New York's Greatest Mystery: Judge Crater's Vanishing

In August 1930, New York Supreme Court Justice Joseph Crater walked into a taxi on a Manhattan street corner and vanished completely. His disappearance was so infamous it created a phrase still used today: "to pull a Crater"—meaning to disappear without a trace. The 41-year-old judge had destroyed documents, withdrawn thousands of dollars, and made cryptic references to "straightening those fellows out" before his final night.

Crater's last known hours involved dinner with showgirls, mysterious briefcases, and conflicting witness accounts. When he failed to return to Maine for his wife's birthday and missed the court's reopening, the investigation exploded. Police interviewed 95 witnesses, gathered 975 pages of testimony, and fielded thousands of false sightings. His safe deposit box was empty. Two briefcases had vanished. Women linked to him fled or ended up in mental hospitals.

The case touched everything dark about 1930s New York: Tammany Hall corruption, organized crime, Broadway showgirls, and police scandals. Ninety years later, no one knows if Judge Crater was murdered, ran away voluntarily, or met some other fate. His disappearance remains one of America's most enduring mysteries—the man who became a verb for vanishing.

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Episode Summary

In August 1930, Judge Joseph Crater became "the missingest man in New York" when he disappeared without a trace from Manhattan. His case was so notorious it created a lasting phrase in American English: "to pull a Crater." This episode explores the mysterious final days of a man who seemingly evaporated from existence, leaving behind empty briefcases, destroyed documents, cryptic phone calls, and a trail leading to showgirls, mobsters, and political corruption.

Key Timeline

• January 5, 1889 - Joseph Forrest Crater born in eastern Pennsylvania
• 1910 - Graduated from Lafayette College
• April 1930 - Appointed to New York Supreme Court by Governor Franklin Roosevelt
• Summer 1930 - Vacationing in Belgrade, Maine with wife
• August 3, 1930 - Returned to NYC after mysterious phone call
• August 6, 1930 - Last seen entering taxi after dinner at Billy Haas's Chop House
• August 9, 1930 - Failed to return to Maine for wife's birthday
• August 25, 1930 - Failed to appear when courts reopened
• September 3, 1930 - Missing person case made public, police involved
• October 1930 - Grand jury convened, 95 witnesses called, 975 pages of testimony
• 1939 - Declared legally dead
• 2005 - New theory emerged claiming burial under Coney Island boardwalk

Key Figures

• Judge Joseph Forrest Crater - 41-year-old New York Supreme Court Justice who disappeared
• Mrs. Crater - His wife, who remained in Maine during the investigation
• Sally Lou Ritz - Showgirl who dined with Crater on his final night
• William Klein - Lawyer friend who was at the final dinner
• Connie Marcus - Crater's long-term mistress
• June Bryce - Showgirl allegedly involved in blackmail scheme
• Joseph Mara - Crater's law clerk who cashed checks totaling $5,150 the day he vanished
• Franklin Roosevelt - New York Governor who appointed Crater to the Supreme Court

The Mystery Deepens

Judge Crater's disappearance occurred amid several suspicious circumstances:

• Liquidated $16,000 in investments (equivalent to $420,000 today)
• Withdrew $7,000 from bank account
• Destroyed documents in his chambers
• Cashed checks totaling $5,150 on the day he disappeared
• Carried two locked briefcases that were never found
• Safe deposit box was completely emptied

Theories & Speculation

Political Corruption: Crater's involvement with Tammany Hall and the Seabury Commission anti-corruption inquiry suggested he knew damaging information about powerful figures.

Mob Connection: His jacket was allegedly found in the apartment of Vivian Gordon, a high-end prostitute linked to organized crime figure Jack "Legs" Diamond.

Voluntary Disappearance: His fondness for showgirls and nickname "Good Time Joe" led to speculation he ran away to start a new life with a mistress.

Murder Cover-Up: Author Richard Toeful suggested Crater died of natural causes in a brothel operated by Polly Adler, and mobsters disposed of his body.

Police Corruption: 2005 notes claimed NYPD officer Charles Burns killed Crater and buried him under the Coney Island boardwalk (no remains were ever found during excavation).

Cultural Impact

The phrase "to pull a Crater" entered American English, meaning to disappear completely. Judge Crater's vanishing became a reference point for mysterious disappearances throughout the 20th century, mentioned in films, books, and popular culture as the ultimate unsolved mystery.

Sources & Further Reading

This episode drew from historical newspaper archives, court records, and investigative accounts of the Crater case. For additional research on 1930s New York corruption and the Seabury Commission investigations, consult the New York Municipal Archives and Library of Congress newspaper collections.

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