All language subtitles for Dragnet S02E27 The Big Gambler.DVDRip.NonHI.cc.en

This is the city, Los
Angeles, California.

It has its share of
professional sports.

The Los Angeles
Dodgers baseball team.

The Los Angeles
Rams football team

Plays its games here.

Professional hockey and
basketball are played here.

Los Angeles has its quota of
professional golf tournaments.

The city also has
its share of thieves,

Professional and amateur.

Either kind, I deal
with them here.

I carry a badge.

It was Wednesday, May 1st.

It was clear in Los Angeles.

We were working the day
watch out of Fraud's Division.

The boss is Captain Frankell.

My partner's Bill Gannon.
My name's Friday.

A downtown businessman
had just come from his auditor's.

After having the
biggest volume of sales

In the history of the company,

He was in the red
by almost $100,000.

Somebody was
stealing company funds.

We talked to him in
the captain's office.

The story you are
about to see is true.

The names have been
changed to protect the innocent.

No, I don't see how.

I've had two audits by
two different companies

And the results were the same,

Almost $100,000 is missing.

What kind of company
do you own, Mr. Loring?

Well, wholesale
electrical supplies.

Sunray's the name of the
firm. It's a small company.

How many people do you employ?

33 at present. Nine
of them are salesmen.

They're on the road
most of the time.

Both teams of auditors
gave the sales force

A clean bill of health.

What about the other 24?

Well, we've eliminated
most of them.

Why?

Nothing could get by
the three key people

In the office in the warehouse.

Who are they?

There's Barnes, George Barnes.

He runs the warehouse.
Nothing could get by Sally.

Sally Fisher's been with me

Since I started the
company 15 years ago.

She heads the office personnel,

And she's in charge
of accounts receivable.

Henry Pendleton's
my purchasing agent,

Best one I ever had.

Do they know what's happened?

Well, they know
we're being audited

And they've got to suspect

That something
is seriously wrong,

But I haven't broadcast
the findings yet.

A thing like that can
wreck morale, you know?

Nothing could get by
these three employees

- You've just mentioned?
- I'm sure of it.

Sounds like you've narrowed
down the people you suspect

To just these three.
But I know these people.

I'm in contact with
them five days a week.

You may not know
them as well as you think.

I doubt very much if you men

Could get to know
them better than I do.

What you may mean,
sir, is that we wouldn't get

To like them as much as you do.

- Same thing.
- No, not quite.

You may like them
too much to know them.

10:30 a.m.

Bill and I drove out to the
Sunray Electrical Company.

We allowed time
for Edward Loring

To get back to his office first

So that he could
brief Sallie Fisher,

Henry Pendleton
and George Barnes

On the purpose
of our investigation.

In order to attract
as little attention

To our investigation
as possible,

Loring gave us the use of
one of the salesman's offices.

We talked with
Sallie Fisher first.

I knew something was
wrong. Well, I had to know

With those auditors checking
and rechecking my books.

Well, you've been audited
before, haven't you, Ms. Fisher?

Well, of course,
but a person can tell

When something's wrong.

Heaven knows I've
made some mistakes

In the years I've
been with Sunray.

Two years ago, I was off $3,000,

And I'd like to have died.

That was the year Mother's
health started to fail, you see.

- Yes, ma'am.
- Well, it's touch and go now.

It's her heart, touch and go.

Mr. Loring couldn't
have been nicer

Or more understanding

When my error was
found by the auditors.

It was only a bookkeeping error.

I mean, the money was there

But, well, there were
a couple of days...

Well, as I said, I'd
like to have died.

Your mother's an
invalid now, is she?

Yes.

It must be hard
on you financially.

I'd be in the poor house
if I hadn't had insurance.

Insurance cover everything?

- No.
- You're trying to find out

How desperate I am
for money, aren't you?

Well, it's not easy to
make ends meet, but I do.

There's never
anything left over for,

Well, the little things.

You're going to ask other
people about me, aren't you?

We might.

Well, there's the
minister of my church.

- He'll vouch for me.
- Fine.

- It's funny.
- What's that?

Well, I just
remembered an article

I read in a magazine a
couple of months ago.

It was about a woman
who lived in the Midwest.

She had grandchildren.

She gave thousands of dollars
to her church and to charity.

She was the best-loved
woman in the town.

Do you know what?

Every penny she gave away,
she'd stolen from the bank

Where she had
worked for 30 years.

What's the connection?

Her minister
vouched for her, too.

11:15 a.m.

Edward Loring sent
Henry Pendleton in

To talk to us next.

You might just as
well come to my office

Where you can see my records.

There's no point
in hiding here now.

The word's out about the money.

You can't keep a thing
like that secret very long.

- No, I guess you can't.
- I'd like to say one thing

Before you start
the questions, may I?

Sure, go ahead.

I met Ms. Fisher
on my way up here.

She was crying.

Sallie Fisher is as
honest as the day is long.

She's a fine woman.

Takes care of her mother-in-law.

We know.

What I want to say is
that as purchasing agent,

I would know if there were
any irregularities in her books.

- You would?
- Absolutely.

And how is it auditors had
to discover a $3,000 mistake

In her books two years ago?

Well, then, she was half
out of her mind at that time.

She thought her
mother was going to die.

It was only a bookkeeping
error, gentlemen.

The point is it's an
error you didn't detect.

Isn't that right?

Yes, but you mustn't make
too much of that sort of error.

A personal crisis can
get a person so upset,

So mixed up, they make mistakes

When normally
they're perfectionists.

Well, now, do you think a
normally honest individual

Might even steal
during a personal crisis?

You mean, like stealing
food if they were hungry?

$100,000 isn't exactly
food, Mr. Pendleton.

Since the word was
out about the theft,

There was no point in
using the assigned office

For questioning any longer.

11:50 a.m.

George Barnes,
manager of the warehouse,

Was the next man
on our list to question.

How come I'm last on your list?

Something goes wrong,

You usually check out the
warehouse first, don't you?

- Do we?
- Sure, you do.

Those little guys
in the black suits,

They ran my records from A to Z.

Yeah?

You can check this
out with Mr. Loring.

I've been here three years.

The first year, I
caught two of my men

Swiping penny ante stuff.

They were doing work
around their houses

And needed a little
copper tubing, a little wiring.

Penny ante. Just
the same, I fired them.

The last two years, not a
nickel's worth of stuff been swiped.

I'd like to ask you a
few personal questions.

Fire away. I've
got nothing to hide.

You a gambling man?

Now and then,
play a little cards,

Small-stake poker.

How about the horses?

I hit the track a
couple times a year.

Trying to make me
out a gambler, huh?

No. Just wanted to
know if you gamble.

Check my records. You'll
find everything's okay.

The books have been
checked out. You know that.

They say $100,000 is missing,

But they don't
tell us who took it.

Sounds like we got a
smart operator working here.

Seems to have you guys
jumping up and down, don't it?

Our files are full
of smart operators.

Okay. So you think I've stolen

$100,000 worth of equipment
out of the warehouse.

Arrest me.

I won't tell you how
to run your business,

Don't tell me how to run mine.

Just the mail. Didn't
mean to interrupt.

That's all right, Dell.

Are you still taking
me to lunch, George?

It depends on these
guys. We're about through.

Okay, honey.

Good deal.

12:15 p.m.

We again met with Edward Loring.

I can't see any of
my people doing this.

I just can't.

Well, try to think of it
this way, Mr. Loring.

We're not looking for
the run-of-the-mill burglar,

Purse snatcher, armed robber.

We're not looking for
the professional thief.

We're dealing with
people who have good jobs.

They work hard for
the money they earn.

Yet one of them is stealing.

Now, this kind of thief
is often driven to it.

He feels compelled to steal,
and the compulsion is so great

He doesn't really think
of himself as dishonest.

One type believes
his motives are so pure

That his actions
are totally justified.

Another type believes he's
only borrowing the money.

He kids himself into
believing he'll pay it all back.

Then you've got
the schizoid type.

His dreams are his reality.

Actual reality has
no meaning for him.

This is usually the big
spender, the great lover.

Now, any one of the
three people we've talked to

Could fit into one
of those categories.

Well, it seems to me like
it would take a psychiatrist

To identify which
one. Or a policeman.

We know the symptoms.
We deal with them every day.

If we find the person
with the right symptoms,

10 to 1, we'll find
your embezzler.

10 to one? You a
betting man, Sergeant?

No, but I may be
looking for one.

1:30 p.m. We went back
to the police building.

Neither Sallie Fisher nor
Henry Pendleton had a record.

Eight months before, George
Barnes had been arrested

For disturbing the peace in
a bar called the Green Gym.

The proprietor of
the Green Gym bar

Turned out to be
a friend of Barnes,

And he did not prefer
charges at the time.

The proprietor's
name was Nick Gerber.

Look, old Georgie Boy
blew his stack, you see?

This fight I can't stop,
so I gotta call the cops.

I don't want Georgie Boy
put in the clinker, you see.

He's a buddy of mine.

We was in the Marines together.

Barnes blow his stack often?

Well, not once since then.

You see, he and his
wife just busted up.

He took it pretty hard, you see.

Oh, for a couple of months,

He was hitting the
bottle pretty hard.

- He still come in here?
- Sure.

- What's this all about?
- Routine investigation.

Well, anything I
know about George,

You can know. He's straight.

Now, some of my
other customers, well,

There's a couple I might
be real shy about, you know.

Yeah. Barnes big
with the women, is he?

Oh, you know it.

He's always got a wild-looking
chick when he comes in.

- Any particular one?
- There's one called Dell

He's been bringing
in a lot lately.

- Dell?
- Delores.

Yeah, she works the
same place he does.

- She's taking him.
- How do you know that?

You work a bar 20 years,

And there's certain
types you can spot, pal.

What type is she, would you say?

A champagne dame.

She might not like
the taste of the stuff,

But she likes the idea
of her guy spending

That kind of dough on her.

That's how she rates a guy...
By how much he spends on her,

How much he gives her.
A lot of dames like that.

They got cash
registers for hearts.

How does George rate, then?

Well, his Gallup
Poll ain't so good.

Not a big spender, huh?

Well, when he's
got it, he spends it.

What do you mean? He gets
stranded for cash now and then.

Yeah, you know, a couple
of days before payday.

So I let him charge a few beers.

Well, he makes good
money, doesn't he?

He also pays
alimony, and that Dell,

She keeps him broke, poor guy.

Can't you tell me
what this is all about?

You say he's always broke?

Most of the time.

Well, I can tell you this much.

Yeah, what's that?

For what we're checking,
he's better off that way.

3 p.m. We drove out

To Henry Pendleton's
home in Southgate.

We talked to his wife,
Norma. Sit down if you like.

Henry called me during lunchtime

And said someone
might be coming by.

He said I should help
you any way I can.

Then you know what
we've come to talk about.

Yes.

Imagine someone
taking all that money.

Henry said until you
got to the bottom of it,

Everyone in the company
was under suspicion,

Including him.

Well, if you knew
him as well as I do,

You wouldn't waste a
second's thought on him.

I really don't see
how I can help you.

We just have a couple of
questions, Mrs. Pendleton.

I've been married to
Henry almost nine years.

There isn't much to
tell you about Henry.

You grow those
roses, Mrs. Pendleton?

No.

Henry sent those
to me yesterday.

- Anniversary?
- No, just an impulse.

He'll do that now and then.

Now, our new color TV set,

That was an anniversary
present last year

And he shouldn't have.

It was so expensive,
but that's Henry.

He's a very giving man
when he's got it to give.

Well, he makes good
money at Sunray, doesn't he?

Oh, yes. Yes, indeed.

But he has great expenses.

Of course, that's
neither here nor there.

- It might be.
- It's a personal situation.

You might say it's
my cross to bear

And no one else's.

I've got over the hurt
of it a long time ago.

Maybe you should know
that it's where the money goes.

It also explains why
we live in a low-rent

Neighborhood like this
despite Henry's paycheck.

We are talking about
money, aren't we?

Yes, ma'am, we are.

Actually, it's not a
cross to bear anymore.

I shouldn't have said that.

Once I understood the
reason, I took comfort from it.

What reason is that?

I didn't know until three,

Almost four years
after we were married

That Henry had
been married before.

He has three children.

He said that falling in love
with me was his undoing.

He gave her just about
everything to get a divorce.

He pays her a percentage
of his wages in alimony

Before tax deductions.

You don't know
how little that leaves.

Henry never realized the trap.

Then there are the extras, too.

The children, they've
got all kinds of sickness.

She can't be a very good mother.

I don't know where
Henry got the idea

That I had religious scruples

Against marrying a divorced man,

But he thought I had,

And that's why
he didn't tell me.

Well, how did you find out?

There was never enough money.

Henry handled
the bills and things,

But I'd get phone calls
dunning us for payment.

Once the electricity
was turned off.

It got so bad I was frantic.

I almost had a breakdown.

Finally, he had to tell me
where the money was going.

You don't know the terrible
things I was imagining.

Well, I'm glad I told you that.

You think that if
Henry stole $100,000,

We'd be living like this, just
making ends meet each week,

And week after
week, year after year?

All those roses, so impulsive.

I know why he has to
do something like that

Every now and then.

He's always asking forgiveness.

Where do his ex-wife
and children live?

Ohio. I don't know where.

I try to pretend
they don't exist.

She keep her married name?

How in the world would I know?

Well, you might if Mr. Pendleton
mailed his checks from here.

No, he doesn't.

Maybe you've seen
the canceled checks?

No. Henry does all
that from the office.

He always has.

Does your husband
gamble, Mrs. Pendleton?

That's a silly
question, officer.

What would he
gamble with, and when?

- How do you mean?
- He doesn't have the time.

He's home every evening?

Is Mr. Loring going to know
everything we talk about?

No, ma'am, only what
concerns the theft.

Well, I'll tell you then.

Henry works three nights a week

And sometimes four
at a service station.

You know, a gas station.

What do you call
that, moonlighting?

Sometimes.

I don't think that's something
Mr. Loring should know about,

But I wanted you to know.

Now, do you think if
Henry stole $100,000,

He'd be coming home at
1:00, 2:00 in the morning,

Gray in the face and drained,

And ready to drop in his
tracks all because he loved me.

Well, I hold onto that.

Maybe it doesn't
make life easier,

But at least I know the
reason why it's tough.

Some people have it
tough and never know why.

Is he working at
the station tonight?

Yes, he is.

Could you tell us the
name of the service station?

I don't remember the name.

Well, do you know where it is?

Corner of Slauson
and Green, I think.

I asked him where once
when I wanted to bring him

Some sandwiches and coffee,
but he didn't want me to come.

- He's ashamed.
- Yes, ma'am.

You see, in the daytime,

He's a very important
man at Sunray.

3:50 p.m. We drove
to the service station

At the corner of
Slauson and Green.

We asked the attendant on
duty if he knew Henry Pendleton,

Who his wife had told
us worked the night shift,

Three or four times a week.

The attendant never
heard of Pendleton.

4:50 p.m.

We went back to
the Sunray Company.

Eileen was going to
have fried chicken tonight.

Yeah.

She sure gets upset when
I ask for something special

And then I don't make it home.

Fried chicken's one
of my favorites, Joe.

Well, maybe she'll
save you some.

Nope. Her favorite, too.

There's Pendleton.

Let's check that
location with AD-Vice.

Control 818, this is 1K80.

1K80 go.

You have any information on a
parking lot at 5th and Temple?

1K80 stand by.

KMA 367.

What do you figure, Joe?

Maybe nothing, but it sure looks

Like some kind of
a payoff, doesn't it?

1K80 control 818.

We have pertinent
information at that location.

Contact via landline.

No can do.

We have possible
suspect under observation.

Roger 1K80.

Location subject of
numerous complaints for 337A.

1K80 Roger KMA367.

Bookmaking.

5:15 p.m.

Henry Pendleton
left the parking lot

And headed out for
State Highway 103.

We followed him. 6:20 p.m.

We followed Pendleton
to the city of Clover,

An hour's drive
from Los Angeles.

Draw poker is permitted
in the city of Clover.

The state of California has
basic laws against gambling

But they don't
include draw poker.

It is up to the
individual city charters

As to whether or not to
permit this form of gambling.

No gambling of any kind

Is allowed in the
city of Los Angeles.

We're Los Angeles
police officers.

This is Bill Gannon;
my name is Friday.

Jim Barlow.

What can I do for you, or
do you want to see the boss?

Maybe you can help us.

Happy to oblige any way I can.

We don't want
trouble of any kind,

So if something's wrong,
we help in any way we can.

The man at the corner
table there in the other room.

He just came in,
do you know him?

Oh, Henry? Sure.

Comes here a lot. We
could do without him.

- Wins too much?
- You kidding?

He loses too much.
Guy loses too much

And the other customers
get uncomfortable, you know?

Do you know if he plays

Any of the other
clubs around here?

He rotates. He's got a system.

Never stays more
than a half an hour

In each club at one time.

- That's a system?
- You know gamblers.

Each one's got a
quirk. He in trouble?

- We don't need it.
- Business is good, huh?

That's right, without
the sick ones.

What do you call sick?

The ones that just gotta lose.

You know, when they win,
they gotta give it back double.

Never could figure that out.

Well, you're not a
compulsive gambler.

- I work here.
- Yeah.

I'm not any kind of a gambler.

Although the security
guard was cooperative,

He asked us to pick up
Pendleton outside the club.

Exactly one half hour after
he'd gone inside to play,

Pendleton came out.

Pendleton? Sergeant Friday.

- Your car locked?
- Yeah, why?

- We'd like to talk to you.
- About what?

I wish it was a
tank full of gas.

8:35 p.m.

We took Henry Pendleton
to an interrogation room

At the police building.

We informed him of
his constitutional rights.

Gambling in Clover's no crime.

Okay. You play the horses, too.

Now what else, Las Vegas?

I don't have time
to go to Las Vegas.

Tell us something, Pendleton.

You seem to know it all.

Did gambling break up
your first marriage, is that it?

No, yes. You're
trying to mix me up.

There was no first marriage,
was there, Pendleton?

You think I've been lying
to Norma about that, too?

- That's what we think.
- Well, you're wrong.

Fine.

You tell us your ex-wife's
name and address in Ohio

And show us the canceled
checks for the money you say

You've been sending
her, then we're dead wrong.

How about it, Pendleton.

You're not wrong,
Sergeant, not wrong.

You want to tell us about it?

Now, wait a minute.

It's not as though
I cheat on my wife

Or something immoral like that.

Norma knows how much I
love her. That's important.

- That so?
- I do love her.

I don't want her hurt.

Maybe she won't be
after she understands.

- Understands what?
- You may be sick.

Sick?

There's nothing wrong with me.

Compulsive gamblers
are sick people,

And you may be one, Pendleton.

No, I'm not. How could I be?

You asked me if I go
to Las Vegas. I don't.

I don't want to spend
the money it costs

To travel there and stay there,

And it's the same
with the race tracks.

It costs money to get in.

You don't realize the
amount of money you spend

Before you even place a
bet. I don't do those things.

You know, that
sounds like an alcoholic

Who says he's not one
because he doesn't drink Martinis.

I mean, I'm not a
big-time gambler.

You gamble pretty
steady, don't you?

Just for recreation, that's all.

I enjoy it. Lots of
people like to gamble.

Lose 4 or 500 bucks a night,
and in three or four days,

You're shoving out a
couple thousand a week.

If you have a bad streak.

Now wait, please. You're
twisting things around.

- Are we?
- Making out that I'm a...

I mean, I'm not a
professional gambler.

We never said you were.

They're sort of
flashy people. I'm not.

Let's skip the
professional gambler.

I'm not one. I don't
look like one, do I?

I'll tell you what a lot of
compulsive gamblers look like.

They look like
anybody, like you look.

Most of them have families.

Either they've got parents
or they've got wives.

A lot of them have kids.

A lot of them have good jobs

Before the compulsion gets
too big for them to handle.

It's a progressive disease,

And you've got to keep
on feeding a disease

Just as much as if you
were on booze or drugs.

And then comes the
day when it becomes

The most important
thing in your life.

Now, of course,
you don't admit that.

You don't say that,

And sometimes, you
honestly don't know it.

The compulsion
becomes more important

Than the wife, the
kids or the parents.

It becomes more important

Than the trust other
people have in you.

You don't think so?

Yes, you do,
Pendleton, deep inside,

Because even when
the insanity is in full bloom

You'll feel a stab of guilt,

So you'll send your wife a
dozen long-stemmed roses.

Trouble is she
doesn't want roses.

She'd just like a normal
life without the fear

Of having the
electricity turned off,

Or the phone ringing,
and somebody dunning her

For a bill she
thought you'd paid.

She'd be happy just to
live on the money you make.

Now, that's the truth.
You don't believe me.

Well, look at the life you lead.

Look at the life
you give your wife.

Oh, you've got the sickness,
Pendleton, and it shows.

No, by tomorrow, we'll know
how you stole that money,

How you rigged the books.

Tonight we found out why.

And you took that
money, didn't you?

Yes, I did. Yes, I did.

It's been a living hell. Now,
why can't a person stop?

I've gotten down on my
knees and I've prayed to stop.

What do you pray?

Please let me win
and then I'll stop?

What happens when
you win sometimes?

Your prayer is answered,
what happens then?

I don't stop. I don't
know why I can't.

It just gets worse.

I guess I've known
it for a long time.

There's no help
for people like me.

That's what you want to
believe but there is help.

There's even an organization

Pretty much like
Alcoholics Anonymous.

It's called Gamblers Anonymous.

You can also get
psychiatric help.

The trick is you've
got to want help.

I said I prayed.

No, Pendleton. You
tried to make a bargain.

A bargain?

The way I think it works is

You've got to pray
for the right thing.

The suspect was found
guilty of embezzlement.

Embezzlement is
punishable by imprisonment

In the county jail for
not more than one year,

Or in the state prison for
not more than 10 years.