His luck ran out on November 15, 1965, when FBI agents arrested him in Schiller Park, northwest of Chicago. He was charged with trying to cheat would-be investors in a Las Vegas hotel and casino. Hauff claimed he owned land on which the $14 million project would be built. He allegedly took $60,000 (equal to $597,000 in 2024) from investors, including a former assistant maitre d’ who was told he would manage the hotel in exchange for his investment of $19,000.
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Chicago newspapers described Hauff as having longtime ties to organized crime. He was handsome, suave, well dressed, and often in the company of starlets like Zsa Zsa Gabor.
(Left) Chicago Tribune photo of Richard Hauff at the Chicago Federal Building in 1960. |
He was born Hosang Torvan. After being orphaned, an American soldier found him wandering in the hills of Iran. The soldier adopted the boy, then six years old, and brought him to Arlington Heights, a northwest suburb of Chicago.
Now known as Richard Hauff, he had a knack for golf and worked as a caddie at Mount Prospect Country Club, a suburban club frequented by local mobsters. Still in his 20s, Hauff was promoted from caddie to owner of the club.
Hauff was sentenced to nine years in federal prison on three swindling charges, plus income tax evasion. He was killed by a jealous husband in the kitchen of an Indiana restaurant he opened after getting out of prison.
Murray The Camel
Al Capone once said of Murray “The Camel” Humphreys, “The Hump can shoot if he has to, but he likes to negotiate with cash when he can.” Sam Giancana called Murray “the nicest guy in the mob.” The chief investigator for the State’s Attorney’s office described him as “public enemy number one.”
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Llewelyn Morris “Murray” Humphreys (1899-1965) was the chief political and labor racketeer in the Chicago Outfit during Prohibition. He was also one of the gunmen in the “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” of 1929.
Murray “The Camel” Humphreys (center) with attorneys Mike Brodkin (left) and George Bieber (right) on July 1, 1946. |
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Humphreys discreetly moved to Marina City on Memorial Day, May 30, 1963. Knowing that Humphreys was moving but not knowing exactly where he was moving to, FBI agent William F. Roemer, Jr. correctly guessed Marina City because it was in demand with the city’s high-rolling apartment dwellers.
He lived in unit 5131, a one-bedroom east tower apartment rented to longtime gofer Eddie Ryan. Shortly before Humphreys moved in, FBI agents gained access to the apartment and hid a microphone. Agent Roemer also developed an informant in the building, known only as a secretary at Marina City.
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The FBI described the apartment as “elegant, if not spacious,” with views of Lake Michigan, Tribune Tower, and State Street. They noted expensive-looking furniture, paintings, and a player piano. Humphreys had a burglar alarm, tear gas, and bars on the windows of his 51st floor apartment.
(Left) Undated photo of Murray and his wife, Jeanne, out for dinner. |
Indicted on November 23, 1965, on charges of lying to a federal grand jury, Murray was home when three FBI agents arrived and knocked on his door. Humphreys was not alone, though. He had a 38-caliber revolver in his hand and when an agent saw it, he said, “Murray, for Christ’s sake, you know we’re FBI agents. Put down the gun.”
They quickly overpowered Murray, handcuffed him, and took from him the key to his safe. He was taken into custody and released around 5:00 p.m. after a friend, restaurateur Morrie Norman, posted ten percent of a $4,500 bond.
At about 8:30 p.m., back at his Marina City apartment, Murray was vacuuming a room when he suffered a heart attack and died. His brother, Ernest, found him lying face down on the floor and called the fire department at 8:59 p.m. Firefighters arrived and tried to revive Murray, but he was pronounced dead at 9:31 p.m. by Dr. R.B. Robbins, who also lived in the building. Newspaper columnist Mike Royko later quipped the mobster had “died of unnatural causes.”
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