BOSTON — A former Massachusetts attorney was sentenced to two years in prison for attempting to bribe a local Police Chief to obtain approval for his client’s recreational marijuana business, Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy announced.
Sean O’Donovan, 56, of Somerville, was convicted in October 2023 by a federal jury on two counts of honest services wire fraud and one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.
O’Donovan sought to corrupt the City of Medford’s ‘political process for selecting retail marijuana companies’ by attempting to influence the Medford Police Chief in connection with O’Donovan’s client’s recreational marijuana business, Levy said. At the time, the Chief was serving on a committee to rank such applications on behalf of the Mayor, who would ultimately select three applicants to open retail marijuana stores in Medford.
According to prosecutors, O’Donovan approached the Chief’s relative and offered to pay as much as $50,000 in tax-free cash in exchange for the Chief’s official support for his client’s application to sell recreational marijuana in Medford.
O’Donovan was slated to receive a stream of income of at least $100,000 annually from his client’s marijuana business if its Medford application was successful, Levy said.
After the relative informed the Chief of O’Donovan’s corrupt offer, the Chief immediately alerted federal authorities.
Both the Chief and his relative cooperated with the investigation.
“Attorney Sean O’Donovan thought he was beyond the reach of the law when he orchestrated a back-door deal, funded by bribes, to line his own pockets. In doing so, he betrayed his client, and all hard-working businesses trying to play by the rules,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division.
O’Donovan will spend two years in prison followed by three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay a fine of $150,000.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2024 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
