 He was a life long friend of Anastasio Somoza since their days as students at West Point; while in office, Murphy opposed the Carter administrations efforts to remove Somoza.His son, Mark Murphy, is a real-estate developer who worked as an aide to Bill de Blasio during his tenure as New York City Public Advocate.On January 19, 2012, Mark Murphy announced he would seek election to the Congressional seat his father once held.