Minnesota was once considered mobster friendly, partially by an agreement created by the 1900 St. Paul Police Chief, John O’Conner. The O’Connor Layover Agreement allowed criminals to stay in St. Paul under three conditions: 1. They checked in with police at the Hotel Savoy upon their arrival. 2. They agreed to pay bribes to city officials. 3. They committed no major crimes in the city of St. Paul. This arrangement lasted for almost 40 years, ending when rampant corruption forced local citizens and the federal government to intervene. As you can imagine, the agreement didn’t work particularly well, as mobsters came to make the Twin Cities their home and quickly emerged into power with prohibition. By 1920, mobsters began committing other high-profile crimes, including kidnapping, tax evasion and illegal gaming operations. Kate Barker, known as “Ma Barker” was born Arizona Donnie Clark; October 8, 1873 – January 16, 1935)., J. Edgar Hoover, who served as Director of the FBI from Roosevelt to Nixon, described Ma Barker as "the most vicious, dangerous, and resourceful criminal brain of the last decade." Ma Barker’s first husband left her because he didn’t feel she held their boys accountable. It is believed that her 2nd husband was killed by her son, Fred Barker, after the man was abusive to her. Like many other organized crime organizations, the Barker-Karpis gang made its home in St. Paul, Minnesota, in the early 1930s. Their hideout home, located at 1031 South Robert Street in St. Paul, still stands today. The gang was made up of her four sons, Fred, Arthur, Lloyd and Herman Barker, along with a number of accomplices, including the infamous Alvin Karpis and Charles Fitzgerald. Herman was the first killed in a shootout with police in Wichita, Kansas in 1927. Herman had been wounded and shot himself to avoid incarceration. On June 15, 1933, the Barker-Karpis gang masterminded the high-profile kidnapping of William A. Hamm, Jr., President of the Theodore Hamm Brewing Company. Hamm was abducted just after leaving his office to walk home on his lunch break. Four members of the gang grabbed him and pushed him into the back of a car parked at the corner of Minnehaha Avenue and Greenbrier Street (formerly Cable Street). A $100,000 ransom secured Hamm’s release a few days later on June 19, but the kidnapping marked a new era in St. Paul crime. William was released to a family in Wyoming, Minnesota in the successful exchange. Most people don’t realize how formidable William Hamm’s Jr. and Edward Bremer Jr. (of banking and Schmidt beer fame) were 100 years ago. Odd piece of Pierz history: Pierz was once told by the state they needed to have a public school (a little over 100 years ago). It was suggested you can’t have a public school district, with all Catholic schools. Theodore Hamm Jr. offered to help out by buying the land for Pierz, to build the school on and donating to the city. However, If Pierz didn’t build a school, the land went back to Hamm’s Brewery. The agreement was signed by William Hamm’s Jr. in 1910. In 1969 Pierz built Healy High school. All it took was waiting for everyone who voted against it to die. One year later, in 1934, the Barker-Karpis gang targeted Edward George Bremer Jr., the president of Commercial State Bank and son of the owner of Schmidt Brewery. The gang took Bremer on Jan. 17, 1934. He was released three weeks later after his family handed over roughly $200,000. With a combined effort that included fingerprints extracted from ransom notes, tips provided by Bremer, and a gas can covered with the fingerprints of Arthur Barker, the FBI had enough evidence to hone in on the Barker-Karpis Gang. Fingerprints of Alvin Karpis and Arthur Barker were extracted from the ransom note, giving the FBI the evidence they needed to go after the gang. Ma Barker’s boys were believed to have tried to escape the law with “back-room plastic surgery.” It didn’t keep them from being found. Arthur Barker was arrested on January 8, 1935, in Chicago. Arthur was often called on for violent behavior. Regardless of the surgery, the ransom money was marked, and the FBI was able to track where the money was being spent. Baker was shot and killed attempting to escape from Alcatraz. He had sawed off 4 bars and made it over the wall but was shot and killed attempting to float away on a foggy night on his hand made raft. Kate, “Ma”, Barker and her son Fred were chased to Florida. Ma Barker was the boss for the Barker-Karpis gang. Ma and her son, Fred, died in the upper left bedroom in the house pictured above in Florida in a shoot-out with police. Sometimes when I read these reports it would seem like a bad comedy, if you didn’t know it was true and people died. On May 1, 1936, the FBI got a tip that Alvin Karpis was in New Orleans. J. Edgar Hoover flew a couple dozen agents to Louisiana, and they surrounded Karpis in his Plymouth coupe. Hoover ordered that Karpis be handcuffed, but none of the agents had brought handcuffs along. Karpis ended up being tied up with someone’s necktie. Hoover’s arrest of Karpis, who was Public Enemy #1, catapulted Hoover into popularity. Karpis, who had killed law enforcement officers in Missouri, pled guilty to kidnapping William Hamm Jr. Karpis was sentenced to life, but paroled in the 1960’s. He died in Spain in 1979 from an accidental overdose of pills and alcohol. An interesting piece of trivia is that Karpis taught Charles Manson to play guitar in prison, before Manson was released and directed the Helter Skelter murders. Karpis served 26 of his 33 years in Alcatraz and was frequently involved in fights. Thanks for listening, Frank Upcoming Events: Tuesday, February 28, 2023, presentation from 1:00-2:30 p.m. on forensic work and the writing of True Crime mysteries for the Headwaters Center for Lifelong Learning. The event will occur at the Armory Arts & Events Center in Park Rapids and is open to the public. Frank will present a live demonstration of a lie detector test (feel free to volunteer—or volunteer a friend) so you can see how lie detection works. Frank will be signing and selling books at the presentation. Ask the questions you’d love to ask about forensic work or forensic shows. Frank will share some of the newest forensic tools and speak a little about what they get wrong on movies and TV. The Armory Arts & Events Center is located at 203 Park Avenue South, Park Rapids, Minnesota, 56470. Saturday, March 18, 2023, Frank Weber will be at Barnes and Noble in St. Cloud at 11:00 a.m. discussing Black and Blue. This is an informal get together inviting anyone who is interested. It’s a great opportunity for people who have read Black and Blue to learn about the circumstances that led to writing this mystery. The true story of the search for 19-year-old Sadie Sullivan's killer. A chance meeting between Officer Zave Williams and Sadie changed his life and ended hers. Zave joins Investigator Jon Frederick as a black and white team reopening a cold case with a lot of gray–contaminated evidence, questionable court decisions, and two opposing hardened suspects. This will be his last Barnes and Noble presentation until May when he presents on The Haunted House of Hillman. Barnes and Noble is located at Rainbow Village, 3940 Division Street, St Cloud, Minnesota, 56301. Thursday, March 23, 2023, Forensic Psychologist, Frank F. Weber, will be at Douglas County Library in Alexandria, speaking from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. on the writing of True Crime, forensic work and his latest book. Black and Blue is a thrilling mystery based on the murder of a police officer’s 19-year-old fiancé in Minneapolis. Frank will share the intriguing circumstances that led to this true crime thriller. Frank will demonstrate a lie detector test (volunteer a friend). Frank will be at the library from 5:00 to 8:00 answer questions on his work, and to sign and sell his books and to discuss the latest forensic tools. The Douglas County Library is located at: 720 Fillmore Street, Alexandria, Minnesota, 56308. Monday, March 27, 2023, Forensic Psychologist, Frank F. Weber, will be at the Bon Ton Tavern in Luck, Wisconsin, speaking from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. on the writing of True Crime, forensic work and his newest books. Black and Blue is a thrilling mystery based on the murder of a police officer’s 19-year-old fiancé in Minneapolis. The Haunted House of Hillman. {H2 OH} is based on the true story of a search for a criminal that keeps leading back to crimes that occurred at one house. Frank will share the amazing stories of victim survival that led to the resolution of this true crime thriller. Frank will share the intriguing circumstances that led to this true crime thriller. Frank will demonstrate a lie detector test (volunteer a friend). Frank will be at the Bon Ton Tavern from 5:30 to 8:30 answering questions on his work, to sign and sell his books and to discuss the latest forensic tools. The Bon Ton Tavern is located at: 212 Main Street South, Luck, Wisconsin, 54843. Thursday, March 30, 2023, Forensic Psychologist, Frank F. Weber, will be at the Great River Regional Library in Sauk Centre, speaking from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. on the writing of True Crime, forensic work and his latest book. Black and Blue is a thrilling mystery based on the murder of a police officer’s 19-year-old fiancé in Minneapolis. Frank will share the intriguing circumstances that led to this true crime thriller. Frank will demonstrate a lie detector test (volunteer a friend). Frank will be at the library from 5:00 to 8:00 answering questions on his work, and to sign and sell his books and to discuss the latest forensic tools. The Sauk Centre Library is located at: 430 Main Street South, Sauk Centre, Minnesota, 56378
1 Comment
|
AuthorFrank F. Weber is a forensic psychologist specializing in homicide and sexual and physical assault cases. He uses his unique understanding of how predator’s think, knowledge of victim trauma, actual court cases, and passion for writing true crime thrillers. His Award Winning books include "Murder Book" (2017) "The I-94 Murders" (2018) "Last Call" (2019) and "Lying Close" (September 2020). Archives
April 2024
Categories |