7. A Criminal Visionary
Johnny Torrio came up with the idea of buying breweries, now shuttered and thus readily purchased for pennies on the dollar. He would then operate them illegally to supply the thousands of speakeasies, brothels, and nightclubs in Chicago and the surrounding region. However, when he ran the idea by his boss, Colosimo rejected it.
Torrio’s boss reasoned that all of Chicago’s criminals were thinking the same thing, and involvement would invite trouble and drag him into confrontations he would sooner avoid. When Torrio proposed running it on his own, assuming all the risk and splitting the proceeds with Colosimo, his boss prohibited him, decreeing that nobody in his organization was to participate in bootlegging. The potential profits were huge, however, so Torrio, aided by his protege, Al Capone, went ahead and bought breweries without informing Colosimo, and began operating them and raking in the profits.