Ex-B'klyn Judge Still Screwed
In November 2004, [we introduced you to John L. Phillips], a once well-respected and wealthy Brooklyn judge who lost control of his life and his millions in 2000 when he was declared mentally incapacitated due to early Alzheimers. He was subsequently put under the control of court-appointed guardians, effectively rendering him penniless and leaving him vulnerable to abuse.
Sounds unfair, doesnt it? Wait, it gets worse. Phillips case has drawn the attention of many of who believe that the retired jurist is, in fact, the victim of the infamously corrupt Brooklyn District Attorneys office. You see, the proceedings that led to Phillips removal from the bench and his loss of control over his assets were initiated by none other than Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes, whom Phillips had attempted to challenge in 1997 for the office of Brooklyn district attorney before his nominating petitions were disqualified. Phillips was poised for another fight and had planned to run against Hynes for Brooklyn district attorney in 2001. But just months before the race began, Phillips mental condition was placed under fire. By the end of the year, Phillips had lost control of his assets, and in the winter of 2002, neighbors found Philips living in squalor, sick and without heat. In 2004, when the Press ran Phillips story, the former judge had just been thrown out of his offices at Slave Theatre and sent by one of his guardians to the Bronx VA Medical Center.
This month, the [AARP Bulletin] ran an update on Phillips, and it seems that his predicament has sadly only turned for the worst. Christopher Ketcham reports that the 84 year-old is now living in an assisted housing facility, his $10 million estate still in shambles. A series of court-appointed guardians, many with ties to Hynes, have failed to file tax returns on Phillips behalf and several of his properties have been sold at unpublicized auctions in below-market deals. One guardian, who used her access to Phillips account to write herself $187,000 in checks, has yet to repay the amount, and Philips lawyers are also still waiting for an official count of his assets. The court system and his so-called guardians want to sweep this under the rug, attorney Ezra Glaser told Ketcham. Hopefully, were making that a little more difficult for them today.
Photo by Nick Bilton