Racket Squad in Action #7

When gangland operator Bingo Walters gets fleeced by a couple of small-time swindlers peddling an ingenious counterfeiting scheme, he's furious enough to turn state's evidence—and Inspector J.J. O'Malley is eager to listen. As Walters recounts how he got sucked into the "Easy Money Racket" by the smooth-talking Manny Craig and the scientific-minded Professor Zeitz, O'Malley begins to uncover a con far more clever than it first appears. This taut crime tale exposes how a well-rehearsed deception can fool even a seasoned crook who thinks he knows every angle.

An ingenious con artist posing as county tax assessor Kenneth Kroger has been bilking new homeowners across an upstate county with forged tax receipts and fraudulent "special deals"—but when he targets a union typesetter named Mr. Berry, the carefully orchestrated scheme faces an unexpected visitor at the door. Watch as Kroger's performance meets its match in this taut 1953 crime tale from Racket Squad in Action.

A woman orders what sounds like an unbeatable bargain—ten yards of fine silk for just four dollars—through a mail-order ad, only to discover when the package arrives that the swindle is far more clever than it first appears. This sharp crime tale from 1953 shows how smooth-talking con artists exploit our desire for a deal, turning eager customers into victims before they know what hit them.

A clever burglary ring uses complimentary theater tickets as the perfect cover for emptying homes while their victims enjoy opening night—but when the scheme repeats on a second target, the Racket Squad sets a trap to catch the thieves red-handed. In "Opening Night," a gang discovers that the gift of entertainment is the ideal distraction, right up until the moment their getaway fails and the law closes in.

A group of regular card players at the university club can't figure out how one member, John Belf, keeps winning—until they bring their suspicions to Sidney Radner, a traveling expert who exposes gambling cheats. Radner joins the Tuesday night game and quickly catches Belf red-handed, revealing the deceptive trick hidden in plain sight that's been giving him an unfair edge all along.

John J. O'Malley, a lecturer who exposes crooked gambling schemes, gets a chance to investigate when a young man named Dale Bendix admits he lost fifty dollars to a rigged strength-testing game at the carnival. O'Malley spots the swindle and sets a trap to catch the carney operator red-handed, teaching Dale—and readers—exactly how the midway grift works.