Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins has stepped away from his duties while he fights federal extortion charges tied to a Boston cannabis company, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said on Wednesday. Special Sheriff Mark Lawhorne will assume day-to-day oversight of the 1,000-employee department, which manages two correctional facilities in Boston. Tompkins, 67, was arrested by the FBI in Florida on 8 August after a federal grand jury indicted him on two counts of extortion under color of official right. Prosecutors allege he used his public office to pressure an executive of an unidentified cannabis firm—identified in public records as Ascend-Mass LLC—for a pre-IPO stock allocation. According to U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley, Tompkins paid $50,000 from his retirement account in November 2020 for 14,417 shares priced at $1.73 each. When the company went public in 2021 at $9.60 a share, the stake was worth roughly $138,000. After the share price later fell, Tompkins allegedly demanded and received the return of his initial investment, marked as a “loan repayment.” Tompkins has pleaded not guilty. His lawyer, Martin Weinberg, said the sheriff expects to be acquitted. If convicted, Tompkins faces up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell called his decision to step aside “the right step” to preserve public confidence while the case proceeds.