He was on a fed hold, but, more importantly, he wasn't linked to any city leaders at the time. The likelihood that he had a city leader on the take is probably pretty good, but he didn't do most of his partying in the city itself meaning there doesn't appear to be any reason why a local city leader would want him dead.
The reason the myth lacks any credibility is because the conspiratorial buzz around it doesn't line up with those who would reasonable have access to a hit.