Top prosecutor behind bars
Lynne Nichols, an assitant chief of the D.A.s Office Homicide Unit, is charged with making a false police report to get back at an ex-boyfriend.
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LYNN NICHOLS probably has a pretty good grasp of the law, of right and wrong.
After all, she spent 22 years as a prosecutor in the District Attorney's Office, rising up through the ranks to become the assistant chief of the Homicide Unit.
Despite that background, Nichols found herself behind bars yesterday, thanks to a pair of bad decisions related to her love life.
The state Attorney General's Office said Nichols, 46, used her clout in the D.A.'s Office last October to have her then-boyfriend's truck - which had been reported stolen - removed from the National Crime Information Center's database.
The truck had been reported stolen in New Jersey by her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend, who owned the truck. Nichols allegedly made the problem disappear by ordering a Philly police officer to remove the truck from the NCIC.
But the relationship ultimately went sour earlier this year, and Nichols wanted revenge.
The A.G.'s Office said Nichols recently went to the ex-girlfriend's New Jersey house, called 9-1-1 and reported that the truck had just been stolen. Nichols told cops that she and the ex-girlfriend were sisters.
Nichols also made another call and told police where to find the truck in Philly. Investigators got suspicious after they indeed found the truck, the A.G.'s Office said, and soon the ex-girlfriend spilled the beans about the whole scheme.
Nichols surrendered to police yesterday, and was charged with making false reports to law enforcement and obstruction of justice. She recently resigned from the D.A.'s Office, following a suspension.
"Lynn Nichols had a long and successful career in this office," District Attorney Seth Williams said in a statement.
"While it is with both professional and personal sadness that I am making this announcement today, we must maintain the highest standards of conduct in my office, and the legal process must take its course."
Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey said the A.G.'s Office would determine whether the cop who acted on Nichols' orders will face any consequences.
"It's unfortunate whenever you have someone who's been a public servant for a long time get involved with something like this," he said. "It does happen from time to time."