Delco DA: Employee stole $100,000 in drug-forfeiture funds

A 29-year veteran of the Delaware County District Attorney's Office - its financial administrator - was charged Friday with stealing more than $100,000 in drug-forfeiture money and spending it on concert and sports tickets and other items.

Counts against Mary Elizabeth Lynch, 48, of Ridley Township, include receiving stolen property, forgery, and identity theft. Unsecured bail was set at $100,000, Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan announced.

"This is a case of betrayal," Whelan said. "We had no reason to distrust her."

Whelan said Lynch, who has been fired, used some of the stolen money to buy tickets to Taylor Swift and Bob Dylan concerts and Philadelphia Flyers games.

The exact amount Lynch allegedly took is not known because the investigation remains open, Whelan said. Records have been reviewed back to March 2013, but detectives suspect Lynch had been stealing money longer.

Whelan said the issue came to light as county investigators - who had been reviewing procedures for handling forfeited money in drug cases as part of a continuing investigation in Upper Darby - decided to review their own in-house policies.

When questioned by detectives, Lynch admitted that she had failed to make deposits on numerous occasions and that she had been stealing money for about three years, authorities said.

They found inconsistencies that included two court orders signed by Judge James Bradley that had allegedly been altered, an unauthorized American Express credit card in Lynch's name, $8,000 in cash withdrawals Lynch allegedly made using a TD Bank debit card for a department account, and deposit information that Lynch allegedly changed in an accounting program.

Money confiscated during drug arrests made by municipalities is returned and often earmarked for use by their police departments and for other services. Lynch would use money from one municipality to pay out to another department when needed, Whelan said.

Lynch "was operating a Ponzi-type scheme," Whelan said.

He said that $62,000 in cash was recovered at Lynch's home, but that she said the money belonged to her boyfriend.

Whelan said Lynch was bonded and, if needed, they would make an insurance claim to recover the money. He said they would also go after her pension.

Whelan said the Taylor Swift and Bob Dylan tickets were nonrefundable. He said his office would contact the Make-A-Wish Foundation or another charity to see whether they could use the Taylor Swift tickets. The Bob Dylan tickets will go unused, he said.

Lynch's prosecution will be handled by the Bucks County district attorney, Whelan said.