Man sentenced to 1 year in prison for stealing Arnold Palmer's green jacket, other Masters memorabilia
A former Augusta National Golf Club employee was sentenced to a year in prison on Wednesday, after he admitted to stealing millions of dollars' worth of Masters merchandise and memorabilia, including golf legend Arnold Palmer's first green jacket.
Richard Brendan Globensky, 40, pleaded guilty last May to one count of transporting goods across state lines. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman sentenced him to a year in prison, and ordered him to pay more than $3.4 million in restitution to Augusta National Golf Club.
Globensky, who worked as a warehouse assistant at Augusta National, was charged in federal court in Chicago, because some of the stolen goods were recovered in the Chicago area.
He appeared Wednesday in Chicago's federal court wearing a suit and red tie. With his parents and wife seated in the courtroom behind him, he apologized for his actions before U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman handed down the sentence.
"I deeply regret the decision that led me to this moment," he said, his voice breaking. "I have taken full responsibility for my actions and remain committed to doing everything in my power to make amends."
In his plea deal, he admitted to stealing Masters merchandise and memorabilia from Augusta National between 2009 and 2022, including hirts, hats, flags, watches, and green jackets awarded to golfers Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, and Gene Sarazen.
Palmer won four Masters tournaments in 1958, 1960, 1962, and 1964. Hogan won two Masters titles in 1951 and 1953. Sarazan won the Masters in 1935, before Augusta began awarding winners green jackets in 1937, but got his green jacket in 1949 when Augusta began awarding them to all past winners.
Globensky admitted to loading the stolen goods onto a truck to take to a storage facility, before selling the stolen goods to an online broker in Florida for approximately $5.3 million, though the actual loss to Augusta National was about $3.4 million, according to court records.
He was paid through a limited liability company set up in his wife's name, among other ways.
Globensky, who had worked at the warehouse since 2007, would secretly photograph items and send them to a Florida-based seller. Globensky would then sneak out items that they were interested in, taking small quantities to avoid the risk of Augusta National's auditing practices, according to court documents. Items were hidden in an offsite storage facility and shipped.
Federal prosecutors said Globensky used $370,000 of the proceeds from his theft to purchase five cars and a motorboat, and another $160,000 on Walt Disney-themed vacations. He also spent nearly $600,000 to build a custom home in Georgia and $32,000 on luxury fashion items from Louis Vuitton.
The government had sought a sentence of 16 months in prison for Globensky, while his defense team sought a sentence of probation only.
"The funds Globensky obtained enabled him and his spouse to live a lifestyle far beyond their means," Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Hayes argued prosecutors' sentencing recommendation. "The manner in which he spent the proceeds suggests greed was his primary motivation for committing the offense."
In court, Globensky's defense attorney, Thomas Church, said it wasn't uncommon for employees to occasionally take items from the warehouse, his client had expressed remorse and wasn't a danger to the public.
"This is not a case where he went and broke into any vaults. He didn't manipulate any data or access any electronic data," Church said in court, explaining that his client saw the opportunity to take items that were set to be destroyed or weren't selling.
An Augusta National spokesman asked for comment Wednesday pointed to a victim impact statement submitted to the court during the hearing.
"We were severely disappointed to learn several years ago that a former Augusta National employee betrayed that principle, and our trust, by stealing from the Club, Tournament and even a number of legends whose accomplishments at the Masters and in the game of golf are revered by all," Augusta National said in the letter. "In short, the employee made significant personal gain with no regard for the impact his selfishness would have on the Club, players, the Tournament, and his fellow employees."
