Overview

• Governor Maura Healey and Attorney General Andrea Campbell said Tompkins agreed Wednesday to step away until the case is resolved, and his attorney said he began medical leave Tuesday.
• Special Sheriff Mark Lawhorne will handle the office’s responsibilities on a temporary basis.
• Prosecutors allege Tompkins invested $50,000 in pre‑IPO stock connected to a cannabis licensing partnership, pressed for the purchase, then demanded repayment when the share price fell, with five checks recorded as loans or expenses.
• Tompkins was arrested by FBI agents in Florida on August 8, arraigned in Boston on August 21, and pleaded not guilty to two extortion counts, with the next hearing set for October 16.
• State officials said stepping aside protects public confidence and avoids a prolonged removal fight before the Supreme Judicial Court, while Tompkins’s lawyer says he will mount a defense and expects acquittal.