Downfall of Bartemius Crouch

But Sirius shook his head and said, 'She's got the measure of Crouch better than ou have, Ron. If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.'
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'Crouch's own son was caught with a group of Death Eaters who'd managed to talk their way out of Azkaban. Apparently they were trying to find Voldemort and return him to power. Nasty little shock for old Barty, I'd imagine. Should have spent a bit more time at home with his family, shouldn't he? Ought to have left the office early once in a while... got to know his own son.'
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Crouch's fatherly affection stretched just far enough to give his son a trial and, by all accounts, it wasn't much more than an exuse for Crouch to show how much he hated the boy... then he sent him straight to Azkaban.'
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'So old Crouch lost it all, just when he thought he had it made,' he continued, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. 'One moment, a hero, poised to become Minister for Magic... next, his son dead, his wife dead, the family name dishonored, and, so I've heard since I escaped, a big drop in popularity. Once the boy had died, people started feeling a bit more sympathetic towards him and started asking how a nice young lad from a good family had gone so badly astray. The conclusion was that his father never cared much for him. So Cornelius Fudge got the top job, and Crouch was shunted sideways into the Department of International Magical Co-operation.'

~ PADFOOT RETURNS - pg 444