The facts simply will demonstrate that he was charged with a crime he did not commit,” Steven Tompkins’s defense attorney said after the brief hearing. The post Suffolk County sheriff pleads not guilty to federal extortion charges appeared first on Boston.

Tompkins was charged with pressuring owners of a cannabis company by threatening to revoke a partnership with his office, which was central to the company's licensing application.

After being arrested on extortion charges earlier this month, Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins is due in court on Thursday.