Financial records obtained by the NBC10 Boston Investigators show employees with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department traveled all over the country and beyond since the beginning of 2024, including a stay in the Bahamas.
Receipts from the department’s procurement card — or P-card — also show taxpayers picked up the tab for thousands of dollars in catering, while employees also enjoyed steak and lobster at downtown Boston restaurants.
The expenses raise more questions about Sheriff Steven Tompkins, who is currently facing federal charges, accused of extorting an executive of a cannabis company for stock in the business, then demanding a refund when the investment did not pay off.
Data shows questionable spending on the sheriff’s office’s procurement card, funded by taxpayer dollars, while Sheriff Steven Tompkins faces federal extortion charges.
Tompkins has pleaded not guilty and has stepped away from his elected position on medical leave while the federal case plays out.
Scrutiny of the P-card expenses surfaced shortly after the federal prosecutors announced the charges in August. As first reported by the Boston Herald, a summary of the charges revealed the thousands of dollars in food and travel.
NBC10 Boston asked for the invoices and receipts via a public records request to get more details about the taxpayer-funded transactions.
In just a year and a half, the records show Tompkins and other employees traveled, for conferences, to Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Baltimore, Phoenix, Florida, Atlantic City, New Jersey; Austin, Texas; and Washington, D.C.
There was even a stay in March at the Margaritaville in the Bahamas.
NBC10 Boston
NBC10 Boston
Most of the work conferences were tied to the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, or NOBLE.
Tompkins was arrested in Florida on August 8. The financial records indicate he was in the Sunshine State, along with several colleagues, for the NOBLE 49th Annual Training Conference.
Paul Craney is executive director of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, a government watchdog organization that advocates for taxpayer accountability and transparency.
“That goes from a work meeting to a junket pretty quickly,” Craney said. “We’re seeing that the sheriff and his team have used these P-cards as a way to fund a lifestyle. It seems they are abusing it.”
The invoices and receipts show two different large group outings to Topgolf.
The records also tally up thousands of dollars in catering from locations like JWI Charcuterie, the Brockton Meat Market and Everybody Gotta Eat.
Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins is facing federal extortion charges. He has pleaded not guilty.
Receipts to Davio’s and The Pearl show two different $900 meals at the downtown Boston establishments, with lobster and bone-in ribeye steak among the purchases.
“These cards were never intended so that people can fill their bellies with lobster and steak,” Craney said. “What the sheriff needs to do is he needs to own up on it, take accountability and reimburse the taxpayers. That’s the only acceptable result at this point.”
NBC10 Boston reached out to the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department shortly after receiving the documents on Wednesday afternoon. A spokesperson said he would get back to us, but we are still awaiting a response.
According to the Office of the Comptroller’s P-card policy, there are several banned items like cash advances, gift cards, legal services and alcohol purchases.
There was no evidence of alcohol in the financial records, although some of the expenses were lacking itemized receipts. For instance, it is unclear why the department spent about $6,500 at the Liberty Hotel in Boston last November.
We found a slew of gift cards purchased as part of employee appreciation week events.
According to a spokesperson with the comptroller, each department using a P-card is required to outline controls and additional prohibited categories. The spokesperson would not answer a question about whether the comptroller’s office is reviewing the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department expenses.
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