
Indictment 1958.xx.xx Grand Slam Heist
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Edward McCormick
Indictment. A formal written charge of crime as the basis for trial of the accused. Indictment. The drama you are about to hear is from New York City and is based on stories of the criminal law with authentic pursuit procedures as detailed by Eliezer Lipski, former Assistant District Attorney of New York. It is the Assistant District Attorney who directs criminal investigations, assembles facts and witnesses, builds the case to adjust indictment.
Harold Follinsby
All right, that finishes up the stoves and jackets. Now, Mary, we come to the coats. Taking sheep right down at the top.
Edward McCormick
Coats.
Harold Follinsby
Mink coast.
Mary Olney
Mink. Yes, Mr. Clumsy.
Harold Follinsby
Wait a minute, Bill, for heaven's sake.
Edward McCormick
You're going to take inventory or you're.
Harold Follinsby
Going to listen to the ball game.
Edward McCormick
I can do it, though. Where are we? Mink Coats. Fine. Let's go. Oh, no, no, no. Wait. See if Mantle takes this to him all day. Oh, no. They're not going to make him bunt.
Harold Follinsby
Oh, no, Bill.
Edward McCormick
I take Harold. He lays quiet, man. Wait for it. It's scooped up the throw to first Think. He beats it out. He's safe. All right. That's the game for us. Oh, and he's with the man on base. What is it, Barry? All right, all right. Where were we? Me. Right.
Harold Follinsby
Very well. Ranch natural. A dozen. Ranch. Mutation 7. Ranch.
Edward McCormick
Mary. See who that is. No showings today. Too late. Inventory. Go ahead, Harry.
Harold Follinsby
Branch. Mutation seven.
Edward McCormick
Right.
Harold Follinsby
Branch Blue is next with four. Mary.
Edward McCormick
What is she doing out there? They've got guns, arrows. Don't do anything. We're insured. No noise. The hands up. No fuss. No much. No father. All right. Conference on the mound. Okay. Boston. No, not the vault, mister. No. I beg you, no. Wait a minute. What's the inning?
Harold Follinsby
Please, my partner can't be locked in the vault. His heart.
Edward McCormick
Sick man.
Harold Follinsby
Weak heart.
Edward McCormick
What's the inning? What's the score?
Harold Follinsby
Top of the ninth. Yankees are up. Tied up.
Edward McCormick
Mantle bunded. But I beg you. Shut up and get in. A voir. Pass. One on. Caught just in time. Iron on the outside. Get into the. Please.
Tom Russo
If they walk.
Edward McCormick
Like any season, in the dirt, go for a natural. For faith's sake. See what I mean? They walk them. I go for the double quad.
Tom Russo
McCormick, Ed, Tom Russo, head. I'm up at safe and lops on that 30th street fur heist. Monkin and Follinsville, you know.
Edward McCormick
Mm. What's cooking?
Tom Russo
Old shoes and cabbages, Ed. The safe and lofts. Men don't like the way it smells.
Edward McCormick
What was the haul there, by the way?
Tom Russo
That's part of the stink, ed. $90,000 worth of prime furs. Only the best. The stick up men knew just where the wild meat was turned up. Their noses at the ranch stuff seemed to know they'd catch the partners at inventory.
Edward McCormick
Inside job, huh?
Tom Russo
Insurance complications, Ed. Complications. As far as that goes. Insurance, that is. Moncton. That's one of the partners. Moncton suddenly discovers the other. Follinsby let the insurance lapse. He's blowing his top. A lot of wild charges, Ed. He's in a real.
Edward McCormick
All right. Where do I come in? Have these detectives got anything ready for me?
Tom Russo
Not yet. Monkton's screaming like a mad dog in the meat house. The boys up here thought you might get something out of them, Ed.
Edward McCormick
All right. Bring them down. Too late to catch the night game anyway.
Harold Follinsby
You. You have to forgive my partner's hysteria, Mr. McCormick. His entire life is. His entire savings are involved in our company.
Edward McCormick
Aren't you an equal partner, Mr. Follinsby?
Harold Follinsby
Equal? Yes, of course, equal. A partnership of 30 years standing. But eggs and baskets, you know I have real estate. I beg you, Mr. McCormick. I urge you. If you can induce him to. To adopt some self control.
Tom Russo
Mr. Follinsbee means his partner's been accusing him of fingering the job. Mr. McCormick, that's impossible.
Mary Olney
It's utterly.
Edward McCormick
Please, one thing at a time.
Mary Olney
I knew of Mr. Follonsby and Mr. Monkin for 25 years. They'd neither of them do any such thing. Why, they're the closest friends, much less business.
Edward McCormick
Ms. Only. Please. In good time. Detective Russo, did Mr. Moncton say anything in your presence to substantiate this claim, this accusation?
Harold Follinsby
The efficiency, Mr. McCormick. The efficiency and speed of the operation.
Edward McCormick
The robber.
Harold Follinsby
The fact of the insurance, which.
Edward McCormick
Which by the way, I understand, has been allowed to lapse by you. Is that so?
Harold Follinsby
Not for the first time, Mr. McCormick. Ms. Only will bear me out. The company has always in the past allowed us a few days leeway in restoring the policy. Who would expect to be to be caught between expiration and renewal?
Edward McCormick
Mr. Follinsbee, I understand your partner is a sick man, presently under physician's care.
Mary Olney
He's practically in shock, Mr. McCormack. He wouldn't have said any of those terrible things to Mr. Fontby if he'd realized what he was saying. Of course.
Edward McCormick
Of course. You're considerably overwrought yourself. It's been difficult, I suppose, on all of you.
Harold Follinsby
You must believe me, Mr. McCormick. I am less concerned over our loss than I am over what has suddenly happened to our friendship. 30 years, Mr. McCormick. Good times. And bad Monckton and Follinsby. And to have such accusations, such hysteria.
Edward McCormick
Well, having heard some of the details from the safe and loft detectives, I was going to suggest that. Since there's nothing that can be done until the investigation bears fruit anyway, I was going to suggest that perhaps you and your partner, provided you can persuade him.
Mary Olney
I can talk to him, Mr. McCormick. I'm sure I can talk to him.
Edward McCormick
Fine. Then you persuade him. In view of what I understand was going on when the robbery took place. To go with his old friend, robbery or no robbery, up to the stadium tomorrow.
Mary Olney
The sta.
Edward McCormick
Oh, yes. After all, it's the Yankees last home game before the series. Maybe Bob Turley will win his 23rd.
Mary Olney
I'll try to persuade him.
Edward McCormick
Do I take it that's all right with you, Mr. Follinsby?
Harold Follinsby
A ball game. Isn't there something you can do, Mr. McCormick?
Edward McCormick
On evidence? Yes. Otherwise. Well, what have I got to go on, Mr. Follinsby? One man did all the talking, and the other had the scar across his nose. And that isn't very much. Enjoy the game.
Harold Follinsby
You're sure you're all right, Phil?
Edward McCormick
Yes, fine. The best medicine in the world. You know, I. I couldn't thank you too much, Hal. A wonderful idea, this ball game. And ashamed. I tell you, if I could forget the things I said yesterday.
Harold Follinsby
Skip it, Phil.
Edward McCormick
Yeah, well, still it all, uh. 30 fur coats and 800 pelts. Well, I look at it this way. This is the seventh inning stretch. This. This loss. We got knocked down. So we stand up and we stretch and we settle down and start all over again. Yeah, you and I. 30 years we have our health, we. Harold. Harold.
Harold Follinsby
What? What is it, Phil? Your heart?
Edward McCormick
No. Look down there. Coming into the box. Going into the box. The one with the can of beer.
Harold Follinsby
I. I don't see. What is it?
Mary Olney
Who?
Edward McCormick
You can stand there, ask me.
Harold Follinsby
Who.
Edward McCormick
The other one, that's who. The one who went first. There. Looking around now with the beer.
Mary Olney
There.
Edward McCormick
That one. Look. I can't point. Next to the woman. The woman with the hat in the next box. The crazy hatch.
Harold Follinsby
You may be right, Phil. He's got a funny nose.
Edward McCormick
Funny nose is right. Half nose, half scar. Telephone. Telephone. Behind the grandstand. Hurry, Harold. A telephone. Detective Bowen. Detective Bowen, this is Edward McCormick, Special Bureau, Assistant District Attorney. Yes, Mr. McCormick. That in Manhattan? Yes, that's right. I've just had a call from a fur robbery victim, a Mr. Harold Follinsby. Take that down, please. Follinsby. Got it? Yes, sir. But I. I find him in grandstand seat A77, his partner with him. They've spotted one of the men they think did the heist. Down in front of a. In a front box? Yes, sir. Grandstand seat A77. Where, sir? Where, for Pete's sake, Bowen. Is there any place left but the Yankee Stadium? For that matter, were there ever any real baseball anyplace else in New York? Get over there with a couple of men before the Yankees win. This one, too. Point out the man, Mr. Barnsley, the heavy set. One straw hat next to the dame in the dizzy hat. That's the one. That's the one, all right. Keep it down, Mr. Martin. Keep it down. You sure not. That's him. For heaven's sakes. All right. Okay, Dave, you go up the aisle. Come down the other. Work around the other end of the box in case he makes a break that way. I'll wait for you to get there before I make the grab.
Harold Follinsby
Detective, what about you two?
Edward McCormick
They want you to go down to Mr. McCormick's office in Manhattan. We'll bring the man in for you to identify.
Harold Follinsby
You want us to leave the game right now? Hurry up.
Edward McCormick
All right. Of course, of course. Will you tell us what Barrett does? Just about ready, Mr. McCormick. Anytime you are. Waiting for one witness. Sergeant, get the stenographer to note the names and appearances of the lineup, please. Right. Thank you, Mary. We got him. We got him.
Mary Olney
Ms. Doom Hampton. Which one?
Harold Follinsby
You're the man.
Edward McCormick
Cut it out. Now, I warned you gentlemen not to discuss the suspect with each other. Or with Ms. Olney when she arrives. Miss, Only take a seat, please, and listen to me.
Mary Olney
Very well.
Edward McCormick
All right. In that next room, we've prepared a lineup. The suspect you men claim to have spotted at the ballpark. Blame, he says. Are you going to cooperate, Mr. Moncton? I'm sorry. Go ahead. Suspect has been told to take any place in the lineup he chooses. You'll see upwards of a dozen men in there. They're detectives, clerks, and the officers around here. One or two of them are building workers. I'm gonna ask you to go in there, look at the lineup, then come out here and then tell me or Detective Russo. Nobody else. In a whisper. In fact, I'll repeat that in a whisper. Which of the men in the lineup you recognize as one of those who robbed your place. You understand? Perfectly. Of course. Fine. Now, just a minute. Pardon me. I forgot something. One at a time. Mr. Monkton, go with Detective Russo. Mr. Faunsley, how did I. I've asked you, Ms. Olney. Not to talk to the other witnesses. Now, will you please. That was quick. Mr. Monson. Sit down. Keep your thoughts to yourself.
Tom Russo
Tom made him right off the bat. Ed, fifth from the left, Poggy Moran.
Edward McCormick
This is all monkey business. It's the man. I'd know him anyway. Quiet. Who's next?
Tom Russo
Mr. McCormick?
Edward McCormick
Mr. Falathy. Go ahead and remember.
Harold Follinsby
Understood? Understood.
Edward McCormick
And what happens next? If he's the man, we'll well talk to him. You ought to know, Mr. Monckton, that whatever identification you may make is still a long way from a conviction. To say nothing of the fact that he may decide to work for a recommendation from this office by cooperating.
Mary Olney
I don't understand what you're talking about.
Edward McCormick
We want the name of his accomplice, Miss only. The firm wants its furs back. Now, all together.
Tom Russo
Sit down, Mr. Mr. F. Ed. Not so good. We had seven men with scars in the lineup. Hollandsby made two false starts and only then made Moran. But he's not sure. Not too sure.
Edward McCormick
The man who let the insurance lapse.
Tom Russo
That's it.
Edward McCormick
All right, Miss Only come with me, please. Detective Russo, stay with these people.
Tom Russo
Yes, sir.
Edward McCormick
All right, all of you, one step forward. Put on your hats. Take off your hats. You, third from the right. You face this way. Pick up your hat. All right, all of you, left profile. Turn right. Right profile. Turn. Okay. Face front. Thank you, detective. Ms. Only.
Mary Olney
Yes, sir.
Edward McCormick
Come over here, please. Anyone there you know?
Mary Olney
No, sir.
Edward McCormick
Nobody?
Mary Olney
No, sir. I never saw any of those men in my life.
Edward McCormick
Thank you, Miss only. Thank you very much. All right, gentlemen, that's all. Detective, bring that man back to the witness room while we give the results to the stenographer. Now, you three just contain yourselves for a moment. Do not converse among yourselves. Tom. Yeah? The girl drew a blank. Girl? She's 40.
Tom Russo
If she's a day yet trying to look 24.
Edward McCormick
Never mind about that. How smart is Puggy Moran?
Tom Russo
Anybody stupid enough to take a piece of an armed robbery with three convictions behind him? Oh, if the IQ people 100 points. What's your idea, Ed?
Edward McCormick
Well, I pretended in there that the girl had recognized him. Suppose we turn the positive one loose on Puggy Moncton. Yeah. You think Puggy will give? It's your case. Well, what else have we got? Mr. Moncton? Yes. Yes. Right. Right. Will you come with me, please? Into the next. That's the one. Look at that face. That's the one. Well, Puggy, what do you say? Drag a guy out of the ball game with bearer up? Last home game before the series. You got a knife? All right, Puggy. You play your cards right and you'll be back playing shortstop on the north wing team at Ossining. Very funny. Very funny. What's the charge? What's the rap? Mr. Monckton, let me introduce you to Puggy Moran. Old time heist man. Been in the safe and loft business longer than you've been in the furlough. A liar. I swear to my dying day, he was the man. Listen, Mr. Moran. I don't want your life. Think of mine, Mr. Monkton. $90,000. The death blow to myself. Please, family, prison, trial, whether or not. Mr. Moncton. Please give me back my furs. Be human. You're killing me. I beg you, Mr. Moncton. That's a great act. Put him on the TV. Man's got a bad heart. It's no act.
Harold Follinsby
Your coon bucket.
Edward McCormick
All right, Mr. Monkton, we'll take care of you. Russo, Tom, get Dr. Licktheim on the double. He's up in part four testifying. Phil, what have they done to you? Get out of there, both of you. Hurt yourself?
Mary Olney
All right, Miss.
Edward McCormick
Only drink this.
Mary Olney
What is it?
Edward McCormick
What is.
Mary Olney
How's Mr. Monkton?
Edward McCormick
It's just water. Now calm yourself. You. You think a lot of Mr. Monkton, don't you?
Mary Olney
30 years they've been together, 20 of them with me. Won't you tell me how he is?
Edward McCormick
Angina, miss. Only like a red hot iron through the heart. You've known him a long time. You know how he takes things.
Mary Olney
Oh, dear.
Edward McCormick
Lloyd.
Mary Olney
Don't let anything happen. Don't let it happen.
Edward McCormick
Going to happen sooner or later, Mary. Might as well be now.
Mary Olney
What are you saying?
Edward McCormick
I'm asking. You've known Mr. Moncton 20 years. Who was it helped to break his heart? I'm asking you now. How long have you known Puggy Moran? Get the pictures. In order to help you further your education while you're serving in the Armed Forces usafi, the United States Armed Forces Institute, is now offering a series of telecourses, courses of study on film conducted by qualified high school and college teachers. In addition to their classroom experience, these teachers are familiar with the special problems of film or television instruction. But the USAFI telecourses have not been produced solely for military television stations. They can be shown anywhere on a standard 16 millimeter projector. So if you are interested in enrolling in one of these excellent filmed courses, find out what courses are being offered. Then enroll with USAFI and let a telecourse be your guide. Go Ahead, Puggy. Get yourself in deeper with every lie you tell. What are you going to say when I put a witness on the stand to testify you've been living with Mary as Mr. And Mrs. Frank Mercer at the west side Hotel for the last three months. No comment. All the witnesses you like. Dime a dozen, you pay. And the hotel register to prove it. Signed in the same Spencerian handwriting. Come clean, Puggy. You're dead. The girl had nothing to do with it. She talked, Puggy. Never. She looked me in the eye in a lineup. I seen her shake her head. She never seen me. She never made me. You're pulling a fast one, Puggy. I'll tell you the truth. And I'll expect no more, no less from you. You're right. Mary only didn't identify you right then. You got nothing.
Harold Follinsby
No eyes and she don't shut up.
Edward McCormick
Only. Only when her old boss went to the brink of death because of you and the other stick up man. Only then, Puggy, did she come through. Oh, no. Oh, yes. Enough to earn you 30 to life as a fourth offender. You don't believe it. Still ask her for yourself. Mary. Mary. You heard the previous conversation outside?
Mary Olney
Yes, sir.
Edward McCormick
Was what I said the truth?
Mary Olney
Yes, sir.
Edward McCormick
Will you do now what you said you would of your own accord?
Mary Olney
Yes, sir. Puggy. Whatever happens, I'm still me. Puggy. Wherever they send you, whenever you get out, it'll still be me for you.
Edward McCormick
So what are you doing to me, McCormick?
Mary Olney
Puggy, he only wants you to tell where Mr. Munson can get his furs back. Buggy. I never knew it would have kill him. The ferns and the other man. You have to tell him who he was. Don't care about me. I don't care about.
Edward McCormick
I've got to warn you again, miss. Only as an accomplice. What you're saying now may be used against you.
Mary Olney
I don't care. I don't care. I care about Puggy. He has to help you. You said if he'd cooperate. You said if he'd come clean, you'd talk to the court for him.
Edward McCormick
Set straight. Set straight, McCormick.
Mary Olney
You heard her, Puggy. You have to. Otherwise it's a life sentence. Puggy. Puggy. It'll be all right, Mr. McCormick. Let me tell you everything. Then you'll see he isn't a bad man, Mr. McCormick. He's a wonderful man. 20 years I knew them. Slaved for them, worked for them. And never, never any kindness. I was only another office machine, typewriter, adding machine, billing machine. And merry only. But this for the first time in my life. This man was kind to me. Can't you understand, Mr. McCormick? He was kind to me. Oh, Puggy. Go ahead. He knows.
Edward McCormick
McCormick. A deal. Nothing. Not for me. For a girl. As a cooperative witness, I'll do my best for her. A rap? No promises, but maybe a lesser plea might be granted by the court.
Mary Olney
I'll wait for you. Plug your way. It'll be me for you, whenever, whatever.
Edward McCormick
No matter you.
Tom Russo
I believe you, Da.
Edward McCormick
I. For the girl. I. I gotta go along with you. It's your stenographer. One thing. Yes? You got a newspaper? Radio? Anything? I mean, what did the yogi do? Our side won. The story you just heard was drawn from New York City and based on stories of the criminal law as detailed by Eleazer Lipski, former Assistant District Attorney. The names of all persons and places were changed. Indictment is written by Alan Sloan, produced by Nathan Kroll and directed by Paul Roberts. Nat Poland has starred as Edward McCormick. Jack Arthur is heard as Tom Russo. Also in the cast were Martin Blaine, Joseph Boland, Grace Matthews, Bernard Grant, Joseph Julian, Roger De Koven and Sam Gray. This is Dick Noel inviting you to listen next week at the same time for another indictment. Indictment has come to you through the worldwide facilities of the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.
Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Host: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode Date: September 10, 2025 (original airdate c. 1958)
Main Theme:
A classic radio crime drama set in New York, following Assistant District Attorney Edward McCormick as he investigates a daring fur heist intricately tied to friendship, betrayal, and a deep undercurrent of human vulnerability.
A blend of gritty police procedural and heartfelt human drama. Dialogue is swift and authentic, blending streetwise detective banter (“Anybody stupid enough to take a piece of an armed robbery with three convictions behind him owes the IQ people 100 points.” — E, 14:45) with tender emotional exchanges. The sound design and overlapping realism with the background of a Yankees game create palpable atmosphere.
The "Grand Slam Heist" episode of Indictment weaves together elements of classic crime solving with a deeply personal story of friendship, loyalty, and heartbreak. Through authentic police procedure, a twisting lineup, and the unraveling of secret attachments, the episode illuminates the costs of criminal enterprise—not just in dollars, but in damaged relationships and moral dilemmas.
For listeners:
Even without prior context, the episode offers a masterclass in character-driven mystery from the Golden Age of Radio—crackling with tension, empathy, and old-school detective craft.