A former golf pro in Massachusetts overseeing operations at a pair of municipal golf courses is facing trial for allegedly pulling almost $1 million from the properties. A member of the prosecuting Department of Justice team said Kevin M. Kennedy hatched a plan to dupe employees into funneling money into his personal accounts.
The 44-year-old is standing trial for multiple counts of wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering, according to a report at MassLive.com.
The accused ran Kennedy Golf Management Inc., through which he managed the City of Springfield’s two public golf courses, Franconia Golf Course and Veterans Memorial Golf Course.
According to a previous release from the Massachusetts Department of Justice, Kennedy set up a system that had employees shuffling money from city accounts to his firm:
As part of its duties, KGM was required to collect greens fees and motorized cart rental fees on behalf of the City of Springfield. From 2010 through 2016, Kennedy allegedly embezzled greens fees and cart fees that were owed to the City by stealing cash directly from the City’s cash register and by diverting payments to KGM terminals. In an attempt to conceal the scheme, it is further alleged that Kennedy provided fraudulent records to the City that underreported the golf courses’ daily activity and revenues. Kennedy allegedly used the stolen funds for personal expenditures, including building homes in East Longmeadow, and West Dennis, and failed to report the income on his 2010 through 2014 tax returns.
The case has taken years to reach the trial stage. Kennedy’s father, Kevin E. Kennedy, has numerous political connections in the region, as he worked for more than two decades for U.S. Congressman Richie Neal in the Springfield mayor’s office, was a congressional aide and was also the city’s chief economics officer.
As for the courses, Franconia is an 18-hole course designed by John Van Kleek that opened in 1929. Veterans Memorial is newer, opening in 1964. It was designed by Geoffrey S. Cornish, who had more than 200 courses in his portfolio, including a 1954 renovation (with input from Francis Ouimet) at the Pines Course at the nearby International Golf Club in Bolton, Massachusetts.
Kennedy has denied he stole money from the city, according to MassLive, and his defense attorney insisted the discrepancy came from a poorly-crafted contract with the city. He would then take the money and make cash payments to local builders for real…
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