Racket Squad in Action #18

When the Racket Squad busts a warehouse fencing operation, they realize they're facing a nationwide stolen-goods empire—but the mysterious man running it remains untouchable, hidden behind layers of intermediaries and dummy contacts. An undercover operative named Hendrick infiltrates the organization, working his way up through stolen deliveries, until a chance observation about an elderly deaf mute janitor becomes the thread that unravels the entire operation. This crime drama from 1955 captures the methodical, unglamorous work of cops determined to expose the "awful waste" of ambition devoted to crime.

Frank Lester leaves prison determined to go straight—or at least, to work a con that won't land him back inside. He devises a slick stock-market scheme, spreading hot tips on moribund oil companies to drive up prices, then unloading his shares for a tidy profit. When he discovers that Polar Oil has actually struck real reserves and the stock skyrockets beyond his reach, Lester finds himself tempted to cross the line he'd sworn to hold.

A slick insurance scheme promises car owners affordable repair coverage through the Automobile Health Plan—but the operators behind it have no intention of honoring their policies, instead raking in premiums while customers languish waiting for service that never comes. When the Racket Squad gets wind of complaints, they move to investigate the scam before the masterminds can disappear with their haul.

Sidney Radner investigates a bowling scam when a pair of gamblers—Tim Agnew and Jerry Grebb—rig matches by secretly sabotaging promising bowlers before placing hidden bets against them. As the racket spreads to new victims like Hook Morgan, Radner works to expose their scheme before another player's career is destroyed by the con.

When a desperate job seeker pays an employment agency for what he's promised will be steady work, he doesn't expect to be fired after just a few days—but that's exactly what happens at the Three Elms Hotel, leaving him robbed of his fee and nowhere to turn. What Brown doesn't realize is that his bad luck is no accident; he's stumbled onto a scheme where the hotel manager and the agency's Al Bliss are splitting job placement fees by cycling workers through and dumping them just as quickly. It takes an undercover operative from the Racket Squad to expose the con and shut down the scam for good.