PRESENTED BY 7ONY STEWART

WE CAN'T ALL ME SAINTS! ...Johnnie Dillinger 1934

 It was a time when Gangsters appeared of the woodwork and the birth of the FBI or G-Man as referred to in 1933-34 was introduced. The famous Indiana bandit John Dillinger was quoted as saying  "We can't all be saints,"  and he was correct.Dillinger stepped out of the Indiana State Penitentiary at Michigan City on May 22, 1933 in the heart of the Great Depression. Times were hard. Two thirds of American's were unemployed and there were very few jobs to be found.

If you had a criminal record it was nearly impossible to find employment. rise of crime across the nation’s heartland and the world.  Crime and corruption was at an extreme high in the early years and many good honest citizens turned to misdeeds to make a dollar. Honest living just wasn’t paying well enough to survive the times.  Fortunately, law enforcement needed these crimes to stay in business or there would have been major cutbacks in their departments, thus promoting even more offenses and getting away with them.

  It was a time of crime of corruption on both sides of the law. The line between the good guys and the bad guys was narrow if not indistinguishable.These early years are of great significance to show the effects on society, which directly contributed to an outbreak of corruption and the lawless times of the nineteen twenties and thirties. John Dillinger would become the most wanted man in America and the most publicized criminal on the “Front pages” of newspapers across the country in 1934. Dillinger participated in three gangs, escaped from two jails, raided three police departments, escaped several police and FBI traps, and helped mastermind the biggest jailbreak in history from the Indiana State Penitentiary at Michigan City.

 Dillinger was shot and killed in Chicago on July 22,1934 by federal agents as he ran for a nearby alley. Oddly enough, when Dillinger was assassinated by the FBI, his only Federal Crime was stealing a car and driving it across states lines, from Indiana into Chicago. There was no gun found on the outlaw when he was shot from behind, as he ran. In fact, no gun has ever surfaced, even though the FBI still claims Dillinger was armed. It was not a federal crime to rob a bank or commit murder in the early 1930’s

      Most criminals in the 1930s did not rob for pure pleasure or excitement; many were driven to it to feed their families. Others were drawn into crime by a force of bad luck, misfortune or greed. Well-Known criminals besides John Dillinger, including Baby Face Nelson, Bonnie and Clyde, Charley “Pretty Boy” Floyd and Freddie Barker met their fates in a hail of bullets at the hands of the law with guns blazing, while others were trapped and shot to death as they ran away. Many were unarmed when killed.

There were many criminals who would meet similar fates, but only a few would be glorified or romanticized and placed on pedestals in annals of criminal history. These criminals would take a front row seat in the journals of criminology and became the legends, as we know today. There would be victims who would suffer on both sides of the law. Many history books claim these Depression day outlaws were ruthless cold-blooded killers, however, not all criminals were as bad as they were made out to be.

The reputation of the FBI was built on principles of honesty, loyalty and integrity, but there also were other factors under Director John Edgar Hoover’s command. The Bureau would be involved in many cover-ups, blackmail and fraud. Good or Bad, these historical events built the FBI’s reputation, and made them the successful law enforcement agency they are today.

 

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