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During the Great Depression, Newsreels about John Dillinger, the first gangster declared Public Enemy #1, drew cheers from movie audiences across America and hisses when pictures of J. Edgar Hoover appeared on screen.
Agents from what would become the FBI killed Dillinger in a hail of gunfire while leaving Chicago’s Biograph Theater on July 22, 1934.
The case put the FBI on the map and, to this day, plays a major part in the bureau’s historical legacy.
But questions persist about whether the FBI killed the real John Dillinger or a stand-in resembling the gangster so he could make a getaway.
Travis Thompson, the great-nephew of John Dillinger and a veteran law enforcement officer in Indiana has literally been trying to dig up evidence from the cemetery where John Dillinger is buried.
Thompson has tried to exhume Dillinger’s body from a concrete-encased tomb at the Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.
Adding to the Dillinger mystery, Thompson and Stewart Fillmore, a retired FBI agent have unearthed a mysterious map on the family farm in Indiana.
The Dillinger case is a celebrated chapter in the FBI’s history and the bureau dismisses what it calls conspiracy theories.
But Travis Thompson brings his law enforcement background to the search for more evidence.
Did the FBI kill the real John Dillinger or a stand-in who was helping Dillinger escape?
The mystery continues in my interview with Travis Thompson.
Links To Dillinger Resources Mentioned During Episode
True Crime Reporter® Story About The FBI’s Hogan’s Alley This Bank Gets Robbed Every Day
FBI “The Top Ten Dillinger Myths”
History Channel Behind Efforts To Exhume John Dillinger’s Body
History Channel Drops Out Of Planned John Dillinger Documentary; Proposed Exhumation In Doubt
In closing, here’s my Reporter’s recap and reflections.
Travis Thompson’s quest to identify the remains in John Dillinger’s grave will continue.
And treasure hunters will keep looking for Dillinger’s lost loot if there is such a stash.
One thing is certain.
After the gunsmoke cleared outside the Biograph Theater, it marked the beginning of the end of the Gangster Era.
According to the FBI, 27 persons were convicted in federal courts on charges of harboring, aiding, and abetting John Dillinger and his cronies during their reign of terror.
You’ve been listening to the True Crime Reporter® Podcast: Stay True. Stay Safe. And Stay Tuned for more stories from inside the crime scene tape.
Yours truly, Robert Riggs.
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