The former Deputy Superintendent of the Norfolk County Sheriff's Office, Thomas Brady, has been arrested and charged with extortion. Brady, 53, from Norwood, faces four counts of extortion and three counts of using interstate facilities to commit bribery and extortion. He was taken into custody this morning and is set to appear in federal court in Boston later today.
According to the charging documents, Brady served as Assistant Deputy Superintendent for Jail Operations at the Norfolk County Sheriff's Office (NCSO) from 2021 until May 2023 when he was promoted to Deputy Superintendent. It is alleged that between December 2021 and mid-November 2022, Brady abused his official position by ordering two subordinate maintenance officers to perform home repairs at his residence without compensation.
In late 2021, Brady allegedly instructed Maintenance Officer A to install a new showerhead at his home during work hours. Due to Brady's authority within NCSO, Maintenance Officer A reportedly feared repercussions if they refused the request. The officer complied with the order and was driven by Brady to his residence for the task before returning to NCSO.
On February 13, 2022, which was a Sunday, Brady allegedly contacted Maintenance Officer A again for assistance with a water heater issue. Though unavailable on that day, Maintenance Officer A reportedly went to Brady's residence the following morning instead of reporting directly to work. After disconnecting the old water heater and accompanying Brady to purchase a new one at Home Depot, Maintenance Officer A installed it before completing their shift at NCSO.
Further allegations suggest that between October 2022 and mid-November 2022, Brady directed Maintenance Officer B to repair his heating system under similar circumstances. Fearing negative impacts on their employment if they refused, Maintenance Officer B complied during work hours.
Brady also reportedly contacted Maintenance Officer B for further heating system issues in October 2022. Text messages were exchanged regarding these tasks involving another officer identified as Maintenance Officer C.
The extortion charge carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison along with fines and supervised release terms. Using interstate facilities for bribery or extortion can result in up to five years' imprisonment among other penalties.
The announcement came from United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Kimberly Milka of the FBI's Boston Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucy Sun is prosecuting this case under the Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit.
The charges are currently allegations; Thomas Brady remains presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in court.
