Former police officer pleads guilty to stealing cash seized as evidence

A former North Braddock and Blawnox police officer pleaded guilty to stealing money that was seized as evidence while he was a cop at the agencies, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Wednesday.

Joseph Andrew Lynn, 34, of McKeesport, was arrested in September on multiple charges including theft and tampering with evidence. He pleaded guilty to those charges and one count of obstructing administration of law.

Mr. Lynn was sentenced to one year of probation, according to court records. The attorney general’s office said he also will be prohibited from working as a police officer.

“Joseph Lynn’s actions betray the hard work and integrity of the men and women in the North Braddock and Blawnox police departments,” Mr. Shapiro wrote in a statement. “Enforcing the law does not put you above it. We will continue to prosecute anyone committing these thefts, without fear or favor.”

According to the criminal complaint, missing cash from North Braddock Police Department evidence was reported to Pennsylvania State Police in 2019.

After investigating the report, authorities found video of Mr. Lynn -— then a police officer for the department — covering the station’s video surveillance cameras for “unknown reasons.”

Troopers later conducted an “integrity test” on Mr. Lynn while he was an officer in Blawnox, state police said, by leaving $225 of marked money in a car that was reported as stolen.

Surveillance video showed Mr. Lynn responding to the scene and putting the marked cash in his pocket. He later admitted to taking the money, police said. He was terminated after police leadership learned he failed the integrity test.

Mr. Lynn was found to have been responsible for a number of other thefts at both the North Braddock and Blawnox police departments. He was sentenced Wednesday by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Anthony M. Mariani, court records show.