FINAL outside reading paragraph #12

This was John Dillinger's final try at evading the law. This time he was going to die for sure. He had nowhere left to run. The FBI kept raising the reward on Dillinger's head. Hoover and the FBI were closing in, he was hopeless. Daru Matera writes, "The world was closing in on John Dillinger. AHe had few friends, associate or relatives left that weren't itching to collect the $25000 reward on his head" (Matera 334). Even the people who had worked with him in the past were trying to find him to bring in. $25000 was huge compared to the bank jobs that the gang did. Usually, the Dillinger gang would collect roughly $125 per score. Dililnger was out of luck. Nobody would help him. Dillinger was done for, vigilantes were hunting him and the police was looking the other way on that. The two people who killed him were agents McCarthy and Gillespia. Matera recalls, "There was a long moment of eerie silence as Dillinger's blood spilled out on the cement. Then, as if by some signal, pandemonium reigned... Pedestrians swarmed the fallen felon" (Matera 354). It was bound to happen sooner or later, there were vigilantes, police, some of the national guard, and the FBI swat teams. John Dillinger died young, he was a true celebrity criminal. He is the most famous criminal ever to live.

Reading post paragraph 11

Dillinger had just escaped jail again with one of his greatest achievements; a carved gun. Dillinger was on the run at this point. He was so high on himself for his last accomplishment, he forgot all else. Dillinger who was known for both his care and his arrogance, was displaying his arrogance trait. Daru Matera writes, "Continuing west, the four men crossed the border into Illinois- a minor event that had the dramatic legal effect of allowing J. Edgar Hoover into the game. Dillinger, flushed with freedom, couldn't care less" (Matera 207). J. Edgar Hoover was the one who would finally bring him in to justice. Had Dillinger not made this mistake, and just quit for the rest of his life, it is possible he could've died a free man. He crossed the border of states which makes it a federal offense, calling Hoover. This small peice of ignorance was quite consequential. John Dillinger's latest escape was unbelievable. Dillinger was passing off as a mental patient in the prision. He somehow drew a pistol in a short window of time when the guards had a few cells open. So when the one to discover it spread the word, he was met with remarks like this. Matera recalls, "Dillinger's escaped!" the postman gasped. "You're nuts," one of the volunteers snapped, shooing him a way like an annoying gnat. "Get out of here" (Matera 207-208). The jailers believed that the old dog Dillinger was out of tricks. He escaped. It was quite reasonable to believe that nobody would even believe the postman.

Paragraph #10 outside post

Dillinger was defeated. He was in jail for the second time. Escape seemed less probable. His gang members were captured with him or already in jail. There were few places left to run. Dillinger is caught. Matera describes the events, "These bastards won't give me a break. I was supposed to be brought before the Tucson judge, but those Chinamen hustled me out!" (Matera 188). Dillinger was not getting the fair trial he believed he deserved. The question was weather or not he deserved a fair trial. Dillinger had the blood of many officers on his hands, he had stoles thousands of dollars. If it was up to the public, he'd be dead. Unfortunately, that isn't how the justice system works. Dillinger was to be killed. Either he'd be killed, or face a trial for murder. The only thing that ironically saved him was a crowd of the public. Many wanted him dead, Matera writes "Stege wasn't able to execute Dillinger on the runway, as he so ached to do" (188). Captiain Stege was only the man who was in charge of transporting Dillinger to the courthouse, he wanted him dead. If there weren't so many people there, Dillinger would have died that day. If Stege wanted him dead a little bit, Matt Leach wanted him dead more. Leach was the guy assigned to catch him from the very beginning. Leach was one step behind him for years. The papers insulted Leach many times for failing to bring in Dillinger. The force wanted the Jackrabbit dead, but they couldn't do it in front of the public.

Outside reading posts: getting closer to the end

John Dillinger's gang was always under heat from the law, yet he managed to hide quite well. His head was always hunted. John Dillinger's gang was getting closer and closer to being jailed. Dillinger didn't quit while he was ahead, he let things happen things like this. Matera recalls, "The following day, Chicago police arreted a Dillinger gang errand boy named Leslie Homer at Ohio and Lasalle streets" (145). The cops were getting closer. The errand boy who assisted them in hiding so many years was now gone. The DIllinger operation was shrinking in size each day. The bank jobs became more scarce, he should've quit. But couldn't. Also, the gang always fluctuated in size. At different times it was the "Terrible Ten" "Crazy Eight" "Savage Seven" and even the "Terrible Two" (Matera 144). These were mention how often Dillinger had to recurit to keep a successful gang, and how difficult it was to stay away from the law.

Outside reading post 1-21

John Dillinger's fame grew and grew. As it grew, the less glorified he felt. Everything about him was reported, there were Dillenger patrol cars. Policemen from all over the Ohio-Indiana area were being assigned to capture the Jackrabbit. He felt guilty and a respect for those who died at his hand. Dillinger lost his cool and wound up killing a policeman named O'Malley. Matera writes, "They would grow up bitter that Dillinger's name lived on in infamy, while their hardworking , salt-of-the-earth father was instantly forgotten" (Matera 167). Dillinger was quickly feeling guilty. He and his gang had killed many men of the law. DIllinger didn't like killing. That example is what he said to his lawyer. He was being truthful. A good strong O'Malley would be forgotten. But a criminal would be remembered for generations. As John Dillinger continued to kill, he seemed to cross a line. Stealing money from banks was one thing. The papers could write good stories. But, killing officers was another. Matera compiles, "Anger over O'Malley's death inginted new talk about John Dillinger being wanted "Dead or Dead" (167-168). Before, the papers had referred to him as a character who was eluding the government. Now, he was a cold blooded killer.

Outside post 1-21

John Dillenger spent his career making sure that those close to him would keep their mouth shut. It often never even occurred to him that one of the people in his gang would even think of betraying him. Although it didn't happen too often, it did happen. Dillenger often looked the other way, as to hope the situation would work itself out. Matera writes, "During the leisurely drive, Dillinger suddenly queried McGinnis about his relationship whit Forrest Huntington, saying he'd heard they were distant in-laws... Dillinger was naively satisfied with that, his ego blinding him" (Matera 129). Dillinger was indeed blinded by his ego and overconfidence. Deep down, he suspected something was going on. One of his gang members was involved with an officer of the law. But he almost tried to wish it away. However, this didn't work. The Dillinger gang would suffer. Matera recalls, "Miginnis met with Huntington, and unloaded the gold mine of information... It also finally dawned on The Savage Seven that Art McGinnis was the snitch (Matera 131-132). McGinnis came quite close to destroying the whole operation. In response, the Savage Seven went underground, and were not heard from for a while. Dillinger had a blind trust in the people he worked with. He should have been less trustworthy.

Blog Post 1-15

Even though John Dillenger was a famous celebrity criminal, he still demanded respect. Even some on different sides as John Jr. thought that even though he was a criminal, he was still a decent man. Matera writes, "The note, sincere or not, deeply affected John Sr. "I smiled for the first time in years because maybe he'd won after all... Johnnie hadn't forgotten and now he was going to go straight" (Matera 99). John Dillenger Sr. had always paid attention to the news, he knew what his son was doing. He believed his son was a decent man. This arises the question; can a law-breaker be a decent man? John Dillenger robbed so many people of money, yet all it took to convince his father, was a quick little letter. Dillinger was a decent man who even quickly got along with anybody. Of course, this included the man who was his warden. Matera recalls, "Dillinger had grown to like the hefty, personable sheriff, and didn't want it to happen this way" (106). Dillinger didn't like to kill, no matter who it was. Later, he gets mad at the person who shot the sheriff. It is possible that a criminal can be a decent person. As long as they get what they deserve, it is right. Dillinger would eventually pay his debt.

1-8 Reading post #2

John Dillinger was not alone. Times were tough, and it tuned out that criminal was a fairly common profession. It was in the middle of an economic crisis (the depression), and people just needed ways to get money. Even though it was an evil profession that took money of good citizens, many liked reading about these infamous crooks who managed to out-race the omnipotent government; which was currently failing them. Matera recalls, "Newspapers were bannering the colorful bank robbery stories often speculating as to who was involved... There would be twenty nine bank stickups in Indiana alone during 1933, nearly one a week" (Matera 58). People were getting desperate. Part of this can be attributed to the harsh economic times, but the newspaper publicity helped this crime boom. Dillinger was hardly alone, with this many gangs on the loose, Dillinger managed to fly under the radar for quite some time. The papers also contributed to this crime boom. By publishing the stories with such prestige, it gave people ideas. It also raised awareness. Daru Matera describes the situation of older times "This production was directed by a tough, arrogant robber named Lester Gillis who as battling Dillinger fornt page for front page on the publicity front" (Matera 73). By giving Dillinger such publicity, it made more and more people to want to be like him. It also helped that they top tier crooks were given nicknames, John Dillinger was the Jackrabbit. Lester Gillis was George "Baby Face" Nelson (where have we heard that before?). The newspaper gave them such prestige for breaking the law; and that inspired more people to be like Jackrabbit and Baby Face.

OUtside reading post 1-8 part one

(I'm a little behind but I'm catching up.) John Dillenger is often portrayed as an underdog in society who just goes with what his superiors tell him. Daru Matera explains how Dillenger makes the leap from farm boy to criminal. Even as a criminal, he started out small, robbing stores for small prophet. Matera describes, "It's not known how much they netted, probably no more than one hundred dollars-a good chunk of which was turned over to Shorty George Hughes to compensate for the damage to the vehicle they had rented from him" (Matera 48). As it started out, Dillenger still had to answer to the "big guys" of crime. After a low reward low risk robbery, they had to reparations to the supplier of the getaway car. A chunk was taken out. John Dillenger quickly became annoyed with the small time robberies. Like any minor leaguer, he wanted into the big leagues. Matera writes, "Already growing weary of the nickel-and-dime antics of the White Cappers, Dillinger envisioned a serious gang of veteran bank robbers made up of his mentors wasting away inside the state pen" (Matera 49). Dillinger slowly was developing a taste to always improve and get a bigger job with more of a reward. This would eventually lead to his downfall. By acquiring this taste, he set himself up to never be satisfied. Set up to never know how to walk away. If Dillinger would've stopped while he was ahead, it is possible that he could've escaped capture for all his life.