Dillinger Death Mask on Display in Springfield

A plaster mask cast from the face of gangster John Dillinger after his death is going on display in Springfield.

The Illinois State Police Heritage Foundation museum in Springfield will display the mask from Thursday to Saturday, and has extended its visitor hours this weekend.

They say the mask is one of four cast from the face of the Prohibition-era gangster.

In 1934, an amateur criminologist worked his way past Cook County morgue guards to cast Dillinger's face after the FBI gunned down the bank robber in ambush outside Chicago's Biograph Theater.

The mask was among other Chicago memorabilia up for auction in 2010.

Dillinger was one of the most notorious criminals in U.S. history. He pulled off robberies and murders across four states between 1933 and 1934 before being gunned down by law enforcement.

The Dillinger death mask is part of the museum's Gangs of Illinois display.