Former judge sentenced to probation in theft case

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Former Cook County Judge Patricia Martin on Friday was sentenced to four years probation after she admitted to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the bank accounts of an elderly former Tuskegee Airman to purchase cryptocurrency.

Martin, 66, who previously served as presiding judge in the Child Protection Division of Cook County Circuit Court, pleaded guilty to one felony theft count, marking a quiet end to a legal saga that involved a lawsuit, a petition for criminal contempt of court, a $1.1 million default judgment and a disbarment.

The accusations against Martin, who retired from the judiciary in 2020, were first revealed in a lawsuit and attorney discipline complaint that alleged she took nearly $250,000 from the bank accoun