Dillinger The Untold Story

While researching a book on Depression-era outlaws, Playboy editor William J. Helmer stumbled upon a 600-page manuscript on John Dillinger. Written in the 1930s by G. Russell Girardin but never published, Dillinger: The Untold Story is a remarkable contemporary account of Dillinger's life and crimes, based in part on information given to Girardin by the outlaw's lawyer, Louis Piquett, not long after Dillinger's death. Though a series of articles by Girardin and Piquett appeared in the Hearst newspapers at the time, the big book manuscript remained yellowing on the shelf for half a century until Helmer met Girardin and agreed to help get it into print. Here at last is the inside story on the famous "wooden gun" jailbreak, Dillinger's ties to "The Lady in Red" and the East Chicago policeman who was her lover and one of his killers, the charges that some of Dillinger's bank robberies were prearranged with the banks, and Dillinger's contacts with Al Capone's Chicago Syndicate. Packed with illustrations and new information from FBI files and other sources, Dillinger: The Untold Story is an authentic slice of American history and a feast for true crime buffs.

A remarkable contemporary account of John Dillinger's career as a bank robber and his run-ins with the FBI, this book is based on information supplied by Dillinger's lawyer, Louis Piquett, and is packed with illustrations and new facts about one of history's most notorious criminals. 64 photos. 22 illustrations.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [335]-337) and index.