Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio

Episode Title: Big Story – The 49-12-14 142 Three Golden Coins (Nolan Bullock)
Release Date: October 17, 2025
Podcast Host: Harold's Old Time Radio

Overview

This episode transports listeners to the golden age of radio drama with “The Big Story,” focusing on the true crime tale from the late 1940s: The Three Golden Coins, as reported by Nolan Bullock of the Tulsa Tribune. The story blends classic noir intrigue with gritty crime-reporting authenticity, drawing listeners into a web of bootlegging, murder, and a trail of mysterious Mexican coins. The narrative is told in rich, period-appropriate style, with vivid characterizations, sharp dialogue, and a suspenseful plotline that is both a murder mystery and an undercover crime expose.

Key Discussion Points & Plot Highlights

1. Discovery of the Crime: The Dead Man on Route 66

• Setting: Sunday morning on US Highway 66, Oklahoma.
• Mrs. Rose Penn and her son discover a man lying on a cot beside the road, only to realize he’s dead.
  • [01:03] “He’s sleeping, Ma. He’s sleeping. But he ain't never going to wake up.” – Nick Oliver

2. Introduction to Nolan Bullock: Reporter as Undercover Bootlegger

• Nolan Bullock operates undercover, posing as “Mr. Norton,” trying to infiltrate a bootleg liquor syndicate.
• Key Meeting: Dinner with Mr. Ritchie, a syndicate accountant, discussing bootleg business logistics and waiting for contact from the elusive Mr. Breeden.

3. Switching Focus: Murder on Route 66

• Special Investigator Nick Oliver calls in Bullock as a reporter on the murder case, linking his undercover work to the murder:
  • [04:58] “Dead man reported out on Route 66...Murder? Yeah, it looks like it.” – Nick Oliver

4. Early Clues: The Mexican Coins

• Bullock discovers Mexican coins at the murder scene.
  • [06:14] “Hey, what do you know? It's a coin. Here's another one.” – Nolan Bullock
• The coins become a central mystery linking the dead man to broader criminal activities.

5. Witness Testimony and the Name "Ace"

• A campfire preacher, Mr. Burns, recalls a fight involving three men and a station wagon on the night of the murder. One was called “Ace.”
  • [07:14] “That night, sir, I was preaching...There were three men, sir, and they were having, I must say, a most profane fight...I think one of the men...called the other Ace.” – Mr. Burns

6. Unscrambling Leads: License Plates & Fugitives

• Routine police inquiry reveals a stranded truck in California, belonging to Thomas Breeden.
• Breeden, wanted for entering the country illegally with $17,000 in Mexican coins, was last seen with Bronson and Ace Stiles—prime suspects.
• Shocking conclusion: The dead man is, in fact, Breeden.
  • [11:11] “Breeden is wanted...for entering the country illegally with close to $17,000 in Mexican coins.” – Nick Oliver

7. Following the Money: Syndicate Connections and Passing Counterfeits

• Bullock returns to Mr. Ritchie for information on the syndicate after Breeden’s demise.
• At the Will Rogers Hotel, he learns Mexican coins are being passed around—direct evidence of the murderers in town.

8. Trap is Set: The Confrontation

• Ritchie tips Bullock to a meeting with the new “boss,” Bronson, off Route 66.
• Bullock encounters Ace Stiles and Bronson, discovering incriminating evidence: Mexican coins (the "golden blondes"), blood stains, and a murder weapon (a wrench) in their car.
  • [18:39] “Mexican blondes. Quite a bunch of them.” – Nick Oliver
  • [18:50] “My guess is blood.” – Nick Oliver

9. Undercover Tactics & Tense Showdown

• Bullock tries to “fast talk” Stiles and Bronson into confessing, pretending to cut them a deal in exchange for business—playing on their greed and fear.
  • [20:20] “I happen to know that you and Bronson and my friend Breeden were driving in from California. I happen to know that you got into a fight with him. And I happen to know that you stole $17,000 in coins from him.” – Nolan Bullock
• Confrontation escalates, revealing internal tensions and confessions about Breeden’s murder.

10. Resolution: The Arrest

• Nick Oliver intervenes just as things become dangerous, arresting Bronson and Stiles before further violence occurs.
  • [22:53] “That's right, both of you. Now, let's go.” – Nick Oliver

11. Finale: The Newspaper Report

• The closing telegram-style report (classic for “The Big Story”) reveals Bronson and Stiles pleaded guilty to manslaughter and were sentenced to 10 years at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.
  • [23:22] “Both men in tonight's big story pleaded guilty to second degree manslaughter. Admitted killing Breeden after he attacked them. Both were sentenced to 10 years of hard labor at the State Penitentiary MacAlister, Oklahoma.” – Nolan Bullock

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Atmosphere and Noir Wit:
  • [02:10] “You, Nolan Bullock of the Tulsa Tribune, are a reporter with a flattened nose. And you got it by sticking it consistently into other people's business.”
• Reporter-Investigator Banter:
  • [10:39] “Well, you want me to strangle you?” – Nolan Bullock
• Period Scene-Setting:
  • [04:30] “And so you, Nolan Bullock, undercover agent and reporter, watch the pleasant accountant leave and you make your call.”
• Classic Denouement:
  • [22:58] “Give you a tip? Sure. Don't try to move into bootlegging. Not in your line...You stick with the papers.” – Nick Oliver
  • [23:08] “Thanks, Nick. Don’t think I won’t.” – Nolan Bullock

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:38 – Opening narration, discovery of the dead man
• 02:10 – Introduction to Nolan Bullock’s undercover work
• 04:46 – First key phone call, murder investigation begins
• 06:14 – Discovery of Mexican coins at crime scene
• 07:14 – Campfire preacher’s testimony introduces “Ace”
• 09:00 – Police teletype sheds light on Breeden’s fate
• 11:11 – Federal charges and the $17,000 in coins revealed
• 14:00 – Mexican coins circulating locally; new suspects emerge
• 16:24 – Bullock’s drive to the showdown; suspense on the dirt road
• 18:39 – Finding physical evidence in the wagon
• 20:20 – Bullock’s risky confrontation and near-confession
• 22:53 – Nick Oliver’s interruption and arrest
• 23:22 – Case wrap-up and case sentencing

Tone and Style

• The storytelling is brisk and dialogue-driven, mixing hard-boiled wit with matter-of-fact crime reporting.
• Characters are sharply drawn, with archetypal roles: weary but tenacious reporter, gruff honest cop, slippery crooks, and desperate side players.
• The language and pacing evoke a 1940s newsreel and noir radio drama: direct, colorful, and dramatic.

Conclusion

This Big Story episode, dramatized from real-life reporting, is a quintessential slice of Golden Age radio: layered with suspense, memorable personalities, and the atmospheric crackle of a time when drama and journalism were partners in storytelling. Through sharp plotting and period banter, listeners are drawn into the desperate world of bootlegging, betrayal, and murder—solved, as always, by pluck, persistence, and a nose for news.