DATELINE :   Cleveland - The Forest City.

Another week dawns by the banks of Lake Eerie.  It’s boom time for everyone, including the crooks!  Last week, a few honest citizens rose to the challenge and took a stand against the likes of Johnny Harrigan and his platoon of cut-throat booze jockeys.  We rejoin our heroes as they kick back and play a few hands of poker (slow down rummy... it’s a private game!).

Agent Polliakowski has brought a new friend  to the Wednesday poker game.  A new soldier in the unending battle against crime.  But look out hoodlums!  This soldier’s got more curves than the mighty Cuyahoga... she’s not just one of Hoover’s Untouchable Special Agents... she’s Donatella Smithfield, daughter of the noted politician, making her own way in the world by busting perps for Uncle Sam!

Just as our heroes start to get comfortable, there’s a knock at the door of Dwight Blake’s office.  His name is Sal and he’s trouble.  Clearly having turned up at the wrong poker game, Sal puts a bottle of hooch on the table and starts to lose his ill-gotten gains to our heroes, who are just stringing him along in order to find out who he’s working for.  Dwight and Sal don’t exactly hit it off, but Sal promises to return on Friday, revealing that it was Heiny Franz that told him where to go.  Heiny’s got a big mouth.  George says “We Know”.  Sal tells him that that’s a creepy thing to say.

The following morning, Hero Cop George Gunnarson is walking his beat downtown when he gets called into a grocery store where some boob is causing an affray, claiming that he’s had his wallet stolen even though all that happened is that he set it down on a crate of apples.  What a maroon!  Gunnarson sets him straight and makes him pay for the produce he busted up.  Another blow is dealt to the forces of injustice and everyone goes home happy!

Meanwhile, Agent Jeff Polliakowski is dragged in front of his boss, the district commissioner Mario Antinelli.  As Jeff and Donatella know each other, the crooked commish expects Jeff to keep our girl in line... to let the criminals have their way... but that won’t wash with our American Legal Eagles.  In fact, it’s Jeff who is playing the long game against Antonelli while pretending to be a crooked Probie.  Our Girl Donatella is smart enough to play along, she has no intention of keeping her light under a bushel... watch out Cleveland!

Tipped off by spunky she-reporter Lila Malone, Officer Gunnarson works out that some crooks are working short cons on his patch.  He hauls the witnesses in to make statements and he quickly gets an ID.  It’s a couple of grifters, taking money out of the hands of honest shop-keepers.  But they’ve also crossed state lines with warrants out for them and that means that Gunnarson can call in the feds (and Gunnarson can make sure that the health inspectors keep paying the Lexington a visit... there’s nothing more unjust than a chef who doesn’t wash his hands!).

Gunnarson tries the Lexington hotel where he comes face to face with former crooked cop Lance Tyrell, now working as house dick at the Lexington hotel.  He claims never to have seen our birds but his flim-flam is immediately seen through... Gunnarson is on the case.  George returns later that evening with Donatella and the group’s friendly reporter Lila.  The law enforcers patiently stake the hotel out and pounce once they see the grifters return.

Yet again, Lance Tyrell stands in our heroes’ way and even the hotel manager gets in on the act but these two crooked stumble-bums are overshadowed by a man who claims to be nothing but a guest in the hotel.  But the way the manager talks to him, it’s clear that he’s no such thing!  Our guys and gals book the grifters and Lila Malone takes a purty picture of them slapping on the cuffs. Page 3. What a scoop!

Back at the station Gunnarson meets the night watch commander and finds out his name is Jimmy Harrigan.  Yet another of Harrigan’s motley crew... do their evil black tentacles reach everywhere in our fair city?  Gunnarson wants a chance at breaking Tyrell in the box but the sarge won’t stand for it, turns out they’re old pals.  But rather than back down, Gunnarson makes a note.  Another crook to take down, and this time the crook is wearing the uniform of Cleveland’s Finest!  For Shame!  He even suggests that Gunnarson should stop fighting crime and find himself a girlfriend but Gunnarson’s only gal is justice and he loves her too much to quit the fight just yet.

While this is going on, crusading PI Dwight Blake is out on the town again.  But he’s no rummy... that booze is medicinal and he’s on the trail of a socialite who is letting down her family by dancing with coloured folk, getting drunk and using smart salts, even though they make you dumb and that’s a fact!  The Hot Piano’s a hot place, but it’s gonna get a lot hotter before long.

Acting on his own initiative, Jeff Polliakowski heads to the Canadian border where he finds hooch trucks rolling by in broad day light.  Hundreds of truck and every one of them full of mother’s ruin.  What a scandal!  These crooks are so complacent that they’re not even bothering to hide their ill-gotten Canadian booze.  What a fright!  Jeff hops onto a truck and then reveals his credentials, the criminals are shocked that he hasn’t been paid off yet.  Oh Uncle Sam... have all of your servants fallen so low?  clearly not as Jeff marks the barrels and drives back to town where his boss is horrified to learn that our favourite probie has made another bust.  The laugh’s on Antinelli’s evil employers, Jeff takes their cash but he’s still working for you America!

Back on the mean streets, Lila and Dwight are working the case of the soused socialite and they see that she’s out every night but clearly the family are on the case as when our socialite stumbles out of the club, some boys from the local sanatorium are there to take her away.  Flash!  Another scoop for spunky Lila Malone!  And before Dwight Blake could get her to hire him... that ain’t good!

When friday comes, the group come together again for another impromptu poker game but this time they’re not winding down from a hard week fighting crime... they’re working for the public!  It’s a trap for Sal as they’re hoping to get him liquored up enough that he’ll sing like a canary, but Dwight Blake is a straight shooter who don’t hold with trapping crooks... he don’t get on with Sal and the two come to blows, scupering the group’s chances of ting Sal to talk.  All they get him on is some fire arms and liquor charges.  It’s small stuff but it’ll keep him off the streets for a while.

The week ends on another bust for our group.  But there are bigger fish out on the streets of Cleveland... big fish with big teeth!

Goodnight America, you can sleep safely in your beds knowing that our team are still fighting the good fight!