Guido St. Laurent

Guido St. Laurent (1930–November 13, 1968) was an American community organizer, who in the 1960s founded and led N.E.G.R.O., an African American community organization based in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston that provided services to the local Black community and played a role in Civil Rights movement advocacy for Boston's Black community.

After losing his eyesight in an accident in 1960 while serving a prison sentence, St. Laurent found new purpose in his life and focused on community organizing and Black activism. St. Laurent was killed at the age of 38 on November 13, 1968, in a triple homicide at N.E.G.R.O's offices. While three suspects were tried for the murders, a key witness was killed before the trial, and the three suspects were acquitted.

Early life St. Laurent was raised in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.

St. Laurent made a change of course in his life after serving a sentence at MCI-Walpole. During this sentence, an accident blinded his vision In 1966, several years after leaving the prison, St. Laurent set up the group's headquarters in a Roxbury storefront on Blue Hill Avenue. Initially, the organization served to publicize positive news about the city's African American community. St. Laurent would contact news outlets to promote positive stories from the community. St. Laurent also worked to serve as a mediator between various groups within the community. The organization offered members of the African-American community assistance with self-help. Per testimony by Frederick B. Rose for the prosecution in the 1969 murder trial subsequent to St. Laurent's murder, in addition to the N.E.G.R.O. nonprofit, St. Laurent operated a for-profit firm called Public Relations Organization (PRO) and had hopes of this firm receiving $147,000 from the consortium for work in advertising and public relations. Rose testified that in addition to St. Laurent, St. Laurent's wife as well as Rose and his own wife were the incorporators of this firm. King had been an out-of-town visitor from Cleveland, and was likely not a target of the attack. Surviving the attack was Ronald Hicks and Frederick B. Rose. St. Laurent's adult son, David, took custody of Russ after the murders. Reverend James Breeden delivered a eulogy which hailed St. Laurent as a man of peace.

In December 1968, the Boston FBI office contemplated planting a news story in the Boston Herald Traveler casting negative aspersions on the personal background of St. Laurent, in hopes that, the "article could urge the black community to take over existing civil rights groups and run them for the benefit of the community". However, the FBI opted against planting this story.

1969 trial and acquittal of Campbell brothers and Dennis W. Chandler for murder After the triple murders, law enforcement was soon directed to survivor Ronald Hicks (a pimp) to investigate the "Campbell brothers" (Alvin and Albert Campbell) and Dennis W. Chandler as suspects. Hicks assigned the potential motive of a dispute over the federal funds that were being provided to Woolman Systems. It is believed that Johnny Martorano perpetrated this murder and had done so in order to prevent Hicks from testifying against the Campbell brothers. The Campbell brothers had been working as salaried employees at the Boston operation of the New York City-based firm Woolman Systems. Also working at this firm were murder victims St. Laurent and Harold King. described as specializing, "in work in ghettos with the federal government".

On charges that included first degree homicide, the three men were tried in the Suffolk County Superior Court. The trial lasted three weeks.

In the case presented against the three men, the prosecution alleged that they had committed the murder and assault with intent to murder with their alleged motive being a dispute over federal money that had been provided for the purposes of providing job training to chronically unemployed Roxbury residents.

The defense, among other things, pointed out that one of the guns that was used to commit the murders was later found three days after the murders in the possession Ronald Randolph, a man that was shot and killed during a police chase. The state had chosen not to put forth any theories of how the gun came into the possession of Randolph. A photo was also displayed by the defense that placed Randolph at the murder scene the night of the killings.

In June 1969, the three men were acquitted. The two had met at a training school for those with blindness they both attended in New Jersey. Sandra was originally from San Antonio, Texas. After leaving the school, they had initially maintained communication by exchanging braille correspondence with each-other. The two were wed in 1965 in a ceremony held at a residence in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, accompanied by their guide dogs Russ (St. Laurent's, a German Shepherd) and Iras (Sandra's, a collie). Since Sandra was White, their union was an interracial marriage.

St. Laurent and his wife Sandra had two children together a girl (who was 3 years old at the time of St. Laurent's death) a boy (who was 1 years old at the time of St. Laurent's death). He also had a son from a previous marriage, David (who was 18 years old at the time of St. Laurent's death).