← 1001 Radio Crime Solvers
1001 Radio Crime Solvers
THE BIG SCRAPBOOK and THE BIG PLANT DRAGNET
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Dragnet, the brainchild of Jack Webb, may very well be the most well-remembered, and the best, radio police drama series. From September, 1949 through February 1957, Dragnet's 30 minute shows, broadcast on NBC, brought to radio true police stories in...
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Fatima Cigarettes Best of All King Size Cigarettes brings you Dragnet on both radio and television. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned a juvenile division. A steady supply of obscene literature is finding its way into a half a dozen high schools in your city. You get a lead on one of the sources of supply, a 17 year old high school senior. Your job. Pick him up. Fatima, America's first largest selling blended cigarette. Now best of all king size cigarettes. Prove it yourself Today. Compare Fatima with any other king size cigarette. 1. Fatima's length filters the smoke 85 millimeters for your protection. 2. Fatima's length cools the smoke for your protection. 3. Fatima's length gives you those extra puffs 21% longer than standard cigarette size. And in Fatima you get an extra mild and soothing smoke. Plus the added protection of Fatima quality. Definitely the best quality in its class, but the same price as the cigarette you are now smoking. Buy Fatima in the bright sunny yellow pack. Best of All King Size Cigarettes 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 transmitted from official police files. From beginning to end. From crime to punishment. Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. It was Wednesday, November 8th. It was windy in Los Angeles. We were working the day. Watch out. A juvenile division. My partner's Ed Jacobs. The boss is Captain Stein. My name's Friday. It was 11:05am when we got to the basement floor of Gorman High School. The locker room. Which way, Steve? Wanna show us which locker's yours? You still haven't told me what this is all about. Routine check, son. Yeah, but why do you have to pick on me? Why do you have to see my locker? We're not picking on you, Steve. Now, how about it? Which locker's yours? Right here. This is mine. 318. Here's the key. Now you open it, Steve. Just a couple of personal things of mine, that's all. Mm. All right, I'll open it. Well, there you are. See for yourself. Want to take your things out of the locker, son? You can see what's in there, can't you? My gym stuff, couple of textbooks. How about digging back in the corner? Left hand side there. Where? You know where I mean. Come on, Steve. Dig him out back here. You mean these joke books? That's right. Let's have a look, huh? Why? Just a couple of joke books. A kid gave them to me. Bring them out, Steve. Okay. Just a couple of them. Kid came to me. There looks like more than a couple. That's what you call a joke book, Steve? That's what the kids call them. Yeah. Some of them are a little dirty. Not so bad, though. They're filthy, Steve, and you know it. Now, where'd you get them? I told you. Kid gave them to me. Who? What's his name? Some kid around school, I don't remember right now. Gave you these books for nothing? Sure. I had a couple he wanted. We traded off. A lot of the kids have them. They trade them around. That stack you got there, they looked pretty new. Couldn't have been passed around much. Maybe not. I don't know. Matter of fact, they look brand new, don't they? Don't even look like they've been opened yet. How come you're rousting me on this thing? What about the other kids? I got them too. They're buying them, Steve. They're not selling them. I'm not selling them. Anybody says that's a liar. No good. Son, we talked to the fellas here at the high school. Some kids over the junior high school too. They all say you're the one who's selling them. They're liars. Both the fellas in high school and the kids down the street in junior high. They say you've been selling this stuff for months now. How about it? They're lying, that's all. They don't know what they're talking about. You've been selling these 35 cents apiece. Three for a dollar. Last couple of weeks you've been peddling pictures, too. A dollar apiece. You got any of them in your locker, Steve? A couple. I got them off another kid. What other kid? What's his name? What's his name? Some kid. I don't remember. It's not much of an answer, son. What do you want from me anyway? I told you, I'm not selling the books. I don't care what those other goofs say. It's my word against theirs. Maybe you ought to get this straight, son. We're not out to get you. You're way down the line. We want the people at the top, the men who print this junk. The wholesalers, the big distributors. So why ask me? I don't know anything about it. Nothing. You don't want to cooperate, is that it? What am I supposed to cooperate about? I'm not mixed up in anything. We think you are, son. We know you are. Who are you selling this for? Where do you get your supply? All you see is what's in my locker. I ain't selling. I don't have any supply. You gotta go far to prove I have. Not very far, Steve. What? From about here to your home. 11:38am after picking up his supply of obscene books and photographs to be booked later as evidence, Ed and I drove the subject, Stephen Banner, to his home approximately a mile from the high school. His apprehension and our theory that he probably kept the bulk of his supply of books and pictures at or near his home was no accident. For weeks we'd known that a steady stream of pornography was being fed into a half a dozen high schools and junior high schools throughout the city. Books, photographs, pictures and pamphlets of the worst kind. Because of embarrassment on the part of the curious teenage kids who bought this stuff, it wasn't easy to pick up a solid lead. After weeks of observation and questioning, we finally narrowed down the principal source of supply to a single teenage boy, Stephen Banner. Even then we knew he must be only one of a hundred small time distributors working for the persons directly responsible for manufacturing this sort of thing. Our only hope was that he'd be willing and able to supply us with the names of the persons responsible. When we got to Stephen Banner's home where he lived with his sister and brother in law, we searched it thoroughly, but we found nothing. Both his sister and brother in law were at work. We went back and started checking through the garage at the rear of the house. Joe, back here in the corner? Yeah. Have a look. Steve, you want to tell us about this? Yeah. These books here, these pictures. Case full of them. Yeah. Well, how about it, son? Your sister and brother in law know about this? No, they don't know anything. I didn't think you'd find them. Are you ready to tell us about it? My sister? Gonna have to find out. I don't know, Steve. It's gonna be pretty hard to keep it from her. Yeah, I guess so. Who's the contact, son? Where'd they come from? Charlie. Charlie Freiberg. Only the books, though. Pictures came from another guy. It's a long story. We got the time, son. Who is this Freyberg? Met him downtown one Sunday. Penny arcade on Broadway. Me and this other kid were in there. Bud Spencer. Freyberg came up, started to talk to us. All right, go on. He finally took a couple of these books out of his pocket, gave them to us. He wanted to know what we thought of them. Told us he had plenty of them. If we knew any other kids who wanted them. He knew you and your friend Bud were in high school? Yeah, that's right. What else, Steve? That's about it. He asked me and Bud if we wanted to sell for him around school. This friend of yours, Bud Spencer, he's selling them, too? Yeah. He goes to a different school, though. Both of us did pretty good with the book. Sold real fast. The pictures are even better. So you say you didn't get the pictures from Freiburg? There was somebody else. Man by the name of Jack. I don't know his last name. Freiburg put us onto him. Gave us an introduction, set up the deal. We got the pictures for 75 cents. Most of the time. They got us a dollar, dollar and a half apiece. Bud and I did pretty good. You know any other fellows working for this Freiburg, Steve? Any other kids in school, I mean? No, just Bud and me. That's all I know. It wouldn't be so bad if it was just the books. That lousy Charlie. You had to go and promote the party routine. Get everybody mixed up in that. What do you mean? What's that all about, Charlie? He stays at this place out on Sepulveda. It's a motel. That's where we always contacted him. Yeah, after a couple of weeks, when we got to know him, he asked me and Bud out to this place. Said he was gonna throw a party. Told us to bring our girlfriends along. Turned out we were the only ones at the party. Me and Bud and the girls and Charlie Freiberg. Party lasted pretty late. I should have been smart enough to figure it out. I wasn't. What do you mean, Steve? Figure out what? Why Charlie be throwing parties just for us? The first two times there wasn't anything wrong. We just talked, danced with the girls, drank some beer. Charlie told us to have a good time. He threw a party every Friday night. Never broke up till after 3 o'. Clock. How old are your girlfriends? Yours and Bud's? 17. They're both 17. They've been around though. No use kidding you. They weren't very smart, I can tell you that. None of us were, I guess. Next couple of parties, Charlie had whiskey there. Dumb girls drank right along with them. So did we. Freiberg served the whiskey, didn't he? Yeah, that's right. He loaded the drinks, kept handing the girls a lot of stuff about how he used to be a director in pictures. He had a lot of connections in Hollywood. The last party I was at, he said he was gonna get the girls screen test. A lot of malarkey like that. Mm. What else, Steve? I don't know. I had a beef with Charlie about it and I walked out. I haven't been back since. So you still throw these Friday night parties, do you know? Maybe. I don't know. There were three or four after the last one I walked out on dumb girls. Think Charlie's just great. God. So I can't stand the guy. How about the parties you didn't show up for, Steve? You get a rundown on them? I heard a couple of things. Yeah, sure. Glad I wasn't there. How do you mean? Them girls never fails. The oldest line in the world. They still go for it. What's that? Tell them you're gonna get em in the movies. We continued questioning the subject, 17 year old Stephen Ban. He gave us a full description of the man who'd been selling him the books, Charles Freyberg. And also a description of the man known as Jack. The one who had been supplying him with pictures and photographs. In addition, he gave us the addresses of the two men, a fair description of Freiberg's car, no license number, and the names and addresses of the two girls he and his friend had taken to Freiberg's parties. 1:20pm Ed and I took the case of obscene books from the garage, loaded it in the backseat of our car and Stephen Banner directed us to the high school attended by his friend Bud Spencer. We picked up the Spencer boy and drove him and Banner downtown to Georgia Street Juvenile where we booked them in on 700B. Welfare and institution code, lack of supervision. We drove to the motel out on Sepulveda. But the suspect, Charles Freiberg, had moved out five days before. No forwarding address. It wasn't a dead end, though. From his motel registration card, we got the description and license number of his car. On the way into the office, we checked out the address of his confederate, the man known as Jackson. He'd moved the same day as Freiburg. No forwarding address. Back at the office, DMV got a make on the license number for us. The car registered in Freiberg's name, 239 W. 92nd St. We went down to R and I and pulled the package on the suspect. 3:40pm Last address on him was 3 years old. How does his record read? Well, he's been in the business before. A couple of vag charges. A 311 charge, too. Possession, obscene literature. Served eight months in county jail. Mug shot there? Yeah. Here? Mm. Close enough to the way the boy described him? I'd say so. It was MO Too, huh? Same pitch the last time they got him working the high school trade. Passed himself off as a studio man. Movie director. How about the other man, Jack? You got anything there? No, not yet. I gave the information on him to the stats office. They're gonna make a run for us. Well, I guess we better check on the kids. Girlfriends, huh? Get their stories? I suppose so. It sure gets me, Joe. What's that? Pair of young girls like that out at motel parties at 3am drinking. Yeah. 17 year olds. No reason for it. No reason at all. I can think of one that might do. Their parents. We checked out the suspect's address furnished us by DMV and also the information from the R and I package. They went nowhere. We had a second interview with Stephen Banner and his friend Bud Spencer. We showed them Freiburg's mug shot and both of them identified it. We got out of broadcast and an APB on him. 4:12pm Together with policewoman Doreen Staatsel, Ed and I drove out to interview the two teenage girls involved. A Dorothy Ryan and a Laura Osborne. We stopped at the home of the Osborne girl first, but she wasn't there and neither were her parents. An older sister told us that both the mother and father were working and that Laura was at a neighborhood school for models taking her weekly lesson. We checked at the modeling school, a converted second floor social hall, where we finally located the girl. A tall brunette, dark eyes, fair complexion. The heavy makeup didn't do much to hide her age. While the modeling lesson went on, Policewoman Statesel Ed and I talked to the girl off in One corner of the hall. Your friend Steve Banner, he took you to those parties at Mr. Freiberg's place? Uh huh. That's right. Very nice man. He was always nice to Dorothy and me. Dorothy Ryan? She came to the parties with Bud. He's a friend of Steve Banner's. You have no complaint to make about this Mr. Freiberg? He never caused you trouble of any kind, Charlie? Well, no. I told you before. That business about Steve getting mad just because Charlie told us he'd get us in the movies. Well, it was silly, that's all. Plain silly. Charlie was just helping us. How do you mean, Laura? Well, he's in Hollywood. You know Charlie Freiberg. He has lots of connections. He just wanted to help us get some good modeling jobs. That's why he took our pictures. There was nothing wrong. You continued going to these Friday night parties without the two boys, is that right? Yes. Dorothy and me. There wasn't anything wrong with it. We knew Charlie as well as they did by that time. Few bathing suit pictures, that's all. There was nothing wrong in that. Did you ever see prints of any of those pictures? Either you or Dorothy Ryan? No. But Charlie's gonna get us some. He promised he would. You know where he is now? No. He moved. I haven't any idea where he is. When's the last time you saw Freiburg, miss? About 10 days, two weeks ago. What's this all about, officer? You looking for Charlie? How does he usually contact you, Laura? By phone? Yeah. Usually calls. Has he called you lately? Well, I don't know. Why are you looking for him? Can't you tell me? Routine investigation, miss. Oh, I'm sorry. I don't know where Charlie is. Why can't you tell me why you want him? We want him. Why can't you give me a reason? This is one of the reasons, Laura. Would you look at this picture? Charlie took this. It's his business, Laura. That's the way his police record reads. I can't believe it. That's one reason we want Freiburg. There's lots of others. You willing to help us, Laura? He said they'd be beautiful, glamorous. They're not. You know where he stays now? No. I'll find out, though. How do you mean? I've got a date with him. Supposed to meet him out on Wilshire. Wilshire and La Brea. When's that? Eight o' clock tomorrow night. You are listening to Dragnet. Authentic stories of your police force in action. Compare Fatima with any other king size cigarette. One Fatima's length filters the smoke 85 millimeters for your protection. 2. Fatima's length cools the smoke for your protection. 3. Fatima's length gives you those extra puffs 21% longer than standard cigarette size. And in Fatima you get an extra mild and soothing smoke plus the added protection of Fatima quality. To show our confidence in Fatima, we make this money back guarantee to every king size cigarette smoker. Buy a pack of Fatimas, enjoy Fatima quality, extra mildness and superbly blended tobaccos. If you're not convinced Fatima is better than the king size cigarette you're now smoking, just return the pack and the unsmoked Fatimas before August 1, 1952 and we'll give you your money back plus postage. Fatima Box 37, New York 1. Remember, each king size Fatima gives you an extra mild and soothing smoke plus the added protection of Fatima quality. Switch to Fatima today. Best of all king Size cigarettes. November 8, Wednesday, 5:30pm after our interview with 17 year old Laura Osborne, policewoman Doreen Staetzle, Ed and I drove to the home of Laura's girlfriend Dorothy Ryan, who was also present at the motel parties given by the suspect, Charles Freiberg. Her story of what had happened was essentially the same as the one we got from the Osborne girl. That night we met with the parents of both girls. They were well meaning and cooperative. They admitted their mistake was the same old story of lack of supervision and very little home life. The parents told us that they had no idea of what had been going on or the late hours that their teenage girls had been keeping. Besides promising closer supervision of the girls, they told us they would notify us immediately if the suspect Freiberg made any attempt to contact their daughters. 6:25pm we got back to the office, put in a call to Stephen Banner's home and notified his sister and brother in law that the boy was being held for further interrogation. We also notified the parents of Bud Spencer. The following morning, Ed and I went across the street to the District Attorney's office, presented our case and a warrant was issued on Charles Freiberg for 702 WIC, contributing to the delinquency of a minor. At 7 o' clock that night, Ed and I staked out on a cocktail lounge near the intersection of Wilshire and La Brea, the place where the suspect had told Laura Osborne to meet him. 7:37:45. We waited. Think maybe we're in business, Joe? What? Down the corner there. Waiting for the signal to change. Dark suit, dark hat? Yeah. Could be crossing over now. Heading for the bar. All right, let's go. Mm. No mistake. Hey, fella, hold it up a minute, will you? How's that? Police officer? Is your name Freiberg? What? No, that's not my name. See your identification, please. Yes, I've got my identification. Why? Can we see it, please? Why? What do you want? Your identification. Poor. I haven't done anything. Let's go, mister. Talk about it downtown. Now, wait a minute. Just a minute. I don't want any trouble. I'll show you. There. Driver's license, rest of my stuff. Charles Freiberg. It's an old address, isn't it? Yeah. Haven't had time to change it. Just got back in town. What's the matter, anyway? Where you staying? Freiburg? No place. I just got back in town. I told you that. Not staying any place yet. No connections at all. Where's your car? I don't have one. Haven't had one for a year. I sold it. Look, how about filling me in? What do you want with me? You want to step over here, Freiberg? Out of the way. All right. Just like to know what's going on, that's all. Like to see what you're carrying in your pockets? Take everything out, please. One pocket at a time. What is this, a shakedown? We start with your coat pockets. All right? There. Okay. All right. Now the other one. Okay. We said you don't have a car, Freiberg. No, of course not. I told you that. What are you doing with that parking ticket? We walked the suspect, Fryberg, two blocks to the parking lot listed on the claim check that he had in his coat pocket. He had black hair streaked with gray. Looked to be in his mid-50s. We questioned him on the way, but he'd admit nothing. We located his car in the parking lot and searched it in the glove compartment. Besides a half a dozen photographs and small books. We found a key with a metal disc attached to it. Stamped on the disc with the words west side Studios, number 23. Fryberg refused to identify the key. He refused to admit a thing. We walked him back to our car. And together the three of us headed out for the old west side studios. Just off Jefferson Boulevard. On the way, we tried again to question the suspect. But we got nowhere. He refused to answer even the simplest questions. One look at the west side studios and you knew right away the place had seen better days. It had been fairly prominent in the early days of motion picture making. But all that was left now was two square blocks of broken down scenery. One dilapidated sound stage and a Row of weather beaten cottages, the tar paper peeling off the roofs. We got out of the car and started up the walk. The faded sign over the main gate read west side Studios, founded 1920. And down in one corner, admission by pass only. The guard shack at the gate was boarded up. No sign of a night watchman. We kept walking. How come they don't keep a watchman at the gate, Fryberg? Don't they make pictures here anymore? You bet they do. Place been going downhill for a long time. It's coming back, though. Then you do know the place. Is that right? Yeah, I know it. I should know it. What do you mean by that? Nothing. You rent an office here, is that it? Fryberg? Yeah, that's right. Straight down the way there. Cottage 23. What's your job? You in some kind of movie work? Yeah, have been for 30 years. More than 30 years, that's so. You an actor? Freiberg? Haven't you ever heard the name? I'm a producer. Oh, I see. Why don't you tell us that to start with? I don't know. Different reasons. I don't like to throw my weight around. I have a lot of connections in Hollywood, you know. That's so the trade. 30 years. I was one of the first. You make a lot of friends in 30 years. Yeah, I guess so. How about those books we found in your car? Those pictures. How do you explain them? This studio will be back on the street in a year. I'll bet $1,000 on it. This whole block here, sound stages. I got the plans for them in my desk. That's so. You have an interest in this lot? Not exactly. Not right now, anyway. I did have an interest, though. I will again. I was one of the original owners, you know. Still haven't got an explanation. How about the books and pictures we found in your car? Oh, that. Nothing to explain, is there? Just a few gimmicks I picked up. You know a boy by the name of Stephen Banner? Banner? No, I don't think so. Why? How about Bud Spencer? You know him? No. I knew a George Spencer once. Actor, that was back in the old days, though. How about Laura Osborne, Dorothy Ryan? You know them? No. It's pretty hard to say. You know, Sergeant, over the years in this business especially, you meet an awful lot of people. These are fairly recent. You ought to remember them. They're just kids. 17 year olds. No, afraid I don't recall the names. Soundstage, Bell. We got a company over there doing some shooting tonight. Television films. They make them too fast. Trade's not like it used to be. Quality. That's what we went after. Gone. Now it's all gone. West side will do it again, though. You can bet on that. We're coming back. Look, how about leveling Freiburg? You know why we picked you up? You know why we're out here? Just did. I don't know why. Jose. Look across the road. That said over there. The old greenhouse there. Colonial mansion. Weather's faded the colors a little. Typical old southern mistake. Now, you know, we shot some beautiful footage there. Pictures are classic in its own right. Maybe you remember it. Moonlight Magnolias. I changed the title later. Love in the moonlight. Beautiful thing. You ever see it? No, I don't think so. I couldn't tell you how many beauties we turned out that year. I was a young fellow then. Song and strife. Moonlight magnolias. Little orphan girl. Sweetheart of the campus. That's your cottage there, Mr. Freiberg. What's that just down the way there? Number 23. Oh, yeah. Completely forgot about it. I hope you'll excuse the way it looks. I haven't been able to find good accommodations in town. I've been staying at the office. We have a little couch there. I sleep on that. We have the hot plate, too. Good enough to boil a coffee in the morning. How come you couldn't find space in town? Hotels aren't that rushed, are they? Well, the ones I'm used to staying at, yes. I'd just soon camp here at the studio than stay at one of those places downtown. Say, wouldn't you like to see the rest of the lot? Pretty interesting. If you've never seen a real movie lot. I mean, a high class one. We've seen them. Mr. Fryberg, we'd like to check your office. Oh, all right. This is it. Cottages need a good coat of paint. Of course, it'll all be done pretty soon. West side is going to come back strong. You can bet on that. Yeah, I guess so. Uh. Oh, watch out on that first step there. It's loose. Have to call maintenance and get that fixed. Yeah, it's all right. Here we are. Well, you can see the office isn't very much. What is you wanted, gentlemen? You want to check that cabinet there, Ed? I'll take a look through these cases over here. Okay. This picture here on the wall, that's the cast and the production staff of my first film. Here's the other one. Me and RZ Bernard. He autographed the picture for me. Bernard himself. Those were the days, all right. Quality. That's what we Went after in pictures. Real quality. Not like today. Gone. The good days. Fine pictures. It's gone. All gone. How about it, Freiburg? These cases of books here and these photographs. Not my fault, believe me. I had to make a living. I had to make money. How do you think it feels to get cheap like that? I used to be young. I was big. I was talent. I made big pictures. How do you think it feels to get cheap all of a sudden? Cheap enough to do this kind of thing. Nobody forced you. It was your choice, mister. It wasn't my choice. You're wrong. All I want to do is make pictures. There isn't a chance anymore. Not like the old days. And eat hundreds of thousands. Millions. It's gone. It's all gone. Had to eat. Had to put clothes on my back. You admit you're responsible for this? Books, pictures, working in the high school trade. Kids like Steve Banner, bud Spencer. After 1935, I couldn't get a job. I didn't want this. I had to do it. I'm ashamed. Who wouldn't be? Had to eat. It was the only way I had to live. There's honest jobs to be had. How about this man named Jack? He was in with me. He was my cameraman back in the old days. You can't blame him either. He had to live, too. You want him to come downtown with us? Give us a statement? Yes, all right, all right. Anything. How about the parties? The two girls? Laura Osborne, Dorothy Ryan. I took some pictures, that's all. I didn't harm them. Nothing. Anyway. You had it wrong, Fryberg. You know that. Yeah, I know. Just to have the kids there made. You remember the days in your life? Best days in anybody's life. What? So when you used to have money. When you used to be young. The story you have just heard was true. The names were changed to protect the innocent. On January 29, trial was held in Superior Court, Department 87, City and County of Los Angeles, State of California. In a moment, the results of that trial. And now, here is our star, Jack Webb. Thank you, George Feniman. Friends, won't you do this for me? Compare Fatima with any other king size cigarette you'll find. Fatima's length filters the smoke 85 millimeters for your protection. Cools the smoke for your protection. Fatima's length gives you Those extra puffs. 21% longer than standard cigarette size. And you get an extra mild and soothing smoke. Plus the added protection of Fatima quality. That's why I'd like you to buy Fatima. The suspects. Charles Zeman, Freiberg and his accomplice, Jack L. Lavery, were tried and convicted on four counts of contributing to the delinquency of minors. Both of them served full terms in the county jail. Contributing to the delinquency of minors is punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, or by imprisonment in the county jail for one year, or by both fine and imprisonment. 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. Heard tonight were Barney Phillips, Virginia Gregg and Ralph Moody. Script by Jim Moser. Music by Walter Schumann. Hal Gibney speaking. Fatima Cigarettes Best of all King Size Cigarettes has brought you Dragnet. Transcribed from Los Angeles. Now it's counterspy on NBC. AI Agents are everywhere. 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Two, Fatima's length cools the smoke for your protection. Three, Fatima's length gives you those extra puffs 21% longer than standard cigarette size. And in Fatima, you get an extra mild and soothing smoke. Plus the added protection of Fatima Quality. Definitely the best quality in its class, but the same price as the cigarette you are now smoking. Buy Fatima in the bright sunny yellow pack. Best of all, king size cigarettes. 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. It was Wednesday, September 15th. It was hot in Los Angeles. We were working the day watch out of Homicide. My partner's Ed Jacobs. The boss is Thad Brown, Chief of Detectives. My name's Friday. I was on the way back from lunch and it was 12:56pm when I got to room 42. Homicide. Hi, Joe. Waiting for you. Hi, Ed. Al. Here. You got something for us, huh? Mm. Here's the report right here. Gardener by the name of Abbott called in day before yesterday. Chester Abbott said his wife disappeared from their home out in the Valley Thursday night. He says he thinks she left him. Happens every day. Not this way it doesn't. Walsh and I went out to talk to the man yesterday. His story doesn't make too much sense. How, you mean alone? None of his wife's clothes are missing, none of her luggage. She even left her pocketbook behind, full of money. We found out from the neighbors the missing woman has a 17 year old boy by a former marriage. Does that mean anything? He's an only child. Mother dotes on the kid. She didn't even say goodbye to him. Well, how'd this Chester Abbott impress you? Pretty grouchy. With Walsh and me, no cooperation. Wants to find his wife, doesn't he? I don't know. I'm not sure. He's no help, I can tell you that much. Could I see that report, Al? Yeah. Here you are. Thank you. Florence TRUMBULL Abbott, age 39. Abbott's your second husband? First one died a little after the boy was born. Disappeared Thursday night from the home. 546 Belasco Road between 7, 8 o'. Clock. Well, when did Abbott call in to notify you? Monday afternoon. Told us he thought his wife Might have been spending the weekend with her sister. When he found out she wasn't, he called us. You meet the boy when you were out there? Yeah. That's another thing. How do you mean? The kid came riding up on a bike when we were talking to one of the neighbors. We tried to talk to him, but the old man came out and hustled the boy into the house. Then he started chewing us out. What's his trouble? He told us it was our job to find his wife, not to go prying into his stepson's affairs. That's a new slant. Well, how about the woman's friends and relatives? They've been checked out yet. Walsh is on it now. Don't think he's had much luck contacting him so far. I'll tell you the truth, I don't like the looks of it. Mrs. Abbott have any other relatives here? I mean, besides a sister and two aunts? Yeah, I got the list right over here. Sure wish we had a chance to talk to that boy. Notice anything else out about Mr. Abbott, Al? Well, I don't know. Here's that list, Joe. Oh, thank you. Abbott was upset, all right. I don't know, though. He didn't exactly strike me as reacting the way a normal man reacts when his wife's disappeared. Well, how about a copy of this report? You got one to spare? Yeah, sure. Just a minute. Yeah? Missing Persons by Getty. That's right. This is Barghetti speaking. Who's that? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Sure. About what? All right. Good. Four o'? Clock. Fine. All right, son. Goodbye. That was the boy I was telling you about. Mr. Abbott's stepson. What do you want? He wants to talk to us. Sounded worried about his mother. They think something's happened to her. In police work, Missing Persons Detail is not a department separate in itself. It's organized as a part of Homicide Division. When the possibility of homicide arises in the course of handling a case, Missing Persons immediately turns the matter over to Homicide officers for investigation. When we got the call from the Abbott boy, we automatically took over. According to Al Barghetti, the boy said he suspected his stepfather and he didn't want him to know of any meeting between him and police officers. At 3:15, Ed and I left the office and drove to the meeting place designated by the boy. The Dairyland Fellow Fountain and Coffee Shop near the corner of Fairfax and Hollywood Boulevard. We got there at 3:50pm at eight minutes past five, the Abbott boy still had not arrived. We waited another 15 minutes and then we left and drove out to the valley and pulled up in front of the main gate to the Abbott nursery on Belasco Road. The house itself was set well back on the property, which covered about five acres of ground. The entire nursery was surrounded by a six foot chain link fence. And it looked like every available foot of ground inside was planted with some kind of flower or shrub. Mr. Abbott met us at the gate. He had three full grown mastiffs with him. He held them on a chain. Yes? What do you want? Police officers. New Chester Abbott? That's right. What do you want? Well, if you can get those dogs quiet for a moment, we'd like to ask you some questions. Pretty busy now. Can't you come back tomorrow? No. It's important, Abbott. We'd like to talk to you now. All right, if you have. Tommy, get down there. You two girls. Quiet, I say. Quiet. All right, now what do you want? Mind if we come inside, sir? These what dogs of mine are pretty vicious. We can talk here at the gate. All right. We've been assigned to look into your wife's disappearance, Abbott. This is my partner, Sergeant Jacobs. My name's Friday. Mm. Find out anything about my wife yet? Nothing definite, no. Thought maybe you could help us. Mind telling us exactly what happened the night she disappeared? What do you mean, what happened? Well, when did you see her last? When did you first notice she was gone? We had dinner Thursday night, about 7 o'. Clock. Then I laid down for a nap. Florence went out on the front porch for some air. I woke up a little before 8 o'. Clock. Went outside to look for her. She was gone. No one saw her leave, Mr. Abbott? Not that I know of. Maybe one of our neighbors. You can ask them. They seem to know everybody's business. How about your stepson? Wasn't he home Thursday night? Bruce? No, he went out to a show with some other kids. When did he get back from the show, you remember? About 10 o', clock, I think. Why? Where's the boy now, Abbott? Who are you looking for? My wife or stepson. Both of them. Where is he? Gone. I took him over to my sister's in Alhambra. He'd been feeling bad since his mother disappeared. Figure the chains would do him good. Well, why don't you take him over to your sister's this afternoon? What's that got to do with it? Like to talk to him. No, you can't. You won't allow it. The boy's too upset right now and I can't allow it. I'm afraid you're gonna have to allow it. Abbott. Listen, mister, you can get off this property right now if you're gonna get fresh with me. No cops giving me any sass. Get down there, honey. Quiet. Nobody's giving you sass. We want to talk to your stepson, that's all. He might be able to give us a lead on the whereabouts of your wife. And I say you can't see the boy. You've been looking for Florence for a week and you haven't found a thing. I'll get somebody else to look for her. It's my business anyway. Nobody else's. It's our business if anything happened to her. What are you talking about? You better get your coat. Abbott like to talk to you downtown. Come through that gate and I'll let these dogs go. We'd hate to shoot them, mister. What are you trying to prove anyhow? What do I have to go downtown for? I'll tell you when we get there. Now get your coat. Chester. Abbott turned, made his way up the path and into the house. A few minutes later, he came out, closed the gate behind him and got into our car. On the way back downtown, he talked pleasantly about the weather, the nursery business and his dogs. When we got to the office, we found out the reason for his sudden change in temperament. His lawyer was waiting for us at the door. We tried to interrogate Abbott, but the lawyer objected to just about every question we asked. It was hopeless and we knew it. And so did the lawyer. We released Abbott, but not before we got the name and address of his sister in Alhambra, where the stepson, Bruce, was supposedly staying. After Abbott and his lawyer left, Ed and I signed out of the office and drove to Alhambra to check on the boy. Barghetti sure had this one pegged. Real sleeper. Yeah. Like to know how the stepson missed that date with his. The boy called us from the house. Stepfather could overheard him. That's possible. Sister's house ought to be along this block, shouldn't it? Let's see. 1408, oh6. Yeah, yeah, there it is. Great. Cottage 1402. Okay, let's pull up here, huh? Right. Nice looking place. Well kept. Nice neighborhood. Wonder how the lot prices run out here. I don't know. I'll get the bell. Yes, what is it? Police officers, ma'. Am. You Ms. Abbott? Yes. Helen Abbott. Why? Well, we talked to your brother earlier today, Ms. Abbott. He said he brought his stepson, Bruce, over here to stay a while. We'd like to see him if we could. Bruce? Well, yes, he was here. Until about an hour and a half ago. I went to the store and when I came back, he was gone. You have any idea where we can find. Well, I telephoned my brother Chester just before you came to the door. Bruce isn't there? Yes, ma'. Am. Do you mind if we came in and looked around, Ms. Abbott? Won't take long. Well, why? I told you, Bruce isn't here. It's the truth. There's no reason to lie about it, is there? Oh, no, ma', am, it's not that. Well, then, what is it? No reason for me to lie to you. How about your brother? We went in and looked the house over from one end to the other. There wasn't a trace of the boy. We drove back to the Abbott nursery in Satisfactory ourselves. The boy wasn't there. Meantime, the home of Chester Abbott's sister in Alhambra was kept under constant surveillance. No one came or went. The next morning, when Ed and I checked in for work as usual at 8:00am we met with Sergeant Al Bargetti. Well, I had half an idea there might be something wrong. What makes you so positive, though? It's just it, Al. We're not positive. It's the whole setup, I guess. Smells bad. How do you mean? For instance? Well, Abbott's lawyer, for one thing. If a man's innocent, he doesn't have his lawyer sit with him and tell him not to answer any question. Yeah. Number two, the kid's phone call. He didn't show up for that date, you figure? I don't know. Could be he doesn't get along with his stepfather. Happens. You know, maybe he's trying to get back at him for something or other. Yeah, that could be. Why is Abbott hiding him out, then? Pretty sure he's hiding him out. Way things been going, another way to take it, Mrs. Abbott walked away from her home last Thursday night. Nobody saw her. She took nothing with her. No luggage, no clothes, no money. That's it. You check with her? Family doctor Yesterday told us Mrs. Abbott was in perfect health. Checked her bank statements, double checked the name for Wanderer's phone. Repeaters found missing persons. Couldn't find it in either one. Her relatives too. How you talk to them? Some of them, yeah. Got a few more to check out this morning. One thing's certain. No clothes, no money, no luggage. She couldn't have gone very far. You checked all the angles, huh? Well, the sheriff's office, the jails, the hospitals. Sent out a teletype and an apv. She's been gone almost a week and Nobody's seen her. Now, how's that add up to you? Well, they got an idea. Yeah, I hope I'm wrong. 8:45am Ed and I left the office and continued making the rounds of the missing woman's friends and relatives. We checked at the Western National bank where Mrs. Abbott maintained another account. Her savings statement showed a total balance of $31,564.17. Her checking account had a balance of 842.71. At the farmers Mutual, we found the record of an insurance policy issued to Florence Trumbull Abbott. It was a 20 pay life policy covering the insured in the amount of $30,000. The beneficiary was listed as the insured son, Bruce Trumbull Abbott. If living upon receipt of such due proof. If not, the insured's husband, Chester J. Abbott. By the time we finished checking the missing woman's financial status, we figured we had a fair suspect in the husband, Chester Abbott. From casual reports, we knew he was a frugal man, almost to the point of obsession. If he was greedy as well, if he wanted or needed money badly enough to kill, then he had all the motives necessary to murder his wife. Maybe his stepson too. 6:40pm Ed and I drove back to the office. Go ahead. Long day? Out of mileage. Wonder if Al's still around. Hey, Bar Getty. Al? Yeah. Here. That you Friday? Yeah. How'd you do? Get anything? Few things. Pretty fair luck. Good. I got some more for you. Just walked in here 10 minutes ago. Bruce Abbott. He's waiting in the next room. We went into the next room and met the Abbot boy. He was small for a 17 year old, dark haired, thin, a little on the sickly side. He seemed nervous and upset. He told us that he wasn't able to keep the date he made with us on the phone because his stepfather did apparently overhear the conversation and drove the boy immediately to his sister's place in Alhambra. We asked the boy what made him so sure that his stepfather was responsible for his mother's disappearance. Well, for one thing, all three of us usually go to the early show on Thursday night. Chester, mom and me. But last Thursday, we didn't go. Why was that, son? Chester said he wasn't feeling too good and he wanted mom to stay home and take care of him. Then he told me to go on ahead to the show, so I did. What time did you get home, Bruce? About a quarter to 10. 10 o'. Clock. Did you notice anything unusual when you got home, son? Not so much? No, mom wasn't there. I didn't think much about it. Then I thought maybe she was over to one of the neighbors. You asked your stepfather where she was? Uh huh. He said he didn't know. He said he thought she was over at one of the neighbors too. What was your stepfather doing when he got home? Just sitting in the living room reading the paper. I usually don't talk to him too much. I just ask him where mom was and he told me. And then I went back to my room and went to bed. Did you notice anything unusual about the way he acted? Anything different about him at all? Well, I'm not too sure. He did seem a little nervous though. Jumpy? More than usual, I think. Mm. Anything else? Well, when I came through the front yard, I noticed the dogs had mud all over their paws. Red, Jaime and George. All three of them. They must have been out in the nursery plots. Anything unusual about that? In a way, yeah. You see, the dogs don't go out in the plots unless Chester's with him. He doesn't want him to trample his seedlings. I noticed Chester had mud on his shoes that night too. And you figure your stepfather was out digging somewhere in the nursery plots that night, huh? Yeah, that's right. Digging somewhere he must have been. Can't figure out why though. How do you mean, son? My stepfather never works at night. You are listening to Dragnet Authentic stories of your police force in action. Compare Fatima with any other king size cigarette. 1. Fatima's length filters the smoke 85 millimeters for your protection. 2. Fatima's length cools the smoke for your protection. 3, Fatima's length gives you those extra puffs 21% longer than standard cigarette size. And in Fatima you get an extra mild and soothing smoke plus the added protection of Fatima quality. To show our confidence in Fatima, we make this money back guarantee to every king size cigarette smoker. Buy a pack of Fatimas, Enjoy Fatima quality, extra mildness and superbly blended tobaccos. If you're not convinced Fatima is better than the king size cigarette you're now smoking, just return the pack and the unsmoked Fatimas before August 1, 1952 and we'll give you your money back plus postage. Fatima Box 37, New York 1. Remember, each king size Fatima gives you an extra mild and soothing smoke plus the added protection of Fatima quality. Switch to Fatima today. Best of all king size cigarettes. Thursday, September 16th, 7:05pm we continued talking to the missing woman's 17 year old son, Bruce Abbott. As the interview went on it became more and more obvious that the boy and his stepfather, Chester Abbott, didn't get along at all. Apparently, the boy was jealous of him and he was jealous of the boy. Besides his prejudice, Bruce also contradicted himself during the course of the questioning. 7:15pm the interview went on. I understand that, all right, son. But you say you can't think of any reason why your father'd be out working in the nursery plots that time of night? No, sir, I can't. I don't know how he'd get any work done. None of the plots are even lighted, only the greenhouses. Well, is it possible he could have gotten that mud on his shoes working in one of the greenhouses? No, sir, I don't see how. All the paths in the greenhouses are gravel. It's my job to see they're kept gravel. I know they weren't muddy because I fixed them the day before. Well, what do you think it means, Bruce? I don't know. I don't want to think about it. I just know he's done something. He's done something to her. Your father, that. Is your stepfather giving you any reason for keeping you away from the police officers that came to your house? I mean, the first two officers who showed up? No. He said people were getting nosy, that's all. He said it might be better for me over at my Aunt Helen's place. You think your Aunt Helen might know where your mother is? I don't think so. We hardly ever see Aunt Helen. We don't know her well at all. Well, do you know if your mother and stepfather argued very much, son? I mean, big arguments? Sometimes, yeah, Mostly about me. How do you mean? Chester's pretty tight, you know. Doesn't like to spend money at all. He and mom used to argue about whether I ought to get paid for the work I did around the nursery. Chester didn't want to pay me. That so? Yeah. When I started working, he promised he'd pay me. I was saving up to buy a 31 Model A. After a couple of weeks, when he didn't pay me, I asked him about it. He told me I ought to be glad to work for him for nothing. And your mother argued with him about that? Sure. She got good and mad, too. She should have gotten mad. It was her money that bought the nursery. Anyway, how'd you happen to get away from your aunt's place? Bruce wasn't too hard. Helen had some shopping to do and she left me alone. She locked the door to my room, even the screen over the window was nailed down, but I kicked it out and got away. I stayed at a friend's house last night. You thought much about where you're gonna stay tonight, son? Well, I don't know. Sergeant Borghetti, I was talking to him. He asked me if I wanted to go out and have dinner and then stay at his house tonight. I don't know. Sounds like a good idea to me. I don't know. Sure nice of him to ask me. I think it'd be a lot better for you, son. Why don't you check in the next office, see if Barghetti's ready to leave, huh? Yeah. Okay, Sergeant. Thanks. You betcha. Joe, what do you think? It's hard to say. He might be lying. Before we signed out of the office that night, we met with Captain Lorman and outlined a plan to bring in the husband of the missing woman for questioning alone. We figured it'd serve two purposes. Clarify the boy's position in the case and determine one way or another if the stepfather was withholding information about the disappearance of Mrs. Abbott. The big problem was to bring in Chester Abbott for interrogation without the knowledge of his lawyer. As we'd found out more than once, it was impossible to get anything out of Abbott with his lawyer present. We set up a plan to call at the Abbott home early in the morning, get the suspect out of bed and bring him in before his lawyer could be notified. At 3:30 the following morning, Ed and I met at the office and started for the Abbott place. We brought along a couple of pounds of fresh horse meat to keep the dogs quiet if they raised a fuss. At 10 minutes past 4am we parked our car a few hundred feet down the road from the Abbott nursery and made our way toward the gate. I reached in and tried the latch. The dog started up. How about it, Joe? Open? No, it's padlocked. We're going to have to climb the fence. Toss some of that meat over to him, will you? Okay. There, that does it. All right, let's climb the fence. Keep an eye on the hounds. Looks like they can take a lake off. Yeah. Take it easy, Ed. All right, watch that. Here comes that other dog. Get some more of that meat. Right here. There you are, boy. Go get it. Go on. All right. That's fine. Come on, let's hurry. Have a look. Joe. Roy. Windows alongside of the house lights just went on. Yeah. Come on. Who is it? Who's there? Push it. I'll set the dogs on you. Police officers Abbott, Friday and Jacobs. What kind of business Is this. What are you doing out here this time of night? You're under arrest, Mr. Abbott. What are you talking about? I think you heard me. You're under arrest. What kind of crazy thing is this? You're gonna pay for this. I'll have your job. You wanna get your coat? You cops are asking for a pack of trouble, you know that? Get your coat. I'd like to know what you think you're doing. Where's my stepson, anyway? What have you done with him? I got a better one for you, mister. Huh? What have you done with your wife? 4:25am Ed and I drove the suspect, Chester Abbott, back downtown to the office. He was quiet and sullen. We headed down the hall for the squadroom. Light still burning in the office? Yeah. Probably by Getty. Standing by. All right. Abbott, in there. You're going to pay for these. You can take my word on that. Ed, you want to take them in the office here and stay with him? I'll check with Al. Okay. All right. Abbott inside. Joe, you bring him in? Yeah, he's next door. Ed's with him. Tough. Somebody must have seen you. No, I don't think so. They must have. Why? What do you mean? Abbott's lawyer. He's sitting in the next room. How the lawyer had been notified, we couldn't be sure. Again we tried to question Abbott. And again, on the advice of his attorney. He refused to answer practically every question we put to him. We released him. That day, Captain Lohrman assigned two men to stake out on the nursery and report on all of Chester Abbott's movements. A little after 7pm Just after nightfall, we tried again to bring the suspect in for questioning without his lawyer's knowledge. It didn't work. The men assigned to stake out in the Abbott place reported definitely that someone was tipping off the attorney. Whenever unknown visitors showed up at the nursery and drove off together with Mr. Abbott, there was nothing we could do about it. The following morning, Al Barghetty came up with a lead. Had a long talk with the boy last night. Think he came up with a pretty fair lead. How's that? The old man's responsible. We know there's only one way we'll get a conviction. Yeah. Find the body and enough evidence to tie him in. Where do we start looking in a new rose bed? It's next to one of the greenhouses in Abbott's nursery. Boy tell you this? Yeah. Seems to make sense. We know old man Abbott's crazy about saving a dollar. We found that out from the neighbors. And the relatives on the nursery trade, especially in the limited area Abbott has to work in. You cultivate every foot of ground you have. You plant every foot of soil with something. Well, yeah. What's the point? Abbott's not the type to waste anything. He wouldn't let ground lie fallow when he could plant something that might bring in a few dollars next spring. Bruce tells me his stepfather has every inch of the property planted with something. Everything except the six by eight plot of ground in that rose garden. Well, what did the boy say? The plot been vacant for long? He says his stepfather got it ready for planning a week and a half ago. It's still vacant. Be worth checking out. How do we do it? We can order up a crew from the crime lab. They can take probings through the plot all around it. They ought to be able to tell us how deep the ground's been worked over lately. Okay. What do you figure? Tonight? I think so. Yeah, maybe 11, 12 o'. Clock. What about old man Abbott? You think he's gonna sit still for it? If the hunch pays off, he's gonna sit still a long time. It was 10 minutes past 11 that night when we got to the Abbott nursery. Lee Jones and the crime lab crew, Alberghetti, Ed and two other men from Homicide. The men on stakeout told us Chester Abbott, along with his attorney, had left the house a half hour before in his car, a dark blue coupe. They hadn't returned. Ed brought along another supply of fresh horse meat for the dog. So we didn't have any trouble there. We located the vacant plot of ground in the rose bed next to one of the greenhouses. As Bruce Abbott had described it to Bargetti. The crime lab crew started probing the ground obviously had been worked over recently and to some depth. They started digging. Anderson, get that light over here, will you? Thanks, Joe. See anything? No. Let's keep digging. It's right over here. Yeah. You know, this is it. He wasn't taking any chances. Down a good four or five feet now, wouldn't you say? Yeah. At least that Anderson Moore light, huh? All right, let's go at it. All right. Wait a minute. Yeah. Woman's shoe here. Come on. Just a matter. Yeah, that's it. Shoulder there. It's a body. Well, it paid off, Al. The boy had it figured. Yeah. Too bad he was right. Ed and I went back to our car and notified communications to broadcast a want for murder on Chester Abbott. His description, together with a description of his car and license number was rebroadcast every 15 minutes. The attorney was contacted and he stated that Mr. Abbott had dropped him off at his home more than an hour before. He knew nothing of of his whereabouts. Ed and I went back to check the Abbot home and found the front door unlocked. We went inside and looked around. In one bedroom we found clothes scattered over the bed and on the floor. There was only one old suit left. In one closet, on the table next to the bed we found an airlines timetable. We got to the phone and notified communications to alert all special details at railroad stations, bus terminals and airports and then to get out on apb. After that, we checked with the airlines. One of them told us a man answering Abbott's description had booked passage to Mexico City that night under the name of Charles Frazier. The plane was scheduled to leave at 1:52am at the Burbank airport. We called the detail at the airport and alerted him. Then we drove over to the field to follow through on it. It was 1:32am When Ed and I took up our positions just inside Gate 3 where passengers were boarding Flight 72 for Mexico City. There was no sign of the suspect either on the plane or in the waiting room. Think you'll show? I don't know. Walk your bag over here. Where's Bargetti? Over there by the cocktail line. See him? Oh, yeah. What time you got now? 1:38. Plane's due to take off in another four minutes, isn't it? Any sign of him, Al? No, nothing. Just made the rounds. Check with Stevens and Cummings. If he got in, he came in somebody's suitcase. Couldn't have possibly gotten through without one of us seeing him. Well. Well, he hasn't got much more time. Maybe it's a dead end, huh? Don't see how he could have gotten wise, do you? Over there. No. No. By the ticket counter. There. You see him? Yeah, that's him. Come on. All right. Just a minute, Abbott. I haven't got time now. I'll miss my plane. If you have anything more to say to me. If you wait till I get back. Afraid not, Abbott. And take it up my lawyer. I'm in a hurry. We found you wife's body. How's that? In the rose bed next to the greenhouse. I don't know what you mean. You must be mistaken. No mistake. Hands behind your back. What's this all about? I haven't done anything. All right, let's go. No, just a minute. You got it wrong. I don't know anything about it. We think you do. Now, come on. Wasn't my fault. I didn't know what I was doing. I plead insanity. She drove me to it. We were arguing about the boy and she slapped me. I didn't mean to do it. All right, let's go. Abbott. Can you wait just a minute more? What for? A plane. One from Mexico City. Funny, isn't it? What's that? I was so close. Just missed it. Not by more than one minute. No, you're wrong about that, Abbott. Just one minute, that's all. You missed it before you ever bought your ticket. How do you figure? When you first decided to kill your wife. Come on. The story you have just heard was true. The names were changed to protect the innocent. On December 19, 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. Now, here is our star, Jack Webb. Thank you, George Feniman. Friends, I'm holding two sets of fingerprint cards. Now, on one, prints found at the scene of a crime. On the 2nd, a suspect's taken from the files. Now, the only way in the world you can tell they're made by the same suspect is by comparison. If you'll compare Fatima with any other king size cigarette, you'll find Fatima's length filters the smoke 85 millimeters. For your protection. Fatima's length cools the smoke for your protection. Fatima's length gives you Those extra puffs 21% longer than standard cigarette size. And you get an extra mild and soothing smoke. Plus the added protection of Fatima quality. Prove it. Today by Fatima. Chester Vernon Abbott was tried and convicted of murder in the first degree. The jury failed to recommend clemency. Abbott was executed in the lethal gas chamber at the State Penitentiary, San Quentin, California. You have just heard Dragnet A series of authentic cases from official files. Technical advice comes from the office of Chief of Police W.H. parker, Los Angeles Police Department Technical Advisors Captain Jack Donahoe, Sergeant Marty Wynn and Sergeant Vance Brasher. Heard tonight were Barney Phillips and Herb Ellis. Script by Jim Moser. Music by Walter Schumach. Hal Gibney speaking. Fatima Cigarettes. Best of all, King Size cigarettes has brought you Dragnet. Transcribed from Los Angeles now it's Counter Spy on NBC. 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