A Clayton woman admitted Monday in federal court that she embezzled more than $50,000 while serving as postmaster at several post offices in Jefferson County.

Andrea L. Lynch, 30, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, Syracuse, to misappropriation of postal funds. She faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine at sentencing Nov. 9.

She admitted that while working at post offices in Theresa, Fishers Landing and LaFargeville, she embezzled 213 money orders totaling $51,162 without purchasing or processing any of the money orders through the St. Louis Federal Reserve, in violation of U.S. Code.

The U.S. attorney’s office said the investigation into Miss Lynch’s activities began in August 2010 when special agents with the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General reviewed records from the Theresa post office as a result of numerous money orders being processed after the date they were cashed.

The U.S. attorney’s office said Miss Lynch admitted using the money orders to support a heroin addiction. She still faces an indictment in Jefferson County Court charging her with third-degree manufacture of methamphetamine, first-degree unlawfully dealing with a child and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, and in a separate indictment with fourth-degree grand larceny and fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property.

It is alleged that in January she possessed pseudoephrine, lithium, ammonia nitrate and other items used in the manufacture of methamphetamine at her residence at 37820 Deferno Road and that she cooked the drug with her children, ages 3 and 5, in the home. It is claimed in the second indictment that between Sept. 1 and Sept. 11 she stole more than $1,000 from Sunnybrook restaurant in the town of Cape Vincent.

A codefendant in the drug case, Hugh J. Broadbent, 28, Watertown, pleaded guilty March 14 in County Court to second-degree criminal possession of methamphetamine-making materials, admitting that he possessed items used for the manufacture of methamphetamine at Miss Lynch’s home. He was sentenced May 2 to one year in the Metro-Jefferson Public Safety Building.

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