Roemer, who had developed a liking for Humphreys in the course of his dealings with him, purposely did not include himself among the agents he sent to arrest the mobster. When the three selected agents knocked on the door of Humphreys' apartment it was opened by Humphreys, with a 38-caliber revolver in his hand. One of the agents is quoted as saying: "Murray, for Christ's sake, you know we're FBI agents, put down the gun". The agents overpowered the aging, 66 years old, mobster without much difficulty and handcuffed him. There was a safe in the apartment, and the agents decided to make a "search" "incident to the arrest", which was outside Humphreys' knowledge of law. They asked Humphreys to hand over the key, which Humphreys refused to do. Another struggle ensued, which ended in the agents forcibly taking the key from Humphreys' pants pocket and opening the safe. Its contents and Humphreys were taken downtown where Humphreys' restaurateur friend, Morrie Norman, posted bail for him.