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A former Boston Planning and Development Agency official has agreed to plead guilty for taking a $50,000 bribe from an unidentified developer in exchange for trying to influence a key Zoning Board of Appeals vote following an FBI and IRS investigation.

John M. Lynch, 66, the former assistant director of real estate at the Economic Development Industrial Corp., a division of the BPDA, agreed to plead guilty today, according to the office of the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Andrew Lelling.

Lynch, a Boston resident, was charged with one count of bribery involving an organization receiving federal funds and one count of filing a false federal tax return that failed to report his receipt of the bribe payments.

In a statement, BPDA Director Brian Golden expressed outrage at Lynch’s actions and said the agency would cooperate with Lelling’s office.

“I’m outraged,” Golden said. “These charges are deeply troubling and do not represent the work or the employees of the agency. While we believe that this was an isolated incident outside of his official capacity at the Economic Development Industrial Corporations, the agency is committed to fully cooperating with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”

Lynch “voluntarily resigned” from his position on Aug. 16, according to a BPDA spokesperson.

According to the criminal complaint in 2017, a Boston real estate developer sought to sell a parcel of residential real estate in Boston, but needed ZBA approval to extend a permit that would have allowed the property to be sold as a multi-unit development, prosecutors said. To get the permit extension, the developer agreed to pay $50,000 to Lynch, in return for Lynch using his influence at the BPDA to secure a vote from a ZBA member.

As part of his normal duties at the BPDA, Lynch oversaw property management of agency-owned properties, including maintenance-related work. He had no official involvement in the permitting process for private developments and did not interact with the ZBA, an agency spokesperson said.

The permit extension helped the real estate developer realize an additional $500,000 in profits that the developer otherwise would not have received absent the permit, according to prosecutors. After getting the permit extension, Lynch accepted $25,000 in cash payments and another $25,000 check, which Lynch used to pay a personal bill.  Lynch then failed to report those and another $10,000 payment he had received from the same real estate developer.

The unidentified developer is merely named as “Individual A” in the criminal complaint. The property in question is not identified, either. Lelling’s office did not immediately return an email from Banker & Tradesman seeking comment.

The charges Lynch admitted to carry a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000 and forfeiture.

According to the terms of a plea agreement also filed today, the government will recommend the court limit his sentence to between 46 and 57 months in prison, along with 12 months of supervised release, forfeiture of the $50,000 bribe, payment of a a $16,800 penalty to the IRS and payment of a second fine, to be calculated by the judge. In the plea deal, Lynch agreed to waive his right to an appeal.

Updated 4:56 p.m., Aug. 30, 2019: This story has been updated to include comment from the BPDA, as well as information from the criminal complaint and plea deal.

Ex-BPDA Official Pleads to Taking $50K Bribe from Developer

by James Sanna time to read: 2 min
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