by Hal Erickson
synopsis
Friday (Jack Webb) and Smith (Ben Alexander) investigate when an antique dealer loses $200 to a con artist. Posing as a police officer, the sharpster convinces his victims that they are holding counterfeit money, which he is duty-bound to "confiscate." But the criminal has already outsmarted himself by assuming the identity of his wife's police-sergeant uncle--who happens to be long dead. This black and white episode is one of a handful that has fallen into public domain, and is thus readily available to collectors of "classic" VHS and DVD compilations.