JOHN DILLINGER Gangster Wanted Poster DAYTON OHIO Mug Shot LIMA CHICAGO
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:2982167 |
Rare 16" x 21" Wanted Poster featuring Public Enemy #1 John Dillinger. Very good condition considering age. I've taken close up shots to show toning, slight holes along crease and slightly rounded corners. Top center fold is torn along seam. Also has some paper loss through the "D" of Wanted.
John Herbert Dillinger (/ˈdɪlɪndʒər/; June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster in the Depression-era United States. He operated with a group of men known as the Di...llinger Gang or Terror Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations, among other activities. Dillinger escaped from jail twice. He was also charged with, but never convicted of, the murder of an East Chicago, Indiana, police officer who shot Dillinger in his bullet-proof vest during a shootout, prompting him to return fire; despite his infamy and unlike the other members of his gang, it was Dillinger's only homicide charge.
He courted publicity and the media of his time ran exaggerated accounts of his bravado and colorful personality, styling him as a Robin Hood figure. In response, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover developed a more sophisticated Bureau as a weapon against organized crime, using Dillinger and his gang as his campaign platform.
After evading police in four states for almost a year, Dillinger was wounded and returned to his father's home to recover. He returned to Chicago in July 1934 and met his end at the hands of police and federal agents who were informed of his whereabouts by Ana Cumpănaș (the owner of the brothel where Dillinger had sought refuge at the time). On July 22, 1934, the police and the Division of Investigation closed in on the Biograph Theater. Federal agents, led by Melvin Purvis and Samuel P. Cowley, moved to arrest Dillinger as he exited the theater. He drew a Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket and attempted to flee, but was killed. This was ruled as justifiable homicide.
A few members of his gang were sentenced to the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus, Ohio. Charles Makley was killed during an escape attempt from death row. Harry Pierpont, wounded in the same attempt, died in the electric chair soon after. Russell Clark spent nearly the remainder of his life there, only receiving a very short time of freedom while he was dying of cancer.
