Authored by Jeremy Portnoy via RealClearInvestigations,

Topline: Detective Robert Kennedy left his job after pleading guilty to wire fraud, but the retirement board in Stoneham, Mass. ruled last month that he will receive his $5,000 monthly pension anyway. 

His pension — worth $60,000 per year — will be the 40th-highest out of 286 Stoneham retirees, based on the latest available data at OpenTheBooks.com.

Key facts: Kennedy was convicted in federal court last year after an NBC10 Boston investigation found he had dodged $50,000 in rent payments, being continuously evicted from apartments in the Boston area. 

Kennedy earned over $730,000 in salary between 2017 and 2022, according to OpenTheBooks. Instead of spending it on rent, he used it at expensive restaurants and what his own defense attorney called “excessive gambling.”

One couple who rented to the cop, testified that Kennedy used a fake Social Security number to forge his credit score and move into their apartment, though he was never convicted of forgery. Kennedy refused to pay rent to the couple even after the FBI indicted him, and prosecutors later ordered him to pay $14,000. The couple told NBC10 Boston they still haven’t seen any money.

Kennedy was sentenced to two years of probation and 90 days of home confinement.

However, the five-member Stoneham Retirement Board ruled unanimously that his crime occurred in his personal life and was unrelated to his police duties. By law, he must now keep his pension.

Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor spending with the AI search bot, Benjamin, at OpenTheBooks.com. 

Critical quote: The board’s decision seemingly contradicts a written report from federal prosecutors submitted during Kennedy’s trial and reviewed by NBC10 Boston.  

“The defendant’s crime was not simply a matter of financial irresponsibility, it was a premeditated gambit — one that he pulled off by using his position as a Stoneham police detective,” prosecutors argued.

Supporting quote: “While this decision should in no way be construed as excusing his reprehensible conduct, the standard is not the conduct itself, but whether there is a legal or factual link between his crimes and his position,” attorney Michael Sacco ruled at Kennedy’s pension hearing.

Summary: It’s a no-brainer that taxpayers should not be funding $60,000 pensions for convicted criminals.

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