Power broker Lynch pleads guilty
Former state Sen. John Lynch pleaded guilty this morning to
corruption charges, admitting he secretly took tens of thousands of
dollars from a contractor who wanted his help developing state
parkland.
In a hearing in federal District Court in Newark, Lynch pleaded
guilty to theft of honest services through fraud and tax evasion.
The plea capped an 18-month investigation, coming only days before
prosecutors were expected to seek an indictment against the
Democratic Party leader and onetime Senate President.
Under the plea deal, Lynch agreed to accept a prison term of between
33 and 41 months. In doing so, he avoided a trial on potentially
more charges that, if proven, could have jailed him for more than
twice as long.
Lynch admitted that he broke the law when he accepted consulting
payments from officials at Dallenbach Sand Co., a company that
sought state permission to buy and mine parkland in South Brunswick
Township at the same time Lynch was a state senator. He took between
$120,000 and $200,000 from the company between 1998 and 2002. He
failed to report $150,000 in income on his 1999 taxes.
The project was never completed.
The money was quietly funneled to Lynch through Executive
Continental, a Tinton Falls consulting company that he formed with
Jack Westlake, his friend and business partner. Westlake, 76, was
expected to plead guilty today to tax evasion.
Lynch arrived in court at about 11:10 a.m. He pleaded guilty to the
two counts around 11:45 a.m.
The U.S. Attorney's Office is expected to hold a press conference
about the plea later today. And Lynch will issue a public a public
statement.
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
