been paroled, we'd lost track of her. But on those occasions when we talked to her parole officer, we found that she was living up to all of the conditions of her release. And I took her across the street to a restaurant when we talked further to her. Pass the sugar, will you, Sergeant? There you are, B. You don't use it? No, no thanks. How about you, Mr. Smith? No thanks. I'll take a bite, too. What about this guy? What did you tell him? Well, I said, I'd think over the deal and let him know. Did you get a chance to see the checks? A couple. Took him out of a wall in his coat. I didn't get a good look out of him. Uh-huh. How about the man himself? Have you ever seen him before? I don't think so. You know why I picked you? I've been trying to figure out a bartender there and knows I fell once. He might have given the word. Has he got any records that you know of? The bartender? Yeah. I don't think so. He likes to talk big, but I don't think he's ever done big time. Uh-huh. You set up anything about meeting the man with the check? No, definitely. I told him I'd think it over. I asked him if I decided to do it with the offer. Still be open. Yeah. He said it would. Said to look him up. At the same bar? Yeah. I could get in touch with him there. Any special time? I didn't name one. He told me the checks were stolen. I got right away about you. But you might want the information. I never figured to get mixed up in it. No, we'll buy it. What are you going to do about it? Trying to find out where the checks came from. Well, you were talking to this guy. Did he use the name at all? No, not right out. Well, we were sitting there another fellow came in and talked to him. I heard the other guy call him Cecil. Well, how about this other man? Did you know him? No. Never saw him around the bar? No, I never did. Luckily, there's something I don't understand. If you start for this bar all the time, it looks like he's a regular customer of the place. You don't believe me, do you? I'm just trying to get it straight. I told you before. I only go in there about 5.30. I'm only in the place maybe 15 minutes and I leave. A lot of time when people are coming in and out that I'm not there. I see. Listen, I'm trying to give you guys something for free. You don't want it? Don't worry. You're not going to hurt my feelings. No, it's not that, but you Frank and I have been on the thing for the last four months. It's been giving us a lot of trouble. I think it's worth anything. We're going to check it out. Does Cecil give you any idea where he got the checks? He said they were stolen payroll checks all made out and ready for endorsement. Well, if they're made out, what about identification? I said he had that. Oh, I'd need to put the checks through. Did he show you any of it? No, he just said that he had it already. All right, B. I wonder if you can come back to the office and check through the books for us to see if you can spot this Cecil. Oh, sure. I'm glad to help out. I've got a bill we can leave. I don't want to bring it up. Yeah, what's that? I hope you'll understand. I'm not trying to get out of line. Well, go ahead, B. They know me in this part. As far as Cecil knows me, what would happen if I went ahead of the deal? You mean make the connection for us? Yeah, line him up. Find out how the gap's working. And you move in and make the pinch. And we can't ask you to do that? It's not your idea. I just figured that it might be easier all around. You and Mr. Smith will be right there. As soon as I get the information, then it's up to you. Well, I'll check that in a couple of days along the line. I'm going to have to tell this joker that I don't go through the deal. He's going to find out I'm working with you. When he does, be there. We returned to the office and made arrangements to meet Beatrice Dowling the next day. Frank and I got the name and description of the bartender at the place where the Dowling woman said she'd been approached. We ran us through our and I, but we were not able to find a record for the man. The next morning we met with Captain Welsh and told him of the idea. He agreed that it appeared to be the constant surveillance. The same day, Thursday, July 12th at 5.20 p.m., she entered the bar. Frank and I were parked down the street in our car. How about me? See the Dowling? Well, all you do now is wait. Yeah. Here, do you want a cigarette? I got one. Oh. What's the matter? You got a cigarette? Yeah, you got one on your hand? Right here, sure. All right. Well, I should be glad to get home, but there was a big argument last night. You all right? Come on in now. Oh, I came home. I guess about 7.30 around in there. Right after dinner I got ready for bed. That's when I saw it. I should have known right from the start. You shouldn't know what? Well, I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say I'll say wasn't big at all. All right. I sure slept good. I think I could make it, Joe. What's that? You know how I'm always talking about sleeping for a week? Yeah. Well, the way I slept last night, I think I could make it. You know, something that you like to try. How are we even going to have to wait to try and take a look down there? Huh? The bar. Beatrice is coming up. Oh, yeah. A couple of guys with her. They're acting kind of funny, aren't they? Yeah. The weather is shoving them around. There's only one reason for that. Yeah. They find out about us. Frank and I followed the three people down the street. A half a block from the bar that got into a black old mobile sedan and pulled out into the line of traffic. We kept them under surveillance while we drove to the downtown area. We called communications and got a rolling make on the car. It was registered to a Cecil Maddox, 2482 North Alexandria on Hollywood. We requested that Maddox be checked through R&I and we found that he'd been arrested twice before on charges of grand theft and he'd served one term at San Quentin and one term at Folsom Penitentiary. At the corner of Broadway and Clay Streets, the trio pulled into a parking lot and they left the car. Frank and I parked our unit and followed them to a stationery store. From the street, we could see Maddox talk to a salesman while the other man walked up to a display of typewriters. He took a slip of paper from his pocket and apparently tried the machine. By the time he was finished, Maddox had gotten through talking to the clerk and they used the same piece of paper to try a check protector. During this operation, Beatrice Dowling stood by and waited for him. Finally, the three of them left the store and walked two blocks east to a large market. There, we saw Maddox hand the Dowling woman an envelope. After that, she entered the store and came back a few minutes later. Frank and I were about ten feet from the pair of checkmen when the woman returned. Beatrice, here's the money. You came through a bar and we'll make the split. Half this is money, huh? That's the way it was set up, let's go. Come on, Frank. All right, Maddox, hold it up. What's this all about? We saw she was under arrest. For what? Go ahead, spell out the beef. I don't know, you won't hang it on me. Don't book it, mister, you'll get short odds. It's a wrong beef, I won't tell you. You already have. You paid for it with a bad check. The two suspects were taken to the city hall. The second man was identified as Raymond Johnstone. We checked him through records and identification. We found that he had a long felony record. He'd served sentences in both San Quentin and Folsom. And from the record, we found that he was in Folsom at the time Maddox was serving his term. We talked to Johnston for an hour, but he refused to admit any complicity in the forgeries. At 8.15 p.m., officers Ferguson and Regan went out to the address we'd gotten from Maddox and Frank and I talked to the suspect in the interrogation room. All right, come on, Maddox, empty your pockets. What for? Because we want you to. Do I get the stuff back? Put it on the table. We've got anything, nothing you want. Well, you let us for you that way. Come on, on the table. There's a lot. Handkerchief, chain, baggage of gum and keys, and that's it. All right, now the coat pockets. Cigarettes, lighter, some more chains. Parking stuff. Inside pockets, too. There's nothing there you'd be interested in. Inside pockets. All right, let's take a look. True name, Cecil James Maddox. Yeah. Who's this stuff belong to? I don't know anything about it. Driver's license, social security card, oil company credit card. These don't belong to you, do they? They're a good-look cop. You see my name on them? We found them in your pockets. Cleaner must have lifted them. Oh, come off it, Maddox. We got you nailed and you know it. You gotta show me. All right, these other envelopes here. Same thing on all of them. Now, where'd you get them? I told you, I got a sloppy cleaner. Frank, you want a check? See if Rudy's back. Yeah, sure. You got any money in the wallet? A couple bucks. Take it out. Sure. I'll give it to you. Keep it in your hands. Just give me the wallet. You'll find anything interesting in there. I'll split it. Yeah, sure. How about these checks? Where'd you get them? I forget. Well, you better start remembering, Mr. I'm trying. It just isn't working out. Pretty important that you do. I think I found them. Where? I don't remember. You turn up with $500 with the checks and you don't know where you got them. I haven't got the slightest. But what about this receipt? What's it for? I don't know. It's in your wallet. You must have put it there. At the back. There's a phone number on it. Maybe that's where I kept it. No phone number here? Well, then I can't tell you where I got it. I guess I've been carrying it around for a long time. They did a couple of months ago. That's a long time. Look, what are you trying to prove with this innocent pit? You know we got you going in. We're going to make a forgery complaint stick. Now, why are you trying to make it harder? I don't think you can trip me for the beef. There's a couple of officers over at your apartment now. If they come up with the press you use to print up the checks. On the other occasion, you've had it, Mr. I think I bought them. You try to take me to court on that kind of evidence and you'll make the front pages the dumbest cop of the year. John, yeah. That sounds right. You wait here, Maddox. Only one door and you're in front of that. I'm not going anywhere. Just sit still. Yeah. How's it going? Not too good. You want a cop, huh? How'd you do? I talked to Fergie. They went over Maddox's apartment. Yeah. They didn't find anything. We went back into the interrogation room and we talked to the suspect. He didn't admit nothing. We talked to Raymond Johnstone, but he refused to cooperate with us. A thorough search was made of their car, but we failed to turn up anything new. We contacted the printer who'd made up the receipt blanks. He checked his records and was able to give us the address of the place that had ordered them. Officer's Ferguson, Regan Frank and I drove out to the place. It was a cheap hotel located on these seven. We checked with the desk clerk and showed him the receipt. He told us the two men answering the descriptions of the suspects had rented a room two months previously. We went on to say that there was a third man with a pair and that he was in the room at the time. We asked about luggage and the clerk said that the trio had moved in several large trunks. We got the room number, and while Ferguson and Regan covered the rear of the building, Frank and I went up to the room. I'd like to talk to you. I'm kind of busy right now. What's it about? Police officer. Get out of here. All right. I've got no call to bust in here. I'm not doing anything wrong. I just try to keep us out. I just don't like cops running all over the place. Where's that door go? Bedroom, but there ain't nothing in there that concerns you. I'll take a look. You stay out of there. What's this all about anyway? What are you cops trying to build? How about it, Frank? Take a look. Come on, Handling, over here. Press on everything, huh? I'm doing a little printing for the neighborhood people. There's nothing to concern you. You do work for the Department of Motor Vehicles, too? What? These driver's license planks. What are they for? Who tips you? What? Who told you about the plane? Who told you? That make any difference? You bet it does. All the difference in the world. I don't know what they told you, but I'm not going to take the beef alone. I'm not going to take it alone. That's all? Yeah. You go back and tell Cecelin Ray that they're going with me. I'm not going to carry this by myself. You tell him that, will you? Well, anyway, I sit here with the press, all the checks, anything goes wrong. I'm the one that stands for it. They're out with the money. One-sided. That's what it is. They get the kicks, I get the work. One-sided. No, not this time. Huh? You're all going to come out even. Cecil James Maddox, Raymond Richard Johnstone, and Paul Milton Hadley were tried and convicted on 18 counts of forgery. They received seven sass prescribed by law. Forgery is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by imprisonment for not more than 14 years in the state penitentiary. You have just heard Dragnet, the authentic story of your police force in action, and starring Jack Webb, a presentation of the United States Armed Forces Radio Service.