Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true.
Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.
NBC brings you Dragnet.
You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned to burglary detail.
A gang of hijackers has started to work in your city.
Truckloads of valuable merchandise have vanished.
The thieves are clever, seem to have a foolproof system.
Your job, find them.
Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime, investigated and solved by the men
who unrelentingly stand watch on the security of your home, your family, and your life.
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 from official
police files. From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police
force in action. It was Thursday, March 6th. It was windy in Los Angeles. We were working
the night watch out of burglary detail. My partner is Ben Romero. The boss is Ed Backstrain.
Chief of Detectives. My name is Friday. I was on the way back from the record bureau and it was
5.35 a.m. when I got to room 2A, interrogation room. Read this to him, Ben. Yeah, 2600 dozen
nylon stockings, 45 bolts of silk, 58 cases imported perfume. Where are you dumping this stuff,
LaValle? That's what we want to know. I told you the truth. I have nothing to do with it. I don't
know anything about it. What was this stolen way bill doing in the cab of your truck? How many times
I have to tell you, I don't know. Your fingerprints are all over it. You must have carried it there.
I didn't carry it there. Somebody's out to frame me. How many in the hijack gang, LaValle? I'm not in a hijack
gang. I told you I don't know. When are you gonna let me go? Who's the head of the gang? I don't
know any head of the gang. I want to get out of here. You're covering for somebody. I'm not covering
for anybody. You take the rap for all this, you're gonna have a beard down to your knees by the time
you get out. I'm not taking any rap. Then let's have it. I'm tired. Forty two thousand dollars worth.
You know who took it, you know where it is. It could have disappeared anywhere on the way from the
east to the thousand places. Nothing was missing from those shipments when they came in on the
train. Everything was there when they were unloaded at the warehouse. Then I don't know. I don't know.
Every dollar's worth was accounted for when it was loaded on the truck. Where is it now? I'm tired.
We've been here all night. Let me read it for you again. Twenty six hundred dozen nylon stockings,
forty five bolts of silk, fifty eight cases imported perfume. And you're trying to tell us somebody
hijacked all that from the trucks without you knowing it? The trucks were loaded at the warehouse.
We went out to eat. We came back, got in the trucks, delivered the stuff and that's all I know. And while
you were out eating, the receipts for the load disappeared too. Is that right, Lavelle? I don't
know where the way bills are. The shipping truck, that's his job. We talked to him. He says one of you
could have taken away. And then he's lying. I didn't take him. And what was this way bill doing in the cab
of your truck? I told you I don't know. Somebody's trying to frame me. Why? I don't know. Somebody.
I don't know why. Then you better come up with an answer, mister. Look, I'm tired. We've been here
since six o'clock last night. We're all tired. Who you covering for? What are you trying to build?
Any of that coffee left, Ben? It's cold. That's all right. You want some, Lavelle? No. All right,
now look, let's get one thing straight. We've been here all night. We can be here all day,
tomorrow, the day after that, and the day after that. Yeah. We got enough to make you on this. You know
that. We're gonna stay with you to tell us the truth, everything. I've told you all I'm gonna tell you.
We stay here for six months, you got it all. This your home phone, Hillside 8321. That's right,
8321. What time's your wife get up, Lavelle? What do you mean? Ben, get an outside line. Yeah.
You're not gonna call my home. It's Hillside 8321, Ben. Outside, please. Don't do that. Don't.
Not my wife. Please. All right. Ask the questions again. This time I'll give you the answers.
Thomas Lavelle was 38 years old. He was a well-respected man in his community. Sometimes
it's like that. You can question a man for hours and he'll never give you any information. But
somewhere in every man's makeup there's a weak point. We were lucky enough to find Lavelle's.
He told us that he would give us the locations where the hijacked goods were hidden. He told
us the addresses were written on the ledge of a window sill on the seventh floor of the Teamsters
Union Hall. It was 8.30 a.m. On the seventh floor, is that right? Yeah. Do me a favor. Don't make
it too big. Look, we have to walk through the hiring hall before we get to the elevators in the
back. Yeah? These handcuffs, they'll see them. All the guys in the hall, they know me. Can't you take
them off my wrist till we get in the elevator? Sorry, Lavelle. I won't try anything, but don't
make me walk in front of them with these on. Sorry. Just till we get in the elevator. Can't you do that?
I don't want the guys to see me. Well, here's my overcoat, Lavelle. I'll drape it over your
hands here and they won't see the cuffs. There you are. Come on.
Hi, Tom. How are you? Hi. What's new, Tom? Not much.
Let's take the elevator. Yeah. Is that a grant? No, thanks. Yeah? Yeah. Okay. Thanks.
It's down this way. Let me show you. To the left. A window up ahead there. Yeah, this one. I don't see anything on the window sill. It's on the outside. Open the window and let me check. Yeah. Let me see you. Ben, grab him. He's trying to jump. Get back here. Get back.
I got you here. Get him, Joe. He's pulling me out. Hold on, Ben. Grab me. Joe. He's slipping. Try, Joe. Hold on. He's kicking loose. I can't hold him. Hold him, Joe.
Ben! I couldn't hold him. You almost went with him. Let's get downstairs. What happened? Call an ambulance. There's been an accident. Thomas Lavelle was 38 years old. He was a well-respected man in his community. He died with the same reputation.
We had a prisoner who had met his death while in our custody. In cases like this, we had to have witnesses. By the time we got to the street, the usual accident crowd had gathered.
Anybody here see the accident? What do you want? Witnesses? Yeah. Did you see it? Yeah, we saw it. Let's get their names, Ben. My name's Pete Garfield. This is Jack Morris. We'll be your witnesses. You'll probably be subpoenaed for the inquest tomorrow morning. Sure, we'll be there. We saw you push the guy out the window. We saw you kill him.
The next morning at 10 a.m. in the basement of the Hall of Justice, Harold J. Lane, Deputy Coroner, City and County of Los Angeles, read the report of the findings of the autopsy on the body of the deceased, Thomas Lavelle.
As his customary at a coroner's inquest, the identification witness was called to testify first.
Elizabeth Lavelle, please.
Raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you're about to give to be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, shall help you God? Yes. Be seated.
State your name. Elizabeth Lavelle. What is your address? 1216 East Camarillo Drive. What is your occupation? I'm a housewife. What is your relation to the deceased? His wife.
Have you viewed the body of the deceased in this office? Yes. Who was the deceased? Husband. Thomas Lavelle. Is there anything further you wish to add? Thank you. Step down, please.
Joseph Friday.
Raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you're about to give to be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, shall help you God? I do. Be seated.
State your name. Joe Friday. What is your address? 4656 Colis Avenue. What is your occupation? I'm a police officer in and for the City of Los Angeles. Are you the investigating and arresting officer on this case? I am.
Will you state briefly the facts relating to the death of the deceased? On the morning following the arrest by us of the deceased on suspicion of grand theft merchandise, he expressed a desire to assist us in the apprehension of suspects involved in these thefts and the recovery of property taken in them.
Did he assist you? Well, he informed us that if we took him to the Teamsters Union Hall, he'd be able to obtain addresses of the locations where the stolen property was cached.
You then took him there? Yes, we did. What happened? When we arrived, he requested us to remove his handcuffs. We refused. The deceased then informed us that the addresses were written on a window ledge on the seventh floor. When we arrived at the window, under the pretense of searching for the addresses, he threw himself over the ledge. I grabbed his left leg to restrain him, but he kicked loose.
Did you at any time have any idea that the deceased planned such action? I did not. What did you do then? We immediately went to the location of the body and had an ambulance dispatched.
Do you have anything further to state? No, I have not. Are there any questions from the jury? No. That's all, Officer Friday. Step down.
Peter Garfield. Raise your right hand. Yes. Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give to be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, shall help you God? Yes. Be seated.
State your name. Peter Garfield. What is your address? 1654 North Pico. What is your occupation? Truck driver, down at General Warehouse. Did you know the deceased? Yes. How did you know him? I worked with him. And that cop's a liar, and so is his buddy sitting over there.
Please confine the testimony of this in question facts. Were you present at the time the deceased met his death? I told you I was. And those two cops pushed Tom out of the window. Where were you at the time the deceased was pushed or jumped from the window? Jack and I just left the Union Hall. We were going out the front door when it happened. What attracted your attention? I heard him scream. When I looked up, Tom was falling. That cop was standing at the window watching him. Did you see the officer push him? Yes, I saw him.
Did I understand you to say you were on the street outside the building at the time? Yes. And you saw the officers push the deceased from the window on the seventh floor from your vantage point? Yes. Isn't it true that that's a physical impossibility? What is? That you could have seen what you testified to from where you were standing. I know they pushed him. You know or you saw? I know that's so. Tom wouldn't jump out of a window.
Then it's true you didn't see the officers push the deceased out of the window. No, I didn't see him. Is there anything further you'd like to add? They must have pushed him. Any question from the jury? That's all Garfield step down. Dorothy River. Raise your right hand. Yes.
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you're about to give to be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth to help you God? I do. Be seated.
State your name. Dorothy River. What is your address? 211 South Beverly Drive. And what is your occupation? I'm a stenographer at the Teamsters Union Hall. Were you present the morning the deceased met his death? I was.
State where you were and what you were doing. I was in our office on the seventh floor doing some filing. Please state what you witnessed. The filing cabinet in our office is by the door. The office faces on the hallway and the door happened to be open. I heard a commotion and looked out. I saw those two officers struggling with a man.
Did you hear any conversation? Yes. I heard that officer there say, get back here, get back. The man outside the window yelled, let me go, let me go. This officer here, Officer Fryde, he said, he's pulling me out, hold on, Ben, grab me. How far from the window were you? I'd say about 15 feet.
Do you have anything else to add? Yes. As the two policemen started downstairs, Officer Fryde said to me, call an ambulance, there's been an accident. Thank you, Miss River. Those officers didn't push that man out the window. They were trying to hold him.
After hearing additional witnesses, the coroner's jury retired at 1157 a.m. Eight minutes later, they returned with their decision. The deceased met his death voluntarily and by his own actions.
The homicide detail continued the investigation of Laval's death. A week went by. With homicide working one side, we hoped that they might turn up additional leads in the hijacking case. Nothing turned up. It seemed that with the death of Thomas Laval, our leads came to an abrupt stop.
On Tuesday morning, March 16th at 9 a.m., we got a call from Chief of Detectives Ed Backstrand. Now once more, what about the weigh bills on these shipments? You checked them? Everything we could. Talked to everybody and handed them.
And talked to them some more. $42,000 in merchandise doesn't just disappear. Who's the last one to handle those weigh bills? The warehouse shipment, sir. The bills were signed and stamped two hours after he filed them in his desk, they disappeared.
What about the truck drivers? You checked them out? Talked to all of them. Nothing so far. Nothing was missing from those shipments until they left the warehouse, is that right? Yeah. And somewhere in between the warehouse and the delivery points, $42,000 worth of goods disappeared.
Somebody's got to be hijacking those loads. We know that, but how do we get to it? Maybe they're working alone. Maybe they're working with the truck drivers, as one of the others got to be.
But just hadn't lost LaValle. Well, you lost him. That doesn't close the case. You got a suggestion? Yeah, I got a suggestion. Crack it.
You are listening to Dragnet, authentic stories from official police files. And now, an important announcement. Ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to announce that starting next Thursday, October 6th, Dragnet will be brought to you by Fatima Cigarettes.
We'd like to take this opportunity to thank you, the listener, for your excellent response to our efforts in bringing you these weekly authentic presentations of actual cases from official files.
Your letters are the only indications we have that Dragnet is a source of your listening pleasure. We'd like to hear from all of you.
Starting next Thursday, October 6th, over most of these same NBC stations, Dragnet will be heard weekly at 10.30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, immediately following the Supper Club.
Check your newspaper for local release time.
We stayed on the job. Another week went by. No leads. We spent so much time at the General Warehouse where the merchandise disappeared that we almost got to be a part of the crew.
We got to know everybody. We made frequent visits to the Teamsters Union Hall. It got us nothing. On Wednesday, March 26th, we reported in for work at 8 a.m.
Friday, Romero. Yes, Gipper? You fooled around just long enough. They hijacked another load last night. Thirty-eight thousand dollars.
What outfit? Same. General Warehouse. Who's your contact down there? Ray Hobart, shipping clerk.
Hop down there right now and get the details. Right, Ed. There are two ways to solve this thing. Yeah?
You can get those hijackers now or wait till General Warehouse goes out of business. Get on it.
Hobart, who was the shipping clerk on duty last night? I was working for Siggy, Segalmeister. He's out of the cold.
And you saw the stuff was loaded on the trucks and you checked the weigh bill? As usual. Everything as usual. Checked the trucks out at 2 a.m., went back to the office to file the weigh bills.
You work a pretty heavy schedule, Hobart. You started at 2 a.m. and you're still on duty?
I took the last four hours of Siggy's shift at 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. He had a cold. I was back here at 10 this morning to start my own shift.
When did you find out the weigh bills were missing on that shipment last night? Just before I went off. Maybe half past five, quarter to six.
Well, how about the truck drivers who handle that load, Hobart? You got them? Let's see. I got it right here. Okay.
Here you go, Sergeant. Jack Morris and Pete Garfield.
Jack Morris and Pete Garfield were brought in for questioning. We double-checked with homicide and found that their reports on Morris and Garfield tallied with ours.
No previous records. Both men had been tailed for a reasonable length of time since their testimony at the Laval inquest. Their actions failed to implicate them.
Four days after the second hijacking, we got a tip from one of our informants down in the warehouse district.
He told us that a man in a gray suit had been hanging around the coffee shop next to the Teamsters Union Hall. He was peddling nylon stockings cheap.
There had been other reports like this, which we had followed up, but none of them had paid off. Usually, such leads didn't pay off. But we couldn't be sure. They had to be checked.
At a few minutes before five that afternoon, we found the nylon salesman in the gray suit in the back booth of the coffee shop adjoining the Union Hall.
Look, Mac. Take a look. The finest. You can't do better. 51 gauge nylon. Look good, huh?
Sure do, don't you, Joe?
Yeah, they do. We've been looking for you, Mac. Some of the guys in the Union Hall said that you'd be around.
Sure. I saw lots of these around here. All truck drivers, just like you. Buying them like crazy. Good deal.
Sure looks like it, man. How many pairs do we have?
Many as you want. Four bits a pair, you name it.
You got a couple of dozen for us?
Couple of dozen? No, not on me, but I can get them. Many as you want.
Well, we're kind of in a hurry. Can you get them for us fast?
Couple of dozen.
Better make it three dozen, huh, Joe?
Yeah, if you want. Three dozen. Can you get them now?
Couple of hours I can get them. Same quality. Want to meet me here?
Oh, I don't know. We wanted them for tonight. My wife's birthday, you know.
Well, maybe an hour and a half. How's that? Three dozen, meet you here.
Oh, look, Mac. Maybe we're both heading the same direction. Can we go with you and pick up the nylon? Save time for all of it.
No, I don't think so. No. Can't you wait an hour and a half? How's that? They'll find a better buy.
I'm sorry, Mac. I wish we had the time. Well, where do you have to go to pick up these nylons?
Oh, way out. Sunset Boulevard near Fairfax. Can't you wait? I'll make it fast.
Well, can't we pay you and then go out and pick them up ourselves?
Huh? No. Don't work that way. No. Can't you wait here? I'll make it fast.
Well, we ought to be home now, Joe.
Yeah, I'm sorry, mister. We'll have to skip it.
Yeah, maybe we can pick up something on the way home, Ben. Candy or something. My wife likes candy.
Now, look, fellas, I don't want to see you lose out on this deal. I'll meet you halfway.
How you mean?
Look, together we'll go out to Sunset and Fairfax, huh? Near the place.
You wait there at the hamburger stand, and in five minutes I'll bring you the stuff, okay?
Oh, I don't know. We're late already, but all right, it's a deal.
I'll call the wife and tell her we're going to be a little later. Three dozen, is that right?
Three dozen of the best. You can't do better.
All right, I'll be back in just a minute.
Two five three.
Two five two three.
Chief of Detective's Office, Chandler.
Mike, Joe Friday, back strand there?
Out right now, Joe.
Well, then do me a favor, Chandler. Make it fast. Get a couple of men out to Sunset and Fairfax as fast as you can.
Tell them to watch for Ben and me. You got that?
Yeah, what else?
We'll drive up in our car with another man. Ben and I will get out of the car and go in the hamburger stand.
The other man will walk off. Whoever you get, tell them to follow that man. You got it?
Right.
All right, just tail him. See where he goes, see what he does.
Okay, Joe, right away.
All set, Joe. You got dinner ready?
Yeah, just about. We better hustle.
Sure. Best deal in the world. Let's go.
At five minutes to six, we pulled up at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Fairfax. It was almost dark.
Ben and I got out of the car and started over for the hamburger stand on the corner.
We caught a glimpse of Barcy and Kaplan, one of our detective cars, parked in a gas station on the opposite corner.
They had their eyes on our man.
When the traffic signals changed, the man crossed the street and headed down Fairfax.
Barcy and Kaplan waited a minute and then they took off after him.
He turned at the next corner and disappeared from sight.
Ben and I ordered a cup of coffee and we sat down to wait.
At half past six, we were still waiting.
At five minutes to seven, I went across the street to the drugstore and called the office.
Barcy and Kaplan hadn't been heard from. Their car, 105K, was not acknowledging calls.
I had my call switched from communications to Backstrand's office.
Well, they lost him, Friday. I don't know how they lost him, but they lost him.
Well, who's out there now?
Sullivan and Woodney took a detail out there.
They're combing the neighborhood right now.
Well, how did it happen? A man just doesn't disappear into thin air.
That's what I keep telling you about that stuff that's been hijacked.
The search for the nylon salesman went on all night and most of the next day.
From his description, we ran a make on him. No previous records.
He had disappeared completely. We were right back where we'd started from.
The only thing we could do was to start backtracking,
re-questioning the people at General Warehouse, the truck drivers, the shipping clerks.
We kept a close check on Garfield and Morris, and we went back to the only possible lead still remaining, Mrs. LaValle.
She could tell us nothing more than we already knew.
When we left her, we started on the neighbors for the second time around.
For the rest of the day, we canvassed the immediate neighborhood.
We got as many opinions of the LaValles as they had neighbors.
At 3.30 that afternoon, we visited with Miss Gertrude Langster,
a 50-year-old maiden lady who lived almost directly across the street from the LaValle house.
She'd been out of town the first time we'd covered the neighborhood.
The old saying goes, Sergeant, there's no fool like an old fool.
Oh, say, if I told you the chances I had when I was a girl...
Yeah, but we just...
Oh, not truck drivers like that. LaValle men, God rest his soul.
But fine wealthy men, bankers, lawyers.
Templeton Grant, you remember him? No, ma'am.
I was engaged to him once. Butterfly Waste, that's what he used to call me.
I was slim in those days. Would you like to see some pictures of me as a girl?
No, no, thank you, ma'am. We'd just like to ask you a few questions, that's all.
Could you tell us if the LaValles had many visitors to their house in the past six months or so?
Oh, my, no. Funniest thing, I am the nosy type, Sergeant.
I like to know everything that goes on around my neighborhood.
And you can take my word for it, the LaValles never had visitors.
You know, Sergeant Friday, you remind me of a young man I used to be engaged to just a few years ago.
Yes, Miss Langster.
Now, would you tell us, please, did you have any reason to think that there was something
a little out of the ordinary about the LaValles?
Oh, a little out of the ordinary, he says, but my dear man, yes.
Here he was, a truck driver, and there she was with a home furnished like the Astor's.
Well, I even used to see him cut some of the things home in that car.
His beautiful things, rugs and glassware, bolts of fabric, oh, gorgeous.
And he'd bring these things home after work, is that it, Miss Langster?
Oh, any time, any time, day or night, weekends, any time.
After four, Joe, we'd better call the office.
Yeah. Are you sure of all that you've told us, Miss Langster?
Oh, my dear man, of course I'm sure I watched him week after week.
Well, thank you.
Well, won't you stay for a cup of tea? I'll have Josephine fix it. Josephine?
No, thank you, ma'am.
Well, then perhaps a glass of sherry?
Thank you, no, but there is something.
Yes?
I wonder if we could use your phone, please.
Oh, yes, in the hall next to the umbrella stand.
Thank you, ma'am.
City Hall.
2523.
Thanks, Trent.
Friday, Ed. Nothing much here.
Well, there's something here.
Barcy and Kaplan just called.
Pete Garfield left his house half an hour ago.
Then he picked up Morris.
What's so unusual about that?
Nothing except the guy driving the car is the little man in the gray suit,
the nylon salesman.
Barcy and Kaplan are tailing him.
Where are they now?
Headed north, out of Riverside Drive.
Well, there's nothing out there but a golf course and a lot of riding stables.
I don't care what they do for recreation. Go get them.
With red light and siren, it took us 12 minutes to pick up Barcy and Kaplan on Riverside Drive.
At 423 p.m., we pulled up in front of the Blue Pony riding stables.
Barcy and Kaplan's car was overturned just beyond the driveway leading up to the riding academy.
Kaplan's hurt. I called an ambulance. They rammed us.
What kind of a car they in?
They're Swiss. They're driving a 12-ton Bulldog Semi.
They're headed north.
Got a three-minute lead on you.
Pneumatic commercial. Adam 653.
Let's go, Ben.
Can you see them, Joe?
No, not yet. Watch that crossing.
Up ahead, Joe. That's a semi. Can you read it?
Wait a minute. Adam 653. At them.
Took a right on Lancashire.
Don't lose them.
They're pushing that semi too hard.
Look at that trailer sway.
They'll have to stay on Lancashire. They're going too fast to turn now.
Traffic's closing in up ahead of them.
They better not turn.
That's what they're doing.
Look at that trailer whip. They're going over into that starburst.
Come on, Ben.
You all right?
Wait a minute. Let me see.
Yeah, they're banged up, but they're alive.
There they are, Joe.
Yeah?
Garfield, Morris, little man, and Gracie.
It's funny, isn't it?
What's that?
Garfield's going to swear we pushed that truck through that window.
The story you have just heard is true.
Only the names were changed to protect the innocent.
Peter Garfield, Jack Morris, and John Dolfo, the stocking salesmen, were hospitalized and later brought to trial.
They were convicted on charges of grand theft and received sentences as prescribed by law.
They are now serving their terms in the state penitentiary.
You have just heard the 18th in a new series of authentic cases from official files.
Technical advice for Dragnet comes from the Office of Acting Chief of Police, W.A. Wharton, Los Angeles Police Department.
Tonight's program is dedicated to motorcycle officer Elmer Forsman of the Fresno, California Police Department,
who on the afternoon of October 6, 1946, gave his life so that yours might be more secure.
Remember, starting next Thursday night, October 6, Fatima cigarettes invite you to listen to Dragnet immediately following the supper club.
That's 10.30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time over most of these same NBC stations.
Check your newspaper for local release time. Dragnet came to you from Los Angeles.
Judy Konova joins the star lineup of Saturday shows tonight on NBC.