The story of a gangster, which was personally hunted with President Roosevelt
Bank robberies, murder of policemen, prison escapes — the American robber John Dillinger giving the bankers and employees of special services of times of the great depression. In the early 30’s in the press it was described as a modern Robin hood because he robbed banks that exploited Americans. On the 115th anniversary of his birth “Газета.Ru” recalls the life of public enemy No. 1.
115 years ago in the small town of Morrisville located in Indiana, was born the legendary American Bank robber John Dillinger. He was born in the family of the owner of the grocery store. His mother died when he was only three years old, and the father did not pay enough attention to the education of his son. Without warmth and affection Dillinger grew harsh and rude child. However, some classmates still shared his temperament. So the school was formed some gang called “the Dirty dozen”, which was engaged in light robberies and stealing food.
When Dillinger was 17 years old, his father bought a farm in the suburbs of Morrisville. He was hoping to help son, but he refused to work on the farm and chose to disappear from morning to evening in the bar and billiard.
Relationship with his father deteriorated after the incident in 1923. Then John asked Dillinger Sr. to lend his personal car — he refused. Without thinking, the young man decided to steal first got on the street car. The police arrested him the same day, but because of the young age got off with a warning.
Fearing the wrath of his father, John decided not to return home, and enlisted in the army of the Navy. However, the service on the ship “Utah” lasted only a few months: Dillinger constantly clashed with senior rank.
The first robbery
The young man said goodbye to the service in 1924 and decided to return to his father in Morrisville. John fell in love with a young girl and moved to her parents ‘ house. Moving, it seemed, marked the beginning of a new life — he got a job in a furniture factory upholsterer, in his spare time he played on the baseball team and tried to live honestly.
However, family life and a small salary in the factory have to weigh Dillinger and he decided to Rob the local store.
Together with a friend they found the gun, which planned to scare the dealer. However, during the robbery, the friend accidentally pulled the trigger, and the bullet just missed the owner. So a small robbery becomes an armed RAID.
The police quickly figured out criminals. Although Dillinger strongly denies the charges, he was arrested. “If the owner of the shop will be on the court to insist that it was you, you face a very substantial period of time. But if you admit yourself, the deadline is reduced. And significantly,” said Sheriff for questioning.
John believed the police and decided to plead guilty. The court ultimately sentenced him to 10 years in prison Pendleton located in Indiana. During this time he became acquainted with the main prison authorities, who in the future will become his accomplices, in addition, they taught him methods of robbery.
In 1933 John was released on parole for good behavior. And three months later, he and three friends robbed a Bank located in the city Denswil, Indiana. This robbery was followed by a series of raids on banks in the cities of the Midwest.
My only bad habit is robbing banks; I smoke very little and drink a little.John DillingerGoose ruined it
All transactions took place according to plan and without any consequences as long as John got involved in a dubious history. In the small village of Bluffton located in Ohio, he hit your car goose.
The mistress of birds attacked the robbers with his fists and demanded compensation. John offered her twice more cash than the goose would be worth on the market, but the woman demanded triple the amount and then refused. Then the enraged owner of the goose proposed to resolve the conflict with the local Sheriff, Jess Cerbera. Dillinger agreed and went with him to the station.
Going into his office, Sheriff suddenly saw on his Desk the man he just arrested, with the caption: “John Dillinger — a Bank robber”.
The Sheriff immediately contacted the FBI agents from Washington. From the headquarters of the security forces in the village of Blaton immediately went a group of agents.
However, they were forestalled by the people Dillinger, who went to save their leader. Armed Harry Pierpont, Charlie Mackley, Russell Clark and Copeland went to the Sheriff, introduced himself to the police and demanded to lead an arrested criminal.
He asked from strangers documents — in response to Parport I shot the Sheriff. Companions freed Dillinger, who long swore at them for killing a COP.
Never dare to kill a man, if he is not trying to kill you. That’s my law.John Dillinger Escape from prison
After that, Dillinger spoke about the whole country. Some journalists have described him not as a criminal but as a hero, ruining the rich, who battened on the poverty of Americans. John, meanwhile, had robbed a Bank trastovyy company in Wisconsin and captured a $27 thousand After he went to East Chicago to meet with his mistress Emily Buffet and a friend of Perponda Mary Kinder. There are 15 January 1934 and there was the famous robbery of the National Bank, where Dillinger and his associates took $264 thousand
Afterwards, the gang decided to take some time to lay low. They went to Arizona and stayed at the Congress hotel, located in the small town of Tucson. In the night of January 26, 1934 at the hotel there was a fire. For the salvation of his bag of fire Dillinger gave fire $20. Seeing serious at that time, the rescuer decided to look at the generous guest and his friends. So he identified them as criminals and handed over to the police.
Dillinger was taken to Indiana by plane — there he was met by a convoy of 70 police officers for 13 cars and 12 motorcycles. Local residents took to the streets to see the famous robber.
John was convicted of robbery, killing a policeman and sent to a convict prison Kraut point.
Fettered hand and foot, he was placed in a cell, lit by six searchlights. During the day it was watched by four armed guards.
“This killer will not escape! It will guard a battalion of my men and eight metal doors!”, said the warden, Lillian Holly, answering the offer of the press to send Dillinger in a different, more secure prison in Michigan city.
Anyway, the guy was not scared of security measures — from the very beginning of stay in prison, he began to plan escape. From a piece of wood, which the robber gave him a lawyer, he carved the model of the gun and painted it with Shoe Polish.
On the morning of 14 February 1934, Dillinger pointed the wooden weapon at the guard and demanded to conduct him to the room where he kept these machines. Armed, John demanded the release of Harry Anglada offender, whom he met during his stay in prison. After Dillinger drove a battalion of guards to General population, and closed on the key. Together with the hostage he went down that nobody guarded the prison garage and out to freedom.
Intervention Of Roosevelt
After his release, Dillinger formed a new gang of four. Gang seized $34 thousand in Mason city and then went to Minnesota, where they waited for police ambush, however, the robbers managed to avoid it.
After that, Dillinger decided to take “time out” — April 5, 1934, he went to Indiana, his native Murrysville. There, he apologized to the father and asked blessings for the wedding and Emily’s Reception.
“We are not prepared for the meeting with John. We just got together for Sunday lunch, when he suddenly appeared. After this meeting, I think that if John released conditionally or forgive for what he did, and he did not so much as they say about people, he can improve. We need to give him a chance,” said the father of the robber after a meeting with his son.
Together with members of his gang and a few girls, Dillinger decided to take refuge in a boarding house “Little Bohemia”. However, John did not know that the innkeeper was a secret informant of the security services.
Night four cars with FBI agents arrived at the building and began to watch the bandits. When the hotel door appeared three men, police opened fire on them. A few minutes later from the roof of the hotel began to beat a heavy machine gun, the agent fell dead to the ground.
Only with the dawn it became clear that members of the gang disappeared, and three people shot dead at the entrance to the hotel, was a hotel and had nothing to Dillinger.
After such an illiterate security forces operations in the case decided to intervene, the American President Franklin Roosevelt. It is officially called Dillinger “the enemy of the nation # 1” and asked the security forces to immediately destroy it. The head of the secret service promised $20 thousand to the one who will catch the robber, and has formed a special squad of 40 snipers — all of them received extensive training at military shooting ranges.
“Plastic” and burning fingerprints
With such interest to his personality, John had to think seriously about their own safety. May 27, 1934, he had plastic surgery over $10 thousand, gangster almost died during the procedure. If before surgery he was a handsome man, after was, to put it mildly, not even deserving of the epithet “cute.” In addition, the robber had a beard, dyed hair and acid etched fingerprints.
Together with his new mistress, waitress Polly Hamilton, he rented an apartment at the Romanian emigrant Anna sage, who lived in the Northern neighborhoods of Chicago. Together with Polly, they waited for Dillinger will go all the scars and they can go live in Europe.
Everything could go according to plan, if July 20, 1934, the sage did not come to the police station and did not give “public enemy No. 1”. The girl told the Sheriff that on July 22 meets Dillinger at the movie theater on Lincoln Avenue, and its new face only she knows.
“I know that John Dillinger ruthlessly kills people, so I decided I must help the police to catch him. I went to a police officer friend, who arranged me a meeting with a government agent, and I told him when Dillinger would be at the appointed place,” — explained later Romanian.
John was an avid movie buff. A love of cinema and became one of the causes for plastic surgery — he wanted to freely visit without fear of being caught.
Anna handed $5 million and ordered to wear to meet something bright, so that FBI agents could easily spot the trio, coming out of a theater. Sage decided to wear a slinky red dress. The session ended about nine in the evening. Agents rushed to Anna, Dillinger and his girlfriend at the time when they left the cinema.
The perp has released a clip from three meters. Gangster died on the way to the hospital. While his body was taken to the morgue, the residents of Lincoln Avenue in a hurry to moisten their handkerchiefs in the pool of his blood left on the pavement.
Despite the fact that information about the elimination of “enemy # 1” was distributed immediately in the truth of this to believe, not all. It is known that Dillinger had blue eyes and a few scars, while the shot of the FBI man had brown gas and the absence of scars. Associates Dillinger had long discussed the possibility that the guy just decided to end your old life and live in Los Angeles. In their opinion, the murder was part of his carefully crafted script.
At the funeral of a great gangster was visited by 5 thousand people. His fans began to gather annually near the cinema “Biographer” in the day of his death.
In his native state of Dillinger after some time, opened a Museum dedicated to bandits. It is possible to look at the trousers in which he was killed, and the famous wooden pistol, with which he escaped from prison.
Not so long ago, in 2009, came a biopic about Dillinger with johnny Depp in the title role. The actor said that since childhood was passionate about the history of the robber. “It’s probably comparable to punk rock star. Although, of course, he was wildly popular even decades later. I in 12 years was not that fan. Let’s just say, it interested me as the perfect hero of his time, just as I was fascinated by Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton,” — said in an interview, Depp.