called the widow of Simon Steingut. But it came up again in 1945 when Irwin Steingut faced his most serious investigation into possible corruption. In Brooklyn Irwin Steingut attended and graduated from Public School 19, then at the corner of South Second Street and Keap Avenue in Brooklyn. After public school he attended the Dwight School, on West Forty-Third Street in Manhattan. More than a decade later, while he was in the Assembly, he studied law at St. John's College, School of Law graduating in 1929. Irwin Steingut never practiced law, however. Irwin was reluctant to follow his father's political career and after graduating law school became a reporter for Associated Press. After a year working in journalism, Irwin entered his father's real estate and insurance business on Forty-Second Street, which became S. Steingut & Son. Within a year he married Rea Kaufmann, daughter of Israel and Sophia Kaufman. Political apprenticeship Tammany Hall Simon Steingut's role as "Mayor of Second Avenue" was as one of 35 to 40 ethnic community leaders on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, who provided liaisons between government (and other institutions and persons of influence) and insular ethnic groups, usually made up of new immigrants or first generation Americans too ignorant or timid to deal with authority. Local "mayors" helped distribute patronage and favors, provide a means of access for new immigrants to government and party machines, and enforce party or political club discipline. The East Side mayors organized themselves into a group called "The East Side Mayors Association," which included both Democrat and Republican "mayors," each providing uncompensated services to his constituents. The "mayor" could then expect personal loyalty at the ballot box. Since the total voting pool from these three dozen fiefdoms amounted to seventy-six thousand, the mayors could expect handsome patronage or other favors from the victors for whom they delivered votes. It was yet another means by which Tammany Hall was part of the political fabric of the city. "Mayors" had no influence on party policy, and in many cases organized relief or benefits outside of government or party structure. They often used their own funds to help those in need. Constituents sought a wide range of services from mayors, one of the most common was to adjudicate local disputes. "Mayors" often provided legal advice or unauthorized representation. Simon Steingut was twice prosecuted for unauthorized practice of law. In one case,