Do You Know About the St. Paul “Welcome Mat” for Mobsters?

History is interesting to me. Learning about how things transpired that set up how we do things now can be fun to learn about and get an idea of why certain things are the way they are. 

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One area I have a particular interest in is mob related stories and the mafia. I’m not sure why this has piqued my interest, but it always has.  

So, when I moved to Minnesota last year, I was surprised to learn about the mafia connection to our state. For nearly 40 years, from the early 1900’s to nearly 1940, in St. Paul there was a known policy that was in place for gangsters called the “O'Connor Layover Agreement”.  

According to historictwincities.com, this was an agreement that the St. Paul Police Chief John O’Connor and any gangsters that came to the city.  There were three aspects of this agreement: 

Any gangsters who came to the area had to check into the police department. 

They had to send cash to the police department and then they could not commit any serious crimes within the City of St. Paul. But that did not include Minneapolis.  

The “O’Connor Layover Agreement” coincided with prohibition which ran from the late 1900’s to nearly the mid 1930’s. During that time while the rest of the country was dry, St. Paul was known as one of the wettest cities in America.  

Prohibition was designed to eliminate alcohol in America, but it led to an increase in organized crime. St. Paul became a popular spot for some of the biggest names “The Mob” ever produced.  

Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly (not the rapper, the real gangster), John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson were among the famous mobsters who spent time in St. Paul. Again, with the “Agreement” in place, this was a place they could relax and enjoy life for a while.  

All of this came to an end when some citizens along with the United States Government finally were able to bring an end to the “O’Connor Layover Agreement”.  

This led to a decrease in organized crime in the state, but did it eliminate it all together? That depends on who you ask.