John Dillinger's Getaway Car Sells for $165,000 at Auction

A 1930 Ford Model A used by bank robber John Dillinger to evade federal agents sold at auction Saturday for $165,000.

The car, sold at the Barrett-Jackson collector car auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., had a cameo role in the 2009 movie "Public Enemies" starring Johnny Depp.

This car was used in Dillinger's 1934 escape from the Little Bohemia Lodge in Manitowish Waters, Wis. Dillinger and his gang had been staying at the lakeside resort when the proprietor tipped off the FBI.

A team of agents attempted to surround the house, but Dillinger and his partners Homer Van Meter and John "Red" Hamilton escaped to a nearby house where they found the Model A and forced its owner to drive them to safety.

Later, the car caught the attention of police and Hamilton was fatally wounded in a gun fight. The car still bears a bullet hole and the stains of Hamilton's blood.

Dillinger later ditched the car in Chicago, stealing a 1934 Ford V8 in its place. (Dillinger was known to prefer Ford's then-new V8 cars for their speed.)

The car was eventually returned to its original owner, who left it parked in his garage, figuring it wasn't worth repairing. A subsequent owner, who purchased the car 30 years later for $1,400, also left it untouched.

Temporary cosmetic repairs were done to the car in 2007 for the movie. The identity of the winning bidder was not immediately known. The price paid for the car includes a 10% "buyer's premium" added on to the $150,000 final bid price.

In general, Model A Fords are not particularly rare or valuable, even today. "I have to admit, this is a surprising price for a model A, regardless of ownership," said McKeel Hagerty, president of the collector car insurance company Hagerty Insurance. Hagerty Insurance is a sponsor of Speed TV's live broadcast of the Barrett-Jackson event.

Thanks to Peter Valdes-Dapena

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James "Little Jimmy" Marcello is Moving Back to Chicago

Mob boss James "Little Jimmy" Marcello gets to stay in Chicago...for now.

Judge James Zagel granted a motion this morning in federal court that allows Marcello to remain at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago while he appeals his Family Secrets conviction. He had been serving his life sentence in the maximum security penitentiary in Atwater, California, but was brought back to the MCC because of a petition filed against him by the United States Probation Office. Inexplicably, the government wants to cite Marcello for a long ago probation violation, even though he is serving a life sentence from the Family Secrets case.

If Marcello's appeal is denied then Judge Zagel will recommend the Bureau of Prisons assign Marcello to an institution such as Oxford, Wisconsin, instead of being sent back to California so he will be closer to his family. "Mr. Marcello has no family in California. His wife, three children and grandchildren reside in the Chicagoland area," states the Marcello motion.

Oxford has long been the prison of choice for Chicago Outfit figures, crooked politicians, white collar criminals and other cigar chomping convicts-because of its close proximity to Chicago.

Originally, Judge Zagel had recommended Marcello spend the rest of his life locked up in the fed's crossbar hotel in Terra Haute, Indiana. But Marcello's guilty co-defendant, Joey "the Clown" Lombardo, is already assigned there. "It is our understanding that a 'seperatee' order prevented Mr. Marcello's designation to Terre Haute since Co-Defendant Joseph Lombardo was designated there" wrote Marcello's attorney Marc Martin.

Thanks to Chuck Goudie

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US Attorney and DEA Agent Targeted in Murder-for-Hire Plot

The United States Attorney's Office announced that two DuPage County, Illinois men were arrested last week after being charged by complaint in a murder-for-hire plot targeting an Assistant United States Attorney and a Drug Enforcement Administration agent assigned to Chicago.

Frank Caira, 39, of Downers Grove, Illinois, and Jack Mann, 41, of Naperville, Illinois, were charged with solicitation to commit a crime of violence, specifically attempting assault or intimidation of a federal officer, and attempting to kill a law enforcement official of the United States.

Both men appeared before Magistrate Judge Nan R. Nolan in Chicago Saturday afternoon, January 16, 2010. Mann has subsequently appeared in court today and remains detained. Caira is scheduled to appear for a detention hearing before Magistrate Judge Nolan on Thursday, January 21, 2010.

This case was investigated jointly by the Chicago Federal Bureau of Investigation Violent Crimes Task Force and the United States Marshal’s Service Northern Illinois Threat Assessment Task Force.

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Gambling & The Chicago Mob Video

Restaurant owner Nick Sarillo freelanced as a bookie. He defied the Chicago mob, otherwise known as "the Outfit," and was nearly killed.

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Bill Kurtis to Receive the FBI’s Director’s Community Leadership Award

An awards ceremony and luncheon honoring legendary Chicago journalist and acclaimed documentarian Bill Kurtis will be held today (Tuesday, January 19) at Harry Caray’s Restaurant in Chicago.

Mr. Kurtis is the 2009 Chicago recipient of the FBI’s Director’s Community Leadership Award (DCLA), which is presented annually to an individual or organization that has furthered the efforts of law enforcement. Director Mueller will be represented at Tuesday’s ceremony by Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago FBI, who will be presenting Mr. Kurtis with the award.

An informal reception for Mr. Kurtis will begin at 11:30 a.m., with the award presentation starting at approximately 1:00 p.m.

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