The
infamous "woman in red" who was instrumental in the death of the
gangster John Dillinger. She was a
Romanian immigrant facing
deportation charges related to the running of
brothels in
Gary, Indiana and East
Chicago. She was also the one renting an apartment to Polly Hamilton, Dillinger's
girlfriend. Sage went to the
police and offered to identify Dillinger in return for
reward money and help blocking her deportation. The
FBI told her the deal was acceptable and it was arranged for Dillinger to take her and Hamilton to the
movies. They ended up seeing the
Clark Gable gangster film
Manhattan Melodrama at Chicago's
Biograph theater. Sage actually wore an
orange skirt that only
looked red in the
artificial lighting around the
theater. Following the
movie, as the three walked by, an agent lit a
cigar as the prearranged signal to move in on public enemy number one. Dillinger realizing his predicament grabbed for his
gun and ran off toward an
alley. Five shots were fired at the fleeing
criminal, three hitting and killing him.
For her part, Sage got $5000 reward money but the FBI did not give her help with immigration and she was subsequently deported.