Southern Command Intel Official Faces Bribery

An intelligence specialist for the Miami-based Southern Command is facing federal bribery, extortion and other charges involving alleged drug money.
 
Federal prosecutors said Monday that 37-year-old Jose Emmanuel Torres was arrested after accepting a duffel bag from a confidential informant he was told contained $250,000 in drug-related money. Torres has been assigned to a Marine Corps intelligence unit that collects information on drug traffickers and alleged terrorists.
 
Authorities say Torres threatened to have the informant arrested for immigration violations if he did not pay Torres thousands of dollars. The informant contacted the FBI, which recorded conversations and intercepted electronic messages and later set up the purported money exchange.
 
Torres faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted. Court records did not list an attorney for him Monday.