Family of Judge John Phillips, Who Froze to Death, Settles With Nursing Home

The Brooklyn nursing home where a once-prominent judge froze to death exactly seven years ago has agreed to settle the wrongful death lawsuit filed by his family for $750,000 — while the home’s half-dozen remaining residents still suffer in freezing temperatures, according to court papers and a lawyer for the judge’s family.

The late Civil Court Judge John Phillips — known in his heyday as “the kung-fu judge” because of his black belt — froze to death in his Prospect Park Residence apartment, court papers state.

“Judge Phillips froze to death while confined to an unheated apartment at the defendants unlicensed facility in February 2008,” according to court papers filed by Phillips’ estate in 2010.

“The judge’s wrongful death is not an isolated incident,” said lawyer John O’Hara, who represents the Phillips estate.

“He was confined and they were blocking doctors from seeing him and the heat went off and he froze to death seven years ago today. And there are still people freezing in there.”

An elderly woman who currently lives in the facility said the dining room and other common rooms are unheated and that the residents often eat in their rooms so they don’t have to brave the freezing dining room.

“It was really bitter cold [at breakfast this morning.] My fingers were like ice. They had a little space heater but it didn’t generate any heat,” said the woman, who didn’t want her name used because she fears retaliation.

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Family of Judge Who Froze to Death Settles With Nursing Home

'Thieving' Lawyer Bought Mom a Condo With Judge's Money: Prosecutors

Judge John L. Phillips  (credit:  Steven Hirsh)

A lawyer charged with stealing nearly $600,000 from the estate of the late Brooklyn Judge John Phillips, a k a the “Kung Fu Judge,” used some of the money to buy his mother a condo, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Frank Racano, 54, pleaded not guilty in Brooklyn Criminal Court to a grand jury indictment charging him with grand larceny for writing more than 300 checks to himself from an escrow account after two of Phillips’ properties were sold.

Of the $587,160 Racano allegedly stole, “several hundred-thousand dollars were used to pay for a condo for his mother,” Assistant District Attorney Frank Dudis said.

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'Thieving' Lawyer Bought Mom a Condo With Judge's Money: Prosecutors>/a>

April 2016: Lawyer Probed in 'Kung-Fu Judge' Missing $700k Inheritance

A Queens lawyer accused of looting the estate of a Brooklyn judge is being probed by a grand jury over seven counts of grand larceny that accuse him of pocketing more than $700,000 in inheritance, The Post has learned.

Attorney Frank Racano — currently serving a 30 day contempt-of-court sentence for not accounting for funds taken from the estate of the late Judge John Phillips — admitted to a Brooklyn surrogate’s court judge in March that he’d written checks to himself from the deceased jurist’s escrow account.

Phillips was known as the “Kung Fu Judge” because of his black belt and habit of breaking out martial arts moves during court proceedings.

The Brooklyn DA’s office is “moving forward with an indictment on the criminal charges,” Phillips’ nephew, the Rev. Samuel Boykin, said Wednesday.

“My family and I are alleging that he has ripped the estate off for 713,000,” Boykin said of Racano, who he had hired to help handle the estate.

A law enforcement source confirmed Racano was “under investigation.”

The disgruntled nephew also recently filed a $160 million notice of claim against the city, saying he was improperly removed as executor of Phillips’ estate in January 2015 and “illegally” replaced with public administrator Charles Fiori.

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(2016) Lawyer Probed in 'Kung-Fu Judge' Missing $700k Inheritance

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The Brooklyn DA’s office is probing ex-DA Charles Hynes — already under investigation by state and federal authorities — over his use of asset forfeiture money to pay restitution to victims of a real estate scam, including the late Judge John Phillips, The Post has learned.

“They said they were investigating the check and where the check came from and what the amount should or should not have been,” said Phillips’ nephew, the Rev. Samuel Boykin, who is the executor of his uncle’s estate.

“They’re going to find out how much all 11 people were supposed to actually receive.”

Source:(2014) DA Probing Hynes for Alleged Improper Use of Forfeiture Money

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The Brooklyn DA is probing how a prominent judge came to die penniless in a nursing home, after angry relatives claimed his estate had been looted and demanded an investigation.

Relatives of Civil Court Judge John Phillips — known as “the kung-fu judge” because of his black belt — say his court-appointed guardians took exorbitant fees and ran up a million-dollar IRS bill by failing to file taxes.

The Rev. Samuel Boykin, a nephew of the Alzheimer’s- stricken Phillips, estimates the alleged rip-off cost the judge and his heirs $20 million to $30 million.

A spokeswoman for DA Kenneth Thompson said his office is reviewing documents Boykin submitted.

One guardian was accused in 2006 of improperly paying herself out of Phillips’ assets. Then-DA Charles Hynes referred the case to the Appellate Division, and the guardian was suspended for taking $327,000.

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(2014) DA Probes Prominent Judge's Death in Nursing Home

Attorney from Howard Beach stole $600K from the estate of a dead judge, prosecutors say

A lawyer from Howard Beach found himself in handcuffs this week after being indicted for allegedly stealing nearly $600,000 from the estate of a late civil court judge, prosecutors announced on Wednesday.

Frank Racano, 54, is accused of milking approximately $587,160.46 left behind by Civil Court Judge John L. Phillips Jr., a Brooklyn resident who died on February 16, 2008 without any heirs for his estate.

According to Kings County District Attorney Ken Thompson, a court-appointed administrator hired Racano in 2010 to sell Phillips’ real estate holdings, including the historic Slave Theater and an adjacent lot in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Two years later, the property went into contract for $2.2 million, and the prospective buyer issued a check for a 10 percent down payment ($220,000) made payable to “Frank Racano, as attorney.” The check was subsequently deposited into Racano’s attorney trust checking account.

The sale closed in February 2013, and the net proceeds of the sale, $517,339,65, were deposited into Racano’s trust account, bringing the total amount to $737,339,65.

Prosecutors said that Racano allegedly wrote and cashed more than 300 checks to himself from that trust account between February 2013 and May 2015 without proper authorization. The checks ranged in amounts from as little as $45 to as much as $7,500.

Along with legal, authorized payments for tax assistance and other services totaling more than $150,000, Thompson said, Racano’s alleged theft completely depleted the trust account.

“We will now hold him accountable for these shameful criminal acts,” Thompson said in a statement.

Racano was indicted on one count of second-degree grand larceny. At arraignment, he was ordered held on $250,000 bail and to return to court on August 10.

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Attorney from Howard Beach stole $600K from the estate of a dead judge, prosecutors say