A former Stoneham police detective has been put on the other side of the bars. Robert Kennedy, a 54-year-old ex-sergeant, was handed a probation sentence with a side of home confinement for swindling not one, but three landlords in a lease fraud scheme, the Justice Department reported.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Kennedy, who earned a hefty salary from the Stoneham Police Department – between $141,000 and $187,000 annually – decided to blatantly disregard the law he once vowed to uphold. He provided false information to dishonestly secure apartments and then proceeded to not pay the rent. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper sentenced Kennedy to a two-year probation, with the initial 90 days to include home confinement and electronic monitoring.
The discredited police officer's approach involved refraining from disclosing his personal credit and eviction records, a tactic that would probably have put him in a difficult situation with any landlord. Instead, he used a family member's identification to pull the wool over the eyes of the property owners. Kennedy's charade enabled him to live rent-free by utilizing the sluggish eviction process to his advantage, leaving him owing about $14,000 in back rent to the latest landlord he duped.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy was direct in his condemnation, stating “Today's sentence should send a clear message: no one is above the law. 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,” Kennedy's fraudulent ways were also a betrayal to the landlords he deceived, who were trusting in a law enforcement officer's integrity.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen added to the chorus of disapproval, asserting, “Former Stoneham Police Department Detective Robert Kennedy broke laws he was sworn to enforce, and in doing so, failed his department, and betrayed the trust of three landlords whom he lied to and defrauded. In no uncertain terms, today’s sentence demonstrates that no one is above the law,”
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elysa Q. Wan and Dustin Chao of the Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit. Kennedy is now required to pay restitution amounting to $14,275.
