Town Chooses Not to Revisit ‘Dillinger Days’

Town officials in Mooresville, Ind., have shot down a proposal to hold a festival in honor of bank robber and native son John Dillinger.

Town council members said the idea for “Dillinger Days,” put forth by his descendants, would draw unwanted attention to the community’s link to the outlaw.

“He was a criminal bum, and he’s dead, so let him stay that way,” said council member Toby Dolen.

Dillinger, once dubbed Public Enemy No. 1, was the most notorious bank robber of the Depression era. He was shot to death by FBI agents outside a Chicago theater in 1934.