HAMMOND | After seven years of litigation, the Lake County Convention and Visitors Bureau and John Dillinger's great-nephew have come to an agreement that allowed the bureau's John Dillinger Museum to reopen Friday.
The agreement was announced at a bureau meeting that day.
Dillinger's great-nephew, Jeffery Scalf, operates Dillinger LLC, a company that licenses the image of the famous gangster. Scalf sued the bureau for its interactive Dillinger museum at the Indiana Welcome Center, which resulted in the museum closing to the public more than two years ago.
Details of the agreement are sealed.
"We are very thankful that we have come to an agreement and can build a relationship that we can move forward with," said Speros Batistatos, bureau chief executive officer and president.
The museum features a number of artifacts once owned by Dillinger, as well as often-grim re-creations of scenes from his life. The bureau purchased the artifacts from Joe Pinkston, who operated the John Dillinger Museum in Nashville, Ind., in 1997. The museum at the visitors center was opened in 1999.
The settlement comes just in time to capitalize on a resurgence of interest in the bank robber in the region. Director Michael Mann and movie star Johnny Depp were in Crown Point filming scenes for the new "Public Enemies" movie this week.
Scalf added, "I was eager to move ahead in the operation of my business ... that has numerous licensing agreements, including the Franklin Mint. I am pleased to put this matter behind me."
Scalf said one of his goals was to make the public aware that his great-uncle was not a killer.
"It's true that John Dillinger was accused of being involved in the killing of (East Chicago police Officer Thomas J.) O'Malley, however he was never found guilty of the charges," Scalf said.
The bureau board also adopted a resolution creating a litigation fund. Money from the riverboat and innkeepers tax will be transferred into the litigation fund on a monthly basis. Bureau attorney Dan Kuzman will decide the amount to be transferred into the account month to month.
According to Kuzman, the fund will be allowed to go dormant once litigation is resolved.
