The Big Betty

Originally Aired: November 23, 1950 Dragnet #76, "The Big Betty," Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Ben Romero of the Bunco Detail investigate a particularly cruel swindle operation targeting the families of deceased servicemen and recently departed loved ones. The case opens when Miss Bergstrom visits the detectives after being conned out of $78 for a worthless watch and pen-and-pencil set supposedly ordered by her fiancé Harry before he was killed overseas in the Marine Corps. The swindler, identifying himself as Spencer, preys on grieving relatives by claiming to be a friend of the deceased and presenting cheap merchandise with sentimental engravings as final gifts that need to be paid for. Friday and Romero discover this is part of a pattern, with half a dozen similar complaints in recent weeks from families victimized by con men who scan obituaries and casualty lists for targets. The detectives seek help from Judd, a reformed con man now running a legitimate baby laundry business, hoping his connections to the underworld can provide leads on the gang working this despicable racket through Los Angeles.