← Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar: The Denver Disbursal Matter 03/23/1958
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Your message amplified. Ready to share your message with the world? Start your podcast journey with Podbean. Podbean. Podbean. Podbean. Podbean, the AI powered all in one podcast platform. Thousands of businesses and enterprises trust Podbean to launch their podcasts. Launch your podcast on podbean today. My school uses Podbean. My church too. I love it. I really do. 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 you for donating@ChoiceClassicRadio.com from Hollywood. It's time now for Johnny Duller, Harry Jameson, that Paramount Insurance adjuster. Johnny. Hi, Perry. It's been a long time. I've begun to think you're neglecting me. Oh, how you talk. Matter of fact, I've just been waiting for a nasty enough case to come along for you. Yeah, you do have a habit of handing me the dirty ones. What is it this time for? State out in Denver. Oh, yeah, I've heard of them. Well, they're a small outfit by contract. All their claims are rooted through us. Damage appraisals, payment dispersals and so on. So what's happened? Well, we've had to pay a lot of claims for them recently. Too many. What's more, they've all been big ones and on fairly young policy. Well, Perry, you know as well as I do that things will average out in the long run. Unless something's wrong. 60,000 on one policy, 35,000 on another. 70,000 and a cool 150,000 on one just last week. Shoo. And the beneficiary in each case has been the same man. No wonder you just leave the door open, Perry. I'll be right over. Bob Bailey in the exciting adventures of the man with the action packed expense account, America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator, yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Expense account submitted by special investigator Johnny Dollar, the Paramount Insurance adjuster's home office, Hartford, Connecticut. Following is an account of expenses incurred during my investigation of the Denver Dispers. Expensive con item. $110 for the cab that took me over to Perry Jameson's office at Paramount. True to form, the door was wide open for me. I kind of thought this thing might get you down here in a hurry. Johnny, sit down. Yeah, thanks. And I took the liberty of calling TWA and getting you a seat on the plane to Denver. Good idea, when there's one. Leaving New York at 6pm okay. And I'll get you into Denver about old 10:30 Mountain Time thinking, Megan. Sure. Charge your expenses to us. That's the deal we have. With four states and the man to see out there. It's almost a one man outfit. His name is William Whitney. Got it. Now look, Perry, I've been thinking on the way over here. Wonders we'll never cease. Thanks, pal. But how well do you know this man Whitney? Maybe he's in cahoots with this big beneficiary. This Don Ricardo that is now. Yeah, such things have happened. No, no, Johnny, you're wrong. Poor old Willie Whitney's a mild timid milquetoast. His wife, an ex cous girl who probably thought he had money. Well, you can be sure she's the one who wears the pants in the family. Willie would cringe at the thought of hurting a fly. Well, that was an idea. I don't blame you, but no, forget it. What makes you so sure something's wrong? Well, I didn't say I was, but 215,000 to one beneficiary in a period of only three months. Well, I just want to be sure it's okay. And I called you in because I am willing to pay to make sure. No, don't worry, Perry, you will. Expense account, item 2, 141, even plane, parent incidentals. Hartford to New York to Denver. Originally Indian country. The mile high city is now a maze of oil refineries, steel companies, grain mills, chemical and manufacturing plants, a huge downtown shopping area and beautiful tree studded residential sections. No wonder it's one of the big insurance centers. Item 3, $2 even for a cab at a town where I park myself at the world famous Brown Palace Hotel. Item 4, 10 cents. Phone call to an old newspaper pal from back east who is now working on the Denver Post. Pete Packer. Johnny Dollar. Pete Packer. Okay, what's the story? Johnny Dollar. Okay. How are you, Keith? Great, great. You gonna be here long? We gotta get together. Where you stay? Surround Palace. Pete, you want us to dig up a couple of dates? We'll go out on the town. Remember the last time we tied one on together? Are you kidding? I had such a headache the next morning. It hasn't left me yet. Hey, listen, I get away desk at 2:00am no, you look, huh. I'm out here on a job. Insurance investigation. Did you ever hear of a man named Don Ricardo? You, you know Don Ricardo? No. What do you know about him? Well, they say. Now mind you, I don't know for sure, Keith, but don't forget I did a hit show on the Chicago Sun Times. A few years back. What's that got to do with Don Ricardo? It was back in the days the Capone mob and Don Ricardo. Well, mind you, nobody was ever able to pin anything on him. Yeah, I see what you mean. Where does he live, Pete? Oh, 20, 30 miles east, the other side of golden little place called Millville. Now, mind you, Keith, I don't want to really say anything against him. I mean, if I don't seem to be really telling you anything about him. Pete, I think you've told me plenty. Well, now, listen, Keita, thanks. And I'll be talking to you. It was late and I was tired, but I went downstairs to the cocktail bar and with the help of a big fat tip for a nightcap, got some more lowdown on Don Ricardo. The bartender talk plenty. Yeah, it seems Ricardo was living the life of Riley in the little town of Millville. Lovely home, expensive cars, threw a lot of big gaudy parties. And always for people from out of town. Mostly Chicago or Miami Beach. Yeah, the bartender talk plenty until he spotted a lean, well dressed, rather too well dressed man sitting alone at one of the tables watching him. A man who'd somehow forgot to take off the light gray hat that shaded his features and slightly narrowed eyes. The bartender clammed up. I paid for my drink, that's item five. And was conscious of being watched closely as I casually sauntered out and took the elevator out to my room first thing in the morning, I looked up the address of Forestay. Instead of the striking new Mile High center, as I'd expected, it was a dingy old office building on South Broadway. William Whitney looked a little old and dingy himself. Johnny Dollar, the special Investigation? That's right, Mr. Whitney. Oh, well, sit down, won't you? All right, thanks. Just here on a visit. I'm here because the insurance adjusters are concerned about some recent claims they've had to pay on policies issued by you. We've been very unfortunate lately, Mr. Doll. Yeah, $215,000 unfortunate on only four policies? Yes, and all came to the same beneficiary by some odd coincidence. You sure it was coincidence? Who were the policyholders? Quite some old miners living over near Golden. Old miners insuring for those amounts? Yes, sir. They were all able to pay the premium. Give me their names. Yes, sir. Unless I'm cockeyed, there's something wrong with this whole thing and I intend to find out what it is. The policies were issued in good faith and the premiums paid. But I agree with you, sir, and I'm terribly concerned. I'm glad you're here, sir. It'll not only save the company a lot of money, it'll take a great load off my mind. Here's the list. Do you know the beneficiary, this Don Ricardo? Only through seeing him when I've given him the checks. Barnall, Mulligan, R. Smith, and Jay Smith. Did any of these insured have families? I don't know. You see the beneficiary in each case? Yeah, I know better. Let me see those policies. Whitney left me alone while I plowed through his files. Satisf at least that the policies themselves were okay. I finally left him, hailed a taxi, and told the driver to head for the town of Golden. As we pulled away from the curb, a small black foreign car in the next block swung around and appeared to follow us, and I wondered. But then it cut off at an intersection and I decided I was imagining things until we pulled up at one of the addresses Whitney had given me in Golden, a ramshackle, unpainted old frame house on the edge of town. I told the driver to wait for me and walk up to the front door. And it looks to me like that house is empty. Mister, you sure you give me the right address? Yeah, this is the address, all right. But I guess that. Huh. Hey. That door open by itself? I don't know. Hello? Hello? Your message amplified. Ready to share your message with the world? Start your podcast journey with podbean. Podbean, the AI powered all in one podcast platform. Thousands of businesses and enterprises trust Podbean to launch their podcasts. Use Podbean to record your podcast. Use PodBean AI to optimize your podcast. Use PodBean AI to turn your blog into a podcast. Use Podbean to distribute your podcast everywhere. Launch your podcast on Podbean today. Anybody? Act two of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. In a moment. Our flag now numbers 50 stars, and behind each star there stands yet another flag representing one of the 50 states. Vermont State flag in its early form imitated our national flag, uniquely bearing 17 stripes and 17 stars, with only the inscribed word Vermont to distinguish it. The good people of Vermont assumed, as did our national government, that stripes as well as stars would be added as each new state entered the Union. Vermont entered the Union after Tennessee and Ohio, and with Kentucky to join shortly, the vermonters naturally put 17 stripes on their flag. In 1818, the United States Congress put a stop to this, and since then, the stripes have always been at 13, and only stars are added for each new state. Vermont's Present flag captures the famous beauty of the Green Mountain State in its coat of arms. And inscribed is the phrase Vermont Freedom and Unity. Vermont state flag. The flag of the 14th state to enter the Union was adopted on April 26, 1923. And now Act 2 of yours truly, Johnny Dollar and the Denver Dispersal Matter. The old house at the edge of Golden, Colorado, looked empty, but I knocked anyway. You sure you give me the right address, mister? Yeah, driver, this is the address, all right, but I guess that's. Huh. Hey. That door open by itself? I don't know. Hello? Hello? Anybody? Mister. Mister, go back. Get away from this open door. But you're hurt. Your. Your neck. You're bleeding to death. Stay down. Barely. Nick me. I'm all right. Holy cow. I thought you was a goner. Here, let me help you. You will need help if you don't stay out of his line of fire. Well, who was it? You see anybody? Hey, listen. Yeah, that's a pulling away from the back. Get a look at it? Well, I can't. Can't tell. That dusty side road back there looks like a little one, though. Foreign car. Too far away now. I can't tell, but it's black all right. Come on, we're getting back into your cab. Yeah, yeah, I'll get you to a doctor. No, no, I'm okay. You know where Millville is? Sure. A few miles east. It's an old mine. Come on. You know where Don Ricardo lives for sure? You. You want to go there? Does he own a small black foreign car? Yeah, real expensive job. I've seen him in town, but, Mister, come on, because I'll lay odds he's the one who fired those shots. You mind if I drop you off a few blocks away from his place? The cab driver relented. Drop me off at Ricardo's front door, then hightail it for other parts. It was a nice home, very modern, seemingly out of place in what had once been a prosperous mining center, but was now little more than a ghost town. Yes? Mr. Ricardo? That's right. Who are you? I think you know, but I'll tell you anyhow. I'm Johnny Dollar, insurance investigator. Oh, come in, Mr. Dollar. We can sit in the den. Would. Would you like a drink? No, thanks. What happened to your neck there? It's been bleeding. Oh, we'll get to that later. I've been rather expecting someone like you to call in view of my good fortune in insurance money lately. Sit down. You sure you wouldn't like a drink? Tell me one thing. Yes? Who paid the Premiums on those four policies that netted you a couple of hundred grand. Why, the policyholders of course. At least to the best of my knowledge. Poor old broken down miners. They were still quite active, Mr. Donald. Hoping to find a new vein in some of the old workings in this region. Then maybe you grub stake them, huh? Well, as a matter of fact I did. And they promised me a share of whatever they might find. In return they named me and their insurance policy. Oh, you must have given them plenty more than a worked out mind could ever yield. How do you mean? To afford the premiums on those hefty policies. Now look, Dolly, it was all perfectly legal on the up and up. How old were they? Barno Bono? About 68, I believe. Mulligan and Smith and the other Smith? About the same. So what? The company was crazy. How did they die, Ricardo? By some strange coincidence, the poor old fellows all went the same way. Accidents there in the mine they were working. Did the police investigate those accidents? I imagine so. Now look, Ricardo, as you know very well, I was shot at a few minutes ago. Shot at? At a little isolated house on the edge of Golden. You were a lousy shot. I. Now look here. So you should have known better than to park that little foreign job of yours in the driveway. At least without washing it down. What are you talking about? That kind of purpl dust. It's covered with dust. Yeah, I'm talking about the side road back of that house where you tried to plug me. Well, okay, okay Dollar. Maybe you're right about the whole thing. So what if I did try to knock you off? Oh, you admit it, huh? Yeah, why not? But since I didn't kill you then. Oh no, you know. All right, all right, all right. Put him up for me. Come on, get your hands. Officer, I've never seen a prettier unif in my life. What is this? What is this? We've been waiting a long time to nail you, Ricardo. Get him out of here, boys. All right, take it easy, take it easy, Pete. So help me ke. I knew if anybody'd bring Ricardo out in the open, you would. You mean to say. Yeah, I figured I'd bring these. Better bring these state police out here. Oh, Pete, you're a doll. Now let you and me go out and tear the town apart, huh? Later, after I finish this act three of yours truly, Johnny Dollar in a moment. Over 150 years ago, the Swiss poet Henri Amiel wrote, heroism is the brilliant triumph of the soul over fear. Heroism is the dazzling and glorious Concentration of courage. During the Korean campaign, Corporal Ronald Rosser was attached to the Heavy Motor Company of the 38th Infantry, 2nd Division, United States Army. Rosser, a veteran of World War II, rejoined the army and shipped to Korea when he heard that his brother had fallen in the winter assault of the Chinese Communists. One day, Rosser's company moved into enemy territory. At the time, the corporal was a forward observer and carried a radio. Suddenly, in the midst of an enemy attack, Rosser handed his radio to a buddy, slipped the safety off his carbine and filled his shirt with hand grenades. He charged at the enemy through fierce mortar and artillery fire. Shooting from the hip. Straddling a bunker, he riddled its occupants. Still advancing, he accounted for two more of the enemy, shooting one through the head and clubbing another to death. Continuing his one man charge, he jumped into a trench full of enemy soldiers, opened fire and forced his way relentlessly down the length of the trench, killing right and left with grenades and carbine fire. Out of ammunition, he returned to his company where he replenished his supply. Then he charged the enemy again and again. Finally, he returned to his own area and taking the radio back from his friend, he moved out with his company. Corporal Ronald Rosser was awarded the Medal of Honor for his action. Action which had shown the enemy that his personal code of conduct wouldn't let them push around either his kid brother or his country. And now, act three of yours truly, Johnny Dollar and the Denver dispersal matter. It took hours, even with Pete Packard's help, and he finally had to go back to his job at the Denver Post. But Ricardo's house, carefully hidden away under a drawer lining and a sideboard, I found what I was looking for. A handful of canceled checks. It was well after dark when I appropriated one of Ricardo's fancy cars and drove back to Denver to a little house in the south end of town, not far from the office of Forest State Insurance Company. As I pulled to a stop, a big fancy truck nearly sideswiped me good. It covered the sound of my stopping there. As unobtrusively as possible, I walked up to the front door of the place. Even above the sound of passing traffic, I could hear voices, loud ones, coming from somewhere in the rear of the building. Cautiously, I edged my way around the side to where I could see the lighted window of a bedroom. All right, all right, I hate you. Only why don't you tell me why? Stop asking questions. Get the things back. Make sure it's only enough to put in the car. We're traveling light and fast. All right, Willie. All right, already. Boy, you're bossier than Don ever was when you wanted. Forget Don Ricardo and collect your stuff. If it wasn't for me, you'd still be working in one of his nightclubs in Chicago. Lucky you never talked its way down to that insurance office. Oh, stop that. I thought we were gonna stay in Denver until you made a lot of dough at the insurance racket. I left this happy domestic scene to walk slowly back to the front door. Yep, my original hunch at the office in Hartford had been right. What's that? Somebody at the front door. Well, why don't you go answer it, huh? Rowan. Oh, Mr. Dollar. That's right. Why, I'm glad you're here, sir. Well, you look upset, Mr. Whitney. I am, sir. I am terribly upset. Handbags. They're in the hall. Yes. Going somewhere? It's that Don Ricardo. Oh, I thought you didn't really know him. I didn't. Oh, if only I'd done it before, I'd never have issued those policies naming him as beneficiary. Done what? Mr. Whitney investigated that Ricardo. But I did, after you left me this morning. He's a gangster. An ex gangster, Mr. Dollar. No. Yes. I suddenly realized that in your investigation, you'd investigate him and he'd think I'd had you investigate him. He'd think I was trying to make trouble for him. Frightened me. Frightened me terribly. And that's why you decided to leave town, huh? Yes. Yes, of course. Until this whole thing blows over. He's a dangerous man. He'd stop at nothing. He might even try to kill me. I must leave here immediately. Oh, I wouldn't be too sure of that. Where did you plan to go? Far away. Anywhere where he couldn't find me. And where maybe I couldn't find you, of course. What? Why did you say that? Well, I was just thinking. This morning when I was going through the files at your office, you left me alone for a while. Yes, Yes, I recall this. But I did. Why? To make a phone call, maybe to Don Ricardo. What is that? Why, he just happened to be waiting in his little foreign car a block or so up the street about the time I left your office in a cab, Mr. Donald. Theory, isn't it? Especially when I have these little scraps of paper to back it up. What are those? Some of Don Ricardo's canceled checks made out to you. 20% of the take on those big fat insurance payments. Where did you get those? Funny too. They're all dated one day after you paid off on Each of those big claims. Give me those. You don't. I don't need these. I'll kill you, Mr. Milk. Door stamp. I'm kidding you. That cave, baby. All right, all right. Okay, Willie, get up on your feet. Yes, sir. Anything you say, Mr. Dollar. But please, you must believe me. I'm an innocent. That timid soul pose of yours may have sold insurance to a handful of suckers, wouldn't he? But it hasn't sold me a thing. Oh, I suppose you find them in every trade. That still doesn't justify their even being alive, though. Fortunately in the insurance business, they never get away with it for long. Even a team like Whitney and Ricardo. I wonder if they're sharing the same cell. Expense accounts. Item six. $10 to the doctor who sewed on my neck. Items, $784 for a night on the town with Pete. Packet it. Strangely enough, I still have a bit of a headache from it. Expense account total, including a little gift to that taxi driver. Incidentals. And transportation Back to Hartford. $391.80. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Our star will return in just a moment. Our flag now numbers 50 stars, and behind each star there stands yet another flag representing one of the 50 states. Idaho's state flag depicts the prime industrial pursuit of its citizens mining. Balanced against this image is a female figure combining the virtues of the goddess of Liberty, for she carries the spear and cap of liberty and the goddess of justice represented by the scales in her hand. A bright shining star in the heavens is an indication that Idaho has joined the nation. Overall is the motto, Esto perpetua. May she endure forever. Idaho's state flag. The flag of the 43rd state to enter the union was adopted on March 12, 1907. Now here is our star to tell you about next week's story. Next week, a killer's list. That's right, a list of victims. And guess who's on it. Join us, won't you? Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar, starring Bob Bailey, originates in Hollywood and is produced and directed by Jack Johnstone, who also wrote today's story. Heard in our cast were Virginia, Greg Forest, Lew, Barney Phillips, Edgar Barrier, Frank Gerstel and Peter Lee. Be sure to join us next week, same time and station for another exciting story of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. This is Dan Coverley, SPE this is the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.