Jail official forces subordinates to perform free labor at his MA home, feds say
.jpg "A former jail official in Massachusetts has been arrested on extortion charges, according to prosecutors.")
A former Massachusetts jail official is accused of forcing subordinate employees to perform free repairs at his house “during and after work hours,” federal prosecutors said.
Thomas Brady, who was the deputy superintendent of jail operations for the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office, was arrested the morning of May 28, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
A federal indictment charges Brady, 53, of Norwood, with four counts of extortion and three counts of use of interstate facilities to commit bribery and extortion, prosecutors said.
Brady’s defense attorneys, Brian T. Kelly and Ross N. MacPherson, didn’t immediately return McClatchy News’ request for comment May 28.
The Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office fired Brady on May 5, the agency told WHDH. Norfolk County neighbors Suffolk County, where Boston is located.
The charges against Brady stem from December 2021 through November 2022, before he was promoted to deputy superintendent in May 2023, according to prosecutors.
While working as the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office’s assistant deputy superintendent of jail operations, Brady ordered two sheriff’s office maintenance workers to do a variety of jobs at his home, prosecutors said.
In late 2021, Brady made one maintenance officer install a new showerhead at his house, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The employee “feared that if they refused Brady’s request, Brady would use his official position and authority to negatively affect (their) job position at NCSO,” prosecutors said.
After the employee agreed to install Brady’s showerhead, Brady is accused of driving them to his house to do so during their work shift, according to prosecutors.
In February 2022, Brady had the same maintenance officer repair his water heater, prosecutors said.
The officer drove to Brady’s home “instead of going to work,” in order to disconnect Brady’s water heater from his basement, according to prosecutors.
Then, they put the water heater in their truck and took it to Home Depot, prosecutors said.
Brady is accused of joining them to go to Home Depot, where prosecutors said he bought a 50-gallon water heater for the maintenance officer to install, according to prosecutors.
Several months later, Brady told a second maintenance officer with the sheriff’s office to repair his home’s heating system, prosecutors said.
The officer was scared of possibly losing their job or preferred work schedule if they refused Brady’s request, according to prosecutors.
On Oct. 6, 2022, the employee tried to fix Brady’s heating system during his work shift, prosecutors said.
However, problems with Brady’s heating system persisted, according to prosecutors, who said Brady then wanted the employee to replace a circulator pump.
About a week later, a third maintenance officer texted the officer, telling them that “Brady was looking for” them, prosecutors said.
An image of their text exchange was included in the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s news release.
Both of these employees ultimately made the repairs Brady wanted at his home between Nov. 1, 2022, and Nov. 2, 2022, according to prosecutors.
In a statement to WHDH about Brady’s case, the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office said the agency “is aware of today’s actions by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and has been working closely with them on this inquiry.”
“The corrections profession is built on honor, integrity, and trust,” the sheriff’s office said. “When there is a betrayal of those principles, we all feel it.”
Brady was due to appear at the Boston federal courthouse for his arraignment at 2:30 pm ET on May 28, records show.
If convicted of an extortion count, he would face up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
If Brady’s convicted of one count of use of interstate facilities to commit bribery and extortion, he would face up to five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine, prosecutors said.
This story was originally published May 28, 2025 at 4:51 PM with the headline "Jail official forces subordinates to perform free labor at his MA home, feds say."
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