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John Dillinger got away with it.
On this date in 1934 the FBI gunned down John Dillinger outside Chicago's Biograph Theater.
Or did they?
There is plenty of evidence that the FBI (who in the 1930s were helpless and incompetent) seized on a tip from one of Dillinger's many girlfriends and opened fire the moment they saw a man of approximately the same size with Anna Sage (the famous "Woman in Red"). Under immense pressure from FDR and the public, they quickly announced that John Dillinger was dead, and that the war of the gangs of bank robbers plaguing the nation was advancing. Interestingly, the investigation stopped cold despite there being a lot of money still missing.
So, who did they shoot?
James Lawrence was considered a low level thug who was used by Anna Sage and a crooked Indiana detective to unwittingly stand in for Dillinger. The FBI claimed that Dillinger had plastic surgery and that explains any discrepancies. But the Cook County autopsy report was supposedly lost for 30 years. After it was found, the claim is that the dead guy is not the same height or weight of Dillinger. Dillinger had blue eyes whereas the corpse had brown eyes. The corpse was missing a distinguishing birthmark and had more teeth than the notorious bank-robber. Evidence showed the dead guy had a rheumatic heart. Had Dillinger had such a condition, he would have been prevented from being in the Navy.
John Dillinger got away with it.
Or did they?
There is plenty of evidence that the FBI (who in the 1930s were helpless and incompetent) seized on a tip from one of Dillinger's many girlfriends and opened fire the moment they saw a man of approximately the same size with Anna Sage (the famous "Woman in Red"). Under immense pressure from FDR and the public, they quickly announced that John Dillinger was dead, and that the war of the gangs of bank robbers plaguing the nation was advancing. Interestingly, the investigation stopped cold despite there being a lot of money still missing.
So, who did they shoot?
James Lawrence was considered a low level thug who was used by Anna Sage and a crooked Indiana detective to unwittingly stand in for Dillinger. The FBI claimed that Dillinger had plastic surgery and that explains any discrepancies. But the Cook County autopsy report was supposedly lost for 30 years. After it was found, the claim is that the dead guy is not the same height or weight of Dillinger. Dillinger had blue eyes whereas the corpse had brown eyes. The corpse was missing a distinguishing birthmark and had more teeth than the notorious bank-robber. Evidence showed the dead guy had a rheumatic heart. Had Dillinger had such a condition, he would have been prevented from being in the Navy.
John Dillinger got away with it.
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In fiction, the story would continue ... and eventually it would be revealed that someone like Dick Cheney was actually John Dillinger. The thought makes me smile.
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I have mentioned I love these historical posts?
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I agree - posts like this are cool, and yeah, if it's true he had the sense to not brag about it, or go buy a mansion with stolen money.