Ex-staffer jailed for stealing $700K from Delco D.A.
Delaware County District Attorney John J. Whelan called it "shocking" and a "betrayal of trust." Defense lawyer Andrew Edelberg called it one of the biggest thefts ever by a county employee.
Delaware County District Attorney John J. Whelan called it "shocking" and a "betrayal of trust."
Defense lawyer Andrew Edelberg called it one of the biggest thefts ever by a county employee.
On Thursday, Mary E. Lynch, 49, a longtime employee of the District Attorney's Office, was sentenced to three to six years in state prison after admitting she embezzled more than $700,000 in drug-forfeiture money.
Over a decade, when Lynch served as the office's financial administrator, the Ridley Township woman siphoned funds she was supposed to deposit in county accounts.
Instead, the mother of two used the cash on Taylor Swift and Bob Dylan concerts, Flyers games, and other items. Even her lawyer said it was unclear how and where Lynch spent it all.
In a courtroom crowded with supporters of the District Attorney's Office and her relatives, Lynch told Judge William T. Nicholas that multiple crises in her life had spiraled her into depression.
She said she was battling thyroid cancer, reeling from a divorce, and learning how to become a single mother. Going to concerts and games was a way out.
"I escaped into a fantasy world," Lynch said, where there was "no pain, no depression, and no fear of the unknown."
The judge wasn't swayed. He said he found Lynch's case "quite troubling," and chastised her for blaming the theft on personal stresses.
The money "didn't go to anything you talked about," Nicholas said. "It went to Flyers tickets."
Lynch worked in the prosecutor's office for 29 years, initially as a general assistant and secretary. Investigators uncovered her thefts after a review of in-house policies. Last April, she was fired and charged.
Because of her long career with local law enforcement, Delaware County prosecutors enlisted a Bucks County district attorney to handle the case. Nicholas, a senior judge in Montgomery County, came to Media to preside.
Lynch pleaded guilty to theft charges. The judge also ordered her to serve 10 years on probation and repay the $700,000.
After the hearing, her lawyer called the sentence fair. "The reality is, they could have charged her with hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of crimes over a 10-year period," Edelberg said.
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