After years of fraud, Roddy Ranch in Antioch to be put out to pasture

Dec. 07--ANTIOCH -- The former general manager of Roddy Ranch Golf Club will serve jail time after pleading guilty on Friday to theft that became the last nail in the coffin for the golf club.

Kevin Robert Fitzgerald, 46, pleaded guilty to grand theft of personal property with an enhancement, and insurance fraud.

According to court documents, Fitzgerald stole over $326,000 from owner Jack Roddy, Figtree Financing and the Commercial PACE Loan Program, which finances solar panel installation. Fitzgerald and a co-conspirator pocketed some of the money, paid some of the bills related to the golf club and then broke several of the club's solar panels, lied to police that 300 panels were stolen, then filed a fraudulent insurance claim.

Fitzgerald agreed to the terms of a plea deal in which he will serve three years in county jail, three years of probation and will give a full disclosure interview with the district attorney's investigators as to the alleged crimes of his co-conspirator, contractor Mark Mattson.

At times, Fitzgerald alleged that he defrauded the business in an effort to save it and also claimed he had a drug problem, but investigators didn't see any evidence of this.

"He was clearly mismanaging the money and the golf course, and kept telling Jack and other investors they were making money, but those books were wrong," said Deputy District Attorney Dodie Katague. "The cost was real and the golf club was shut down from the amount of loss."

Roddy Ranch Golf Course was closed in the summer of 2016 and Touchstone Golf, the Texas-based operators of the club, claimed it was due to rising water costs. Approximately 25 people lost their jobs.

It wasn't the first time Jack Roddy, an 80-year-old former rodeo star and rancher, had been taken in by a fraud artist. In 1998, Roddy and partner Wayne Pierce financed the course and 1,000 luxury homes on the property through Alameda-based broker David Fitzgerald, who is apparently not related to Kevin Fitzgerald. David Fitzgerald sold $35 million in municipal bonds to finance the project.

In 2001, the ranch defaulted on its bond payments. The next year, Fitzgerald paid $300,000 to settle securities fraud charges after the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged he intentionally misled investors in a planned community that had no roads or homes.

Four months later, in July of 2002, Roddy Ranch filed for bankruptcy.

Although Kevin Fitzgerald claimed in his sentencing that he was attempting to save the business, Roddy was on the hook for most of the loans.

"Roddy backed all the loans, put up his house, his reputation, his property," Katague said. "He took advantage of a position of trust. Jack Roddy treated him like a son and it was well-known (Roddy) would leave everything to Kevin after he passed away."

In 2014, the East Bay Regional Park District purchased the ranch land surrounding Roddy's home and golf course for $14.2 million. In October, the board closed escrow on the 40-acre home ranch for $1.5 million. On Nov. 21, the board also authorized purchase of the 230-acre golf course for $1.9 million.

"That's a huge win for the district. The golf course is almost a ready-made facility for a park and it saves a huge amount of time in delivering that park to East Bay residents," said Dave Mason, public information officer for EBRPD.

All of these properties put together will form the "donut hole" of the much larger Deer Valley Regional Park, which will serve as a critical wildlife corridor.

As part of the purchase, Roddy asked to lease back his home for five years with an option to extend for another five years.

"It's a win-win for us all," said Liz Musbach, EBRPD's land acquisition manager. "The Roddys are impeccable stewards of their property and are a grazing tenant and we don't have immediate plans for the ranch. They love the land and keep eyes and ears out for us in the area."

Roddy grew up ranching on a family farm in San Jose and purchased the Roddy Ranch in 1976. Over the years, ranching became less of a cash cow and Roddy partnered with investors in the late 1990s to develop the land. Roddy always described himself as a "rancher, not a developer," though, and felt he was thrust into building plans over the years.

After the investors and managers have come and gone, Roddy will now return to his roots as a rancher.

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