I was unable to complete the quotation, but gangsters are a mirror businessmen. As was discussed in American Values and Organized crime, gangsters operate on the belief that humans are inherently corrupt and they are above the "suckers" for embracing that. In the full quote, which expands onto the next page, it discusses their mirroring of their counterparts. Gangsters serve as a simultaneously less and more apparent indicator of the trends of these people at the time in their embracing of their base desires and subsequent frequenting of these institutions.

This sentence immediately explains a theme that I think is relevant, especially to The Great Gatsby. Presentation. Gangsters seek to build an image of respectability despite their criminal behaviors, dressing lavishly and building fronts (though cleaning their money is a big component) Gatsby throws his parties and dresses in fine clothes to make an impression. Bill The Butcher dressed in finer clothes than his actual position would indicate.

The code utilized by these organized criminals does not just contribute to the romanticization of the criminal life, by allowing them to act as though they stand for something, nor reinforce a sense of superiority by getting others to dip into it. Related to that superiority, there is a sense of power in deciding what rules they live by. Another part of their life that they can exert control over, rather than conforming.

This indicates that, at least in the case of Vincent Teresa, the aversion to fitting in the mold of what defines a "sucker" takes priority over actual success. The nightclub, while profitable, is still consistent work, and continuing it would constitute being a grind, and the person behind it a "sucker".