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.