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Captain Frank Canelli
play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details. 21st Precinct. Sergeant Burns, a stick up. For where? East. What? Do both of them have guns? Where is this? In the liquor store. All right, I'll send the officers right over. You're in the muscle room at the 21st Precinct. The nerve center. A call is coming through. You will follow the action taken pursuant to that call from this minute until the final report is written in the 124 room at the 21st precinct. Hello? CB Sergeant Burns at the 21st at the liquor store. 192E77. There's a robbery in progress.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
That's right.
Captain Frank Canelli
A robbery in progress. Two armed men. Okay. Yeah. 160 patrolmen, 11 sergeants and four lieutenants, of whom I'm the boss. My name is Kelly. Frank Canelli. I'm captain in Command of the 21st. It happened at 10:55pm Sector car number four of the 21st was on patrol on Lexington Avenue in the 70s with Patrolman Daniel Mercado as operator and patrolman Horace Nelson as recorder. It had been a quiet tour. What did he say? Oh, he didn't say much. Dan said if I wasn't satisfied with the fuse, I'd. Give me something else. I told him I satisfied, all right. It's just they were ripping in the heel. It's almost 55. Five, Nelly. We better ring in. Yeah. So what happened? They gave me a new pair. I got them on. That was nice. Yeah, I thought so. 21st place inside. And Collins. Solomon Nelson. Check the car four, box 11. Okay. Time. What do you have for us? Nothing. Star 681K. Star 681 at Lexington and 73rd K at 1928-10-7 Street. The liquor store. Single 30. Hold up. In progress. Hold the silent. Dan. Maybe we can jump. Yeah. Put your hand out. Nelly. Okay, you want to take the corner? Go ahead. Street's pretty clear.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Hit it.
Captain Frank Canelli
Mold all the taxis down to the corner. Hold tight. Delete. There they are.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Come on.
Captain Frank Canelli
Come on.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Hold up.
Captain Frank Canelli
Hold up There. There's two of them. Nelly. Let's get them Experiencing up. Hold up. He's joining the building. You'll get him. I'll keep after the other one. Okay. Hold up there. I'll see you. You. You better stop where you are. Please.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Stay away from me.
Captain Frank Canelli
I said stay away. Al, who is it? On the stairs. On the stairs. Come on. Stay against the wall.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Keep away, I said.
Captain Frank Canelli
Watch it, Sergeant. All right. I'm okay. The next landing. You been close enough to get a shot of him, Sergeant? I haven't even been close enough to see him. Cover me and I'll try it. There he goes. Upstairs to the roof. Go ahead. Hold up, mister. There he is. Watch it. He's just standing there. Ready to go out on the roof. Come on down here. What's in it for me? Come on down. We'll talk about it. My kind of chest is buddy down the street. I know I can call the aftermath. How about it, mister? There he goes. Watch yourself. Hold up. You okay, Nelly? I'm okay. He run out on the roof. Wait for me, huh? Wait. Stay away. Del. Del. Here. Where is there. And the vent? I hit him. I think. You. You come on out. Let's take a look. Watch him. He's laid out. Are you through, boy? I'm through. Yeah. Throw that gun out here. That's why I'm through. Throw it anyway. Are you hit? Yeah, I'm hit. I'm hitting the shoulder. Right in the shoulder. You're lucky. Yeah, I'm lucky. I'm the luckiest guy in the world. While the apprehension of this hold up man occurred, I, as ranking officer on duty in the 6th Division, was at the emergency ward at Metropolitan Hospital. Interviewing the patrolman who had been injured in the 17th, Lieutenant Snow Snyder, the desk officer at the 21st, reached me on the telephone at the hospital to inform me of the occurrence and the shooting. He reported that detectives of the 21st Squad under the command of Lt. Matt King were on the job. That the second holdup man had run to 3rd Avenue and escaped and that the ambulance was en route the Metropolitan Hospital with the wounded suspect. I walked outside the emergency room door to await the ambulance. As I heard it approach, a car pulled up to the door. It was Lieutenant King. Okay. Whiny. Hello, Matt. Captain. Pull it over on the lot and come on inside. How'd you get here so fast, Captain? Oh, I was here. Cop was hurt down on the 17th. I had to make the investigation. Oh, very bad? No, it doesn't look too bad. He fell through a broken step in a condemned building trying to run some shit out his legs all scratched up. Doctor says that's about all. What? Have one of your men made a good collar, Nelson? Yeah, I heard about that. How bad is this boy shot? Not too bad, I hope. Glad I want to find out from him. Partner got away from us. You got to know where he is. Did he tell you anything over there? Man, he wouldn't give me the right time of day. All right, you be with him now. All right, roll it out. How was it? Take my jacket. Don't forget my jacket. All right, I got this then. Go on. Easy there. Watch. I'm okay. Go ahead. Hello, Captain. Hi. Lifted high Elon. Nice job. Thanks. Okay, go ahead. Easy, will. You hurt? Okay, back here. Go ahead. Want to come inside, Captain? Yeah, sure, man. Watch it going through the door. This kid might be able to clear a whole string of robberies for us. I hope so. Thank you. All right, up on the table with him. Watch it, now. Take it easy, will you? That's a tough will it. Hey, hey. For crying out loud. All right, I'll lay back there. Doctor. Yes, Lieutenant. I see you for a minute. Fellas sure are keeping us stepping tonight. You know Captain Canelli. Oh, he is? Sure. How are you, Doctor? Can I talk to him while you examine him? Well, I don't see why not. His buddy got away from us, which like to be there waiting when he likes. All right, she won't bother me. All right, son, let's have a look. Just take it easy now, will you? It's killing you. You're lucky it didn't. Everybody says I'm so lucky. Roll over on your side. Give him a hand, please, will you, Arthur? Oh, yeah, sure. Come on, easy, will you? Oh, that's good. Who was with you, Arthur? Who was with me? Where? Hey, what are you going to do with the scissors? You're not going to cut the shirt. How are we going to get it off? You don't have to cut it. No good. It's got a hole in it. Full of blood. Six bucks. Six bucks down the drain. Who got my jacket? Where's my jacket? I've got it. Is there a bullet hole in that, too? Yep. Lousy shing. That's all I can say. We want you to say a lot more than that, Arthur. Look, I'm busy now. Take it easy. Jock, what are you doing? Why still. Who is he, Arthur? You're wasting your time. I got lots of it. Maybe you have, but I haven't. Now, listen to me, boy. You're in a big jam. You tried to hide the Liquor store. And you took a couple of shots at a policeman. Got stung yourself for your trouble. You're through being a wise guy. You're through for a long time being a wise guy. This is gonna sting. Hold still.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Ow.
Captain Frank Canelli
Take it easy. What, are you trying to kill me? I'm trying to cure you. Why? I don't know. Who is he? Arthur? Hey, Doc, cut it out. If you don't help us, it might take a little longer. But we'll get him anyway. What good is it doing you, him walking around and you here? Let me alone. I don't know any. Listen, boy, we've got the cards out of your pocket. We know your name, where you live. You find out who your friends are, we'll go around and talk to every one of them. We'll find the guy. Don't worry about that. All we're asking you to do is save us a little time. What are you to me? I should save you time? I don't care anything about saving you time. You put a bullet through me and you want me to save you time? All right, hold still. Oh.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Cut him out.
Captain Frank Canelli
All right, we'll through for a while. Captain. Lieutenant. What's it look like, Doctor? Well, it's in there pretty deep. I don't think he's in too bad shape. It's gonna be a while before there's any help to you, man. I better send upstairs to pictures and get the resident surgeon in here. He's gonna have to do some deep cutting. Hey, Doc, come here. Why, you leave me alone? Lay back there. Sure wants service, doesn't he? Excuse me. All right, what's the trouble?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
A killer.
Captain Frank Canelli
Well, he's not going to be much help. Looks like we're going to have a busy time with him, Captain. Yeah, but you'd be a lot busier, Matt, if he were running around loose. You are listening to 21st Precinct, a factual account of the way police work in the world's largest city. Now back to 21st Precinct and Captain Frank Canelli. Lieutenant King and detectives under his command continued to question the suspect until he was taken upstairs to the operating room. I returned to the 17th Precinct to enter the report of my investigation concerning the injured police officer and the blotter. It wasn't until after 1am that I got back to the 21st. There I saw Lt. King. He told me that Arthur Rollins had not given him any further information before he underwent surgery for the removal of the bullet. That he was still under anesthesia, being guarded by a patrolman detailed from the 21st. By then, the case had taken a new turn. I another holdup had occurred in the 28th Precinct on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. One man, he had entered a bar and grill and stuck up the bartender and two customers. One of the customers put up a fight. He was shot and killed. The killer was described as about the same age, weight and height and as wearing the same kind of clothing as the man who escaped in the 21st. It appeared to be the same man. By 8am when I signed the blotter and left the precinct to go off duty for 24 hours, detectives had still not been able to talk to Arthur Rollins. It was later in the morning before his condition permitted an interview.
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Captain Frank Canelli
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Captain Frank Canelli
I wouldn't press him too hard yet, Lieutenant. He's not completely out of it. All right. Doctor, you want to stand by while I talk to him? No, no, that's all right. Well, good luck. Thanks. Yes, sir, I'm Lieutenant King. Yes, sir, I know. Patrolman Mar. Lieutenant, how's he doing? How do you think? I'm doing. He's doing all right. Doctor says it's all right for me to talk to him. Yes, sir. Make an entry in your memorandum book that I talk to him and I'll sign it. Okay, Lieutenant. Well, how you doing, Arthur? How do you think? You're in a lot of trouble, you know that? Yeah, I know it. Who was that with you? Who was it? Look, you're wasting your time. I've got plenty of it to waste, Arthur. Your partner, whoever he was, decided that one close call wasn't enough for him last night. Went up to the 25th, held up a bar and killed a customer. Man that wanted for murder. Who was he? I don't know. Some guy. Some guy I just met. Now, listen to me, Arthur. We want a little help from you. There's a lot more involved now than just another stick up with a homicide involved. You know who the guy is? There'll be a lot of people here to talk to you today. There'll be homicide detectives and detectives from the 25th and somebody from the DA's office. I want to stop playing around. We want to know everything you know. We want to know. It's bad. Now, how about it? They asked you how about it? Nothing about it. I can't tell you what I don't know. And I don't know a thing. Not a thing. That's the way it went. During the whole day, detectives from the various commands involved talked to Arthur for as long as the medical authorities would permit. They got no help. In the meantime, other detectives attempted to trace him out through his present address, his friends and the people he did business with. All of these knew little more about him than he had already revealed. By the following morning, the investigation had moved forward hardly an inch. At 7:30am I walked into the muster room where Lt. Snyder was desk officer and Sgt. Burns was on telephone switchboard duty. Morning, Captain. Sergeant, I have a few messages for you. All right. I'll get them as soon as I sign the block. Yes, sir. 21st briefing. Sergeant Bryant, Patrolman Mercado, box 26. Listen, Connor is taking a prisoner to court. You put out his school stanchions before you're relieved, okay? Yes, sir. All right. You got those messages, Sergeant? Yes, sir. Oh, thanks. And that young woman is waiting to see you, Captain. Who is she? Do you know? Yes, sir. She says her name is Mrs. Rollins. Mrs. Ellie Rollins. She any relation to that Arthur Rollins over in Metropolitan? I didn't ask her, Captain. Is he still there? Yes, sir. I haven't been moved into Bellevue? We can't spare a man off of every platoon to guard him. Lt. Snyder spoke to the doctor during the night, Captain. He can't be moved yet. All right. Let me know when they're ready to turn out. Did you want to see me, Mrs. Rollins?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Are you the commanding officer?
Captain Frank Canelli
That's right. I'm Captain Caneli.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
He told me I'd have to get to miss from the commanding officer to visit my husband in the hospital.
Captain Frank Canelli
Is your husband Arthur Rollins?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Yes, that's right.
Captain Frank Canelli
Would you come into my office, please?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Yes.
Captain Frank Canelli
Thanks.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Thank you very much.
Captain Frank Canelli
Did you have a seat?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Thank you very much.
Captain Frank Canelli
This is Wednesday morning. Your husband has been in the hospital since Monday night. Haven't you been able to see him since then?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Well, no. I didn't even know about it. You see, we haven't been living together. Not for five or six months.
Captain Frank Canelli
Where do you live?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Me? I live over in Jersey. Newark. Been living there ever since we separated. It just happened that a friend of mine brought home a New York paper last night and I saw it in there. Just an accident. That I know about it.
Captain Frank Canelli
How did you find out that you have to get my permission?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Well, you see, after I found out last night, I called the hospital and telephone. I asked if I could visit Arthur. They told me he was a prisoner and I'd have to get permission of the commanding officer of the 21st policeman who told it? I don't know. Whoever answers the phone there, which port operator, I guess. Then I called here on the phone. They told me he wouldn't be into work till 8 o' clock this morning. I couldn't see any use coming until now.
Captain Frank Canelli
I see.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
But he in very bad trouble.
Captain Frank Canelli
I mean, it's. What is it? It's robbery, assault and violation of the gun law.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Oh.
Captain Frank Canelli
Serious enough?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Don't understand how he could do anything like that. He's not bad. He really isn't. He's all right.
Captain Frank Canelli
Badly. You didn't think so. You broke up with him.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
That was over something else altogether. Wasn't his fault, I guess. It was just as much mine. Could I get permission to see? That's what the rules say, isn't it? You can give me permission.
Captain Frank Canelli
Well, the rules also say that in felony cases where an investigation is being conducted, the commanding officer must consult with the detective squad commander before giving any such authorization. Oh. Have any detectives talked to you about Arthur?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
No. I wouldn't know anything about what he was supposed to have done. I haven't seen him in months. But he didn't even know where I Was.
Captain Frank Canelli
Well, then why do you want to see him him now?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
After all, I'm his wife.
Captain Frank Canelli
All right, Ms. Rollins, you just wait here. I'll go talk to Lieutenant King.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Who's Lieutenant King?
Captain Frank Canelli
He's in charge of detectives in the 21st squad.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Oh, why did there have to be so many people involved? So many people.
Captain Frank Canelli
You'll have to take that up with Arthur. Maybe he's got the answer. I'll be back in a few minutes. I walked across the muster room to the desk where I instructed both Lt. Snyder and Sgt. Burns to keep an eye on the young woman in my office and to detain her if she attempted to leave. Sergeant Burns told me that Lieutenant King was on the job upstairs. So I walked through the back room where the men of the day tour were going over the alarms preparatory to the turnaround. I went up the Warren stairs to the second floor and into the 21st squad office. Matt. Hello, Captain. All right, Whitey, go check it out. You too, Fox. Okay, Lieutenant. Yes, sir, Captain. How are you doing with that Arthur Rollins, Matt? Well, he's still in Metropolitan. He'll probably be able to move him to Bellevue today, is what the doctor said. Has he been any help to you? No, to nothing. I've been over there myself three times to talk to him. Men from the 25th, the Homicide Squad and the DA's office were there almost all day yesterday. Won't say who the second man was. He won't say anything. The girl who claims to be his wife is downstairs. Oh, that's all? Yeah. She wants an authorization to visit him. Didn't know he had a wife. There's a lot of things we didn't know about him. Can we go talk to him? Sure. Whitey. I'll be down in the Captain's office. I don't know what the boy's holding back for him. He's got nothing to lose. All he can do is gain by helping us. He helps us clear a homicide he had nothing to do with. He deserves some kind of break. Well, maybe he'll still help you here. That kid, all he's got for an answer is no. So you didn't even know he was married. Morning, Captain Nelson. I didn't say anything. Nobody up where he's living now know that he with Mary. This boy doesn't do much talking any place he goes.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Go ahead.
Captain Frank Canelli
N. Thanks. Ms. Rollins, this Lt. King.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Hello.
Captain Frank Canelli
How do you do?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Can I get to see Arthur? That's what. I came all the way over here for it. I don't see Why I have to go through so much red tape just to see my own husband?
Captain Frank Canelli
He's being held on a charge of robbery.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
I know that.
Captain Frank Canelli
And he hasn't been very helpful. We're still investigating. Find out who was with him when he held up that liquor store. Would you know who it might be?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
No. Would I know? I haven't seen Arthur in months.
Captain Frank Canelli
How long has it been since you were living with him?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
I don't know. Four or five months.
Captain Frank Canelli
Where did you live? In New York?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Yes, that's right, in New York. In Washington Heights.
Captain Frank Canelli
Why did you break up?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
It's an awfully long story.
Captain Frank Canelli
We'd like to know why.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Well, he was inserted in the army. He got married when he first went in, and then he went away. First to Texas, then he went to Korea. He wasn't any hero or anything, but he was there. He was in for two years.
Captain Frank Canelli
Where were you, meanwhile? In Washington Heights?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
No. No. I was home living with my folks. When he got out, we found his apartment in Washington Heights. Just three rooms, but that was big enough.
Captain Frank Canelli
When was that?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
About a year ago. Late last summer, I guess. A little more than a year ago.
Captain Frank Canelli
Did he have a job?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Yes. So did I. Started out in the post office. No, delivering special deliveries. It was just temporary and he didn't like it. So I tried to get into buildings. Construction work?
Captain Frank Canelli
Yes.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
I thought the post office was much better for him, at least. But he wanted to work with his brother. His brother's in construction work. He works in. What do you call it? Excavation. When they have to dig a foundation for a new building, that's what he does.
Captain Frank Canelli
Where does his brother live in New York?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
In Brooklyn. Told me how much more money he's making and everything like that. But I said, maybe your brother makes
Captain Frank Canelli
more when he's working.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
But there's time between jobs and all that. And you're better off in the post office. You're sure of it?
Captain Frank Canelli
Every week.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
But he couldn't say.
Captain Frank Canelli
Was that the cause of the breakup?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
No, I couldn't say that. The only thing about it was that he always wanted to do. Do everything his brother did. Joe, that's his brother. Joe this and Joe that. That's all I ever heard of. Every time we had to make a move, we couldn't do it without consulting Joe. I just got fed up with it, that's all. I said one day, who are you married to?
Captain Frank Canelli
Me or Joe?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Didn't last long after that. One night I said, scarthorn, I'm leaving. He said, okay. That was that. It was neutral. After all, he was in the army with a married man. He didn't have to go to his big brother anymore for every little thing.
Captain Frank Canelli
Has Arthur ever been arrested before?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
No. At least not before we broke up.
Captain Frank Canelli
Has Joe his brother? Yes.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
I don't know. Didn't hear anything about Joe. Nothing but joist. Sick of him. I don't know.
Captain Frank Canelli
Did Arthur go to work on a construction job?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Yes, I think so. At least I know he quit the post office.
Captain Frank Canelli
Did Joel marry him?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
No, not unless it was very recently. Listen, can I go over to the office?
Captain Frank Canelli
It's all right with me, Captain. Excuse me. 21st Precinct. Captain Kennelly, Sergeant Burns. Captain, they're ready to turn out. All right, I'll be right there. Yes, sir. I'll give you an authorization as soon as I turn out the platoon. About five minutes, Captain. Yes, man. Anyway, I'll do. I'll take her over there myself, Captain. Yeah, maybe she can get him to talk. You don't really need her now, do you? You know who you're after? My own. She's entitled to visit her husband. Five minutes. Yes. What?
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
What did he mean, Quint? Turn out the platoon.
Captain Frank Canelli
I get the men who are working the next shift on the job.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Oh, something, isn't it?
Captain Frank Canelli
Yes, it's always something. I turned out the platoon for the day tour and returned to my office where Lt. King and Mrs. Rollins were waiting. Patrolman Fallon, the 124 man, came in and I instructed. Just came to write up the authorization for Mrs. Rollins to visit her husband in the company of myself, Lieutenant King and Detective Whitey Howard of the 21st Squad. She went to Metropolitan Hospital as there's no prison ward at Metropolitan. A patrolman from the 21st had been assigned to guard Arthur Rollins. As we walked down the long corridor, I could see through the open door of the room he occupied. Patrolman Nelson was inside, sitting in a chair beside the bed. Down at the end, there's his doctor.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Is he good? The doctor on you?
Captain Frank Canelli
Very good, Doctor. Hello, captain. Lieutenant. Doctor. How's the patient? In pretty good condition. This is Mrs. Rollins. Oh, yes. How do you do? Hello, doctor. How soon do you think he can be moved to Bellevue? I've got three men tied up here on guard duty. I'd like to get him back on the duty job. Perhaps this afternoon. Oh, good, doctor.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
There won't be anything permanent damage to all my needs.
Captain Frank Canelli
Well, excuse me. I want to talk to the officer on gun duty. I'll go right in, Captain. Thank you.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Be too bad if there Was. You've always been so help.
Captain Frank Canelli
Hello, Nelson. Captain. He's not giving you any trouble, is he? No, sir. How are you feeling, Arthur? Great, Just great. Don't complain, boy. You were shooting at the officer. He didn't have time to stand around and talk about it. Captain, while you're here, can I be excused in a personal. Yeah, sure, Nelson. Go ahead. Yes, sir. Thank you very much. Arthur, I understand you haven't been much help to the officers who've been around to talk to you. Why should I be any help? What have you guys done for me? Brought you a visitor. Alfa. Yeah, who should be right in. Who's she? Ellie. All right, just lie still.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Hello, Arthur.
Captain Frank Canelli
Oh, what you have to come for? Why'd you have to see me like this? I didn't want you to come. I didn't want anybody writing the paper.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Arthur, I had to come.
Captain Frank Canelli
Oh, go on, get out. I don't want you here, Arthur. I don't. You don't always get what you want, do you? You found that out. Oh, you're back. Well, you're wasting your time. I told you yesterday, I'm not saying anything to you. I'm not saying a word. Maybe it's time for me to do a little talking. Boy, you don't have to. I know what the score is. I know who was with you and who shot the man in the 25th. What do you mean? That was your brother along with you, wasn't it? Listen, if you fly back there, boy, wasn't it? You told him, didn't you, Ellie? You told him.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
How would I know? I didn't tell them anything.
Captain Frank Canelli
She didn't have to, boy. Yeah, it was Joe.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
Arthur, you're crazy. You're just plain crazy.
Captain Frank Canelli
You're not telling me anything. I know it. Where is Joe? Look, you know who it was. Isn't that enough for you? We have to get him, and it'll be enough. How'd they talk you into this, Arthur? That wasn't hard. I was broke. So was he. To find a way to cure being broke, I don't know. We didn't work in six weeks. The trucks were pulled out on strike, so there wasn't any work. We were just sitting around talking. He said it like a joke. You know they'll stick up someplace. First thing you know. We were getting serious about it. We had a couple of places picked out. He had one gun. We borrowed another one from a friend of his. That was it. Sir.
Mrs. Ellie Rollins
I'm ashamed of you.
Captain Frank Canelli
Oh, look, baby, don't rub it in. Where is he now? You'll have to find that out for yourself. We will. You can count on it. Now, I didn't say anything about him. I kept my mouth shut. You remember that. I didn't say a word about him. Talking about him wouldn't have been so bad. Arthur. You made your mistake listening to him. 21st Precinct. Sergeant Burns. You caught a what? A burglar. You're using the butcher knife on the burglar. Well, where is this? Where? And so it goes around the clock through the week. Every day, every year. A police precinct in the city of New York is a flesh and blood merry go round. Anyone can catch the brass ring or the brass ring can catch anyone. What's up baby? It's Bretzky. And I'm here to tell you that spinquest.com is giving out free sweeps coins. All you gotta do is purchase a ten dollar coin pack and guess what? They're gonna give you the coins from a thirty dollar coin pack that lets you play all your favorite games like Blackjack, Wanted, Dead or Wild. And we're talking real cash prizes, baby. Spinquest.com Spinquest is a free to play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details.
Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Host: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode Date: February 22, 2026
This episode of 21st Precinct, a classic Golden Age radio police drama, follows Captain Frank Canelli and his squad as they handle a tense liquor store robbery that quickly unravels into a complicated case involving family, loyalty, and a tragic escalation of violence. The "Case of the Patient" dives not only into the procedures and pressures of police work in 1950s New York, but also explores the lives entangled on both sides of the law, revealing how desperation and personal ties can lead to crime and tragedy.
Timestamp: 00:24 – 05:05
Captain Canelli (to Arthur, after he is shot):
“You better stop where you are… Are you hit?”
— [03:20–03:31]
Timestamp: 05:06 – 13:11
Arthur Rollins (to police):
“You put a bullet through me and you want me to save you time?”
— [09:29]
Timestamp: 13:12 – 16:18
"The killer was described as about the same age, weight and height and as wearing the same kind of clothing as the man who escaped in the 21st. It appeared to be the same man." — [11:30]
Timestamp: 16:19 – 24:44
Mrs. Rollins: “Don’t understand how he could do anything like that. He’s not bad. He really isn’t. He’s all right.”
— [17:48]
Timestamp: 24:45 – 28:20
Arthur Rollins to his wife and police:
“Now, I didn’t say anything about him. I kept my mouth shut. You remember that. I didn’t say a word about him. Talking about him wouldn’t have been so bad. Arthur. You made your mistake listening to him.”
— [28:08]
Captain Canelli on the realities of police duty:
"A police precinct in the city of New York is a flesh and blood merry go round. Anyone can catch the brass ring—or the brass ring can catch anyone." — [End]
Arthur Rollins' reluctant confession:
"You know who it was, isn't that enough for you? We have to get him, and it'll be enough… We didn't work in six weeks. The trucks were pulled out on strike so there wasn't any work. We were just sitting around talking. He said it like a joke… first thing you know, we were getting serious about it…" — [27:40–28:17]
The language and interactions echo the hard-boiled, procedural style of 1950s radio dramas, with clipped, matter-of-fact police banter contrasted by the raw emotion of Arthur and Ellie Rollins. The drama remains rooted in the mundane realities of crime, motive, and consequence, with a tone that is both sympathetic and unsentimental.
This episode is a classic example of Golden Age radio storytelling that captures not just the mechanics of police work, but the human stories behind the headlines. It’s a window into a bygone era’s approach to crime, justice, and the thin line between ordinary life and disaster—timeless themes, powerfully dramatized.