MUSIC:

SIGNATURE

FENN:

(EASILY) The story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

GIBNEY:

Fatima Cigarettes...best of all long cigarettes..brings you "Dragnet".

MUSIC:

UP AND FADE FOR

FENN:

(EASILY) You're a detective sergeant...you're assigned to Burglary Detail. A well-organized gang launches a campaign of burglaries in your city. They hit stores, warehouses. You set trap after trap for them but they seem to know every move you make. Your job....get 'em.

MUSIC:

UP AND FADE

FENN:

(FIRST COMMERCIAL)

OPENING COMMERCIAL

GIBNEY:

More and more smokers coast-to-coast are saying this about King-Size Fatima everyday.....

FENNE:

They're different ... better ...

WOMAN:

They are different ... so pleasing ....

FENNE:

Yes ... in Fatima the difference is QUALITY. You see Fatima contains the finest domestic and Turkish tobaccos superbly blended ... And Fatima is extra-mild....

GIBNEY:

Compare Fatima with any other King-Size cigarette.

FENNE:

You'll find Fatima gives you all the advantages of extra length ... plus Fatima quality, which no other King-Size cigarette has.

GIBNEY:

Yes ... IN FATIMA THE DIFFERENCE IS QUALITY.

FENNE:

Next time ... buy Fatima ... Best of all King-Size cigarettes.

MUSIC:

THEME

GIBNEY:

Dragnet -- the documented 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.

MUSIC:

SEGUES INTO SOUND

SOUND:

JOE & BEN'S FOOTSTEPS ON SIDEWALK

JOE:

It was Tuesday, May 9th. It was warm in Los Angeles. We were working the day-watch out of Burglary Detail. My partner's Ben Romero. The boss is Thad Brown...Chief of Detectives. My name's Friday. We were on the way out from the office and it was 2:37 P. M. when we got to the corner of Norwich and Figueroa Street...(TRIES TO OPEN METAL GATE, IT'S LOCKED, SHAKE IT A LITTLE)....the Used-Car lot.

SOUND:

BEN LETS GO OF LIFT-UP LATCH ON GATE, LITTLE RATTLE, LITTLE TRAFFIC BG.

BEN:

Not gonna get through this gate. Padlock on it there.

JOE:

(GRUNTS, AS IF LOOKING) Oh, I see. Main entrance is around the corner down there...on Norwich.

BEN:

Oh.

SOUND:

BEN & JOE'S FOOTSTEPS ON PAVEMENT

BEN:

Just look at the way they've got those cars lined up in there.....think they'd have every gate on the lot opened up.

JOE:

You pick up that bunch of mugg shots for R & I?

BEN:

(SIGNIFYING) Yeah, got 'em right here. Sure a scorcher this afternoon, huh.

JOE:

Yeah. It's supposed to cool off some tonight.

BEN:

Too bad you couldn't make it over the house for dinner last night. We ate out in the backyard. I barbecued some hamburgers.

JOE:

Hope you had better luck with 'em than you did last time.

BEN:

Oh yeah. Threw some kerosene on the charcoal. Had a good hot fire.

JOE: That so?

BEN:

Uh-huh. My hamburger had a little taste of kerosene....nobody else mentioned it though. Guess they were alright. We'll have to try it again next time you come out.

JOE:

Yeah, uh-huh.

SOUND:

THEIR FOOTSTEPS OFF SIDEWALK ONTO GRAVEL OF USED CAR LOT. STOP ON CUE.

JOE:

You see anybody around?

BEN:

Back there by the office...that looks like him, doesn't it?

JOE:

Oh yeah.

SOUND:

THEIR FOOTSTEPS ON GRAVEL RESUME

GOLDIE:

(OFF) Hi ya doing, Sergeant. Been looking for you.

JOE:

How are ya, Goldie. Good to see you.

GOLDIE:

(AS HE SHAKES HANDS) Romero..how are ya?

BEN:

Goldie. How's the job going?

GOLDIE:

Not bad, not good. You got my message alright, huh?

BEN:

Yeah. We appreciate it.

GOLDIE:

Well, I don't know how much good I can do you. Tell you one thing....I'll try. What's the pitch?

JOE:

There some place around here we can talk, Goldie?

GOLDIE:

This is alright, Sergeant. Not gonna be anyone around to bother us but the flies. What's up?

JOE:

Maybe you checked it in the papers the last coupla weeks. Burglary gang....hitting stores, warehouses.

GOLDIE:

Oh yeah. They've been moving pretty fast I hear.

BEN:

What else d'ya hear, Goldie?

GOLDIE:

Not much....nothing you can put your finger on anyway.

BEN:

Yeah.

GOLDIE:

What kinda set-up you looking for?

JOE:

Maybe 4 or 5 guys. They've had experience, we know that. Y'hear anything at all?

GOLDIE:

Few rumbles, yeah. Like I say, nothing definite. Friend of mine.. he got out of Chino a year ago...he was around the other night to see me. He was talking about it...the burglary gang.

JOE:

Uh-huh. He have much to say?

GOLDIE:

He's not tied with 'em I can tell you that. He still runs on fringes once in a while but he's clean. He got a few rumbles downtown, that's all.

BEN:

What'd he tell you, Goldie?

GOLDIE:

It's supposed to be an outfit from the east. I don't know where. Like you say, they're supposed to have experience. (TURNS) Say, we got a cooler fulla soft drinks over here by the shack. How about one?

JOE & BEN:

(AD LIB ASSENT)

SOUND:

THEIR FOOTSTEPS OVER TO COOLER. GOLDIE GETS OUT DRINKS SEPARATELY.

GOLDIE:

(AS HE WORKS) 4 or 5 guys in the set-up, like you say. Friend of mine says one of 'em might be a blond guy. Name's Hodges. Mean anything to you?

JOE:

Any description on this Hodges?

GOLDIE:

No. Friend of mine didn't say. Just overheard it, y'know. (TURNS BACK) Open this for you.

SOUND:

HE OPENS ONE BOTTLE

GOLDIE:

There y'go. Ice-cold.

BEN:

Thanks.

SOUND:

GOLDIE OPENS SECOND BOTTLE

GOLDIE:

Sergeant....

JOE:

Thank you.

SOUND:

GOLDIE OPENS BOTTLE FOR HIMSELF

GOLDIE:

(STILL AS HE WORKS) Sure warms out here on this lot. Say....got a great trade joke for you....

BEN:

Yeah?

SOUND:

THROUGHOUT BELOW, THREE OF THEM DRINK ON SODA POP

GOLDIE:

It's the truth, too...happened to me. Coupla tire-kickers came in the other day...real cubes.

BEN: Tire-kickers?

GOLDIE:

Yeah....y'know, no sale customers. They come in, walk around cars, kick the tires, then they walk out again. No sale.

BEN:

Oh, I see.

GOLDIE:

Anyway, these two tire-kickers come in and tell me about a '31 sedan they bought down the street. The guy who bought it says to me: "Mister I drove the car two blocks and it blew up like an E-Tromic." Then the other guy says, "No, Max, you got it all wrong. You mean an A-Tromic bomb." Telling you, sergeant, real cubes.

JOE:

Uh-huh. Don't like to press you, Goldie, but did your friend have anything else to tell you?

GOLDIE:

Not an awful lot, no. Supposed to be the gang's got some connections in town...maybe some kinda inside tip-off system...I wouldn't know.

JOE:

Where'd your friend pick up this talk?

GOLDIE:

I don't know that either, Sergeant. You can talk to my friend if you want...I'll write his address down for you.

JOE:

Fine.

GOLDIE:

This burglary mob...they're making pretty big takes, huh?

BEN:

Big enough, Goldie. Over 60-thousand in merchandise. We're feeling a lot of pressure on it.

GOLDIE:

You can count on me...I'll pass on anything I hear. I still owe you guys for helping me get started again after I got outta "Q". It's one thing I ain't gonna forget.

SOUND:

JOE & BEN PUT POP BOTTLES BACK IN RACK.

JOE:

You've helped us a lot, Goldie. (TURNS) Leave the bottles right here?

GOLDIE:

Yeah, fine.

SOUND:

THREE OF THEM TAKE FEW STEPS ON GRAVEL, STOP ON CUE.

GOLDIE:

Say, I couldn't interest you in one of our specials today, could I? Got some nice late models. Clean cars.

BEN:

How about those two people over there...just wandered on the lot. They look interested.

GOLDIE:

No, I can tell just by looking at 'em. Couple of real gophers. They're worse than tire-kickers.

BEN:

Gophers? How d'ya mean?

GOLDIE: Gophers...fence-jumpers. They go from one car lot to the next...never buy a thing. They crawl all over the cars, leave the doors open. They start the car, gun the motor...you know. They never buy. They're much worse than tire-kickers.

JOE:

You don't like the job much, huh, Goldie?

GOLDIE:

It's not too bad. It's a lot better'n having the law on your tail. Like that gang you're after. Can't understand that pitch anymore.

JOE:

How d'ya mean?

GOLDIE:

I figured it out on paper. Dollar for dollar I'm making much more than I ever did trying a racket. Just plain honest working.

BEN:

Uh-huh.

GOLDIE:

It's the truth. You'd think those guys could figure it out. Just plain old honest working.

JOE:

Yeah. Maybe they never tried it. (END SCENE 1)

JOE:

For a full 30 days, the expertly-directed operations of the burglary gang had half the men in our detail chasing from one end of the city to the other to stop the raids on stores and warehouses. It seemed the faster we moved on the gang the farther away they got. Additional men assigned to night patrol, more stakeouts, closer surveillance of stores and warehouses...it all went for nothing. We checked time and again on the possibility that the burglaries were a result of an inside tip-off. Night-watchmen and warehouse employees were checked and re-checked. We found nothing out of line. Tracers on possible suspects through the Record Bureau and the Statistician's Office netted us nothing. We tried every routine procedure in the book. We were still without a solid lead. We had our informants, such as Goldie, working overtime for us. Still nothing. Ben and I left the used car lot and looked up the friend of Goldie's...a Pete Wheeler. He said he'd overheard the talk about the burglary gang in a bar one night. As much as we talked to him, he couldn't remember the bar or who did the talking. The investigation went on. So did the burglaries. 4 days later Ben and I were called into Chief of Detectives Thad Brown's office.

THAD:

(FIRM) I'm gonna tell you the same thing I told every other man working on this thing. I don't care how fast you're moving or how hard you're pushing. We're more than a month deep in this job and we still haven't got a lead. Now I want one.

BEN:

We've back-tracked over every foot of this case, Skipper. Double-checked our informants, all the possible suspects...everything.

THAD:

Then keep digging. The front office doesn't buy excuses. I can't buy 'em from you. That gang of thieves've grabbed off close to 70-thousand dollars in goods...how much heat d'ya think we're taking from the merchants, the insurance companies, warehouses associations?

JOE:

I don't know what your idea of it is but I can't help thinking the gang's working some kind of inside angle...getting tip-offs. The way they've been dodging our stakeouts you'd think we published 'em in the paper.

THAD:

I know, it's been checked on. No sign of an information-leak anywhere.

BEN:

What's your idea, Skipper?

THAD:

I don't know. I'm inclined to go along with Friday. Everything points to a tip-off somewhere along the line. But where's it coming from? We've checked all the warehouse employees, all the watchmen...all the other channels. You know that as well as I do.

JOE:

How about the number of stakeouts running now?

THAD:

I've had 'em doubled in the last week or so. For all the good they do the men might as well be home in bed. Can't you work anything at all out of your informants? Somebody has to have a line on those thieves. They can't be that quiet about the big deals they've gotten away with.

BEN:

We've got half a dozen people scouting around for us. We check with 'em every day. They don't know any more than we do.

JOE:

How about the bulletins we got out on the stolen merchandise? Anything turn up on that at all?

THAD:

Few nibbles...none of 'em panned out. Got every department in the country watching for the stuff. That's one thing we can count on...the thieves're gonna have their hands full trying to unload the goods.

SOUND:

PHONE RINGS.

THAD:

Excuse me.

SOUND:

THAD TURNS AND PICKS UP PHONE.

THAD:

Brown speaking. Yessir. Uh-huh. When was that? Yeah, right. Soon as possible. Right.

SOUND:

RECEIVER DOWN, THAD TURNS BACK.

THAD:

Might be something.

BEN:

Yeah?

THAD:

Valley Division. One of their traffic cars found a truck sitting in a grove of trees off of Coldwater Canyon. Abandoned.

JOE:

What's the pitch?

THAD:

Truck was all right except for a burned out distributor. They figure it was left there last night. Couple empty wooden crates in the back of the truck.

BEN:

Uh-huh.

THAD:

Crates had warehouse labels stamped all over 'em.

JOE:

It tie in?

THAD:

Same warehouse that was raided last week. (END SCENE 2)

JOE:

Along with a crew of men from the Crime Lab and Latent Fingerprints, Ben and I drove out to the valley and checked over the abandoned truck. The empty crates found in the truck were definitely identified as having been taken in a burglary of one of the largest warehouses in the city a week before. Originally they contained furs but there was no trace of their contents. The truck was impounded and taken downtown to be checked over for fingerprints. Meantime, we ran the license number through our D-M-V and found it was registered to a John Baldwin. We checked his last known residence but he'd moved...no forwarding address. We ran the name though R & I and found a John Baldwin with a petty theft record. His prints were checked against those found in the cab of the truck. They matched. From Baldwin's Mama sheet we got the name of his nearest living relative...a Raymond Baldwin. We went to this last known address but he'd moved also. After another day of checking we traced him to his place of business...a chicken farm in the west end of the valley. His wife told us we could find him at a horse-show and rodeo which was going on in the valley that week. We finally located him in the grandstands at the rodeo...the public address booth.

SOUND:

OPEN P.A. BOOTH SO WE HEAR RODEO B.G.

RAY:

That's right, I'm Ray Baldwin. We're not supposed to have any visitors in the booth.

BEN:

Police officers, Mister Baldwin. Like to inquire about your brother John?

RAY:

Well, what about him?

JOE:

We'd like to locate him. Can you tell us where he stays?

RAY:

Say, could you hold on a minute? I've gotta make an announcement here.

JOE:

Sure, go right ahead.

RAY:

(WE HEAR HIM BOTH LIVE AND ON BACK-LASH FROM P.A. SYSTEM)...And now ladies and gentlemen...keep your eye on chute number 3...chute number 3. It's Cowboy Tom Granger riding "Black Diablo". Tom Granger. All right, Tom. Let 'er go.

SOUND:

P.A. SYSTEM CUTS OUT. CROWD NOISE ON CUE AS HORSE BREAKS AND REACTION. FOLLOW UNDER.

RAY:

Sorry, officers. Gotta keep the show going. What is it about my brother?

BEN:

Like to locate him, sir. D'ya know what his present address is?

RAY:

Well, whenever he's in town he stays with me. He hasn't been around for a month though.

JOE:

Have you heard from him in the meantime?

RAY:

No, I haven't. He went up north on some kind of business deal. Could you tell me what you want to see him about? I'm his brother.

JOE:

Do you know if owns a truck, sir?

RAY:

Yeah, John's got a truck. That's his business. Works hauling small loads from here to San Francisco and back. He hasn't been in an accident has he?

BEN:

No sir, nothing like that. D'ya have any idea when you expect him back in town?

RAY:

Well, to tell you the truth I thought he'd be back by now. Thought he'd write a letter anyway. (TURNS) Oh, excuse me.

BEN:

Yeah.

RAY:

(P.A. CLICKS ON, TOM CLEARS HIS THROAT AND THEN BEGINS; WE HEAR HIM LIVE

AGAIN AND ALSO ON BACK-LASH FROM P.A.) All right, folks...and now back to chute number one...keep your eye on chute number one. This time we have a favorite rodeo performer from coast-to-coast. It's George "Buster" Travis and he's riding "Nevada Fury". Okay, George "Buster" Travis. Let 'er go.

SOUND:

P.A. SYSTEM CUTS OUT. CROWD NOISE ON CUE AS HORSE BREAKS AND REACTION. FOLLOW UNDER.

RAY:

That oughta hold 'em for a while.

JOE:

You say your brother John owns a truck, sir. D'ya know if he took it with him when he went on this trip north?

RAY:

I think so, yeah. John drives that truck everywhere. If anything's wrong I'd sure like to know, officer. Is there anything wrong?

JOE:

Routine investigation. We work out of Burglary Detail.

BEN:

Are you acquainted with any of your brother's friends, Mister Baldwin? Any of the people he associates with?

RAY:

No. My brother keeps pretty much to himself.

JOE:

You don't know any of his friends at all?

RAY:

There is one fella. Don't know if I care too much for him myself. Used to work with John down at one of the warehouses. I think he had a police record. That's why I didn't care for him.

JOE:

That so.

RAY:

Yeah. Never acted right to suit me. He's a tall blond fella.

JOE:

Uh-huh.

RAY:

His name's Hodges. (END SCENE 3)

JOE:

Before we left the suspect's brother, Raymond Baldwin, we got a complete description of his brother's friend, identified as a Norman Hodges. We asked Raymond Baldwin to notify us just as soon as he heard from his brother. Then we went back to the office, checked Norman Hodges through R & I and found he had been convicted of second-degree burglary 6 years before in Buffalo, New York. He also had one conviction for Grand Theft Auto in California. We got out bulletins and A-P-B's on both Hodges and John Baldwin. In the week that followed it didn't seem to check the burglary gang. Together with the other men assigned to the case, we ran down every lead possible on Hodges and Baldwin. Routine investigation failed to turn 'em up. 8 o'clock, Monday morning, May 25th.

SOUND:

ECHO. JOE'S FOOTSTEPS DOWN MARBLE CORRIDOR. DOOR TO SQUAD ROOM OPENS,

ECHO OUT, JOE GOES IN, DOOR CLOSES. JOE'S STEPS OVER. PHONE RINGS. JOE GOES TO

PHONE.

JOE:

Burglary, Friday. Captain Wisdom? (HALF BEAT AS IF LOOKING) No, not right now. Any message? Okay.

SOUND:

RECEIVER DOWN, JOE GOES OVER TO LOCKER AND OPENS IT. DOOR OPENS OFF AND

BEN COMES IN, DOOR CLOSES. BEN COMES OVER.

BEN:

Joe.

JOE:

G'morning.

BEN:

I was just in Thad Brown's office. I think we've got a live one.

JOE:

What d'ya mean?

BEN:

Burglary gang. They hit up another warehouse last night...down on Commercial Street.

JOE:

What's the word on it?

BEN:

10 minutes before the burglary, a patrolman spotted a guy sitting in a car down the street from the warehouse. He went up to the car, asked the guy sitting inside for his identification.

JOE:

Yeah.

BEN: The man pulled out a policeman's I.D. card. The name was Paul Eastman. Patrolman said the guy had on his regular topcoat with his uniform on underneath. He claimed he was there on special duty, had all his identification...so the patrolman went on his way. Couple minutes after that the burglary was pulled.

JOE:

If the guy was impersonating a cop where'd he get the I.D. card?

BEN:

That's just it, Joe. There is such a cop as Paul Eastman. Works out of Hollywood Division. The patrolman identified his picture.

JOE:

What reason could Eastman have for being down on Commercial Street?

BEN:

He couldn't have any reason.

JOE:

Huh?

BEN:

Last night was his night off. (END SCENE 4 -- END ACT ONE)

MIDDLE COMMERCIAL

GIBNEY:

You are in the Scientific Investigation Division of a metropolitan police department .. the ballistics room.

SOUND:

RAPID SEQUENCE ... REVOLVER IS BROKEN, SHELL PUSHED INTO CHAMBER, SPIN CHAMBER TO LINE UP SHELL, REVOLVER BREECH IS SNAPPED CLOSED, GUN BARREL IS PLACED IN HOLE IN WOODEN BALLISTICS BOX, HAMMER IS PULLED BACK, GUN IS FIRED ONCE.

FENNE:

You have just heard a test bullet fired from a .38 calibre revolver found in the possession of a suspect.

GIBNEY:

The test slug is removed from the ballistics box and compared with the slug found at the scene of the crime.

SOUND:

TWO SLUGS PLACED SEPARATELY ON GLASS SLIDE

FENNE:

There they are ... side by side they look alike ... but examination will prove a world of difference ... You'll find the same is true when you compare Fatima with any other King-Size cigarette.

GIBNEY:

Side by side, Fatima are the same in length and circumference ... eighty-five millimeters long - one and one sixty-fourths inches around.

FENNE:

And Fatima filters the smoke exactly the same long distance as other King-Size cigarettes.

GIBNEY:

BUT IN FATIMA THE DIFFERENCE IS QUALITY

FENNE:

Fatima gives you extra-mildness ... a much different, much better flavor and aroma. Remember, Fatima gives long cigarette smokers all the advantages of extra-length plus FATIMA QUALITY which no other King-Size cigarette has. Next time, insist on the best - BUY FATIMA ... BEST OF ALL KING-SIZE CIGARETTES.

JOE:

There are at least two criminals for whom a police department will spend any amount of effort to apprehend. One is the armed thug who shoots down a police officer. Obviously the man is dangerous because if he wouldn't hesitate to shoot an armed officer he wouldn't hesitate to shoot an unarmed citizen. The second type is the police officer who betrays his trust as a public servant to work hand-in-hand with the criminal. He is equally dangerous because of the harm and the disgrace and the contempt for law he can inflict while hiding behind his uniform. It's not hard to see why many a policeman considers an officer-turned-thief no better than a killer. Besides bringing shame to the rest of the department, the bad cop violates the most obvious standards of conduct: he becomes the very person he has sworn to hunt down and apprehend...a common criminal. Monday, May 25th, 8:15 A.M. We notified the Bureau of Internal Affairs about the information on Officer Paul Eastman. Then Ben and I got in the car and drove out to Eastman's house in the Echo Park area. It was a modest one story cottage set back behind a couple of palm trees.

SOUND:

WE HEAR DOORBELL RINGING, THEN DOOR IS OPENED.

NORMA:

Yes?

BEN:

Mrs. Eastman?

NORMA:

Yes? What is it?

BEN:

Police officers, Mrs. Eastman. My name's Romero. This is my partner, Sergeant Friday.

NORMA & JOE:

EXCHANGE GREETINGS.

NORMA:

Did you want to see Paul? I'm afraid he's not home yet. He told me he might have to work late.

JOE:

Did he say what time he'd be coming home this morning, ma'am?

NORMA:

Just about this time, I think. Won't you come in, please?

JOE & BEN:

(AD LIB, "Thank you", "All right, thanks".)

SOUND:

JOE AND BEN GO IN HOUSE, DOOR CLOSES BEHIND THEM.

NORMA:

The children aren't up yet. I was just fixing some coffee back in the kitchen. Would you care for some?

JOE & BEN:

(AD LIB THEIR "No thanks".)

NORMA:

Was it something important you wanted to see Paul about? Maybe I could help you.

JOE:

Thank you, Mrs. Eastman. We'd like to see your husband.

NORMA:

Oh. Well, I don't think you'll have long to wait. Paul should be along any minute.

BEN:

He usually work late on Sunday nights...Monday morning?

NORMA:

Oh yes, he has been...for about a month now. Paul hasn't been on the force very long. I guess you know that.

BEN:

Yes ma'am.

NORMA:

He found it hard to get used to. The over-night work especially. Do you men work the over-night?

JOE:

Yes ma'am. We take our turn at it. Like to ask you a question, Mrs. Eastman.

NORMA:

Yes?

JOE:

Which day does your husband have off?

NORMA:

Why none. I don't think Paul's had a day off in weeks.

JOE:

That doesn't jibe with his schedule very well. He's had Sundays off for the last month.

NORMA:

I don't understand. Are you sure you haven't made a mistake?

BEN:

No mistake, Mrs. Eastman. Wonder if you can tell us how your husband's been acting lately. You notice anything out of the ordinary?

NORMA:

I don't think I know what you mean, Sergeant.

BEN:

Does he seem to be working a pretty irregular schedule?

NORMA:

Well, yes...but he said they were pretty busy down at the station...they call him all hours. That's what he told me anyway.

JOE:

How does he seem to be making out financially? All right?

NORMA:

Yes, we make out just find. Paul has a job on the side he works at to get extra money.

JOE:

What kind of a job, ma'am?

NORMA:

A machine-shop downtown. Why do you ask?

BEN:

You ever see him at that shop? You ever see one of his paychecks from the shop?

NORMA:

Look, Sergeant, I don't understand any of this. I want to know what it's all about.

JOE:

I'm sorry, Mrs. Eastman. There seems to be only one way to put it.

NORMA:

Yes?

JOE:

We think your husband's working with a burglary gang. We're here to put him under arrest.

NORMA:

(EASY) Paul?

JOE:

I'm sorry, ma'am.

NORMA:

No. Paul wouldn't do that. He wouldn't. Paul's not a thief.

BEN:

Afraid that's the way it looks, Mrs. Eastman. Sorry.

NORMA:

I couldn't believe that about Paul. What's he supposed to have done?

BEN:

We'll know that when we round up the rest of the gang. Seems pretty certain he was working with the gang though...giving them confidential information, acting as a lookout for them. Probably accounts for a lotta the time he spent away from home.

NORMA:

(SOBS) Oh no...no. Paul. I can't believe it. I can't.

JOE:

Take it easy, Mrs. Eastman.

NORMA:

I'm just sure you've made a mistake, Sergeant. My husband's never given me any reason to think he'd do anything like that.

BEN:

How long've you been married, ma'am?

NORMA:

5 years. We have two babies...Paul's always been a good father to them. He'd never do anything to hurt them.

JOE:

Just one more question, ma'am. Then we won't bother you. Does your husband have a den or a work-room here in the house? Someplace he keeps for himself?

NORMA:

No. There's a large cupboard downstairs in the basement. He keeps his guns locked in there...his hunting things.

JOE:

Wonder if we could see it, ma'am?

NORMA:

I don't have a key. Why do you want to see it?

BEN:

Quite a bit of merchandise missing in these burglaries. Like to look if you don't mind.

NORMA:

I don't understand it at all. Paul did bring in some packages a few times. It was late at night. I asked him about it but he just kind of laughed it off. I thought maybe he had a present for me or the kids and he was putting it away.

JOE:

Could you show us the cupboard, please?

NORMA:

It's this way...back through the kitchen.

JOE:

Thank you.

SOUND:

JOE, BEN'S AND NORMA'S STEPS DOWN HALL THROUGH KITCHEN.

NORMA:

You really don't have proof, do you, Sergeant? I mean you don't know for sure?

BEN:

We're not positive. If there's nothing to it your husband's still got a lot of explaining to do.

NORMA:

Be careful of the stairs. They're a little steep.

SOUND:

DOWN STAIRS TO BASEMENT.

NORMA:

Right over here. This big cupboard here.

SOUND:

BEN JIGGLES SMALL PADLOCK ON CUPBOARD.

JOE:

(GRUNTS) There's some ventilation holes along the top here, Ben. You got that pencil flashlight with you?

BEN:

Yeah, here y'are.

JOE:

Thanks.

SOUND:

JOE CLICKS ON PENCIL FLASHLIGHT.

BEN:

Can you see anything?

JOE:

(AS IF LOOKING) Yeah, uh-huh.

SOUND:

JOE CLICKS OFF FLASH.

JOE:

D'ya know if your husband keeps any of your furs in here, Mrs. Eastman?

NORMA:

Furs? Why no. I don't have any furs.

BEN:

Afraid we'll have to break this lock, ma'am. We'll see it's replaced.

NORMA:

You can break it if you like, that's all right. Paul kept it locked just so the children couldn't touch the guns...his hunting rifles.

JOE:

Would you reach me that steel bar...off the bench there, Ben?

BEN:

Yeah...here y'go.

SOUND:

BEN TAKES TWO STEPS GRABS BAR AND GIVES IT TO JOE. JOE SLIPS IT IN LOCK

AND BREAKS IT OFF.

JOE:

(AS HE WORKS) Yeah.. there we go. Get this loose here.

SOUND:

JOE TAKES BROKEN LOCK OFF DOOR AND OPENS CUPBOARD, SQUEAK IN CUPBOARD

DOOR.

BEN:

(GRUNTS) Looks like it.

JOE:

Recognize any of this, Mrs. Eastman?

NORMA:

Furs. Silver Fox. It can't be...I don't understand it.

BEN:

What's that tag say, Joe...on that bunch of furs.

JOE:

Let's see. (HE READS) (GRUNTS)

NORMA:

What is it? Let me see...

JOE:

It's nothing, ma'am.

NORMA:

Please.. let me see. (SHE READS) To my dearest Helen...from Paul. Beautiful furs for a beautiful girl.

JOE:

I'm sorry, ma'am.

NORMA:

No, it's all right, Sergeant. I have to go upstairs now...children are waking up.

BEN:

All right, ma'am.

SOUND:

THREE OF THEM TAKE COUPLA STEPS AND STOP ON CUE.

NORMA:

(STARTS SOBBING)

BEN:

Mrs. Eastman?

NORMA:

It's all right, Sergeant. I never cared much for Silver Fox. (END SCENE 5)

JOE:

We continued searching through the basement cupboard and in addition to a couple dozen expensive fur pelts, we found a packet of letters from a Helen Burrows. There was a return address on the envelope. Before we left the Eastman home, we called the office and a couple of men were sent out to keep the house in constant surveillance in case of Paul Eastman's return. 9:25 A.M. Ben and I got in the car and drove to the address of Helen Burrows...an ultra-modern apartment house above the Sunset Strip. We went up to the third floor, Apartment 308.

SOUND:

KNOCK ON DOOR. REPEAT. DOOR UNLATCHED AND OPENED.

PAUL:

Yeah?

BEN:

Police officers. You Paul Eastman?

PAUL:

No...you got the wrong apartment.

SOUND:

AS HE SPEAKS HE TRIES TO CLOSE DOOR BUT JOE'S FOOT BLOCKS DOOR.

JOE:

Hold it there, Eastman.

PAUL:

I'll break your leg off.. get outta here..get out.

JOE:

Hit it, Ben.

SOUND:

THEY BUTT SHOULDERS AGAINST DOOR AND IT FLIES OPEN AND BANGS AGAINST WALL. THEY TUMBLE INTO ROOM.

PAUL:

I'll push your face in, cop.

SOUND:

EXCHANGE OF BLOWS AND FURNITURE OVERTURNED.

BEN:

All right, you...on your feet.

SOUND:

EASTMAN GETS TO FEET.

PAUL:

Who d'ya think you are, breaking in like this?

BEN:

Hold still, Mister.

SOUND:

BEN PUTS CUFFS ON.

PAUL:

Real tough dicks, huh? What're y'doing? Bucking for lieutenant?

JOE:

Where's your girl-friend...Helen Burrows?

PAUL:

It's a one room apartment, cop. D'ya see her?

BEN:

All right, c'mon.

PAUL:

I won't even offer you a payoff. You wouldn't have brains enough to take it.

JOE:

That's right, Eastman. Let's go.

PAUL:

You can't beat it. There's nothing worse than a dumb cop.

JOE:

You bet there is, Mister. A bad one. (END SCENE 6)

JOE:

Before we left we searched the apartment for any trace of stolen merchandise but we found nothing. We called the office and arranged for a stakeout on the apartment. Then we got Paul Eastman in the car and drove downtown to the office. We took him to the Interrogation Room where we questioned him for more than an hour. He refused to admit that he had any connection with the warehouse burglaries or anything to do with the burglary gang. 11:30 A.M. Eastman requested that he be allowed to talk to Chief of Detectives Thad Brown. 11:40 A.M. Thad Brown came to the Interrogation Room.

SOUND:

DOOR CLOSE. THAD'S FOOTSTEPS OVER AND STOP.

THAD:

Alright, Eastman. Say what you gotta say.

PAUL:

I'd just like a fair shake on this, that's all, Chief.

THAD:

Yeah.

PAUL:

These two dicks have got it in for me. Trying to railroad me...won't even listen to reason.

BEN:

That depends, Eastman. What's your idea of reason?

PAUL:

It's the truth, Chief. They're not conducting this thing right. They're trying to sweat it out of me...they keep putting words in my mouth.

JOE:

You go ahead and name it, Eastman. You name anything we've done outta line.

PAUL:

Believe me, Chief. This isn't a fair way of doing things. Can't we go in your office and talk?

JOE:

Let me set you straight, Mister. You're a burglary suspect. You're not a privileged character. You're questioned in the same room and in the same way any suspect's questioned.

PAUL:

I just want a fair chance, that's all, Chief. Tell you what I have in mind.

THAD:

Go ahead. And you can stop calling me chief. You stopped being a cop the minute you were arrested.

PAUL:

Look, can't we go in your office?

THAD:

I'm busy, Eastman. You can tell me here or forget it.

PAUL:

Alright, I'm sorry. I just want to say that maybe I did get misled...got involved with this gang. I can do a lot to straighten it out though.

THAD:

Yeah.

PAUL:

I promise you. I can give you all the dope on the gang you want. The whole set-up....how they operate...how you can reach 'em...I'll tell everything. I'd just like a little consideration, that's all.

THAD:

Yeah.

PAUL:

I think you can see my point, Chief. I can give you all the information you need. You can pick up the whole gang in a coupla hours. You'll have the whole thing wrapped up. I can tell you everything you need to know. Now that's worth something, isn't it?

THAD:

What d'ya want?

PAUL:

Little consideration, that's all. I can crack the whole case for you. That's worth something, isn't it?

THAD:

Immunity? That what you want?

PAUL:

Well, that's not asking too much, is it? I can break the whole case for you. That's the fair way, isn't it?

THAD:

(UP, MAD) Sit down in that chair you crooked little bum. It's time somebody read you off. It's time you got wise to what you are.

PAUL:

I wanna fair deal, that's all, Chief. I can hand over the whole gang to you.

THAD:

Now let me tell you something, Eastman. I wouldn't take you up on that if it meant 50 years before we reached that gang. I wouldn't take you up on that if it meant my job. You get this through your head, Mister. You're a bad cop. You wanna know what that means? What it really means? I can tell you a thousand ways. I'll only use a couple. This isn't a private affair. You're a bad cop. You're a lousy one. You'll be all over the front pages tonight and tomorrow morning. Everybody's gonna read about you. A bad cop. It makes great news. They're not gonna read about 4-thousand 5-hundred other cops...the guys you think are poor dumb slobs.....the honest cops who walked their beats last night....the guys who risked their lives, who did their jobs the way they were trained and the way they're hired to do. People aren't gonna read about them. They ain't gonna read about the Fridays and the Romeros...the rookies pounding their feet flat out in the sticks...the traffic boys on the motorcycles...the men in R & I or the Crime Lab crew or the guy in robbery who stopped 2 slugs last night. They're not gonna read about them on the front page. They're not gonna read about millions of man-hours turned in by thousands of honest cops...here and all over the country. People ain't gonna read about cops who worked 40 honest years....the Donahoe's and the Steeds and the MacCaulley's and the Wisdoms and the Tetrick's and all the rest of 'em. They're not gonna read about the 98 percent, Mister. They're gonna read about you. One crooked, thieving cop. He worked with a burglary gang. He had an apartment for a beautiful dame and a beautiful fur coat. And he was a cop. And he had a nice wife and he had two children. Do you know what it means? Every kid in school with a cop for a father will have to fight his way out today because of you. Every woman with a cop for a husband is gonna go shopping at a market today. And she'll have to answer to the butcher and the grocer and every one of her neighbors because of you. Every cop in this city and across the country is gonna have to stand trial because of you. We could've piled up a hundred years of great policemen and great detectives...men with honor and brains and guts...and you, you crooked little bum, you've torn down every best part of 'em. The people who read it in the papers, they're gonna overlook the fact that we got you...that we washed our own laundry and we cleared the thing up. They're going to overlook all the good. They're gonna overlook all the good...they'll overlook every last good cop in the country. But they'll remember you, you bum. Because you're a bad cop. Because you're a bad cop. (BEAT) Book him in, Friday.

SOUND:

THAD TURNS, WALKS TO DOOR, OPENS IT, GOES OUT, CLOSES DOOR

PAUL:

(GRUNTS)

BEN:

Alright, let's go.

PAUL:

What's his big beef? You think I was the only one in history. What's the idea anyway?

JOE:

C'mon, Eastman.

PAUL:

You'd think I was the first cop to try a deal.

JOE:

Yeah. It's too bad.

PAUL:

You bet it is. I'm not the first one.

JOE:

Too bad you're not the last.

MUSIC:

SIGNATURE.

FENN:

(EASY) The story you have heard is true. Only the names were changed to protect the innocent.

GIBNEY:

On August 7th, trial was held in Superior Court, Department 89, City and County of Los Angeles, State of California. In a moment, the results of that trial.

CLOSING COMMERCIAL

FENNE:

And now, here is our star, Jack Webb.

WEBB:

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GIBNEY:

The police officer, Paul Donal Eastman was tried and convicted on several counts of burglary in the second degree and received the sentence as prescribed by law. The other members of the burglary gang were apprehended and received like sentences. Second Degree Burglary is punishable by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 15 years in the State Penitentiary. Ex-police officer Paul Eastman served his full sentence and was released from prison. One year after he gained his freedom Eastman was stricken with cancer and died within a few months.

MUSIC:

THEME

GIBNEY:

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.

MUSIC:

THEME

FENN:

Fatima Cigarettes -- the best of all long cigarettes has brought you Dragnet, from Los Angeles.