John `` Papa Johnny '' Torrio , also known as `` The Fox '' ( February 1882 -- April 16 , 1957 ) was an Italian-American mobster who helped make the criminal empire known as the Chicago Outfit in the 1920s . Torrio would later give the Chicago Outfit to Al Capone . John `` Papa Johnny '' Torrio ( February 1882 -- April 16 , 1957 ) , also known as `` The Fox '' , was an Italian-American mobster who helped build the criminal empire known as the Chicago Outfit in the 1920s that was later inherited by his protege , Al Capone .