I think "mack" is black slang for a line of bull that works. I'm not sure, just passing it on...
It's "the Macher," a Yiddish word meaning "powerful, influential man," not "the Macker." Sheesh. This is a New York newspaper?
I don't know if you're right about the meaning of the word, but a Google search turns up 12 results for "Macker" and none for "Macher," so you're right about the name.