I think its more of the fact that he was a spender/drinker/gambler that made him a "brokester".. he made $ he just couldn't keep it in his pocket.. he had hal irving and the german on record with him.. and he did run a book and the bank came straight from 282's pension fund..
I heard he lost 200k in a high stakes game that goes on in a certain hotel in midtown..so he owed 200k plus 4 a week in juice that he didn't have, to Frankie and butters, Frankie ended up dead and eventually he paid butters back after a sit down.
ive been told he went from nobody to boss just writing wagers..