The Blind Man And The Cop Killer: Richard Diamond, Private Detective (February 26, 1950)

“The Blind Man And The Cop Killer” is an episode of Richard Diamond, Private Detective, the old-time radio show, first broadcast February 26, 1950. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

When a narcotics officer is shot and killed on a city street, Richard Diamond investigates and discovers that a blind pencil vendor named Pop is somehow connected to the crime. Pop is being blackmailed by Chick Russo, a drug dealer from his past who threatens to reveal Pop's secret daughter unless Pop helps distribute narcotics hidden in pencils. Diamond must uncover Russo's identity and stop him before he strikes again.

A big city with a waterfront district, police precinct, Diamond's office building, and street corners where pencil vendors operate.

Characters: Richard Diamond, Lieutenant Walt Levinson, Pop (the blind pencil vendor), Chick Russo, Bill Walton (the murdered officer), Arthur Phillips (insurance company witness), Mrs. Margaret Walker (witness), Helen (Diamond's girlfriend)

Listen for: The clever trap Diamond sets by disguising himself as the blind Pop to draw out the killer, and the confrontation in the basement where identities are revealed.

Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.