
The Assistant DA suspects that a major fur robbery was an inside job. Original Air Date: September 1958 Originating from New York Starring: Nat Polen as Assistant District Attorney McCormick Support the show monthly at...
Loading summary
Adam Graham
You can make a difference in someone's life, including your own, with a job in home care. These jobs offer flexible schedules, health care, retirement options and free training. They also provide paid time off and opportunities for overtime. Visit oregonhomecarejobs.com to learn more and apply. That's oregonhomecarejobs.com.
Expedia Advertiser
Trip Planner by Expedia. You were made to have strong opinions about sand. We were made to help you and your friends find a place on the beach with a pool and a marina and a waterfall and a soaking tub. Expedia Made to Travel.
Adam Graham
Hello, this is Adam Graham. I hope you're enjoying this week's baseball themed encores. As a reminder, any offers or information contained in these episodes is not valid unless it's currently reflected on the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio website. And remember to listen to the amazing world of Radio Starting on Wednesday, 28 May for the summer of Robert Louis Stevenson. Now enjoy another baseball related encore. Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio. From Boise, Idaho, this is your host, Adam Graham. If you have a comment, email it to me. Box Thirteenreatetectives.net Follow us on Twitter at radiodetectives and become one of our friends on Facebook facebook.com RadioDetectives Today's program is brought to you by the financial support of our listeners. You can support the showofsupport.greatdetectives.net you can send a donation to Adam Graham, P.O. box 15913159 13, Boise, ID 83715. You can also use the Zelle app to send a box 13@greatdetectives.net and you can become one of our ongoing Patreon supporters for as little as $2 per month. Just check out patreon.greatdetectives.net well now it's time for our final episode of Indictment. And this one we can't give you an exact date for, but we're pretty sure it's from September. September of 1958 and the title is Grand Slam Heist Indictment.
Edward McCormick
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 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, bills the case to adjust Indictment.
Expedia Advertiser
All right, that finishes up the stoves and jackets. Now Mary, we come to the coats, take A new sheet right down at the top.
Edward McCormick
Coat.
Expedia Advertiser
Mink coast.
Mary Olney
Mink. Yes, Mr. Clumsy.
Expedia Advertiser
Wait a minute.
Edward McCormick
For heaven's sake.
Expedia Advertiser
You're going to take inventory. Are you going to listen to the ball game?
Edward McCormick
I can go. Where are we? Minkoats. Fine, let's go. Although. No, wait. See if Mantle takes to him all day. Oh, no, they're not going to make him bunt. Oh, no, Bill. I take Harold Riot man. Wait for it. It's scooped up to throw to first. Mickey beats it out. He's safe. All right. That's the game for us. Oh, he's with the man on base. What is it, Mary? To make the night. All right, all right. Where were we? Me. Right.
Expedia Advertiser
Very well. Branch natural. A double. Branch mutation 7.
Edward McCormick
Branch. No showings today. Too late. Inventory. Go ahead, Howard.
Expedia Advertiser
Branch mutation seven.
Edward McCormick
Right. Branch Blue is next with four. What is she doing out there? They've got guns arrowed. Yes. Don't do anything. We're insured. No, no. Hands up. No fuss. No much. No farther. All right. Conference on the m. No, no. Not the vault, mister. No. I beg you. No. Wait a minute. What's the inning?
Expedia Advertiser
Please, my partner can't be locked in the vault. His heart.
Tom Russo
Sick man.
Edward McCormick
Weak heart. What's the ending? What's the score?
Expedia Advertiser
Top of the ninth. Yankees are up to tied up.
Edward McCormick
Hair Mantle bunted. But would I beg you, shut up and get in a V. That's one arm caught just in time. Iron on the outside, please. And it looks like all three. Three and one knows what's coming. They walk like I know. In the dirt. Ball four. Go for the natural for fake sight. See what I mean? They walk them. They go for the double quad.
Tom Russo
McCormick, Ed, Tom Russo. And I'm up at Safe and lofts on that 30th street fur heist. Monkton and Follinsville, you know.
Edward McCormick
Mm. What's cooking?
Tom Russo
Old shoes and cabbages, Ed. The Safe and Loft's men don't like the way it smells.
Edward McCormick
And what was the haul there, by the way?
Tom Russo
That's part of the stink, ed. $90,000 were the prime furs. Only the best. The Stick up men knew just where the wild mink was. Turned up their noses at the ranch stuff. Seemed to know they'd catch the partners at inventory.
Edward McCormick
Inside job, huh? Insurance complications, Ed.
Tom Russo
Complicated. 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 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.
Expedia Advertiser
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. Follinsbee?
Expedia Advertiser
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. Follinsby means his partner's been accusing him of fingering the job.
Edward McCormick
Mr. McCormick, that's impossible.
Mary Olney
It's utterly.
Edward McCormick
Ms. Only, please, one thing at a time.
Mary Olney
I knew Mr. Folinsby and Mr. Monkton for 25 years. They'd neither of them do any such thing. Why, they're the closest friends. Much less business.
Edward McCormick
Miss, only, please. In good time. Detective Russo, did Mr. Monkton say anything in your presence to substantiate this claim, this accusation?
Expedia Advertiser
The efficiency, Mr. McCormick. The efficiency and speed of the operation. The robbery. The fact of the insurance, which.
Edward McCormick
Which, by the way, I understand, has been allowed to lapse by you. Is that so?
Expedia Advertiser
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. McCormick. He wouldn't have said any of those terrible things to Mr. Fonsby if he'd realized what he was saying.
Edward McCormick
Of course. Of course. You're considerably overwrought yourself. It's been difficult, I suppose, on all of you.
Expedia Advertiser
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. Monkton in forens being 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, mister. 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. Follensby?
Expedia Advertiser
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. Follsby? One man did all the talking and the other had the scar across his nose. Nose. And that isn't very much. Enjoy the game.
Expedia Advertiser
You're sure you're all right, Phil?
Edward McCormick
Yes, fine. The best medicine in the world. You know, I, 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.
Expedia Advertiser
Skip it, Phil.
Edward McCormick
Yeah, well, still it. All 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. You and I. 30 years we have our health. We have. Harold. Harold. What?
Expedia Advertiser
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.
Expedia Advertiser
I, I don't see. What is it?
Mary Olney
Who?
Edward McCormick
You can stand there and ask me. Who? The other one, that's who. The one who went for the first. There. Looking around now, with the beard.
Mary Olney
There.
Adam Graham
That one.
Edward McCormick
Look. I can't point. Next to the woman. The woman with the hat in the next box. The crazy hat.
Expedia Advertiser
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. Arrow the telephone. Detective Bone, Detective Bowen. This is Edward McCormick, Special Bureau Assistant District Attorney. Yes, Mr. McCormick. That's in Manhattan. Yes, that's right. I've just had a call from a fur robbery victim, a Mr. Harold Pollensby. Take that down, please. Pollensby. Got it? Yes, sir. But I find him in grandstand seat A77, his partner with him. They spotted one of the men they think did the heist down in front of. In a front box. Yes, sir. Grandstand seat A77. Where, sir? Where? For Pete sake, Bowen, is there any place left but the Yankee Stadium? For that matter, were there ever any real baseball any place else in New York? Get over there with a couple of men before the Yankees win. This one, too? Why not?
Expedia Advertiser
The man is the first the heavy set.
Edward McCormick
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 that's him? For heaven's sakes. All right. Okay, Dave. You go up the aisle, come down the other. Working on 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.
Expedia Advertiser
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.
Expedia Advertiser
You want us to leave the game?
Edward McCormick
Right now. Hurry up. All right. Of course. Of course. Will you tell us what Barrett does? Just about ready, Ms. 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
Which one?
Edward McCormick
Cut it out. Now, I warned you gentlemen not to discuss the suspect with each other or with Miss only 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 ball. Claim, he says. Are you going to cooperate, Mr. Monckton? 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. The 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.
Mary Olney
Mr. Falmouth. How did.
Edward McCormick
I've asked you, Ms. Olney, not to talk to the other witnesses. Now, will you please? That was quick, Mr. Moncton. Sit down. Keep your thoughts to yourself.
Tom Russo
Tom made him right off the bat.
Edward McCormick
Ed.
Tom Russo
Fifth from the left. Huggy Moran.
Edward McCormick
This is all monkey business. It's the man. I'd mow him anyway. Quiet.
Tom Russo
Who's next? Mr. McCormick?
Edward McCormick
Mr. Follethy? Go ahead. And remember.
Expedia Advertiser
Understood? Understood.
Edward McCormick
And what happens next? If he's the man, we'll well talk to him. You ought to know, Mr. Moncton, 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, altogether.
Tom Russo
Sit down, Mr. F. Ed. Not so good. We had seven men with scars in the lineup. Follingsby made two false starts and only then made Moran. But he's not sure. Not too sure.
Edward McCormick
The man who left the insurance laps.
Tom Russo
That's it.
Edward McCormick
All right, Miss only. Come with me, please. Detective Russo, stay with these people. Yes, sir. 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 head. All right, all of you, left profile. Turn right. Right profile. Turn left. 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?
Tom Russo
She's 40. If she's a daghead trying to look.
Edward McCormick
24, 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 owes 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 the Monkton. I 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 room.
Expedia Advertiser
That's the one.
Edward McCormick
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 Osing. Very funny. Very funny. What's the charge? What's the rap? Mr. Moncton, 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. Mon. $90,000. The death family, prison Trial whether m. Please give me back my first Be human. You're killing me. I beg you, Mr. Mon. That's a great act. Put him on the TV. Man got a bad heart to throw at your coon bucket. I watch. Bucket. I need my medicine. All right, Mr. Mon. We'll take care of you. Russo. Tom, get Dr. Lyme on the double. He's up in part four testifying.
Mary Olney
Real.
Expedia Advertiser
What have they done to you?
Edward McCormick
Get out of there, both of you. Hurl yourself. All right, miss. Only drink this.
Mary Olney
What is it? What is. How's Mr. Mon?
Edward McCormick
It's just water. Now calm yourself. You. You think a lot of Mr. Monkin, 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. Lloyd. Don't let anything happen. Don't let it happen.
Edward McCormick
It's going to happen sooner or later. Mary only might as well be now.
Mary Olney
What do you say?
Edward McCormick
I'm asking. You've known Mr. Monckton 20 years. Who was it helped to break his heart? I'm asking you now. How long have you known Puggy Moran? Get the picture? In order to help you further your education while you're serving in the armed forces, yousafi, 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 Westside 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. He 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. No eyes. And she knew shut up. 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. 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? Yes, sir. 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. Monk didn't get his furs back. Bucky, I never knew it would have kill him. The furs 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 gotta 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. You heard her, Puggy.
Mary Olney
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.
Edward McCormick
But this.
Mary Olney
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.
Expedia Advertiser
McCormick.
Edward McCormick
A deal. Nothing. Not for me. As a cooperative witness, I'll do my best for her.
Tom Russo
A rap.
Edward McCormick
No promises. But maybe a lesser plea might be granted by the court.
Mary Olney
I'll wait for you, Puggy. I'll wait. It'll be me for you, whenever, whatever.
Edward McCormick
No matter you. I believe you. The AI 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 the story you just heard was drawn from New York City and based on stories of the criminal law as detailed by Eliezer 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 this same time for another indictment. Indictment has come to you through the worldwide facilities of the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.
Mary Olney
You can make a difference in someone's life, including your own, with a job in home care. These jobs offer flexible schedules, health care, retirement options and free training. They also provide paid time off and opportunities for overtime. Visit oregonhomecarejobs.com to learn more and apply that's oregonhomecarejobs.com.
Adam Graham
Welcome back. Well, some fascinating baseball stuff in this episode and I think the date of September 1958 is pretty well established mainly by the reference to Bob Turley. Turley was a Yankees pitcher. He did not hit 23 games won in 1958, but he did get to 21. So I'm kind of thinking that this was written like early September when they thought he might get to 23. And this was actually Turley's big outstanding season. He won 21 games through 19 complete games, six shutouts, won the Cy Young Award, the Sporting News Pitcher of the Year and the World Series MVP. He was 27 years old that season and he never won as many as 10 games the rest of his career. And yeah, was pretty much out of baseball within five years. So that right there sets the date. Another thing, of course, is that little reference when the was confusion of where he was referring to in terms of the seating. And the assistant district attorney said that was the only place that you would play baseball in New York City and then made the suggestion that that was probably the only place where real baseball had ever been played in New York City was at Yankee Stadium. Now this is a shot by the writers at the Dodgers and Giants who had recently departed New York for Los Angeles and San Francisco as if to say who needs you anyway? There was never any real baseball play. Don't tell us about that whole shot heard round the world thing and don't even mention Willie Mays or the teams John McGraw managed. Only real baseball is at Yankee Stadium. Alright I do want to go ahead and thank our Patreon Supporter of the Day. Thank you to Vincent, patreon, Supporter since June 2019, currently supporting us at the rookie level of $2 or more per month. Thanks so much for your support, Vincent. And that'll wrap it up for today. Join us back here on Monday for Casey, Crime Photographer, Tuesday for the Australian version of the Fat man, and next Saturday it's under arrest. In the meantime, send your comments to box13reatdetectives.net Follow us on Twitter RadioDetectives and become one of our friends on Facebook. Facebook.com RadioDetectives From Boise, Idaho, this is your host, Adam Graham, signing off.
Expedia Advertiser
Packages by Expedia. You were made to be rechargeable. We were made to package flights, hotels and hammocks for less. Expedia made to travel.
Podcast: The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio
Host: Adam Graham
Release Date: May 24, 2025
Episode Title: Indictment: The Grand Slam Heist (Encore)
In this encore episode of "Indictment: The Grand Slam Heist," listeners are transported back to September 1958, immersing themselves in a meticulously crafted Old Time Radio detective drama. Set against the backdrop of a high-stakes baseball game, the story weaves together themes of betrayal, desperation, and justice, showcasing the complexities of criminal investigations during the Golden Age of Radio.
The episode opens with Assistant District Attorney Edward McCormick navigating the aftermath of a sophisticated fur heist orchestrated by the Safe and Loft company. The heist, valued at $90,000 in prime furs, has left the company on the brink of financial collapse, exacerbated by an unrenewed insurance policy—a critical misstep that the perpetrators exploited.
As the narrative unfolds, McCormick finds himself at Yankee Stadium during a tense baseball game, serving as a strategic location to apprehend one of the culprits, Puggy Moran. The bustling environment of the ballpark provides the perfect cover for the impending confrontation.
Notable Quote:
Edward McCormick (00:35): "You can make a difference in someone's life, including your own, with a job in home care."
[This quote, however, appears to be part of an advertisement and is thus excluded from the main content summary.]
McCormick, along with Detective Tom Russo, orchestrates an elaborate lineup to identify Moran. The tension peaks as they attempt to secure a confession, navigating the emotional turmoil of Mary Olney, Moran's partner, who is deeply affected by the charges against him.
Notable Quote:
Edward McCormick (09:35): "On evidence? Yes. Otherwise. Well, what have I got to go on, Mr. Follsby? One man did all the talking and the other had the scar across his nose."
Mary Olney emerges as a pivotal character, torn between her loyalty to Moran and her moral compass. Her emotional plea underscores the human element within the legal façade, highlighting the personal costs of criminal endeavors.
Notable Quote:
Mary Olney (22:23): "Puggy, wherever they send you, whenever you get out, it'll still be me for you."
Under immense pressure and faced with irrefutable evidence, Moran breaks down, leading to his confession. The resolution not only brings the heist to a close but also restores a semblance of justice, emphasizing the relentless pursuit of truth by law enforcement.
Edward McCormick: A seasoned Assistant District Attorney, McCormick embodies the determined and methodical nature of law enforcement during the era. His strategic thinking and empathetic approach play crucial roles in unraveling the case.
Tom Russo: As McCormick’s dependable detective, Russo complements McCormick’s methods with hands-on investigative skills, demonstrating the effective collaboration between prosecution and policing.
Mary Olney: Serving as both a witness and a moral compass, Olney’s internal conflict adds depth to the narrative, illustrating the personal dilemmas faced by those entangled in criminal cases.
Puggy Moran: The quintessential anti-hero, Moran’s actions are driven by desperation, revealing the blurred lines between right and wrong in the pursuit of survival.
Edward McCormick on the Importance of Evidence:
[09:35]: "On evidence? Yes. Otherwise. Well, what have I got to go on, Mr. Follsby? One man did all the talking and the other had the scar across his nose."
Mary Olney’s Plea:
[22:23]: "Puggy, wherever they send you, whenever you get out, it'll still be me for you."
McCormick’s Dedication to Justice:
[23:55]: "You're dead. The girl had nothing to do with it. She talked, Puggy. Never. He looked me in the eye in a lineup. I seen her shake her head."
Host Adam Graham delves into the historical authenticity of the episode, pinpointing its setting to September 1958 through references like Yankees pitcher Bob Turley’s performance. Turley’s remarkable season, marked by 21 wins and multiple accolades, serves as a temporal anchor, rooting the narrative in a specific moment in baseball history.
Notable Quote:
Adam Graham (27:31): "Bob Turley was in his big outstanding season. He won 21 games through 19 complete games, six shutouts, won the Cy Young Award, the Sporting News Pitcher of the Year and the World Series MVP."
The episode subtly critiques the geographic relocation of New York’s baseball teams, alluding to the Dodgers and Giants' move to Los Angeles and San Francisco. This not only adds a layer of socio-cultural commentary but also enhances the realism of the setting, reflecting the real-world shifts in American sports during the late 1950s.
Notable Quote:
Adam Graham (28:10): "Now this is a shot by the writers at the Dodgers and Giants who had recently departed New York for Los Angeles and San Francisco as if to say who needs you anyway?"
The interplay between McCormick, Russo, and Olney highlights the moral ambiguities inherent in law enforcement. Olney’s struggle between loyalty and justice personifies the emotional weight carried by individuals connected to criminal activities, adding a nuanced layer to the storytelling.
"Indictment: The Grand Slam Heist (Encore)" masterfully intertwines the suspense of a classic radio detective story with rich historical and cultural nuances. Through compelling characters and a well-crafted plot, the episode not only entertains but also offers a poignant reflection on the human elements within the pursuit of justice. Host Adam Graham’s insightful commentary further enriches the listening experience, providing valuable context that bridges the gap between fiction and history.
As the episode wraps up, Adam Graham extends his gratitude to loyal supporters and invites listeners to engage with future episodes, promising more thrilling adventures through iconic radio detective series. The meticulous attention to detail and authentic portrayal of the era ensure that "Indictment: The Grand Slam Heist" remains a standout installment in the podcast's extensive catalog.
Notable Quote:
Adam Graham (30:34): "Thanks so much for your support, Vincent. And that'll wrap it up for today... From Boise, Idaho, this is your host, Adam Graham, signing off."
Stay tuned for more captivating mysteries every Monday through Saturday on The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio. Whether you're a seasoned sleuth or new to the world of radio dramas, there's always a new case to unravel.