Changes

==Legal troubles==

==Legal troubles==

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Phillips did not again seek public office but remained a long-term financial backer of the Mississippi GOP. He subsequently became an officer of the Stirling Homex Corporation, which manufactured housing modules and sought to locate a plant in Harrison County.<ref>''[[The New York Times]].'' January 30, 1977; ''Jackson Clarion-Ledger,'' April 3, 1980.</ref> The New York-based firm went bankrupt in 1972. Phillips and four other company officers were indicted and tried on charges of [[conspiracy]] and fraud in the sale of $40 million worth of stock. Four of the officers, including Phillips, were found guilty of falsely inflating earnings reports and deceiving investors, auditors, and the [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]].<ref>''Infobase Publishing: Facts on File'', XXXVII (February 12, 1977), p. 751; ''The New York Times,'' January 30, 1977.</ref> Phillips was fined $5,000 and received a ten-month sentence imposed by Judge Marvin E. Frankel.<ref>''The New York Times,'' March 12, 1977; ''Facts on File, XXXVII (March 19, 1977), p. 203; ''Jackson Clarion-Ledger,'' April 3, 1980.</ref> In 1978, the [[United States Supreme Court]] declined to hear appeals by the defendants and left intact their fines and sentences.<ref>''Facts on File,'' XXXVIII (October 6, 1978), p. 751.</ref> In 1980, Phillips was disbarred by the Mississippi Supreme Court, which rejected a suspension as proposed in 1979 by a special state bar tribunal.<ref>''Jackson Clarion-Ledger'', April 3, 1980</ref> Phillips was permitted to seek reinstatement to the bar in September 1982 and thereafter resumed the practice of corporate law in Jackson.<ref>''Jackson Clarion-Leger,'' May 15, 1980; ''Challenging the Status Quo," p. 263.</ref>​

Phillips did not again seek public office but remained a long-term financial backer of the Mississippi GOP. He subsequently became an officer of the Stirling Homex Corporation, which manufactured housing modules and sought to locate a plant in Harrison County.<ref>''[[The New York Times]].'' January 30, 1977; ''Jackson Clarion-Ledger,'' April 3, 1980.</ref> The New York-based firm went bankrupt in 1972. Phillips and four other company officers were indicted and tried on charges of [[conspiracy]] and fraud in the sale of $40 million worth of stock. Four of the officers, including Phillips, were found guilty of falsely inflating earnings reports and deceiving investors, auditors, and the [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]].<ref>''Infobase Publishing: Facts on File'', XXXVII (February 12, 1977), p. 751; ''The New York Times,'' January 30, 1977.</ref> Phillips was fined $5,000 and received a ten-month sentence imposed by Judge Marvin E. Frankel.<ref>''The New York Times,'' March 12, 1977; ''Facts on File, XXXVII (March 19, 1977), p. 203; ''Jackson Clarion-Ledger,'' April 3, 1980.</ref> In 1978, the [[United States Supreme Court]] declined to hear appeals by the defendants and left intact their fines and sentences.<ref>''Facts on File,'' XXXVIII (October 6, 1978), p. 751.</ref> In 1980, Phillips was disbarred by the Mississippi Supreme Court, which rejected a suspension as proposed in 1979 by a special state bar tribunal.<ref>''Jackson Clarion-Ledger'', April 3, 1980</ref> Phillips was permitted to seek reinstatement to the bar in September 1982 and thereafter resumed the practice of corporate law in Jackson.<ref>''Jackson Clarion-Leger,'' May 15, 1980; ''Challenging the Status Quo," p. 263.</ref>

 

==Legacy==​

==Legacy==​

 

Phillips's two gubernatorial campaigns breathed new life into a previously moribund state Republican Party, which had settled for meager federal tronage]] available when a Republican occupied the [[White House]].  Phillips also fired the first ammunition which would make the general election, rather than the Democratic runoff primary, the principal contest in his state. He also showed that a Republican could obtain black support though there were relatively few African American voters in Mississippi during his time in the political spotlight. ''The 'Greenville Delta Democrat-Times'' wrote that:​

Phillips's two gubernatorial campaigns breathed new life into a previously moribund state Republican Party, which had settled for meager federal tronage]] available when a Republican occupied the [[White House]].  Phillips also fired the first ammunition which would make the general election, rather than the Democratic runoff primary, the principal contest in his state. He also showed that a Republican could obtain black support though there were relatively few African American voters in Mississippi during his time in the political spotlight. ''The 'Greenville Delta Democrat-Times'' wrote that:​

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Jim Herring, a Canton attorney and a former state chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party, attended the second annual Pioneer Dinner of the Mississippi GOP, held in Jackson in 2010. He paid tribute to Phillips, who was too ill to attend the affair:​

Jim Herring, a Canton attorney and a former state chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party, attended the second annual Pioneer Dinner of the Mississippi GOP, held in Jackson in 2010. He paid tribute to Phillips, who was too ill to attend the affair:​

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<blockquote>Rubel was a true pioneer of the Mississippi Republican Party. He was the first to 'step up' in his race for governor and publicly put his economic interests and his reputation on the line for a cause greater {{sic|then}} himself. He was and is a great man, who has to this day remained active in the Mississippi Republican Party. We Mississippi Republicans owe him, and we owe him big.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jim-herring.blogspot.com/2010/05/rubel-phillips-gil-carmichael-and-jack.html|title=Rubel Phillips, Gil Carmichael and Jack Reed|publisher=jim-herring.blogspot.com|accessdate=December 2, 2011}}</ref></blockquote>​

<blockquote>Rubel was a true pioneer of the Mississippi Republican Party. He was the first to 'step up' in his race for governor and publicly put his economic interests and his reputation on the line for a cause greater than himself. He was and is a great man, who has to this day remained active in the Mississippi Republican Party. We Mississippi Republicans owe him, and we owe him big.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jim-herring.blogspot.com/2010/05/rubel-phillips-gil-carmichael-and-jack.html|title=Rubel Phillips, Gil Carmichael and Jack Reed|publisher=jim-herring.blogspot.com|accessdate=December 2, 2011}}</ref></blockquote>​

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Phillips died in retirement at the age of eighty-six in Ridgeland in Madison County near Jackson, some five months before his party in 2011 swept most statewide elections and won majorities in the legislature. He was survived by his wife, the former Margaret James, whom he married c. 1955; two sons, Rubel Phillips, Jr., and wife Melinda of [[Virginia]], and Dr. William James Phillips and wife Alison of Jackson, Mississippi; two granddaughters, and two brothers, William Maurice Phillips and wife Joan of Corinth, Mississippi, and Frank Price Phillips of [[Memphis]], [[Tennessee]]. Services were held on June 22, 2011, in Jackson at the Northminster Baptist Church. Interment  followed at the Shiloh [[Presbyterian Church in the United States|Presbyterian]] Church Cemetery in Alcorn County.<ref name=obit/>​

Phillips died in retirement at the age of eighty-six in Ridgeland in Madison County near Jackson, some five months before his party in 2011 swept most statewide elections and won majorities in the legislature. He was survived by his wife, the former Margaret James, whom he married c. 1955; two sons, Rubel Phillips, Jr., and wife Melinda of [[Virginia]], and Dr. William James Phillips and wife Alison of Jackson, Mississippi; two granddaughters, and two brothers, William Maurice Phillips and wife Joan of Corinth, Mississippi, and Frank Price Phillips of [[Memphis]], [[Tennessee]]. Services were held on June 22, 2011, in Jackson at the Northminster Baptist Church. Interment  followed at the Shiloh [[Presbyterian Church in the United States|Presbyterian]] Church Cemetery in Alcorn County.<ref name=obit/>​