Speaker 1: Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio. In
a moment, we're going to bring you this week's episode
of Dragnet. But first I do want to encourage you,
if you enjoy the podcast, to follow us using your
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That's Peelbox one five nine thirty Boise, Idaho eight three
seven one five, and you can become one of our
ongoing Patreon supporters for his little last two dollars per
month at Patreon dot Great Detectives dot nem now. From
October nineteenth, nineteen fifty, here's the Big Grandma.
Speaker 2: The story you are about to hear is true, only
the names have been changed to protect the innocent. You're
a detective sergeant. They're assigned to pegery detail. An accomplished
check forger resumes operations in your city. The suspects described
as a middle aged woman. She's written more than twenty
thousand dollars in bad checks. Your job get her.
Speaker 3: In a moment, an authentic case from official files.
Speaker 4: Dragnet the documented drama of an actual crime. Well the
next thirty 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.
Speaker 5: It was Monday, April seventeenth. Was warm in Los Angeles.
We're working a day watch out of Forgery Detail. My
partner's Ben Romero. The boss's Captain Elliott. My name is Friday.
I was on the way back into work and it
was seven fifty three am when I got to Room
twenty nine, Forgery Detail.
Speaker 6: Morrange, Joe, Hi, how the weekend go?
Speaker 7: Oh?
Speaker 8: Pretty slow? Stay at home?
Speaker 6: DIDs mc gardner. How about that new Lorne you put in?
How's it doing?
Speaker 8: We want a loan, We're going to have to move.
Speaker 6: What's the matter now?
Speaker 8: Them old things go first, Lesbie, one hundred of Them's
so many holes at the top of the loan. Looks
like an old punch boy. No, that's too bad. Can't
you try some kind of poison on them? Or how
about those new things?
Speaker 6: They got out. Well, they call them gopher bombs.
Speaker 8: I use them with a dozen.
Speaker 6: They eat anything, Joe, Ben, Yeah, for instance.
Speaker 9: Money and kept one's see.
Speaker 8: Okay, what's up Bergin, You ain't gonna like it.
Speaker 9: M Skiperal brief you.
Speaker 8: Oneing Skipper, Hi, got's see anything? You two finished up
with a Benson case yesterday?
Speaker 6: That right, Yeah, it's all watched up.
Speaker 10: We're clear, good and you can start on this one
right away to work with Frank Besser and Ferguson.
Speaker 8: Here, what is it Grandma? Ird a hunch?
Speaker 6: Joe?
Speaker 10: What are we doing to deserve this? It's nothing any
of us have done. It's what we haven't done. I
want to stopped once and for all. Are we any
closer to her than we have been?
Speaker 6: Fergue?
Speaker 10: Just about same, Joe. That's why I'm putting two more
of the on it. How well do you know the case?
Just what we've heard around the office. Same here, I
could stand some briefing. Ferguson, Well, you.
Speaker 11: Must have heard how she operates three months out of
the year April, October December.
Speaker 12: That's all.
Speaker 8: She's never been known to change that schedule, not.
Speaker 9: As far as I know. She's been doing it the
same for nine years.
Speaker 11: All the funny checks she cash is your first, no change,
that's right. She never writes in less than two dollars,
never more than one.
Speaker 8: Hundred nine years.
Speaker 12: She been doing that.
Speaker 10: Long nine and a half. It'll be in even ten
this October. You want to check them out on the.
Speaker 11: Totals fergus up to and including the first of this month,
she's cash twelve hundred and seventy three checks.
Speaker 13: Total is a little over twenty two thousand dollars.
Speaker 8: Anything special about the way she writes the check, Nothing
but the signatures as an alias list down out of
than not your eye out more than two hundred different names.
Her description is still the same, about fifty years old,
kind of plump, nice face.
Speaker 13: A few minor changes. Last year she had gray hair,
dress very plain. This year she dyed her hair of
black dresses a little more expensively.
Speaker 8: Nine years. That's a longest creak of luck for any
paper hair.
Speaker 6: That's just it.
Speaker 10: This old gal's not just an ordinary Paperhanger's no amateur.
Don't get me wrong, but she doesn't operate like any
check for a drive or no. She counter addicts part
of a ramo, part of it.
Speaker 6: She doesn't.
Speaker 8: She takes chances an ordinary paperhanger.
Speaker 10: It never taken. She gets away with him. Take a
look at just one of these exhibits. Yeah, this one here,
twenty eight checks passed on the same chain of grocery stores,
same company.
Speaker 8: She passed them all in one month.
Speaker 6: No, that's just the point.
Speaker 10: Two years ago, she passed fourteen of them, spread them
out over a period of a month. Last year she
passed another batch of fourteen, all within three days. One year,
she used a different name on each check. On this batch,
she used the same names. Well, does she have any
identification when she passes each checks?
Speaker 13: Always pony, driver's license, social Security cards?
Speaker 9: Who works? And she's got that sweet grandmother smiles.
Speaker 13: Brooks rarely turn her down when she shows up.
Speaker 9: With a check.
Speaker 8: You can get used to different descriptions of her too.
G's a file of Look, hardly three of the check
victims can get together. And when she looks like exactly, well.
Speaker 5: Where are they getting stun most downtown or out in
the neighborhoods, the.
Speaker 8: Neighborhoods anywhere from the beach area at the valley.
Speaker 10: This whole Cliou skipper. That's not just her work, is it?
Every last bit of it. We can't fit it in
a six foot shelf. In nine years, I've had five
teams of man work this thing. None of them reached it.
You and Friday make the Sixth's April seventeenth. How's she
doing so far this month for cash?
Speaker 11: Six hundred and twenty four dollars in checks we know
of since the first of the month, Same general description,
same general m O.
Speaker 6: No fresh leads.
Speaker 9: She's been operating nine years.
Speaker 8: Joe, Yeah, just as good as ever.
Speaker 5: To the working detective, there's no tougher job than tracking
a lawbreaker.
Speaker 6: Who's half professional and half amateur.
Speaker 5: You can expect a criminal who's entirely professional to react
generally the same in a given set of circumstances, and
the same with the amateur. But take the two, the
professional and the amateur, and intermingle their possible and probable reactions.
You'll likely have a sound reason why and how an
elderly woman could victimize merchants with twenty thousand dollars in
bad checks over a period of nine years with being caught. Grandma,
as she'd come to be known, worked only three months
out of each year April, October and December her apparent
fine sense of timing and her knowledge of psychology was
far and away superior to that of the ordinary paper hanger.
Speaker 6: If the file on Grandma.
Speaker 5: Was any indication, she apparently had been born to be
a successful check for me. After Ben and I spent
three days on the case with Sergeant's furgus, an investor,
we were almost convinced that there was only one way
we could reach the suspect. She had to make a mistake, Bergin,
how'd you do?
Speaker 9: Pretty sorry? Poor checks? In two days? Would you fell
us get two?
Speaker 6: Don Meyer checked the signatures, they're all hers.
Speaker 11: Here's our list if you're interested. Meet market out in
Pico twenty five dollars, grocery in West Hollywood.
Speaker 13: Forty eight dollars, two department stores downtown, hundred bucks apiece.
Speaker 6: How do they describe the woman?
Speaker 9: Same old yarn? She was a nice, charming little.
Speaker 11: Lady, about fifty five or sixty, small, dark hair, grain,
dark eyes, nice smile. Clerk told me she reminded of
his mother. Now'd you make out on those two yours?
Speaker 8: All about the same? Even a story about it looking
like somebody's money. One thing? Sure, her timing is just
as good as it was nine years ago. Downtown Merchants
Associations screaming again. They're looking for action, so are we.
Speaker 9: You talked to Captain to day.
Speaker 6: Yeah, he's looking for action too.
Speaker 5: I don't know what we can do unless we get
some kind of cooperation from the merchants.
Speaker 6: Every time the old gal pushes a bump check.
Speaker 5: It's three or four days before it gets to the
bank and we hear about it.
Speaker 6: Trail's pretty cold by then.
Speaker 8: Yeah, Joe and I we're talking just before you came
in Forgie. We can't expect too much to happen where
we're going.
Speaker 9: Any ideas there's.
Speaker 6: More men and more steakhouts. The captain says, they'll buy that.
It's about all we can do.
Speaker 13: A number ten days in April will be over. Grandma'll
be through pushing checks till October again.
Speaker 14: I don't know, Jill. Her forming is too perfect. I mean,
it's got to be a flaw and at some place.
Speaker 6: Yeah, you got out a bulletin of it.
Speaker 8: Revised description of a frigid Yeah, it's all taking care of.
Speaker 9: Special notices were mailed out the merchants too.
Speaker 8: Again now as it is it, that's so right away, Thank.
Speaker 14: You, supermarket on Temple Street. Grandma hit him with two checks.
Any lead clerk says, you'd remind him of his money.
Speaker 5: A week passed, the number of stakeouts on business places
throughout the city was doubled them, and description of the
suspect was circulated among the merchants in the downtown and
suburban shopping centers. Clerks were especially warned to be on
the lookout for The precautions went for nothing. Grandma's checks
kept showing up at the rate of two and three
a day. On April twenty seventh, she passed a check
for fifty dollars at the Delicate Tessa on Hollingwood, Bulevard.
We drove out to interview the owner, mister Hammerston, do
you have.
Speaker 8: One of those circulars we send out on this woman.
Speaker 3: Well, I'm ashamed to say it, sergeant, that I have
hanging right back there in the storeroom. The thing of
it is, I never connected the tool, the woman and
the notice. It's the waste she looks at you, you know,
I could be a healed even question.
Speaker 6: How was she dressed the last time?
Speaker 3: She was empty reminy, Well, she had kind of a
plain black cold on now let's say, would you excuse
me a minute.
Speaker 8: I don't like to keep customers waiting if you're going yes, ah.
Speaker 15: Missus lions need some cold meat. The kids lunches, well,
you got nice and fresh you.
Speaker 3: See right there in the case head cheese is very fresh.
Good for the kiddies. The mento loafs nice too.
Speaker 15: Kids don't like either one fussy? Better give me thirty
five cents that small baloney.
Speaker 9: Would you?
Speaker 12: Yes, ma'am?
Speaker 16: Well, kids are so fussy nowadays, got to be in Europe,
That's what I tell her.
Speaker 12: I know what it is.
Speaker 16: Oh, you better give me a couple of those large
kosher pickles too.
Speaker 15: Husband's crazy for him, yes, ma'am. And the loaf of
the rye to would you know?
Speaker 9: See?
Speaker 12: Yes? Are the kiddies doing in school? Missus Lyon fine?
Speaker 8: Mallon's in a school pageant next month. She's going to
be the queen.
Speaker 12: Oh that's nice.
Speaker 15: I don't know how nice.
Speaker 14: It is.
Speaker 15: More work, that's all I have to make her costume.
Speaker 12: Here you are, missus Lyons, put it on the bell?
Speaker 13: Yeah, would you do that?
Speaker 15: I'll see you the fifteenth of the month.
Speaker 12: Right, Sorry to keep you waiting. Office and I tell I, see,
now where was I?
Speaker 6: Well, we asked you how the woman was dressed.
Speaker 12: Oh yeah, I had a black coata and I told
you that.
Speaker 3: Yes, very plain looking clothes like any other housewife. Print dress,
some kind of a scarf around the neck. That's about
all I noticed.
Speaker 14: How about that description of her in the bulletinly sense
you that's very pretty well?
Speaker 12: Yeah, I guess so.
Speaker 3: She didn't exactly seem plumped to me, though, kind of
a nice figure for a woman of her age.
Speaker 6: You know, if any of your customers were acquainted with her.
Speaker 3: I wouldn't know that she acted as though she knew
some of them. But now that this has happened, I
can see she was just putting on. She was a
great disappointment to see if she is to a lot
of people. Mister Joshua her all the time. I'm a widower,
you know, I thought once or twice I might even
date her up. Yeah, she seemed like a real good
sport joshing all the time, fine personality, just as homely
as you please.
Speaker 6: That fits in with the other descriptions.
Speaker 12: Are you ever going to catch somebody like that?
Speaker 6: Two days later, on April thirtieth, right on schedule.
Speaker 5: The flow of bogus checks in Grandma's handwriting suddenly stopped up.
If she continued to work for the same timetable she'd
been using for the last nine years, she wouldn't start
operations again until the first of October. During the next
five months that followed, from May to the end of September,
Besser Ferguson Ben and I handled the usual run up checkcases.
At the same time, we used up every spare hour
we had making preparations for the suspect's next appearance. Every
businessman throughout the city who might be a possible victim
was alerted. A revised description of the suspect, together with
a ramo, was printed up and given wide distribution. Every
possible precaution was taken. October came. Grandma started on the
tenth year of her for three career without a hitch.
On October first, she cast a check for seventy five
dollars at a large downtown women's shop. As soon as
we got the report, we went to the department where
the check had been received.
Speaker 6: A fashion show was in progress.
Speaker 9: She carried.
Speaker 17: Shake there.
Speaker 18: He would notice them then skirting the doll be recorded.
Speaker 6: Please are you, mister Montrose.
Speaker 9: Yes, what is it?
Speaker 6: Police officers, sir? Forgery detail?
Speaker 9: Oh? Yes, that check.
Speaker 12: I wonder if you could hold on to just a moment.
Speaker 6: Yes, it and.
Speaker 17: Striking the originality with the rule line look and laughing
fell a top of an acal deckline pluctuated the ball bridge.
Speaker 8: Thank Joe. What kind of outfit is that? The models wearing?
Not much?
Speaker 6: Do it?
Speaker 8: All right?
Speaker 13: Officers would like to step this way please?
Speaker 8: Okay, this is my office here.
Speaker 13: Well, I don't know what I can do for you, gentlemen.
Speaker 8: Check was pasted, very unfortunate the currents you okay the
check for canty?
Speaker 6: Is that correct? Yes?
Speaker 8: The sales girl handled the transaction.
Speaker 9: She showed me the check.
Speaker 14: I knew the signals, so I ocated Mary Walker. Yes,
that's how his check is signed. What kind of identification
of the woman? All her charge accomplate? You know, the
small metal card charge of plates would go? I recognize
that in the signature immediately.
Speaker 6: You know this Mary Walker pretty well.
Speaker 8: She's one of our best customers.
Speaker 4: You are listening to Dragnet authentic stories of your police
force in action.
Speaker 5: Friday, October fourth, two pm, before we left the store,
we found that another worthless check during the signature Mary
Walker had been cast in a different department of the
store the same day. The woman had used the same
means of identification, a metal charge account plate stamped with
the name Mary Walker. We took the two checks back
to the office and had Don meyern handwriting compare the signatures.
There wasn't any doubt in his mind the writing on
both checks was Grandmaw's.
Speaker 6: Well, it was only a hunch.
Speaker 8: But it was beginning to look as though the suspect had.
Speaker 6: Finally done what we've been waiting nine years for her
to do. She'd made a mistake.
Speaker 5: Then, and I drove out to an address in the
Wilshire district to interview with missus Mary Walker. She fit
the same general description of the suspect, but she denied
writing either one of the checks, which bore her signature
out of the question.
Speaker 16: Sergeant, I couldn't have written the checks. I haven't even
been in the city for the past five days.
Speaker 8: Then the signatures on these two checks here, Missus Walker,
they're not your.
Speaker 16: It looks like my handwriting, but it's not. I didn't
write those checks. They are forgeries.
Speaker 6: Yes, ma'am, you do have a charge account the start uncemam.
Speaker 16: Oh, yes, I've had an account there for years. Nothing
like this has ever happened though.
Speaker 14: You have one of those charge account plates, Well, yes
I did have one.
Speaker 8: You lent it to someone in your family?
Speaker 16: No, as a matter of fact, I lost it. I
meant to report it to the store, but it slipped
my mind.
Speaker 6: Do you have any idea of where and when you
might have lost it?
Speaker 16: Well, I think it was last Sunday night. I'm not sure.
Oh well, just a minute, I know who would remember,
and Nurse.
Speaker 12: Lamber jes there.
Speaker 15: I'm sure she'll remember, girlfriend's mine.
Speaker 9: She lives in your neighborhood.
Speaker 15: Hello, Amy Mary Water I married.
Speaker 18: Oh just fine and you.
Speaker 15: Oh good, it's day.
Speaker 19: I knows which night was that we went to the
Boosters club meeting Sunday.
Speaker 15: Yes, I thought that it was, oh nothing.
Speaker 19: Just some silly misunderstanding. Well all right, Dinas, thanks for
remembering for me. Yes, goodbye.
Speaker 16: It last Sunday night, charge and nights Lambert and I
went to the neighborhood Boosters club meeting.
Speaker 15: I'm sure that's where I must have lost it.
Speaker 8: So you think the charge account wait, fell out of
your purse isn't.
Speaker 15: It neither that or it was taken?
Speaker 8: Why do you say that?
Speaker 15: Man, Well, it's a serious thing. I didn't want to
mention it.
Speaker 6: What's that?
Speaker 16: I left my purse on the chair next to me
part of the evening. When I got home, I thought
I was missing a five dollar bill for my change
pers I didn't notice at the time my charge of
plate was gone.
Speaker 8: Do you remember who was at that meeting?
Speaker 6: Was walking?
Speaker 15: Oh, forty or fifty people at least?
Speaker 8: How many women?
Speaker 6: Would you say?
Speaker 16: Dozens? So I suppose I am not accusing anybody robbery. Sergeant,
I know it's a serious charge to me.
Speaker 8: You know if one of the club officers might have
taken a list of those present.
Speaker 15: Oh, they didn't have to. We did the same thing
at every meeting.
Speaker 6: What's happening?
Speaker 15: We all signed the attendance book when we leave.
Speaker 6: Three pm.
Speaker 5: Ben and I contacted the secretary of the Neighborhood Boosters
Club and gave us a list of those present at
the Sunday night meeting of the club. Mary Walker had
told us each person present had signed his or her
name and address in the attendants book. We took the
record downtown with us and had don Meyer compare each
signature on the list with samples of Grandma's handwriting.
Speaker 6: Number thirty two on the list.
Speaker 8: Fellows, that's it positive. Make no doubt in my mind,
that's Grandma's handwriting. How she signed it, missus anas Lambert.
Speaker 5: We went down the hall to R and I and
had him check the name Anaz Lambert through the files.
Speaker 6: She had no criminal record.
Speaker 5: Together with Vesser and Ferguson, Been and I spent the
next day and a half trailing Aanz Lambert. Wherever she went.
She fitted the description of the suspect perfectly. We questioned
her friends and their neighbors. We dug back into every
corner of her life for the past ten years. The
results were pretty amazing. We found that she was highly
respected by everybody she knew. She was active in a
dozen Civican church organizations. Her reputation was spotless. There was
only one hitch. Missus Lambert's hobby was charities. By checking back,
we found that during the past ten years, she donated
an average of three three thousand dollars annually to various
charitable organizations.
Speaker 6: Her husband's total.
Speaker 5: Annual income was seven thousand dollars from her bank we
obtained specimen's Vinez Lambert's handwriting. It matched almost perfectly with
every signature in the Grandma file. Monday, October seventh. Then
and I call on missus Lambert.
Speaker 18: Oh, yes, officers, won't you come in? Mary Walker was
telling me about you come in?
Speaker 15: Pease?
Speaker 6: Thank you?
Speaker 12: Mary.
Speaker 18: Mary told me about the things missing from her purse
at the meeting. Is that what you're inquiring about?
Speaker 6: Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 8: We've got a few other questions asked you besides that.
Speaker 18: Well, you've sort of caught me at a bad time,
just getting ready to put some baking in the oven
for dinner tonight. Would you mind very much if we
talked back in the kitchen God to get this done?
Speaker 14: Oh not at all, man, it's back this way.
Speaker 18: Oh there goes my cream sauce again.
Speaker 6: Boiled over.
Speaker 15: Just take a chair, their officers.
Speaker 18: I'll be right with you.
Speaker 6: Thanks.
Speaker 18: Cream sauce is so temperament. People can't take your eye
off it for a minute.
Speaker 8: Okay, she boil over.
Speaker 18: Now, would either of you officers care for a cup
of cocoa chili hot today?
Speaker 8: Well, no, thank you, ma'am. We only have a few
questions for.
Speaker 18: It won't take long, Yes, all right. Would you mind
holding this bull just a minute?
Speaker 15: Sergeant?
Speaker 8: Oh, oh yeah, I just.
Speaker 18: Have to get this in the oven for dinner. My
husband's favorite dessert. It's called pinch pie. It's kind of
meringue tart.
Speaker 6: Let's see. Take two eggs.
Speaker 18: I mean there we are that these egg whites beaten
up nice and light that cup of sugar on the sink, sergeant,
would you be so kind?
Speaker 5: Yeah, all right, beg you sugar, ma'am, thank you.
Speaker 18: Now, what is it you wanted to know?
Speaker 14: Missus Walker had her charge act place stolen that night
at the Busters sub meeting.
Speaker 8: Somebody's been using it to catch bad checks in her name?
Speaker 5: Is that so?
Speaker 18: Mary didn't tell me that the.
Speaker 5: Same person who's using that charger plate has been cashing
bad checks all over the cities.
Speaker 6: He's been doing it for some time.
Speaker 18: Oh my, well, I don't think I can help you, Sergeant.
I went to that meeting with Mary. She says. Somebody
must have been in her purse, but I didn't see them.
Speaker 8: Do you have that charge account plate, missus Lambert, Oh.
Speaker 18: No, I have my own.
Speaker 9: I'll let me see.
Speaker 18: He's chum vanilla, he'ssum vinegar wolf combined in a small.
Speaker 15: Picture or cup.
Speaker 8: We've got good reason to believe you have that charge
account plate, ma'am? Did you take it from Missus Walker.
Speaker 18: That's a silly thing for you to say, Sergeant. I
told you I have my own charge plate and never
borrow anyone else. There's no reason to add a few
drops of combined litus constantly.
Speaker 6: Did you cash two checks last week and sign them
with Missus Walker's name?
Speaker 15: Of course not.
Speaker 18: Why should I do such a thing. Mary Walker is
one of my best friends. I wouldn't do that to her,
even as a joke.
Speaker 5: Compared the signatures on those two checks, Missus Lambert, Both
of them match your handwriting.
Speaker 18: And all the ingredients have been added. Continue to beat
the meringue for several minutes. Oh, I'm sorry if what
was that you said? Sergeant?
Speaker 5: I said that the signatures on those two forwarded checks,
our handwriting man compared them with specimens of your signature.
Speaker 18: They both matt Well, then your handwriting man certainly made
a mistake. There's a large white platter up on that
cupboard there.
Speaker 15: Would you beat you for me? Please?
Speaker 6: There you are, ma'am?
Speaker 9: Well, thank you?
Speaker 5: Now you deny that you wrote those two forged checks
last week. You deny that you've written in cash about
fifteen hundred worthless checks in the last nine years.
Speaker 18: Of course I deny it.
Speaker 15: You're sure you haven't made a mistake.
Speaker 6: We're sure, ma'am. I'm sorry. You'll have to come downtown
with us for questions.
Speaker 14: Oh what's that?
Speaker 18: Oh man, it's the cream sauce again, Sergeant. I can't
leave the house now, right in the middle of getting
dinner ready. My husband to be furious. If you want
to talk, couldn't do it later on?
Speaker 6: I'm sorry, man, I'm afraid not.
Speaker 18: But you certainly can't accuse me of doing anything wrong.
The folks at the church will vouch for me.
Speaker 14: We've got just as many people who say you've cheated them,
people who catch those checks for you, quite a few.
Speaker 9: Of them, ma'am.
Speaker 6: Nine years worth.
Speaker 18: But that's silly, nine years cash and checks. I'm sure
you must mean somebody else, Sergeant. I've got to get
this platter grease. Let's see keep lorringue upon lightly greased
platters here.
Speaker 5: Look, we have a record downtown on every single check
that you passed since you started.
Speaker 6: Man, We've got.
Speaker 5: Specimens of your handwriting and people to identify them. We
know what your income is, we know how much that
you've given to charities.
Speaker 8: Moneys have got to come from someplace.
Speaker 6: Is that what the checks were for?
Speaker 18: Excuse me, I've got to get this money in the
ovens to seventy five degrees.
Speaker 15: Yeah, I hope we'll put in enough for Milla.
Speaker 6: No one tell us about it.
Speaker 18: I never thought about anyone finding out. I guess I
should have expected it, shouldn't I it was all for charity.
There were so many of them. Or if its Old
People's Home, Christmas Poor Fund and then the overseas relief charities.
They all need money. Somebody has to take care of them.
Speaker 8: Your husband knew nothing about this for ten.
Speaker 18: Years, nothing at all. They were my charities. I had
to have money for them. I took money from people
who had it and gave it to those who didn't.
What do you think a sergeant was I wrong? Do
you think the Good Lord will say.
Speaker 15: I was wrong?
Speaker 6: I wouldn't know, ma'am.
Speaker 18: Only wanted to help the poor like he did. I
came to help the poor.
Speaker 8: Oh there's a big difference, ma'am. Yes, he didn't use
a check book.
Speaker 7: All the story you have just heard was true, only
the names were changed to protect the innocent.
Speaker 4: On December eighteenth, trial was held in Superior Court Department
ninety one, said the in County of Los Angeles, State
of California, in a moment the results of that trial.
Speaker 8: Now here is our star, Jack Webb.
Speaker 6: Thank you.
Speaker 5: The efficiency of any local police department depends on the
quality of its personnel. Each and every man is carefully
selected and thoroughly trained. In uniform or plane closed. Your
police officer knows his job.
Speaker 4: Miez Lorraine Lambert and her a plea of guilty to
two counts of forgery and the remaining charges were set
off calendar. She was sentenced by the court for the
term prescribed by law. 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.
Speaker 12: This is Robert Young. Here we the people next on NBC.
Speaker 1: Welcome a great case and I think it showcases the
strength of Dragnet in being able to really bring out
the dramatic elements in dealing with cases that don't involve
violent crime and the idea that the combination of the
pro and amateur together posed this challenge for the police
that went on for nine years is really fascinating. Of course,
as in many of dragnet cases, it came down to
her making a mistake, just like Friday thought, and that
mistake was a purely amateur one, taking the charger plate
of someone you knew and doing it at a meeting
where everyone had to sign in. But you have to
say that she really remained dedicated to her character and
to really leaning into that reputation and appearance brought up
till the end. How unflappable she was while being questioned
was just fascinating. I found myself thinking, how would Poirot
react if somebody was this calm and cool while he
laid out the case for why they were guilty. I
have some new thoughts on her question at the end,
regarding the rightness of her action, her point that she
was doing it for charity, and the quasi religious justification
for it. It been something I thought about over the years. Obviously,
there's points about the over morality of stealing, and you
could also explain from a Christian perspective how this is
not an appropriate way to do charity. To me, What
really impressed me this time is that there's harm beyond
whatever money she stole from the merchant, and whether it's
a question of whether the merchant could eat it or not.
She just seemed to assume just because the merchant cast
a check, they had money to burn. Obviously not the case.
But that's not even the biggest long term thing, because
we live in a low trust society, and part of
the reason for that is that there have been people
who have been dishonest and manipulated others for some sort
of stated good in You could come up with all
kinds of examples, some of them controversial. I won't give
specifics here, but in most cases these good means are
either secondary or just lies people tell themselves to justify
doing the wrong things they want to do. And as
a result of that, our ability to trust each other
has been undermined. And so when she's committing this crime,
using people's trust and rest for older motherly women, and
being this masterful manipulator, she is really doing far more
damage than just taking people's money. I remember the shopkeeper
talking about being disappointed she didn't just cheat him, she
undermined his trust in his fellow man and that sort
of thing does far more damage than we might credit.
I think the way that we've gotten to where we
are with our lack of trust in society isn't one
big things, but a lot of little things that have
happened that have been in the news, that have happened
to people individually. It's death by a thousand paper cuts,
and this is the type of action that, in a
small way, contributed to that. I will also say that
the actress was magnificent in this role. I've heard this
episode multiple times. I've seen the TV episode as well,
and there was still a small voice in my head
that was like, are we sure they got the right
woman here. You also have to admire the sound effects
work on Dragnet. It does have me a bit spoiled,
you know. I'll listen to other programs and they say,
you know, we're at a location like we're going down
to a bowling alley, we're going to a bar, we're
going to a casino, and they don't do any sound
effect works to make you feel like you're listening to
something happening in a bar or casino, or it is
just very bare minimum and drag Now you actually get
to hear people order groceries and you get a fashion show.
And the ordering groceries part was interesting. For the throwaway
line about her picky children, it does suggest that the
parents of those of us who grew up in the
eighties and told us about children in Africa may have
ripped off their own parents' line, but just changed it
from war torn Europe. It does seem like we are
progressively getting more picky about food, and maybe that for
better or for worse, the mental loaf is still around.
I hadn't noticed it, but it apparently it's hiding somewhere
in the deli case. I just hadn't seen. But headcheese
seems to be a bit more of a specialty item
here in the US for those who like it, you know,
you can find somewhere, but it is not likely to
end up in any kid's launches. All right. Well, now
we turn to listener comments and feedback, and we have
a comment from Spotify regarding the big pair the Lions.
I wrote, what do you get for a wedding present
when you leave it to a man to pick it out?
An anti apple peeler?
Speaker 19: Now there.
Speaker 1: I'd never thought of it as just a man issue.
That that was what Ben Romero picked out. I'd like
to think that even without the benefits of modern wedding registries,
that there were men who were more aware than Sergeant
Romero about what you actually needed to set up housekeeping.
And like I said, it's a bit surprising that they
end up doing that because he is actually a married man,
though I don't know, maybe there were more guys who,
even if they're married, they didn't really understand what went
into setting up the house. I'd at least use the
phone a friend and you know, call your wife. But
be that as it may. Then we have a comment
on YouTube. This one's not regarding Dragnet. It's actually regarding
our four thousand, three hundred and fiftieth episode special, which
is the Hollywood Star Playhouse presentation of Hotspot. And usually
I don't read out comments regarding episodes that old, just
because either you know, you have new people in the audience,
or we all can't retain all the details of all
the episodes we played. But this one was kind of
an interesting comment and struck me as relevant to dragging that,
so I'll go ahead and read it. Mechanic six six
' eighty two writes Hatam. I've been listening to about
seven hundred and fifty of these stories, and I can't
recall a single time a suspect ever asked for a lawyer.
It's not believable that a big Hollywood agent would be
interrogated and harassed by cops and never call a lawyer.
Same with all of the suspects miss On, Mister Chameleon
and most other shows. I know that these were before Miranda,
but rich people and most criminals knew of their right,
thank you so much, And that is a good point.
I would say that there are mentions of bringing in
a lawyer or a lawyer being called in. That happened
every now and again, but it's surprise infrequent. It's part
of the dramatic style, and honestly, lawyers got too involved.
It would be kind of hard to get many of
these episodes done in half an hour. One of the
big episodes where a lawyer got involved in a case
quite a bit was the Dragonnet episode Eric Kelby, where
in fact Friday and Romero sat out to try to
find some way to question this guy apart from his lawyer,
who would get him to clam up and he wouldn't
provide any information, but thanks so much for the observation.
And then we have a comment from Saysoft, and this
one is on Bulldog Drumming Adam. A few weeks ago
someone commented how bad the English accents of the two
Bulldog Drumming Star sound. In reality, there are other examples
of Americans with bad English accents that are even worse.
The earliest example I know about is the movie Hell's Angels,
which was produced by Howard Hughes in nineteen thirty. Although
it was a story about the British Royal Air Force
during World War One, Hughes hired all American actors who
didn't even attempt to affect in English accent. The worst
one of the bunch was Gen Harlowe. The movie isn't
all that bad, but it is marred by having American
actors who didn't even attempt to speak with the proper accents.
Fast forward to the nineteen sixties and we have Dick
Van Dyke trying to speak with a Cockney accent in
the movie Mary Poppins. He was a total failure getting
that accent right and was roundly criticized for it. The
third and final example I know of about is Kevin
Costner's version of Robin Hood. I never saw that movie,
but apparently Costner's English accent was so bad that mel
Brooks had the Robin Hood character men in tights say
something to the effect unlike other Robin Hoods, I can
speak with the proper English accents. Of course, he was
referring to Costner, So compared with these three examples, I'll
just say that the English accents of The Bulldog Drumming
Stars are actually pretty good, fair point, and probably part
of the reason why I didn't really complain about the
accents myself. I think that the way they did it
was fine for the time, and there were four worse accents,
and I would say that would go on both sides
of the Atlantic. There were some pretty really rubbish British
plain American people in various British productions, probably into the
nineteen nineties. Thanks so much, appreciate the comments, says Off.
And now it is time to thank our Patreon supporter
of the day, and I want to thank David. David's
been one of our Patreon supporters since January twenty nineteen,
currently supporting the podcast at the Detective Sergeant level of
seven dollars and fourteen cents or more per month. Thank
you so much for your support, David, and that will
actually do it for today. If you're enjoying the podcast,
please follow us using your favorite podcast software. And if
you're enjoying the podcast on YouTube, be sure to like
the video, subscribe to the channel, and mark the notification bell,
all those great things that makes YouTube channels grow. We'll
be back next Saturday with another episode of drag Net,
and on Tuesday we'll be bringing you Operation Danger. Sunday,
of course we will have our Sunday Encore, but then
our regular lineup returns on Monday with the adventures of
the Falcon Wear.
Speaker 20: I often to give you a lift a headquarters, Yes, wearing,
so you could pump me about the Eberhart case.
Speaker 2: Well a lot of good it did me.
Speaker 8: I told you all we know wearing, which adds up.
Speaker 4: To a big fat zero.
Speaker 13: You haven't any more on a missing patient than I have.
Speaker 6: If there is a missing patient.
Speaker 2: There is, Sergeant, you'll know there is no no nowhere.
Speaker 20: It's just because you stuck your neck out. Don't expect
me to follow. Look, I said I'd find that character
for a call, and I will more power to you
after Oh, there are only ten million people in New York.
Speaker 21: That's right, So why couldn't at least one of them
have seen this guy?
Speaker 8: Still, assuming there is such a guy.
Speaker 21: Oh, why couldn't he have left the clue? Why isn't
there something one easily lead to his identity? Why can't
I keep my big mouth.
Speaker 8: Shut of that? Wearing?
Speaker 21: Is the question promising missus eebahat, I've planned the guy
when there's not a single thing.
Speaker 4: To go on, don't worry.
Speaker 5: Just leave it to me.
Speaker 2: Everything is going to.
Speaker 20: Be all right.
Speaker 21: You know something, COVID, I must be nuts wearing For
the first time in my life, I'm inclined to agree
with you.
Speaker 1: I hope you'll be with us then. In the meantime,
send your comments to Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot net,
follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives, and check us
out on Instagram, Instagram, dot com slash Great Detectives from
Boise Atahol. This is your host, Adam Graham, sign and
af