Arthur Shapiro
Tax attorney to Les Wexner's The Limited, murdered mob-style the day before his scheduled grand jury testimony on tax fraud.
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Arthur L. Shapiro |
| Role | Tax Attorney |
| Law Firm | Schwartz, Shapiro, Kelm & Warren (Columbus, Ohio) |
| Key Client | The Limited (Les Wexner) |
| Date of Death | March 6, 1985 |
| Cause of Death | Shot twice point-blank in the head |
| Location | Columbus, Ohio cemetery |
| Status | UNSOLVED HOMICIDE |
| Evidence Rating | STRONG EVIDENCE |
Overview
Arthur Shapiro was a partner at the Columbus, Ohio law firm Schwartz, Shapiro, Kelm & Warren. He personally oversaw the account for The Limited, the retail empire founded by billionaire Les Wexner, which included Victoria's Secret, Lane Bryant, and Express.
Shapiro was under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service for failing to file income tax returns for seven years and for possible involvement in fraudulent tax shelters. He was scheduled to testify before a federal grand jury on March 7, 1985.
He never made it.
The Murder
On the morning of March 6, 1985 — one day before his scheduled grand jury testimony — Shapiro was spotted in his red BMW parked in a Columbus cemetery, sharing a carryout breakfast with an unidentified man. Minutes later, his breakfast companion — described by a witness as a man dressed in black with a broad-brimmed hat, running with a limp — chased Shapiro from the car while firing shots from a handgun. At close range, the gunman put two rounds into Shapiro's head and fled in Shapiro's own BMW.
The killing bore, according to investigators, the "strong marks" of a professional Mafia hit.
The case has never been solved.
Why He Was Killed
Shapiro was about to testify before a grand jury about tax fraud — specifically about who helped him hide money and set up fraudulent tax shelters. The most direct motive: his testimony could have implicated others.
According to a law firm member's account, accountant Berry L. Kessler had produced tax returns to which the IRS objected. Shapiro had agreed to testify in exchange for considerations. It is believed Kessler had Shapiro killed "so he would not testify to the grand jury about Kessler's machinations."
The Berry Kessler Connection
Berry L. Kessler, an accountant who worked with Shapiro, was under joint IRS investigation. Key facts:
- Kessler pleaded guilty in 1986 in Columbus federal court to helping Shapiro file false tax returns and received probation
- Kessler later went to prison for hiring a hit man to kill another business partner in Florida
- Kessler was also convicted of plotting to kill yet another business contact
- Kessler died in prison without ever admitting to Shapiro's murder
- Despite clear motive and a documented pattern of hiring killers, Columbus law enforcement never had sufficient evidence to charge Kessler in the Shapiro case
The Wexner / Organized Crime Connection
In a June 6, 1991 memo titled "Shapiro Homicide Investigation," a civilian analyst in the Columbus Police Organized Crime Bureau laid out why the murder had "strong marks" of a Mafia hit. The bureau had spent years mapping overlapping relationships among major local business entities, prominent Columbus figures, and individuals "reputed" to be organized crime.
The memo concluded that whoever killed the lawyer:
- Knew him professionally or personally
- Would benefit from his death
- Likely had close contact with Mafia figures
- Had the financial resources to afford a contract killing
Note: The police report does not accuse Les Wexner of involvement in the murder. However, the investigation documented organized crime associations among some of Wexner's business associates.
Cover-Up and Destruction of Evidence
Five years after the release of the Shapiro memo, a mayoral investigation accused Columbus Police Chief James G. Jackson and other members of his department of trying to destroy the Shapiro report. Jackson admitted to destroying the document but claimed the report's theories about Mafia ties involving prominent Columbus citizens were "highly speculative and not based on hard evidence."
The destruction of a police investigative report by the chief of police himself remains one of the most disturbing elements of this case.
The Epstein Connection
Shapiro's name appeared decades later in FBI files related to Jeffrey Epstein, another figure central to Wexner's business network. While there is no indication that Shapiro and Epstein ever overlapped in Wexner's employ, the pattern is notable: Les Wexner sits at the center of both a mob-style murder of his tax attorney and a relationship with a convicted sex trafficker who also died under suspicious circumstances.
For more on the Wexner-Epstein relationship, see the Epstein investigation at Intelligence Murders.
Key Evidence
| Evidence | Type | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Murder occurred one day before grand jury testimony | Circumstantial | Classic witness elimination timing |
| "Strong marks" of Mafia hit per police memo | Police assessment | Professional contract killing |
| Berry Kessler convicted of hiring hit men in other cases | Pattern evidence | Primary suspect had documented history of ordering murders |
| Police chief destroyed investigative report | Obstruction | Evidence of cover-up at highest levels of Columbus PD |
| Organized crime ties documented among Wexner business associates | Police investigation | Links murder to broader network |
Related Perspectives
- Whitney Webb — Documented the Wexner-Epstein intelligence-crime nexus in One Nation Under Blackmail
- John McAfee — Another figure connected to powerful networks who died under suspicious circumstances
- Catherine Austin Fitts — Documents financial deep state operations and hidden money flows
Other Coverage Worth Reading
- Whitney Webb: Intelligence-organized crime fusion from WWII forward — Wexner network is central to her research.
- John McAfee: Died in Spanish prison hours after extradition approved; warned publicly he would not suicide himself.
- Edward Snowden: Exposed how "permanent power factions" operate in secret beyond any democratic accountability.
- Catherine Austin Fitts: Former HUD official documents $21 trillion in undocumentable government financial adjustments.
Sources
- Who Murdered Arthur Shapiro, the Lawyer of Victoria's Secret Billionaire Les Wexner? — The Daily Beast
- A Kingpin, the Mob, and a Murder: The Deeper Mystery behind the Arthur Shapiro Homicide — Unlimited Hangout
- The Shapiro Murder File — Columbus Free Press
- SILENCED: The Arthur Shapiro Killing and the Les Wexner Connection — Front Page Detectives
- Shapiro Murder File Complete — Internet Archive (Columbus Police Department document)
- READ THE DOCUMENT: Les Wexner, Organized Crime, and the Arthur Shapiro Hit — Front Page Detectives
This information was compiled by Claude AI research.