Murray Humphreys

Murray Humphreys
Murray Humphreys and wife Jeanne
Born	January 1, 1899 (1899-01) Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died	November 23, 1965 (aged 66) Chicago, Illinois
Criminal charge	Perjury
Criminal penalty	Died before trial
Children	Llewella (b. 1935)

Murray Humphreys (1899 – November 23, 1965) (also known as The Camel or The Hump), was a Chicago mobster of Welsh descent who was the chief political and labor racketeer in the Chicago Outfit during Prohibition. Considered to be a ruthless but clever man, Humphreys believed in killing only as a last resort as he was known to place great trust in the corruptibility of authority figures; a favorite maxim of his was: "The difference between guilt and innocence in any court is who gets to the judge first with the most". But perhaps the statement that best summed up Humphreys' philosophy of life was: "Any time you become weak, you might as well die".Al Capone said of him, "Anybody can use a gun. 'The Hump' can shoot if he has to, but he likes to negotiate with cash when he can".

Humphreys other role in the Chicago Outfit was to do everything in his power to ensure its members attracted as little press attention as possible. Whereas some mobsters, such as Sam Giancana and Filippo Sacco, welcomed the limelight most gangsters took their cue from Humphreys, conducting themselves behind the scenes out of public view. He lived most of his life in a nondescript bungalow in South Shore, Chicago.

Llewelyn Morris Humphreys was born in the United States, the third of five children. His parents, Bryan Humphreys and Ann Wigley, were from Carno, a small village near Newtown in mid Wales. They had married at the Methodist chapel in Llanidloes, Powys. However as the long depression at the end of the 19th century caused great hardship in many Welsh farming communities, the young couple found it difficult to make a living from their isolated hilltop farm in Carno. The family eventually emigrated to the United States from the village of Llandinam.