U.S. Legal professional Leah Foley has change into the Massachusetts Democratic Celebration’s worst nightmare.
Foley nabbed yet one more highly effective Democratic elected official on Friday, indicting longtime Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins for extorting a Boston hashish firm govt.
Tompkins, who has loomed giant on the Boston political scene, allegedly demanded a $50,000 “pre-equity curiosity” within the hashish firm proper earlier than it went public with an IPO, in accordance with Foley’s workplace.
“His alleged actions are an affront to taxpayers who elected him to his place, and the various devoted and trustworthy public servants on the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Division,” Foley mentioned in an announcement.
Tompkins is probably the most outstanding Democrat in a string of indictments that Foley has secured this yr, together with Boston Metropolis Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson on a bribery cost and state Rep. Chris Flanagan on wire fraud.
Anderson ultimately resigned in shame and is awaiting sentencing. Flanagan remains to be holding on to his seat within the Legislature.
Foley has single-handedly performed extra harm to the state Democratic Celebration than the feeble Massachusetts Republican Celebration.
She has been a breath of recent air on this politically corrupt state, doing the job as a result of few have the center to tackle the highly effective Democratic institution.
“Public corruption stays a high precedence for my administration and we’ll proceed to research and prosecute anybody who makes use of their place of belief and energy for their very own achieve,” Foley mentioned.
Legal professional Common Andrea Campbell has been a no-show in relation to prosecuting political corruption, selecting as a substitute to difficulty frivolous lawsuits towards President Donald Trump.
The Tompkins case exposes the continued tradition of corruption in Massachusetts politics. It additionally exposes the corrupt hashish business, the place quite a lot of politicians have tried to money in on the profitable enterprise.
Tompkins’ predecessor within the Sheriff’s workplace, Andrea Cabral, left to change into a high govt for a Boston space hashish firm, Ascend Hashish, which looms as a possible participant within the Tompkins case.
The indictment costs that Tompkins tried to bully a hashish govt to offer him the early $50,000 fairness stake in trade for cooperating in a program the Suffolk Sheriff’s workplace was collaborating in with the corporate. The corporate was hiring ex-cons from jail to work for the hashish agency.
The indictment by no means names the hashish firm or govt, however in accordance with a 2018 story within the Boston Globe, Cabral’s firm “plans to work straight with the Suffolk County Sheriff to rent individuals lately launched from jail as staff at its amenities.”
Cabral and Tompkins had been additionally faculty classmates and shut buddies, in accordance with the story.
Tompkins “is downright enthusiastic concerning the partnership,” the fawning Globe story went on to say.
“We’re a nation of second probabilities, or a minimum of that’s what they used to inform us,” Tompkins was quoted as saying. “If somebody who hasn’t had good alternatives in life can catch on and make a good residing? It’s superior. There’s no squeamishness on my half in any respect.”
Now we all know simply why Tompkins wasn’t so “squeamish.” He was allegedly planning to make a pile of money on the deal as nicely.
The scheme Tompkins allegedly got here up with to complement himself by no means paid off, nevertheless.
The corporate’s inventory took a downturn after just a few years, and Tompkins allegedly got here crawling again to the Hashish govt to offer him again the cash he had misplaced, the indictment costs.
The chief paid again Tompkins the 50 grand in installments, in accordance with the feds.
What a pathetic technique to finish your political profession and wind up probably heading to jail.
It’s most likely becoming that when the feds caught Tompkins, he was nowhere close to doing his job in Massachusetts – they discovered him in Florida, escaping the native perp stroll. However don’t fear, he’ll get his day in court docket in Boston quickly.
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