A former Stoneham, Massachusetts, police detective with a history of evictions and unpaid civil judgements has avoided prison time after pleading guilty to wire fraud in federal court in September.
At a hearing in Boston Thursday morning, Judge Denise Casper imposed a sentence of two years of probation with 90 days of home confinement and location monitoring for Robert Kennedy, whose career of more than 20 years with the Stoneham Police Department came to an abrupt end once the pattern of behavior was exposed.
"Today's sentence should send a clear message: no one is above the law," acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said in a statement. "We remain steadfast in our commitment to hold accountable those who exploit their positions and engage in fraudulent activities that compromise the very principles they are sworn to uphold."
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In February, an NBC10 Boston investigation detailed how court records show the detective sergeant had a pattern of not paying landlords the monthly rent stretching back two decades, including a property owned by an elderly couple in Woburn.
We reported how, in recent years, housing court records show Kennedy and his girlfriend racked up more than $50,000 in unpaid rent while being evicted from apartment complexes in Stoneham and Reading.
More on the case of former Stoneham Det. Sgt. Robert Kennedy
During that three-year period, salary records we obtained revealed Kennedy had earned more than a half-million dollars as a police officer.
Prior to the hearing, sentencing memorandums reviewed by NBC10 Boston gave clues for the first time about where Kennedy was spending his money.
According to federal prosecutors' review of Kennedy's financial records, there were unexplained cash withdrawals and spending at expensive restaurants, vacations and casinos.
"The defendant's crime was not simply a matter of financial irresponsibility, it was a premeditated gambit — one that he pulled off by using his position as a Stoneham police detective," stated the memorandum of prosecutors, who requested a 90-day prison term.
In his sentencing argument, Kennedy's attorney, Brad Bailey, also referenced "excessive gambling" and said his client would be willing to attend a self-help group as a requirement of his probation.
After seeing our investigation, a couple contacted us and said Kennedy and his girlfriend had not paid a dime since moving into their property in late 2022.
During a subsequent interview, Aarti and Peter Goldstein described how the police officer's security deposit and first month's rent checks both bounced. They also showed us how Kennedy had allegedly used a family member's Social Security number to obtain a clean credit report.
The Goldsteins would later provide that same testimony to a federal grand jury, according to the criminal indictment for wire fraud.
Even after being arrested by the FBI and indicted in federal court, Kennedy did not pay rent to the Goldsteins. We were there in June when the couple was finally able to evict him from the property.
"This has been a seven-month odyssey," Peter Goldstein told us that day. "It's that difficult and he fought us at every turn. He knew the system. He knew which hearings to go to and which not to. He knew to file his appeals at the last minute. He was very good. He was a maestro at what he did."
At Thursday's sentencing hearing, Casper also ordered Kennedy to pay more than $14,000 in restitution to the Goldstein family.
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Kennedy drove away from our questions when we approached him outside the Stoneham Police Department last February. He called in sick for a couple of weeks before announcing his retirement.
Kennedy also did not provide any answers when we caught up with him outside the federal courthouse following his FBI arrest in late March.
In the courtroom on Thursday, Kennedy offered a brief apology to his victims, the government, his family and his former colleagues.
"I will make this right," he concluded.
Outside court, Kennedy declined to comment about the judge's decision, deferring NBC10 Boston's questions to his attorney.
"My client is very eager to make people whole in this case and to put this behind him," Bailey said. "He has accepted full and complete responsibility for his actions."
In exchange for the guilty plea to two wire fraud counts, federal prosecutors stipulated they would not pursue identity theft charges related to Kennedy's alleged use of a family member's Social Security number to obtain a clean credit report during the rental application process.
As we first reported, federal court documents accused Kennedy of applying for rental assistance to delay eviction proceedings, even allegedly obtaining $10,000 of taxpayer assistance meant for people who make a fraction of his income.
The potential fraudulent use of those state funds remains under investigation, according to a spokesperson with the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office.
Kennedy is currently collecting a pension of roughly $5,000 per month.
Now that his conviction is final, the Stoneham Retirement Board will conduct a review of court documents to determine if there is any evidence to indicate Kennedy used his office or position to facilitate the crime.
If so, the board could vote to strip Kennedy's taxpayer-funded benefit.
Goldstein said Kennedy immediately provided a business card of his detective position when he first viewed the Stoneham apartment to build trust.
He then used his knowledge of the court system to delay eviction proceedings repeatedly, Goldstein said, adding that he viewed the former police officer's sentence as "very light."
"The judge took into account his service to the community," Goldstein said. "But from my perspective, he used that service and experience as a weapon against us."
Ryan Kath can be reached at ryan.kath@nbcuni.com. You can follow him on Twitter or connect on Facebook.
