BOSTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors are highlighting a photo they say shows a former Boston City Hall official accepting a bribe as they argue for prison time in the case.

A sentencing memorandum filed Friday by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Chao says the photo shows John Lynch accepting one of several payments from a developer in 2018.

“Figuratively speaking, the defendant got caught with his hand in the cookie jar,” Chao wrote in the memo.

Lynch is slated to be sentenced Jan. 24 in Boston federal court.

A former assistant director in the Boston Planning and Development Agency, he pleaded guilty in September to one count of bribery and one count of filing a false federal tax return.


Prosecutors say the 66-year-old accepted $50,000 in bribes from a developer trying to get a key city approval.

They say Lynch used his influence to convince a Zoning Board of Appeals member to vote in favor of the developer’s request.

Board member Craig Galvin resigned after Lynch was charged in the scheme, as did William Christopher, head of the city’s Inspection Services Department, which oversees the zoning board. Neither faces criminal charges.

Prosecutors are seeking four years in prison for Lynch, as well as forfeiture and restitution.