The Man Who Never Came Back: Judge Joseph Force Crater
Lehigh Valley history is full of mysteries and unsolved crimes. Few people alive today remember the story of New York Supreme Court Judge Joseph Crater: the man who never came back.
Judge Crater was born in Easton to parents who owned a produce business. He attended Easton Area High School and Lafayette College before studying law at Columbia University in New York. His mother warned him, “New York is a wicked city. It is a den of iniquity.” Her words foretold his future.
On August 6, 1930, just a few short months after his appointment to the New York Supreme Court and in the height of his career, Judge Crater walked out of a restaurant in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of NYC and into a taxi. He was never seen again.
Are you brave enough to hear more stories about the true crime and real criminals who haunted the streets and citizens of Northampton County? Join us for our Eeerie Easton walking tours, if you dare.