Crater, Joseph Force

Crater, Joseph Force

(1889–?1930) lawyer, judge; born in Easton, Pa. He graduated from Lafayette College (1910) and Columbia Law School (1913), practiced law in New York City, and became active in Tammany Hall Democratic politics. Chosen to fill an unexpired term on the New York Supreme Court in 1930, he disappeared after dinner at a restaurant on August 6 of that year. Despite an extensive investigation, no trace of him was ever found; he was declared dead in July 1937. Some speculated that his disappearance was connected with Tammany corruption, but no such link could be established.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.