NEWARK, N.J., May 14 (UPI) -- A prison form signed by legendary bank robber John Dillinger was removed from a New Jersey auction when it was revealed the document may be stolen.
The Indiana Department of Corrections contacted Robert Edwards Auctions in Watchung and said the paper might have been stolen from the reformatory where Dillinger stayed 80 years ago, the Star-Ledger reported Friday.
The paper, which contains personal information filled out by Dillinger when he entered the Pendleton state reformatory in February 1924, was located in a catalog of 873 collectibles.
Robert Lifson, auction house president, said he removed the item from the sale after receiving an e-mail from Willard Plank, chief of Internal Affairs Investigations for the Indiana Department of Corrections.
"If in fact this is our property and the item was taken from our custody without permission, then it is likely a criminal act has transpired at some level," Plank wrote.
The document is being held by Gotta Have It! Collectibles, which claims the item. The company's president, Robert Schagrin, said it will not be sold until the state's claim is considered.
