In 1932 Dixie Davis, the court house attorney who provided service for the runners for many of the numbers operators, decided that he could make more money if he were to take over as central organizer.

In order to enforce his seizure of power, he brought in Dutch Schultz, who could see that Prohibition which had proved lucrative for him was reaching its end.

Holstein saw himself as having a political mission which would be undermined by violence and dropped out of active or central involvement overseeing street collection.

Holstein was a major donor towards charitable purposes such as building dormitories at black colleges, as well as financing many of the neighborhood's artists, writers, and poets during the Harlem Renaissance.

[3] The character Valentin Narcisse, played by Jeffrey Wright, on season 4 and 5 of the HBO period crime-drama Boardwalk Empire was inspired by Holstein.