Former Director Stole Thousands From Park Commission: Authorities

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ — Former executive director of the Mercer County Park Commission and former Rutgers University men's basketball coach Kevin Bannon has been indicted for using his position to divert thousands of dollars meant for the county to a non-profit he controlled, authorities announced on Tuesday.

Bannon, 60, of Lawrenceville, is also accused of arranging unauthorized benefits for himself, his family and others at county expense, according to Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino. This includes VIP concert tickets and free golf at county golf courses.

Bannon is charged with six counts of second-degree official misconduct; one count of second-degree pattern of official misconduct; one count of second-degree misapplication of entrusted property and property of government; one count of third-degree theft by unlawful taking; and one count of third-degree theft of services.

The allegations are related to Bannon’s “Friends of Mercer County Park” non-profit group. He ran the group with his brother, whom he allegedly hired as a project manager for the park commission so that he could run the non-profit, according to authorities. His brother is not charged in this investigation.

Bannon is accused of diverting thousands of dollars intended for the county into that group through six different schemes, authorities said.

The Park Commission is a semi-autonomous public agency funded by the county. Bannon led the Park Commission as executive director, but he was subject to supervision by its Board of Commissioners. Bannon was executive director from 2004 until last summer, when he was fired amidst the state investigation. He made $135,275.

"The Mercer County Administration and the Mercer County Park Commission are deeply disturbed the allegations contained in the Attorney General’s indictment concerning the former executive director of the Mercer County Park Commission," Mercer County Spokeswoman Julie Wilmot said. "Mercer County and the MCPC, designated victims by the Attorney General, have been fully cooperating with the Attorney General’s Office from the outset of its investigation and will continue to do so as needed while this process continues."

Bannon was fired after he was asked to take a temporary leave following the revelation that the Mercer County Park Commission and the non-profit Friends of Mercer County Parks were the subjects of an inquiry by the Office of the State Attorney General. The non-profit was formed to support and promote the Park Commission.

“Bannon fooled many into thinking that the Friends nonprofit and the Parks Commission were, in essence, the same organization, so they didn’t suspect when asked to pay the nonprofit money that should have gone to the county,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “But we allege that Bannon illegally used the nonprofit as a slush fund to increase his power and influence.”

"Kevin Bannon served Mercer County proudly for over 12 years. He cut expenses, built revenue, and did both while adding award-winning facilities and events," his defense attorney, John S. Furlong said. "He did all of this under the watchful eye of the public and the Park Commission without receiving a single nay vote. His approval rating for this legacy was simply 100 percent. Even I can do the math."

Furlong described the accusations included in the indictment as "laughable," although he said the issue is no laughing matter. He said Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes asked Bannon to form the non-profit, and that "every dime is accounted for."

"He's not a lawyer or an accountant. He was not responsible for the formation documents," Furlong said. "Everything about this organization is transparent, and we look forward to Kevin's day in court."

He also said he's not aware of any witness who claimed Bannon made any money from any county or county-related agency beyond his own paycheck.

"Permit me to publicly advise witnesses who plan to lie under oath: this will not go well for you. Talking to investigators is not the same as testifying in open court," Furlong said. "I should also send a note of caution to Attorney General Porrino. Before holding a press conference to tout the return of an indictment, he might want to read the Riker Danzig report of their county-sponsored investigation. If not now, he will learn at trial that when you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas. I’m just trying to spare the man a rash."

Bannon also served as Scarlet Knights coach from 1997-98 to 2000-2001, when he was fired for reportedly holding free-throw shooting contests in which players were forced to remove their clothes if they missed a shot.

The six schemes Bannon is accused of being involved with in the indictment announced on Tuesday are detailed below:

Waiver of Fees for Golf Outings/Signs for Friends Sponsors: Bannon is accused of waiving fees for groups which he was a part of, including his non-profit, New Jersey Recreation and Parks Association (NJRPA) annual golf outings, and outings for his own family. He also used county funds to organize and staff the outings, fundraise for his non-profit, and create sponsorship signs for the non-profit’s outings. He is accused of waiving over $37,000 in golf fees for three outings involving his non-profit from 2013 to 2015; over $19,000 in fees for four NJRPA outings from 2012 to 2015; and over $700 in fees for two Bannon family golf outings in 2013, when fees were discounted, and 2015, when no fees were charged. He is accused of directing county employees to solicit businesses to sponsor the Friends golf outings, which entitled the sponsors to corresponding benefits, including signs highlighting their sponsorship at the golf outings and, for higher-level sponsors, other Park Commission events. Authorities say this cost the county over $8,000 by itself.

U.S. Tennis Association Fee Diversion: Bannon s accused of having $3,000 in court rental fees paid to his non-profit by the USTA fees without authorization in 2013, 2014 and 2015, totaling $9,000. The fees for the USTA’s use of the courts for its U.S. Open Mid-Atlantic Region Qualifier should have gone to the park commission, authorities said.

VIP Concert Tickets and Per-Ticket Donation to Friends: Bannon is accused of signing a contract with a concert promoter on behalf of the Park Commission that personally awarded him numerous free VIP tickets to three concerts in the summer of 2015 at the Mercer County Park Festival Grounds, without authorization. Tickets for the shows, which featured Barenaked Ladies, R-5, and Lee Brice, were worth $6,240, authorities said.The VIP area was set up, taken down and cleaned by Park Commission employees. He is also accused of negotiating an unauthorized fee/donation of $2 per ticket for each of the concerts, payable to the Friends organization, thus generating nearly $21,000 in revenue for the nonprofit.

Free Golf for Friends Accountant: Bannon is accused of offering his non-profit’s accountant free golf and a free golf cart at any time at any of the Park Commission’s golf courses without authorization. Between 2013 and 2015, the accountant played about 200 rounds of golf, for which the waived fees totaled over $8,000, authorities said. The accountant is not charged.

Kickback to Friends from Food Vendor: Bannon is accused of requiring a county vendor that already had an exclusive contract with the parks commission to pay a kickback of 10 percent of concession proceeds to his non-profit in order to sell food and beverages at the three concerts at the Festival Grounds in 2015. The vendor paid the non-profit $3,000 for the three concerts because Bannon told them the concerts were an exception to the existing contract, authorities said.

Trenton Thunder Payment: Bannon is accused of waiving fees he said were owed to the county for non-baseball events at the Trenton Thunder minor league baseball team’s stadium in 2015 in exchange for a payment of $5,000 for his non-profit. The Thunder had previously donated money to the non-profit, but Bannon told the team that he would waive the extra fees owed to the county if they increased their sponsorship to at least $5,000.

The official misconduct and pattern of official misconduct charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison, with a mandatory term of five years of parole ineligibility.

Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000.

The second-degree charges of official misconduct and pattern of official misconduct also carry a mandatory minimum term of parole ineligibility of five years. Third-degree charges carry a sentence of three to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $15,000.

The attached image of Kevin Bannon was provided by the Attorney General’s Office