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T
 Giovanni
"Johnny" Torrio; aka: "The Fox"
(1882-1957) - An Italian-American
mobster who helped build the criminal empire known as the
Chicago Outfit
in the 1920s, he was born in Italy in February, 1882. When his father died
when he was two years old, he immigrated with his mother to New York City.
He grew up in the slums of Manhattan's Lower East Side and his first job
was working in his new stepfather's grocery store, which was little more
than a drinker's haven. Despite his diminutive size, he became the leader
of a group of youths called the James Street Gang while still in his
teens. He often clashed with rival gangs and was known to his friends as
"Terrible Johnny" for his cold, cruel and calculated manner. he soon went
to work for one of the roughest bars in Manhattan as a bouncer. He soon
caught the eye of Paolo Vaccarelli (Paul Kelly), the leader of the famous
Five Points Gang and in 1905 the James Street Gang was merged into the
larger gang. Torrio eventually became Kelly's lieutenant and learned much
from the older man about both crime and legitimate businesses.
By 1912, he formed a splinter organization,
focusing his attention on the Brooklyn docks. Here, he ran both legitimate
businesses, but was also involved in bars, brothels, bookmaking,
loan sharking, drug trafficking and other criminal endeavors. It was
during this time that he recruited
Al Capone. In the meantime, Torrio had
become involved with his uncle, Giacomo "Big Jim" Colosimo, a major crime
boss and pimp in
Chicago.
Torrio soon became Colosimo's right hand man but by 1920, the two clashed
because Colismo resisted
getting into the lucrative alcohol distribution business during
Prohibition. Torrio had his uncle killed and took over the operation.
Along with
Al Capone, Torrio presided over the
Chicago Outfit, controlling gambling, prostitution, and bootlegging and
alcohol distribution, making millions of dollars in the process. In 1925,
he narrowly escaped being killed by the rival North Side Gang. Torrio was
riddled by bullets, taking shots in the jaw, lungs, groin, legs, and
abdomen, but amazingly survived. Torrio recovered slowly from his injuries
and
Al Capone took the lead of the Chicago Outfit. When he recovered, Torrio served a year in jail for
Prohibition violations. Afterwards, he
retired and moved to Europe, though he would remain an "elder statesman"
in the world of organized crime, giving advice when necessary. In his
later years, he returned New York City and on April 16, 1957 died of a
heart attack.
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