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Law360 (January 5, 2021, 6:59 PM EST) -- A former Boston City Hall aide who admitted to taking a bribe to help a developer was granted an early release from his 40-month prison term Tuesday, as a federal judge ordered he serve two years in home confinement due to his age, health and surging COVID-19 case numbers.
John Lynch had tried and failed in December to secure a compassionate release, but U.S. District Judge Patti B. Saris had a change of heart due to a sharp uptick in cases near the facility where he is being held. Judge Saris also noted that Lynch is 67 years old and suffering from coronary and kidney issues, putting him at greater risk should he contract the virus.
"While the crime of accepting bribes is serious, finishing the remainder of the sentence in home confinement on an electronic bracelet is sufficient but no greater than necessary in light of the high risk of COVID," Judge Saris wrote in a brief order Tuesday that followed a hearing. "Restitution has been paid. There is no threat to public safety or risk of flight."
Judge Saris sentenced Lynch to 40 months behind bars in January 2020 after he admitted to taking a $50,000 bribe from a real estate developer in exchange for influencing a zoning vote the developer needed relating to a Boston condo project.
Lynch was a longtime city employee who at the time was working as a manager with the Boston Planning and Development Agency. He first asked for a compassionate release in November, but Judge Saris denied the motion in early December, writing that no inmates at the Devens, Massachusetts, prison where he was being held had active cases of the virus.
Judge Saris noted Tuesday that while there were no cases a few weeks ago, the numbers have since spiked.
"There are varying estimates from a high of 262 inmates to a low of 129 inmates, and multiple staff; the disparity may be due to double counting test results," she wrote. "Either way, Devens has become a hotspot."
Prosecutors opposed the request, arguing that Lynch is not being housed in the main facility at Devens but is instead in a nearby camp. Judge Saris described that argument as "fair" but ultimately rejected it.
"Although there are presently no present cases in the camp, defendant was exposed due to a work assignment and is presently in quarantine," the judge wrote.
The government had pushed for a 48-month prison term when Lynch was sentenced last January. His arrest prompted Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to launch an investigation into the Boston Planning and Development Agency, but no broader conspiracy was uncovered.
The developer was not charged and would have testified against Lynch had the case gone to trial, prosecutors said.
A government representative and Lynch's attorney both declined to comment when reached Tuesday evening.
The government is represented by Dustin Chao and Alexandra W. Amrhein of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Lynch is represented by Henry B. Brennan of Brennan & Associates.
The case is U.S. v. Lynch, case number 1:19-cr-10319, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
--Editing by Daniel King.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
