VALPARAISO | A man kicked out of The Franklin House bar because of his "vulgarity and state of intoxication" went outside, hit his girlfriend, and then used his car to crash into the building and run over a man standing in the parking lot, police said.

HAMMOND -- The doors of the John Dillinger Museum swung open at 1 p.m. Friday, signaling the end of a long and bitter court fight that pitted county tourism officials against Dillinger's great-nephew.

The museum, which focuses on the life and times of Dillinger and other Depression-era gangsters, is located inside the Indiana Welcome Center on the southwest corner of Kennedy Avenue and Interstate 94 in Hammond.

Attorneys representing the Lake County Convention and Visitors Bureau and Jeffery Scalf reached an out-of-court agreement late Thursday. The bureau formally accepted the deal early Friday.

Details of the settlement were not disclosed. Both sides said in a prepared statement they were pleased to bring the lawsuit to an amicable conclusion.

The board's action came two days after filming of "Public Enemies," about John Dillinger and starring Johnny Depp, wrapped up in Crown Point.

Convention and Visitors Bureau President Speros Batistatos said the movie has rekindled interest in Dillinger's history, which he described as a regional story.

Scalf filed suit in 2001 to prevent the museum from displaying Dillinger artifacts. His attorneys argued that state law gives relatives the rights to control a personality's name and image for 100 years after their death.

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Admission is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors and $2 for children ages 6 to 12.

Meth bust sets record: $1.2M

Lake County Sheriff's Police made the largest methamphetamine seizure in the history of the department Friday, taking $1.2 million of the drug from a secret compartment of a car driven by a Hoffman Estates, Ill., man.

Police pulled over Kevin Lozano on a traffic stop as he was driving north on Interstate 65 near Lowell in a Buick Century sedan, with his girlfriend and her three children in car seats in the back seat. Behind the seat, concealed in a secret compartment, were clear plastic bags holding 25 pounds of yellow-white crystal meth.

The driver, who has no prior criminal record, appeared nervous, prompting Detective Michael Stewart to ask to search the vehicle. To get to the compartment, Stewart had to unhitch the car seats for the three children, ages 5 to 1 month.

"The children were clearly there to cover up the compartment in case of a search," Stewart said. "Who's going to want to pull three kids out of their car seats to look?"

Sheriff's officers pried open the secret compartment, which the dealers had rigged to open by striking switches for normal parts of the car's electrical system in sequence.

The sealed bags of methamphetamine lying on a table in the Drug Task Force offices Friday gave off a faint, chemical smell that filled the room.

"You can imagine what it could have been like inside a car with the windows rolled up and the kids bouncing up and down on the seat," said Officer Ed Kabella. "It's giving me a headache."

The 21-year-old driver was arrested and lodged at the Lake County Jail. The woman was in the custody of the FBI. Sheriff's officials contacted Child Protective Services to care for the children.

The drugs were likely headed for sale and distribution in Chicago, authorities said. Lozano told Stewart he was returning from a trip to Indianapolis.

Task Force Cmdr. Zon Haralovich said the bust was likely a major blow to whomever hired Lozano, taking more than $1 million in product and a sophisticated courier vehicle out of commission.

"This is a major disruption. Somebody out there is paying for this," Haralovich said. "They're going to be spinning their wheels trying to recoup their losses."

Hmmm. I'm curious what the sign said too. If this guy wasn't threatening anyone, or if unless the sign said "I'm gonna kill W" or something like that, it does seem odd that they cuffed him. Did they arrest him?

Exactly what the sign said makes the difference. Btw, what if you had a sign that said "GWB is a dickhead"...can you get arrested for that? It'd almost be worth it.

TIS

I couldn't begin to count how many pickup trucks there are around here, even if I were to use each and every individual hair on my head to keep track.

What state?

We have some of the world's stupidest criminals here.

I think the #1 example of dumb Arizona criminals would be Sammy Gravanno. The guy does a few years jail time after confessing to 19 murders and then moves out to Arizona. He can't go legit and gets busted for selling ecstacy and other drugs. Now he's back where he belongs - behind bars, probably for life.

I think the #1 example of dumb Arizona criminals would be Sammy Gravanno. The guy does a few years jail time after confessing to 19 murders and then moves out to Arizona. He can't go legit and gets busted for selling ecstacy and other drugs. Now he's back where he belongs - behind bars, probably for life.

Forty shopping carts, worth $500, were stolen from Town and Country Market at 1605 Calumet Ave.

Police said a man had given a shelf stocker a card identifying himself as an employee of "Quality Smart Cart Service" in Gary and told her he would be back to pick up some damaged carts. A store manager, however, told police the man had no authority to take the carts.

It turns out that not only the criminals are dumb in this part of AZ:
Today's local paper reports that, eight days ago, a city policeman had to use the john at a local supermarket. He took off his gun and belt, and put them on the top of the toilet tank. Then, according to the story released by the Police Dept., he got an emergency call on his radio and ran out of the john, leaving his gun behind. The gun disappeared.

The department reviewed surveillance tapes that showed--thank goodness, they said--that no kids, only adults, entered the john between the time the cop ran out and the gun was reported missing. But they still haven't recovered the gun. Why'd they wait eight days before reporting the gun missing? Because, says a Police Department spokesperson, they were "hoping that the person who took the gun would attempt to pawn it...we registed the gun as missing on a nationwide network, so if it had been pawned, we would have been able to arrest the perp." Yeah, sure. That cop had better start looking for another job.

PORTER COUNTY | A pit stop at the side of the interstate early Wednesday morning ended with a Valparaiso couple being sent to the Porter County Jail.

At 2:43 a.m., Indiana State Police Trooper Glen Fifield was sitting stationary, running radar, on the inner shoulder of westbound on I-94 at the 20 mile marker just east of State Road 149 when a red 1999 Honda Civic pulled onto the outer shoulder directly across from him. Police said Fifield watched as the male occupant got out of vehicle and allegedly began to relieve himself on the side of the road.

Fifield proceeded to put his spot light on the individual, later identified as Scott Varnes, 48, of Valparaiso, police said.

Varnes' wife, Rachel Varnes, 32, also of Valparaiso, was allegedly driving the car. The couple allegedly told Fifield that Scott Varnes got out of the car because its check engine light was on.

When asked if they did not see the fully marked police car sitting directly across from them, Scott Varnes allegedly told Fifield, "We're not trained to look for police officers."

Rachel Varnes was arrested for operating while intoxicated, a Class C misdemeanor, and taken to Porter County Jail.

Scott Varnes was arrested for public nudity, a Class C misdemeanor, and public intoxication, a Class B misdemeanor. He, too, was taken to the Porter County Jail.

Thats news????