Activities The Dillinger Gang

1 activities

1.1 daytona beach, florida
1.2 east chicago robbery
1.3 hiding out in tucson
1.4 sioux falls, south dakota, robbery
1.5 mason city, iowa, robbery
1.6 little bohemia lodge

activities

before lima

new carlisle national bank, new carlisle, ohio, of $10,000 on june 21, 1933;
the commercial bank, daleville, indiana, of $3,500 on july 17, 1933;
montpelier national bank, montpelier, indiana, of $6,700 on august 4, 1933;
bluffton bank, bluffton, ohio, of $6,000 on august 14, 1933;
massachusetts avenue state bank, indianapolis, indiana, of $21,000 on september 6, 1933;


after dillinger broken out of lima

home banking company, saint mary s, ohio of $12,000;
central national bank , trust co., greencastle, indiana, of $74,802 on october 23, 1933;
american bank , trust co., racine, wisconsin, of $28,000 on november 20, 1933;
first national bank, east chicago, indiana, of $20,000 on january 15, 1934;


after dillinger s escape crown point

securities national bank , trust co., sioux falls, south dakota, of $49,500 on march 6, 1934;
first national bank, mason city, iowa, of $52,000 on march 13, 1934;
first national bank, fostoria, ohio, of $17,000 on may 3, 1934;
merchants national bank, south bend, indiana, of $29,890 on june 30, 1934.

to obtain more supplies, gang attacked state police arsenals in auburn , peru, stealing machine guns, rifles, revolvers, ammunition , bulletproof vests. on october 23, 1933, gang robbed central national bank & trust company in greencastle, indiana, making off $74,802. headed chicago hide out.

the gang traveled racine, wisconsin , robbed american bank , trust company, making off $28,000. on december 14, 1933, cpd detective william shanley killed. police had been put on high alert , suspected dillinger gang of involvement in robbery of unity trust , savings bank of $8,700 day before. robbery determined have been work of outfit. shanley following on tip 1 of gang s cars being serviced @ local garage. john red hamilton showed @ garage afternoon. when shanley approached him, hamilton pulled pistol , shot him twice, killing shanley, escaped. shanley s murder led chicago police department s establishment of forty-man dillinger squad.

daytona beach, florida

dillinger , frechette, @ house on daytona beach, florida on december 19, day or 2 later joined members of gang, these pierpont, makley, russell clark , opal long. edwin utter caretaker occupied garage apartment @ same address, , told how couples didn t bother (they kept themselves) , had no outside contacts, far knew, , didn t see visit them. utter group had appearance of gangsters. in group @ time mentioned him coming chicago. utter said group received considerable amount of mail. after gang had gone, several letters came addressed frank kirtley (an alias of dillinger), j.c. davies (alias of makley), , j.c. evans (an alias of pierpont), gang had not left forwarding addresses, returned postman.

utter stated there considerable drinking going on, @ night. said gang stayed @ cottage until january 12, leaving @ night. january date have posed yet problem dillinger s defense team had gone trial officer o malley s killing.

east chicago robbery

while makley, clark, , pierpont extended vacation driving west tucson, arizona, dillinger left florida on january 12 , met hamilton in chicago @ noon on january 15, meeting had been arranged between 2 men while dillinger in daytona beach. later afternoon robbed first national bank in east chicago. east chicago marked first time serious violence occurred @ dillinger robbery, trend continue through south bend, last job. killed dillinger east chicago patrolman william patrick o malley, outlaw s first , murder victim. @ approximately 2:50 p.m., 10 minutes before closing time, dillinger , hamilton, , unidentified driver, pulled in front of bank on chicago avenue on wrong side of street, facing east in westbound lane, double parked, , exited vehicle, leaving driver wait in idling car.

hamilton waited in bank s vestibule, while dillinger entered main room of bank. once inside, dillinger leisurely opened leather case containing thompson, pulled out, , yelled 20 30 people in bank, stickup. put l , against wall. bank s vice president, walter spencer, while hiding, kicked button touched off burglar alarm. dillinger went door of vestibule , told hamilton come in. hamilton produced small leather bag , began scooping cash cage cage. dillinger told him, take time. re in no hurry.

meanwhile, first police contingent arrived on scene after receiving alarm @ police headquarters. 4 officers arrived: patrick o malley, hobart wilgus, pete whalen, , julius schrenko. after quick through windows of bank, officers see holdup in progress , 1 of men carrying submachine gun. shrenko ran nearby drugstore , called more backup. while schrenko calling headquarters, wilgus entered bank himself, covered dillinger. outlaw relieved him of pistol, emptied cartridges, tossed officer. referring thompson, dillinger told wilgus, oughtn t afraid of thing. ain t sure ll shoot.

turning attention hamilton, dillinger said, don t let coppers outside worry you. take time , sure dough. ll take care of them birds on outside when there. dillinger discovered hiding vp, spencer, , ordered him against wall else.

schrenko s call backup emptied station of phone operator. 4 more officers arrived: captains tim o neil , ed knight, , officers nick ranich , lloyd mulvihill (mulvihill murdered van meter towards end of may). these 4 officers joined other 3 in positions on either side of chicago avenue entrance bank. apparently, not 1 of them noticed getaway car double parked on wrong side of street right outside bank door, driver sitting unconcerned in seat motor running.

dillinger ordered spencer , wilgus lead way out of bank, acting shields. 4 walked down sidewalk toward car. o malley, standing 20 feet front door, saw opening , fired 4 times @ dillinger, bullets bouncing off outlaw s bullet-proof vest. dillinger pushed spencer away barrel of thompson , yelled, over. ll son of bitch. o malley fell dead, 8 holes in line across chest. hamilton made way street, took bullet right hand, causing him drop emptied pistol. dillinger kept firing until climbed rear seat of car. 2 game wardens had driven scene emptied guns car started pull away. car started pull away before hamilton had closed left rear door, , door partly torn off caught on rear of vehicle. ohio plates used @ gang s earlier robbery of greencastle bank in october used on east chicago getaway car. police believed car may have been plymouth, 1934 ford tudor sedan. abandoned car found following day @ byron street , california avenue, chicago.

every officer, numerous witnesses inside bank, identified dillinger being 1 of robbers – , gang member shot officer o malley. prints taken of piece hamilton left behind, id d him. dillinger officially charged officer o malley s murder, although identity of actual killer debatable, , still questioned whether dillinger participated in robbery @ all.

as police began closing in again, men left chicago hide out first in florida; later @ gardner hotel in el paso, texas, highly visible police presence dissuaded dillinger trying cross border @ santa fe bridge in downtown el paso ciudad juárez, mexico; , in tucson, arizona.

hiding out in tucson


issued on june 23, 1934; authorized homer s. cummings, u.s. attorney general.



the old lobby of hotel congress built in 1919 , associated john dillinger. hotel located @ 303-311 e. congress st. in tucson, az.

on january 21, 1934, fire broke out @ hotel congress in tucson members of dillinger gang staying. forced leave luggage behind, rescued through window , down fire truck ladder. makley , clark tipped several firemen $12 (each, according bureau report) climb , retrieve luggage, affording firefighters @ several members of dillinger s gang. 1 of them, william benedict, later recognized makley, pierpont, , ed shouse while thumbing through copy of true detective , informed police, traced makley s luggage 927 north second avenue. officers tucson police department went address on afternoon of january 25, , there arrested clark after struggle. found him in possession of $1,264.70 in cash.

makley followed grabbe electric & radio store on congress street, looking @ radio capable of picking police calls, , apprehended there. had $794.09 of cash in possession.

to capture pierpont, police staged routine traffic stop , lured him police station, took him surprise , arrested him. there $99.81 recovered in pierpont s personal effects , $3,116.20 on mary kinder.

dillinger last 1 taken, caught when returned bungalow clark captured. had $7,175.44 in possession, including notes robbery of first national bank in east chicago, a000919 through a001107. these amounts, along leather money bag found, totaled on $25,000 in cash, cache of machine guns , several automatic weapons. men extradited midwest after debate between prosecutors gang prosecuted first. governor compromised, , ordered dillinger extradited lake county jail in crown point officer o malley s murder in east chicago bank robbery, while pierpont, makley , clark sent ohio stand trial sheriff sarber s murder. shouse s testimony @ march 1934 trials of pierpont, makley , clark led 3 men being convicted. pierpont , makley received death penalty, while clark received life sentence. on september 22, makley shot dead guards when , pierpont attempted escape fake pistols carved bars of soap , painted black shoe polish. pierpont wounded, , executed on october 17. clark released in 1968, dying of cancer few months later.

dillinger flown douglas airport, tucson, midway airport, chicago on course of 2 days. lake county chief deputy carroll holley (sheriff lillian holley s nephew), , east chicago chief of police nick makar escorting outlaw, plane departed tucson @ 11:14 p.m. on monday, january 29. after stops in douglas, az (plane change), el paso, abilene, dallas (another plane change), fort worth, little rock , memphis (another plane change, ford tri-motor), there yet stop in st. louis, chicago times reporter/photographer sol davis boarded aircraft , obliged dillinger take few photos , ask questions. after while, growing weary of questions , being photographed, outlaw told davis, go away , let me sleep. dillinger s brutal flight schedule ended @ 6 p.m. january 30 when plane touched down @ midway. waiting him on ground 32 heavily armed chicago policemen. 13-car caravan consisting of 29 troopers indiana ready escort dillinger crown point, 30 miles away, tried o malley killing.

sioux falls, south dakota, robbery

dillinger time imprisoned @ crown point jail, although later escaped. 3 days after dillinger s escape, @ 9:45 a.m. on march 6, vehicle (green 1934 packard super 8, 1934 kansas license 13-786) filled 6 members of gang parked near curb @ security national bank , trust company in sioux falls. 1 of bank s bookkeepers, mary lucas, applying lipstick when looked out window , saw packard roll street. if ever saw holdup car, s one, said bank stenographer next her. stenographer laughed, saying d been hearing lately bank robberies. before desks, dillinger, nelson, green , van meter had entered bank , subdued both tellers , customers. hamilton, driver, stayed car, while tommy carroll patrolled outside bank thompson. inside, nelson spotted motorcycle patrolman hale keith approaching bank on foot. fired thompson @ keith through plate glass window while standing on assistant cashier s counter. multiple bullets hit keith in abdomen, in right leg, 6 inches below hip, right wrist, , right arm, below elbow, survive. nelson reported have laughed when keith fell, saying, got one! got one!

h.m. shoebotham, reporter daily argus-leader, in office of sheriff mel sells @ time of sheriff receiving call informing him of robbery. mel grabbed machine gun , riot gun, , gave riot gun shoebotham. both got car , drove robbery scene, 3 blocks away.

on way bank, sells figured strategy. across bank stood lincoln hotel. planned reach second floor window, stick gun out , fire @ robbers. when reached bank, scores of spectators watching activities. in center of street in front of bank carroll standing machine gun. occasionally, fire few volleys, supposedly keep assembled people impressed. there exists photograph taken of tommy carroll across street during robbery, action photo unique prewar bank robberies. sheriff sells backed coupe alley behind lincoln hotel , took weapon second floor, leaving thompson shoebotham.

surrounding bystanders, gang backed out of bank packard. no officers dared shoot. outlaws picked out 5 people go hostages , commanded them stand on running boards. hostages leo olson, bank-teller; mildred bostwick, alice biegen, emma knabach, stenographers; , mary lucas.

as packard sped away bank, patrolman harley chrisman managed shoot out radiator. shortly after left town, swerved avoid collisions 2 horse-drawn milk wagons. moments later, dillinger released olson, made women car, packed rest of gang, guns, gasoline cans, , robbery loot.

bill conklin of wilson service station on south minnesota avenue saw packard coming down street smoke pouring hood , assumed car on fire. ran station, grabbed fire extinguisher , ran out. 1 of robbers said, in there had slowed him.

the car began slow down right outside of town, giving 3 pursuing police cars time catch up. 2 miles outside of lakeland farm, gang got out of packard , made hostages stand around them, opened fire on pursuers. 3 squad cars retreated. gang hijacked car owned local farmer alfred muesche, , transferred gas cans , money it.

about 10 miles outside of sioux falls, gang released hostages, , drove off. hostages picked passing motorist drove them bank.

the police scoured highways ground , air on 50-mile segment of territory south , east of sioux falls. men looking believed have ditched muesche s dodge big lincoln 2 or 3 miles northwest of shindler. st. paul came assurance 20 police cars patrolling roads heading st. paul , minneapolis, gang made safely twin cities , began preparing mason city heist.

mason city, iowa, robbery

seven days later, on afternoon of march 13, @ 2:40 p.m., same 6 (dillinger, nelson, hamilton, green, van meter, , carroll), plus added seventh man probable driver, either joseph burns or red forsythe, drove down state street in 1933 blue buick 90 series sedan (with rear window removed) , parked in front of mulcahy s prescription shop. sources tell different story went in bank , patrolled outside, believed dillinger took position outside front entrance, nelson on north side of street near alley behind bank, , @ least hamilton , green entered bank, van meter. descriptions witnesses later, tommy carroll positioned outside. carroll stood in doorway of prescription shop on state.

freelance photographer h.c. kunkleman happened filming bank when robbery began. kunkleman told 1 of bandits turn camera off, ones doing shooting. began filming again once gang made getaway (the five-minute film still exists). green , hamilton (and van meter) entered bank , fired volleys walls , ceiling. thirty-one employees , approximately 25 customers ordered put hands up. tom walters, bank guard positioned in elevated bulletproof observation booth near front entrance, fired teargas cartridge, according procedure, hit green in back. walters tear gas gun jammed. 1 of robbers, either van meter or green, sprayed booth machine-gun fire, shattered glass, left walters unharmed. tom barclay, clerk, threw teargas grenade on balcony of lobby. while tellers cash drawers being emptied (drawers 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 , 7, missing 5, $5,000), hamilton grabbed assistant cashier harry fisher , brought him open vault. week earlier, eddie green (most likely) had appeared @ fisher s door asking directions, peered attentively @ fisher s face, fisher later remember. directions alternate routes getaway mapped out @ time.

once got vault, hamilton erred allowing steel gate close , lock between him , fisher. fisher hand stacks of $5 bills hamilton through bars, reducing gang s take $250,000 $52,000. during robbery, green periodically yell out time others.

meanwhile, crowds began form outside after word had spread robbery in progress @ bank. james buchanan, off-duty officer, had grabbed sawed-off shotgun when heard robbery, hid behind grand army of republic monument. unable fire because of crowd of people, instead exchanged barbs dillinger. of robbers, dillinger 1 whom clothing description provided: light gray suit, dark overcoat , dark hat. buchanan called him away crowd , fight out him. buchanan said dillinger s upper lip turned snarl talked. dillinger, armed thompson, drew .38 inside pocket , fired @ buchanan, missed.

outside bank, nelson acting crazily, firing randomly in different directions. 1 man, r.l. james, hit in leg 1 of nelson s bursts. tommy carroll came on check on james condition. oncoming car came , carroll blasted machine gun. radiator of car filled lead , frantic driver backed out @ rate of 25 mph. third-floor office above bank, police judge john c. shipley heard gunfire , went window. dillinger sent volley of shots in shipley s direction, warning him stay back. judge retreated, went desk , grabbed pistol, returned window , fired, hitting dillinger in left shoulder.

hamilton, green , van meter, large canvas bag of cash, left through front door of bank, surrounding hostages dillinger had collected. entire gang moved 1 around corner onto state street, dillinger in center of group. judge shipley, again, @ window above bank , risked firing group, time striking hamilton in shoulder. when hamilton saw r.l. james lying on street wounded, said, thought there wasn t going more of this? nelson, had joined them, said, thought copper.

nelson stopped 2 women had come out of nearby butcher shop , @ intersection of state street , alley directly east of bank, , marshalled them car , commanded them stand outside of it. before reached car, nelson snatched package of meat mrs. clark s hands, threw ground , stomped on it, silencing protests with, ll paid plenty it.

the number of hostages varies wildly in dillinger books, mason city globe-gazette day names 11 people. couple women sat inside car on robbers laps. bill schmidt, employee of killmer drug, delivering bag of sandwiches bank , stopped dillinger , shoved buick. while riding through town, bag of sandwiches discovered , eaten gang.

the buick moved north on federal avenue 2nd street, taking left, headed west adams, taking left. car stayed @ 25 mph within downtown area. near 4th street, clarence mgowan, along wife , five-year-old daughter, spotted car. mcgowan began pursue bandit car after mistakenly believing vehicle, loaded people on outside of car, part of wedding or kind of wild demonstration. shot in abdomen after pulling close buick. mcgowan went home , bathed before going hospital. both mcgowan , r.l. james, nelson s casualty, recovered.

the buick stopped time time roofing nails spread across highway, sacks full of them. oncoming cars stopped gang , ordered stay 5 minutes before moving on. bill schmidt said bandits drive fast on straight away, slowed down bumps. hostages let off few @ time , individually. mrs. clark (carrying meat earlier) , mrs. graham last 2 hostages released, @ point 3 , half miles south , mile , half east of mason city. asked if d able identify of men, mrs. clark said, sure would; 1 winked @ me.

the buick found in gravel pit 4 miles south of city later evening. according police, 2 cars had been waiting gang, 1 driver in each vehicle.

once gang made st. paul, green showed @ pat reilly s, 27-year-old fringe gang member, husband , father, , bartender @ st. paul s green lantern, asking him if knew dr. (nels) mortensen s home in st. paul was, , requested accompany him see doctor. reilly later stated agents @ time eddie green driving hudson , dillinger , hamilton in seat; both individuals had gunshot wounds in shoulders , dillinger appeared nauseated , dizzy. 4 proceeded mortensen s home @ 2252 fairmount avenue in st. paul, arriving after midnight. mortensen answered call in night clothes. examined both men, probing wounds. reilly said during time dillinger quite ill , wobbly or faint , had sit down on couch. mortensen told them wounds weren t serious , didn t have medical bag there. asked them if had liquor. replied in affirmative. instructed them go home , take stiff drink , return office next day. didn t appear. 4 returned green s car , drove intersection of snelling , selby, green gave reilly $5 bill , let him out of car. reilly said hailed blue , white taxi , returned home.

eddie green later questioned fbi, , gave names of 2 doctors them while in critical state in hospital.

proceeding events of mason city, iowa robbery, john dillinger , crew reached safety @ little bohemia lodge, located in northern wisconsin. owner of lodge grew suspicious after seeing behavior of group of men, , tipped fbi. 3 fbi agents positioned cabin, , waited. eventually, agents opened fire on lodge towards gangsters, , dillinger , crew decided flee through woods after returning fire briefly. escaped, , no casualties.

little bohemia lodge

about 1:00 of afternoon of april 20, van meter, marie comforti ( mickey ), , pat reilly first arrive @ little bohemia lodge, located 13 miles south of mercer in northern wisconsin, in town of manitowish waters. emil wanatka, born in bohemia (in czech republic) in 1888 , opened resort 4 years prior, greeted them. arriving later, 5:30, dillinger, hamilton , cherrington way of sault ste. marie, nelson , wife helen, had come in chicago, , last arrive tommy carroll , jean delaney. reilly stated on first night he, carroll, lester gillis (nelson), dillinger, , emil wanatka played hearts several hours , game broke around midnight. went bar drink while others went various rooms. hamilton , pat cherrington occupied end room on left side of upstairs in lodge, while van meter , comforti occupied room opposite. tommy carroll , jean delaney, gillis , helen, occupied little cottage on right of little bohemia, near entrance. dillinger slept in first bedroom on left upstairs in main lodge. reilly stated agents told van meter dillinger s room had 2 beds , sleeping in same room dillinger.

reilly stated entered room, dillinger lying on bed on left side of room, reading detective magazine , bottle of whiskey on stand near bed; came room dillinger laid magazine on table no conversation took place between them. noticed when dillinger turned on though sleep had .45 automatic under pillow. reilly advised took drink of whiskey out of bottle, 16-year-old bonded whiskey, name of couldn t recall. locked door , turned out light , went bed on right-hand side of room.

the gang had assured owners give no trouble, monitored owners whenever left or spoke on phone. emil s wife nan , brother managed evade baby face nelson, tailing them, , mailed letter of warning u.s. attorney s office in chicago, later contacted division of investigation. days later, score of federal agents led hugh clegg , melvin purvis (the g man) approached lodge in morning hours. 2 barking watchdogs announced arrival, gang used nan wanatka s dogs did not bother inspect disturbance. after federal agents mistakenly shot local resident , 2 innocent civilian conservation corps workers drive away in car dillinger gang alerted presence of boi. gunfire between groups lasted momentarily, whole gang managed escape in various ways despite agents efforts surround , storm lodge.

j.j. dunn, dakota county sheriff, received call department of justice @ 3:40 a.m. on monday, april 23, giving notice of possibility gang might headed way , wisconsin plate no. 92652 on model a. dunn gathered posse included deputy sheriffs joe heinen, norman dieters, , larry dunn, hastings night policeman fred mcardle. coupe spotted 6 hours later, shortly after 10 a.m., entering city south on highway 3, turned drug store corner cross high bridge, in direction of st. paul. officers used heinen s buick sedan in pursuit, heinen driving , mcardle armed .30-30 , dieters .30-40. large cattle truck slipped in between officers car , model a, , heinen unable pass truck until reached opposite side of spiral bridge. upon leaving north end of bridge, bandit car seen climbing hill half mile across valley. buick started creep on trio. mcardle , dieters fired warning shots outside windows 2 cars leaving st. paul park. dillinger, middle passenger, van meter driving, returned fire .45 through rear window of coupe. cars roared highway toward newport, approximately 50 shots exchanged. chase started near st. paul park, according officers involved, 20 miles, not 50, reported.

mcardle fired lucky shot inflicted mortal wound hamilton. in describing death shot, mcardle said, when bullet hit car, coupe seemed wobble minute , thought going ditch. driver managed keep on pavement, however, , after doubling st. paul park , crossing highway toward cottage grove, lost in hills. car replaced before heading chicago seek out medical attention hamilton. should remembered trio hadn t slept @ night before. extremely cramped in coupe 3 people, 1 of them being mortally wounded, length of model seat 39 inches across. has been written slowness of model used in escape (top speed 45 mph), large part of driving done in darkness, van meter wouldn t have been going faster 40-45 mph in car, since headlight systems in cars of period notoriously inadequate. high speed @ night dangerous. s unfortunate dillinger, van meter , hamilton didn t ditch coupe faster car @ daybreak. wasn t possible so.

hamilton taken dillinger , van meter see joseph moran in chicago, though moran refused treat hamilton. died @ barker-karpis hideout in aurora, illinois, 3 days after shooting near hastings. dillinger, van meter, arthur barker, volney davis , harry campbell, members of barker-karpis gang,buried him in oswego, illinois. on may 3, 1 week after hamilton s death, dillinger, van meter, , tommy carroll robbed first national bank of fostoria, ohio. in robbery, fostoria police chief frank culp wounded when van meter shot him in chest thompson. dillinger , van meter spent of may living out of red panel truck mattress in back.

in may, dillinger paid visit fred hancock @ 3301 east new york street, indianapolis (the shell filling station hubert , fred worked), , gave him $1,200 in cash. fred hancock: on thursday, may 10, next saw john. fellow came station between 5:00 , 4:00 p.m. on date dressed in overalls, wearing glasses, no coat, wearing sleeveless jacket. unshaven, , party stood kerosene drum. did not recognize him @ time , continued wait upon customer in station, , walked filling station house, thinking party standing kerosene drum kerosene customer. party walked on filling station house , knocked on window attract attention. when looked @ him more closely realized john. left me package containing money , told me take it. said tell dad if happened him give billie of money. gave me $1,200 made in 4 packages -- $500 grandpa, $500 mother, audrey hancock, $100 hubert , $100 myself, , delivered money people intended for. john told me how hot was. after time shooting had occurred @ little bohemia lodge in wisconsin. said return in 2 weeks. walking @ time, , not know how came station. when leaving, walked out of station , walked south on lasalle street washington street. money made of one-, five- , ten-dollar bills. there few ten-dollar bills in money, being ones , fives. used $100 john gave me in connection work having done on eyes of little girl, , understand mother , grandpa later paid out $500 each received attorney, possibly john (sic) ryan, in connection john s case.

agent whitson had been observing activity @ shell station on corner of new york , lasalle. whitson: on 5-10-34 noticed stranger talking fred hancock near kerosene drum in yard of station @ 3:45 p.m. wearing blue overalls, brown vest, blue shirt , tie, dark hat, , wore spectacles, either rimless or thin metal rim. complexion ruddy , had stubble of beard. in right hand carried @ times appeared pint milk bottle wrapped in newspaper. 3:50 p.m. stranger left station, going south on lasalle street toward washington street. agent noted man appeared have deep cleft in chin, , decided follow him , have better @ him. agent reached street without being observed hancock , followed stranger, walking rapidly , without noticeable lameness or infirmity in either leg. man turned west on washington street when agent still between 25 , 30 yards behind him. when agent reached street intersection, man in sight.

on may 24, alleged van meter killed 2 east chicago police detectives had tried pull them over. on june 7, tommy carroll shot , killed police in waterloo, iowa. dillinger , van meter reunited nelson week later , went hiding.

on june 30, dillinger, van meter, nelson, , unidentified fat man robbed merchants national bank in south bend, indiana. identity of fat man has never been confirmed, suspect 1 of nelson s associates, or, suggested fatso negri boi, pretty boy floyd. during robbery, police officer named howard wagner killed when van meter shot him in chest responded sound of burst of submachine gunfire coming inside bank. van meter shot in head during resulting shootout, , wounded.