Indictment handed down for former parks director
TRENTON » The former executive director of the Mercer County Park Commission was indicted Tuesday for allegedly diverting money that should have been paid to the county to a nonprofit he controlled, and also arranging unauthorized benefits for himself, his family and others at county expense.
Kevin Bannon, 60, of Lawrence, is charged with six counts of official misconduct, one count of pattern of official misconduct, one count of misapplication of entrusted property and property of government, one count of theft by unlawful taking, and one count of theft of services.
Bannon was charged by a grand jury indictment stemming from an investigation that began when the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau learned he was allegedly running a nonprofit called Friends of Mercer County Parks on county time with county employees. Prosecutors say Bannon allegedly diverted funds that should have been paid to the county to his nonprofit.
“We allege that Bannon corruptly used the Friends organization to divert county funds and expand his power over park facilities and events, while also conferring unauthorized benefits like free golf and VIP concert tickets on himself, his family and his inner circle,” Attorney General Christopher Porrino said in a written statement. “Local taxpayers ultimately foot the bill when officials engage in the type of illegal power grab and abuse of public resources alleged here. We won’t tolerate it.”
Bannon ran the nonprofit with his brother, whom he allegedly hired as a project manager for the park commission so that the brother could run the nonprofit. The brother is not charged in the investigation. Bannon was fired from his position as executive director of the Park Commission after the investigation became public.
Prosecutors say the investigation revealed six different schemes that Bannon allegedly used to divert money from the Mercer County Park Commission to his nonprofit. Some of those schemes allegedly allowed Bannon to arrange for unauthorized benefits for himself, his family, and others close to him at county expense.
In a statement, Bannon’s attorney, Jack Furlong, said that after many months of interviews from the AG probe, he knows of “no witness who claimed Kevin made a single dollar from any county or countyrelated agency beyond his own paycheck.”
“I also learned that Kevin would not be permitted to testify before the grand jury,” Furlong said. “He was never invited, and his offer today was summarily rejected.”
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. The Friends of Mercer County Parks nonprofit was formed to support and promote the Park Commission. However, by allegedly diverting funds unlawfully to the nonprofit, which was run solely by Bannon and his brother, Bannon controlled those funds without needing anyone’s approval.
“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,” Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice said.
Bannon is charged with six separate counts of official misconduct related to the following six alleged schemes:
• Waiver of Fees for Golf Outings/Signs for Friends Sponsors: Prosecutors say Bannon abused his authority at the Park Commission by waiving fees for golf outings for groups he was a part of, including fees for Friends annual golf outings, New Jersey Recreation and Parks Association (NJRPA) annual golf outings, and outings for his own family, and that he used county funds and resources to organize and staff the outings, fundraise for the Friends nonprofit, and create sponsorship signs for the Friends outings. Without authorization, Bannon allegedly waived over $37,000 in golf fees for the Friends nonprofit for three annual outings from 2013 to 2015; over $19,000 in fees for the NJRPA for four annual golf 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. Bannon allegedly directed county employees to solicit businesses to sponsor the Friends golf outings at various dollar levels, 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. The signs were produced at the Park Commission’s sign shop or purchased from a county vendor at a total cost to the county of over $8,000.
• U.S. Tennis Association Fee Diversion: Mercer County Park began hosting the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) U.S. Open Qualifier for the Mid-Atlantic Region in 2010. Prosecutors allege Bannon, without authorization, had $9,000 in court rental fees — $3,000 each year for 2013, 2014 and 2015
— which the USTA paid to the Friends nonprofit instead of the Park Commission, which should have received the fees.
• VIP Concert Tickets and Per-Ticket Donation to Friends: Prosecutors say Bannon, without authorization, signed 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 involving Barenaked Ladies, R-5, and Lee Brice. The tickets were worth $6,240. The contract provided that Bannon could host 30 to 50 personal guests at each concert, with the guests to be admitted free of charge and given access to a VIP hospitality tent. Bannon held VIP parties for his invited guests at two of the concerts. The VIP area was set up, taken down and cleaned by Park Commission employees. Bannon also allegedly negotiated an unauthorized fee/donation of $2 per ticket for each of the concerts payable to the Friends organization that generated nearly $21,000 in revenue for the nonprofit. • Free Golf for Friends Accountant: Prosecutors say Bannon hired an accountant to work for the Friends organization, and rather than the nonprofit paying for his services, Bannon agreed, without authorization, to offer the accountant free golf and a free golf cart at any time at any of the Park Commission’s golf courses, which include the Mercer Oaks, Mountain View and Princeton Country Club courses. Between 2013 and 2015, the accountant played about 200 rounds of golf, for which the waived fees totaled over $8,000. The accountant is not charged. • Kickback to Friends from Food Vendor: Officials allege Bannon required a county vendor to pay a kickback of 10 percent of concession proceeds to the Friends nonprofit to sell food and beverages at the three concerts at the Festival Grounds in 2015, even though the vendor already had an exclusive concession contract with the Park Commission to sell his goods at Park events. The vendor paid the Friends nonprofit a total of over $3,000 for the three concerts. Bannon told the vendor the concerts were exceptions to his contract because they were sponsored by the Friends group, but the Friends were actually beneficiaries of the concerts, not sponsors. • Trenton Thunder Pay-