Given the power that the O'Connell machine held in Albany and its determination to prevent organized crime, other than their own, from establishing itself in the city and threatening their monopoly of vice, some accept this account of the story. For those believing this theory, Fitzpatrick's promotion to Chief of Police is said to have been a reward for executing Diamond. In 1945, Chief Fitzpatrick himself was shot and killed in his own office by John McElveney, an Albany police detective. Detective McElveney was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. He was released in 1957 when his sentence was commuted by Governor W. Averell Harriman.