The Dillinger Gang, also known as the Terror Gang, was run by legendary American gangster John Dillinger. His gang was charged with participating in a number of serious crimes, including 24 bank robberies. Even though he was a notorious criminal, he wasn’t a ruthless killer, and the only murder accusation brought against him was for the death of an East Chicago, Indiana police officer who was wounded while wearing a bulletproof vest during a firefight, causing Dillinger to retaliate. He committed crimes during the Great Depression and developed the reputation of being even more notorious than other criminals active at the same time, such as Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Bonnie and Clyde. Dillinger first entered the criminal underworld while he was a young adult, just out of his teens. He had dropped out of school and was unable to secure a job that was meaningful due to his wild and unpredictable nature. After starting to organize robberies with his friends, he quickly became one of the most infamous criminals in the United States during the Great Depression. Despite numerous arrests and jail terms, nothing could stop him from engaging in illicit activity. He tragically passed away at the young age of 31 after being shot by the police when he was attempting to flee from them.
Early Childhood & Life
John Wilson Dillinger and Mary Ellen “Mollie” Lancaster welcomed John Herbert Dillinger into the world on June 22, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indiana. One older sister was his. His father was a grocery store owner who was reputed to be stern.
John was only four years old when his mother passed away. His older sister raised him until their father remarried, and she soon after getting married.
As a teenager, he left school and started working odd jobs. He was a wild and unruly kid who began encountering legal issues. He joined the US Navy, but owing to his wrongdoing, he was eventually dishonorably dismissed.
A Later Years
Dillinger, who was by this point married, plotted a robbery with a friend because he was unable to find a decent job. The two robbers were apprehended by the police after robbing a nearby grocery store. He received a 10 to a 20-year prison term after being found guilty on various offenses.
He made friends with a number of seasoned criminals while he was incarcerated, including the bank robbers Harry “Pete” Pierpont, Charles Makley, Russell Clark, and Homer Van Meter. Soon after they were released, they already began making plans for the robberies they would later carry out.
He was highly resentful due to his lengthy prison term. He was devastated by the loss of his marriage. He made the decision to become a hard-core criminal after being released because he was fed up with life.
After serving nine and a half years, he was released on parole in May 1933. He had little chance of finding honest work at this time because the Great Depression was at its worst. In June 1933, he went back to committing crimes and robbed his first bank.
Soon after his release, he used smuggled weaponry to assist his prison-bound comrades in successfully escaping. The first Dillinger Gang was formed when Pete Pierpont, Russell Clark, Charles Makley, Ed Shouse, Harry Copeland, and John “Red” Hamilton teamed up with Dillinger.
Following their successful bank robberies in Wisconsin and Indiana, Dillinger and his crew quickly became well-known. The gang’s members, including Dillinger himself, were frequently detained and put in jail. However, they showed themselves to be experts at breaking out of jails.
The Dillinger gang usually carefully planned their bank robberies and frequently used some highly cutting-edge strategies in their heists. In order to gain access to a bank’s vault and its security system, they allegedly pretended to be a film team once while investigating locations for a bank robbery movie and disguised themselves as alarm system salespeople another time.
By this point, John Dillinger was one of the most sought criminals in the country. He had been designated as America’s first “Public Enemy No. 1” by the FBI by June 1934, and a $10,000 reward had been set on his head. In an effort to hide his identity, Dillinger had plastic surgery to alter his looks and adopted the alias Jimmy Lawrence, the genuine name of a small-time criminal.
On June 30, 1934, he with Van Meter, Nelson, and one other unidentified person robbed another bank. They held up the Merchant’s National Bank in South Bend, Indiana, but when the police showed up there, they too started a shooting that left police officer Howard Wagner dead. Once more succeeding in eluding capture, Dillinger vanished from view. This would turn out to be his final heist.
His Major Infractions
The Dillinger gang, a group of bank robbers notable for a successful streak of bank robberies employing contemporary tools and methods, was formed by John Dillinger, who rose to fame as a result. The gang members killed 10 men and injured seven more during these crimes. Many of the gang’s members ultimately died or were put in prison.
Personal Legacy & Life
When he wed Beryl Ethel Hovious on April 12, 1924, he was only 20 years old. The same year he entered prison, and the separation from his wife did not last very long. In 1929, his wife filed for divorce.
In the early 1930s, he was dating Mary Evelyn “Billie” Frechette.
Following the robbery of the Merchant’s National Bank, John Dillinger fled into hiding. Despite their best efforts, the authorities were unable to locate him. Eventually, a woman by the name of Anna Sage—also known as Ana Cumpănaş—got in touch with the police and let them know where he was. On July 22, 1934, the police located him and shot him to death.
After he passed away, his body was put on public display at the Cook County morgue, where it was seen by roughly 15,000 people.
Estimated Net Worth
John is one of the wealthiest and most well-known criminals. Our study of John Dillinger’s net worth from sources including Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider indicates that it is about $1.5 million.