Murray Humphreys

Humphreys was indicted for perjury relating to testimony before a federal grand jury. Federal agents arrested him on 23 November 1965; he died a few hours after being released on bail.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Accused

Role of the person profiled

Protagonist not prosecuted

Brought before the Senate organised crime committee, Humphreys repeatedly refused to answer questions deemed relevant by the committee. It adopted a report finding him in contempt and requested referral to the US Attorney for the District of Columbia.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Protagonist is a witness

The tax court accepted testimony that Humphreys collected the $50,000 deposited as ransom following the kidnapping of Robert C. Fitchie, president of the Milk Wagon Drivers Union. The sum was included in his taxable income.

The Seventh Circuit upheld the tax decision covering 1930 to 1932, including a 25% penalty for 1930 and 50% fraud penalties for all three years, based on income from several sources that had not been properly declared.

Attribution

Directly implicated

FBI archives reproducing Cook County court records indicate that a former Bartenders' Union leader testified that Nitti, Humphreys and other Capone gang members had gradually taken control of the union between 1935 and 1940. Humphreys and several others were indicted on 18 October 1940 for conspiracy connected with that takeover.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Accused

Humphreys was indicted in 1933 for attempting to evade income tax on earnings from 1930 to 1932. The subsequent appellate record states that he fled and remained a fugitive for more than a year, then returned from Mexico and pleaded guilty unconditionally on 26 October 1934 before being imprisoned.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Arrested without a warrant while committing no apparent offence, Humphreys was searched and a loaded automatic pistol was found beneath his waistcoat. He received a one-year prison sentence and a $300 fine.

Attribution

Accused

Course of the proceedings

1. Formally charged — Formal charge before the current outcome

In subsequent tax litigation, the court found that Humphreys had received $10,000 from dry-cleaning business owners for protection against labour trouble, then an interest valued at $5,000 in Drexel Cleaners, in circumstances where its operator feared further problems if Humphreys withdrew from the arrangement.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated