Ex-Philly prosecutor suspended for revenge plot against lover

The story of former Philadelphia prosecutor Lynn Marietta Nichols - who was forced to resign in 2013 for lashing out against her former lover - marked another chapter this week.

Nichols, 49, was suspended Monday from practicing law for 30 months by the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. It was the latest punishment in connection with the illegal use of her authority to aid and then attack her landscaper boyfriend.

"A public official's misconduct speaks directly to the integrity of the legal system by placing the reputation of those tasked with serving and protecting the public at issue," the board wrote in a statement accompanying its decision.

Neither Nichols nor her lawyer, Brian McMonagle, immediately responded to a request for comment.

Nichols spent 22 years with the District Attorney's Office, rising to assistant chief of the Homicide Unit.

Her troubles began in 2012, after she started dating her gardener, Joselyn Herron.

In October of that year, Herron encountered a problem. His ex-lover, Nicole Chandler, had reported her Ford F-150 truck stolen.

The problem was that Herron had the truck.

Nichols used her influence as a prosecutor to persuade a Philadelphia police detective to remove the stolen-truck report from the National Crime Information Center database.

But then, in August 2013, Nichols learned that Herron was involved with yet another woman.

Furious, Nichols called the detective and asked him to again list the truck as stolen, but the detective refused.

So Nichols contacted Chandler, and said she knew where the truck was and would help her file a new stolen-vehicle report with police. Nichols then called Chesilhurst police - impersonating Chandler - and provided the truck's location.

After making the report, Nichols offered to cover the cost of the tow service for the trouble, but later reneged. Unable to afford the bill, Chandler reported Nichols to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

Nichols resigned in October 2013, on the day she was arrested.

She was charged with obstruction of justice and filing a false report, and pleaded guilty in February 2014 to criminal mischief, a misdemeanor. Under a negotiated plea, she received a year of nonreporting probation and was ordered to pay Chandler $884 in towing fees.

Since the suspension was retroactive to July 2014, Nichols was credited with 29 months served. To resume her career, she must prove in a reinstatement hearing that she is competent and "morally qualified" to resume practicing law.

TRowan@philly.com

215-854-2269@tommyrowan