Writing from Chicago
Monday, May 6, 2024
Mike Scully, the football player-turned-golf professional from Illinois, made a plea-bargain deal with the state of Florida to defer prosecution in his triple-felony case revolving around the theft of over $100,000 in merchandise from the Streamsong Golf Resort in Florida. If he follows the strict terms of the agreement, he’ll not have to serve jail time.
An attorney for Scully and Florida assistant state attorney Brian Carnish made the deal on April 25 in a “notice of nolle prosequi / no bill,” noting that Scully has “complied with the terms and agreements of the Deferred Prosecution Program.”
Carnish moved for and the judge granted termination and dismissal of the three felony charges: grand theft of more than $20,000 in merchandise, scheme to defraud for more than $50,000, and dealing in stolen property.
Specifics in Scully’s case were not immediately available, but typically in a plea-bargain agreement for a first offender in Florida, the charged party must pay restitution for the full amount – in this case from nearly $100,000 to $143,536, depending on which court document is used, pay a fine, not commit further crimes for at least a year, and participate in community service.
The deal means Scully, whose resume includes a stint at Medinah Country Club that ended just after the 2012 Ryder Cup, avoids a guilty plea or verdict, which would render him ineligible for continuing membership in the PGA of America.
Scully, 58, had been arrested on Nov. 22, about four months after he left Streamsong for Kinsale Golf Club, a private club under construction in North Naples, Fla. Kinsale fired him days later. Between Medinah and Streamsong, the Prospect High and Illinois graduate, a member of the Fighting Illini’s 1983 Rose Bowl team, held leading positions at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Reynold Lake Oconee in Greensboro, Ga.
– Tim Cronin