Bribery Scandal Emerges for City of Boston Zoning Board of Appeals – Update
Update!
On Friday afternoon it was announced that a former assistant director of real estate at the EDIC (Economic Development Industrial Corporation) plead guilty to accepting a $50,000 bribe from a Boston real estate developer. The bribe was for help sway the vote of the Zoning Board of Appeals to support a change that helped the developer get his project approved.
John M. Lynch, 66, plead guilty and seems to be cooperating with prosecutors so who knows that this case could reveal. The Globe followed up on this story with the name of the developer and the development involved in the case late Saturday evening. The developer is Steven Turner and the development 27-29 H Street in South Boston.
The ZBA board member has not been named yet. But we have a feeling it will be revealed soon and this is just the tip of the iceberg.
What exactly is the ZBA
The Zoning Board of Appeal is basically the gatekeeper of thousands of smaller-scale construction projects throughout the City of Boston and make decision on everything from regular home additions/renovations to mid-size apartment buildings. The ZBA can also make decisions when it comes to modifying zoning to allow large developments to be approved for small lots of land. Here is list of current ZBA members.
What is the BPDA
The Boston Planning & Development Agency regulates larger scale developments. Lynch worked for the EDIC which is a division of the BPDA. He resigned on August 16th.
Other important information to understand
The Globe is reporting that court documents show that Lynch knew the developer, Steven Turner because they used to work together for the City of Boston’s Department of Neighborhood Development years ago.
This should be an interesting case to follow.
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