I’m very concerned about the health of the indicted High Sheriff of Suffolk County, Steve Tompkins.
It’s been nine months now since the Democrat hack began the traditional post-indictment “medical leave.”
We still have no word on the nature of Tompkins’ chronic malady, although we do have one indication that his condition isn’t terminal.
He’s apparently still able to cash his state paychecks, which amount to $191,000 a year, despite the fact that he’s seen around the jails now about as often as Santa Claus, whose girth he has long since surpassed.
It’s been a rough year for the blow-in drifter from New York, and his illness, whatever it might be, is the least of his concerns.
Last August, the High Sheriff journeyed to Florida to pick up some phony-baloney award from a black law-enforcement group, only to get lugged at his hotel by the FBI.
Don’t you hate it when that happens?
The proud payroll patriot was charged with extortion in an aborted weed deal with a fellow longtime Democrat coat holder.
Despite the gravity of the charges, Tompkins’ DEI comrades, Gov. Maura Healey and AG Andrea Campbell, would never dream of removing him – professional courtesy.
But they did whisper that perhaps something should be done – wink wink nudge nudge. You know, like, stepping aside.
With full pay, of course. It’s the hackerama!
And that’s when the High Sheriff’s physicians decided that he needed to take… medical leave.
His trial in federal court here is scheduled to begin Aug. 24 – God willing! – and yet his health still hasn’t improved.
I called his lawyer, Marty Weinberg, to get an update on his 69-year-old client.
“I can’t tell you about his private medical treatment,” Weinberg said, “but I can tell you we plan a vigorous defense. He’s working hard and if acquitted he will return.”
Weinberg paused a couple of seconds before hurriedly adding – “subject to his medical condition!”
When Weinberg announced the tragic news about his client’s health last summer, there was a caveat.
If Tompkins’ condition, such as it is, resolves itself before trial, “he would then be unpaid.”
In other words, Tompkins’ illness is terminal, at least if recovery would mean his long overdue removal from the public trough.
Rest assured there will be no miracle cures for the High Sheriff. That is Dr. Carr’s learned diagnosis. Now not, not ever, at least not as long as that $3,673-a-week kiss in the mail keeps landing in his in-box.
In the past, Tompkins’ problems have involved more corruption than medical issues.
In 2015, he was fined $2500 by the State Ethics Commission for throwing his not-insignificant weight around to force store owners to remove a political foe’s signs.
He paid the fine and follow-up tests showed that he was indictment-free. Ditto in 2023, when the State Ethics Commission hit him with a $12,300 fine for creating a hack job for his niece.
No side effects from that scandal either. He’s even been named one of failed Boston Magazine’s Most Influential Bostonians, which is often an early-warning sign of a pending indictment or at least scandal.
But then he got arrested at the black cops’ convention. A federal pinch – that’s what we call Stage 4 corruption. CDC statistics say the survival rate at trial among stricken perps is less than 2 percent.
Which is why it’s so important for the High Sheriff to smell the roses – and cash the checks – for as long as possible.
Dr. Carr’s armchair analysis of Tompkins’ disorder is… incurable kleptomania. But Weinberg wouldn’t get specific – HIPPA, don’t you know.
One thing is certain: whatever is ailing the High Sheriff is not a wasting disease. He hasn’t let his medical or legal difficulties affect his appetite in the slightest.
But then, all Suffolk County sheriffs have reputations in the hackerama as tons of fun – Richie Rouse, Andrea Cabral and now Steve Tompkins.
The joke about Steve is, he’s big as a house, and now he’s headed to the Big House.
One thing about the feds, though. As a courtesy, they send you a target letter before the actual arrest. That gives a crooked pol or cop a chance to file for retirement – most likely a disability pension – before the G-men read you your rights.
As we all know, medical treatment can be costly, even if you’re covered by a free hacks-only premium health insurance plan. Last October, shortly after his “medical leave” began, Tompkins cashed out what little was left in his campaign-finance account, all $9,821.52.
Those co-pays and deductibles can be a real killer. But a kleptomania survivor must do whatever he can to prevent the dread disease from recurring.
Word is, the High Sheriff has set up a legal defense fund to pay for his trial, if indeed he doesn’t cop a plea at the last moment, which I’m still betting on.
The problem for Tompkins is, most of the potential contributors to his defense fund are the same people who were on his payroll at the jail.
You read about jail guards all the time – when they’re getting arrested for selling drugs to inmates, brawling with one another in elevators, stealing COVID welfare funds, etc.
Tompkins’ coat holders need to be raising dough for their own legal-defense funds, not worrying about the High Sheriff’s.
Stay strong, Sheriff. Like so many crooked pols and cops before you, you’re in hack hospice.
But it sure beats working, right?