--- /root/cron.conf.orig	2014-05-20 13:01:46.728302430 +0200
+++ /etc/init/cron.conf	2014-05-20 13:58:00.176604355 +0200
@@ -8,7 +8,26 @@ description	"regular background program
 start on runlevel [2345]
 stop on runlevel [!2345]
 
-expect fork
 respawn
 
-exec cron
+pre-start script
+    # su ensures that pam.d stuff like /etc/default/locale is loaded,
+    # but because we now have more forks than 2 (su forks twice, cron
+    # forks once), we cannot use the expect stanza anymore.
+    su - root -c cron
+end script
+
+script 
+    infinite_sleep() {
+        while pidof $1 >/dev/null; do
+            sleep 10
+        done
+    }
+    infinite_sleep cron
+end script
+
+post-stop script
+    if pidof cron >/dev/null; then
+        pkill cron
+    fi
+end script