Finding Judge Crater: A Life and Phenomenal Disappearance in Jazz Age New York

Placeholder author icon
By Stephen J. Riegel ’79

Published Feb. 18, 2022

One night in August 1930, newly appointed judge and prominent Manhattanite Joseph Force Crater suddenly vanished after hailing a taxi on Broadway. Finding Judge Crater (Syracuse University Press) delves into the mystery that followed: a decades-long manhunt to find the missing judge, which has — to this day — remained fruitless. Drawing on overlooked evidence, including police files and legal records, Riegel proposes a solution to the mystery of Crater’s disappearance and the accompanying transformation of Jazz Age New York City into a modern-day metropolis.

Paw in print

Image
The January 2026 cover of PAW, featuring a man and a woman and the headline "Empower Couple."
The Latest Issue

January 2026

Giving big with Kwanza Jones ’93 and José E. Feliciano ’94; Elizabeth Tsurkov freed; small town wonderers.