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Robert Kennedy, 54, of Stoneham, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud on Wednesday, Sept. 20, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said. He is scheduled to be sentenced in January and faces a potential 40-year prison term, though he will likely get far less.
Kennedy has a history of scamming landlords. He would lie on his applications to obtain a lease agreement and, after moving in, not pay despite making between $141,000 and $187,000 as a detective for the Stoneham Police Department, the prosecutor said. This went on for decades, according to a Boston NBC report.
Kennedy could live rent-free for months because of the slow eviction process, federal authorities said. He did this scheme with his three previous landlords.
Kennedy was charged in March after he applied for an apartment and used a family member's information for the credit check, which hid his history of evictions, delinquent payments, and defaults, the prosecutor said.
Once he secured the lease, Kennedy wrote bad checks for his rent and security deposit. He owes that landlord $14,000 in overdue rent, the prosecutor said.
Kennedy worked for the Stoneham Police Department from 2001 until he resigned in February.
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