Murray Humphreys
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Murray "The Camel" Llewellyn Humphreys (1899 - November 23, 1965), was a Chicago mobster of Welsh descent who was the chief political and labor racketeer in the Chicago Outfit during Prohibition. It has been suggested that he was nicknamed "the Camel" because of his habit of wearing camel hair coats. However, a more likely explanation is that "the camel" was an evolution of his other nickname, "the hump", which was derived from his surname Humphreys.
First joining the Chicago Outfit in the mid to late 1920s, Humphreys worked in cooperation with Al Capone to secure a working relationship with political, business and labor leaders in Chicago, eventually giving the crime syndicate control of racketeering within these areas. Briefly feuding with Capone over the control of the Chicago Outfit before Capone's conviction for tax evasion in 1931, Humphreys would later be indicted for the December 1931 kidnapping of Union president Robert G. Fitche, although managing to escape conviction. He would also organize the 1933 kidnapping of John "Jake the Barber" Factor (awaiting to be extradited to England to stand trial of stock swindling), which was purposely attributed to Capone rival Roger Touhy resulting his near twenty-five year conviction.
After Touhy's death in 1959, after a month following his release from prison, Humphreys was considered a prime suspect in the gangland slaying. Six months after Touhy's death, Humphreys bought several shares of an insurance company which he would redeem only eight months later for $42,000. Following an investigation by the IRS however, Humphreys shares were found to be originally owned by John Factor. Claimed by federal authorities the $42,000 was a payment from the 1933 kidnapping, Humphreys was forced to pay taxes on the money.
In 1965, after being charged for perjury before testifying before a federal grand jury, Humphreys pulled a gun on FBI agents during his arrest. However, his continuing erratic behavior reportedly had long concerned syndicate leaders and within hours of his arrest he was found dead of a heart attack. It has been suggested, that Humphreys may have possibly been killed by an injection of air from a hypodermic needle as a small wound was found near his right ear.
