Philadelphia Judge Willis W. Berry Jr. broke the law by running a real estate business out of his court office for more than a decade, a state disciplinary tribunal ruled yesterday.

The finding that Berry committed theft of services was the strongest criticism in a harsh report that concluded that the veteran criminal court judge had put the judiciary in "disrepute."

The Court of Judicial Discipline said Berry had operated a string of North Philadelphia apartments "with absolutely no overhead" by using court computers, telephones, fax machines, envelopes, postage, file cabinets, and the labor of his secretary - and sticking taxpayers with the tab.

To make matters worse, the panel said, the Common Pleas Court judge was a kind of slumlord, pocketing rent from derelict apartments marred by scores of code and safety violations that went uncorrected for years. Those problems were first described in an Inquirer investigation in 2007.

Berry's behavior amounted to "a flagrant, open disregard for the dignity of judicial office," the court found.

The judge's misuse of court resources was brazen, it said. "The misappropriation is broad, bold, and impossible to overlook," the panel found.

Berry faces possible sanctions that include a reprimand, removal from the bench, and the loss of his pension. The court will schedule a hearing before deciding what punishment to impose.

Berry's lawyer, Samuel C. Stretton, said he was surprised by the force of yesterday's opinion. "I'm really taken aback by it," he said. "It took the wind out of me."

He said he would ask the court to reconsider. Stretton acknowledged that Berry's behavior was wrong, but said the misconduct was not so egregious that Berry should be removed from the bench.

As for whether the judge committed a crime, Stretton said, "I radically disagree with those assertions."

The Judicial Conduct Board filed disciplinary charges against Berry after The Inquirer reported that he was running a real estate business out of his office on the 14th floor of the Criminal Justice Center.

The newspaper's investigation, in April 2007, shone a light on the dilapidated condition of many of the judge's rental units, where tenants complained of rodent infestation, faulty wiring, and weed-choked lots.

In response to questions from The Inquirer, Berry admitted that he had misused court personnel. He pledged to stop operating the business out of his office and said he would clean up his properties. He has since fixed up many of the units.

Berry, 66, a Democrat, was first elected to the court in 1995. He ran unsuccessfully for the state Supreme Court in 2007. He is paid $161,850 annually.

In yesterday's stinging 24-page opinion, the Court of Judicial Discipline said flatly that Berry's conduct amounted to a crime - theft of services. Both city and state prosecutors said yesterday that they would review the case to see whether prosecution was warranted.

Since the judicial panel found that Berry's misconduct spanned from January 1997 to April 2007, the alleged wrongdoing falls within the five-year statute of limitations.

Hilary Connor, a top deputy to Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham, said the office would examine the evidence gathered by the judicial court and "take whatever actions are appropriate."

Kevin Harley, a spokesman for state Attorney General Tom Corbett, said his office also would look into the matter.

"We will certainly review it," Harley said. "The integrity of the judiciary is something that Attorney General Corbett takes very seriously."

The opinion released yesterday was signed by seven of the judicial panel's eight members. It was written by Stewart L. Kurtz, a Common Pleas Court judge in Huntingdon County.

In a lone dissent, John W. Morris, a veteran defense lawyer in Philadelphia, called Berry's behavior "reprehensible" and "tawdry," and said it reflected "deplorable judgment." However, he said the judge should not lose his pension, in part because Berry had served a dozen years on the bench without prior discipline.

The majority of the court scoffed at this distinction, saying Berry's previously unblemished record merely reflected that "he didn't get caught for 12 years."

Contact staff writer Nancy Phillips at 215-854-2254 or nphillips@phillynews.com.