CHICAGO — A former warehouse assistant for the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia pleaded guilty 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.
“I plead guilty,” Globensky, who was wearing a suit and tie, told the judge.
Federal prosecutors said the 39-year-old took items from the warehouse for sellers in Florida, who then turned them around and sold them online at “significant markup prices.” The scheme lasted more than a decade and earned Globensky more than $5 million, according to prosecutors. They said he was paid through a limited liability company set up in his wife’s name, among other ways.
As part of a plea deal, Globensky is to write a $1.5 million cashier’s check to the government within days. He remains free on bond. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison at sentencing set for Oct. 29 but will likely get closer to two years under federal sentencing guidelines.
The items, 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. They said stolen jackets included those won by Palmer, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen.
Prosecutors said 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 as Individual A. Globensky would then sneak out items that they were interested in, taking small quantities to avoid Augusta National’s auditing practices, according to court documents. Authorities said 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.
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.
Palmer, who died in 2016 at age 87, won four green jackets at Augusta National. He is 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 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.