BOSTON — Former Medfield Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Ryder has been sentenced to jail after pleading guilty to stealing $125,000 in municipal funds, the Attorney General’s office said Thursday.
Ryder, 51, of Medfield, was sentenced in Norfolk Superior Court to serve six months, with the balance suspended for three years.
As a condition of his probation, Ryder was ordered to pay restitution to the Town of Medfield and refrain from holding a fiduciary role in any employment position while on probation.
Ryder pleaded guilty to eight charges, officials said. He was indicted in 2023 on four counts of larceny over $1200 by scheme; two counts of use of official position to secure an unwarranted privilege; and one count each of larceny under $1200 and accepting illegal gratuities.
Town officials referred the case to the Attorney General’s Office after concerns arose about Ryder’s apparent failure to report and turn over the cash his department collected over a period of years.
The Town of Medfield later cooperated with the Attorney General’s subsequent investigation into Ryder’s conduct.
Ryder was Medfield’s Parks and Recreation Department Director from 2014 until August 2022.
An investigation by the Attorney General’s Office found that Ryder had stolen approximately $125,000 from the Town of Medfield.
A large portion of the stolen property consisted of cash, the bulk of which was generated from entrance fees and concessions at Medfield’s Hinkley Swim Pond, investigators said.
Investigators also found that Ryder had bought thousands of dollars’ worth of personal items for himself using the Town’s Amazon business account, including merchandise to support his personal side business and electronic devices he resold on eBay for his own personal profit.
Ryder allegedly sold thousands of dollars’ worth of Town-purchased youth sports equipment, sometimes at a small mark-up, keeping all the sales proceeds for himself, investigators said.
Over the course of several years, Ryder also arranged for the Parks and Recreation Department to sponsor an exercise program at a local gym. For this, he received a financial kickback representing 50% of the gym’s profits from the event, totaling more than $16,000, investigators said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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