Racket Squad in Action #23

When unexpected "relatives" and old friends start dropping by to visit wealthy families, Inspector O'Malley discovers a slick con at work—these friendly visitors are actually posing as distant cousins to case homes, then returning later to rob them blind. As the pattern spreads across the city, the inspector sets a trap using a social editor and a carefully monitored phone call to finally catch the impostors in the act.

Nick Crolos runs a brilliant con: he peddles fake merchandise—forged paintings, counterfeit jewels—to buyers posing as stolen goods, knowing they can't report him to police without incriminating themselves. When his scheme catches the attention of Sgt. Jim Barnett of the Racket Squad, Barnett hatches a clever trap involving a fake robbery announcement designed to flush out Crolos and his entire network of unwitting accomplices.

An American tourist in Paris falls for a street hustler's pitch to buy a bargain fountain pen—only to discover the "Parker 51" is actually a clever counterfeit when his traveling companion takes a closer look. What began as a petty swindle becomes a chance to turn the tables when she photographs the con artist in action, setting the stage for justice to catch up with a small-time operator who's made a habit of fleecing visitors across Europe.

Orrin Dale runs a slick blackmail racket disguised as an insurance business in a prosperous Midwestern city, using a network of informants to dig up secrets on the town's wealthiest citizens and force them into paying for his "policies." When the Racket Squad sets up an undercover operation with a young man posing as a wealthy playboy, Dale's greed and predictable methods finally catch up with him. It's a sharp reminder that victims of blackmail have more power than they think—if they're willing to go to the police.

A lonely G.I. on leave before shipping overseas falls hard for a pretty young woman—only to discover he's been set up in a classic con, where a fake diamond ring and a disappearing accomplice leave him out $150 and nursing a broken heart. "The Engagement Racket" exposes how con artists preyed on vulnerable servicemen, a scheme that authorities eventually dismantled.

Racket Squad operative Tom Burk spots a connection between a jailed con man and a larger criminal—Willie Beaver—and hatches a plan to pose as the imprisoned swindler to catch Beaver in the act. What unfolds is an elaborate con targeting a vulnerable housewife, with Burk and policewoman Martha Donovan working to expose the scheme before Beaver can make off with the money. Burk's double take when he confronts the criminal reveals the trap has sprung.

Wilbur the waiter takes an order for lamb chops from a customer who demands they come from a young lamb—so young, in fact, that Wilbur has a clever comeback about just how tender the establishment's supply really is. It's a quick joke about quality and freshness that lands with a punch.