Local News

Former attorney from Somerville sentenced for trying to bribe Medford police chief

Sean O’Donovan, 56, of Somerville, was sentenced to two years in prison.

February 7, 2024

2 minutes to read

A former attorney from Somerville was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison following his conviction on charges that he attempted to bribe the Medford police chief in order to get approval for his client to open a recreational marijuana business.

Sean O’Donovan, 56, of Somerville was convicted by a federal jury in October on two counts of honest services wire fraud and one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.

Prosecutors said O’Donovan approached the relative of the Medford police chief and offered to pay as much as $50,000 in exchange for the chief supporting his client’s anticipated application to the city to open a recreational marijuana business, according to the Department of Justice and the office of Acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy. At the time, the police chief was serving on a committee to rank the applications for recreational marijuana vendors, but the city’s mayor would ultimately select the three applicants to open retail stores in Medford, officials said.

Authorities said O’Donovan sought to have the chief rank his client’s application favorable and to pressure the mayor into selecting the applicant. The former attorney was slated to get at least $100,000 annually from his client’s business should the application prove successful, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said O’Donovan never informed his client of the bribery scheme; the chief’s relative informed the law enforcement leader after they were approached by O’Donovan and the chief “immediately” contacted federal authorities.

“Driven by greed, Mr. O’Donovan tried his hand at an old school bribery scheme in which he tried to bribe a police chief for the sake of lining his own pockets,” Levy said in a statement. “Fortunately, his attempt was promptly thwarted by the integrity of the Police Chief he targeted, as he immediately reported him to federal authorities. … Today’s sentence should serve as a warning to anyone who thinks they can corrupt government officials for personal gain: your conduct will be uncovered, and will land you in federal prison – regardless of who you are.”

In addition to the two-year prison sentence, O’Donovan is being ordered to undergo three years of supervised release and to pay a fine of $150,000 and a $300 special assessment, authorities said.