Former Augusta National employee sentenced in Chicago for stealing, selling Masters gear

CHICAGO - A former warehouse assistant at Augusta National Golf Club was sentenced Wednesday for stealing and selling Masters golf tournament merchandise and memorabilia.

Richard Brendan Globensky, 40, pleaded guilty last year in Chicago to a federal charge of transporting and transferring stolen goods across state lines.

What we know:

From 2009 to 2022, Globensky stole merchandise such as Masters shirts, hats, flags, watches, and other goods. He also stole historically significant memorabilia, including Green Jackets awarded to golf legends Arnold Palmer, Gene Sarazen, and Ben Hogan.

Augusta, GA: The green jacket is awarded to the winner of the Masters Tournament, but he can only keep it for one year and then it must be returned to Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo by Stan Grossfeld/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Globensky sold the stolen merchandise to an online broker in Florida, making about $5.3 million. He sold the memorabilia to the same broker and the broker's associate for nearly $300,000.

The brokers then re-sold the stolen items, often for more than what they paid Globensky. At least one of the items was purchased by a collector in Chicago.

In the final six years of the scheme, Globensky used more than $370,000 to buy five vehicles and a motorboat. He also spent over $160,000 on Walt Disney-themed vacations and activities, nearly $600,000 on building a custom home in Georgia, and about $32,000 on luxury items from Louis Vuitton.

What they're saying:

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Hayes, in a written statement before sentencing, told Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman that "greed" is what motivated Globensky.

"The funds Globensky obtained enabled him and his spouse to live a lifestyle far beyond their means," Hayes said. "The manner in which he spent the proceeds suggests greed was his primary motivation for committing the offense."

What's next:

Globensky, of Evans, Georgia, was sentenced to a year in federal prison.

He was also ordered to pay $3,448,842 in restitution to Augusta National.