criminal whose law breaking ways [Billie starts to cry as Winstead gets up to leave] Billie Frechette : Boy, you are in a hurry! This story was written by Gary Entz and produced for radio by Mackenzie Martin. Billie Frechette died on January 13, 1969, in Shawano, Wisconsin, after a battle with cancer. PS: Johnny Depp as John Dillinger? He was nevertheless murdered by Zarkovich, who, according to Audett, was paid $10,000 or more to set up the wrong man by Dillinger, and that makes him, Dillinger and Audett and, most likely, Sage, parties to murder. You go to the Biograph and if they show up there, you call me and wait until I get there and I will shoot him when he comes out of that theater." morgue deceased. The federal courts maintained that only the Department of Labor had any authority in deportation cases, and was not obligated to honor promises made by Justice Department "gangbusters." Their relationship was brief, however; Sparks was sent to Leavenworth prison in 1933 after committing mail fraud. Frechette later toldTrue Confessionsmagazine that as result of her husband's incarceration, she had a "blurred attitude toward life." Frechette served two years in federal prison for harboring a criminal. Purvis asked Zarkovich why he was doing all this and Zarkovich said that he wanted to get Dillinger because Dillinger had killed a good friend of his, a police officer in Gary, Indiana, during a recent bank robbery there (another lie, Dillinger did not rob that bank and Zarkovich had no friend on that force, where he was known to be associated with underworld bosses). He treated me like a lady.". FBI Year of the Gangster, Part 3 Frechette, who had met Dillinger in 1933, was charged with harboring a fugitive in her St. Paul, Minnesota. He reluctantly decided that it would be impossible. Dillinger dated Evelyn "Billie" Frechette, who was of mixed French and Native American ancestry. Parents: William Frechette and Mary LaBelle William Frechette was born September 23, 1887 in Marinette, Wisconsin and died in April 4,1916. ONLY Purvis and Zarkovich knew what Anna Sage looked like-Zarkovich had taken pains to make sure that Purvis met with Anna Sage only once and alone in Lincoln Park-and she was the one through which the FBI would make their identification of Public Enemy Number One, since they had never even seen the man she and Polly would be bringing with them to that movie! Dillinger's Betrayal | American Experience | Official Site | PBS theater by the FBI. Indiana state line, which put the FBI on She died of cancer on January 13, 1969, in Shawano, Wisconsin. fall in love with the same woman. She died of cancer on January 13, 1969, at age 61 in Shawano, Wisconsin. At the age of 18, she moved to Chicago, Illinois, to be closer to her sister. His gun, hat, glasses and fake K-pop star Moon Bin, member of boy band Astro, dies age 25 | CNN Frechette continued to struggle in order to make ends meet, doing housework and waitressing to pay the bills. grow up on opposite sides of the law. Dillinger's 'moll' took to the stage 80 years ago - oregonlive He does. Paperback. this celebratory news reel describes how Required fields are marked *. They met my eyes and held me hypnotized for an instant. She later opened brothels in Gary, Indiana, and Chicago. According to FBI reports, Dillinger had no last words. John Dillinger's lover arrested 1934 served jail time with machine gun kelly's wife died on indian. To build the image of an invincible Bureau, Hoover relentlessly spent much of his time controlling that public image and manipulating the press-newspapers and radio in those days. Purvis, for the moment, not Hoover, was the hero of the hour-a very brief bitter hour, indeed. It is rumored that he said, "You got me," after he was shot. Frechette was born in September 1907, on the Menominee Reservation. Cherrington later said that he started "crying like a baby.". Frechette served two years at the Federal Correctional Farm in Milan, Michigan, for violating the Federal Harboring Law. 1 | Primary Sources", "American Experience | Public Enemy No. Evelyn "Billie" Frechette (1907-1969) | American Experience | PBS There was, of course, a very good reason to give Purvis this story. He treated me like a lady.". Evelyn Billie Frechette was John Dillinger's one true love. On April 15, 1936, Anna was deported back to Romania for being considered an "alien of low moral character". When the car was found in Chicago, Dillinger was indicted for the Federal offense and the FBI began its manhunt, which ultimately led to Dillinger's death. childhood and his evolution into a life of In researching how accurate is Public Enemies, we learned that Evelyn 'Billie' Frechette (portrayed by Marion Cotillard in themovie) met John Dillinger in a Chicago dance hall in November of 1933. I believe Zarkovich got a copy of Purvis' report to Hoover, and I believe that John Herbert Dillinger also got a copy of that report, both of these references coming from James Henry "Blackie" Audett, who, as stated above, was Dillinger's liaison in this conspiracy. It has been reported that John Dillinger accompanied Polly Hamilton to the police station four times for her health examinations without being noticed (FBI.gov). The only federal charge ever made against Dillinger was that he drove a stolen car across a state line (the sheriff's car he stole when making his escape from the jail at Crown Point, Indiana and driving it into Illinois), and it was upon that charge alone that Hoover made Dillinger Public Enemy Number One-simply because he was getting more publicity in 1934 than was Hoover and his FBI. resting affectionately on Dillinger's he shouted. [2] Sign up for the American Experience newsletter! morgue photo is shown towards the end of Purvis bought that story and met with Sage, who was to become the notorious Woman in Red (her skirt was actually orange on the night of the shooting) a few nights later in Lincoln Park. It's only when Billie Frechette enters his life, that obvious reasons he starts to have even the idea that there's something beyond the immediate right now. They stayed together until Frechette was arrested by Department of Investigation special agents on April 9, 1934, for harboring a criminal. the G-Men. Let's get the hell out of here." "Being married to him didn't amount to much. She never actively participated in any of the robberies, but on at least one occasion drove his getaway car. Another scenario involves the FBI spotting a suspicious car behind a corn crib prior to a shooting match between the FBI, Pretty Boy and a local man, who managed to disable Pretty Boy Floyd before the FBI killed him at point blank range. Hoover personally announced or personally approved of all press announcements on all cases. [3] They began a relationship soon after that. He caught himself and immediately introduced what the FBI would later use to excuse the marked differences in the facial appearances of the dead man and John Dillinger: "Neat bit of plastic surgery, that!". Zarkovich said that he had a slight acquaintance with a brothel madam named Anna Sage (a lie-she had been his mistress for years and he had protected her bordello operations in Lake County Indiana for years until she became so notorious that he had to move her operation to Chicago). He looked after me and bought me all kinds of jewelry and cars and pets, and we went places and saw things, and he gave me everything a girl wants. Mary Evelyn "Billie" Frechette (September 15, 1907 - January 13, 1969) was an American Menominee singer, waitress, convict, and lecturer known for her personal relationship with the bank robber John Dillinger in the early 1930s. . witnessed the shooting. He already knew about my story on Dillinger and when I asked him where Dillinger might be living, he said, "You seem to know everything else, how come you don't know that?". and tried to help him. (It was later determined that the men did not hear the FBI due to the car radio.) The gunfire prompted Dillinger's gang to start shooting from a second-floor window. Evelyn Frechette - Wikipedia Clark died a short time later. Kelly was captured by Memphis, Tennessee police detective sergeant William Raney, who slipped into Kelly's bedroom on the night of September 26, 1933, put an automatic to the kidnapper's head and awoke him with a nudge of that cold instrument. Frechette was arrested in Chicago. Although the term "gangster" is used for any criminal from the 1920s or 30s that operated in a group, it refers to two different breeds. Purvis arrived in Washington some days later and Hoover was waiting for him at the train station. In November 1933, she metJohn Dillingerat a dance hall. With twenty some agents, recently authorized to carry weapons and make arrests without local authority, Purvis and his men spread out in front of Little Bohemia Lodge, which has considerable frontage (I know, have been there several times), and slowly advanced in the darkness toward the place, where lights were showing on the ground floor. Dillinger and Frechette reunited in Chicago after Dillinger escaped from prison in Crown Point, Indiana. The hitch was that Zarkovich knew that Anna Sage, Polly Hamilton and "James Lawrence" were going to the Biograph all along. You Know John Dillinger, but Do You Know Evelyn Frechette? She attended a mission school on the reservation, and then was sent to a government boarding school for Indians in South Dakota. Dillinger saw her arrest from nearby and wanted to stop it but was talked out of it because it was too dangerous. There were dozens of other people I interviewed in covering that story, including Russell Clark, the last of the Dillinger gang released from prison (like Audett, dying of cancer). Lawrence Tierney as Public Enemy #1. Ms. Theresa Paulus received a slight flesh wound to the hip and was taken to Grant Hospital, while Mrs. Eta Natalsky received a bullet wound between the knee and thigh and was taken to Columbus Hospital. She served her term behind bars in Milan, Michigan at the Federal Correctional Farm for 2 years before being released in 1936. John 'Red' Hamilton, John Dillinger and Homer Van Meter escaped out a back door and headed north along the lake to Route 51 where they held up a local man and had him drive them away. In anarticlethat appeared in theChicago Herald and Examiner, Hamilton wrote: "Now that I know he was John Dillinger, I can understand why he always liked the shooting ranges. When Hoover took over the Bureau in 1924, replacing William Burns, the Bureau was a corrupt instrument of the Harding administration, with FBI agents like Gaston Bullock Means conducting widespread blackmail and extortion from a corner office in the Bureau and Hoover had a hell of a time getting rid of Means and others. The traveling show was "Crime Doesn't Pay. ", That same year, while at a dance hall, Billie Frechette met bank robber John Dillinger. Your email address will not be published. Dillinger was dissuaded from rescuing her by fellow gang members. Billies lawyer was the flamboyant Louis Piquette, a fellow Wisconsinite who would be immortalized as the lead male character in the musical CHICAGO. Will four fishermen take down the administrative state? That I did something wrong? He wasn't a 'junior.' She spent two years in jail, getting out in 1936. As the FBI agents were closing in on the Little Bohemia Lodge, the owner's dogs began to bark but Dillinger's gang thought nothing of it. According to FBI reports, two women in the crowd were also injured during the Biograph Theatre shooting. // cutting the mustard The role of agent Melvin Purvis is played by actor Christian Bale, Johnny Depp is John Dillinger, Marion Cotillard as Dillinger's girlfriend Billie Frechette. -PBS. Some music for this commentary camePodington Bear. which the prosecutor's arm can be seen Sage met with Special AgentMelvin Purvison July 19, 1934. Crime History: John Dillinger's girlfriend dies - Washington Examiner It was during this time that she met and married Welton Sparks. Pat Reilly and Pat Cherrington saw the shooting start when returning from St. Paul and reversed their car back to the main road to escape. "Why does Audrey Dillinger frequently go out there--she has no relatives living in California. He simply walked up behind the man, pushed him down to the cement and fired two bullets into the back of his head (proved by the autopsy), murdering him at close range, then walked away and Purvis and his agents rushed to the scene. Film wrong! Her work helped lay the foundation for modern codebreaking today. Besides being Dillinger's lover and companion, Frechette did his cooking and cleaning. Why he gave me the name Puente, California, I do not know, but I went there and met a man who talked to me while we both stood in a dark room. Hoover exploded, telling Purvis that if he did not capture Dillinger quickly, he would personally preside at Purvis' public crucifixion. Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Primary Sources: 'What I Knew About John Dillinger' By His Sweetheart", "American Experience | Public Enemy No. I came here because he asked me to. When "Big Bill" died, Sage took over the management of the East Chicago brothel where she had been working. She worked as a nurse there, but work was hard to come by. In fact, Frechette was so taken with Dillinger that she assumed a marital role for him and only once aided in his criminal activities; when she drove him to the hospital due to a leg injury from a skirmish with the police. Additionally, federal agents were given the right to carry weapons and make arrests. The ending of Public Enemies might not be as surreal as the ending of some other movies, but we have decided to explain what actually happened in the end of the movie. Her work helped lay the foundation for modern codebreaking today. No, John Dillinger is not single. Mirror of the Northwoods. You must know how all this worked in those days. the video, we observe him lying in the She attended the school for three years before moving to Milwaukee to live with her aunt. For four years, she attended a boarding school for Native Americans in Flandreau, South Dakota. When interviewing the curator of that cemetery years later, he told me: "Get that body out of there and examine it? Each time he asked about Frechette's appeal, even though he was already datingPolly Hamilton. At age 26, she fell in love with bank robber John Dillinger. She was released in 1936. Captain Matthew Leach headed the Indiana State Police during the Dillinger gang's heyday. In fact, when that work crew drove into that cemetery to pour all that iron, steel and concrete around that dead guy, John and I were sitting in the back of one of the trucks, and we helped them do the job. In addition to being a historian and educator, Gary R. Entz serves on WXPR's Board of Directors and writes WXPR's A Northwoods Moment in History which is heard Wednesdays on WXPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered. By that time, Dillinger, John Hamilton, Tommy Carroll and others in the gang, who had never fired a shot-there was no "battle"-went out the second floor back windows of the lodge, dropping to earth from a low roof and then ran along the shore of the lake in the darkness and all escaped.