BOSTON — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Massachusetts), published as received.
BOSTON – The former Assistant Superintendent at the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO) was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for using his official position to order NCSO employees to perform maintenance at his residence. The defendant was also sentenced for witness tampering.
Thomas Brady, 55, of Norwood, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Julia E. Kobick to 20 months in prison, two years of supervised release and a fine of $5,000. In June 2026, Brady pleaded guilty today to one count of witness tampering and one count of use of interstate facilities to commit bribery and extortion.
From 2021 through May 2023, Brady served as the Assistant Deputy Superintendent (ADS) for Jail Operations at NCSO. Brady was promoted in May 2023 to Assistant Superintendent.
In October and November 2022, Brady utilized his official position and authority as an ADS to order an NCSO maintenance officer (Maintenance Officer A), a subordinate to Brady, to perform home repairs at his residence during and after work hours. Maintenance Officer A feared that if he refused Brady’s request to help fix his home heating system, Brady would use his official position and authority to negatively affect Maintenance Officer A’s job position at NCSO including the possibility of causing Maintenance Officer A to lose his preferred shift schedule, position and/or employment at NCSO.
Maintenance Officer A complied with the order, and on or about Oct. 6, 2022, drove to Brady’s residence to troubleshoot his heating system during NCSO work hours. Afterwards, Brady had subsequent problems with his heating system and contacted Maintenance Officer A to replace the circulator pump. On or about Oct. 15, 2022, Maintenance Officer B learned that Brady was looking for Maintenance Officer A and the maintenance officers exchanged the following text messages:
On two occasions between Nov. 1, 2022 and Nov. 2, 2022, Maintenance Officer A returned to Brady’s residence, with Maintenance Officer B assisting, where they installed a new one.
On or about June 16, 2023, another maintenance officer at NCSO, Maintenance Officer C, reported Brady to the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission (SEC) for having subordinate NCSO employees perform work at his private residence. The SEC subsequently initiated an investigation into Brady, interviewing Maintenance Officer A and Maintenance Officer B.
At some point prior to Oct. 5, 2023, Brady learned about the SEC investigation and Maintenance Officer B’s involvement. On or about Oct. 5, 2023, Brady mailed a letter to the SEC, falsely signing the letter from Maintenance Officer C. The forged letter to the SEC and divulged information about a confidential, internal NCSO investigation into Maintenance Officer B. Brady listed himself as a witness to the investigation in the letter.
Federal investigators examined the postage stamp on the envelope to the SEC and confirmed that a fingerprint found underneath the stamp belonged to Brady. In addition, the flap and corresponding region of the envelope to the SEC were examined and it was confirmed that male DNA obtained from envelope belonged to the Brady.
During the sentencing, the Court also found as relevant conduct that Brady engaged in a smear campaign to disparage the victims and witnesses involved in the investigation. This included Brady sending a letter to a school attended by a minor relative of Maintenance Officer C, in which Brady anonymously and falsely accused Maintenance Officer C of sexually molesting the minor relative. The school reported the letter to the Department of Children and Families, which triggered an emergency investigation based on the false accusation.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucy Sun of the Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit prosecuted the case.
