The Missingest Man In New York
On this day in 1930, Joseph Force Crater, a judge on the New York Supreme Court, became, according to the media, "the most missingest man in New York". His law clerk reported that on the morning of his disappearance he had destroyed some documents in his office, moved several others to his apartment on Fifth Avenue, and arranged for $5,000 to be withdrawn from his bank account. He then left his office, bought a ticket for a Broadway show, and had dinner with the lawyer William Klein and showgirl Sally Lou Ritz. After dinner, according to Klein and Ritz, Crater headed out to see the play. He was never seen again. Joseph Force Crater was born to Irish immigrants in 1889 and grew up in Pennsylvania. After receiving a law degree from Columbia University, he worked his way up from law clerk to lawyer and made several political connections along the way. He was appointed to the New York Supreme Court in April 1930 by Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was the governor at the time. Rumor...