Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins was arrested in Florida after a federal grand jury indicted him on charges of extorting $50,000 from a cannabis company seeking to open in Massachusetts. He was taken into custody Friday morning and was released following an initial court appearance in Florida, according to the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts. He’s due in Boston federal court at a later date.
Tompkins is accused of extorting the money from a national cannabis retailer seeking to do business in Boston. The company that is the victim of the alleged extortion is not named in the indictment.
“[Tompkins] is alleged to have extorted an executive from a cannabis company, using his official position as Sheriff to benefit himself,” U.S. for Massachusetts Leah B. Foley said in a statement. “Elected officials, particularly those in law enforcement, are expected to be ethical, honest and law abiding — not self-serving.”
Foley called the alleged actions an “affront to the voters and taxpayers who elected him.”
“We believe what the Sheriff saw as an easy way to make a quick buck on the sly is clear cut corruption under federal law,” Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston division, said in a statement.
The U.S. attorney’s office declined an interview request. A media inquiry with the Suffolk County sheriff’s office is pending.
A federal grand jury indicted Tompkins on two counts earlier this month and unsealed the indictment in federal court.
Court documents do not yet list an attorney representing Tompkins.
‘Used his official position as sheriff’
The 11-page indictment claims that a multi-state cannabis company sought to open a retail dispensary in Boston and applied to the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission for a license.
To do that, a company has to lay out a plan to have a positive impact on the local community. The unnamed company referenced in the indictment did so by entering into a partnership with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department — led by Tompkins — so the department could screen and refer graduates of its re-entry program to work at the company’s proposed store.
In March of 2021, the commission approved a license for the company to operate a cannabis dispensary in Boston.
Tompkins allegedly pressured a company executive for stock before it went public, reminding that person that he helped them in their effort to get licensed.
According to the U.S. attorney’s office, that executive “believed and feared” that the company’s chance at a dispensary license could be put at risk if Tompkins was not sold stock in the company.
In November of 2020, Tompkins allegedly wired $50,000 from his retirement account to an account controlled by the executive. When the company went public the following year, Tompkins’ shares doubled in value to more than $138,000, according to filings.
But according to the indictment, after the stock value declined the following year, Tompkins allegedly demanded a refund of his initial $50,000 investment — even though the value of the stock was at that point below $50,000.
The executive agreed and allegedly paid Tompkins $50,000 over the course of five checks.
While the indictment does not name the cannabis company that was the victim of the alleged extortion, identifying details point to a company called Ascend Wellness.
The only retailer to receive its final license from the state’s cannabis commission in March 2021 to operate in Boston was Ascend Mass, a local subsidiary of the multistate cannabis company. A review of CCC documents also shows that Ascend was the only company to include letters of support from Tompkins in filings with the commission. The timing of Ascend’s founding and public debut, as well as its stock price, also match details about the unidentified company mentioned in the court documents.
GBH News reached out Ascend’s then-CEO for Massachusetts operations Andrea Cabral, as well as Ascend co-founder Frank Perullo and Ascend’s communications department.
Cabral, who preceded Tompkins as Suffolk County sheriff, is a former state secretary of public safety and a paid contributor to GBH News. An attorney for Cabral, Ralph C. Martin, shared a statement on Cabral’s behalf
“Neither Ms. Cabral nor I have seen the indictment, but we are confident that she is not the CEO referenced in press reports nor was she in any way involved in the alleged transaction,” Martin said in a statement. “She is obviously deeply saddened by today’s developments and will have no further comment.”
Perullo and Ascend’s communications department did not respond to GBH News.
Tompkins faces two charges of extortion. Each provide for a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.
The Cannabis Control Commission said it “cannot comment on federal investigations.”
‘Deeply troubling’
Local politicians are reacting to the charges against Tompkins, who is a Democrat.
“The arrest of Sheriff Tompkins reminds us that one-party rule in Massachusetts has been ineffective in preventing and exposing corruption and extortion by Democrats in offices from city council and state representative to county sheriff,” said MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale in a statement.
At-large Boston City Councilor Erin Murphy called the charges against Tompkins “deeply troubling,” but stopped short of immediately calling for his resignation. But if he admits to the facts, Murphy said, Tompkins should step down.
“We are, and should be, held to a different level — a different standard — here,” Murphy said.
A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association says it will “allow the legal process to play out.”
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who was endorsed by Tompkins during her 2021 mayoral bid, told reporters Friday she had not yet reviewed the facts of the case. Josh Kraft, Wu’s primary opponent in this year’s mayoral election, declined to comment through a spokesperson.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who has previously endorsed Tompkins and described him as a friend, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tompkins was first appointed sheriff in 2013 and won the office in a special election in 2014. He oversees correctional officers and employees at the House of Correction and Nashua Street Jail. In 2022, his pay was $172,783 annually.
As a state employee, Tompkins is subject to the state’s ethics laws, which bar him from receiving or soliciting anything of substantial value for or because of his position, or using his position to get a privilege of substantial value for himself. The State’s Ethics Commission had no comment on the indictment.
Tompkins oversees over 1,000 employees. This is not the first time he has been under fire for ethical concerns. In 2023, Tompkins violated the state’s conflict of interest law and paid a $12,300 fine for creating a staff position for his niece. He also had her and other staff carry out personal tasks like his child care during their work hours.
In 2015, he also paid a $2,500 fine in a settlement to the State’s Ethics Commission for flashing his sheriff identification at multiple stores while asking store owners to take down campaign signs for his opponent during the 2014 special election.
“From his very first day as Suffolk County Sheriff, Steven Tompkins sought to portray himself as a man of the people — a principled public servant and reformer, devoted to the cause of justice,” said Docks of the FBI. “That’s why it’s beyond disappointing that he’s now accused of gaming a system instituted in the interests of public safety and fair play.”
GBH’s Hannah Reale and Jeff Keating contributed reporting.
