Podcast Summary: 21st Precinct 56-04-05 (131) The Six Hundred

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode Date: February 28, 2026
Host: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode Title: The Six Hundred (original air date: April 5, 1956)

Brief Overview

This episode of 21st Precinct, an authentic police procedural from radio’s Golden Age, centers on a daring safe burglary at a paint store within the 21st Precinct, New York City. Captain Vincent P. Cronin narrates the unfolding investigation as his team pursues clues left by the thieves—including bold phone calls from one of the burglars—and unravels a crime that becomes unexpectedly personal.

Key Discussion Points and Storyline

1. Opening and Introduction of the Crime (00:04–02:43)

• Captain Cronin begins his shift with a series of emergencies: a fire, a car accident, and then a significant burglary at a paint store.
• Patrolman Farrell and other officers respond to the paint store, finding the whole safe—estimated at 600 pounds—missing.
• Introduction of Mr. Peter Restolis, shop owner, who laments not only lost cash ($600–$700) but also invaluable items: war bonds and accounts receivable.
  • Quote: “You’d think the safe would be safe. The whole thing.” – Captain Cronin (01:17)
• Details are gathered about the entry (a neatly jimmied front door).
• Restolis points out the invoice with the safe’s manufacturer details was stored—ironically—in the missing safe.

2. The Burglar Makes Contact (07:07–08:06)

• The investigation is interrupted by a phone call to the store— a woman asks for the “cop in charge;” a man then comes on the line.
• The caller, asserting he’s one of the safe thieves, proposes a deal: give them the combination, recover the safe contents—except the cash; if not, the safe and everything in it go into the river.
  • Quote: “All we want is to know, that’s all. … You give us the combination. … If we don’t get it, the safe winds up the bottom of the river and Restoles never sees anything else he’s got in there. Now, that’s fair, isn’t it?” – Burglar (07:30–07:50)
• Captain Cronin negotiates for time, and the caller abruptly hangs up.

3. Escalating the Investigation (08:06–16:35)

• Detectives from both the local squad and the citywide Safe, Loft and Truck Squad (specialists in safe-cracking crimes) converge on the scene.
• Suspicion arises: seasoned professionals wouldn't have so much trouble opening a common commercial safe (a "certified 600"), and likely wouldn't bother negotiating for the combination.
  • Quote: “Guy must be a psycho, trying to swing a deal like that.” – Detective Gordon Sawyer (10:24)
• Discussion about Restolis’s past employees, and especially his brother-in-law (with a criminal record), emerges.
• The squad prepares for the possibility of another phone call, planning to use a phony combination to buy time for tracing.

4. Second Call and Rapid Action (16:35–18:13)

• The burglar calls again, demanding the safe’s combination; Captain Cronin stalls, reciting a fake set of instructions.
  • Quote: “What are you trying to do? You’re trying to stall for time? I’m not going to stay on this line long enough for you to trace the call.” — Burglar (17:21)
• Detective Sawyer traces the call to a drugstore on Astoria Boulevard; squad cars are dispatched.

5. Break in the Case (18:13–22:22)

• The detectives travel to Astoria, where they find the safe in a garage—along with Mr. Restolis’s brother-in-law and a woman named Eleanor Mohal.
• Eleanor insists her role was innocent: “All he asked me to do was make a telephone call for him. If a girl can’t make a telephone call for a man, well, what’s this world coming to?” (21:19)
• The brother-in-law confesses, ruefully describing the failed effort to open the safe and the pointless hard labor involved.
  • Quote: “All that work. Not a dime out of it. That’s what gets me. That back-breaking work. Are you going to bring them in here, those boys? I’d like to see the looks on their faces. They take a fall, don’t get a dime out of it.” – Lee Kangley, brother-in-law (22:06)
• The personal betrayal between Restolis and his brother-in-law comes to the fore—a crime “to keep the money in the family.”

6. Resolution and Reflections (22:22–23:45)

• The safe is recovered, unopened. The culprits are booked; Captain Cronin and Lieut. King reflect on human nature and the revolving door of precinct life.
  • Quote: “What’s the answer? $25 a day.” – Mr. Restolis (22:55)
  • Captain Cronin: “Seems he prefers night work.”

Timestamps for Notable Segments

• 00:04–02:43 — Introduction, crime discovery, scene description
• 07:07–08:06 — First phone call from the burglar, ransom demand
• 10:10–11:30 — Detective assessment: the thieves’ inexperience, possible inside knowledge
• 16:35–18:13 — Second phone call and live tracing
• 21:17–22:22 — Confrontation with Eleanor and the brother-in-law; confession
• 22:22–23:45 — Emotional fallout and closing reflection

Most Memorable Quotes

“You’d think the safe would be safe. The whole thing.”
— Captain Cronin (01:17)

“Give us the combination. We’ll leave the stuff where it can be picked up. … If we don’t get it, the safe winds up the bottom of the river.”
— Burglar on the phone (07:43–07:50)

“Guy must be a psycho, trying to swing a deal like that.”
— Detective Sawyer (10:24)

“All he asked me to do was make a telephone call for him. If a girl can’t make a telephone call for a man, well, what’s this world coming to?”
— Eleanor Mohal (21:19)

“All that work. Not a dime out of it. That’s what gets me. That back-breaking work.”
— Lee Kangley (22:06)

“What’s the answer? $25 a day.”
— Mr. Restolis (22:55)

Tone & Style

• Conversational yet procedural, reflecting the structure of the radio drama.
• Mix of world-weary humor and empathy; authentic New York patter.
• Frequent, dry jokes about the irony of “safe” safes and “family business.”
• Underlying theme: the human complexity beneath everyday crime.

Conclusion

In this tightly-woven episode, the 21st Precinct transforms a seemingly routine safe burglary into a tale of inside betrayal, failed criminal ingenuity, and weary law enforcement persistence. The memorable give-and-take between police and suspect, the almost farcical criminal failures, and the personal repercussions for those involved echo the blend of hardship, humanity, and humor that made Golden Age radio police dramas timeless.