In the movie mention in the original post, the character looks up to a mobster. A mob guy would typically do loan sharking, so people would go to them for a loa

In the movie mention in the original post, the character looks up to a mobster. A mob guy would typically do loan sharking, so people would go to them for a loan. If you're going to be a loan shark you can't have people thinking they won't have to pay you back. You have to break their kneecaps.