Customs Agent Daniel A. Romberger

Daniel A. Romberger

Customs Agent Daniel Romberger was beaten to death by four men in a boat in the ocean off Dania Beach, Florida, after he refused a $2,000 bribe.

The men forced Customs Agent Romberger into their boat in front of several witnesses after he caught them unloading illegal rum on Dania Beach. They took him out to sea after abducting him. His badly beaten body washed up on the beach the next day. All four suspects were arrested and charged with murder. Only two were tried and both were acquitted.

The case was a very difficult one because both were notorious gangsters with ties to the underworld. They stayed in and out of trouble for bootlegging, rum-running, and illegal gambling establishments from 1925 until they died in the 1970s. They spent some time in jails and the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary for liquor violations and tax evasion, but never more than two years.

Customs Agent Romberger was survived by his wife and daughter.