by David D’Orazio

SOMEWHERE IN B.C– What does an ex-con mob hit man do after he makes parole? Certainly he can’t and won’t be hired at any local school. It’s doubtful he would try, say, accounting. He’d have zero chance at the civil service.

For the man formerly known as Ken Murdock–of Hamilton Mafia affiliation–a life on the road behind the wheel of a rig turned out to be the best choice, after spending the previous decades in and out of jail and on parole.

According to media reports, Murdock, who legally changed his name in 2012, was charged with three counts of second-degree murder for killing two high-profile mobsters and a man who owed them money. The murders were just a few incidents in Murdock’s long history of violence, including a shooting and several savage beatings. (todaystrucking.com has chosen to not reveal his new name or identity.)

Murdock once asked a strip club manager for a job as a bouncer. Upon hearing that there were no positions, he casually approached the nearest bouncer and beat the living daylights out of him and told the bleeding man that he no longer had a job. Shortly after that, he was brought into the mob.

In a surprise courtroom drama, Murdock testified against the mob, cutting his prison time to 13 years before parole would be possible. He served his time and then spent some time living at a halfway house before he broke parole—this time, however, it was a cry for help. Murdock says he returned to cocaine because he wanted to go back to prison; he was too overwhelmed trying to live a normal life in the community. The parole board understood this and allowed him to keep his freedom, noting that his commitment to a crime-free life did not go unnoticed.

Murdock has remained violence-  and crime-free since his name change two years ago and is putting his life back together.

He successfully applied for a job as a trucker and now spends his days hauling loads around B.C. He is committed to his rehabilitation, the parole board said after granting him six more months out of prison.

His progress was demonstrated recently in a roadside incident. According to a parole board report, an angry motorist confronted Murdock to exchange unpleasantries. The National Post’s Adrian Humphreys, who interviewed the former hitman, writes that a younger Murdock probably would have handled the situation differently than the now-50 Murdock, but the ex man of violence kept his cool and walked away.

Murdock called that moment one of the most difficult situations he’s faced in his life as a free man.

Redemption is one of the more beautiful things about humanity. Many truckers take life one mile at a time, and for the man who used to be Ken Murdock, that means more than most people will ever know.