Everyone knows about Al Capone and John Dillinger, but a lesser known gangster of American folklore was the 'Lizzard'. He got this name through an unfortunate childhood accident which resulted in him having a split lip.
At the time of J Edgar Hoovers FBI purge against public enemies the G men were lucky enough to track the Lizzard to a remote road running beside a river. After a terrible gun fight the FBI managed to to nudge the gangsters car over the edge and into the swirling waters. Everyone assumed the Lizzard was killed in the crash, but J Edgar Hoover fostered doubts and wanted indisputable evidence to put the case to rest. A bright young agent had the brilliant idea of stopping the flowing waters by turning off the upstream weir. Once the waters had subsided they would be able to retrieve the body.
The local press got hold of the story and the following day the headlines read:
