[1] Born and raised in North St. Louis to Irish-American parents, John and his brother Harry, known as "Cherries", joined the Egan's Rats in their teens.
Upon his parole in 1917, John "Pudgy" Dunn swore to kill Willie Egan and everyone else connected to his brother's murder, specifically the two triggermen, Walter Costello and Frank "Gutter" Newman.
Willie Egan managed to temporarily escape Pudgy Dunn's wrath when John was busted for another murder in early January 1919.
By 1924, John "Pudgy" Dunn had relocated to Detroit, along with Fred "Killer" Burke, Gus Winkler, and other former members of the Egan's Rats.
After an evening's work, Pudgy Dunn was entering his Goodfellow Avenue apartment building at 3:50 a.m. on July 14, 1937, when a gunman opened fire with a sawed-off shotgun.