Suffolk County Sheriff Tompkins Indicted for Extorting Boston Cannabis Company

Suffolk County Sheriff Steven W. Tompkins has been federally indicted on two counts of extortion for allegedly using his official position to pressure a Boston-based cannabis company into giving him preferred stock. The cannabis company, strongly suggested to be Ascend-Mass LLC, had a partnership with the Sheriff’s office to hire former inmates, which Tompkins allegedly threatened to jeopardize if his demands were not met. Prosecutors claim Tompkins invested $50,000 in the company’s stock at a pre-IPO price and later demanded a refund when the stock’s value dropped, receiving reimbursement through checks disguised as loans or expenses. Tompkins was taken into custody in Florida and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Officials, including U.S. Attorney Leah Foley and FBI Special Agent Ted Docks, condemned Tompkins’s actions as a betrayal of public trust and corruption. The case has cast a shadow over Tompkins’s long tenure as sheriff, during which he oversaw over 1,000 employees and the re-entry employment program linked to the cannabis company.