Chesterfield brings you Dragnet. Put a smile in your smoking. By Chesterfield.
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detective sergeant. You're assigned to Internal Affairs Division. A man who
claims he's a policeman has been accepting bribes in your city. Evidence
points to the fact that he is an officer. Your job, check it out.
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Dragnet. The documentary 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 18th. It was cold in Los Angeles. We were working the day watch
out of Internal Affairs Division. My partner is Frank Smith. The boss is
Captain Fulton. My name is Friday. I was on my way into the office. It was 7 58 a.m.
when I got to room 36. Squad room. Morning. Hi.
We keeping you up? There's a couch down the hall. Maybe you can use that. Yeah.
Remember a couple of months ago, Fay was on that quiz show? Yeah. Yeah, seems I
heard something about that. Well, one of the prizes was a dog. You know, they were
gonna give us a little pup. Mm-hmm. Turned out they were giving away
cockers. Very nice dogs and thoroughbreds. Mm-hmm.
Fay and me talked it over and decided we'd rather have one of those, those
basset hounds. What are they? One of those dogs with a little short hind legs and
long ears. You know, long face. Basset hounds. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
I've seen them in the magazines. You know, they got sad eyes. Always look so sad. Yeah.
Well, they're hard to get. We had to wait a while. I got the call Saturday. Pup was
there. Mm-hmm. I went out and picked him up.
Named him Hector. Yeah. That's it. Hector. Why? Why? Because the old expression kind
of fit. Mm-hmm. Since Hector was a pup, get it, Joe? Hector, see, he's still a pup.
Old Hector the pup. I was up with him all night. He couldn't sleep, kept whining. You
still work here, don't you? I just stayed up and kind of hummed to him to
comfort him. You're still working here? Oh. He didn't come in this morning? Yeah.
There's a couple of mugshots over there from Sacramento. Thank you.
You'll be glad to get to bed tonight. Excuse me. Yes, ma'am. Something we can do for you?
The man down room 38, Bunko, told me to come here. Yes, ma'am. DeBetta, that's his
name, said see you. Mm-hmm. Want to report something? All right. Would you like to
sit down? Thank you. Now, what can we do for you? I think it's been too long. What's that?
Well, I paid for it over a month ago. I'm tired of waiting. You want to tell us about
what you mean? Well, Henry should be home by now. It's been over a month. Who's Henry?
My husband, Henry Fowell. When I gave the man the money, said he'd get Henry out of
jail right away. That's what he told me. What man? The man who came to see me. Oh,
yes, ma'am. But who was he? A policeman. 812 a.m. We continued to talk to the woman. She
identified herself as Mrs. Henry Fowell, and she gave us the full story. When did this
man approach you, ma'am? Just a minute, Mr. Smith. I got it all written down. Ma'am?
Got it right here in my bag. Yep, here it is. March 6th. That's when I met him. Where
was that? What? Where'd you meet him? He came to the house, my house. Told me he wanted to
talk to me about something. Said it was important. Mm-hmm. I didn't know him. There wasn't any
reason he'd have anything important to talk to me about. But he said he knew the mister.
You mean your husband? That's right. Henry Fowell. Is he in prison? Yes. Been there for
three and a half years. We don't like to ask this, Miss Fowell, but it's necessary. Burglary.
That's what he was convicted for. Judge told him he'd go to jail for five years to life.
Mm-hmm. Was this the first time he's been in jail? I thought so. At first I thought
it was all a mistake. They was wrong about the mister. Yes, ma'am. They weren't. Came
out in the trial. Seems he'd done the same thing before, twice before. I see. I didn't
know about it when we got married. Didn't have any idea. Mm-hmm. The mister's my second
husband. Mm-hmm. First one died ten years ago. Woman my age gets lonely, so when Mr.
Fowell asked me to marry him, I said yes. Then I found out about the stealing. Mm-hmm.
Miss Mann said he knew your husband, is that right? That's right. Told me they met several
years ago. Uh-huh. Then he went on to tell me how the mister could get out. What do you
mean? The way he told it. If you had friends who knew the right people, you could get out
of jail. What's that? If the right people were paid, a man could get out of prison.
Uh-huh. And he wanted you to give him some money? Not at first. When he came to the house
at the beginning, he didn't even mention it. Not at all. When did he bring it up? Oh,
about a week later. Came over in the afternoon. I was out in the yard and he said he'd met
the people who were important. The ones who could get the mister out of prison. Did he
say who these people were? No. Just told me he'd met them. Mm-hmm. Now what happened
then? Well, on March 14th, he told me that it could be arranged for the mister to get
out of jail. Tell me, did he tell you how this could be done? Well, from what he told
me, he'd talk to the right people. That's the way he said it. The right people. I see.
If he gave him $5,000, the mister could be turned out. $5,000, huh? Yes. I told him I
couldn't give him that much, that I just didn't have it. What did the man say when you told
him that? Asked me how much I could give him. Mm-hmm. I said if I sold a few things, did
what I could to get more money, I might be able to pay $3,500. Well, what'd he say about
that? Say, would he be all right? No, no. No. He told me he'd have to go back and talk
to the people, ask them if it'd be enough. When'd you see him again? Two days. He came
back. What'd he say then? Told me it'd be okay, the money'd be enough. Mm-hmm. I got
it together and gave it to him. That same day? No. No, it was two days later, on March
16th. That's when I gave him the money. I see. It's been over a month now and the mister
still hasn't been turned out. I wrote to him, but he doesn't say anything about coming home.
I don't think he knows anything about it. Yes, ma'am. Now, I don't want to cause any trouble.
Just want the mister out of prison or else I want my money back. You told us this man
was a policeman? That's right. In what city? I don't understand. Well, what city did he
work in or what city did he say he worked in? Here, in Los Angeles, right here. Did he show
you some identification? Oh, yes. I wouldn't just hand over the money without that. I saw
his badge. Mm-hmm. Did it look like this one? Let me see. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Just like that one.
Same thing. Mm-hmm. Did he give you a name? Yes. He said he was Jim Sorvell. Sergeant
Jim Sorvell. That's S-O-R-V-E-L-L. That's right. I'll check it. Did you see anything
else to identify him? What do you mean? Well, did he show you any other cards, anything
else? You mean it might be a wrong name? That's right. Oh, no, I'm sure about that. I wouldn't
just hand my money over to anybody. I was sure. Well, how do you mean? I saw his driver's
license. Did he tell you where he worked? You mean in what department? That's right.
Yes. It's one of the reasons I believed him because of where he worked. Yeah. Right here
in the city hall. While I continued to talk to Mrs. Firewell, Frank put in a call to personnel.
Three minutes later, he called me out into the hall. Let me close the door. What do you
got? Well, I checked the personnel records. Yeah. What'd you find out? Looks like she
was telling the truth. What? There is a Jim Sorvell. City hall? Well, closer than that.
Auto theft detail. We put in a call to auto theft detail and asked that Sergeant James
Sorvell see us right away. While the victim waited in the squad room, Frank and I took
the officer down to the interrogation room. Go ahead, sit down, Jim. Yeah. Thanks. Well,
what's this all about? Well, it's a rough one, Jim. We hope you got the answers. Now,
give me a try. How long you been a policeman? Twelve years. How long you been working in
auto theft, Jim? Two years this time. I worked there before about five years ago. Uh-huh.
Well, what's this all about anyway? You know a woman named Farwell? Farwell? Uh-huh. No,
I don't think I do. How about a man, Henry Farwell? No, I don't think so. No, wait a
minute. Huh? A few years ago when I was working burglary, seems we had a suspect with that
name. Yeah. Big guy. Fallen twice before the way I remember. Bad name around town. Might
be the same one. What about him? I heard he went to the joint a couple of years ago.
Well, his wife came in here this morning. Yeah. Says she gave a man $3,500 to get Farwell
out of jail. Lawyer? No. Some kind of a deal. This fella said he knew the right people.
Told her a little juice had opened the doors for her old man. How do I fit into this? Well,
this guy told her he was a policeman. Showed her I.D. to prove it. What name? Yours. You
believe her? Well, no, we don't want to. We figured we'd get your side of the story first.
Well, there's nothing to tell you, Freddie. I had no part in the action. That's the truth.
I hope it stands out. It's got to. I don't know anything about the deal. Nothing at all.
I wouldn't know the woman if she walked in here right now. Well, then you don't mind
letting her take a look at you then. No, no. Bring her in. Right? Yeah. How'd she happen
to pick me? Told us the fella that took her gave your name. Must be a goof up someplace.
You got your driver's license? Yeah. Want to show it to me? Sure. Next line is take it
out of your wallet, isn't it? I don't like this any better than you do, Jim. Yeah. You
got your badge on you? Yeah. You want that, too? Well, I want to see it. All right. Miss
Farwell says the suspect showed her a badge. Says it looked good. I don't think it was
mine. Here. I want to step inside, Miss Farwell. Yes. Thank you. All right, Miss Farwell. You
know this man? Yeah. Seems I've seen him someplace before. Yes. Now be careful and look carefully.
Do you know where you've seen him? I'm trying to think. Take your time. Be sure. Yes, ma'am.
Please be sure. Yeah. Hair's a little shorter. He had a mustache before. But I can tell.
I can tell for sure. What's that? He's the one that took my money. Mrs. Farwell was taken
down the hall where she made a complete report. We continued to interrogate Sergeant James
Sorvell, but he maintained his innocence. He was suspended from the police department
pending an investigation by our detail and the district attorney's office. The week went
by. During that time, we talked to Sorvell's friends and the men he worked with. His financial
condition was investigated. He owed some money, but he was not behind in his payments. His
bank account didn't show any large deposits, and from what we could find out, he was not
living beyond his means. If he was guilty, he hadn't spent any of the money that he'd
taken. We asked the stats office to make a run on con men who had used a similar approach.
They came back with a list of 18 possible suspects. We pulled the mug shots from the
packages on the men and we drove out to see Mrs. Farwell. She showed us into the living
room of a very small house. Now then, what is it this time? You come to bring my money
back? No, ma'am. Well, when am I going to get it? Seems like a long time. The mister's
still in prison and I haven't got my money. Yes, ma'am. We'd like you to look at some
pictures if you would. What for? We'd like to see if you recognize any of the men. Sure,
I've got nothing else to do. Let's see them. There you are, ma'am. Yes, sir. All right.
Now, looked at the pictures. Now I get the money. No, ma'am. When do I get it? Well,
we haven't been able to recover it yet. What? We haven't found it yet. What about that man
you got, Sorville? What about him? Ma'am. Make him tell you where the money is. He took
it. Make him tell. From what we've been able to find out, he hasn't got it. Now we get
down to cases, huh? What's that? Let's lay the cards on the table. I'm getting pretty
mad about it. When I first came to see you, I wanted the money back. Either that or to
have the mister out of prison. Either one. It didn't much matter which, but I did want
one of them. Yes, ma'am. I understand. Now, you've got the man who took the $3,500, got
him in jail, and you tell me you can't find the money. Is that right? Yes, ma'am. That's
right. You want to know what I think? You want to know? What's that? I think you're
all in it together. That's what I think. The whole bunch of you. All in the thing together.
That's not true. You say so, but I think different. Now, I'm going to tell you something, Mr. Friday.
I'm not going to wait any more. I want the money back or I'm going to the newspapers
again. I'll tell them what's happened. They'll get me some action. Not just a minute, Miss
Firewell. No, I won't. I've done all my waiting already. You think that just because I'm an
old woman, you can push me around. Well, you just got another thing coming. I want that
money and I want it right now. And if I don't get it, you're going to be in a lot of trouble.
We're doing everything we can to get your money back. Well, then you better start doing
more because I'm not happy at all. All you cops, you stick together. Well, this time
it's not going to do you any good. You don't understand, Miss Firewell. I think I do. Maybe
too much. I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'll give you just three days to get that
money back or I'll scream my head off to the newspapers. You've got the man in jail. Next
thing you'll be telling me he didn't do it. We're not sure he did. Uh-huh. Well, he did.
I guess I know. I'm the one he stole from. He's the man and I want to see him in prison
too. Well, if he's guilty, that's where he'll go. I'm telling you he is. What more do you
need? Just one more thing. What's that? Proof. Frank and I went back to the office and met
with Captain Fulton. We laid out the results of our investigation. According to what the
victim had told us, we had the right man in custody. But according to the evidence we'd
found, it was a case of mistaken identity. Two days later on Thursday, April 28th, we
got a call from a bartender out on Vermont Avenue. Frank and I drove out to see him.
Hi. I'd like to see Vince Elkhart. I'm him. What do you want? Police officers. It's Frank
Smith. My name's Friday. Oh, yeah? Want to come back here? We can talk. Yeah, fine. All
right. What do you want to see us about? I know I'm letting myself in for a lot of trouble.
Anything you guys can do to help me out, I'd appreciate it. But I ain't asking for no special
treatment. Well, I suppose you tell us what it is. Well, night before last, a couple of
kids came in. They sat at the bar, ordered a drink. Mm-hmm. Well, they look kind of young,
so I asked to see their I.D. Plane it safe, you know. Go ahead. Well, they showed me their
driver's licenses. I checked them. Looked all right to me. So I served them. Yeah. Guess
I made them kind of embarrassed. They only had one and then shoved off. Mm-hmm. There
was no sooner out of the place when this guy came up. Told me he wanted to talk. What about?
Said the two kids were underage, minors, that I'd served them and the beef was on. Who was
he? That's why I called you. Maybe I was wrong serving the kids. Maybe I did make a mistake,
but I sure ain't gonna stand for no shakedown. Not a penny's worth. This man tried it, did
he? Sure. Told me if I paid off, he'd forget what he saw. Who is he? Cop. Name of Jim Survell.
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We got a description of the man who tried to blackmail Vince Elkhart. It matched Sergeant
Jim Survell. While I continued to talk to Elkhart, Frank put in a call to the policeman
and asked him to come over to the bar. It took him 12 minutes to get there. He was brought
into the place and confronted by the bartender. Would you turn around? Sure. How's that?
Uh-huh. Yeah. How about it? He hasn't any doubts as far as I'm concerned. No. He's
the wrong man. We made arrangements for Vince Elkhart, the bartender, to come down to the
city hall and go through the mug books. He was unable to find a picture of the suspect.
We contacted C.I.I. up in Sacramento and asked them to check their files. Thursday, 5.30 p.m.,
we returned to the bar. No. Come right down to it. I guess I should have known he wasn't
a cop. Should have known it all along. Have you seen this fellow before? I'm not sure
about that. Seems like I might have, but I can't be sure. We do a pretty good business
in here. A lot of people. He might have been around, but I can't name a date or time. Was
he with anybody the night he was in here? Do you remember? I don't remember. Matter
of fact, I don't even remember him coming in. Just all of a sudden after the kids left,
he was at the bar, tossing me the pitch. Really sanded me to think a cop would pull a stunt
like that. What did you tell him when he asked you for the payoff? I said for him to get
out of the place. That if he was going to make a pinch, to go ahead and do it or else
clear out. Did he leave? Yeah. Said I didn't give him any choice. Walked out. Hello. Yeah,
that's right. Just a minute. Hey, Vince. Yeah? Catch the phone, will you? Yeah. Excuse me.
Yeah, go right ahead. Hello. Yeah, that's right. Who? Oh, yeah. Mm hmm. I don't know.
Yeah. No, I understand. Uh huh. Well, it's nice of you. Sure. I thought about it. Okay.
Goodbye. You guys must live right. That was him. The phony cop? Yeah. He'll be right over.
Frank and I took up positions in the back of the bar. 20 minutes later, the suspect
walked in. Hi, Elkhart. Hello. Want to give me a coke high? Sure. Looks like him. Well,
he's shirving coal lately, huh? Yeah. Not doing much business. Slow night. Here's your
drink. Thanks. Where can we talk? It's all right here. Yeah, what about the two guys in
the back? They won't bother anybody. Both gassed. All right, Elkhart, what about it? You mean
the payoff? That's right. I talked to boys downtown. They say they'll let you off the
hook for $750. That's a lot of money. Your license is worth more, isn't it? I suppose
so. But I got to know what I'm buying. Who are these guys downtown? Well, that doesn't
come in. But all you got to do is dig up the money. How high does the juice go? What do
you mean? Just that. How far up does the payoff go? All the way to the top. We got enough.
All right. Yes, sir. You play along with us and you'll do all right. This is him. All
right, mister. Let's go. What are you talking about? What is this? Police officers. You're
under arrest. For what? Suspicion grand theft, impersonating an officer. And we ought to
be able to figure up a couple more on the way downtown. You guys are wrong. You made
a mistake. Sure we have. Stand still. You're going to be awful sorry about this. Is that
right? Sure. I got a lot of friends in town, some of them pretty high. You mind giving
me your names and numbers? I want to be sure I got the right dope on you guys. By the time
I get through, you'll both be working so far out, you'll need a passport to get home.
You got it all figured, haven't you? Front, back and in the middle. Like reading a story.
Well, I don't know about the first part. Yeah. But I can tell you how it's going to end.
The suspect was taken down to the city hall. He refused to give us his name and a thorough
search of his person failed to turn up anything to aid in identifying him. His fingerprints
were rolled and while we waited for the results of the check, Frank and I talked to the suspect
in the squad room. How long you figure you're going to be able to keep this thing up? I
don't know what you're talking about. No, come off it. We've got you dead to rights
and you know it. News to me. Why don't you tell us who you are? I forgot. You know a
man named Jim Sorvell? I don't think so. Well, according to that bartender, you said you
were Sorvell. Well, he's got a big mouth. Look, have you ever been arrested? I forgot.
You better get your memory back. Why? I'll get it. ID. Smith. Yeah. Wait a minute. Toss
me that pad. Here you are. Thanks. All right. 46. Yeah. Yeah. All right. 52, huh? Okay.
All right. Thanks a lot. You better get in touch with those big friends of yours. I will
when it's necessary. Well, time just came up. We got your record. Full name, Charles Bobo
Kiernan Offner. You've fallen twice in California. Once for GTA, once for attempted robbery.
There's an outstanding one from Eureka and two from out of state. All three are on charges
of extortion. Want to read the rest of it? How about it? You don't have to. I'm in the
box. Where's the badge and the driver's license? My place. Where's that? Hotel over on Grand.
Where'd you get the badge? Bought it, guy I know. It's one of the old ones. Mark doesn't
know the difference. Yeah. How about the license? Made that up myself. Why'd you pick Sorvell?
Looked like a good dodge. A cop who's going to cause trouble. Why him? Tagged a cleaning
store out in Highland Park one night. Must be the place where the Sorvell does business.
Clerk thought I was him. We got to talking. Things just worked out. What about the prison
deal? How'd you build that for yourself? Well, I know a guy up at Q. He buddies up with a
prisoner, gets all the information, cuts a letter out to me and I pull the swindle. How
many times you worked the deal? Collected three. The last one was an old woman. What'd you
take? Thirty-five hundred. Just you and the guy up in the joint cellar is? Yeah. You willing
to make a statement? Sure. All right, we'll call a stenographer. Look, can you tell me
something? What's that? The two out of state beasts. You think they'll extradite me? We
don't call it. Why? I'd rather do my time here in California. It's nicer here. Yeah.
Prettier. Lots of nice scenery in California. It's different. Well, I wouldn't worry. You
won't see much of it. The story you've just heard is true. The names were changed to protect
the innocent. On July 28th, trial was held in Department 96 Superior Court of the State
of California in and for the County of Los Angeles. In a moment, the results of that
trial. Now here is our star, Jack Webb. Thank you, George Fenomen. Chesterfield made the
modern way with Accu-Ray. I wonder if you realize what that means to you. For the first
time, you get a perfect smoke column in your cigarette. A smoother smoke. A cooler smoke
than you've ever had before. To put a smile on your smoking, try them. Chesterfield. Charles
Kiernan Offner was tried and convicted on grand theft money three counts and received
a sentence as prescribed by law. Grand theft money is punishable by imprisonment for a
period of not less than one nor more than 10 years in the state penitentiary. Sergeant
James Sorbel was reinstated in his duties with full back pay. 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. Technical advisors, Captain
Jack Donahoe, Sergeant Marty Wynn, Sergeant Vance Brasher. Heard tonight were Ben Alexander,
Helen Klebe, Than Wyan, Herb Ellis, Jack Kruschen. Script by John Robinson. Music by Walter
Schuman. Hell give me speaking. Watch an entirely different Dragnet case history each week on
your local NBC television station. Please check your newspapers for the day and time.
Chesterfield has brought you Dragnet, transcribed from Los Angeles.
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