A disgraced former Illinois judge who admitted to stealing money from her Tuskegee Airman uncle is facing justice for her misdeed.

CBS News Chicago reported Friday (Sept. 22) that the Illinois Supreme Court stripped retired Cook County judge Patricia Martin of her law license, which she has held since 1986.

State prosecutors are also considering felony charges against Martin, who sat on the bench for 24 years and was once the top juvenile court judge in Cook County.

The high court’s Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) said, “She intentionally used for her own purposes more than $240,000 she had agreed to hold for an elderly relative who was residing in a nursing home, made false statements to the physician who held her relative's power of attorney about the balances in his bank and investment accounts, and did not produce documents in response to an ARDC subpoena.”

Martin’s uncle, Oscar Wilkerson, was a member of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, a Black American pilot unit that bravely fought in the European skies abroad and racism at home.

Wilkerson was the last known Tuskegee Airman living in the Chicago area. He was assigned to the 617th Bombardment Squadron, where he trained to fly the B-25 bomber. He later went on to be a photographer, radio host and program director at the now defunct Harvey, Ill., station WBEE and took the same role at Chicago’s WMAQ until his retirement in 1988. He died in February at age 96.

One month before Martin retired in 2020, she received power of attorney to help manage Wilkerson's bank, 401k, and social security accounts. Five months before he died in February, Wilkerson sued Martin, alleging that she took hundreds of thousands of dollars from his account for her personal use.

The ARDC filed a complaint alleging that she “used at least $246,203.80 of … funds without his authority for her own personal purpose" to purchase cryptocurrency. Later, a judge ordered her to repay Wilkerson’s estate a total of $1.1 million, adding a financial penalty for her lack of responsiveness to court hearings and orders.

In June, Martin admitted to her misconduct but refused to repay the court-ordered $1.1 million to her uncle’s estate. Her lawyers have argued that Wilkerson’s death means there is now no plaintiff to pay.

Even if that argument holds in court, the States Attorney's office and the Illinois Attorney General are considering felony charges against Martin. There’s also the possibility of new criminal charges in Cook County related to Martin allegedly disregarding court orders to stop transferring Wilkerson’s money for her use, including the purchase of Bitcoin.