
Forbidden Cargo 54xxxx 04 Running Wetbacks
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Styles MacKenzie
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Narrator
By ship, by plane, by road, by human carriers. Goods are smuggled dangerously out of one country into another. Goods which are forbidden cargo. Revealing the inside story of running wetnikes.
Captain Archer
If anyone gets out of that plane crash, then I resign my coast Guard captaincy.
Lieutenant Mason
Yeah, coast guards will be one lieutenant less too.
Captain Archer
Those fire card boys sure got nerve. Hey, look at the crazy guys in asbestos suits walking slap into the flames.
Lieutenant Mason
Makes you wonder what hell's like, don't it, Captain?
Captain Archer
Well, that's a sample then. I'm buying myself a new halo and harp. Look at him, will you? Look right into the flames.
Lieutenant Mason
The foam's starting to take a fake.
Captain Archer
It's like pouring water on a barbecue after the steak's cooked. For all the good it'll do us.
Lieutenant Mason
That pilot would crash his crate this time just when he got a line on him.
Captain Archer
Holy saints. Gas tanks blew up the poor devils. Well, Lieutenant Mason, there's the funeral pyre of three months investigation.
Lieutenant Mason
Yeah, that pilot, Hal Barrowby, the first strong lead we get to the big shot behind smuggling and illegal immigrants.
Vince Foley
These.
Captain Archer
These wetbacks.
Lieutenant Mason
And what happens? Cremates himself.
Captain Archer
Along with at least 10 poor suckers who've paid some $2,000 each to be run into the States and Cuba. Mason, it makes me sick in the stomach.
Lieutenant Mason
What's that, Captain? This smuggler ain't a wetbacks.
Captain Archer
No, not exactly. It's more the fact that those poor guys brown to a crisp in that burning plane. Pedro 2000 before say there were 10.
Max Kroger
Of them in it.
Captain Archer
That's $20,000. The brain behind this smuggling ring collects. He gets what he wants the dough. But do those dead guys in there get what they want? Killed right at the end of the journey.
Lieutenant Mason
Yeah.
Captain Archer
It's no good waiting around here. Let's get back to headquarters. Start all over.
Lieutenant Mason
Yeah.
Leela Foley
Mr. Kroger? Mr. Max Kroger?
Max Kroger
Yeah. Mrs. Folly, please enter.
Leela Foley
Uh huh.
Max Kroger
Please relax. You'll find that the van most comfortable. Drink my best imported whiskey.
Leela Foley
I would like one a straight, thanks.
Max Kroger
I admire beautiful women who prefer not to spoil an enjoyment of Life.
Leela Foley
You wanted to see me?
Max Kroger
And so direct too.
Leela Foley
If we're to have any business dealings, you'll find that's the way I work.
Max Kroger
You grow more enchanting. Your drink, Mrs. Felipe.
Leela Foley
I react to faster when I'm called Leela.
Max Kroger
And I react when one such as you calls me Max.
Leela Foley
Let's see your reaction. Why am I here, Max?
Max Kroger
No doubt you have heard of the unfortunate crash at the Key west airport yesterday.
Leela Foley
Ten passengers and the pilot incinerated.
Max Kroger
The pilot, Halberdy, was an employee of 9. The 10 passengers the Macaco.
Leela Foley
Wet, Max.
Max Kroger
All that redbacks good enough for people.
Leela Foley
Smuggled illegally into our country.
Max Kroger
Such people not new to you, Max.
Leela Foley
As soon as I got word you wanted to see me instead of my husband Vince, I knew why. So let's stop this polite yakety yak, shall we? Yesterday, when that plane crashed, you lost one of your means of smuggling people into this country. And the fact that it crashed makes sure it'll be probed by the authorities. The aviation boys, customs, coast guards, maybe even the FBI. You're not a moron. You're a clever man. You realize the crash will make the authorities start going over all the other airplanes with the curry combs. So what do you do? You decide to stop running in wetbacks from Cuba by air and start running them in by sea? You know my husband Vince and his partner, Jerry Bain operate a deep sea fishing boat. You've heard that. I persuaded them to supplement our income by making a few runs ourselves. That's why I'm here. You want to make me a proposition? A business proposition.
Max Kroger
You know, Diva, I like you.
Leela Foley
I said a business proposition.
Max Kroger
$500 per headphones delivery.
Leela Foley
Thanks for the drink. So long.
Max Kroger
Sit down.
Leela Foley
Not interested. We get 2000.
Max Kroger
When you can get them, we manage. Sit down.
Leela Foley
Nice meeting you.
Max Kroger
7.50.
Captain Archer
Wait.
Leela Foley
Yeah.
Max Kroger
Your boats have been a caddy, Twitter.
Leela Foley
Uh huh.
Max Kroger
You've been lucky. If you've made one run every two months, I'm satisfied. I can guarantee you a full Cargo Every week.
Leela Foley
12 bodies every week, huh?
Max Kroger
With everything organized for you? Everything arranged to perfection. Time of departure? Cargo waiting at rendezvous, destination, descent. You have nothing to do but run your boat to schedule the coast guards. I have means of knowing their every movement.
Leela Foley
But suppose for once your information's wrong.
Max Kroger
Naturally, you have my permission to jettison the Archangel, provided precautions are taken to ensure none swim ashore.
Leela Foley
$1,000 per head.
Max Kroger
You are beautiful, you are seductive. But your heart, it is hard.
Leela Foley
My business heart.
Max Kroger
So.
Leela Foley
1,000 per head. $12,000 cash per run.
Max Kroger
And if I think your price is.
Leela Foley
Too high, I can get what I want elsewhere.
Max Kroger
I pay.
Leela Foley
You won't regret it.
Max Kroger
No, I have that hatred, I think.
Leela Foley
When and where do we make our.
Max Kroger
First run so direct? I have received from my Havana agent for three nights from now.
Leela Foley
And then he said he'd received word from his Havana agent that our first cargo will be waiting three nights from now inside this little bay here.
Vince Foley
Mm.
Leela Foley
Kroger marked it on the map. Five miles down the coast from Mariano 12 Wetbeck. $1,000 a head. How does that sound to you, Vince?
Vince Foley
No, what we gotta worry about this guy. Kroger's behind it, kid. You can take it from me. It's sweet. Along the waterfront. His name's tops when it comes to this kind of racket. You agree, Jerry?
Narrator
Yeah, sure. So far he's kept clear of the law boys. Run a week, 12,000. That's big dope, pal.
Leela Foley
Okay, then it's agreed. We tie in with Kruger.
Vince Foley
Yeah. One thing, kid. The coast guards, you know how they watch us deep sea boats. Always stopping us to see if we're carrying a port clearance.
Leela Foley
Max showed me a stack of them this high.
Vince Foley
So it's Max, huh?
Leela Foley
Oh, don't be a complete fool, Vince. You're my man, you know that?
Captain Archer
You keep it that way.
Leela Foley
Any reason why you're talking crazy talk?
Vince Foley
I once promised you I'd never lay a finger on you in anger.
Max Kroger
No matter what you did.
Leela Foley
Jerry, what have you been doing to my man?
Narrator
I'm a bachelor. I'm strictly out of this.
Captain Archer
Sure, sure, sure.
Vince Foley
I'm sorry, kid. It's just that I've heard of this Max Kroger and women. And I'm still crazy about you.
Narrator
Look, how's about we get back to business, huh?
Leela Foley
Fine. Now listen. He figures we haven't anything to crease our brows about on the Cuban end. We make the bay dead on time. 3:00am we approach from the eastern side. Wait for a three light flash signal, note its position, then move in dead slow. A boat will come out to meet us. Transfer the wetbacks, we head back out to sea.
Narrator
250 mile run both ways. 500 total average. 15 knots round trip, 35 hours, all towed. That's what this Kroger's schedule. Oh, it's candy from kids. We should have tied him with a guy years ago.
Vince Foley
Okay, I got the pickup straight. But what about unloading this end?
Leela Foley
Pine Island?
Captain Archer
What?
Narrator
Pine Island's nothing but swamps and a half tumbled down joint. On Pine island. One of them Mansions deserted since Abram Lincoln wore knee pants.
Leela Foley
Uh huh. That's why he uses it. Nobody ever goes anywhere near it. But we unload our Cuban boys on Pine Island.
Vince Foley
What happens to them then?
Leela Foley
Should we care? I got the idea that they shack up in the old house till called for by relatives or friends.
Narrator
A cunning brain.
Leela Foley
He's clever. No risks of landing them on mainshore. He contracts to smuggle them onto American soil. Pine Island's that From then on. It's none of his business.
Vince Foley
Okay. We sail Monday at dawn. Dump the wetbacks on Pine island around midnight Wednesday, huh?
Leela Foley
That's my agreement.
Vince Foley
Yeah, so? Say, what about weather reports? Summer's just come on us and that means a lot of sudden storms.
Leela Foley
Max Kroger supplies last minute weather reports before each trip.
Narrator
Say, that guy just don't miss a trick.
Vince Foley
No, not one kid this summer. Hot weather. You know how it makes you sick, the heat and all. You're not planning to do the trips with us, are you?
Leela Foley
I am until it starts hitting the hundred in the shade.
Narrator
Mark hundred. From what the Met boys are saying, it's going to push up to 110 on the coast, 120 inland.
Leela Foley
Don't say it, Jerry.
Vince Foley
No. Watch your big mouth, fella. You seen what the heat does to my wife?
Narrator
Okay, okay. Don't bust your pot.
Leela Foley
We should get at least six trips in before I go for the ice packs. So let's start worrying them right now. You boys have got to get the boat ready. We leave Monday next at dawn. Jerry, that extra gas tank in the stern, make sure it's working.
Captain Archer
Hey, Ma. Mason, hand me the night glasses. By Judas, it's the same boat again. Vince Foley's captain. Yeah, Vince Foley and Jerry Bain, owner. But Vince Foley's wife. That's the third time we've sighted a prowling near Pine Islands.
Lieutenant Mason
Third time in six weeks. We take a close look, Captain.
Captain Archer
Close look. Lieutenant, we're gonna board her tonight. Get this rust bucket moving.
Leela Foley
Hurry up. It is a Coast Guard patrol. Got them all up on deck.
Narrator
Yeah, not all. Out cold. All 12 of them. I banged them over the melon with a spanner. I've let the sinkers for their feet.
Vince Foley
Leela. Must we? Must we toss them all over the side.
Leela Foley
Max gave strict orders. If we cite trouble, we've got the jettison cargo. Coast Guards have seen us. All right, get that cargo over the side. Hurry. I'll take the wheel.
Nicole Byer
We interrupt this program to bring you an important Wayfair message. Wayfair's got style. Tips for every home. This is Nicole Byer helping you make those rooms flyer. Today's style tip when it comes to making a statement, treat bold patterns like neutrals. Go wild like an untamed animal. Print area rug under a rug. Rustic farmhouse table from wayfair.com oh, fierce. This has been your Wayfair style tip to keep those interiors superior.
Styles MacKenzie
Wayfair Every style, Every home.
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Captain Archer
Come on. Come on, Mason. You can do better than this.
Lieutenant Mason
She's fed to the bores, Captain. Give her any more revs and the engines will blow up.
Captain Archer
But they're drawn away.
Lieutenant Mason
Foley must have souped up his boat lately. She could never hit that speed before.
Captain Archer
Oh, blast the Hades and back.
Lieutenant Mason
Radio other boats to converge on this area.
Captain Archer
Yeah, by the time they get here, Foley, be home. And hurry.
Lieutenant Mason
What'll we do? Let him play tag with the other boats while we head for his anchorage.
Captain Archer
All right. Yeah, yeah, do that. And go over his boat from stem to stern. And if we find even a whisker of his cargo, then he'll wish he'd never been spawned. Head for his anchorage.
Lieutenant Mason
Yeah, sure, Captain.
Max Kroger
Unfortunate, my dear Diva.
Leela Foley
We couldn't do anything else. Max, the moment we sighted that Coast Guard boat hanging around, I could smell trouble.
Max Kroger
You did the right thing. Jettison the cargo. But where should we vary ourselves, eh? The 12 unfortunates have paid their money before they sail. Yes, Certain there are no survivors.
Leela Foley
The moment I saw the coast guards, I ordered Jerry Bay to carry out the agreed plan. We had time to wire lead sinkers on the whole 12.
Max Kroger
Good, good. Now, tell me again what happened when you found Archer and missing for you at your anchorage.
Leela Foley
We welcomed them aboard. They wanted to know why we'd made a run for it when we sighted them. I said we had an exceptionally lucky haul of lobsters, a valuable cargo, and thought that their boat was another fisherman who figured on boarding us and hijacking our cat.
Max Kroger
And you did have lobsters.
Leela Foley
Evoid crates packed to the masthead. Soon as we left the Coast Guard behind, we doubled back to Coco island, picked up the lobsters. Ready there for just such an eventuality. I told you my idea would pay off one night.
Max Kroger
Brilliant, my dear. I congratulate you.
Leela Foley
Thanks. Maxie.
Max Kroger
Let me make a suggestion.
Leela Foley
You don't have to. I can see it in your eyes.
Max Kroger
About future run. Yeah, Postpone operations for Runland. Allow the Coast Guard's time to cool off.
Leela Foley
Cool off? I only wish to heaven I could do the same. Max, this heat is starting to kill me. It's all right at night when the sea breeze comes up with the day. 112 this afternoon. I didn't think I'd been through it.
Max Kroger
What you need, my darling, is a little vacation where it's cooler. I happen to have a secluded cabin on the Flint river up over in Georgia. I'm due for a vacation myself. And Vince, husbands are not my concern.
Leela Foley
I've got to get away from this heat.
Max Kroger
It is always cool at this time of the year on the river.
Leela Foley
What'll I say to Vince? You'll want to come too.
Max Kroger
Perhaps I could arrange for him to make a long run across to Haiti.
Leela Foley
You said suspend operations for a month.
Max Kroger
He makes the run, he gets to Haiti, finds there's been a misunderstanding. No cargo waiting. Takes at least a week to sort out. He'll be away for two weeks, all for nothing.
Leela Foley
Do you think he'd fall for it?
Max Kroger
You, my darling, can talk him into anything. Or can you?
Narrator
Yes.
Leela Foley
Tell me more, Maxie. Tell me about your cabin. What it looks like, what it's like on the river.
Lieutenant Mason
Gary.
Narrator
Yeah, Vince?
Vince Foley
What's the be seeing Leila?
Narrator
She's not back yet. Well, I didn't know that she's not back. Well, I know she got a report.
Vince Foley
To Kroger three hours ago. Jerry, Leela's been away too long. I'm heading around to Kroger's joint to see what's happened.
Narrator
Okay. She drove the sports jet.
Vince Foley
Ah, Jeep will get me there. You stick around.
Narrator
Hey, what do I do if them Coast Guard start up snooping again?
Leela Foley
Keep your mouth shut.
Narrator
Keep your mouth shut.
Leela Foley
The creep.
Narrator
Says who does he figure he is?
Lieutenant Mason
Ah, forget it, Captain. So they figured we were hijackers wanting their cargo, so they gave us a runaround. We searched Foley's boat through with Everything but a Geiger, didn't we? And what do we find? Lobsters.
Captain Archer
Yeah, lobster crates. Below deck, topside. All over yet, Mason? When I sighted the boat through the night. Glasses? I'm prepared to swear there wasn't one crate pot of bucks anywhere on deck.
Lieutenant Mason
But, Captain Archer, you know how tricky things can be at night. Tricky enough to fool a cartload of cats.
Captain Archer
Mason, they could have had that cargo hidden somewhere.
Lieutenant Mason
Loaded at fast, all right, but what do they do with the wetbacks?
Captain Archer
Toss the poor devils over the side.
Lieutenant Mason
But that'll be murder.
Captain Archer
Cold blooded murder. Since when have smugglers stopped at murder to avoid capture?
Max Kroger
Yeah.
Lieutenant Mason
Get what you mean, Captain. Say they did. Then what happened to the bodies? They got an awful habit of floating to the surface.
Captain Archer
But not if they're wearing cement boots or lead sinkers. Say, Lieutenant Mason, get in touch with salvage headquarters. Tell him I want a couple of divers sent over. Divers who are familiar with the water around Pine island area. I've got a hunch they'll find more than seaweed on the bottom.
Lieutenant Mason
Right away, sir.
Captain Archer
I'll give that Vince Foley and his wife lobsters. Mason. Mason. Captain Mason. I win the Oscar for being the year's prize dope. You take second prize for. For what? Lobsters. Listen, since when have lobsters been caught this time of the year?
Lieutenant Mason
Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle.
Leela Foley
Mason.
Captain Archer
Get cracking. Get those divers over here. Tell them to snap into it.
Max Kroger
Why don't you kill that phone oversight, my dear. Pardon me. And is it speaking? Yes, sir. Diverse. The customs and FBI joining in. Very well, ring off.
Leela Foley
What was that about divers? Customs.
Max Kroger
One of my. One of my most reliable informers. Reporting that Coast Guard divers are moving into Pine island area. The area where you jettisoned your cargo.
Leela Foley
Pine Island.
Captain Archer
Yes.
Max Kroger
Now listen carefully, my dear. Get your husband, Vince and Jerry Bain. Drive fast to Mexico.
Leela Foley
In all this heat? Why, Edith, kill me. We'll go by plane.
Max Kroger
Yes, I order go by car. All airports and shipping will be watched. We're not only up against the coast guards for customs, FBI and the immigration authorities. By car you can avoid all main highways. Take the side roads through the deserts.
Leela Foley
Deserts?
Max Kroger
Don't argue, though. As I say, you must be out of Florida on your way before they find those bodies.
Leela Foley
But, darling, what about you? You know how I feel.
Max Kroger
I'll join you in Tampico a week from today at the Honduras Hotel and fence. Jerry, I forget to suggest it. Hate Iran. But see that you are alone. Understand, my dear?
Leela Foley
I understand. Max, give me something to keep Me alive through this awful heat.
Vince Foley
Hello, kid. Vince, I've been waiting.
Leela Foley
So what? Let's go.
Vince Foley
There's trouble, kid. Mex. Kroger always leaves you blind up on a hot night like this.
Leela Foley
Vince, they're bringing divers over to near Pine Island. We got to get clear fast to Mexico tonight. Vince, you hear me?
Vince Foley
Sweat, kid. Remember what I've always said? Remember what I promised?
Leela Foley
What?
Vince Foley
That I'd never lay a finger on you in anger, no matter what you did.
Leela Foley
Vince, we've got to clear out.
Vince Foley
Okay, kid. You drive this raw. I left the Jeep parked a little way back.
Leela Foley
Then go get it. Meet you back at the apartment.
Lieutenant Mason
Captain Archer.
Captain Archer
What is it, Lieutenant?
Lieutenant Mason
Private Jordan reports ten bodies. Lead sinkers wired to their ankles.
Captain Archer
Poor suckers. Cubans?
Lieutenant Mason
Couldn't say after five days on the bottom of the sea. You know how it is, Captain.
Captain Archer
Yeah, I know how it is. Five days and the FBI let those three dirty rats slip through their fingers.
Lieutenant Mason
Diver Jordan wants further orders, sir.
Narrator
Further orders?
Lieutenant Mason
Yes, Captain.
Captain Archer
Tell him we'll send them down wire cutters, baskets and detail the other divers to help them.
Leela Foley
This hate it. Oh, it's like an awful oven.
Vince Foley
Stick with it, kid. Stick with it.
Leela Foley
Why'd you have to make this detour ride out into the desert?
Vince Foley
You know what Kroger said. Keep away from main highways.
Leela Foley
Oh, if only Jerry hadn't insisted on dropping off back at Austin. He could have taken the wheel for a spout. I'm too sick to help you.
Vince Foley
Then I'm okay, baby.
Leela Foley
Vince, what's the matter with you? You've been acting like a sulky creep ever since.
Vince Foley
Ever since that night I waited for you outside Kroger's house.
Leela Foley
All right, all right, forget it.
Max Kroger
You brought it up, kid.
Leela Foley
I didn't bless that Coast Guard boat. If we hadn't run into it that night, we'd still be making $12,000 a week.
Vince Foley
8,004 to Jerry. Three way split, remember?
Leela Foley
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, he. For the love of heaven, Vince, can't we get out of this desert?
Vince Foley
Take a look at the map, See how far it's to go.
Max Kroger
Now that I know.
Leela Foley
I know the name of this track again.
Vince Foley
Laredo. It forked to the left after San Antonio.
Leela Foley
Left. Listen, we took the right. We took the right. The right. The right. We should have taken the left. Stop the car. Turn round. Stop the car, Vince. Turn around. Turn it round.
Captain Archer
Poor Dizzy.
Vince Foley
Listen, kid. Track's mighty narrow. If I run off it, the wheels will bog down in the sand.
Narrator
You.
Vince Foley
You get out and direct me get out.
Leela Foley
I'll die out there in the sun.
Max Kroger
Don't have to, kid.
Vince Foley
It's my only chance of turning the car.
Leela Foley
Oh, right away. All right, start turning. Start turning. All right.
Narrator
Your eyes out.
Leela Foley
Vince. Vince, I'm not in the car yet. Vince, I'm not in the car.
Captain Archer
I know, kid.
Leela Foley
What are you doing?
Narrator
Ben, Tell me. Ben. Tell me. Ben. Please. Please.
Vince Foley
I'm keeping my promise to you, kid. I saw you with Kober. My promise never to lay a finger on you in anger. No matter what you did.
Captain Archer
This is Archer, Captain, Florida Coast Guard. You've heard one of the many ways in which illegal citizens are smuggled into the United States. Smuggled by people with only one thought. Easy money, personal profit. Nothing else counts. We eventually caught up with Vince Foley and Jerry Bain and Max Kroger, the organizing brain. Jerry and Kroger are serving five years as convicted smugglers. Vince Foley life. We found his wife's remains in the desert. So the battle goes on. Coast Guards, customs, immigration, the FBI against those who persist in smuggling forbidden cargo.
Narrator
The story you have heard is factual. Names have been changed to protect the identities of those concerned. Listen again for another expose of those who deal in forbidden cargo.
Wayfair Voiceover
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Podcast Title: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode: Forbidden Cargo 54xxxx 04 Running Wetbacks
Release Date: June 22, 2025
Forbidden Cargo 54xxxx 04 Running Wetbacks is a gripping episode from Harold's Old Time Radio, transporting listeners back to the Golden Age of Radio with a riveting tale of smuggling, betrayal, and the relentless pursuit of justice. Set against the backdrop of clandestine operations and the perilous waters of smuggling routes, this episode delves deep into the dark underbelly of illegal immigration and the moral complexities faced by both smugglers and law enforcement.
The episode opens with the narrator setting the stage for a dangerous smuggling operation involving forbidden cargo being transported by various means—ship, plane, and road. A pivotal moment occurs when a smuggling plane crashes, resulting in the tragic deaths of the pilot and ten passengers. Captain Archer reflects on the incident:
Captain Archer: "If anyone gets out of that plane crash, then I resign my coast Guard captaincy."
[02:26]
This crash not only signifies a personal loss but also serves as the first strong lead in the investigation against the smuggling ring.
Leela Foley seeks out Max Kroger to propose a shift in their smuggling operations from air to sea, capitalizing on the Coast Guard's increased scrutiny following the plane crash. Their negotiation is tense yet strategic:
Leela Foley: "Yesterday, when that plane crashed, you lost one of your means of smuggling people into our country...what do you do? You decide to stop running in wetbacks from Cuba by air and start running them in by sea?"
[05:25]
Max Kroger responds with a business proposition, highlighting his control and resources:
Max Kroger: "With everything organized for you? Everything arranged to perfection... I have means of knowing their every movement."
[07:37]
Leela convinces Vince Foley and his partner Jerry Bain to join forces with Kroger, agreeing to transport twelve individuals weekly for a significant profit.
As the smuggling operation commences, the Coast Guard, led by Captain Archer and Lieutenant Mason, intensifies their efforts to thwart the illegal activities. They suspect foul play when inconsistencies arise during their patrols:
Captain Archer: "What'll we do? Let him play tag with the other boats while we head for his anchorage."
[16:11]
Unexpectedly, the Coast Guard discovers frozen bodies from the jettisoned cargo, revealing the grim reality of the smuggling operations and the lengths smugglers go to evade detection:
Lieutenant Mason: "Private Jordan reports ten bodies. Lead sinkers wired to their ankles."
[24:13]
Leela Foley orchestrates a diversion by claiming an exceptionally lucky haul of lobsters to mask their smuggling activities. However, tensions rise as Max Kroger pressures her to suspend operations due to increased Coast Guard activity:
Max Kroger: "Perhaps I could arrange for him to make a long run across to Haiti... All airports and shipping will be watched."
[22:25]
As the Foleys attempt to flee to Mexico, a critical mistake in navigation leads them into a desert, where Vince Foley faces a moral dilemma. In a heart-wrenching moment, Vince honors his promise to never harm Leela, ultimately sacrificing himself to protect her escape:
Vince Foley: "I’m keeping my promise to you, kid. I saw you with Kroger. My promise never to lay a finger on you in anger. No matter what you did."
[27:09]
Leela is left to confront the fallout of their operations alone, emphasizing the personal costs of their illicit endeavors.
The Coast Guard successfully apprehends the smugglers. Jerry Bain and Max Kroger receive prison sentences, while Vince Foley faces a life sentence. Leela Foley's fate remains ambiguous, serving as a poignant reminder of the human toll behind smuggling operations:
Narrator: "We eventually caught up with Vince Foley and Jerry Bain and Max Kroger, the organizing brain. Jerry and Kroger are serving five years as convicted smugglers. Vince Foley life. We found his wife's remains in the desert."
[27:29]
Captain Archer: "If anyone gets out of that plane crash, then I resign my coast Guard captaincy."
[02:26]
Leela Foley: "You must be out of Florida on your way before they find those bodies."
[22:44]
Vince Foley: "I’m keeping my promise to you, kid. I saw you with Kroger. My promise never to lay a finger on you in anger. No matter what you did."
[27:09]
Max Kroger: "What you need, my darling, is a little vacation where it's cooler."
[18:18]
Forbidden Cargo 54xxxx 04 Running Wetbacks masterfully weaves a narrative that highlights the perilous nature of smuggling operations and the relentless pursuit by law enforcement. Through its compelling characters and intense plot twists, the episode offers a poignant exploration of loyalty, sacrifice, and the moral ambiguities inherent in the fight against illegal activities. For listeners who appreciate classic radio dramas filled with suspense and emotional depth, this episode stands out as a memorable installment in Harold's Old Time Radio collection.