Theamericangangster: why is Gotti more known to the public than the Chin? Why do people think of Joe instead of Larry (the latter one clearly the brainier) when they hear the name "Gallo "? Why is Al Capone more known to the public than Johnny Torrio?

Because these people were extrovert, larger than life caracters with flamboyant lifestyles that made them famous in all kinds of levels in society. For example, I think all of them at some point were in Life Magazine, the Gallos even having a few of their boys posing on a street corner.

Nobody knows Torrio today, probably just as he wanted it. He was all business. Just look at the terrible casting regarding him in Boardwalk Empire. Nobody knows him, but people with knowledge knows how to credit him right: a criminal mastermind who laid the foundation for Al Capone.