Speaker 1: Welcome to the great Detectives of Old time radio from
Voice Idaho. This is your host, Adam Graham. 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're
enjoying the podcast, please follow us and use your favorite
podcast software. I also want to tell you about Fultonfishmarket
dot Com. When it comes to seafood, freshness makes all
the difference. There's something special about getting seafood straight from
the experts at Fultonfishmarket dot com. For over two hundred years,
Fulton Fish Market has been the most trusted name in seafood,
supplying top chefs, restaurants, and now home kitchens across the country.
They're expert fishmongers carefully select every order, ensuring you get
seafood at peak freshness, whether it's wild caught salmon, succulent scallops,
or perfectly tender shrimp. And because you're a listener to
this podcast, you can enjoy seventeen percent off your entire
order by using the promo code Box thirteen at checkout.
That's the best discount they offer, and I do earn
a commission when you use my code so it's a
win for great seafood and supporting the show. Ready to
bring restaurant quality seafood to your table, visit Fultonfishmarket dot com,
use promo code Box thirteen and taste the difference for
yourself now From March the first, nineteen fifty one, Here
is the big Partner.
Speaker 2: Ladies and gentlemen. The story you're about to hear is true.
The names have been changed to protect the innocent. You're
a detective sergeant to assign the robbery detail. A lone
band that robs a jewelry store in broad daylight. He
takes five thousand dollars in precious stones. He's reckless, he's
well armed.
Speaker 3: Your job get him.
Speaker 4: Dragman the documented drama of an actual crime. For the
next thirty minutes in cooperational Los Angeles Police Department, you
will travel step by step on the side of the
law through an actual case transcribed from official police violence,
from beginning to end, from crime to punishment. Dragnet is
the story of your police force and action.
Speaker 5: It was Tuesday, December second, was Chile in Los Angeles.
We were working a day watch out of robbery detail.
My partner's Ben Romero, the boss is Captain Diddeon. My
name is Friday. Was one forty eight pm when I
got to the basement of the City Hall.
Speaker 6: The car pool.
Speaker 7: Y'all over here?
Speaker 6: Yeah?
Speaker 7: Rank h hi Joe sixth Douglas Is that right?
Speaker 6: Yeah?
Speaker 7: Better take Beverly Boulevard out. Huh right, I want to
get the radio. Yeah all right, no report, yeah no.
He got away on foot.
Speaker 5: He headed down sixth Street after the whole up, lost
himself in the crowd.
Speaker 6: Better watch it there.
Speaker 8: Oh yeah, sixty three w Roger Rode one thirteen.
Speaker 7: I'm the thief work you get the story, Roger three, Well,
not much to tell you. Walked in the store the
right time, pointed a gun, grabbed a tray full of
diamond rings, and walked out five thousand dollars.
Speaker 5: Figure you must have had the jewelry store pretty well cased.
Sounds like he's had practice, and it could be a
sure one thing. He's well on attention.
Speaker 8: All units all units at third and Bixel, third and
pixels trapping accident, a man with a gun. All units
at third and Bixel. A traffic accident. A man with
a gun. Code three KMA three six seven.
Speaker 7: I guess we can roll on it. Huh, all right,
that's Bixtel just to hand. You know, I'll call him
eighty K to control one eight OK to control.
Speaker 8: One, control one to eighty K, go ahead.
Speaker 5: Eightyk OUP for investigation third and bixel KMA three sixty
seven Roger.
Speaker 8: EIGHTYK code six to third and pixel JMA three six seven.
Speaker 5: It must be at up ahead, Joe. Yeah, right in
the middle of the intersection. As the car turned over,
that's all doing. Yeah, let's go.
Speaker 7: Man. He stretched out on them straight over there from
the current. You know, I wonder if we get through here.
Police excuse me and think let us through. Please, Well,
let's don't just stand around looking. Somebody called the police.
You had excuse me?
Speaker 6: Are you involved in this?
Speaker 7: Make sure I was in it? Anybody call the police
or police office. Is what happened? I'm sure glad to
see you. Awful lot of trouble.
Speaker 6: You know. How about this man here? What happened?
Speaker 2: Oh?
Speaker 7: I slugged him? I had to What do you mean, Well,
I don't know what happened. He went a little crazy.
I guess he pulled this gun on.
Speaker 6: You don't got a bump on the head. It seems
to be all right otherwise, what's your.
Speaker 7: Name's Ernie Brooks. That truck over there, that's what I
was driving. I was coming down Third Street and I
stopped with the red light over there, that corner over
there now, And when the light turned green, I started
across the intersection. This guy way in here came barreling down.
I went right through the red light, hit the front
of my truck, flipped his car right over on its side,
just like you see it.
Speaker 6: Yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 7: The guy went a little crazy, I guess. Right after
the crackup, I pulled the truck to the curb and
got out. This fellow here was just climbing out of
the top side of his car. It didn't seem hurt
at all, you know. Well, when he saw me coming
over to him, he pulled a gun and pointed it
at me. Then he turned and started running. I couldn't
figure it out.
Speaker 6: What'd you do?
Speaker 7: Well, as soon as he turned his back there and
I went for him and tackled him. Felt like a tiger.
That's why I say I slugged him. I had two officer.
He's something awful funny about the whole thing.
Speaker 6: What do you mean by that?
Speaker 7: Well, Look here, This box right here fell out of
his coat when I slugged him.
Speaker 6: And take a look.
Speaker 7: You know here must be three four dozen in there, rings,
all kinds.
Speaker 6: You know.
Speaker 7: Looks like diamonds in him, doesn't it.
Speaker 5: The ambulance arrived and we took the unconscious jewel robbers
suspect to Georgia Street Receiving Hospital. After it was revived
and treated for cuts and bruises, we took him back
to the City Hall. At the interrogation room, he fitted
the description of the jewelry store banded almost exactly and
refused to talk. It wouldn't even give us his name.
We had his fingerprints taken him and we had them
checked through on and I.
Speaker 6: The man was.
Speaker 7: Identified as Bernon Albert.
Speaker 5: Niccoley, an ex convict out of Fulsom and a two
time loser. He'd served one five year term for armed
robbery in another three years for ADW.
Speaker 6: We checked out the wreck Carr had.
Speaker 5: Been driving and found out that it had been stolen
two blocks from the scene of the hold up. We
had the manager of the jewelry store which had been
robed brought downtown. He identified Nicoley as the bandit. The
suspect still refused to talk. Ben and I took him
to the main jail where he was booked on suspension
of two eleven BC four or fifteen pm.
Speaker 6: We checked back in at the office.
Speaker 7: Take some of them a long time to learn, you know,
two term loser. This went out to finish him. I
can't figure he's been out of fullsome seven months and
going right back in again.
Speaker 5: Well, we can get the complaint from the day of
mind set the arraiement for Thursday.
Speaker 7: Own met her check with the manager of the jewelry store.
Speaker 6: First.
Speaker 7: I wonder if Nicola could have been in on those
gas station hold I remember last month.
Speaker 5: Well, we'll have him in the show up Thursday and
see what happened. Do you want to take care of
the arrest reports.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I'll get out of APB too. Can I turn
up some outside.
Speaker 6: Jobs on him?
Speaker 7: I'm sure hung Were you still got that candy bar
from night? I'm trying to think so somewhere here? Yeah,
there you go. What's the matter with you lately?
Speaker 6: Anyway?
Speaker 7: I don't know. I'm eating like a horse. Can't understand, John,
I'll get it. What do you got, Joe?
Speaker 6: Well, that doesn't Nicoli. He escaped.
Speaker 5: A broadcast and an all points bullet and were gotten
out on running Nikola. All units in the vicinity of
the escape were alerted an hour past. There was no
report on the suspect.
Speaker 6: We checked with the main jail.
Speaker 5: And got the details on the escape. They told us
that Will Nikoli was being locked up in his cell.
He pushed his fingers into the door jam and had
them badly mashed when the cell door closed on them.
Both of Nikoli's wrists were then handcuffed and along with
two other alien suspects, he was taken over to Georgia
Street Receiving Hospital by a pair of transportation officers. Going
up the stairs to the hospital, Niccola had turned suddenly,
kicked one of the officers in the stomach, slugged the other.
Speaker 6: One, and escaped.
Speaker 5: It happened at about four or fourteen pm. By eleven
o'clock that night, there wasn't a trace of the suspect.
Seven point thirty the next morning, Ben and I checked
back in for where Nicola was still at large.
Speaker 7: Overnight report Joe hamb Well, look we am liquors door
gas station, not a lequor store. All three hadn't held
up between midnight and two am. They could look at
the Benett description.
Speaker 5: Five feet nine hundred and fifty pounds, medium bill, dark
way of you here in the dark, Eye's fair complex
and deep sky on Chin come by. We didn't least
time getting started again to.
Speaker 7: The pretty big comdown if it's Nicolay Diamond theft a
liquor store when he.
Speaker 6: Had to do something. He didn't have any clothes, no money.
How about that car he used on those.
Speaker 7: Jobs stolen and covered early this morning and going over
for printing Roman Joe grit get on this one right away?
Was he just got to call him minute ago?
Speaker 6: And what's that?
Speaker 7: He's an am address.
Speaker 6: Matthew Hobbs.
Speaker 7: He runs a candy store near one of the great
schools over in Boil Heights. He might be able to
tell you something, yeah, about what Nikolay saw him last night.
Speaker 5: We got in the car and drove over to the
Boyle Heights district where we located.
Speaker 6: Matthew hobbs place of business was a small.
Speaker 5: Store on Delray Avenue, one block from the neighborhood grammar School.
The site out in the front read New Geneva Candy
Parlor and Variety store. It was the usual display in
the window, a wind up train, a few inexpensive dolls, pencils,
riding tablets, and some crape paper. Inside the main attraction
was two long showcases filled with a variety of penny candy.
It was a small soda park in the career of
the store, topped with a slab of Warren marble. Matthew
Hobbs was a small, thin man. He looked to be
in his mid sixties. He sat behind one of the
counters filling cellophane bags with Christmas candy while he.
Speaker 6: Talked to us. We asked him about Nicolai.
Speaker 7: Yes, that's try Burnham here last night, about ten o'clock
ten fifteen, No later, you wanted me to help him?
Did you know Nicoley that well, mister Hobbs, as well
as I know most of the kids who grew up
around here. Yes, I guess I knew him well. But
what did he ask for in the way of helps?
Their money, clothes? You got no family left? I guess
I was the only one he thought to come to. Well,
aw was it that you didn't notify as sooner?
Speaker 6: Mister Hobbs.
Speaker 7: I knew you'd ask like to explain if I could, Yes, sir, please,
did you have me that strick of bags there? Sergeant? Nah? No, no, no,
the number two?
Speaker 9: Yeah?
Speaker 6: Those?
Speaker 7: Yeah? Thank you? As I said, he knocked on my
back door about ten o'clock and I let him in.
Acted just like an animal, some kind of crazy animal.
And see did he have handcuffs on? Yeah? But the
chain connecting it was broken and made me file off
each hand cut. You know, I wouldn't do it at first.
I had an idea what was going on. He said
he'd kill me if I didn't help him. He kept
threatening me. I never saw gunning like that before. H
go on, you know, sergeant, I knew that boy when
he was in grammar school right up the street there.
Makes you sit down, thinks sometimes? Huh the whey they
grow up and change?
Speaker 6: Yes?
Speaker 7: Well, what happened after you took the cuffs off of
and he got out of his jail clothes and put
on one of my suits, took what I had my wallet,
twelve dollars, and then he kept punning around and he
found my gun.
Speaker 6: He took that with him too. Didn't you think of
calling for help?
Speaker 7: Not the way he acted, sergeant, Just like a crazy animal.
When he'd have killed me if I'd tried anything, warned
me not to tell anybody he was here. He said
he'd come back and killed me if I did well.
I waited this morning and I called the police, who
said McCauley took a gun from I'm kind of a
gun was thirty two automatic cold. I've had it for years.
I haven't registered with you people. He took just bny
please clothes, gun and money if you want the true sergeant.
I just wasn't brave enough to try to stop him.
But when Nicolai left here, did you notice if he
had a car now he left on foot, walked across
the street, and he went down that way towards the town.
I don't know. I don't suppose you'll get too far.
I hope not. You have any ideas we might try
to contact some of his old friends relevant, No, he
doesn't have any folks I know of. Terrible thing is
the kids growing up, the way they change, Like Nicolay.
I can understand them when they're kids. Seen hundreds of
them come through here. Know what they're thinking, how they feel,
kind of a hobby. I understand kids. Some trouble is
they grow up. All of a sudden, they stopped being kids.
I don't understand him.
Speaker 6: After that we left the candy store.
Speaker 5: We went back to the office and got out of
supplementary APB containing a description of the suspects, clothing, and
the gun that he'd stolen. Together with Gonzales and Penia
from robbery, Ben and I checked all of Nikoli's known
friends and his usual hangouts.
Speaker 6: Stakeouts were placed. We got nowhere.
Speaker 5: The late evening hold ups continued. Each of the victims
identified Nicoli as the bandit.
Speaker 6: He used the same moo in each case.
Speaker 5: He worked only on the weekends Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights.
He'd steal a car, pull three hold ups in the
same general area within an hour, abandoned the car in
the same area, and then disappear. Two weeks pass and
then a month. The weekend robbery's went on. For the
most recent hold up victims, we found out that Nicole
had picked up a partner. We checked the man's description
through the stats office. Each of the stolen cars used
by the suspects and then abandoned.
Speaker 6: Were checked for prints.
Speaker 7: We failed to identify the second man.
Speaker 5: The holdups continued Nicole and his partner were still at large. Monday,
January twenty sixth eight thirty am, Ben and I met
with Captain Dideon.
Speaker 7: What's the compscare? But the usual three hold up? Friday, three, Saturday,
three Sunday. He's proved his point, he's consistent. Now why
do you blow the whistle on him? We're doing everything
it can be done, steakouts, text units on duty. It's
not enough. The corner pocket wants some results. They want
them fast.
Speaker 5: Well, how about the times listed for the three stick
ups last night?
Speaker 6: They've been double.
Speaker 7: Checked, correct, and something else for you figure it out?
Speaker 10: What is it?
Speaker 7: Jump?
Speaker 6: I'll look here.
Speaker 7: The drug store out in West Hollywood robbed at eleven
fourteen pm.
Speaker 6: All right, now, this one.
Speaker 5: Coffee shop out in the valley robbed at eleven twenty
one pm.
Speaker 6: Both of them in the same m all, the same everything.
Speaker 7: Well, it doesn't figure. They couldn't have made it from
the spot in the west Tally went out to the
valley in seven minutes.
Speaker 6: It's not possible.
Speaker 7: There's a report check it. I no, but how could
they do it? There must be some way to work
out the answer that's got to be. I can give
you a shortcut, you know, Nicoley find.
Speaker 5: Them another two weeks past, and then two weeks more.
Besides the extra men and units put in service on weekends,
two dozen separate steakhouts were established in areas where we
figured Nicoli and his accomplice would strike. Didn't help much.
The holdups continued. There was only one difference the description
of the Bandit didn't jibe anymore. We still didn't have
an answer to the superhuman speed that the two gunmen
seen to show and robbing victims at widely separated points,
all within a short.
Speaker 7: Period of time. We stayed on it.
Speaker 5: Friday, February twenty first, Ben and I took our turn
on night's steakout in a vacant store on Sunset Bullard.
We were assigned to cover a drug store and a
bar directly across the street. We spent two weekends on
the job. Was quiet, nothing happened. The third weekend was
no different. One thing's for sure. We never have any
luck victims steakhout. No, I mean this empty store must
be the drafts place in town.
Speaker 6: Oh no, we've had worse. What time you.
Speaker 7: Got five past midnight? A little band over in the
brush door on your money.
Speaker 6: Don't you're allowed anyway?
Speaker 7: Yeah, Ben, have a look then, getting out of the
car down the street there so well, yeah, they're heading
for the bar. What do you think? Both got dark
hair about the same Bill, I'm back there in the hurry,
I'm going in the bar. Yeah, come on, well we
better hurry. That's it, Come on, all right, throw it
on the guns, look up, alright, hold on, hold on
your guns, right, come on, hands behind your head.
Speaker 9: You gotta take them to.
Speaker 7: All right, hold it right there, Come on on your feet.
You are right. Then you had a good Well, that's both.
I met raptor up.
Speaker 6: You better look again. Huh, neither one of them is Nicoli.
Speaker 4: You are listening to drag Net, a series of authentic
case histories documented from official files.
Speaker 5: Saturday, February twenty second, Bet and I took the two
robbery suspects downtown to the City Hall of the interrogation room.
We checked them through our and eye and found that
they both had records for burglary and grand theft auto.
The car that they'd been using that night had been stolen.
After two and a half hours of interrogation, one of
the suspects of Pete alban Is decided to break down
and cooperate one am the interrogation room.
Speaker 7: I guess something, monitor, don't I helping you? You're not
going to forget to help you. When they get me
in court, we'll say they know about it. Beet we
mentioned our report. Now wants the story. I knew one
never should have went for it.
Speaker 9: Believe me, all happened again, Nicollie.
Speaker 7: He talked me, and we're talking to what Pete helping
them onto stick ups? Was his partner sparsh one after
he broke to him.
Speaker 6: Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 7: He came to me with his foolproof system. I was
sucker enough to go for it. How long did you
work with this? Couple of weekends?
Speaker 6: Three? Four?
Speaker 7: Maybe I didn't get along with him, No, nobody gets
along with him. He's a little crazy. I think who's
working with him now?
Speaker 6: Oh?
Speaker 7: I don't know.
Speaker 9: He's had two three different guys.
Speaker 7: I don't know who's with him, say the size and
kind of drink of water.
Speaker 6: But I'll gets you some people, all right? There you go?
Speaker 7: Yeah, how about the way Nicolai works three or four
robberies a night all over town.
Speaker 9: A lot of guys work on that, so.
Speaker 6: All they mean, they all keep it the same way.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Sure.
Speaker 9: When I left him, I went on my own.
Speaker 7: I picked up a partner, used his system, a pretty
good one.
Speaker 9: Well it looked like a good one.
Speaker 6: I him.
Speaker 7: You mean working on the weekends, picking up a hot car,
dropping it fast, Yeah.
Speaker 3: You got it.
Speaker 7: Must be half a dozen guys in this town working
the system.
Speaker 9: They all got it from Nacola. He taught to him.
Speaker 7: Where do we find him, Pete? You know nicolein No,
for sure, he's got a figure. You know, he doesn't
live here in town. He only comes up for the weekend,
works on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and then he takes off again,
takes off of work. We're down by a border someplace,
Palm City till. I'm not sure. You're not gonna forget
him helping you. Huh, you'll let him know. I cooperated.
Speaker 6: Yeah, we'll let him know.
Speaker 7: Peena, when's the last time you saw Nicole?
Speaker 6: Oh?
Speaker 7: I spent a month anyway, I never want to see
him again. Say this may help you though. I know
where his girlfriend stays. Yeah, a probably not South Rampart.
I can give you the address. He probably goes see
her once in a while. Anyone else you can think of. No,
that's about It won't be any pushover sergeant. Like I said,
I think he's a little crazy. It's being easy to
want to take. But we'll give it a try. Oh,
I mean it that way. He's wild, but you'll get him.
I guess it's just one thing. Yeah, he'll have to
kill him first.
Speaker 5: Three am, Pete alban Is and his accomplished with booked
at the Means on suspicion of two eleven PC. The
next morning, Ben and I checked out the address of
Nicole's girlfriend, which Alvin has had given us. The girlfriend's
name was Esther Revard. She told us that she hadn't
seen Nikole in more than two weeks. We asked her
if she knew where the suspect stayed when he was
in town. She gave us an address on South Peco.
We called in and arranged for a stakeout on the
girl's place.
Speaker 6: Then we drove over to check.
Speaker 5: The address that she'd given us was a small apartment
court on the edge of the industrial district.
Speaker 7: Nicholey wasn't there, neither was the manager.
Speaker 5: We talked to one of the tenants, who told us
that the manager of missus Clara Fontaine.
Speaker 6: Was out of town.
Speaker 5: He said that while she was gone, her daughter in
Norma was looking after the place. The daughter was employed
as a secretary at the Blue Cross Hospital Plan office
over on Wilshire Boulevard. We called the office and the
arrange for another steak out at the apartment court one.
Speaker 6: Twenty five pm.
Speaker 5: We located the landlady's daughter at the Blue Cross office
on Wiltshire.
Speaker 6: We showed her Nicoli's mugshot.
Speaker 11: Yes, he's one of mama's tenants, mister Reynolds. He's in
Bungalow five.
Speaker 7: With him one day.
Speaker 11: No one's registered with him. No, he has visitors though,
there's something wrong.
Speaker 6: But when did you see this man last?
Speaker 7: This morning?
Speaker 11: When I was leaving for work, he was outside.
Speaker 7: Working on his car. Would you excuse me please? Blue Cross?
Speaker 11: Yes, sir, I see.
Speaker 7: No.
Speaker 11: Just address the letter to Blue Cross Hospital Plan. You
can send it to us here at the Wilchair office.
Speaker 7: That's right. Well you're welcome.
Speaker 6: I'm sorry.
Speaker 11: What was I going to say?
Speaker 7: And who told us that you saw this man working
on his car this morning? Oh?
Speaker 11: Yes, he was parked right outside in front. I couldn't
very well miss it. I'm going to tell mom about
it when she gets home. Well, it was certainly strange
because it's not that time of year. That's why I
noticed it. Well, he was changing the license plates on
his car.
Speaker 6: Did you get the numbers?
Speaker 11: It's right here in my purse.
Speaker 5: One two pm where the information furnished just by the girl.
Speaker 6: Ben got on the phone and called in.
Speaker 5: A description of the suspects car, together with the two
sets of license numbers, was in nineteen forty one Ford Sedan,
dark blue, white side wall tires. Communications got out of
broadcast and the supplementary apb on it. At six pm,
Ben and I relieved the men on a steak out
at Nicoli's apartment. We waited, no sign of them. We
checked with the office on the hour, no sign of
the car. Ten pm, still nothing doing. Eleven o'clock nothing
and Zales and Penya from robbery drove out and relieved
us and we headed back to the office. Eleven twenty
six pm.
Speaker 7: What are you thinging?
Speaker 6: I don't know.
Speaker 7: We plugged every hole I can think of things do
for a break? Is this overdue? I to use some
sleepy Where is that welcome? Right?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 6: Right away?
Speaker 7: Thanksgiver? Hi here's one to move on. Yeah, twelve and Beacon,
southeast corner. Nicole's car. They got it spotted.
Speaker 5: Eleven fifty six pm. Ben and I drove to the
vicinity of twelfth and Beacon. When we checked with the
men in Unit eighty K who'd spotted the.
Speaker 7: Car, they had gotten out a code five on it.
Speaker 5: The description matched perfectly on nineteen forty one Ford sedan,
dark blue, white side wall tires. A license number was
one of those given us by the apartment manager's daughter.
That afternoon, together with the two men in eighty six K,
we staked out on the suspects car at a distance
was parked almost exactly in the middle of the block.
About twenty feet behind it, a red and white delivery.
Speaker 7: Truck was parked.
Speaker 6: The street was fairly deserted.
Speaker 5: The only place of business open was a small corner
bar at the far end of the block.
Speaker 6: Twelve thirty one am, no one came near the dark
blue sedan. We waited two am the corner bar closed up.
Speaker 5: A man came out, got in the red and white
delivery truck and drove off. Two thirty am. The dark
blue sedan was still sitting there.
Speaker 8: We kept waiting Roger thirteen hours, code seven.
Speaker 7: One way or the other. I wish you'd make up
his mind. It's a long way, cold ring here, and
it wasn't that vacance door and better check and see
if we're clear.
Speaker 6: Yeah, all right, I'll do it.
Speaker 7: Eighty K to control one eight Okay to control one.
Speaker 8: Control one eighty K, go ahead.
Speaker 7: Eighty K to control one. A wee clear, Control one
to eight OK. Stand by, Oh you're smoked.
Speaker 6: I'm out you two.
Speaker 7: Yeah, I guess we do with that.
Speaker 8: Yeah, control one to eighty K, control one to eight.
Speaker 6: OK.
Speaker 8: Your clears, code one.
Speaker 7: Eighty K to control one. Roger cant for six seven.
I haven't looked. Joe just turned the car where far
into the block opposite signe heading up this way. Yeah,
we make out two of them. There, there's two. They're
passing by the Satanic. No, no, we're getting in everything.
Speaker 6: Come on.
Speaker 7: Card spotted this, Joe then getting out. I hold it there,
both of you now, Joe, get up, Nikoli, hind that car. Ah. Oh,
don't shoot, Joe, rot your guns, both of you. Hurry,
don't shoot, rot your gun, don't kill us, Get up, Harry,
oh kill, come on up don't shoot. Hit my gun.
Don't shoot. It's one of them.
Speaker 8: Oh, Harry, got get up.
Speaker 6: That's two. Let's go. Yeah, careful, here's the guns.
Speaker 7: I'll shoot a gut my hands up. I keep him up, Okay,
I will just don't shoot. I didn't use my gun,
Harry did. I tried to tell him. You heard me,
You heard me, You heard me, not to shoot. Check
my gun. I didn't shoot it. You come on, get
him out in front of him. I'll get the guns.
Speaker 6: Come out of officer.
Speaker 9: It's the third time for me.
Speaker 7: All right, save it, okay, Joey ready, let's go. Pleason,
give me break. You picked the wrong time to cry reson.
This is the third time for me. I'm no good
in there. When you had your chances, you kicked them away.
Let's make a deal. I'm no good in jail, no
good at all.
Speaker 6: You'll know better out here. Let's go.
Speaker 2: The story you have just heard was true, only the
names were changed to protect the innocent.
Speaker 4: On May twenty fourth, trial was held in Superior Court,
Department eighty seven, City and County of Los Angeles, State
of California. In a moment the results of that trial,
Burnie Nicoli and his accomplices were tried and convicted on
several counts of first degree robbery. They received sentences as
prescribed by law and are now serving their terms in
the state penitentiary. First degree robbery is punishable by a
prison term of not less than five years with a
maximum life term.
Speaker 2: Ladies and gentlemen, the Red Cross has been asked by
your government to help the nation mobilize for defense. You
can help by giving generously to the Red Cross.
Speaker 4: You have just heard Dragnett a series of authentic cases
from official files.
Speaker 2: Technical advice comes from the Office of Chief of Police W. H.
Speaker 4: Parker, Los Angeles Police Department.
Speaker 7: David Harding Counterspy solves an exciting case next on NBC.
Speaker 1: Welcome Back. In interesting personal dynamic here with an anti
asocial perpetrator who spreads his method and creates copycats because
while his method is great, he's just so difficult to
work with him be around. Also, you don't generally ask
the arresting officers for lee see on being a three
time loser. That's going to be up to the prosecutor,
though they'll pretty much say the same thing as Joe Friday.
I imagine pork Ben Romero he just has not enjoyed
these assignments. You just know, even if it's a case
that doesn't get covered on the program, their next stakeout
is going to be in a walk in freezer. That's
the sort of lock Ben's been having.
Speaker 8: All right.
Speaker 1: Well, now we turn to listener comments and feedback, and
we start over on Facebook where regarding the episode The
Big Crime, Dave Wright's good episode. And then we have
a couple of comments on Spotify and we start with
a comment from Prince Adam no relation and he writes,
I know dragging that and Tales of the Texas Rangers
are both based on actual crimes. I wonder if anyone
ever did research and found the crimes to see how
how accurate they were. Well, thanks so much, I appreciate
the question. Over the years, I've actually received comments from
listeners who looked into cases or they have heard of
cases that were covered in a true crime or other
sort of context and have shared some of the results.
And it's interesting we did that a little while back
when we talked about the human bomb slash City Hall
bombing case. There were some of the early cases that
came directly from the LAPD that are better known, but
I think it becomes a bit harder once you get
past those few episodes, because what Web did for the
stories that they did on Dragnet is they actually got
these stories from policemen and they would tell their stories
and it would be adapted by the writer. At this point,
Jim Moser and Web paid them I think like twenty
dollars for their story, which was pretty good money for
the nineteen fifties, and of course the story would have
to be approved by the LAPD and the network. But
what that meant is that you would often have crimes
that were not very prominent or well covered at the
time that they were committed. Plus you also have to
keep in mind that while the crimes profiled on Dragnet
were based on true cases, they could be brought forward
in time quite a few number of years. So we
talked about the City Hall bombing case that one was
actually from the nineteen twenties, and so was the story
of the Big Little Jesus, which was also set in
San Francisco, So it would be a challenge to locate
them all lost. The stories told on Dragnet might not
have been profiled to a degree in newspaper accounts that
you could easily go through and say, well, this and
this and this was different. There are a few. There
was actually one case where Dragnet got sued because a
person alleged defamation. It was not actually all that series
of a case, and a whole lot fewer people would
know it was you, or would be reminded of it
if you didn't take them to court. But I'd digress. Now,
on a related note, if you are kind of curious
about the sort of cases that Web was offered, he
did write a book. Among Jack Webb's many talents, he
wrote a true crime book called The Badge, subtitled The
True and Terrifying Crime Stories that Could Not be Presented
on TV, and the book was reprinted in two thousand
and five. It's still available on Amazon, or you can
get it through your library through an interlibrary loan. But
that might offer some interesting insights, although not much detail
as to cases that were adapted for Dragnet. And then
we have a comment from Moss who writes, thanks, Adam,
these stories make my commute much more interesting. Well, thanks
so much, appreciate your con comment. Now it's time to
thank our Patreon supporter of the day and I want
to go ahead and thank Michael. Michael's been one of
our Patreon supporters since February twenty twenty, currently supporting the
podcast at the Shawmas level of four dollars more per month.
Thanks so much for your support, Michael, and that will
actually do it for today. If you're enjoying the podcast,
please follow us using your favorite podcast software and be
sure to rate and review the podcast wherever you download
it from. We will be back next Saturday with another
episode of Dragnet. This wee can be sure to watch
public domain video theater available on our YouTube channel, also
in podcast stores that feature video podcasts, such as the
Apple Podcast Store and Podbean, and now available on Spotify.
We'll have an episode of Mister and Missus North for you,
but we will be back here tomorrow. If you notice
the episode number, this is our four thousand and seven
hundredth episode, so we have a special tomorrow where.
Speaker 12: No, you don't know of any relatives he might have.
Speaker 10: You never talked about any, at least next.
Speaker 12: To me, but you did know him pretty well. Your
boss says you were kind of a favor of.
Speaker 9: The old man.
Speaker 10: Yes, I always liked him.
Speaker 12: Yeah, you got drunk every Saturday night regular, didn't they
real drunk?
Speaker 10: Billy never heard anybody but himself, and if he did
take a few drinks once in a while.
Speaker 7: Just answered Officer Killo's questions.
Speaker 8: Can't well, Adam, it's not fair with poor Billy lying there.
Speaker 12: The officer has his report to make, Kathy, and he's
only trying to confirm it. We all know happened, Thanks,
mister Sadlick. The old guy could really tie one on,
couldn't he? Miss Owens get those? He didn't know whether
he was coming or going.
Speaker 10: Yes, I've seen Billy with too much, Officer, but I
saw him about two hours ago when I went over
to get something to eat, and I'm not sure he
was drinking at all tonight.
Speaker 12: What do you mean?
Speaker 10: Well, he was worried about something he'd found. He started
to ask me about it and then said I probably
wouldn't know either, with just some scrap celluloid he had
in a blue tobacca can.
Speaker 12: A blue tobacco can like this one.
Speaker 10: Yes, I'm almost sure that's the can he had, and
he didn't seem as if he'd been drinking.
Speaker 12: Mister Sadlick here tells me the can was empty when
they found it on him after fishing him out of
the water. Are you sure the old guy wasn't just
kidding you, Miss Owens.
Speaker 10: Of course, I don't really know whether it has anything
to do with it.
Speaker 7: Thanks very much, kath Hey, you've confirmed with Officer Key.
Oh want to know.
Speaker 1: I hope you'll be with us in the meantime. Send
your comments to Box thirteen at Greatdetectives dot net, follow
us on Twitter at Radio Detectives, and check us out
on Instagram, Instagram, dot com, slash Great Detectives from Boise, Idaho.
This is your host, Adam Graham signing off.