A former employee of the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia has been caught with his hands in the cookie jar, literally.
RICHARD BRENDAN GLOBENSKY, 39, of Augusta, Ga., has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Chicago to a federal charge of transporting and transferring stolen goods in interstate commerce.
The conviction is punishable by up to ten years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman set sentencing for Oct. 29, 2024, at 1:30 p.m.
Globensky admitted in a plea agreement that he repeatedly stole the merchandise and memorabilia from 2009 to 2022 while he was employed by the club as a warehouse assistant.
The merchandise included Masters shirts, hats, flags, watches, and other goods, while the memorabilia included historically significant items such as the Green Jackets won by Arnold Palmer, Gene Sarazen, and Ben Hogan, and documents and letters written and signed by Bobby Jones.
Globensky sold the merchandise to an online broker in Florida for a total of approximately $5.3 million, the plea agreement states. He sold the historically significant memorabilia to the same broker, as well as to the broker’s associate, for nearly $300,000, the plea agreement states.
The brokers later re-sold the stolen merchandise and memorabilia, often at significant markups from the amounts paid to Globensky. At least one of the stolen items was purchased by a collector in Chicago.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean Franzblau and Brian Hayes. Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI’s Art Crime Team.
This case is a stark reminder that even the highest levels of privilege and prestige are not immune to the corrupting influence of greed.
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Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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