In 1944, William C. Crossley resigned as District Attorney in the
Southeastern Massachusetts district.  The New Bedford Standard-Times
said in a recent story that he resigned "in disgrace."  What had
Crossley done wrong?  Why did he have to resign?

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Request for Question Clarification by justaskscott-ga on 14 Apr 2003 21:05 PDT

Have you already tried contacting the author of the column that
mentioned Crossley's resignation?  If you have not, I would be happy
to do so on your behalf, as well as to contact others in the area who
might have information about this episode.

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Clarification of Question by mccook-ga on 14 Apr 2003 21:53 PDT

Heard about the Standard-Times story second-hand, and could not find
it on the web; apparently Crossley is mentioned once, cryptically. 
Called the paper. Since I lacked the subject of the story, a date, or
the writer's name, they couldn't help me. Have searched six ways to
Sunday on the Internet, but am running out of time on a magazine story
I am finishing up in which Crossley figures prominently. Hoping
someone with better Internet search skills than I have -- or somebody
who lives much closer to the scene -- might be able to come up with a
quick, factually solid answer about what he did in 1944 that forced
him to step down as district attorney for the southern (or
southeastern) district in Massachusetts.

Good luck, and thanks!

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Clarification of Question by mccook-ga on 15 Apr 2003 20:04 PDT

justaskscott-ga:  Thanks for your efforts. You're already a lot
further along than I would have gotten.  Let me know.

mccook-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by justaskscott-ga on 16 Apr 2003 10:11 PDT

No reply yet from the author of the article.  If you'd like, I can
post a link to the article, so that you can get that little bit of
information regarding Crossley as well as the name and author of the
article, whom you could try to contact yourself.

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Clarification of Question by mccook-ga on 16 Apr 2003 10:43 PDT

justaskscott-ga. That would be terrific. Thank you.  This is the first
time I posted a question on this service.  I'd like for you to be able
to have the payment I offered.  Is there anything I should do to make
this happen?

Thanks,
mccook-ga

Hello mccook-ga,

By answering this question, I will collect the payment you have
offered.  I am grateful for this opportunity.

The article is:

"DA plays well to (mostly) friendly crowd", by Dick White [So It Goes]
(appeared on Page A4 of The Standard-Times on January 9, 2003)
SouthCoastToday.com
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/01-03/01-09-03/a04lo024.htm

The fifth paragraph of this piece states:

"Only William C. Crossley served longer as Bristol County district
attorney -- from 1927 before resigning in disgrace in 1944 while under
investigation from the attorney general's office."

Again, this is only a bit of information: that Crossley was under
investigation from the attorney general's office.  But I presume that
Mr. White knows something about what this investigation involved.  His
e-mail address is at the end of the article.

I hope that this information is helpful.

- justaskscott-ga


Search term used on Google:

"william c crossley"

[I tried other search terms and search engines as well, but this was
the only search term that led to useful information.]

justaskscott-ga got as far as a human could possibly go in less than
48 hours. Speed was of the essence, as I was on deadline for a
magazine story. He put me in touch with just the right guy to answer
my question.  This was my first experience with this service, and if
every q. and a. works out as well as this, I'll be back again and
again.

The article indicates the basic circumstances under which Crossley
resigned, but not why he was in disgrace.

I have written to the author of the article.  I will let you know if I
receive any useful information in reply.

Scott, Mccook --

I checked the 1944 editions of the New York Times, thinking that the
resignation of a district attorney might appear there.  No luck.

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA