Upon his release from prison in the mid-1940s Tocco moved to Florida, but without question maintained a great deal of power within the Detroit underworld and his influential status within the Detroit Partnership. While living in semi-retirement in Miami, Bill Tocco remained a senior adviser to boss Joe Zerilli and his fellow mafiosi in Detroit and was considered a respected Mafia leader by his peers across the country until his death of natural causes on May 28, 1972, at the age of 75.