 Ladies and gentlemen, Crime Prevention Week, now being observed nationally, is designed for one purpose. To emphasize that crime is your personal enemy. Costs money and lives. It weakens the moral and physical strength of your community. Show your respect for the law by cooperating with your police officer 52 weeks a year. Join the fight to stamp out crime, the ally of treason. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. Fatima cigarettes. Best of all, long cigarettes bring you... ...drag mit. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to bunco detail. A husband and wife confidence team has shifted operations to your city. Their criminal record dates back 17 years. Their masters in the art of swindling. Your job? Get them. You'll be amazed when you compare Fatima with other long cigarettes. You'll find they now cost the same. But in Fatima, the difference is quality. You'll see, Fatima is the quality king-size cigarette because it contains the finest domestic and Turkish tobaccos superbly blended. And Fatima is extra mild. With a much different, much better flavor and aroma than any other long cigarette. So compare Fatima yourself. Fatima's now cost the same as other long cigarettes. But your first puff will tell you... Ah, that's different. Yes, in Fatima, the difference is quality. Ask your dealer for Fatima. The quality king-size cigarette. Best of all, long cigarettes. Start enjoying Fatima tomorrow. 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, April 20th. It was windy in Los Angeles. We were working the day watch out of Bunko detail. My partner's Ben Romero. The boss is Captain McCawley. My name's Friday. We were on the way out from the office and it was 10.35 a.m. when we got to the Holy Gospel Tabernacle. The pastor's house. Look at that palm tree. Yeah, when the storm shore didn't do it any good. It was really blowing last night. It woke me up a couple of times. Hey, I slept like a baby. What'd you say the name here was, Olson? Yeah. You got it right here. Ever in the Andrews. Doesn't seem to be anybody home. I don't try it again. When you sit on the phone, you need to be here at the church. Where's that? Just around the corner, faces on South Spring. Not a very wealthy looking neighborhood. There must be the church up there. Sure could stand Dakota Payne. Grounds are well kept, I think. Nice flowerbeds. Look at that. Giant pansies. Tried some in the backyard last year. Too bad. What do you mean? Giant snails. Sliced them right off at the roots. I guess that must be him up at the front. Better close the door, huh? Oh, yeah. Excuse me, sir. Oh. Didn't see him. You the Reverend Olson? Yes. Can I help him? My name's Friday, Reverend. I talked to you on the phone. Oh, yes, Sergeant. This is my partner, Sergeant Romero. How you doing? How you doing? How you doing? Sergeant Romero? No, that's Romero, Reverend. Oh, excuse me, Romero. Didn't expect you so soon. A little busy here fixing the pulpit. It happened last Sunday. What's that, Reverend? I guess I got carried away with my sermon. Quite a commotion. Oh. I leaned forward in the pulpit. This whole section here just splattered and broke right off. Ruined my whole sermon. Well, I can finish this up later. Have a chair at their offices. No, thank you very much. There it is, Sergeant. The names, descriptions. Mr. and Mrs. Tom Herbert. That's the name they used, anyway. Would you mind briefing us on how it happened, Reverend? When did you first meet this couple? It came to us a little over a month ago. Didn't have any reason to be suspicious. Mr. Herbert showed me some fine references. I didn't think it was necessary to check them. What kind of approach did they use? Could you tell us? On the first visit, Mrs. Herbert did most of the talking. She told me she and her husband wanted to write a history of our church. It was supposed to be part of an historical book on all the churches in the county. Naturally, I felt a little flattered about it. Did this Mr. and Mrs. Herbert make any demands for money or to write about your church, I mean? Oh, no, no. There was no money involved at first. They said all they wanted was our cooperation and doing some of the research work. You know, looking up dates, names, things like that. Oh, I see. It seemed very sincere, both of them. Didn't drink, smoke. They worked very hard during the search writing. I don't know why they had to change. It would have been nice having history written about our church. Yes, sir. What did they first bring up the idea of money? Well, Mr. Herbert came to me one day and showed me this letter. It was supposed to be from the people who were going to publish the history of our church. Others said, well, because of certain business reasons, the whole thing was off. They couldn't publish the book. Mr. Herbert acted very sorry. Did he leave that letter with you, Reverend? He left it with him. I felt badly about the whole thing during all that work and then the book not being published. Did the Herbert's brought the idea of you and the church putting up the money to print the book? Well, no, not exactly, but I guess they gave me the idea. How do you mean? They suggested that I talk it over with the church board, so I did. We all agreed it would be a shame to give up the idea of the book after so much work had gone into it. Is that when you agreed to finance the book? Well, the board and I did, yes. It's all my fault, though. I helped persuade them. The money came out of church funds, is that it? As a matter of fact, it didn't. We only have a small operating fund, so you can see where a small church congregation isn't wealthy. And where did the money come from, sir? Well, for one thing, the Ladies of the Altar Society put on a Sunday afternoon ham dinner. It made some money, and then the Herbert suggested we help sell advertising to pay part of the cost, so we did that, too. But still wasn't enough. Well, exactly how much did you turn over to the Herbert's? Eight hundred and four dollars and sixty-one cents. I had to borrow three hundred and fifty from the bank to make it. They all had to be paid back. People who paid for their advertising, too. They all had to come out of our pockets. Terrible thing. Yes, there it is. Terrible. I don't know what I'm going to do. I hate that congregation for it. Their offerings have always been so generous, and they're not wealthy. They're just working people. When was the last time that you heard from this Mr. and Mrs. Herbert? A week ago, I guess. Yes, it was his last Monday. I got anxious and called him at their hotel. It's on South Grand. I can give you the address. He told me when the books would be ready. He said it would be on Tuesday. It's the last I heard of him. No forwarding address? No other place that you think we might find them? No, I'm sorry. I just don't have any idea. It's so hard to believe anyone would do such a thing to us. Yes, I wonder if we could have the address at their hotel. Yes, all right. If you'll come with me, I'll have it over at the house. Did Mr. and Mrs. Herbert have a card? Do you know, Reverend? I don't think so. If they did, I never saw it. I don't know what I'm going to tell the congregation. $800. That's a lot of money to our people. Yes. Tell me, Sergeant. I don't mean to be uncharitable, but Mr. and Mrs. Herbert, do they have a criminal record? Have they done this sort of thing before? Well, their descriptions seem to fit a couple that we've been looking for. They've been working at churches in this area on and off for a couple of years now. I can't understand why they do such a thing. It's almost like robbing a poor box. Yes, sir, they've done that too. 11.15 a.m., we went back to the city hall and pulled the package on the suspects, Mr. and Mrs. Tom Herbert. They were a veteran man and wife confidence team who'd worked the Los Angeles area and other large cities around the country. There especially seemed to be swindling churches and clergymen. Over a period of 17 years, they found up a long record involving frauds and various Bunko games, but they'd only been brought to trial once. The case had been dismissed for lack of sufficient evidence. 11.35 a.m., we took mug shots of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert out to the Reverend Olson and he identified them. We checked the hotel on South Grand where they'd been staying, no leads. We got out a local broadcast and an APB on them. Together with the sheriff's office, we sent a special bulletin about the Herbert's and the pastors of the different churches in the city and county. From the list of names on the Marmy sheet, we began checking out all the known friends and relatives of the suspects. One of them was a Clyde Harris, proprietor of a physical culture school out in the Wilshire district. 1 p.m. Tuesday, we drove out to talk to him. Which way, Joe? Right down the street, the blue and white sign is... Oh, yeah. Venus School of Physical Culture, I can make you an all-American girl manager. Looks like the office here. No, we're supposed to meet him in the gym, that's next door. Back this way, I guess. I'm sorry, Mrs. Tollison, you're doing it wrong. Your pelvis is all out of position. Excuse me, are you Clyde Harris? Yes, did you want something? Police officer, Mr. Harris, would you like to talk to you? Oh, yeah, officer, could you hold on a minute? Sure, go right ahead. Frances, would you take over here for a few minutes? I have to talk to these gentlemen. Ladies, Frances is going to count for you for a while. Back here, officers. Won't take too long, will you? No, sir, just a few minutes. Sorry to interrupt your lesson. That's all right. I just want to have the ladies thinking I neglected and they pay good money for these exercises. Here you are, have a chair. Thank you. You said something about Tom Herbert on the phone, Sergeant. What's it all about? We understand that you're a friend of the Herbert's, Mr. Harris. Yeah, I knew Tom and Doris a couple of years back. Haven't seen much of them lately. When was the last time you saw him? About 20 months, anyway. Anything wrong? Well, do you know where we could locate him? I don't know for sure. Last time I saw him, they were at a hotel downtown in South Grand, I think. You know, South Grand right near people. We have no idea where they moved when they left there. You know what? Didn't even know they'd moved. They haven't phoned or contacted you at all in the last month or so. No, not a word. They're not in the jam again, are they? We'd like to talk to them, that's all. Would you know of any of their favorite spots around town, eating, drinking places? I don't think I could say they got around quite a bit. Some of their other friends around town, the Pattons, the Thompson's, Mike Runyon. What was that last one? Mike Runyon. Very good friend of the Herbert's. Ben? No, I don't recall the name. Well, how could we get in touch with this Runyon, Mr. Harris? He's got a phone. Come on in the office. We'll call him if you like. Yeah, thank you very much. I'll get Mike on the line for you and introduce you. Oh, would you mind talking to him, Harris? Don't tell him it's for us. Just ask if he knows where the Herbert's are. Would you mind? Yeah, all right. No answer. Maybe... Hello, Mike? Hi, Harris, Mike. Yeah, how are you? Fine. Fine? Yeah, a long time. Say, Mike, you any idea where Tom and Doris Herbert are? Mm-hmm. Is that right? How about that, huh? Well, you don't. No, that's okay. It's not important. Sure thing, Mike. Make it soon, huh? Right. Come on. Yep. No, he doesn't know where the Herbert's are staying. He saw him a week ago out in Hollywood, though, says they're doing fine. How do you mean? They ran into him outside that big church on Hollywood Boulevard. They told Mike all about it. They really got religion. That's so... Yeah, they're even writing a book about the church. We called back Mike Runyon, a friend of the suspect, and he gave us the location of the church where he'd seen Mr. and Mrs. Herbert. Ben and I drove out there and talked to the pastor, Reverend John Kenworth. We showed him the Herbert's mug shots and he identified them. They were going under the name of Williams, and supposedly they were writing a book about the history of the church and the purposes and research. More than $1,000 from Perry's contributions had been placed in a separate account at a local bank. Reverend Kenworth told us that it was a special joint account and the Herbert's had access to it. Ben got on the phone and called the bank. How's that? Yes. Yes, sir. Uh-huh. Yeah, all right. Thank you. What did they say? The two of them were in the bank yesterday. They didn't draw out everything. How much did they leave? They checked with the teller at the bank and showed him mug shots of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert. He identified them as the couple who'd withdrawn the church funds. We went to the hotel address the suspects had given to Reverend Kenworth. They checked out two days before. The search went on. Two weeks passed. We ran out of leads. No further reports on the couple. A month went by. Tuesday, May 23rd. We got an APB from San Francisco on a couple answering the Herbert's description. We were working the church angle. During the next six weeks, we got reports on them from Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and Northern California. In Sacramento, they apparently changed their MO for the first time. They started selling phony health insurance policies. They promised everything. They had a lot of takers. One of the big selling points was a clause which promised full protection if anybody in the family should come down with polio. From Sacramento, they headed south to Oakland and then to Fresno. On the 10th, the complaints started to come in and we knew the Herbert's had moved into Los Angeles with their health insurance racket. One of the first victims was a Carl Fogarty. He lived out in the Westlake area. There's a policy they gave me, sir. It picks health insurance. It's not worth the paper it's printed on. When did they sell you this, Mr. Fogarty? You remember? Three weeks ago, I guess. Never would have known it was phony if my boy hadn't come down with polio. How's he getting along? Too good. Right leg. It's not as if we don't have enough grief. We've got to lose out on this bone insurance. You mind if I take a look at that policy, sir? No. Go ahead. Here you are. You're in the same outfit, Joe. Apex health insurance. Same phony address. Would you remember the man who sold you this, do you think? I think I would, yeah. I wonder if you mind looking through these pictures, Mr. Fogarty? Not at all. Just look at them carefully if you will. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, this one. That's him. I remember. Who's he? His name's Herbert. When he came in to sell you this policy, was he alone? Yeah, he was. And a real good sales tax. How much did you pay for the insurance? Let me see. $43 and some odd cents. I remember that because I cashed him a war bond and then I took $5 out of the rent money. Outside of this policy here, you have no other papers that the man might have given you? No, nothing but this business card here. He gave me that. You see, here are the same name. Apex health insurance. Yeah. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Fogarty. We hope your little boy pulls out of it all right? Yeah, thanks. Well, here's our card, sir. Anything we can do, give us a call. Sure, okay. About time we checked the office, huh? I think so. Do you have a folder here, Mr. Fogarty? Oh, yeah, Sergeant. Here, help yourself. Thank you very much. 2572. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, Fred, Joe Friday. Anything for us in the book? Mm-hmm. West 7. Yeah, okay. Right, thanks, Fred. Anything doing? Looks pretty good. The office got a call from a printing shop out on West 7. The manager's got an order he's not too sure about. How do you mean? You are listening to DragNet for the step-by-step solution to tonight's authentic case history. Here, step-by-step, are the actual reasons why Fatima is the quality king-size cigarette. Why in Fatima, the difference is quality. Quality of tobaccos. The finest domestic and Turkish varieties, extra mild and superbly blended to give you a much different, much better flavor and aroma. Quality of manufacture. Smooth, round, perfect cigarettes. Rolled in the finest paper money can buy. Manufactured in the newest and most modern of all cigarette factories. Quality even to the appearance of the bright, clean, golden yellow package. Carefully wrapped and sealed to bring you Fatima's rich, fresh, extra mild flavor. Compare Fatima yourself. Fatima's now cost the same as other long cigarettes, but your first puff will tell you. Ah, that's different. Yes, in Fatima, the difference is quality. Insist on Fatima. Start enjoying the quality king-size cigarette. Fatima. Best of all, long cigarettes. Wednesday, July 10th, 4 p.m. Ben and I drove back downtown to the printing shop on West 7th Street and talked with a manager. He told us that the order for stationery and business cards for the Apex Health Insurance Company had been placed two days before. He said he'd become suspicious after reading a story in one of the newspapers about the polio insurance fraud. He also said that the customer who had ordered the stuff was a woman. She told him that she would call and pick up the order on Friday. We showed the manager a handful of mug shots. He could give us only a partial identification of Mrs. Herbert's picture. We called the office, told them we were going on steak out and arranged for a relief. Ben and I spent the rest of Wednesday and all day Thursday and Friday in the rear of the print shop where we could keep an eye on everyone entering the place. Friday, 6 p.m. No sign of the Herbert's, not a trace. Saturday, the same. No sign of either one of them. Monday, more waiting. The suspect stayed away. Tuesday, 3.30 p.m. I went out the rear door, went down the street and got some cigarettes, and then I headed back for the print shop. Keep your coat on, Joe. Just call the office for a relief. Why, what's he doing? Have Clyde Harris, friend of the Herbert's, the guy who runs the physical culture school? Yeah, what about him? He called the office, wanted to talk to us. I phoned him out there at the gym. He told me he was out drinking last night and he met Mrs. Herbert at a bar. She was alone. Did you tell you where to find her? The Greenwood Apartments, 6.03 p.m. When the relief men arrived, Ben and I left and drove across town to the Greenwood Apartments on the sidewalk behind a sloping lawn lined with a box hedge. We checked the names on the mailboxes. The name T.J. Bronson was listed for apartment 6.03. We rang, but there was no answer. Better try to manage, you know? Yeah. It's a nice place. Insurance racket must be paying off on. Here we go. Yes, are you the manager here? That's right. That's yours, my name. Can I help you? 6.03? Oh, that crazy woman tried to blow up the place last night. Why? What do you mean? Mrs. Bronson, she came in drunk about 2 a.m. No sense at all. About 3 a.m., the folks in 6.01 called me and said the smell of gas. I went up there and found her in the kitchen. I'd like a light gas stove turned on going full blast. Crazy. Where's her husband? Couldn't say chasing around again, I think. Hadn't been home in a week. There's something a little match. You said it happened about 3 this morning? That's right, crazy woman. She'll be all right, though. Where's she now, do you know? Yeah, county hospital. 4.25 p.m., Ben and I got in touch with the office and arranged for a steak out at the Herbert's apartment. We called homicide and checked on the attempt suicide report. They informed us that the woman had been taken to the psycho ward county hospital. We went over to the hospital, checked at the main desk and identified ourselves. The nurse on duty had us shown to the ward that the suspect Doris Herbert was confined. She was a halfway attractive woman in her late 40s. Short, bleached blonde hair, dark eyes with deep circles under them. She turned and looked up as we stopped beside her bed. Excuse me, new Doris Herbert? Is your name Doris Herbert? What do you want? Police officers, would like to talk to you for a minute? I knew you'd be around, I don't care. I'm sick of it, I'm sick of the whole rotten thing I knew you'd come. We just have a few questions, ma'am, it won't take long. Did you find him yet? You mean your husband? Not my husband, not anymore. Him and that cheap girl behind my back sneaking around 20 years. We've been happy and he throws me away. Where's your husband now, ma'am? With her. We've been with her awake. He doesn't even care I'm here. 20 years ago he cared. I found him, taught him something. I taught him everything he knows. This girl that your husband's with, where does she stay, do you know? I've been around the corner Franklin and Laurel. You were close, weren't you? You knew it was us. What's this girl's name? Marie Daly. I saw her with him. Tell me something. You knew it was us, Tom and me, the insurance? Yeah, we knew it was you. I didn't like it. It wasn't a clean game, Tom's idea. We made money, but I didn't like it, it wasn't clean. All right, Miss Herbert, we'll talk to you later. No, not me. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die and forget all about it. Just be sure I can get him, won't you? Tom, I'll tell him everything he knows. Get him. You're sure about the address? Yeah, I'm sure. Tell me something. Why do you have to do it to me? Throwing me away lying, taking that cheap girl. Why'd he do it to me? Well, you ought to have an idea. You taught him everything he knows. Before we left the hospital, we made arrangements to have Doris Herbert transferred to the prison ward. At 5 p.m., we drove out to the apartment house at Franklin and Laurel and checked with the landlady. She told us that Tom Herbert's girlfriend, Marie Daly, had checked out of her apartment the day before. She said the Daly girl had a middle-aged man with her. We showed the landlady Herbert's mugshot and she identified him as that man. She had no forwarding address on her, but she did remember the name of the express truck that called to pick up the Daly girl's baggage. We checked with the express company and found that the trunks had been taken by the Lockheed Air Terminal. We started calling the airlines. 6.30 p.m., we finally got a report that a man answering Tom Herbert's description had booked passage for two on a flight to Mexico City. The plane was scheduled to leave at 8.35 that night. Ben and I drove out to the airport and went on stake out. 8.15 p.m., we waited. 8.20, no sign of them. United Airlines plane liner flight 649 from Denver at Intermediate City. They're getting a little late, huh? Yeah, it's 8.24, they're kind of getting close. Going in the bar, Joe, take a look. Yeah, that's them, let's go. Not hard to spot. What's the matter with the girl? Looks pretty drunk. All right, come on. Remember the water, huh, Mary? I got you on. Yeah. And we got much time. We don't want to miss that plane. We don't want to miss it. Are you Tom Herbert? Yes, what is it? Police officers like talk to you downtown. Just a minute, this must be some kind of mistake. No mistake, Herbert, we talked to your wife. Let's go. What is it, Tom? What do they want? Nothing, it's a mistake. Now, look, officers, I don't know what this is all about, but we have to get a plane, the 8.35. I can't go downtown with you. Can we talk it over here? I'm sure we can straighten this out. Your wife copped out, Herbert. Now, let's make it easy, huh? Come on, lady. What's he talking about, Tom? Her wife wasn't me. I told you it's a mistake. Now, be reasonable, huh, officer? All we want to do is take a trip. We've been planning on this, new clothes, new luggage. Here's your hat. Our car's outside. It's a mistake. You can't do this. We've planned on it. We've been waiting a long time for this. Yes, sir. So, wait. Come on, let's go. The story you just heard was true. Only the names were changed to protect the innocent. On October 28th, trial was held in Superior Court, Department 88, City and County of Los Angeles, State of California. In a moment, the results of that trial. Now, here is our star, Jack Webb. Thank you. Friends each week, we're honored with letters from listeners all over the country. Letters telling us that you've bought Fatimas and you find them the best of all long cigarettes. Well, thanks to you and the many thousands of other smokers who have switched to Fatimas, I'm happy to report that more people are now enjoying Fatimas than ever before. January sales figures just released show that in the East, Fatimas sales are up 56%. In the Middle West, sales up 133%. And here on the coast, Fatima shows an increase of 68%. That means Fatima sales are up nearly 70% all over the country. Now, if you haven't yet discovered Fatimas much different, much better flavor and aroma, I suggest that you buy a pack tomorrow. When you do, I'm convinced you'll agree with Fatima smokers everywhere. In Fatima, the difference is quality. Mr. and Mrs. Tom Herbert were tried and convicted on several counts of Grand Theft. They are now confined in the state penitentiary for the term prescribed by law. Grand Theft is punishable by confinement for not less than one, nor more than 10 years. 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. Fatima cigarettes, best of all long cigarettes has brought you Dragnet. Portions transcribed from Los Angeles. David Harding, Counter-Spice, solves an exciting case next on NBC.