What? The Mayor beat him up back then? He must have. Why else would he apologize? Otherwise it would make as much sense as me apologizing for the Spanish American War to the King of Spain even though my ancestors were in Finland at the time.
The difference being that there would be nobody left alive from the Spanish-American war for you to apologize to. John Lews is still alive and kicking, in spite of he best efforts of the mob. If someone wants to make amends on behalf of the town then that’s up to him and his constituents.