Discipline Case Filed Against Fla. Appeals Judge Over Stripper’s Assets

A Florida appellate judge accused earlier of helping a stripper—who he acknowledges is a friend of his—hide assets in a bankruptcy case is now facing disciplinary charges.

In it, Judge Thomas E. Stringer Sr. is charged by the state Judicial Qualifications Commission not only with helping Christy Yamanaka conceal assets from creditors but allegedly accepting expensive gifts from her that he did not report as required by judicial ethics rules, writes the St. Petersburg Times. The claimed gifts include two Rolex watches (for Stringer and his wife, the JQC says) and a customized Mercedes sedan.

"Stringer has acknowledged a friendship with Yamanaka but denied doing anything improper. He said he tried to help her when she ran into financial trouble, but he did not elaborate last spring," the newspaper writes.

The friendship between the two came to light after Yamanka went public last year with allegations that the judge owed her money. As discussed in an earlier ABAJournal.com. post, Stringer also acknowledged earlier that he had some business dealings with Yamanka, but said her claims that he owed her were an effort to scam him.

The disciplinary charges were filed by the JQC today in the Florida Supreme Court. Stringer sits on the 2nd District Court of Appeal, which hears cases in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties in an area midway along the state's west coast.

Further details are provided in a copy of the disciplinary complaint (PDF) posted by the Times.