Wife of Tammany Hall’s ‘Boss’ Croker did not poison his mind against children, Dublin Court decides

Dublin, 16 June 1923 - A legal row over the dying wishes of ex-Tammany Hall political leader, Richard  ‘Boss’ Croker, has ended in a Dublin High Court. Mr. Croker had been born in Cork and rose to public prominence in New York. He returned later in life to Ireland where he lived in Glencairn in Sandyford and bred racehorses.

Mr. Croker died in 1922 and in a will signed in October 1919 he left his fortune to his second wife and widow, Mrs. Bula Croker.

Richard Croker, 1841-1922 (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA)

However, Mr. Croker’s eldest son, Richard Junior, had alleged that at the date the will was written Mrs. Croker dominated his father, poisoned his mind and prejudiced him against the interests of his children. The jury in Dublin found otherwise.

The jury found that at the time of the execution of the will, Mr. Croker was of sound mind and understanding and he knew and approved of the contents of the will he had signed. The jury found that Mrs. Bula E. Croker, the defendant in the case, had not exercised any influence on him nor did she make ‘false and fraudulent representations to the deceased as to the honesty, loyalty and affection of his children, Richard, Howard and Ethel.’

Furthermore, the defendant had not contrived to keep ‘Boss’ Croker from interacting  with his children so as to prevent them prejudicing his will. Significantly, too, the jury dismissed a charge that at the time of her marriage to  ‘Boss’ Croker,  Bula E. Croker was already the wife of Guy R. Mareno. 

[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]