[GranTorino]

Wish I had half his smarts.
Killed by the government?
I don’t know..

[Robert DeLong]

He was 86 when he passed:

Born: July 10, 1856, Smiljan, Austrian Empire, (modern-day Croatia)
Died: January 7, 1943, New York City, U.S.

Highly unlikely that he was killed by the government.