Later Years
In the 1930s, Torrio returned to the United States to testify in Capone's trial. At that time, he suggested to top New York City-based crime lords such as Lucky Luciano that they create one crime syndicate encompassing all the smaller gangs that were constantly at each other's throats. He presented this idea in New York to Luciano, as well as Lepke Buchalter, Longy Zwillman, Joe Adonis, Frank Costello, and Meyer Lansky at a four-star Park Avenue hotel. (This conference and its attendees were later disclosed by Abe Reles.) His idea was well received, and he was given great respect, as he was considered an "elder statesman" in the world of organized crime. Once Luciano implemented the concept, the National Crime Syndicate was born.
Read more about this topic: Johnny Torrio, Biography
Famous quotes containing the word years:
“In the Corner Store, near the village center, hangs a large sign reading: ‘After 40 years of credit business, we have closed our book of Sorrow.’”
—For the State of Maine, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“When the world was half a thousand years younger all events had much sharper outlines than now. The distance between sadness and joy, between good and bad fortune, seemed to be much greater than for us; every experience had that degree of directness and absoluteness which joy and sadness still have in the mind of a child”
—Johan Huizinga (1872–1945)