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By Thor Jourgensen
LYNN — A Superior Court plea Wednesday strikes a major legal blow against a former community television provider’s bid to lay claim to local cable channels, said a city attorney.
John F. Chapman of Lynn pleaded guilty to one count of passing a false check and was sentenced to two years probation.
Chapman acknowledged the guilty plea during an interview on Thursday. He noted the court “threw out” the other charges originally filed against him.
“We wanted to end it,” he said. “It had gone on for a year and a half and cost me $50,000 in legal fees.”
In 2014, Chapman had faced charges of bribery, forgery, identity theft, larceny, false entry in corporate books with intent to defraud and passing false checks.
The indictments cited Chapman’s connection to Lynn Community Access and Media Inc. (LynnCAM), a former Western Avenue television studio that provided residents with access to equipment and programs.
The indictments charged Chapman with soliciting bribes in exchange for electrical work for LynnCAM and stealing $20,970 worth of property from the studio, and making fraudulent entries in the corporate books and on corporate financial statements, vendor invoices and tax returns.
James Lamanna, the city’s attorney, said Chapman’s plea upholds city allegations that LynnCAM directors and Chapman mismanaged Verizon and Comcast payments intended for use in programming production.
“This validates our contention there has been financial mismanagement,” Lamanna said.
Chapman’s plea clears the way for the state Attorney General’s office to “go full force to secure restitution on behalf of ratepayers,” he added.
The case against Chapman triggered charges filed by the city and legal action by the attorney general.
Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy ordered Verizon and Comcast to stop payments to LynnCAM in 2015. She named board members to a new successor cable access provider dubbed Lynn Community Television.
Working out of a City Hall office, Community TV is expanding programming and cable shows aired on local channels.
LynnCAM’s directors continue to insist the mayor had no right to stop payments and assert their status as the local cable access provider.
Attempts to reach Attorney General’s spokeswoman Emalie Gainey Thursday were unsuccessful.
Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].