Dillinger's legend has survived the decades, with items from his life still selling at auction for thousands of dollars. A wooden gun that John Dillinger's relatives say was hand-carved by the one-time "Public Enemy No. 1" sold for $19,120 at auction in December 2009. A handwritten letter from the gangster was also auctioned off last October. And another letter sold for more than $60,000 two months earlier.
There's also a John Dillinger Museum run by the South Shore Conventions Authority in Hammond. It's a rare collection of everything Dillinger, including his youth, his family and his Midwest bank robbing adventures in 1934.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.