He died at the Fresno, California, Veterans Administration Medical Center in 2002 at age 77 of complications from Parkinson's disease.
Mayor Dworak claimed among the successes of his administration construction of the Missouri River sewage treatment plant; new swimming pools, golf courses and housing for the aged; revamping the police communications system; and cooling racial unrest.
[1] In general, however, his tenure was considered rocky, culminating in an incitement for bribery during his re-election campaign in 1965.
Murphy initially dismissed the case against Planning Board member Carville R. "Barney" Buttner, while the others were tried together and found guilty.
[4] The Nebraska Supreme Court overturned Murphy's dismissal of the case against Buttner, who then pleaded no contest to a charge of malfeasance in public office, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced to a fine of $200.