 His constant companion and protégé is "Sparrow" Saltskin, a feeble-minded thief who specializes in stealing and selling dogs; Frankie gets Sparrow a job as a "steerer", watching the door to the card games and drawing in gamblers.Often referring to his drug habit as the "thirty-five-pound monkey on his back", Frankie initially tries to keep Sparrow and the others in the dark about it.He sends Sparrow away whenever he visits "Nifty Louie" Fomorowski, his supplier.