Melvin Purvis

Overview… an innovative lawman with a very big job. In the early 1930s, the war on crime is not going well. The shadow of the Great Depression languishes over the American landscape, and crime runs rampant. Amongst the hordes of petty criminals, a few exceptional thieves emerge – especially celebrity bank robbers. The most infamous of their number is the theatrical, serial offender John Dillinger. Unable to live with the constant bank robberies, J. Edgar Hoover helps form the nation’s preeminent Federal Law enforcement agency: the FBI. But an agency is only as good as the men working it, and to catch the best, the FBI will have to employ the best. That means hiring Melvin Purvis. A lawman who embraces scientific methods, Purvis is made head of the FBI Chicago Field Office and tasked with taking out Federal Enemy Number One: Dillinger.

Personality… smart, honorable, and tough. A man of deep convictions, Melvin Purvis firmly believes in Hoover’s vision of a scientific and modern force of crime fighters. He recognizes that the first step in creating such an agency is gaining the public’s trust, something that can only be done by capturing a major prize like Dillinger. While Purvis is a principled man he tends to think about the big picture – a mindset that allows him to stomach some less-than-ethical compromises that have to be made in order to ensure a brighter future for his agency. Dogged, tough, and smart as hell, Melvin Purvis might be one of the only men with a shot at catching the elusive John Dillinger.