Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins, 67, has been charged with two counts of extortion for allegedly pressuring a Boston cannabis company to sell him stock ahead of its initial public offering (IPO). Federal prosecutors say Tompkins abused his position to secure shares at a discounted rate, creating the appearance that the company’s operating license and partnership with his office were at risk.
According to court documents, the cannabis company applied for a retail dispensary license in Boston in 2019 and partnered with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department to meet the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission’s Positive Impact Plan (PIP) requirement. The agreement, signed by Tompkins, allowed graduates of the department’s re-entry program to apply for jobs at the dispensary and was submitted to the CCC in 2020 as part of the firm’s license application.
The company’s license was approved in 2020 and renewed in subsequent years, with the ongoing partnership cited in each renewal. But in November 2020, prosecutors say Tompkins wired $50,000 from his retirement account to purchase stock. By mid-2021, after the IPO, his shares were worth more than $138,000. When the stock later declined, Tompkins allegedly demanded his money back and ultimately received a full refund from the company.
Prosecutors say the company feared that Tompkins could jeopardize its partnership with the sheriff’s office re-entry program, as well as its state operating license, if it did not comply.
“Mr. Tompkins is a sitting Sheriff, responsible for over 1,000 employees, who was elected by the good people of Suffolk County,” U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley said in a statement. “Today, he is alleged to have extorted an executive from a cannabis company, using his official position as Sheriff to benefit himself. Elected officials, particularly those in law enforcement, are expected to be ethical, honest, and law-abiding – not self-serving.”
Tompkins was arrested in Florida and will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date. Each charge of extortion under color of official right carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
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