THIS DAY IN CRIME HISTORY: JANUARY 5, 1945

On this date in 1945, Albany, NY Police Chief William Fitzpatrick was shot and killed in his office at police headquarters. It all started when the Chief's bodyguard and longtime friend, Detective John McElveney, entered the office at 3:00 PM. The two men broke into an argument. The argument ended at 3:10 when Detective McElveney drew his pistol and shot Chief Fitzpatrick in the head, killing him.

According to the Albany Police and the D.A.'s office, the argument was part of an "ongoing dispute." The nature of this dispute was never revealed.

Detective McElveney was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison, avoiding the appointment with the electric chair that usually awaited most cop killers back in those days. He was released in 1957, when his sentence was commuted by Governor Averill Harriman. He died of cancer in 1968 at the age of 71.

There are those who believe that Chief Fitzpatrick, back when he was a sergeant, was one of the gunmen who killed gangster Legs Diamond in 1931. But that murder will have to remain a mystery; at least until some enterprising true crime writer unearths the truth.

Further reading:

Albany Police - Chief William J. Fitzpatrick

O Albany!, by William Kennedy