Federal and IRS agents streamed in and out of the pro shops at Veterans Memorial and Franconia golf courses on July 28 as part of an ongoing criminal investigation that also included search warrants of golf pro Kevin Kennedy’s two homes. Kennedy was hired by the city in 2006 to manage the two golf courses.
Plenty of golfers remained on the links at Veterans Memorial and Franconia municipal courses while teams of federal agents streamed in and out of the pro shops on July 28, MassLive.com reported.
Additional groups of IRS agents executed search warrants at golf pro Kevin M. Kennedy’s two homes. IRS Special Agent Greg Howe confirmed investigators were at the sites in connection with an ongoing criminal investigation, but would not provide further details, MassLive.com reported.
Kennedy was hired by the city in 2006 to manage the two golf courses. The city contracts with Kennedy’s company, Kennedy Golf Management (KGM), to run the courses and their respective pro shops while the city maintains the grounds, MassLive.com reported.
Those familiar with the arrangement have said there is a revenue-sharing agreement between the company and the city that divvies up greens fees, cart rentals, pro shop proceeds and the like.
In a separate report, MassLive.com noted that the city has shelled out $1.23 million in payments between fiscal year 2012 and fiscal year 2016 to KGM, which has provided services since 2011. Kennedy was hired as the pro at the city’s two golf courses in 2006. Under the company’s current contract with the city, awarded in March, Kennedy’s salary is $67,000, MassLive.com reported.
City Solicitor Edward M. Pikula said he agreed to turn over additional “golf related documents” to investigators but refused further comment.
Kennedy is the son of the city’s chief economic officer Kevin E. Kennedy. Agents also raided Kennedy Jr.’s upscale homes on the same day. Though law enforcement officials have not publicly made a connection between the two investigations, both of Kennedy Jr.’s homes were built by sought-after custom home builder Kent Pecoy. Pecoy has been the subject of a grand jury investigation, law enforcement officials confirmed in April. A lawyer for Pecoy denied any wrongdoing by Pecoy or any employee of Kent Pecoy Homes. Kennedy’s most recent bid for the city contract, obtained by The Republican through a public records request, lists Pecoy as a business reference, MassLive.com reported.
Kennedy Golf Management is in the first year of its fourth, three-year contract with the city. According to the contract, the total to be paid in FY 2016 is around $270,000. According to the contract, the golf pro is entitled to “receive and keep as his own property all fee revenue from golf lessons, rental revenue from hand pull carts, but not power carts, and all revenue from operation of the two golf pro shops.”
The pro is still required to maintain and, if requested, to provide to the City records regarding this revenue, it states. The city is entitled to power cart rental fees and greens tickets. The city is responsible for maintaining the grounds and has parks employees devoted to those functions, MassLive.com reported.
MassLive.com has a request pending with the city for annual revenues for the two courses dating back to 2010, among other documents, and has inquired whether the city has ever performed an internal audit on the operations.
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.