The Big Story
Cornered Rats Always Squeal
by
In this episode of The Big Story, a jewelry-store murder in Pittsburgh leaves investigators with a baffling scene: the owner is dead from multiple gunshot wounds, yet nothing appears to have been taken. The case remains unsolved until a confession by criminal Frank Steggert points police toward his fellow perpetrator, Harold Hess, and reveals the killing of jeweler Joshua Lipman.
The program presents the case through the work of newspaper reporters whose investigations became the basis for its stories. Here, Pittsburgh Press reporter Chester Potter is associated with the account, while reporter Ray Sprigle explains how the numbers rackets kept money in Lipman’s safe. The narrative follows the investigation from its early clues and Steggert’s confession through the men’s guilty pleas and life sentences.
Alongside the crime and its resolution, the story traces the consequences for those involved: Steggert’s illness and death in custody, and Hess’s eventual pardon after Lipman’s children appealed on his behalf. The result is a crime report shaped by patient reporting, courtroom developments, and the human aftermath of a long-running murder case.
This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.