Why Tompkins' acquittal hasn't ended resignation calls
Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins won an acquittal on federal cannabis-stock extortion charges this week, but a Boston Globe editorial still argues he should leave office over ethical concerns. The jury rejected two counts tied to a $50,000 Ascend deal; critics say legality and fitness for the jail system are separate questions.
Key Takeaways
- A federal jury found Tompkins not guilty on two extortion counts tied to Ascend Wellness Holdings stock.
- Prosecutors alleged he used his office to obtain $50,000 in pre-IPO shares and a full refund when the stock tanked.
- The Boston Globe Editorial Board says the acquittal does not erase ethical problems and calls for his exit.
- Tompkins previously paid State Ethics Commission fines, including $12,300 in 2023 for conflict-of-interest violations.
- His attorney says the jury got it right and that Suffolk County has its sheriff back.
What did the acquittal decide?
On Wednesday, after roughly a week and a half of trial at Boston's Moakley Courthouse, jurors cleared Tompkins of two federal extortion charges, the Boston Herald reported. Deliberations began after midday closings and returned a not-guilty verdict the same afternoon.
Prosecutors said Tompkins pressured Ascend co-founder Frank Perullo—a longtime friend—to sell him $50,000 in pre-IPO stock in 2020, then to refund the investment when the shares lost value. They argued a sheriff's department partnership used for Ascend's state "Positive Impact Program" licensure needs created an implicit threat.
Outside court, Tompkins thanked the jury and said, "What I was accused of, I did not do." Defense lawyer Martin Weinberg called him an innocent man and said Suffolk County has its sheriff back. For more cases in this beat, see our True Crime & Unsolved Mysteries coverage.
Why are critics still saying he should go?
In an editorial arguing that Tompkins "needs to go," the Boston Globe Editorial Board said a not-guilty verdict does not mean his conduct passes an ethical smell test. The board argued that even if he did not break federal criminal law, the stock arrangement should not go without consequences.
According to the Globe, Tompkins bought about $50,000 in Ascend shares at a pre-IPO price through Perullo in 2020 while the sheriff's department had a reentry hiring partnership with the firm, then recovered his investment in five checks signed by Perullo after the stock fell in 2022. The editorial asks whether a public official should accept such a special deal from someone his office does business with, citing state ethics rules against using official position for unwarranted privileges of substantial value.
The Globe urged the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission to examine the matter—or for Governor Maura Healey to apply political pressure for Tompkins to exit. WHDH likewise reported the jury acquitted him of all charges after prosecutors alleged he used his position to extort $50,000 from a cannabis retailer owner.
What else hangs over the Suffolk sheriff's office?
The Globe noted Tompkins has drawn Ethics Commission scrutiny before. He paid a $2,500 fine after the 2014 race for asking store owners to remove an opponent's campaign signs, and a $12,300 civil fine in 2023 after findings involving employment of his niece and staff helping care for or transport his children during office hours.
The editorial also pointed to recent department turmoil unrelated to the federal counts: a corrections officer arrested for trafficking methamphetamine in July 2025, another charged with raping an inmate that same month, and an inmate death last December after a fight with staff that a medical examiner recently ruled a homicide. The board said the jail system needs strong leadership now, not a wait of two years until voters next weigh in.
Weinberg, by contrast, said after the verdict that the legal system delivered a fair trial and the right result. The clash after the acquittal is no longer mainly about whether a jury believed Perullo under immunity—it is about whether Suffolk's elected sheriff can still command trust while running the House of Correction and Nashua Street Jail.