XPost: alt.military.retired, alt.government.employees, chi.general   
   XPost: sac.politics, soc.culture.african.american   
   From: j_d@invalid.org   
      
   A former Cook County judge who stole large sums of money from an elderly   
   friend who served as a Tuskegee Airman received a probationary sentence on   
   Friday.   
      
   Patricia Martin, 66, received four years of probation after pleading   
   guilty to theft of $100,000 to $500,000, according to court records. The   
   judge also ordered her to pay $122,763.73 in restitution and comply with   
   standard probation conditions that include random drug testing.   
      
   Martin once served as presiding judge of the Child Protection Division and   
   retired in 2020.   
      
   Prosecutors initially accused her of stealing nearly $250,000 from then-   
   95-year-old Oscar Wilkerson, a longtime friend whose finances she   
   controlled under power of attorney. Using that authority, Martin closed   
   some of Wilkerson’s bank accounts and withdrew more than $115,000,   
   officials said. She used the money to buy crypto.   
      
   Investigators said she continued making unauthorized transactions for   
   crypto purchases and personal expenses through 2021 and most of 2022.   
      
   The thefts were uncovered after a senior living facility terminated   
   Wilkerson’s residency because of unpaid bills. An attorney was brought in   
   to examine his finances and filed a lawsuit against Martin in 2022. She   
   failed to respond, resulting in a default judgment of about $1.1 million,   
   according to court filings.   
      
   Because Martin previously served as a Cook County judge, her case was   
   assigned to McHenry County Judge Tiffany Davis. Wilkerson died in 2023,   
   one day before his 97th birthday. Martin was disbarred the same year.   
      
   https://cwbchicago.com/2025/12/retired-judge-gets-probation-for-stealing-   
   nearly-250000-from-elderly-tuskegee-airman.html   
      
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