Ex-Mass Detective Stiffed Multiple Landlords Despite Making $187K A Year: Feds

Despite making a comfortable living as a Stoneham police detective sergeant, Robert Kennedy left a wake of jilted landlords who say he owes them thousands in unpaid rent stretching back years. Now, federal authorities allege he broke the law by lying on rental applications to hide his shady past.

Robert Kennedy, 53, a former Stoneham police sergeant, faces up to 20 years in prison for allegedly lying on an apartment rental application to hide his history of evictions and late payments despite earning a six-figure salary, authorities said.
Photo Credit: *Pixabay/Arek Socha*

Josh Lanier

03/31/2023 1:09 p.m.

Robert Kennedy, 53, is charged with one count of wire fraud, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said. He made his first appearance in court on Friday, March 31.

Kennedy is accused of defrauding three previous landlords by lying on his rental applications, officials said. On paper, he presented himself as an ideal tenant, but in practice, he was anything but, according to prosecutors.

He refused to pay his rent even while earning between $141,000 and $187,000 a year as a police sergeant. Kennedy and his girlfriend would live rent-free for months because of the slow eviction process, federal investigators said. It was a process that repeated multiple times over the course of more than a decade, officials allege.

His most recent landlord alleges that Kennedy used the social security number and birth date of a relative with the same name as him on the rental application. This hid his past evictions, delinquent payment history, and rock-bottom credit rating, the prosecutor said.

Once he landed the rental, Kennedy "paid" his rent and security deposit using bad checks, authorities said. He lived in that Stoneham apartment for four months, racking up $14,000 in unpaid rent.

Stoneham Police Chief James McIntyre issued a statement Friday that said Kennedy stepped down last month after the department learned of the investigation.

“On Friday, March 31, 2023, the Stoneham Police Department assisted the FBI in the arrest of Robert Kennedy, a former police sergeant with the Department. Kennedy resigned from the Stoneham Police Department on February 23, following notice of an internal investigation into a history of civil claims against him.“These matters have also been referred to the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission, as they are relevant to Kennedy’s eligibility for re-certification to work as a police officer in the Commonwealth.

Kennedy faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of wire fraud, federal prosecutors said.

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