Motivated by unification schemes of active galactic nuclei, we review
evidence for the existence of a small-scale dust torus in M87, a Fanaroff-Riley
Class I radio galaxy. Since there is no direct evidence of any thermal emission
from its torus we consider indirect evidence, such as BLR activity and ageing
arguments to model the cold dust structure of M87. In the context of the jet --
accretion disk -- torus symbiosis we discuss the interactions of GeV and TeV
gamma-rays produced in the jet of M87 with the infrared radiation fields
external to the jet, produced by a less active torus. A thin and cold torus
with less defined outer boundaries could still posses problems to some of the
TeV emission from the jet.Comment: 2 pages, to appear in Proceedings of the conference on Active
Galactic Nuclei: from Central Engine to Host Galaxy, meeting held in Meudon,
France, July 23-27, 2002, Eds.: S. Collin, F. Combes and I. Shlosma
