What became of her (and Dolores Delaney,now
that I think of it)?

Hi,

These two molls (Dolores Delaney and Paula Harmon) are featured in two wonderful books about gangsters and their gals. They are: "Don't Call Us Molls: Women of the John Dillinger Gang" by Ellen Poulsen, published in 2002 by Clinton Book Publishing Corp. and "Public Enemies" by Bryan Burrough, published in 2004 by The Penguin Press. Each book has significant information on the two gals, which you are requesting info on. I would highly recommend them to you.

Mike Koch

Neither of these books really answer the question tho and while both are good there are a lot of inaccuracies in Burrough's book.
M.D.

p.s. Ellen's great book, "Don't Call Us Molls", is published by the Clinton Cook Publishing Corp., not Clinton Book.

Hi all,

Correct! The Clinton Cook Publishing Corp., in Little Neck, New York.

Paula Harmon had a nervous breakdown after being interrogated from September 5, 1934 to September 25, 1934, in Cleveland, by FBI agents. This was when she, Wynona Burdette and Gladys Sawyer (and Francine--Sawyer's daughter or guest) were arrested by Cleveland police.
Harmon was hospitalized for about 24 hours after she surfaced. Then, she took a train to Port Arthur, Texas. She was interviewed the next month, at the home of her parents. The agent determined she would not make a good witness for any upcoming trials. Her mental condition was too shaky.
Over the next months, she got worse. She attempted suicide a number of times and on January 20, 1935 (just four days after Fred and Kate Barker met their fate), she was ordered by the court to the State Hospital for Insane at Rusk, Texas. She was in that institution for about 18-20 months.
When interviewed again in 1936, the FBI agent found she was working out of her parents home, doing sewing. Her mental condition was still not too good. But, she was making a fair amount of money from the sewing.
Dolores Delaney went to St.Paul and Chicago after prison. She tried to reconnect with her son, but he didn't know her. He thought of his grandparents as his parents.
Dolores tried several times over the years to connect, but to no avail. Ultimately, her son recognized her as his mother but kept his distance.
Karpis and Dolores were both disappointed when their child did time for burglaries at about age nineteen--at Joliet.
Dolores was still alive in 1958, but don't know what happened after that.
Her son devoted much of his life to criminal activity, but later tamed down.

One more item about Paula Harmon.
It has been always stated that Harmon was confined for alcoholism. That was not true. It was the nervous breakdown.
The FBI summary reports don't seem to agree with other information in their files. I have learned that summary reports were constructed to make the bureau look good to their own agents and certain agents were selected to present the best view of the bureau.
The only explanation for this has to be that the bureau had a reputation for their treatment of suspects and witnesses. They would always deny charges of brutality, but too many times, agent Sam McKee was called in to interrogate someone who would eventually give up the information he sought.
McKee, allegedly, may have sexually assaulted Vi Mathis during her long interrogation that was unsuccessful until McKee was called in. For those who don't already know, Mathis was Vern Miller's lady.
Anyway, between being accused of brutal questioning and having a reputation of being the gang who couldn't shoot straight, the bureau did all possible to look good.
The summary reports were carefully prepared, probably, because, if they ever came to light, the best image of the bureau would be preserved.