John Dillinger

John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American bank robber, considered by some to be a notorious and dangerous criminal, while others considered him a Robin Hood-like hero. He gained this reputation for his graceful movement during bank heists, e.g. leaping over the counter, and narrow getaways from police. His exploits, along with those of other criminals of the 1930s Depression era, such as Bonnie and Clyde and Ma Barker, dominated the attentions of the American press and its readers during what is sometimes referred to as the public enemy era, between 1931 and 1935, a period which led to the further development of the modern and more sophisticated FBI.

Robbery career

The experience embittered Dillinger. He embraced the criminal lifestyle behind bars, learning the ropes from seasoned bank robbers like Harry Pierpont. The two planned heists that they would commit just as soon as they were released. Others in the Dillinger gang would include Charles Makley, Homer Van Meter, John "Red" Hamilton, and even Lester Gillis (a.k.a. George Baby Face Nelson), who joined the gang late in their year-long robbery spree. Together they would rob about a dozen banks in that time and steal over $300,000, an enormous sum in the Depression era.

Related Topics:
Harry Pierpont - Baby Face Nelson

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Dillinger served time in Indiana prisons until 1933, when he was paroled. Within four months, he was back in prison in Lima, Ohio. His gang sprang him, killing the jail sheriff Jessie Sarber, but he was captured again by the end of the year in Tucson, Arizona, and sent back to prison in Crown Point, Indiana. He was to face trial for the suspected killing of Officer William O'Malley during a bank shootout in East Chicago, Indiana, some time after his rescue from jail. During this time on trial, the famous photograph was taken of Dillinger putting his arm on prosecutor Robert Estill's shoulder when suggested to him by reporters.

Related Topics:
1933 - Tucson, Arizona - Crown Point, Indiana

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On March 3, 1934, Dillinger escaped from "escape-proof" (as it was dubbed by local authorities at the time) Crown Point, Indiana county jail which was guarded by many police and national guardsmen. Newspapers reported that Dillinger had escaped using a wooden gun blackened with shoe polish. However, a real gun might have been smuggled into the jail instead. In any case, Dillinger, along with fellow inmate named Herbert Youngblood, captured and locked up several guards, disabled vehicles in the motor pool, and escaped in the sheriff's car. Driving across the Indiana-Illinois state line in a stolen vehicle, Dillinger violated a federal law and thus caught the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. An investigation concerning the facts of the escape was carried out some time later by the Hargrave Secret Service of Chicago, Illinois on the orders of the Illinois Governor. The governor and Illinois state Attorney General Philip Lutz eventually chose not to release information because they did not want Dillinger to know of the informants with whom they spoke. As a result the findings about the gun in the escape were never made public, and this, coupled with Dillinger himself actively perpetuating the wooden gun story as an ego boost, is a reason many believe the "wooden gun" escape was real. The truth behind the infamous gun may never be known.

Related Topics:
March 3 - Indiana - Shoe polish - Federal Bureau of Investigation - Chicago, Illinois - Illinois

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Once out of prison, he continued to rob banks and was eventually named Public Enemy Number One by the FBI. The United States Department of Justice offered a $10,000 reward on June 23 for Dillinger's capture, or $5,000 for information leading to his apprehension.

Related Topics:
FBI - United States Department of Justice - June 23

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In April, the gang settled at a lodge hideout called Little Bohemia owned by Emil Wanatka, in the northern Wisconsin town of Manitowish Waters. The gang assured the owners that they would give no trouble, but the owners monitored the gang whenever they left or spoke on the phone. Emil's wife Nan and her brother managed to evade Baby Face Nelson, who was tailing them, and mailed a letter of warning to a U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago, which later contacted the FBI. Days later, nearly a score of FBI agents led by Hugh Clegg and Melvin Purvis approached the lodge in the early morning dark. Two barking watchdogs announced their arrival, but the gang was so used to Nan Wanatka's dogs that they did not bother to inspect the disturbance. It was only after the FBI mistakenly gunned down 3 innocents thought to be members of the gang as they were about to drive away in their car that the Dillinger gang awoke. Gunfire between the groups lasted only momentarily, but the whole gang managed to escape in various ways despite the FBI's efforts to surround and storm the lodge.

Related Topics:
Baby Face Nelson - Melvin Purvis

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