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Jul 2, 2009 6:42 pm US/Central
Take A Tour Of Dillinger's St. Paul Hangouts
ST. PAUL (WCCO) ―
Johnny Depp stars in the new gangster movie "Public Enemies" that opened this week. He plays notorious robber and murderer John Dillinger who was a frequent visitor to St. Paul.
The new movie covers the last year of Dillinger's life when he was the first Public Enemy Number One.
Author Paul Maccabee, who wrote about Dillinger, shows WCCO the places that connect Dillinger and his girlfriend to St. Paul.
"It was a deal, a contract, between the St. Paul Police Department and the underworld which said 'Come to St. Paul,'" said Maccabee.
And that's just what gangster Dillinger and girlfriend Billie Brochette did in the 1930s.
"Let us know where you're staying, so there's no surprises. And promise not to kill anyone within the city limits of St. Paul," Maccabee said about the agreement.
The couple lived on the third floor of the Lincoln Court Apartments on Lexington Avenue. This Mississippi River Boulevard home was the Hollyhocks Club where Dillinger ordered steak sandwiches.
It reportedly had a secret trap door.
"When the gangsters killed anybody, they would bring the corpse down the trap door and down to the river," said Maccabee.
The Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul used to be the Federal Building.
"So the FBI, which led the hunt for John Dillinger out of the second floor office," said Maccabee.
At the Lincoln Court Apartments, the FBI cornered Dillinger.
"Opens the door, smiles at the cops and opens fire," described Maccabee.
"Not a master criminal. Not a single bullet from John Dillinger's gun touched any of the FBI or St. Paul Police officers," said Maccabee.
His girlfriend later went on trial tried in a courtroom in the Landmark Center for harboring a fugitive.
"Billie went to prison because of her love affair with John Dillinger," said Maccabee.
But clearly Dillinger was no Johnny Depp.
"John Dillinger kind of catted around a little bit, slept with prostitutes. I don't think he was the Johnny Depp ideal of a romantic leading man in real life," said Maccabee.
And you might be interested to learn that a "Public Enemies" exhibit opens next Friday at the Landmark Center. It includes original items including a police gun used to shoot Dillinger and a bullet ridden straw hat warn by his gang member when he was killed by police.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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