Former Springfield golf pro Kevin Kennedy, 2 luxury home builders to be arraigned in alleged cash skimming ca - MassLive.com

SPRINGFIELD — The former golf pro at two city-owned courses and a father-and-son team of luxury home builders are scheduled to appear in federal court Thursday to answer to charges accusing them of a long-running scam that involved skimming hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash revenue from the courses.

Kevin M. Kennedy, who served as the golf pro for Veterans and Franconia Golf Courses, was indicted in December on 24 criminal counts charging him with stealing public funds, wire fraud, money laundering and tax fraud.

Kent Pecoy, owner of Pecoy Homes, and his son Jason Pecoy, are each charged with one count of conspiracy, accused of taking cash Kennedy allegedly skimmed from the city to build homes valued at more than $550,000 apiece in East Longmeadow and West Dennis.

The three are scheduled to be arraigned Thursday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Springfield in front of Judge Katherine A. Robert.

All three have denied the charges through statements issued by their lawyers.

“I plan to vigorously defend myself and am confident I shall be exonerated of these charges," Kent Pecoy said in a statement released by his lawyer, Michael O. Jennings. “I built two homes in 2009 and 2013 for a client who paid for the work partially in cash and partially by check. I sought advice and was informed that it was legal to accept cash payments. I paid taxes on all the net income including the cash, and after an investigation by the IRS was not charged with any offense related to my personal taxes or that of Kent Pecoy Homes.”

The indictment came after a long-running investigation into possible fraud. In July 2016 IRS Criminal Investigations agents raided the pro shops of the two golf courses as part of the probe.

Kennedy — whose father is now-retired Kevin E. Kennedy, the city’s former chief development officer — was paid a $67,000 annual base salary to run the courses. In addition, his corporation, Kennedy Golf Management Inc., received proceeds from the pro shop and pull-cart rentals while the city was to take in all greens fees and rentals of motorized carts.

City records showed Kennedy’s company was paid $1.2 million between fiscal 2012 and fiscal 2016 in the operation. The city meanwhile struggled to break even on the courses.

Kennedy Jr.'s attorney, David P. Hoose,has repeatedly denied his client stole from the city and blamed the disconnect on a poorly drafted contract. The city severed ties with Kennedy Golf Management in November 2016.

“Kevin Kennedy vigorously denies that he ever misappropriated any money from the City of Springfield or that he ever conspired with Kent or Jason Pecoy to commit any crime. Mr. Kennedy submitted receipts and register tapes to the city on a daily basis for several years and never had a complaint,” Hoose said. “These allegations as to crimes against the City of Springfield are nothing more than the city’s belated effort to account for its own poor accounting practices and lack of oversight on its contractors.”

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https://www.masslive.com/news/2020/01/former-springfield-golf-pro-kevin-kennedy-2-luxury-home-builders-to-be-arraigned-in-alleged-cash-skimming-case.html

2020-01-09 09:00:00Z
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