Portland Murderer Larry Hurwitz Arrested in California With Cocaine and Cash

Hurwitz pleaded no contest in 2000 to the murder of Tim Moreau, who had worked for Hurwitz at the Starry Night, a downtown Portland nightclub.

The Pixies perform at the Roseland, formerly the Starry Night, in 2017. (Henry Cromett)
By Aaron Mesh

One of the most notorious murderers in Portland history turned up in California last month—with 4 pounds of cocaine and more than $300,000 cash.

Larry Hurwitz was arrested in a June 27 traffic stop in Huntington Beach, the Portland Tribune first reported.

Hurwitz pleaded no contest in 2000 to the murder of Tim Moreau, who had worked for Hurwitz at the Starry Night, a downtown Portland nightclub. Moreau disappeared in 1990, after meeting with Hurwitz about the discovery of 180 counterfeit tickets to a John Lee Hooker concert.

Related: The body of Tim Moreau is buried somewhere in the Columbia River Gorge. Despite his family's best efforts, it still hasn't been found.

For a decade, WW reporter Jim Redden pursued Moreau's disappearance—even after Hurwitz filed a $5 million libel suit against the paper.

Hurwitz was released from prison in 2008 and had been working in the Portland-area events business.

Correction: This story originally said that Hurwitz was arrested with $230,000. Huntington Beach authorities now say he was arrested with more than $300,000.

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.