JOHNNY TORRIO
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John Torrio's contribution to organised crime in America was huge. Everything Al Capone knew about crime he learnt from Torrio. Johnny Torrio was much more than Capone's mentor, he was a deep thinker and responsible for master-minding the early days of syndicated crime. Torrio was nick-named 'The Brain' this nick-name could also be bestowed on two of his peers in the criminal world whom he often worked alongside, Arnold Rothstein and Meyer Lansky. Most crime historians are in agreement that these three individuals often conferring and working together layed down the ground rules for what we now recognise as organised crime in the USA. If Torrio and the others mentioned were the brains behind the organisation then Lucky Luciano was most certainly the fixer. Luciano was the man who ultimately put the plans into action and saw to it that they worked and were adhered to.
If we can knock Torrio for anything it's that he never produced a 'fixer' of his own in Chicago a guy who could put together the pieces of Torrio's plans and make them work to the fullest capacity. Capone, Torrio's protege never organised crime across America, if truth be told he failed to organise it to it's fullest potential in Chicago, although he was on his way to reaching that level before he was imprisoned in the early 1930's. Most crime
historians would likely agree that Chicago was the toughest place of all to bring under any kind of organised control. Luciano in New York had it relatively easy in comparison, he had help from the Jewish mobsters he had cultivated as allies, men such as Meyer Lansky. Luciano and Lansky still sought out Torrio's advice well after they had brought New York under control and had genuinely organized the various factions into as a working criminal enterprise. They valued Torrio's advice greatly and by this time Arnold Rothstein another valued advisor was dead.
Torrio was born in Italy in 1892 he was to New York at the age of two. He was brought up on the lower east-side ghetto. As a teenager he was lieutenant in Paul Kelly's Five Points Gang, along with the Eastman's they were the most powerful and notorious street gangs in New York at that time. Torrio was head of his own sub-gang the 'James Streeters' an off shoot of the Five Points Gang. Torrio was never arrested during this period but was gaining a reputation as a tough guy young turk who was on the way up. He earned the street name 'Terrible Johnny', he was always involved in gang fights and used everything at his disposal to win a fight, hands, fists, knives whatever it took. As an enemy he was regarded as cruel and calculating. He was small in stature but his inbred toughness got him work as a bouncer in Mike's on Pell Street. Mikes was regarded as one of the wildest and toughest joints in Manhattan.
In 1912 Torrio had an interest in a bar and brothel frequented mainly by sailors in a tough section near the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Sometims he would give some muscle work to a big brawling teenage hood named Al Capone. There wasn't enough money in the prostitution business for Johnny Torrio, he felt that the real profit was in hijacking and narcotics. Torrio preached to anyone who would listen that crime could be made into really big business, one of those listening was Al Capone. In 1909 Torrio had already been running back and forth to West Chicago on errands (Mostly mob business) for his uncle by marriage Big Jim Colosimo who was the biggest whore-master in Chicago at that time. When Torrio was thirty-three years old big Jim offered him a partnership of sorts. Johnny left his Brooklyn rackets and operations to his partner Frankie Yale. Torrio meantime took over the running and operating of big Jim's whorehouses in Chicago. Among others he was in charge of The House of All Nations and the low market joints on bedbug row. Under Torrio's control all these premises increased their revenue substantially
Capone was brought out to Chicago in late 1919 by Torrio after he heard that Big Al had some problems with the law concerning a couple of murders in New York. Capone was brought in under the guise of added muscle for the whore houses operated by him and Colisimo but in reality Torrio wanted Capone there when he made his move into the lucrative bootlegging business which would follow prohibition. Big Jim Colisimo had become soft and lazy, Torrio had helped make him a wealthy man and had become more and more hands on in running the whore houses and saloons leaving Colisimo to sit back and enjoy a comfortable lifestyle, Colisimo had no desire to get involved in any new racket. This decision by Colisimo did not sit well with Torrio, it held Torrio back from putting plans for his new rackets into practise. Big Jim Colisomo had to go. Capone was at this time Torrio's right hand but Torrio couldn't use him to kill Colisimo, Johnny Torrio wanted no connection between him and Colisimo's death. Word was sent to New York and Frankie Yale made the journey to Chicago to take care of Torrio's 'Colisimo problem'.