In many ways, Joe played the game like a gentleman; he preferred negotiation to violence and would willingly make concessions in order to avoid bloodshed. He maintained longstanding ties in the community, and remained his whole adult life in the house bought by his grandfather — the first black man to own his own home in his Baltimore neighborhood. But in the end, it was his trust in community ties that did him in; he made the mistake of believing that the bonds forged by the Co-Op were lasting and real. Though Marlo Stanfield was a competitor, Joe treated him at times like a son — teaching him about the world and, as Joe recently griped, "civilizin' that motherfucker." But Stanfield betrayed him, and Joe's only real kin in the game — his nephew Cheese — was, as it turns out, the weak link in his organization.

Control of the Co-Op has presumably passed to Marlo Stanfield. Prop Joe is survived by Cheese, though probably not for long. He leaves behind an impressive heroin-distribution infrastructure, and the slowest appliance-repair shop in all of Baltimore.