cover image Prince of Crime

Prince of Crime

John Morgan. Stein and Day, $14.95 (202pp) ISBN 978-0-8128-3050-7

This superficial book by a Welsh TV-radio commentator purports to tell the story of Llewelyn Morris ""Murray'' Humphreys, allegedly Al ``Scarface'' Capone's right hand in the Chicago mob and his successor. Morgan begins with sketchy background history, noting that the future gang lord left school at seven and that as a teenager he got to know a Chicago judge, Jack Murray, whom he honored by adopting his name. The reader is left wondering, however, what the relationship between them was. Nor is there an examination of Humphreys's rise to power in the Capone organization. And so it goes throughout: Humphreys is credited with introducing gambling into Nevada and masterminding a strategic union takeover by the mob in Hollywood, but details are vague. Photos. October 30