Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-10-28
Judge Crafer
Hunt Revived
BySpiritua|ist


NEW YORK, Oct. 20 (AP.-
Is the long-missing Judge Cra-
ter-the central figure in one
OF New York City's most famous
disappearance cases-buried in
the back yard of a suburban
residence?
The city's Missing Persons
Bureau has been intrigued with
that possibility for about five
years, although quietly until
now.
The bureau became even
more intrigued when a Dutch
spiritualist medium. assertedly
with no knowledge Of the case,
came up with an identical reci-
tation OF clues known only to
the police.
Both accounts tend to up
hold a theory that the jurist
was taken to a home in Yon-
kers, N. Y, and slain because
OF trouble over a shady money
deal and buried in the vicinity.
Yonkers is the next community
north of New York City along
the Hudson River, about is
miles from the center of the
metropolis.
Site Kept Secret
Police know the location
which they withhold to keep
away hordes of sightseers-but
at the moment nothing more
can be done.
The clues aren't solid enough
to obtain court authorization
for expensive digging and in
vestigation on the premises. In
addition. recent owners under
Standably have not been anx-
ious to have the place torn
asunder without reimburse
ment, a large consideration.
Murray leigh Bloom, writer
investigator, tells the story of
the strange events concerning
the Yonkers house in a Har-
per's magazine article pub
lished yesterday. Police agreed
to publication in hopes of some
how getting further aid in the
mystery.
Thousands of tips, purported
clues and even rumors have
been dogeedly tracked down
over tine years.
Joseph Force Crater, then
Al, was a New York State
Supreme Court justice. On the
night of August 6, 1880, he
left a mid-Manhattan cafe,
hailed a taxi and vanished.
Wide Speculation
For long afterward there was
a feverish effort to ascertain
what happened. Some thought
Judge Crater disappeared Of
his own accord. Others thought
he was slain. There were
murmurS of tieups between
politicians and gangsters,
crooked deals and hot money.
The Harper's article reports
that in January, 1854, an ell
derby Bronx butcher, Henry
Krauss, asked to see a police
man he had known Is years.
Mr.. Krauss said he felt he was
about to die and had something
to get off his chest.
His story was that at the
time Judge Crater disappeared
Mr.. Krauss owned a Yonkers
house, seldom used except for
party-giving by some of his
friends and political acquaint-
anceS.
One day, Mr.. Krauss con-
tinued, he went to the house
and found the kitchen filled
with blood and broken beer
and whisky bottles" Mr..
KrausS said he was warned
later he might be questioned
about Judge Crater and to keep
mum.
He was led to believe there
had been trouble over 100000
obtained by Judge Crater and
others in a crooked deal.
Mr.. KrauSS died short time
later, and officers went to work
on his story. Some assertions
proved true, others untrue and
some couldn't be tested. The
investigation came to a stand
still.
A peculiar development came
not long afterward as a result
of Mr.. Bloom meeting the
Dutch medium, Gerard Croiset.
Mr.. Bloom, who says he was
unaware of the New York
police developments, took pho
tograph of Judge Crater to Mr..
CroiSet after learning the me-
dunn had enabled European
police to solve several major
crimes.
Mr.. Croiset did not look at
the picture, but placed his fin
gers on it as it lay face down,
and went into a trance. Mr..
Bloom recountS that Mr.. Croi-
set then said the subject was
judge, and had been kidnapped
and murdered "a or Is years
earlier.
Subsequently. Mr.. Croiset
drew a crude map placing Ks
at the kidnapping spot and the