In late May 1934, Dillinger made two decisions that reflected the degree of his desperation: he would change his face, and he would remove his fingerprints.
The arrangements were made through his lawyer, Louis Piquett, who connected Dillinger with Dr. Wilhelm Loeser, a German-born Chicago physician who had served time in Leavenworth on a narcotics conviction and was willing to provide off-the-books medical services to criminal clients. Loeser was assisted by Dr. Harold Bernard Cassidy. The price for the full procedure — facial alteration and fingerprint destruction — was $5,000.
The operations took place over approximately two days, May 27-28, 1934, at the Chicago home of James Probasco, a bar owner who provided a safe location. The facial work included removing three moles from Dillinger’s forehead, eliminating a prominent scar, smoothing his chin’s cleft, and tightening the cheeks. Loeser used kangaroo tendons as sutures in some of the work.
During the operation, Dillinger nearly died. When placed under general anesthetic using ether, he swallowed his tongue and stopped breathing. Loeser revived him. The remaining work was completed under local anesthetic.
Dillinger’s response to the results was reportedly unhappy. He said he didn’t look any different. This assessment was broadly correct: the facial work was crude, the results were not dramatic, and photographs of Dillinger taken close to the time of his death suggest that his features were still recognizable to anyone who knew his prior photographs well.
Van Meter underwent a similar procedure at the same location, was dissatisfied with his results, and reportedly threatened to kill Loeser over the outcome.