BOSTON (SHNS) - Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins of Boston was taken into custody in Florida on Friday in connection with extortion charges that the U.S. Justice Department said involve the purchase of an equity interest in a Boston-based cannabis company.

U.S. Attorney Leah Foley's office said the 67-year-old sheriff, who has held that post since 2013, was indicted by a federal grand jury on two extortion counts. Prosecutors said Tompkins would have a court appearance in Florida at 11 a.m. and appear in federal court in Boston "at a later date."

"Mr. Tompkins is a sitting Sheriff, responsible for over 1,000 employees, who was elected by the good people of Suffolk County," Foley said in a statement. "Today, he is alleged to have extorted an executive from a cannabis company, using

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