Illinois
Man pleads guilty in theft of Palmer green jacket
CHICAGO (AP) — A former warehouse assistant for the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia pleaded guilty on Wednesday to transporting millions of dollars’ worth of stolen Masters tournament memorabilia and historic items, including one of Arnold Palmer’s iconic green jackets.
Richard Globensky, of Georgia, entered the plea in federal court in Chicago. He was charged with one count of transporting goods knowing they had been stolen.
According to federal prosecutors, the 39-year-old took items from the warehouse for sellers in Florida, who then sold them online at a significant markup. Globensky was paid through a limited liability company set up in his wife’s name, among other ways. The scheme lasted for more than a decade and earned him more than $5 million.
As part of a plea deal, Globensky must write a $1.5 million cashier’s check to the government within days. He remains free on bond and faces a maximum 10-year prison term when he’s sentenced Oct. 29, but will likely get closer to two years in prison under federal guidelines.
The items, which were stolen between 2009 and 2022, included such historic memorabilia as green jackets and tickets to Masters tournaments in the 1930s, as well as T-shirts, mugs and chairs, according to prosecutors. Among the stolen iconic green jackets were those won by Palmer, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen.
Globensky, who had worked at the warehouse since 2007, would secretly photograph items and send them to a Florida-based seller, identified in court documents only as Individual A, prosecutors said. 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.
The total loss to Augusta National was more than $3 million, according to prosecutors. A representative for Augusta National did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment.
Globensky declined to comment to reporters after the hearing. His attorney, Thomas Church, told reporters the case was being tried in Chicago because some of the stolen goods were recovered in the area. Church declined further comment because of pending investigations.
No one else has been charged in the case, but prosecutors said Globensky is cooperating in the ongoing investigation.
Prosecutors in April charged Globensky with transporting stolen tournament merchandise and memorabilia across state lines to Florida. But the court records didn’t say what was taken from the famous golf club.
Augusta National hosts the annual Masters golf tournament, which Scottie Scheffler won last month.
Palmer, who died in 2016 at age 87, won four green jackets. He’s often credited with introducing golf to the masses and hit the ceremonial tee shot every year at the Masters for years after he stopped playing in the tournament in 2004.
Getting a ticket to the Masters also gives fans the chance to buy exclusive merchandise that’s not officially sold online. But the green jackets are particularly guarded by the Georgia company that owns Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters golf tournament.
The company sued in 2017 to stop a golf memorabilia company from auctioning off a champion’s green jacket and other items it said were never supposed to leave the club’s grounds.
Augusta National Inc. filed the federal lawsuit against the Florida-based auction company seeking to stop it from selling a champion’s green jacket and two member green jackets, as well as silverware and a belt buckle bearing Augusta National’s map and flag logo.
California
Professor to stand trial in death of pro-Israel protester
VENTURA, Calif. (AP) — A judge decided Wednesday that a Southern California college professor will stand trial for involuntary manslaughter and battery in the death of a Jewish counter-protester during demonstrations over the Israel-Hamas war last year.
Superior Court Judge Ryan Wright judge declared after a two-day preliminary hearing that there’s enough evidence to try Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
Alnaji, 51, is accused of striking Paul Kessler with a megaphone in November during a confrontation at an event that started as a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Thousand Oaks, a suburb northwest of Los Angeles.
Kessler, 69, fell backward and struck his head on the pavement. He died the next day at a hospital.
Alnaji was charged with two felonies: involuntary manslaughter and battery causing serious bodily injury, with special allegations of personally inflicting great bodily harm injury on each count, the DA’s office said. If found guilty of all charges, he could be sentenced to more than four
years in prison.
Alnaji posted $50,000 bail. An email and phone message for Alnaji’s lawyer, Ron Bamieh, weren’t immediately returned Wednesday.
Alnaji, a professor of computer science at Moorpark College, had espoused pro-Palestinian views on his Facebook page and other social media accounts, many of which were taken down in the days after Kessler’s death, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Idaho
Inmate pleads guilty to escaping hospital after attacking guards
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho inmate who slipped custody from a hospital in March after a violent attack on corrections officers has pleaded guilty to escape, while still facing the possibility of two felony enhancements that could add to his sentence.
Skylar Meade entered the plea in 4th District Court on Wednesday. He could face up to life in prison when sentenced in July.
Violence erupted March 20 at a Boise hospital as Idaho Department of Correction officers were preparing to transport Meade back to prison after he was treated for injuries. Prosecutors say Nicholas Umphenour shot two corrections officers. A third officer was injured when a fellow police officer mistook him for the shooter and opened fire. All three officers survived.
Meade and Umphenour fled the scene, first driving to north-central Idaho before heading back to the southern half of the state, where they were arrested the following day.
Umphenour is charged with three counts of aggravated battery on law enforcement officers, using a firearm during a crime and aiding and abetting escape, all felonies. He has not yet entered a plea, but is scheduled for a hearing later this month.
Meade also faces felony enhancements because prosecutors say he conspired or aided Umphenour in inflicting injury on two of the officers. He has not yet entered a plea to those allegations. They will be addressed in a hearing set for June 20, according to court documents.
Man pleads guilty in theft of Palmer green jacket
CHICAGO (AP) — A former warehouse assistant for the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia pleaded guilty on Wednesday to transporting millions of dollars’ worth of stolen Masters tournament memorabilia and historic items, including one of Arnold Palmer’s iconic green jackets.
Richard Globensky, of Georgia, entered the plea in federal court in Chicago. He was charged with one count of transporting goods knowing they had been stolen.
According to federal prosecutors, the 39-year-old took items from the warehouse for sellers in Florida, who then sold them online at a significant markup. Globensky was paid through a limited liability company set up in his wife’s name, among other ways. The scheme lasted for more than a decade and earned him more than $5 million.
As part of a plea deal, Globensky must write a $1.5 million cashier’s check to the government within days. He remains free on bond and faces a maximum 10-year prison term when he’s sentenced Oct. 29, but will likely get closer to two years in prison under federal guidelines.
The items, which were stolen between 2009 and 2022, included such historic memorabilia as green jackets and tickets to Masters tournaments in the 1930s, as well as T-shirts, mugs and chairs, according to prosecutors. Among the stolen iconic green jackets were those won by Palmer, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen.
Globensky, who had worked at the warehouse since 2007, would secretly photograph items and send them to a Florida-based seller, identified in court documents only as Individual A, prosecutors said. 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.
The total loss to Augusta National was more than $3 million, according to prosecutors. A representative for Augusta National did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment.
Globensky declined to comment to reporters after the hearing. His attorney, Thomas Church, told reporters the case was being tried in Chicago because some of the stolen goods were recovered in the area. Church declined further comment because of pending investigations.
No one else has been charged in the case, but prosecutors said Globensky is cooperating in the ongoing investigation.
Prosecutors in April charged Globensky with transporting stolen tournament merchandise and memorabilia across state lines to Florida. But the court records didn’t say what was taken from the famous golf club.
Augusta National hosts the annual Masters golf tournament, which Scottie Scheffler won last month.
Palmer, who died in 2016 at age 87, won four green jackets. He’s often credited with introducing golf to the masses and hit the ceremonial tee shot every year at the Masters for years after he stopped playing in the tournament in 2004.
Getting a ticket to the Masters also gives fans the chance to buy exclusive merchandise that’s not officially sold online. But the green jackets are particularly guarded by the Georgia company that owns Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters golf tournament.
The company sued in 2017 to stop a golf memorabilia company from auctioning off a champion’s green jacket and other items it said were never supposed to leave the club’s grounds.
Augusta National Inc. filed the federal lawsuit against the Florida-based auction company seeking to stop it from selling a champion’s green jacket and two member green jackets, as well as silverware and a belt buckle bearing Augusta National’s map and flag logo.
California
Professor to stand trial in death of pro-Israel protester
VENTURA, Calif. (AP) — A judge decided Wednesday that a Southern California college professor will stand trial for involuntary manslaughter and battery in the death of a Jewish counter-protester during demonstrations over the Israel-Hamas war last year.
Superior Court Judge Ryan Wright judge declared after a two-day preliminary hearing that there’s enough evidence to try Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
Alnaji, 51, is accused of striking Paul Kessler with a megaphone in November during a confrontation at an event that started as a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Thousand Oaks, a suburb northwest of Los Angeles.
Kessler, 69, fell backward and struck his head on the pavement. He died the next day at a hospital.
Alnaji was charged with two felonies: involuntary manslaughter and battery causing serious bodily injury, with special allegations of personally inflicting great bodily harm injury on each count, the DA’s office said. If found guilty of all charges, he could be sentenced to more than four
years in prison.
Alnaji posted $50,000 bail. An email and phone message for Alnaji’s lawyer, Ron Bamieh, weren’t immediately returned Wednesday.
Alnaji, a professor of computer science at Moorpark College, had espoused pro-Palestinian views on his Facebook page and other social media accounts, many of which were taken down in the days after Kessler’s death, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Idaho
Inmate pleads guilty to escaping hospital after attacking guards
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho inmate who slipped custody from a hospital in March after a violent attack on corrections officers has pleaded guilty to escape, while still facing the possibility of two felony enhancements that could add to his sentence.
Skylar Meade entered the plea in 4th District Court on Wednesday. He could face up to life in prison when sentenced in July.
Violence erupted March 20 at a Boise hospital as Idaho Department of Correction officers were preparing to transport Meade back to prison after he was treated for injuries. Prosecutors say Nicholas Umphenour shot two corrections officers. A third officer was injured when a fellow police officer mistook him for the shooter and opened fire. All three officers survived.
Meade and Umphenour fled the scene, first driving to north-central Idaho before heading back to the southern half of the state, where they were arrested the following day.
Umphenour is charged with three counts of aggravated battery on law enforcement officers, using a firearm during a crime and aiding and abetting escape, all felonies. He has not yet entered a plea, but is scheduled for a hearing later this month.
Meade also faces felony enhancements because prosecutors say he conspired or aided Umphenour in inflicting injury on two of the officers. He has not yet entered a plea to those allegations. They will be addressed in a hearing set for June 20, according to court documents.
