Former agent pleads guilty in Silk Road drug site probe

SAN FRANCISCO — A former Secret Service agent has pleaded guilty to charges related to the theft of electronic currency during a high-profile investigation into the online drug bazaar Silk Road.

Shaun Bridges entered the plea Monday to money laundering and obstruction charges in federal court in San Francisco.

He acknowledged stealing $820,000 worth of bitcoin after getting access to Silk Road, the multimillion-dollar marketplace for illegal drugs and other contraband.

Bridges was part of a task force investigating Silk Road.

A Drug Enforcement Administration agent on the task force, Carl Force, was accused separately of selling information about the investigation and has pleaded guilty to extortion and other charges.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Seeborg said he would impose a curfew and electronic monitoring on the 33-year-old Bridges after prosecutors said Bridges had tried to change his name.