The Gordons of Cle-Mar
The Barker-Karpis gang had to leave their first St. Paul residence when the landlord’s son recognized them from their profile in True Detective magazine and called police. Thanks to the O’Connor system, police tipped the gang off to a raid, giving them time to flee. The gang settled at the Cle-Mar as “The Gordons.” When the FBI raided that residence, the building’s janitor reported that they would be away for several-week stretches.
And when the FBI inspected their apartment, it had numerous chauffer’s caps inside. Historian Paul Maccabee says the caps were popular with criminals, used as a disguise. The caps gave them a reason to be sitting in a car outside a bank or a residence for extended periods of time. The Barker Gang, minus some of their cap collection, soon moved on to an apartment about two miles away, at 1290 Grand Avenue (today the Grand Heritage apartments).
