John Dillinger and his connection to Jamestown and the Shenango Valley. In the summer of 1934, the very first “FBI Public Enemy #1” was gunned down and killed in the very first high profile fight against organized crime. John Dillinger was a notorious bank robber and had just exited the Biograph Theater in Chicago when he pulled a gun on FBI agents who were there to arrest him. They in turn fired four shots and killed him. Dillinger had connections in the Shenango Valley; either he or one of his associates robbed a Farrell bank of $20,000 in 1933, and he sometimes had his home base in Masury. He liked to gamble in the bars up and down the Ohio line and felt safe since at the time the police didn’t chase criminals across state lines and the FBI hadn’t yet been given the authority to do so either. He definitely traveled through Jamestown. Was he casing the Jamestown Banking Company? There are rumors that the bank was a target and sharpshooters were once posted in the Gibson House cupola, but no robbery ever took place. But he did visit a local family, the Learys who lived on Liberty Street, two doors away from where Jim and Norma Leary live now. Jamestown had a large rail road switching yard not far from the Leary home, and during the Depression in would be common for hungry men to knock on a local door looking for food. Dillinger knocked on the Leary door and asked Jim, who was about 12 at the time, for the lady of the house. He asked if he might have something to eat, and while Mrs. Leary was preparing the peanut butter sandwich, he held and bounced Jim’s brother Tom, who was a toddler, on his knee. In the next room, the Leary brothers’ father was reading the day’s newspaper that featured a picture and latest exploits of their houseguest. Mr. Leary didn’t confront Dillinger, or even let on that he was recognized. Dillinger was polite, ate his food, and then moved on. Years later, Jim learned from his boss at the Sharon based Victor Printing Company how his car was commandeered by Valley police to chase Dillinger’s getaway cars from the Farrell heist. There is no evidence that Dillinger hid out anywhere in Jamestown – he didn’t need to hide. Until the FBI was involved, there really wasn’t an active force “on the case”, so to speak. Constables played cards with him, did favors for him, but on one came to arrest him. In an old Sharon Herald article, there is a story how during a poker game Dillinger’s gun fell to the floor, and a lawman picked it up and handed it back to him. Asked why he didn’t use the opportunity to be the famous man who got Dillinger, the lawman replied, “The only name I would have made for myself would have been on my tombstone.” The FBI had a different attitude and J. Edgar Hoover wanted to make John Dillinger an example on how he was tough on crime, and the rest is history. There is tons of facinating information on line about crime in the 1920s and early 1930s. Until the FBI was granted power in about 1933 - 34, the big cities were really hostage to organized criminals: bootleggers, bank robbers, racketeers, murderers, etc. The HBO show Boardwalk Empire really tells that eras story well. As always, comment below, post updates and corrections and Ill make the edits so the story is accurate. Thanks to Jim and Tom Leary, the Sharon Herald Archives, and Sandy Lauries research.
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 00:40:06 +0000
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