Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins, who is facing federal charges for allegedly extorting a cannabis company that he invested in, argues that federal prosecutors failed to show that he engaged in a quid pro quo agreement or performed any official acts in exchange for payment, court filings show.

Tompkins filed a 28-page motion to dismiss on Oct. 10 in federal court in Boston asking that his two felony extortion charges be dismissed for failure to allege quid pro quo bribery.

“Mere allegations of fear, pressure, and demands are not sufficient to establish extortion,” Tompkins’ lawyer, Martin G. Weinberg, wrote in the motion. “Rather, there must be a quid pro quo agreement to exchange an official act for payment, which is lacking here.”

Tompkins was arrested in August on charges of

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