The sheriff for the county in which Boston is located has been arrested and charged with extortion, federal officials announced on Aug. 8.
Suffolk County Sheriff Steven M. Tompkins was charged with two counts of extortion.
According to court documents unsealed on Friday, the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office entered a partnership with a national cannabis company in 2019 that involved the sheriff’s office helping screen and refer people who graduated from its re-entry program to the company as potential employees.
The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, which received notification of the partnership, approved a license for the company in 2021.
Tompkins allegedly later extorted the company as it prepared to launch an initial public offering, saying he had helped it obtain a license and would assist with renewals provided he receive pre-public-offering interest in the company….