History
Scarzi Bragg was a notorious gambler, racketeer, and murderer who was active in Chicago during the 1940s. When the authorities were closing in on him in 1945, Scarzi fled the country with all the loot his gang had stolen, leaving his minions high and dry. Scarzi then relocated to the Central American town of Chorrera, which had just recently elected a new leader named Ramirez. Scarzi managed to gain Ramirez's confidence and then murdered him. Then he used Ramirez's regime to raise taxes and create a state of martial law that saw its people brutalized and pushed into poverty.
When the Human Torch and Toro were discovered to be vacationing in the area, former political leader Don Rodriquez came, asking them to investigate Scarzi and why Ramriez had not been seen since Scarzi arrived in town. The Torch and Toro traveled to Chicago to learn of Bragg's background and enlisted his former gang in helping the locals remove Scarzi's influence from the town. When the two heroes returned to Chorrera, they issued a radio challenge for Ramirez to address his people.
Unable to do this, Scarzi sent a note claiming that Ramirez was too ill to be seen in public and invited the Torch to visit him. However, this was a trap, and the Torch was caught in a fireproof bag. Toro then led the resistance fighters and gang members to attack the palace. Toro then freed the Torch and chased Scarzi, who then locked himself in the palace safe. Refusing to leave the country's wealth, one of his gang members set off a stick of TNT, causing the safe to collapse on his former leader, killing him.