Museum shows seedy side of America

Posted: Sunday, February 8, 2015 7:00 am

Museum shows seedy side of America By Andy Rieger Transcript Executive Editor Norman Transcript

LAS VEGAS — In the small elevator of the federal courthouse building, my right to remain silent and have an attorney present during any questioning is explained to me.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
It figures that my first brush with the law would be inside the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, created by a local defense attorney who represented some of Sin City’s most troubling figures.
 

 

The secret world of organized crime and the federal government’s efforts to thwart it are unveiled on the museum’s three floors, a short Deuce Bus ride off the beaten path near old downtown Las Vegas. Warning: It’s not a place for those with weak stomachs. A few years as a crime beat reporter in Oklahoma City cured me of any such frailty.

                                                                                                                                                                            


The nation’s alcohol prohibition of 1919 gave the Italian, Jewish and Irish gangs another source of revenue besides prostitution, gambling and loan sharking. Syndicates quickly established footholds in major cities throughout the country.

Chicago mob boss, Al Capone, and his Mr. Fix-it lieutenant, Murray “the Camel” Humphreys, get mentions in some of the exhibits and books. Humphreys had a home east of Norman. Federal agents apprehended him in 1965 at the Norman train station.



I’ve always had an interest in Humphreys since touring his former home east of Norman. He married an Oklahoma woman and vacationed here, reportedly spreading his wealth among the less fortunate at Christmas.



 When his boss was arrested for tax evasion in 1932, Humphreys took on more responsibility. The Chicago mob was a frequent target of the Bureau of Investigation, formed in 1908 and later renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation.



Humphreys, unlike some of the pre-war mobsters, spent most of his life out of the spotlight. After some petty thievery in Chicago, he moved to his brother’s home in the Little Axe area. While working as a a door-to-door salesman he met, courted and later married Mary Brendle.

                               

LAS VEGAS — In the small elevator of the federal courthouse building, my right to remain silent and have an attorney present during any questioning is explained to me.

It figures that my first brush with the law would be inside the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, created by a local defense attorney who represented some of Sin City’s most troubling figures.

The secret world of organized crime and the federal government’s efforts to thwart it are unveiled on the museum’s three floors, a short Deuce Bus ride off the beaten path near old downtown Las Vegas. Warning: It’s not a place for those with weak stomachs. A few years as a crime beat reporter in Oklahoma City cured me of any such frailty. The nation’s alcohol prohibition of 1919 gave the Italian, Jewish and Irish gangs another source of revenue besides prostitution, gambling and loan sharking. Syndicates quickly established footholds in major cities throughout the country. +++ Chicago mob boss, Al Capone, and his Mr. Fix-it lieutenant, Murray “the Camel” Humphreys, get mentions in some of the exhibits and books. Humphreys had a home east of Norman. Federal agents apprehended him in 1965 at the Norman train station. I’ve always had an interest in Humphreys since touring his former home east of Norman. He married an Oklahoma woman and vacationed here, reportedly spreading his wealth among the less fortunate at Christmas.  When his boss was arrested for tax evasion in 1932, Humphreys took on more responsibility. The Chicago mob was a frequent target of the Bureau of Investigation, formed in 1908 and later renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Humphreys, unlike some of the pre-war mobsters, spent most of his life out of the spotlight. After some petty thievery in Chicago, he moved to his brother’s home in the Little Axe area. While working as a a door-to-door salesman he met, courted and later married Mary Brendle. They moved back to Chicago and lived in a nondescript bungalow in South Shore. A chance meeting with a gangster lead him out of legitimacy and into the path of bootlegging.
  He reportedly hijacked a shipment of Capone’s liquor. Capone was so impressed at Humphrey’s boldness that instead of killing him, he hired him. Humphreys was believed to have been involved in the mob’s takeover of Chicago labor unions.   The repeal of prohibition in 1933 pushed organized crime to branch out. Gambling and drug dealing were a likely diversification and Las Vegas was just coming into its own with hotels and casinos.  Congressional hearings, some televised, looked into the problem of organized crime, its ties to Las Vegas, Hollywood and politicians themselves. In the 1950s, the FBI “G Men” begin to fight back. They used comic characters to inflate their images among kids.
  Museum visitors see the international influence of organized crime and then leave through a gallery of body photos. The admission ticket is cheaper than an afternoon in a casino, but leave the kids at home.
  Andy Rieger366-3543editor@normantranscript.com