Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins of Massachusetts is accused of extorting a cannabis company to have privileged access to investment opportunities, according to federal prosecutors.
Tompkins, 67, was arrested in Florida on two counts of extortion. He faces 20 years in prison if found guilty, in addition to a possible $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
‘What the sheriff saw as an easy way to make a quick buck on the sly is clear-cut corruption under federal law.’
Tompkins allegedly used his position to pressure the unnamed marijuana company to allow him to purchase stock in the company before it went public. Initially, his $50,000 investment grew to be valued at $138,000, but afterward it tumbled, and he then demanded the company refund his money.
The indictment included screenshots of five checks made out to Tompkins to refund the money, but they were falsely labeled as “loan repayments” in order to obscure the extortion scheme.
“What the sheriff saw as an easy way to make a quick buck on the sly is clear-cut corruption under federal law,” said Ted E. Docks of the Boston FBI.
The sheriff made headlines in October when he ended an agreement to house detainees for Immigration and Customs Enforcement after two decades. He said at the time that ending the contract would allow the department to offer more services for women.
“Our gender-specific programming, which is among the best in the country, allows us to address these issues, which include domestic violence, sexual exploitation, and substance use disorders, to name a few,” Tompkins said.
He also joined a kneeling protest in 2020 to show solidarity with activists protesting about the death of George Floyd.
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Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Tompkins’ arrest is leading some to question how the extortion scheme could have continued under the nose of Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, a Democrat.
Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance executive director Paul Diego Craney issued a statement excoriating Campbell in the wake of the arrest.
“Sheriff Tompkins allegedly used his public office to shake down a cannabis company for personal gain, and the only reason we know about it is because federal law enforcement stepped in. Where was Attorney General Andrea Campbell? How does a sitting sheriff commit years of misconduct right under her nose?” reads the statement from Craney.
“This is a law enforcement official allegedly abusing a re-entry jobs program to line his own pockets. It’s disgraceful and even more disgraceful that the state’s top law enforcement officer didn’t catch it,” he added.
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“While Andrea Campbell has been busy taking junket trips to Paris and suing the federal government over any and all actions they take, a sheriff was allegedly cashing in right in her own backyard. Her priorities are completely out of step with the basic job of holding public officials accountable,” Craney continued. “Why does it always take federal prosecutors to clean up corruption in Massachusetts? Andrea Campbell owes the public an explanation.”
Campbell similarly opposed ICE and the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts in comments made in November.
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