creditor's rights to pursue civil action against employer for filing for bankruptcy

Bankruptcy; civil law suit: A former employer of mine suddenly closed their doors and stiffed me out of 5 months of wages (they kept putting me off, saying checks from clients were late) - about $35,000. No severance, no waring, just - done. They then filed corporate bankruptcy. I attended the hearings and even questioned them (the husband & wife business owners). Later the bankruptcy 'judge' (a court-appointed lawyer handling BK cases) said they were possibly guilty of co-mingling personal & corporate finances but there was nothing he could do since researching such things is tough. They made sure they kept all their cars, paid off $100,000 to their parents in 'loans' that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, but of course the faithful employees got nothing.
Can I sue them in civil court for the money? Or does the corporate BK filing protect them? What about the damage to my credit rating, pain and suffering, etc.?
In other words, do I have ANY legal recourse? - Is this your question? Add additional information