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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — A Boston federal grand jury indicted a former Stoneham Police Department detective sergeant on two counts of wire fraud Thursday, officials said.
Robert Kennedy, 53, of Stoneham was previously arrested and charged with one count of wire fraud in late March.
According to the Office of U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins, Kennedy allegedly defrauded his last three landlords by supplying false and misleading information in his rental applications to obtain the respective apartment leases. After moving in, Kennedy would intentionally withhold rent payments, despite making $141,000 - $187,000 a year from the Stoneham Police Department. This allowed Kennedy to live in the apartment rent-free by allegedly taking advantage of the slow eviction process.
Specifically, prosecutors allege that Kennedy defrauded his most recent landlord by providing the date of birth and social security number of a relative who shared his first and last name on his rental application. The landlord thus approved Kennedy's application without seeing Kennedy's history of collections, delinquent payments, defaults, and evictions.
Furthermore, Kennedy allegedly violated the terms of his lease by giving the landlord bad checks for his rent and security deposit and failing to make subsequent rent payments. He lived in the apartment for four months without making rent payments and currently owes the landlord approximately $14,000 in overdue rent.
Kennedy could face up to 20 years in prison on each count of wire fraud if convicted.
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