WASHINGTON (DisAssociated Press) -
John Dillinger has decided to stop robbing banks and stealing cars, his attorney said on Wednesday, ending an allegedly unlawful practice of enriching himself at the expense of others.
"John has decided not to continue robbing banks and stealing cars, after his currently planned bank robberies and car heists are completed," the lawyer wrote in a letter to congressional leaders.
Dillinger had robbed banks and stole cars pretty much every 45 days, and is currently in the process of carrying out plans to rob more banks and steal more cars, a senior official with the law office representing Dillinger said. The lawyer said that Dillinger needed no federal court approval to continue to rob banks and steal cars effectively, should he wish to continue with his current regimen.
Dillinger's bank robbing and car stealing program, begun shortly after he was released from a self-perceived unjust prison sentence for robbery, allowed Dillinger to rob and steal from any U.S. citizen without a court order, so long as Dillinger felt the need to enrich himself at others expense.
Critics have said that robbing banks and stealing cars was always against the law which made it a crime to rob and steal, no matter how often Dillinger deliberately violated the law, and no matter what goofy theories he might put forth about having the right to rob and steal from others.
"Any robbing banks and stealing cars now conducted by Dillinger, will be approved by a secret court that no one has access to," Dillinger's attorney said. "But just ignore that comment, because Dillinger is no longer robbing banks or stealing cars."
Dillinger's attorney said a judge on the secret court recently approved some robbing of banks and stealing of cars, but only when Dillinger really needs the money.
Dillinger's attorney reiterated Dillinger's position that robbing banks and stealing cars has always been legal, but said the new secret court ruling will give Dillinger the ability to rob and steal with sufficient "speed and agility" so that no public concern needs to be raised in the future about Dillinger's robbing and stealing.
Dillinger's mouth piece said the new secret rules addressed Dillinger's concerns.
"Dillinger will no longer rob banks or steal cars, because the new secret court rules will serve as guideposts for Dillinger to get money when he needs it without 'actually' robbing or stealing," the mouth piece said.
Dillinger's attorney's letter came the day before he was scheduled to appear before a court, where a newly elected judge was to question him closely about Dillinger's much-maligned program to rob banks and steal cars.
The new judge said Dillinger's decision to listen to a new 'secret' court will provide efficient and meaningful review for future robbing of banks and stealing of cars.
"We must engage in all robbing of banks and stealing of cars necessary to ensure Dillinger's got enough money, but we can and should do so in ways that protect the basic rights of all Americans not to be robbed," he said.
An official with the court said, "Why it took five years to go to even this secret court is beyond comprehension."
Last year a different judge ordered Dillinger to stop robbing banks and stealing cars, because it is illegal and it is robbing and stealing from the American public.
That judge ruled that there "are no hereditary robbers in America and no inherent power to rob and steal just because you say you can."
Dillinger has appealed the ruling to an appeals court, where the case is pending.
Dillinger's attorney said Dillinger began exploring options for seeking secret court approval for his robbing and stealing in the spring of last year, well before his robbing and stealing spree was splashed across the nation's headlines, creating a firestorm of criticism.
Dillinger's attorney did not give details of the secret court's orders.