Exhuming Dillinger’s body not necessary, says local relative

The County Line

After 85 years in the grave, the body of notorious bank robber John Dillinger is to be exhumed next month. But, at least one Dillinger relative doesn’t think that is necessary.

Steve Dillinger, Hamilton County Commissioner and third cousin of the famous gangster, says his grandfather, Robert Dillinger, attended the 1934 funeral and “recognized first hand that it was Dillinger” in the coffin.

“We have a tape [recording] in which he [Steve’s grandfather] tells about Dillinger and the funeral,” Steve revealed.

The story of John Dillinger’s famous crime spree in the 1930s has begun to fade in recent years with many in the younger generation not recognizing the name. But, for a half-century after Dillinger’s death, the name was well known to most Americans, especially Hoosiers because the infamous bandit was born in Indianapolis and grew up in Mooresville.

John Dillinger

Now, a TV documentary is planned on the life and times of Dillinger, and thereby comes the reason for digging up the body. Producers of the planned TV show want to prove one way or the other that it was Dillinger who was buried in Crown Hill Cemetery. (There have been stories during the years that the body buried in 1934 was not that of the famous bad guy.)

The Hamilton County branch of the Dillinger family came to Sheridan in the 1920s when Steve’s grandfather was named manager of the Public Service Indiana operation there. He had grown up with John Dillinger and knew him well.

Later Steve’s parents moved to Noblesville where Steve and most of the family have lived since. The Rev. Jim Dillinger and Rex Dillinger along with sisters Patty and Candy are Steve’s siblings.

The bandit Dillinger and his gang are reported to have robbed 24 banks in the Midwest during the years 1933 and 1934. During that escapade Steve’s grandmother worried that the gang might come to her Sheridan home seeking to hide out. The gang had been known to kill several people.

They never did show up in Sheridan.

Dillinger was eventually tracked down by a fledging FBI in Chicago. As in the movies, it was the famous “lady in red” who betrayed the outlaw outside the Biograph Theatre. Law enforcement agents shot and killed Dillinger when he attempted to escape arrest.

Steve says he’s heard the stories that portray his infamous relative as a type of Robin Hood, aiding the poor with his ill-gotten gain.

But, “he was not a good guy.” One good thing came of the Dillinger criminal activities, Steve believes. That was the federal government’s decision to give the FBI broader authority and resources, a decision that came largely because Dillinger had made law enforcement agencies look incompetent of quickly catching such brazen and organized criminals.