Johnny Torrio
Italian-American mob boss / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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John Donato Torrio[1] (born Donato Torrio, Italian: [doˈnaːto ˈtɔrrjo]; January 20, 1882 – April 16, 1957) was an Italian-born American mobster who helped build the Chicago Outfit in the 1920s later inherited by his protégé Al Capone.[2] Torrio proposed a National Crime Syndicate in the 1930s and later became an adviser to Lucky Luciano and his Luciano crime family.
Johnny Torrio | |
---|---|
Born | Donato Torrio (1882-01-20)January 20, 1882 |
Died | April 16, 1957(1957-04-16) (aged 75) New York City, U.S. |
Resting place | Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, U.S. |
Other names | The Fox The Brain Papa Johnny Terrible Johnny The Immune |
Occupation | Crime boss |
Predecessor | Big Jim Colosimo |
Successor | Al Capone |
Criminal status | Released |
Spouse |
Anna Theodosia Jacobs
(m. 1912) |
Allegiance | Chicago Outfit |
Conviction(s) | Tax evasion (1939) |
Criminal penalty | 2 years' imprisonment (1939) |
Torrio had several nicknames, primarily "The Fox" for his cunning and finesse.[3] The US Treasury official Elmer Irey considered him "the biggest gangster in America" and wrote, "He was the smartest and, I dare say, the best of all the hoodlums. 'Best' referring to talent, not morals".[4] Virgil W. Peterson of the Chicago Crime Commission stated that his "talents as an organizational genius were widely respected by the major gang bosses in the New York City area".[5] Crime journalist Herbert Asbury affirmed: "As an organizer and administrator of underworld affairs, Johnny Torrio is unsurpassed in the annals of American crime; he was probably the nearest thing to a real mastermind that this country has yet produced".[6]