Seeking Justice for the Kung Fu Judge

Samuel Boykin, nephew and administrator of the estate of late Brooklyn Civil Court Judge John Phillips Jr. (a/k/a "The Kung Fu Judge") has filed a complaint with the State Attorney General's office alleging that the Prospect Park Residence, where Phillips died in 2008, fraudulently marketed itself as a licensed assisted living facility.

Boykin has also filed a wrongful death suit alleging that the residence failed to address the judge's dietary needs -- he was diabetic -- which contributed to his death.

Phillips served on the Brooklyn Civil Court bench from 1977 until 1994. During the 1980s he bought a number of properties in then-derelict Bedford-Stuyvesant, including The Slave and The Black Lady Theaters.

When he died in 2008, Phillips was reportedly worth about $10 million.

In 2001, when the 77-year-old Phillips was trying to run against third-term incumbent Brooklyn District Attorney Charlie Hynes, Hynes' office began an investigation into the judge's mental competence. As a result, Phillips was placed under court-ordered guardianship and his assets were appropriated.

Boykin, on behalf of Phillips' now-bankrupt estate, alleges that the court-appointed guardians wasted the judge's assets, leaving millions in unpaid taxes.

The article from the New York Law Journal.

Boykin is trying to reclaim the Slave Theater on behalf of his uncle's estate [Brooklyn Paper.]