MN HF3394

Officer Leo Pavlak was killed by the Barker-Karpis Gang during a payroll robbery outside the South St. Paul Post Office on August 30, 1933.

Pavlak was escorting two bank messengers carrying payroll money for Swift and Company when armed robbers approached at 9:45 a.m.; he was shot and killed instantly while another officer, John Yeaman, was wounded.

Pavlak had served in the South St. Paul Police Department for only five months before his death at age 38, leaving behind his wife Pauline and two children, Eleanor and Robert.

The Minnesota Legislature requests that the President and Congress of the United States name the South St. Paul Post Office in memory of Officer Leo Pavlak.

The Secretary of State is directed to transmit copies of this memorial to the President, Congress leadership, and Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in Congress.