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How does a dashing 41-year-old man simply vanish? Fairly easily apparently.

A wealthy and well-connected man by the name of Joseph Force Crater was serving as a New York Supreme Court judge when he simply vanished.  His disappearance fueled rumors, investigations, speculation, and would captivate all of New York and eventually the nation.

Crater and his wife were driven to their summer cabin in Belgrade, Maine for some time away from the city.  The 1927 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A S Coupe Chauffeur by Saoutchik that delivered them to their summer getaway was every bit as showy as the judge, himself.  Features included a split folding windshield, dual side-mount spare wheels, a roll-up forward roof panel, front seats trimmed in brown leather, a cabin partition, and twin jump seats and a rear bench trimmed in green patterned cloth.

The car featured coupé chauffeur bodywork by Carrosserie J. Saoutchik and was finished in black with a matching vinyl top. Features included wood roof pillars and beltline trim, Stephen Grebel headlights, a forward roof panel that rolled up into a storage compartment, a single brake light cluster, running boards, a polished radiator surround, a Spirit of Triumph radiator mascot, and a Greek grille badge.  The car had a body that was almost as magnificent as some of the showgirls the judge would squire around the Big Apple when his wife was out of town.

Sometime in July, Crater received a phone call that seemed to alarm him, although he said nothing to Mrs. Crater.  Mrs. Crater was used to her husband being called away.  A man of his wealth and influence was often in high demand.  Some speculated, in fact, that it was his wealth that influenced FDR, who was still governor of New York at the time, to appoint him to the New York Supreme Court to begin with.

Hanging up the phone, he told his wife that he’d, “have to return to New York to straighten those fellows out.”  The following afternoon his chauffeur delivered him to his swanky apartment at 40 Fifth Avenue in Greenwich Village.  However, it wasn’t any “fellows” that got straightened out.  That evening the Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A S Coupe delivered Crater and a showgirl named Sally Lou Ritz to Atlantic City in New Jersey.  What took place gave “Puttin’ on the Ritz” a whole new meaning.

Having concluded all of his “pressing” business, on August first Judge Crater was driven back to Maine and into the welcoming arms of Mrs. Crater.  But after only a couple days, he felt the need to head back to New York City.  It wasn’t noted whether the return trip was to satisfy the judge’s craving for some more crackers, or perhaps more important business.  He told his wife he’d be back for her birthday on August 9th.  She later said he was in good spirits when he left the summer cottage.  She never saw him again.

He had the Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A S Coupe drop him off at his office on August 6th.  The driver waited outside while he spent two hours going through files and reportedly destroying quite a few documents.  He then had a law clerk by the name of Joseph Mara cash two different checks for him that totaled $5,150.  (In 2024 dollars, that would be $93,930.)  Throwing two full, locked briefcases full of cash in the back seat of the Isotta Fraschini, the judge told Mara to take the rest of the day off and directed the driver to his apartment.

That evening the judge had dinner at Billy Haas’s Chophouse at 332 West 45th Street.  Joining him for dinner was William Klein, a friend who was an attorney, and his showgirl companion, Ritz.  Though their stories changed over time, both Klein and Ritz initially told authorities that they saw the judge get into the back seat of the Isotta and drive off.

Crater’s wife became concerned when he didn’t arrive for her birthday as promised.  When fellow justices realized he hadn’t shown up for the opening of the courts on August 25th a private investigation was launched to see if his whereabouts could be determined.  Coming up empty-handed, they turned the matter over to the police as a missing person’s investigation on September 3rd.  At that point, the missing judge became front page news, first in New York and eventually all over the country.

In addition to Sally Lou Ritz, Judge Crater had a long time mistress by the name of Connie Marcus.  Both women abruptly left New York immediately after his disappearance.  The judge’s jacket was found in the apartment of another woman of questionable character, Vivian Gordon.  Ms. Gordon was involved in expensive prostitution linked to powerful men run by a madam named Polly Adler.  Clients included organized crime figures that may have been tied to the judge one way or another.  

Folks from New York to Fort Stockton followed the investigation in their local papers.  Judge Crater quickly became known as “the missingest man in America.”  His wife remained in Maine during the investigation. Sources revealed that Crater had liquidated his investments earlier that spring, netting him what would be $419,500 in current dollars.  Once his wife returned to their apartment in the city she was eventually evicted for not being able to pay the rent.  The contents of the two briefcases as well as a safe deposit box in the judge’s name were never found.

Judge Crater was never seen again.  In 1937, while working as a telephone operator making $12 a week, Mrs. Crater petitioned to have her husband declared dead.  The courts did so in 1939, which allowed her to collect on an insurance policy worth $450,000 in 2024 dollars.  It remains unclear exactly what happened to the 1927 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A S Coupe, although if the remains of the judge were ever located they could probably find plenty of DNA for comparison in the back seat of the car.

Rumors persisted that the judge was murdered by a crooked cop and his remains buried beneath a section of the Coney Island boardwalk.  That site was excavated in the 1950s as it was dug up to make way for the New York Aquarium.  The technology didn’t exist at that time to be able to detect human remains.  Judge Crater undoubtedly sleeps with the fishes.  Possibly underneath them.

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