She opened her first bordello in 1920, under the protection of mobster Dutch Schultz and a friend of mobster Charles "Lucky" Luciano. One building she used was "The Majestic" at 215 West 75th Street, designed by architects Schwartz and Gross and completed in 1924 with hidden stairways and secret doorways. Her brothel there boasted such patrons as Robert Benchley, New York City mayor Jimmy Walker, and Dutch Schultz. 