Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins has asked to have his extortion charges dismissed, denying any wrongdoing and arguing that even if the allegations were true, they are insufficient to support the charges.
Tompkins, 67, of Boston, was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of extortion under color of official right. He was arrested in early August in Florida, where he made an initial appearance in federal court before returning to Massachusetts. He has pleaded not guilty.
Federal prosecutors say that he used his official position to bully executives at a Boston cannabis company regarding his pre-initial public offering investment of $50,000. Following the IPO, his indictment states, his investment value ballooned to $140,000 but then fell below his initial investment value. Prosecutors say he used his position to demand his full initial investment back to “help pay for campaign and personal expenses.”
In a motion to dismiss filed in federal court in Boston Friday, Tompkins’ lawyers said his charges are “predicated upon a number of factual infirmities, which Mr. Tompkins categorically denies.”
The motion later adds that even if the allegations were true, “they are legally insufficient to support a quid pro quo agreement to exchange Mr. Tompkins’s official acts for payment. … Instead, Mr. Tompkins made an investment as did many others, paid full value for it, and received no financial benefit not conferred to other buyers.”
The motion argues that Tompkins “did not ‘engage in schemes to extort’ the cannabis executive’ … , did not agree to an ‘exchange’ of any equity interest in the cannabis company … for any ‘favorable action or inaction as the (sheriff)’ … , (and) did not ‘cause[] Individual A to believe and fear that [Mr. Tomkins] would use his official position as Sheriff to jeopardize Company A’s partnership with the (Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department).’”
The motion says that a letter Tompkins sent to the company suggesting the company hire graduates of the SCSD’s Common Ground Institute to work at its retain shops was sent in September 2019, “many months before the Indictment alleges that any benefit to the defendant was requested or even contemplated,” and more than a year before Tompkins secured equity interest in the company.
“There is no allegation that the letter was part of an agreement in which Mr. Tompkins would receive subsequent benefits a year-plus later, an essential element of any quid pro quo bribery scheme,” the document argues. It adds that “mere allegations of ‘fear,’ ‘pressure,’ and ‘demands’ are not sufficient to establish extortion under color of official right.”
Tompkins is on a “medical leave,” his lawyer said shortly after Gov. Maura Healey announced the sheriff had agreed to “step away” from his post in late August.
Tompkins earned $215,430 last year, according to state Comptroller records, and has been paid $146,923 so far this year.
Tompkins’ attorney, Martin Weinberg, said Tompkins took “medical leave” from his responsibilities as sheriff after “the strong recommendation of his treating physician.”
“Sheriff Tompkins will use this time to meet the challenge resulting from a serious medical issue while he and I work to safeguard his freedom by preparing his defense to what we strongly contend is an unwarranted accusation,” Weinberg said in a statement to the Herald
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