He was knowledgeable about firearms and wanted to become a collector. He wanted to save up his illicit funds earned by armed robbery, kidnapping and gun running and open a night club. This would have been impossible for the liquor license board would have never awarded him the certificate because of his connections with the Gambino crime family and Colombo crime family, including his own personal extensive criminal record. It is wrongly perceived that McBratney was the leader of the kidnapping gang, while he did oversee the kidnappings he was just a "point man" and "middle man".