

On July 14, 1941, Gleckman was driving with a blood-alcohol level of.

Gleckman was arrested a handful of times for various liquor operations and, in 1934, was the second man to ever be tried for federal tax evasion (Al Capone was the first). For all intents and purposes, he was in complete control of Saint Paul's government. From the hotel, he paid off police and city officials and met with gangsters and politicians. In 1930, he took over suite 301-303 at the iconic Saint Paul Hotel. Gleckman's influence was integral in getting Tom Brown appointed to Chief of Police who, in return, protected Gleckman's various rackets through the prohibition era. Paul Recreation Company"-a popular spot that publically offered legitimate activities such as billiards, swimming, boxing and bowling. Gleckman ran his first operation out of the Hamm Building, supplying booze, gambling and prostitutes under the guise of the "St. Leon Gleckman was known as the "Bootlegging Boss" and "Al Capone of Saint Paul". What could look more innocent?" Barker was killed alongside her son Fred during a shootout at their Florida hideout in 1935.īorn: J(Brody, Ukraine) Died: J(Saint Paul, Minnesota) When we traveled together, we moved as a mother and her sons. She wasn't a leader of criminals or even a criminal herself.she knew we were criminals, but her participation in our careers was limited to one function. Though some claim Barker was the dangerous brains of the entire Barker-Karpis operation, Alvin Karpis refuted that by saying, “The most ridiculous story in the annals of crime is that Ma Barker was the mastermind behind the Karpis-Barker gang. The gang's Saint Paul hideout still stands today at 1031 South Robert Street in West Saint Paul. Ma Barker traveled with the Barker-Karpis gang, eventually settling in Saint Paul under the guise of a normal mother living with her sons. Karpis later moved to Spain where he died of natural causes in 1979.īorn: Octo(Ash Grove, Missouri) Died: Janu(Ocklawaha, Florida)īetter known as Ma Barker, Katie Barker was the mother of Fred and Arthur "Doc" Barker. His return to his home country was not an easy one as he struggled to obtain passport credentials due to a lack of fingerprints-he had them removed by underworld physician Joseph Moran in 1934. With twenty-six years, Karpis served the longest sentence of any prisoner at Alcatraz Prison before being released and deported to Canada in 1969.
Gabgster shakespeer trial#
Karpis' trial was held at the Saint Paul Federal Court (now the Landmark Center). These kidnappings put Karpis on the FBI's radar and he hid from the authorities while continuing to commit various crimes before being captured in New Orleans in 1936. Karpis' most notable Saint Paul involvements were the kidnappings of millionaire Minnesota brewer William Hamm and Saint Paul banker Edward Bremer-netting the Barker-Karpis gang $100K and $200K, respectively. He was the final Public Enemy #1 of the gangster-era (and the only to be taken alive). Nicknamed "Creepy" for his sinister smile, Alvin Karpis was one of three leaders of the bank-robbing Barker-Karpis gang in the 1930s. As Prohibition lost steam in the late 1920s, bootleggers shifted to other illegal means of turning a profit (i.e., bank robbing and kidnapping).īorn: Aug(Montreal, Quebec, Canada) Died: Aug(Torremolinos, Spain) At the peak of Prohibition (which began in 1919), it only made sense that the gangster haven of Saint Paul became a center for bootlegging operations and, subsequently, other criminal activities. When O'Connor retired from the force in 1920, things started to get out of hand. While incredibly corrupt, the agreement was largely successful in preventing crime in Saint Paul for the entirety of O'Connor's tenure as Chief of Police. The Layover Agreement was an unofficial contract between criminals and O'Connor which stated that gangsters were allowed to take refuge within the city limits under three conditions: 1) they must register or "check in" with police upon arrival at downtown's Hotel Savoy 2) they must agree to pay bribes to the police and city officials 3) they must commit no major crimes within the city. In an era wrought with illicit activities of smuggling, gambling and racketeering, O'Connor devised a plan to keep crime out of Saint Paul-by harboring criminals within it.

In 1900, Saint Paul Detective John O'Connor was promoted to the city's Chief of Police. In order to understand what drew these troublemakers to the Capital City, one needs to take a closer look at the political climate of Saint Paul during the late 1920s and early 1930s-starting with a particularly corrupt deal enacted at the turn of the century called the O'Connor Layover Agreement. It's been more than 80 years since the nation's most notorious criminals blighted Saint Paul.
