 The Equitable Life Assurance Society presents This Is Your FBI This Is Your FBI An official broadcast from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation presented as a public service by the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and the Equitable Society's representative in your community. Tonight's file, which will open in just a moment, concerns as all FBI activities concern the future of America. Here at the Equitable Life Assurance Society, we also deal in futures. Yours, ours, the country's. The future is our business. And that is why for 86 years, our constant endeavor has been and is to keep the Equitable Society up-to-date, well-informed, active, and progressive. That is why when life insurance problems arise, your Equitable Life Insurance Society representative is a man worth knowing. A man whose business in life is building security through life insurance for you, your home, and your country. Tonight's FBI file, The Castaway Killer. By far the vast majority of our foreign-born population are good, conscientious American citizens. To whom the ideals of our way of living and the laws which govern it are as sacred as they are to any native-born citizen. But a small minority of our foreign born are a part of the criminal element of our society. And from time to time, some of these, upon conviction, are ordered deported to their native land. However, as in tonight's case from the files of your FBI, this is not always the end of the story. Shortly after dawn one morning, the fleet of fishing trawlers off the coast of Maine made their last haul. And now, with a full catch, they're preparing to return to their home cove. Captain Brewster, the skipper of the Anna girl, bellows to his first mate. Let's be on the way, Mr. Walpole. Aye, sir. Don't stand there, glued those glasses. There's a blow on the way. Personally, I'd like to run in ahead of it. I think I see something, sir. Don't tell me it's periscope. The war's over. I'm not sure what it is, sir. You have a look. Where is it? Far out off the starboard, bow. Bobbing in the water, sir. I see. I don't see any... But I'm past it, sir. There's something. Wait a minute. Right, Mr. Walpole. Lower boat. What is it, sir? It's a man. We'd better get to him. Aye, sir. Man boat number one, make ready to lower away. Now, just take it easy, mister. You all right? Just take another swallow of this. I'm Captain Brewster, skipper of the Anna girl. She's a fishing trawler. I picked you up just after dawn this morning. You're at my house. I brought you shore. What happened to you? Of course, as I can remember, I was on the fourth watch. Had heavy going. I went forward to baton down number one. Bow took a dive. Well, here I am. What was your ship? Name on your life belt is too dim to make out. Are you all cargo? Eight thousand tonner out of New York. Your company? North Star. Why? Well, I won't send a report. You'll be in the blankets for two or three days. Look, Captain, you like a joke? Oh, as well as the next one. Why? I owe them both fifty bucks, and I'd like to let them worry those two or three days. Okay. Sure. I thought you'd understand, Captain. Thank you, sir. John. Oh, come in. Come in, Anna. How is he? Well, you see, he's become long fine. I don't think I know your name, Mr. It's Butler. Joe Butler. Well, this here's my wife, Anna. I'm pleased to meet you. How are you? Think you're up to eating something, Mr. Butler? Guess maybe I could. Fine. Look, I don't want to put you in any trouble. Nonsense. Now, Butler, Anna, just love to have someone round to fuss over. Sure. You're going to be around here for a while, so you just plain make yourself at home. That same day in the Boston office of the FBI, Agent and Charge Lanham is reading a radio message as Special Agent Wiley enters. Wiley? Yes, sir? I have a report here you might be interested in. What's it about? Nick Corona. Well, I thought immigration wished him bon voyage and no happy returns yesterday. They did, but this radio message just came in a while ago from the ship he was aboard, the Oreo. Yeah? Corona went over the side sometime during the night. What? He unlocked his cabin to take him to breakfast. He was gone. Evidently got out through the portal. Are they sure he went over the side? He left a note saying he'd rather take a bath and take that kind of a wrap. So, he chose suicide, huh? I don't think so. Nick Corona liked to live too well. Yeah, I know. I believe he went over the side all right, but I believe he stayed on top of the water too. You mean he arranged for somebody to pick him up? No, Corona wasn't that important. Well, what else then? If the ship wasn't too far out, he could have used a life belt and counted on being picked up or washed in. Yeah, but that's a pretty big chance. Maybe, and maybe I'm entirely wrong, Wiley. But I'm going to have a lot more proof in this message before I'll believe Nick Corona committed suicide. What's the next move then? I'll video the captain of the Oreo and get him to try to establish when Corona went over. Right? I'll have him check with the ship's log and find what her position was at that time. Good morning. Good morning. I, uh, I have some coffee for you. Ah, swell. Yeah, just drink this and tell me what you'd like for breakfast. Look, I wish you'd quit knocking yourself out of me. Oh, I'm glad to do it. You're okay. How did you sleep, Mr. Butler? I was afraid I kept you up too late last night, but I just loved hearing you talk. Oh, well, that's the best thing I do. All those wonderful places you've been to. Oh, I could have listened all night long. Oh, now. No, I mean it. Just to be free. To go wherever you please. Sounds funny coming from you. What do you mean? Well, you're married to a sea captain, aren't you? I'm married to a fisherman. I've never been further than a hundred miles from here in my life. Uh, some more coffee? No, thanks. Tell me something, will you? What? How long have you been married? Five years. You ever been married before? No. He's, uh, a lot older than you, ain't he? Yes. Why did you ask those questions? I just wanted to know the setup. And now I think I got it. Well? You kind of got scared of the calendar, didn't you? I don't know what you mean. The boat was sailing, baby. The parade was passing by, so you settled for the guy. Maybe I did. Can I tell you something? Yes. You sold yourself short. You could have done better. But it's better. In fact, sweetheart, you could have... Anna! I'd better see what he wants. Yep. What about your breakfast? That can wait, Mrs. Brewster. Call me Anna, please. I'll be right there, John. Yes, sir? Here's a radio message from the Orioles. What's the word? Looks like I might be right in my hunch about Nick Corona. Yeah? The captain questioned the crew, and one of the men on the fourth watch said he saw somebody standing by the starboard deck rail about 2.30 a.m. Didn't give it another thought, though. Just figured it was a passenger who couldn't sleep. And did they check the life belts in Corona's cabin? One of them's missing. What was the Orioles' position at that time? 67.10 west, 43.40 north. That's only about 25 miles or so off the coast. Well, what was she doing in that close? The captain says they were trying to stay a lot of the gale. They're still quite a swim. There are a lot of fishing fleets in those waters now. But even if Corona missed them, there's a good chance he could make it all the way in anyway. Come on, let's get busy. What's the move? Alert the whole New England coast and keep our fingers crossed that Corona doesn't slip through. I'm right here, Nick. Oh, I was wondering what happened here. You said you were going to come in and see me as soon as the captain left. I know. Well, I saw this car pull out of here a half hour ago. Yes. I guess you finally got sick of hearing we talk. Oh, no. Well, then what goes? I was listening to the radio a little while ago. Yeah? There was a news broadcast on it. It told about a federal prisoner named Corona who was being deported on the ship the Oriole. Uh-huh. When that ship was about 25 miles off our coast the night before last, this man, Corona, jumped overboard. Go on. Nick, that was you, wasn't it? What are you going to do? Yell for the cops? No. I know what it's like to be in a jail myself. Thanks, sweetheart. Did the captain hear this, too? Not while he was here. Good. But I'm afraid he will as soon as he reaches the village. Well, then looks like I'd better be getting out of here. Nick, wait. I want to go with you. Huh? Take me with you, please. Oh, look. You're letting yourself in for a lot of trouble. I don't care. I can't stay here any longer. What are you doing? You will take me. Yeah. But look, we gotta hurry. Oh. Bye, captain. Hello, Mr. Butler. You, uh, you been in the village, John? Yes, Anna. Well, if you'll excuse me a minute. I was just telling you Mrs. here. I guess I go out and take a little walk. Just a minute. Well, I heard a story up in the village about a man who was being deported jumping ship. Not much doubt as to who that man was. Me, huh? You were admitting it? Yes. Well, before I did anything, I wanted to be sure. I guess you know there's only one thing for me to do, sir. Call the cops. That's right. John, you can't. Huh? You can't call the police. Anna, now you keep out of this. He ain't calling no cops, are he? So get in and start packing. No, just a minute. What is this? I'm pulling out of here. And I'm going with him, John. Ann, hurry it up, honey. Anna, do you realize what you're doing? Yes. This man's a criminal. He's a fugitive from the law. Don't you understand that? I know all about him. What's got into you? I'll break this up with you. We gotta move. You're not leaving here. He's the one of you. Keep away from that phone. No. Okay, Pop. You asshole. He ain't breathing. That's right. Now you can take your time about packing. The second half of tonight's program, dealing with the eventual downfall of Nick Corona, will open in just a moment. Meanwhile, let me tell you about a man who makes a business of worrying. This week at the Equitable Society, well, I've never known it to fail. Every time I go down to the Equitable Life Assurance Society, something interesting happens to me. Yesterday, as I was passing a group of executives, one of them called, come on over here. I've got a man I want you to meet. Well, a big, genial citizen stuck out his hand, and I said, gosh, you look so happy. You must have had something pleasant just happen to you. Said he, happy. Well, I may look happy, but the truth is, I'm a professional warrior. Back in my hometown, I'm known as the town's official warrior for one and all. You see, I'm an Equitable Society life insurance representative, and people have been piling their worries on me for years. People worried about their children's education company. Families worried about keeping their home together asked my advice. Men and women worried about taxes, protection for old age, security for the future come to me, and generally, thank goodness, I'm able to say, forget your problems, friend. Let me do your worrying for you. That's my job in life. Well, there you have one of the Equitable Society's best assets, a responsible, keen, sympathetic man trained and able to meet emergencies, and glad to help you solve your problems through life insurance. Multiply this Equitable Field Man by thousands, and you'll see why the Equitable Society has woven itself into the fabric of everyday life in towns and cities all over the United States. Yes, because Equitable Life Insurance representatives are professional warriors, proud of their calling, anxious to help, we are able to say that this week and every week for more than 86 years, the Equitable Society has been building security for you, your home, and your country. And now back to the FBI file, the Castaway Killer. Nick Corona's treatment of Captain Brewster proves again that in dealing with criminals, the policy of appeasement does not work. Being kind to a criminal pays no dividends. You merely expose yourself as a potential victim. That is because the basic ingredient of every criminal is greed. Nick Corona had been in trouble with the police before, trouble which led to deportation proceedings. Now the most recent manifestation of his greed had made him commit another crime, the number one crime, murder. It is an hour or so now after Nick Corona struck down the sea captain in a small fishing village on the main coast. In the Boston office of the FBI, Agent and charge Lanham awaits possible reports after alerting the New England coast. I'll take it, Wally. Hello? Yes, all right. Long distance radio station in Portland. Radio station? Wait a minute. Hello? Hello, yes? What's that? Yes. Yes, I see. Where? I've got it. We'll get on it right away and thanks for reporting it so promptly. Goodbye. You got a lead? Somebody in a little fishing village, Randall's Cove. They heard a news broadcast in Portland about Corona and called the station. They said a Captain Brewster's fishing crawler picked up a man at sea the night before last. Corona? They weren't sure since they didn't see him. I'll contact the police up there right away and have them investigate. Good, and I'll be ready to fly out of here if they nail him. Nick, shall I answer it? Yeah, go ahead. But whoever it is, get rid of him fast. All right. Yes? Good evening, Mrs. Brewster. Oh, hello, Constable. The Captain at home? Why, well, no, he's not here now. He might be down to the pier. Tell you why I'm here. It's about the man they picked up at sea the night before last. Oh, well, I'm afraid we're all a little too late to do anything about him now, Constable. What do you mean? Well, you see, we didn't hear the news broadcast until noon today, telling who the man really was, and, well, he'd already left here. When did he leave? Early this morning. Did he say where he was going? We didn't ask him any questions. Didn't have any reason to suspect anything then, of course. No. Well, I'd better be getting along back. Got to report this to the FBI. Oh, yeah. I'm awful sorry he got away, Constable. You couldn't help that. Well, good night, Mrs. Brewster. Good night. Oh, sweetheart. Oh, I was awful scared. It's dark enough now. Let's get out of here. But Nick, what are we going to do about, about John? He can't take his body with us. Yes, I know, but... Look, they won't pay another visit here before we put a lot of miles behind us. Where are we going? You leave that to me, sugar. Let's move. Maybe this is it. I hope so. Well, I'm speaking. All right, put him on. The Constable? Yes. Hello? Hello, Constable? Yes. Yes. She said he'd already gone, huh? Uh-oh. You did what? He went back again later? I see. What was that? Yes. Yes. All right, get me the license number and description of the car and call me back as soon as you can, please. Thanks. What's up? Captain Brewster's been murdered. His car's gone, so's his wife. Corona? Definitely. Where do you think he'd most likely head for? Not where he's been recently. And I guess all we can do is wait for a description of the car and put out an alarm on us. Yes. In the meantime, get me out the complete file on Corona. Right. Maybe if we do a little research, we might pick up a clue as to where he could be heading for. You come across anything yet? Well, how about you? Covering his career in 1931, I just got down to the part about his rum running days here. Well? Maybe I'll come across something. Wait a minute. Let me see that record, will you? Sure. Here you are. I had several encounters with Mr. Corona in those days. It seems to me there was something...wait a minute. Yeah. Here it is. Wiley. Yeah? Slide that map over here. What a hunch where Nick Corona might be headed for. How you like the scatter? It's real nice. I used to use this cabin years ago when I was running liquor from Canada. It's a good hideout. Nick. Yeah? Where do we go next? Are you kidding? We're going to be home up here for a long, long time. Oh, no. Well, what else? Well, I thought we'd...well, travel. Oh, sweetheart. I'm what is known in the trade as a very hot character. Right now I'm wanted for everything after murder. We better just sit it out. Oh, but that isn't how I planned it. All those places you've been to, we should see them together. I didn't write any contract on that. Oh, I know. I'll forget it, will you? I've been driving all night. I'm tired. Please, I've got to talk about this. What is there to talk about? You asked me to take you away from that fishing village. So I did more than that. You were that guy I used for you, too. I didn't ask for that. Not the way you did it. Oh, trying to cap a plea, huh? Trying to hang the whole thing on me? That's not true. Then let's drop it. Nick, if you really love me... Love? Did you say love? Yes. Well, that's a brand new entry. Where did that come from? What do you mean? I think I better straighten you out, baby. This ain't no love deal. You're strictly a convenience. What? You're a real good cover. Am I going to shit like you along? Made it possible for us to get here. That's the only reason? That's the only reason. Oh, no, no, not that. What a fool I've been. Stop it, will you? I'm getting out of here. Now, wait a minute. Please, let me go. Not a chance, sweetheart. You think I'm going to let you blow a whistle? Take your hands off me. Turn me loose. Let her go, Corona. Who are you? Special agents of the FBI. Oh, yeah? Well, you ain't going to take me now, are you? We are taking you, Corona. Now, get up. Come along. Nick Corona's desire to remain in this country was fulfilled by a federal jury who tried and convicted him for the murder of Captain Brewster. He died in the electric chair. As we stated before, the vast majority of our foreign-born population are good, conscientious American citizens to whom the ideals of our way of living and the laws governing it are as sacred as they are to any native-born citizens. But there are Nick Coronas among our criminal element, too. And it is the duty of your FBI to pursue them as relentlessly as any other criminal who aspires against the laws of the land. Before telling you about next week's thrilling case from the files of the FBI, a message from the Equitable Society. To the FBI, America looks for national security. And to the Equitable Society, three-and-a-quarter million Americans look for the financial security of life insurance. These three-and-a-quarter million people actually comprise the Equitable Society. And as members of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, they know that the Equitable Society representative in their community is a man worth knowing, a man constantly working for the security of you, your home, and your country. Next week, we will bring you another colorful story from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Skyway Swindles. The incidents used in tonight's Equitable Society's broadcast are taken from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. However, all names used are fictitious, and any similarity thereof to the names of persons living or dead is accidental. Tonight, the music was under the direction of Frederick Steiner, the author was Frank Ferres, and your narrator was Dean Carlton. This is your FBI is a Jerry Divine production. Now, this is Carl Frank speaking for the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and the Equitable Society's representative in your community, and inviting you to tune in again next week at this same time, when the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States will bring you another colorful story from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, The Skyway Swindles. And this is your FBI. This is ABC, the American Broadcasting Company.