I think, given his history, that maybe he really is a mob boss wannabe. He was mentored by none other than Roy Cohn, consigliere to more than one high-rollin' NYC mobster. Both daddy and son were successful large-project builders and real estate shysters in NYC at a time when you had to be in with the mob for your projects to move forward smoothly. That may just be how he figures the world works; it's how _his_ world has always worked.