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Stripper: Groundbreaking Judge Banked My Money

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Judge Thomas E. Stringer Sr., lower right, said he and Christy Yamanaka, lower left, partnered in a deal to buy and sell this house in Hawaii.

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By STEVE ANDREWS of News Channel 8 and THOMAS W. KRAUSE of The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 11, 2008

Updated: 03/11/2008 05:59 pm

TAMPA - The judge has called their relationship "a pure business matter," but also a friendship.

The stripper says he helped her hide assets from creditors, at a time when she had court judgments against her totaling nearly $315,000.

Thomas E. Stringer Sr., who broke barriers as the first black circuit judge in Hillsborough County, and Christy Yamanaka, who dances at a famous New York strip club, met in 1995 at the old Malio's restaurant on South Dale Mabry Highway.

Today, they are at odds over money.

Stringer, 63, now sits on the 2nd District Court of Appeal, reviewing the decisions of lower Florida courts. He won't talk about why he and Yamanaka first struck up a friendship.

Stringer said he and Yamanaka, 47, were business partners in the purchase and sale of a house in Hawaii. He also acknowledges Yamanaka's money went into his bank accounts, saying he opened the accounts in his name because she had terrible credit. Yamanaka's contention he helped her hide money, though, is "not accurate," he said

Stringer would not elaborate on why Yamanaka used his bank accounts.

"Those are details I am not at liberty to discuss on advice of counsel," he said.

Stringer's lawyer said the judge would not elaborate because Yamanaka has taken the first steps toward suing him. Stringer received a letter from Yamanaka's attorney alleging Stringer owes her money.

The judge said he owes Yamanaka nothing. He said she is trying to scam him.

Without commenting on Springer specifically, an authority on judicial standards says a judge using his bank accounts to help someone manage money would raise ethical questions.

"That becomes perilously close to the practice of law," said Pat Anderson, a former prosecutor with the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission. "It is forbidden for a judge to practice law while sitting on the bench."

If a judge knowingly helps someone avoid court judgments, Anderson added, matters could be worse.

The Judge and the Stripper

Stringer, 63, has a storied career as a Tampa lawyer and judge.

After graduating from New York University in 1967, with a degree in mathematics, he joined the U.S. Air Force, where he rose to the rank of captain, according to information from the 2nd DCA.

In 1974, he was the first black man to graduate from Stetson University College of Law, articles on the Florida school's Web site say. He spent two years as a prosecutor then eight in private practice before Gov. Bob Graham appointed him to a Hillsborough County judgeship.

In 1987, Gov. Bob Martinez appointed him the first black man to sit on Hillsborough County's circuit court bench. He served as a circuit judge until 1999, when Gov. Jeb Bush appointed him to the 2nd District Court of Appeal.

Stringer is married to Lillian Stringer, director of public relations for the Tampa Housing Authority, and has five adult children, including a stepson. Lillian Stringer said she knew nothing about her husband's financial relationship with Yamanaka and declined comment.

Stringer answered questions for this story in two brief phone calls then cut off contact. When a list of additional questions was e-mailed to him, his attorney, Lansing Scriven, said Stringer would make himself available to tell his side of the story.

During an hour-long interview in Scriven's office, Stringer gave simple "yes" or "no" answers to most questions, at the attorney's direction.

Yamanaka, in several interviews from New York by phone and e-mail, said she was born in Korea and lived in Japan. She moved to the United States with her family when she was 20. She attended college but did not graduate, she said.

She said she worked as a waitress in Japanese restaurants then, over the next 10 years, lived in Dallas, San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles. In 1995, she said, after divorcing a Japanese national, she came to Tampa.

Yamanaka got a job dancing at 2001 Odyssey, she said. It was the first time she worked as a stripper.

One night, she said, as she was eating dinner alone at the bar of the old Malio's, the judge sent her a drink. He said he could not recall how they made contact that night. Both said a friendship developed.

Yamanaka said the relationship eventually turned sexual. Stringer said the relationship was "personal" but he declined to elaborate.

Yamanaka moved to Canada after only a few months in Tampa.

Money Management

In Toronto, she said, she continued to work as a stripper and began to save large sums of money. She later got married again and moved to Hawaii.

In Hawaii, Yamanaka said her credit problem began. Eventually, her credit card debt rose to several hundred thousand dollars. She and her husband grew apart. She began to divide her time between Hawaii and Las Vegas.

Yamanaka filed for bankruptcy in 2000, Nevada court records show, but the bankruptcy judge would not release her from the credit card debt.

During the bankruptcy proceedings, court records show, American Express won a judgment against her for $78,340. Bank of America, court records show, won a judgment for $236,615.

Yamanaka said the credit card judgments have not been paid. She provided a document from Bank of America that shows interest has accrued and she owes the bank $460,566.36 as of last month.

When Yamanaka moved to Toronto, after knowing Stringer for only a few months, the two lost touch.

Several years later, Stringer said, Yamanaka called him to talk about a bankruptcy. He said he told her he could not offer legal advice because of his standing as a judge and suggested she talk to his son, lawyer Daryl Stringer.

Daryl Stringer declined comment for this story, citing attorney client confidentiality.

Judge Stringer said he and Yamanaka formed a business partnership over a house in Hawaii. He said the plan was for him to make the down payment and for her to pay the mortgage. When they sold the house, they would split the profits.

He acknowledged there was no written business agreement. The house was in his name but he did not ask her to sign a lease to live there.

"She was a friend," he said.

Stringer said he did not know about Yamanaka's bankruptcy when he bought the Hawaii house.

But documents show that by the time the house deal closed, Stringer's son Daryl already was representing Yamanaka. A letter provided by Yamanaka shows that Nov. 1, 2004, Daryl Stringer wrote to Bank of America stating he represented her. On Nov. 15, 2004, Thomas Stringer signed the mortgage on the Hawaii house.

Yamanaka said she couldn't keep up with the house payments. She resumed her stripping career in Las Vegas and flew back and forth to the Hawaii house.

Yamanaka said Stringer told her he wanted to help her manage her money by letting her use his bank accounts. He wanted to keep her on a budget so she could save money and satisfy the debt, she said.

Stringer disputes this but declined to elaborate.

Throughout the years, Yamanaka said, the judge advised her that using his bank accounts would help protect her money from creditors seeking payment for the judgments.

"I thought he was taking care of my legal standpoint," she said.

Stringer said he could not recall when he found out about the judgments, but said they had nothing to do with her using his accounts.

"That was not my intent," he said.

He said he wanted to comment about the bank accounts but could not because of the litigation issue.

"There is a lot I would like to say but nothing I am at liberty to say," Stringer said.

Finances Merge

Yamanaka said she deposited money into Stringer's accounts for several years. Records she produced show deposits from ATMs in Las Vegas and New York between October 2005 and August 2007.

She still works as a dancer in New York for the adult club Scores, which is mentioned often on Howard Stern's radio show and is where actress Lindsay Lohan gave an unexpected pole dance, according to the New York Post.

A tax form Yamanaka provided showed that she made more than $106,000 at Scores in 2007 from customers' credit cards.

Yamanaka currently lives in a New York apartment leased under Stringer's name, although Stringer said she pays the rent. He said he recently decided it would be "inappropriate" to renew the lease, and advised his landlord.

To prove that Stringer allowed her access to his accounts, Yamanaka provided several hundred pages of financial documents, including statements for two accounts one at Bank of America and another at Wells Fargo Bank.

The accounts are in the judge's name with the addresses listed as a Brandon post office box and Stringer's home in Hillsborough County. The statements show tens of thousands of dollars deposited from automatic teller machines in Las Vegas and New York.

Stringer said the money that went into the Wells Fargo account was Yamanaka's mortgage payments for the Hawaii house.

One document showed that between May 22 and May 25, 2006, five deposits totaling $8,700 were added to Stringer's Wells Fargo account from a Las Vegas ATM.

In addition to the mortgage, Stringer said, Yamanaka was paying for upkeep of the house, including landscaping.

He declined to talk about the Bank of America accounts.

Here is what some of the Bank of America statements show:

* In December 2006 and January 2007, $12,930 was deposited from a New York ATM into an account under the name Thomas E. Stringer Sr.

* In February 2007, $16,111 was deposited into the account from New York ATMs.

* Between June and July, $13,800 was deposited using New York ATMs.

Stringer acknowledged that Yamanaka used accounts that were in his name because "her credit was terrible."

Stringer said Yamanaka had two Washington Mutual bank accounts in her own name. He said he deposited more than $100,000 into those accounts and she kept taking it out. He declined to comment on the source of that money.

Yamanaka, Stringer said, traveled the world getting plastic surgery and used up all the money she had put into his accounts.

"There's none left," Stringer said. "She spent it all."

They bought the Hawaii house in 2004 for $440,000, records show. He sold it in 2006 for $749,000, for a profit of $309,000. Stringer said Yamanaka got most of the money, as they had agreed.

Yamanaka said she has no access to bank account records other than what Stringer has sent her. She acknowledges she did make large withdrawals from the two bank accounts under Stringer's name and did take trips to Los Angeles and Korea for surgeries.

She said she doesn't think she could have spent it all.

Stringer said he would not release his bank account records to the media.

"I don't think this is the proper forum to review that matter," he said.

'The Utmost Discretion'

Anderson, the former prosecutor with the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission, said she has not reviewed Stringer's records and did not want to offer a specific opinion about his financial transactions.

She did say that thousands of dollars flowing into a judge's bank accounts from out of state would raise questions for the commission.

"The JQC would want to know why," Anderson said. "The public would want to know why. Why is this judge receiving these payments?"

If a judge allowed someone access to his bank accounts so he could help manage the other person's money, the judge could be perceived as a trustee for those funds, Anderson said. An ethics panel might view that as serving as the person's lawyer, Anderson said. A sitting judge is prohibited from practicing law.

If a judge knowingly helped someone avoid court judgments by putting the other person's money into his accounts, Anderson said, that would be an ethical violation.

"Assuming the judge knew about the judgment or creditors or financial problems, it would give the appearance that that the judge was helping the other person evade his or her responsibility," Anderson said, "A judge cannot do that."

Rules of conduct are stringent for judges because they have the power to send people to prison, deny their liberties and invoke judgments against them, she said.

Stringer is one of 14 judges on the 2nd District Court of Appeal, whose members review decisions made by the lower courts. They often uphold or reverse criminal convictions or decide if civil judgments should be reduced or upheld. Decisions by appellate judges can be reviewed by the Florida Supreme Court.

"The judge has to exercise the utmost discretion and sound judgment in making an investment and entering into business relationships," Anderson said.

The Judicial Canons, a list of regulations a sitting judge must follow, state that a judge's personal fiscal matters must be conducted in a way that prevents even the appearance of impropriety.

"A judge must expect to be the subject of constant public scrutiny," the canons state.

Following Stringer's interviews with reporters, he released a statement via e-mail.

"I am proud to have been a public servant for more than 30 years," Stringer wrote. "I am hopeful that the citizens of this community will withhold judgment until all the facts are fully developed in the appropriate forum."

Timeline

1995: Circuit Judge Thomas E. Stringer Sr. and Christy Yamanaka, a stripper at 2001 Odyssey, meet at the now-closed Malio's restaurant. They form a friendship. Months after they meet, Yamanaka moves to Toronto.

Aug. 22, 2000: Yamanaka files for bankruptcy.

Nov. 16, 2000: Bank of America wins a $236,615 judgment against Yamanaka for outstanding credit card debt.

March 6, 2001: American Express wins a $78,340 judgment against Yamanaka for outstanding credit card debt.

Date uncertain, 2004: Yamanaka calls Stringer to discuss her bankruptcy. He suggests she talk to his son, lawyer Daryl Stringer.

Nov. 1, 2004: Daryl Stringer writes a letter to Bank of America attorneys stating he is representing Yamanaka in the case.

Nov. 15, 2004: Thomas Stringer signs a mortgage for a house in Hawaii.

Dec. 11, 2006: The house in Hawaii is sold.

October 2005 - August 2007: Yamanaka deposits and withdraws tens of thousands of dollars from Wells Fargo Bank and Bank of America accounts in Thomas Stringer's name.

Source: Tribune Research

Tune in to News Channel 8 tonight at 11 to see reporter Steve Andrews' Target 8 investigation.

Reporter Steve Andrews can be reached at (813) 221-5779 or sandrews@wfla.com. Reporter Thomas W. Krause can be reached at (813) 259-7698 or tkrause@tampatrib.com.

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