Judge Crater
Once called the "missingist man in New York," the disappearance of Judge Crater remains one of the most famous unsolved mysteries to this day.
Getting benched
Joseph Force Crater was born in 1889 to Irish immigrants in Pennsylvania. Growing up was not easy for young Joseph, his father had to work hard to provide for the family; a wife and four children. As a child young Joseph also worked hard to help support the family and had an interest in music – the piano to be specific.
The hard work paid off, and in 1916 he graduated with a law degree from Columbia University. The next year he got married and worked to build his career – with at first means being a law clerk and teaching law at a local college. His career grew in 1920 when he is appointed as secretary to New York Supreme court Justice Robert F. Wagner, Sr. Later, in 1927, he opened a law practice of his own and continued to prosper.
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Prosperity in New York City in the roaring 20s brought changes in lifestyles.
For Joseph Crater, this meant a life with servants, expensive clothes and an extravagant lifestyle.
But, Mr. Crater is also socially and politically connected to the political machines of New York.
Columbia, between thieves and scandal (Nast cartoon, 1872)
In April of 1930, he gets appointed by Governor Franklin Roosevelt to the New York Supreme court. He was only 41.
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Into the night
Only a few months after his appointment, in July 1930, Judge Crater and his wife took a trip to their summer cabin in Maine. While there, he received a phone call and tells his wife he needs to return. All he told her is that he has to go "to straighten those fellows out." She stays in Maine. He returned on the 1st but is off again a couple of days later. His wife later reported his spirits were fine and he acted normal.
On August 6, and still in New York, he purchased a single ticket to a show called Dancing Partner and goes out to dinner with others. Then he left, presumably to go to the play. One account was that he got in a taxi cab, another that he was seen walking down the street.
That's it.
He simply vanished from all known history after that.
Looking into things
An investigation was begun, but no trace of the missing justice was ever found. The phrase "to pull a Crater" became a term for anyone who leaves without notice. His wife would have him declared legally dead, but always advocated for the search for him continue.
The investigation did uncover the following:
He had withdrawn $20,000 in cash shortly before taking up the position of Supreme Court Justice. Some have speculated that this was some form of kickback for getting the position.
On the day of his disappearance, he spent a good portion of the day at his law office destroying documents. Two locked briefcases full of more documents were taken, with the help of his clerk, to his apartment. The clerk was dismissed for the day and the briefcases were never found.
Also on the same day, he had his clerk cash two checks totaling $5,150. He also withdrew another $20,000 in cash.
His safety deposit box was emptied.
OK, the judge was not squeaky clean. But what happened to him? Was he murdered? While this can't be ruled out, there is no evidence to support this idea. Did he simply take off or disappear? Not likely. There is no place he could simply disappear for an extended amount of time.
The questions then continued to remain unanswered in the case of Judge Crater, the “missingist man in New York.”
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Professor's picks Schoolhouse
Rock! (Special 30th Anniversary Edition) School House Rock should, in my view, be a standard staple in the teaching of children. These short cartoons and music teach a wide range of subjects government, math, science and more. In fact, it has often been our go-to school material on days when more formal schooling just doesn't seem to be happening. |
On the web
The Missingist Man in New York: Judge Crater
This article goes over the story of judge Crater in more depth.
10 of the Most Mysterious Unsolved Disappearances
An interesting video going over the details of this mystery.
Great films
Oscar
(1991) The gangster Angelo "Snaps" Provolone (Sylvester Stallone) grants a dying wish to his father that he would give up a life of crime and "go straight." Yet the big day he is to give up crime does not go anything as it was planned.
This is an entertaining movie with multiple plot threads being interwoven together, making for a very funny movie. But it is also full of 1930s era humor and jokes – even a reference to Judge Crater. If you look up any movie references you are unfamiliar with, you'll learn something about the period.
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