Press Release  Attorney General's Office Secures Guilty Plea from Former Medfield Town Official for Abusing Public Trust and Stealing Public Funds

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (AGO) announced today that former Medfield Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Ryder, 51, of Medfield, pled guilty to eight charges and was sentenced by the Norfolk County Superior Court to 2.5 years in the House of Correction for stealing more than $100,000 in municipal funds and exploiting his public position to enrich himself. The Judge ordered Ryder 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 was indicted in 2023 on the charges of Larceny over $1200 by Scheme (4 counts), Larceny under $1200 (1 count), Accepting Illegal Gratuities (1 count), and Use of Official Position to Secure an Unwarranted Privilege (2 counts). The indictments are the result of an investigation launched by the AGO following the Town of Medfield’s referral to the AGO of its concerns 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 AGO’s subsequent investigation into Ryder’s conduct.  

Ryder was Medfield’s Parks and Recreation Department Director from 2014 until August 2022. The AGO investigation revealed 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. In addition, the investigation showed that Ryder had purchased 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.  

In addition, 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. Over the course of several years, he also arranged for the Parks and Recreation Department to sponsor an exercise program at a local gym, in which he received a financial kickback representing 50% of the gym’s profits from the event, totaling more than $16,000. 

This matter was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Elizabeth Burke, of the AGO’s White Collar and Public Integrity Division. The case was investigated by Jonathan Pitts of the Office of the Inspector General and the Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Attorney General’s Office. 

The White Collar and Public Integrity Division investigates and prosecutes serious criminal misconduct involving crimes against public agencies, corrupt public employees and public entities, crimes that have a harmful effect on public confidence in our government and other trusted institutions, and financial crimes. 

###