BOSTON (WHDH) - A former Boston Planning a Development Agency staff member pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston on Thursday to accepting a bribe and filing a false tax return.
During his time as assistant director of real estate for the agency, John Lynch, 66, admitted to influencing the vote of a zoning board member so a developer could build in South Boston.
When that project was completed, Lynch said he collected a $50,000 payoff from the developer.
Boston Mayor Martin Walsh has ordered a review into the findings of the case.
“We’re going to see,” Walsh said. “Just to make sure there is no wrongdoing.”
Walsh said he is also going to open up a separate inquiry into the actions of the city’s zoning board.
Prosecutors are recommending Lynch serve anywhere from 46 to 57 months in prison.
He is due to be sentenced in January.
This is not the first bit of trouble for Boston city employees.
Recently, Timothy Sullivan and Kenneth Brissette were found guilty of conspiring to extort organizers of the Boston Calling Music Festival into hiring union workers.
Though both were appointed by Walsh, the mayor said their wrongdoing is not a reflection of his administration.
“It is still not a reflection, I mean, you can’t control, I can’t control 18,000 people,” he said. “This is a surprise, I was completely taken aback by this the other day when I heard about it and certainly if we knew something like this was going on, we would have addressed it.”
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