Meyer Wolfsheim seems to act the way he does because he can. He's a powerful man, a man who can tell another man to "'[shut] his mouth'" without being challenged. He's a criminal, and he keeps company with other criminals. If he is feared, and I can only imagine that the purpose of wearing human molars as cufflinks is to instill fear in others, then he can really get away with just about anything. He eats with "ferocious delicacy," a phrase that makes me think of a wolf (like his name), because he is voracious at the same time that he savors his meal. Further, his eyes "roved very slowly all around the room," and he even turns to look behind him, while he eats, perhaps because he is on the lookout for someone who might be keeping an eye on him. He doesn't want to end up like Rosy Rosenthal. Apparently his caution has worked for him, however, because, as Gatsby says, "'He's a smart man,'" and this is why the cops can't any of his crimes on him, even fixing the 1919 World's Series.
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