A former top official at the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office who had jail maintenance workers fix his home heating system, then forged a letter to the State Ethics Commission after it began investigating, was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison on October 26, 2026. U.S. District Judge Julia E. Kobick also imposed two years of supervised release and a $5,000 fine on Thomas Brady, 55, of Norwood, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the court docket.
At sentencing, the judge also found that Brady ran what prosecutors called a smear campaign against the people involved in the investigation. That campaign included an anonymous letter to a school that falsely accused one of the workers of sexually abusing a child in his family, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The case is United States v. Brady, No. 1:25-cr-10184 (D. Mass.). We read the docket on CourtListener.
What he pleaded guilty to
Brady pleaded guilty on June 5, 2026, to two counts in a superseding information: one count of witness tampering and one count of use of interstate facilities to commit bribery and extortion. He waived indictment by a grand jury. The facts below are from the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s announcements of the plea and the sentence.
- His job. Brady was the Assistant Deputy Superintendent for Jail Operations from 2021 through May 2023, then was promoted to Assistant Superintendent.
- The heating system. In October and November 2022, he ordered a subordinate maintenance officer to repair his home heating system, during and after work hours. The worker feared that if he refused, Brady would use his position to cost him his preferred shift, his position or his job. On about October 6, 2022, the worker drove to Brady’s home during work hours to troubleshoot the system.
- The pump. On November 1 and 2, 2022, that worker returned with a second maintenance officer. They drained the hot water system and replaced the circulator pump.
- The ethics complaint. On about June 16, 2023, a third maintenance officer reported Brady to the State Ethics Commission for having subordinates work at his house. The commission began an investigation and interviewed the first two workers.
- The forged letter. On about October 5, 2023, after learning of the investigation, Brady mailed the commission a handwritten letter that he falsely signed with the name of the worker who had filed the complaint. The letter disclosed information about a confidential internal sheriff’s office investigation of the second worker, and Brady listed himself as a witness.
- How investigators tied it to him. Federal investigators found Brady’s fingerprint under the postage stamp on the envelope, and male DNA from the envelope flap matched him.
The sentence
- Prison. 20 months on each count, served concurrently, according to the clerk’s notes of the hearing.
- Supervised release. Two years, also concurrent.
- Money. A $5,000 fine and a $200 special assessment.
- Surrender date. Brady must report to the prison the Bureau of Prisons designates by January 4, 2027.
- Disputed facts. Brady’s lawyers raised 17 objections to the presentence report. Kobick sustained two, overruled eleven and took four as background, the docket shows.
The maximums were far higher. Witness tampering carries up to 20 years in prison, and the bribery and extortion count carries up to five, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said when Brady pleaded guilty.
The smear campaign
The judge found as “relevant conduct” that Brady tried to discredit the victims and witnesses, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. That included the anonymous letter to a school attended by a minor relative of the worker who filed the ethics complaint. The letter falsely accused him of molesting the child. The school reported it to the Department of Children and Families, which opened an emergency investigation.
The child’s family told the Boston Herald that DCF cleared the stepfather but that the records remain on file. “He didn’t apologize to us,” the stepfather told the Herald. Five people harmed by Brady spoke to the paper, the Herald reported. The worker who did the repairs told the Herald he later lost his job and “never should have been put in this position.”
Norfolk County Sheriff Patrick McDermott declined an interview with the Herald but said in a statement that his office “cooperated fully with the U.S. Attorney’s Office throughout this troubling case. Details described by victims during sentencing are abhorrent.” Brady was fired in May 2025, the Herald reported. He was arrested and charged that month, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The law
- The Travel Act. The bribery and extortion count is under 18 U.S.C. § 1952, which we read at Cornell’s Legal Information Institute. It reaches anyone who “uses the mail or any facility in interstate or foreign commerce” with intent to carry on an “unlawful activity,” a term the statute defines to include “extortion, bribery, or arson in violation of the laws of the State in which committed or of the United States.” That is how a state employee’s misuse of his office can become a federal crime.
- Witness tampering. The federal witness tampering statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1512, punishes intimidating, threatening, corruptly persuading or engaging in “misleading conduct” toward another person to affect testimony or communication with law enforcement, among other conduct.
- Relevant conduct. A federal judge may weigh conduct beyond the counts of conviction when setting a sentence. Here, that meant the school letter, which was not itself a charged count.
- The state ethics law. The original complaint went to the State Ethics Commission, which enforces G.L. c. 268A. Section 23(b)(2)(ii), which we read at malegislature.gov, bars a public employee from using “such official position to secure for such officer, employee or others unwarranted privileges or exemptions which are of substantial value and which are not properly available to similarly situated individuals.”
Frequently asked questions
Who is Thomas Brady of the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office?
The former Assistant Superintendent of the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office, 55, of Norwood. He pleaded guilty to witness tampering and to a federal bribery and extortion count for ordering jail maintenance workers to repair his home heating system.
What sentence did Thomas Brady get?
20 months in federal prison, two years of supervised release, a $5,000 fine and a $200 special assessment, imposed by Judge Julia E. Kobick on October 26, 2026. He must surrender by January 4, 2027.
Can a Massachusetts public employee make subordinates do personal work?
The state conflict of interest law, G.L. c. 268A, § 23(b)(2)(ii), bars public employees from using their position to secure unwarranted privileges of substantial value. The State Ethics Commission enforces it. In Brady’s case, federal prosecutors also charged it as extortion under the Travel Act.
Sources: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts press releases of June 9 and October 26, 2026; docket of United States v. Brady, No. 1:25-cr-10184 (D. Mass.), including the clerk’s notes of the October 26 sentencing, read on CourtListener; Boston Herald, October 31, 2026. 18 U.S.C. §§ 1512 and 1952 read at Cornell’s Legal Information Institute; G.L. c. 268A, § 23 read at malegislature.gov. General information, not legal advice.