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Announcer
Safeway and Albertsons have made saving easier than ever with great savings on family favorites this week at Safeway and Albertsons. USDA Choice Beef Boneless Tri tip whole or flankin style ribs bone in our $6.99 per pound member price and asparagus or $1.99 per pound member price plus 16 ounce strawberries, 6 ounce raspberries or blackberries are $1.97 each. Limit three member price with digital coupon. Hurry in. These deals won't last. Visit safewayoralbertsons.com for more deals and ways to save. Welcome to Choice Classic Radio where we bring to you the greatest old time radio shows like us on Facebook. Subscribe to us on YouTube and thank
Narrator
you for donating@ChoiceClassicRadio.com the Equitable Life Assurance Society presents this is your FBI. This is your FBI an official broadcast from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, presented as a public service by the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and the Equitable Societies representative in your community. Do you own your own home or are you planning to buy or build a home? Then we suggest that you have pencil and paper ready to make notes when the Equitable Life Assurance Society, sponsor of this program, tells you about America's finest plan for home ownership. The announcement on this plan is due in about 14 minutes. Have your pencil ready because this Equitable Society plan can save you money and give you greater security in a home of your own. Tonight's FBI file the fugitive horse player.
There are many decent, honest people connected with the sport of horse racing. These people are interested in trying to keep the sport clean and well conducted. However, there are millions of loose dollars connected with the business. And where you find millions of loose dollars, you will also find many loose characters, parasites who will engage in any amount of hard work to make a dishonest dollar. Such a parasite of racing is the tout, the genius with patches in his pants who offers to make you a millionaire overnight. Sometimes the price is $10, sometimes the price is $5, and sometimes, as you will learn from tonight's case from the files of your FBI, he takes his payment in blood. Just about the time a recent meeting opened at an eastern racetrack, a shabby office was opened in the large city nearby. There was more than coincidence in the twin openings because the office was to be the headquarters for Joe Muncie, official title Joe Muncie Tout Muncie, a trimly built, dapper man, is sitting at his desk. Brownie, his girl, his secretary, his life, who had just entered the office in the small reception room.
Brownie
Joe.
Joe Muncie
Come right in, Ms. Brown.
Brownie
What is Believe that?
Joe Muncie
Oh. Thought you had a customer, Brownie.
Brownie
Are you kidding?
Joe Muncie
Well, don't worry, baby. That code ad I put in the Morning Record will bring them in.
Brownie
The place to find suckers is at the track.
Joe Muncie
We'll get a bite right here.
Brownie
Don't say that word bite. It makes me hungry.
Joe Muncie
Look, baby, I don't like this no dough routine any more than you do.
Brownie
Then let's get out to the track and find some umpchae.
Joe Muncie
Brownie, you don't have to go looking for horse players. They think you know something, they'll come looking for you. That ad in the paper will bring us a cup. Listen. See what I told you? Somebody come in.
Brownie
Probably the landlord.
Narrator
All right, open the door.
Announcer
Open the door.
Joe Muncie
Don't let him get away. Okay.
Brownie
Something I can do for you, sir?
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Yes, I. I saw your ad in the Morning Record.
Joe Muncie
Don't keep the gentleman waiting, Ms. Brown. Show him right in.
Brownie
Come inside, please.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Thank you.
Brownie
This gentleman has come here in regard to your ad, Mr. Muncie.
Joe Muncie
Oh, splendid. That'll be all, Mrs. Brown.
Brownie
Yes, sir.
Joe Muncie
Sit down, Mr. Adams. Sit down, Mr. Adams. Muncie's the name. Joe Muncie.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
How do you do?
Joe Muncie
Fine, fine. Mr. Adams is a new customer. You're entitled to know about the firm established 1933. Fifteen years of satisfied customers. We pick them, you play them. Results guarantee.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
I see.
Joe Muncie
And I suppose, like the dozens of other turf lovers that have been in here this morning, you're interested in today's cold special. Well, yes. You couldn't depict a better day, Mr. Adams. I can underwrite the fact that today's pig will be under Bill Daly from wire to wire.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Well, I. I'm afraid I don't understand, sir.
Joe Muncie
Oh, just parlance to the turf, Mr. Adams. This horse is a sure winner.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Well, now, how much is the Code Special?
Joe Muncie
Since you're a new customer, you're entitled to a special rate. The usual tariff is 20 bob, but I'm letting you in for a saw.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
What's a saw?
Joe Muncie
$10.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Oh, well, that's certainly reasonable enough. Let me see now. Goodness, I thought I had $10. I'm afraid I haven't anything less than a hundred. This. Well, I'd be very.
Special Agent Terrell
100.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Yes. Can you change it?
Joe Muncie
Well, not at the moment. I just sent my bookkeeper to the bank to make a deposit.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Well, now, maybe I can go downstairs and get some change.
Joe Muncie
No, no, no. Wait a minute. Wait a minute, Mr. Adams. Just sit right down there. Very well, Mr. Adams, I'm going to ask you a very direct question.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Yes?
Joe Muncie
Just what kind of money are you prepared to bet?
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Well, if I thought a horse had a real good chance, I. I'd be willing to wager $1,000.
Joe Muncie
I'm gonna sit down, too. You said a thousand dollars?
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
That's right.
Joe Muncie
A thousand dollars. Well, that does it. I'm gonna break a rule of a lifetime, Mr. Adams. I'm gonna give you a complete and absolute stranger, Joe Muncie Super Special.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Well, now, how much does that cost?
Joe Muncie
Absolutely nothing.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Well, I don't understand.
Joe Muncie
You're getting the winner absolutely free. All you gotta do is bet 20% for me.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
What do you mean?
Joe Muncie
If you bet a grand, then you lay two yards. 200, that is. You bet that much for me, you understand?
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
That certainly sounds fair enough. I'll have to go to get the money, though.
Joe Muncie
Well, okay. Okay. But you be back here at noon and we'll go out to the track together. Right?
Special Agent Terrell
I'll be here.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
You can count on it, sir. Well, I'll. I'll be getting along.
Joe Muncie
Okay, Mr. Adams.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Goodbye, Mr. Muncie.
Joe Muncie
Goodbye, Mr. Adams. Goodbye.
Special Agent Terrell
Brownie.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Brownie.
Joe Muncie
What is it, sweetheart? Did we just make a score? That was the sweetest.
Brownie
I heard everything.
Joe Muncie
What's with that tone of voice?
Brownie
What's with letting that. Sure, 10 bucks get away.
Joe Muncie
Chicken feed, honey. The sucker is good for a bundle.
Brownie
If he comes back.
Joe Muncie
He'll come back.
Brownie
And what's the Super Special you dreamed up that's going to come through today?
Joe Muncie
And I get one. What's the best bet in the scratch sheet?
Brownie
Breakaway in the third.
Joe Muncie
That's the Super Special.
Brownie
And if he blows the Duke, he's a stick out.
Joe Muncie
Besides, we got 200 going for us for nothing before we're through, baby, we're liable to wind up with 20, 50, maybe 100 G's. Yeah. You got two bits. I'm hungry.
Narrator
Farther downtown that same morning in the local office of the FBI, Special Agent Terrell is just entering. The office of an assistant to the agent in charge.
Special Agent Terrell
Did you want to see me, Mr. Naylor?
Mr. Naylor
Yes, Terrell. Say, do you ever hear of a town called Bentley?
Special Agent Terrell
No.
Mr. Naylor
It's about a hundred miles upstate.
Special Agent Terrell
It must just be a wide place in the road.
Mr. Naylor
It's bigger than that. It's at least big enough to have a bank where a teller could get away with $28,000.
Narrator
Wow.
Mr. Naylor
The teller didn't show up this morning. He left Bentley sometime after five o'clock yesterday.
Special Agent Terrell
They think he's come here?
Mr. Naylor
They think it's possible, but they have no evidence yet.
Special Agent Terrell
Has he any friends or relatives here?
Mr. Naylor
None that they know of. I think you'd better train up there right away and investigate. He could be back in the morning.
Special Agent Terrell
Okay.
Mr. Naylor
The missing teller's name is Fred Williams.
Special Agent Terrell
He's probably changed that by now.
Mr. Naylor
Yes, he'd been with the bank 12 years. One of their most trusted employees.
Special Agent Terrell
Did he take the $28,000 all in one lump?
Narrator
No.
Mr. Naylor
The default cases cover a period of a year. Oh. But he did take a little over 10,000 of it yesterday.
Special Agent Terrell
Must have known the examiners were due then.
Mr. Naylor
Not necessarily. Anyway, do a thorough checkup on his friends and personal habits. We may get a good lead on him that way.
Special Agent Terrell
Right.
Brownie
It's almost post time. You want the glasses, Mr. Adams?
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Oh, yeah.
Special Agent Terrell
Yes.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Thank you. Now, let me see. Which one is breakaway, Mr. Muncie?
Joe Muncie
That chestnut colt with number seven on the saddle cloth.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Number seven?
Joe Muncie
Oh, yes.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Oh, he's beautiful.
Joe Muncie
Yeah, he'd be even more beautiful when they put his number up there on a tote board.
Brownie
I don't like that. Outside post position, Brownie.
Joe Muncie
Break awake and stop for lunch at the head of the stretch with these pigs and still win it.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Well, I'm glad you're so confident, Mr. Muncie.
Joe Muncie
You know how confident I am. No. With the price up to 2 to 1, I think you ought to press.
Special Agent Terrell
Press?
Joe Muncie
Yeah, press. Send in another thousand. This is the bet of the year.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
I hope you're right.
Joe Muncie
You're gonna press them? Oh, no, no, no.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
I'm satisfied. Winning $2,000 on a race is enough for me.
Joe Muncie
Ha. I get it. You want to see if my merchandise is any good first.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Well, something like that.
Joe Muncie
Why, Mr. Adams, the last time I had a loser, they closed the schools for three days.
Brownie
It was also Christmas time.
Narrator
It is now post time.
Joe Muncie
Too late to make another bet now, even if you wanted to. When that bell rings, the windows are closed.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
I wish this race would start.
Joe Muncie
They'd be out of there any second now. Keep your eye on that outside stall. They're off. There they go.
Brownie
It's Breakaway. Where's Breakaway?
Joe Muncie
He must be in the pack.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Come on, Breakaway.
Race Announcer
Angelique. That's Western Story. Transatlantic and Hot Tamale. Then comes Glamour Boy, Dixie Lee, Southern Cross and the last horses, Breakaway.
Joe Muncie
We got left. Left at the post for goodness.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
They go my thousand.
Joe Muncie
Not yet, Mr. Adams. Not yet.
Brownie
Come on, you break a wing in the back.
Race Announcer
Stretches Western Story by one line. Hot Tamale and Southern Cross neck and Neck per a gap of three lengths. We come to Dixie Lee and on the rail, breakaway.
Joe Muncie
He's breakaway. Mr. Adams. He's rakey.
Race Announcer
Climber Boy. And the last horse is Transatlantic.
Joe Muncie
He's making a move. Breakaway is making a move.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Is that good, Mr. Munson?
Joe Muncie
Shut up, will you?
Brownie
Come on, Breakaway.
Joe Muncie
Come whip him, Eddie.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Whip him.
Joe Muncie
Go to Whip.
Race Announcer
Come on.
Special Agent Terrell
Come on, Eddie.
Race Announcer
Stretch that Southern Cross in front with Breakaway ranging alongside. In Story. And the last one is Francis.
Brownie
Come on, Eddie.
Narrator
Come on.
Joe Muncie
Come with it. Break away. Come on, Eddie. Come on. Come on. We win it. We win it. We win it. I was never worried, Mr. Muncie.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
How much do I win?
Joe Muncie
Well, you ain't put the prices up yet, but you should win over 2000. Oh, that's wonderful, Mr. Adams. Let me tell you something. Huh?
Narrator
What?
Joe Muncie
This is only the beginning.
Special Agent Terrell
Good morning, Mr. Naylor.
Narrator
Oh, hello, Terrell.
Mr. Naylor
Just get in?
Special Agent Terrell
Yeah.
Mr. Naylor
Get anything that might give us a lead on that bank teller?
Special Agent Terrell
I think so.
Mr. Naylor
What is it?
Special Agent Terrell
He's probably right here in town.
Mr. Naylor
How do you know?
Special Agent Terrell
I talked to a friend of his. He told me the teller had just taken a sudden interest in playing horses. Uh oh, which probably accounts for the series of defalcations over the past year.
Mr. Naylor
I would think so.
Special Agent Terrell
And since there's a race meet going on here, that's probably where he is. With the last 10,000 he took.
Mr. Naylor
Yes. Did you get a picture of him?
Special Agent Terrell
Uh huh.
Mr. Naylor
Then I guess you and I'll be out at the track this afternoon.
Joe Muncie
Brownie, let me see that newspaper, will you?
Brownie
I'm reading something.
Joe Muncie
I want to look at the selection.
Brownie
You got eight tout sheets there.
Joe Muncie
Now I'm making up a consensus.
Brownie
You can lose without that. Where's Adam?
Joe Muncie
He's due at the hotel here any minute now. We're gonna do a little playing on our own today, baby.
Brownie
Let's figure.
Joe Muncie
Well, look, we made 400 yesterday. We gotta put it to work, don't we? Remember that old French saying, you can't accumulate unless you speculate? Joe, what's the matter?
Brownie
Take a look at this guy's picture on the paper here. Who does he look like?
Joe Muncie
Hey, it's Adams.
Brownie
Yeah. Only his real name is Williams.
Joe Muncie
What's a gig?
Brownie
He's a bank teller from a jerk town named Bentley. Skipped out and short $28,000.
Joe Muncie
Hey, no wonder he has that bundle.
Brownie
Oh, this ain't so good.
Joe Muncie
What do you mean?
Brownie
Well, the guy's red hot. The law picks him up, he's a cinch to tell who helped him spend that money.
Joe Muncie
You're forgetting one thing, sweetheart. The law ain't got him yet. But we have.
Brownie
I don't get it.
Joe Muncie
Today's special is going to cost Mr. Adams plenty. That must be him now. Let me handle it.
Brownie
Okay.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Hello, Mr. Monson.
Joe Muncie
Hi, Mr. Adams. Come right in.
Narrator
Thank you.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Hello, Ms. Brown.
Brownie
Hi.
Joe Muncie
Well, all set for another day of fun and speculation?
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Yes, indeed. I certainly hope we're as fortunate as we were yesterday.
Joe Muncie
Well, I case the card and come up with nothing but winners in every race. That's right, Mr. Adams.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Well, that's very reassuring.
Joe Muncie
Just one thing, though, Mr. Adams.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
What's that?
Joe Muncie
Today we bet a little different.
Narrator
How?
Joe Muncie
Today you're laying a thousand a race for me.
Narrator
What?
Joe Muncie
Show him the paper, Brownie.
Brownie
Okay. Here's a nice picture of you, Mr. Adams. Or should I say Mr. Williams?
Announcer
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Mr. Naylor
Huh?
Joe Muncie
That's why we're betting my way.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
But now look here, I can't afford to bet that kind of money for you. I have to win a lot of money myself.
Joe Muncie
No kidding.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
You see, I've got to pay the bank back that $28,000. And betting on those winners is the only way I can raise it.
Joe Muncie
The bank can wait, mister. Oh, no, no. Look, you got no choice.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Oh, yes, I have. I can discontinue our relationship right now.
Brownie
Joey's walking out.
Joe Muncie
Oh, no, he ain't.
Brownie
Well, you finally picked a winner.
Narrator
And now, before the FBI file on the fugitive horseplayer resumes as it will in just a moment, here's that important message for homeowners and home buyers. This week at the Equitable Life Assurance Society, somebody asked how much it was wise for the average man earning $5,000 a year to pay when he buys a home on mortgage. The answer was $12,500 or two and a half times his yearly income. On this sound basis, a man getting $50 a week won't be over his head if he buys a six or seven thousand dollar house. But no matter what your Income is. It will pay you to investigate the Equitable Society's Assured Home Ownership Plan which offers you five important advantages. One, the mortgage is cancelled, paid off in full if owner dies. Every dollar previously paid on principal is returned in full to the widow along with a cancelled mortgage. Two, a special cash fund is built up, always ready to be used if financial emergencies threaten the home. Three, this cash fund increases as the mortgage shrinks. It can be used to shorten the term of the mortgage. Pay off a 20 year mortgage, for example, in as little as 14 years. Four, mortgage interest not at 6%, not at 5%, but at only 4%. Five, liberal allowance to cover title search, lawyers fees and other closing costs. No broker's commission, no bonus charges. Well, frankly, there is no other plan like this anywhere. The Equitable Society calls it America's Finest plan for Home Ownership. It protects you against the two major hazards of home mortgages, death and hard times. So if you're planning to buy or build a house, or if you now own a house, get complete information on the Assured Home Ownership plan from your Equitable Society representative. That's the Equitable Society equi table, the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. And now back to the FBI file. The fugitive horse player.
Racing touts fall into the category of chiselers. And old chiselers are unscrupulous opportunists. To them, money is something to be gotten by any method, even though it be criminal, as in tonight's case from the files of your FBI. The fact that the victim of the tout called Joe Muncie was himself guilty of a crime does not lessen Muncie's guilt in striking down his victim and robbing him. Rather, it stresses the meanness of his crime. It is nearly noon now, some two hours after Joe Muncie struck down and robbed the absconding bank teller Fred Williams, alias Fred Adams, in Muncie's hotel room. The FBI's assistant to the agent in charge, Naylor, is sitting at his desk when Special Agent Terrell enters.
Special Agent Terrell
I'm ready to leave for the racetrack whenever you are, Mr. Naylor.
Mr. Naylor
Since we're driving out, maybe we better get started.
Special Agent Terrell
I gave some prints of the teller's photo to the police who will be working the track too.
Mr. Naylor
Good. Between us all, we should be able to. Wait a minute. Naylor speaking. Yes? What? Are you sure?
Narrator
No, no.
Mr. Naylor
Just send him in the regular way. Right. We don't have to go to the racetrack, Terrell. Why not just watch who comes through that door,
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Mr. Naylor?
Mr. Naylor
Come in, Mr. Williams.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Thank you.
Narrator
Well, for the love. Sit down.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
I'm sure you gentlemen are a little surprised.
Mr. Naylor
Oh, hell, that surprised hardly the word for it, Williams.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
I was going to give myself up anyway after I got the money back. But getting it back is out of the question.
Announcer
Now.
Mr. Naylor
Does that bruise on your face have something to do with it being out of the question?
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Yes, sir.
Mr. Naylor
Then let's have your story, Williams. From the beginning.
Joe Muncie
Waiter.
Narrator
Yes, sir.
Joe Muncie
Let's have a check with her. Right. Come on, baby, finish that coffee.
Brownie
Don't rush me.
Joe Muncie
We just about got time to get to the station. You can eat at the track.
Brownie
Did somebody pass the law? We have to get there for the first race.
Joe Muncie
I got the winner. You don't want to miss a sure thing, do you?
Brownie
You've been reading your own ads. Relax. But, honey, I, I, I'm not so sure I even want to go to the track.
Joe Muncie
Look, I've only got the first four races. Handicapped, we blow after the fourth.
Announcer
Okay?
Brownie
What about Adam Williams, whatever his name is?
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
What?
Joe Muncie
You're, you're afraid you go to the cops, huh?
Brownie
Yeah, aren't you?
Joe Muncie
Honey, Mr. Williams is hotter than the inside of a glove. He can't go near the cops, so they put him away for 50.
Brownie
I hope you're right.
Joe Muncie
I know I am. Now, look, we play the first four races, beat it back to town, get the car and head west.
Special Agent Terrell
Are you sure this is the room Williams was slugged in?
Mr. Naylor
Yes. Here's the passage. Arrow.
Special Agent Terrell
Right. Well, I didn't lose any time getting out of here.
Mr. Naylor
Come on, let's see what we can find.
Special Agent Terrell
No telling where they're headed for.
Mr. Naylor
They'll leave a trace, wherever it is.
Narrator
What do you mean?
Mr. Naylor
Muncie's got all those hundred dollar bills Williams took from the bank. Oh, and we've already sent out lists of the serial numbers to all field officers this morning.
Joe Muncie
Good.
Mr. Naylor
Anything in the desk over there?
Special Agent Terrell
No, not a thing.
Mr. Naylor
I guess we'd better wait a minute.
Special Agent Terrell
What'd you find?
Mr. Naylor
This scratch sheet and the racing form. I think we better go out to the track after all.
Narrator
Why?
Mr. Naylor
Muncie is handicapped. Well, Muncie's a horse player, Terrell. Nothing short of an earthquake could keep him from playing these four horses before he jumps town. After slugging Williams, Muncie would figure that Williams couldn't afford to go to the police.
Special Agent Terrell
That's true. Do you suppose he bet with a bookmaker or went to the track?
Mr. Naylor
We'll just have to gamble.
Narrator
It's the track.
Special Agent Terrell
He missed the first race.
Mr. Naylor
But Muncie's got three more to go to make us four. And we'll be there before the third race. Come on.
Joe Muncie
That's two winners in a row, Brownie.
Brownie
That's par for the course. Let's quit.
Joe Muncie
Are you kidding? Let me collect our 3,000. Then I'll buy our tickets for the third and we'll head for the bar.
Brownie
I wish we were heading west.
Joe Muncie
Honey, we will be right after the fourth.
Brownie
I don't like it, Joe.
Joe Muncie
Paying off. You like that, don't you?
Brownie
Sure.
Joe Muncie
But we leave this town with a satchel for baby. Now, come on, let's collect.
Special Agent Terrell
Over here, Mr. Naylor.
Joe Muncie
Well, we're in, fella.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
You mean you spotted Muncie?
Mr. Naylor
Nobody's here.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
How do you know?
Mr. Naylor
Two of those hundred dollar bills have shown up at the bedding window. Huh?
Narrator
The fifty dollar window.
Special Agent Terrell
I wish we had some positive way of identifying him. Williams can do that, but he's back in the city.
Mr. Naylor
He's on his way out here right now.
Brownie
Huh?
Mr. Naylor
I phoned the United States Attorney before we left town.
Special Agent Terrell
The fourth race starts in 20 minutes.
Mr. Naylor
Williams will be here for it.
Special Agent Terrell
Suppose Muncie's fourth selection doesn't win? He won't be going to the window for the payoff.
Mr. Naylor
What's he playing in the fourth race?
Special Agent Terrell
Ragman, Harold.
Narrator
Yeah?
Mr. Naylor
Here's where you and I have got
Narrator
to root a winner home.
Special Agent Terrell
The horses are on the way to the starting gate and Williams isn't here yet.
Mr. Naylor
Who's this coming now?
Special Agent Terrell
Okay, you win.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Did we make it in time, Mr. Naylor?
Mr. Naylor
Yes, Williams. Just in time to help us route Ragman home and catch Munsey good.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
That's going to be a real pleasure.
Narrator
Come on.
Mr. Naylor
Here's a good place to watch and root.
Race Announcer
It is now pulse time.
Mr. Naylor
Ragman's got post position three with the jockey wearing the bright gold blouse.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
I think I can get really get excited about this one.
Mr. Naylor
They all seem pretty quiet. Maybe we're going to get a start.
Race Announcer
And they're off.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
They're off.
Race Announcer
And for the lead, that's Ragman. The gap of two lengths enters the Colonel, Tootsie Buttons in Alaskan fusing. Come on, Ragman.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Whip him, young man, whip him.
Joe Muncie
Stay up there, Ragman.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
He's moving away from him.
Race Announcer
At the half, it's Ragman by three. The Colonel and Tootsie head to head a length back. Buttons and the last horse, Confusing.
Joe Muncie
Come on, Ragman. Stay up there with that horse. Keep moving.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
I think he's going to do it.
Race Announcer
Going into the Stretch turn. Ragman by three. Tootsie. The Colonel and Buttons lapped each other. A gap of eight flames. Confusing.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
He's starting to quit.
Joe Muncie
Ragman's quitting.
Special Agent Terrell
Stay out of there, Bobby.
Joe Muncie
Go to the whip. Hold him up, Bobby.
Brownie
Come on.
Joe Muncie
Drive.
Race Announcer
Now stretches Ragman on the rail by one. Tootsie ranging over the outside, three lengths back. Buttons in the Colonel headed head and 15 lengths back. Confusing. Hang on, ragman.
Joe Muncie
Only a 16th to go, Bobby. Hit him, Bobby. Come on, you Ragman.
Race Announcer
Come on, Bobby.
Joe Muncie
Come on. Come on.
Brownie
He lasted.
Joe Muncie
He lasted. He won. Ragman number is up.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
His picture's for place.
Joe Muncie
Let's go down to the $50 window. Oh, baby, what a day. Four bets, four winners.
Brownie
Honey, I take back everything I said about you. Now, do me a favor.
Mr. Naylor
Sure, honey.
Narrator
What?
Brownie
Let's go as soon as you collect.
Narrator
Sure, sure.
Joe Muncie
We're going to be on our way in five minutes. Just let me get on this line here.
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Hello, Mr. Muncie.
Narrator
What?
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
Adams Williams is the name.
Brownie
What are you doing here?
Fred Williams / Mr. Adams
I'm here with these gentlemen.
Joe Muncie
Huh?
Mr. Naylor
We're special agents of the FBI, monsieur. Wait a minute, miss. We want you, too. Together, you make a wonderful parlay.
Narrator
Frederick Williams was tried and convicted of embezzlement. And sentenced to a long term in the federal penitentiary. Joe Muncie and Florence Brown were jointly tried and found guilty of attempted murder. And are likewise serving long terms in the penitentiary. Joe Muncie did hit four winners in a row. Because touts, like anyone else who follow the horses. Have their lucky days at selecting winners. But ask any veteran of the sport, and he'll tell you. That you cannot possibly beat it or keeps the bank. Teller. Williams learned this the hardest way possible, the criminal way. And he learned, too, a lesson many hardened criminals could have told him. A lesson your FBI continues to prove 24 hours a day that crime does not pay.
Next week, another thrilling case from the files of your FBI. We'll tell you about it in just a moment. But now let me refresh your memory. On the more important features of the Equitable Society's assured home ownership plan. Remember that the mortgage interest is only 4%. Remember that if the owner dies. The widow owns the home without any mortgage at all. Yes, the assured home ownership plan is practically foreclosure proof. To get the full story, talk to the Equitable Society representative in your community. Ask him for literature that gives all details. You'll find him in your local phone book under the name the Equitable Life Assurance Society. Equi T A B L E. The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States.
Next week we will bring you another colorful story from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Homicide Hideout.
The incidents used in tonight's Equitable Life Assurance Societies broadcast are adapted from the files of the Federal Bureau Investigation. However, all names used are fictitious and any similarity thereof to the names of persons living or dead is accidental. Tonight the music was composed and conducted by Frederick Steiner. The author was Frank Ferrays. And your narrator was Dean Carlton. This is your FBI is a Jerry Devine production. Now this is Carl Frank speaking for the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. And the Equitable Society's representative in your community. And inviting you to tune in again next week at this same time when the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States will bring you another colorful story from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Homicide Hideout on this this is your FBI. This is ABC, the American Broadcasting Company.
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Podcast: Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Episode: This is Your FBI: The Fugitive Horse Player (Original Air Date: 05/17/1946)
Release Date: March 15, 2026
Host: Choice Classic Radio
In this compelling "This is Your FBI" episode, the story follows a seemingly ordinary bank teller, Fred Williams, who succumbs to the lure of the racetrack, leading to embezzlement, a desperate flight, and entanglement with ruthless horse-racing touts. The drama showcases how even minor lapses in judgment can snowball into crime, while offering a fast-paced procedural perspective from the FBI as they close the net on both the criminal and the opportunists exploiting him. The underlying message: crime does not pay.
"Where you find millions of loose dollars, you will also find many loose characters... sometimes... he takes his payment in blood."
[03:37] Joe Muncie and Brownie
Joe Muncie, a dapper tout, and Brownie, his girlfriend/secretary, wait in their shabby city office for a mark to arrive, hoping their ad in the newspaper will lure in a big fish.
Brownie: "The place to find suckers is at the track." (03:46)
[04:20] Enter Fred Williams, alias 'Mr. Adams'
Williams appears, looking for a 'sure thing' at the track and ready to wager big—though with suspiciously large bills.
[05:13] Muncie Offers a "Super Special"
Realizing Williams has a lot of money, Muncie ups the ante from selling a simple tip for $10 to asking Williams to make a $1,000 bet, 20% of which would be for Muncie.
Joe Muncie: "I'm gonna give you, a complete and absolute stranger, Joe Muncie Super Special." (06:17)
[07:54] FBI Involvement
Special Agent Terrell and Mr. Naylor discuss a bank teller absconding with $28,000—a crime gradually linked to Williams, based on his new interest in gambling.
Joe Muncie: "This is only the beginning." (11:41)
[12:55] Brownie Discovers Williams is a Fugitive
Brownie spots Williams’ photo in the newspaper; his true name and crime are revealed.
Brownie: "His real name is Williams... Bank teller... short $28,000." (13:14)
[14:17] Extortion by Muncie
Muncie and Brownie now leverage this information, coercing Williams into bigger bets for them, threatening exposure.
Joe Muncie: "Today you're laying a thousand a race for me." (14:17)
Brownie: "Here's a nice picture of you, Mr. Adams. Or should I say Mr. Williams?" (14:23)
[19:05] Williams Turns Himself In
Bruised and defeated, Williams reports his ordeal to the FBI.
Mr. Naylor: "Does that bruise on your face have something to do with it being out of the question?" (19:55)
Fred Williams: "Yes, sir." (19:59)
[21:13] FBI Search
Agents track the serial numbers of the stolen bills, narrowing Muncie's probable location to the racetrack.
Mr. Naylor: "We're special agents of the FBI, monsieur... We want you too. Together, you make a wonderful parlay." (25:57)
| Timestamp | Event/Segment | |-----------|---------------| | 02:14 | Narrator discusses dual world of horse racing and the danger of touts | | 04:20 | Williams (as Mr. Adams) makes contact with Muncie | | 06:29 | Muncie sets up the “Super Special” tip for a big bet | | 09:14 | Race – Williams’ big bet wins | | 13:14 | Brownie discovers Williams is a bank embezzler | | 14:17 | Muncie extorts Williams for larger bets | | 14:23 | Brownie confronts Williams with his true identity | | 15:27 | Muncie attacks Williams when he tries to leave | | 19:05 | Williams turns himself into the FBI | | 22:36 | FBI agents zero in on Muncie at the track | | 25:46 | Williams and FBI confront Muncie and Brownie | | 27:15 | Closing moral: "Crime does not pay." |
The episode captures the brisk, hard-boiled style typical of 1940s radio crime drama: snappy patter, streetwise slang, tense exchanges, and a didactic narration that underscores the larger message. The interaction is marked by a rhythm of threat, urgency, and irony, especially in the interplay between predators (Muncie, Brownie) and prey (Williams), then between lawbreakers and law—the ever-watchful FBI.
Final Outcomes:
Core Message:
Even those who believe they can outsmart the system—whether a bank teller turned gambler or a sleazy racing tout—ultimately face justice. "Crime does not pay."
This classic crime episode is a rollercoaster of deceit, desperation, and dogged law enforcement, embodying the moral clarity and dramatic punch of golden-age radio. It’s a memorable tale for fans of old-time radio detectives and newcomers alike, reiterating in no uncertain terms: quick schemes and shady partners lead only to downfall.