Spota hugged his wife and his weeping daughter before leaving the courtroom in silence. ', Long Island Siblings Saved By Heart Transplants Beat COVID. McPartland, who worked directly under Spota, also had built a close friendship with Burke, and was the first person who Burke called the morning he discovered that his vehicle had been burglarized," the release from the U.S. Attorney's office said. Loeb was paid $1.5 million after he filed a federal lawsuit against Suffolk County for "being beaten while shackled to the floor of an interrogation room by former Police Chief James Burke in 2012 after stealing a duffel bag packed with a gun belt, ammunition, sex toys and pornography from Burke's vehicle," a report by 1010wins said. The pre-pandemic verdict supported the prosecution's contention that both defendants orchestrated a cover-up of the beating of the shackled burglary suspect that Burke carried out with three detectives inside a Hauppauge precinct. He then arranged for Burke to be transferred to serve as commanding officer of the squad of police officials who worked directly for him as district attorney, prosecutors said during the trial. Thomas Spota and aide Christopher McPartland were convicted in 2019 of running a years-long cover-up of an attack by former Suffolk County Police Commissioner James Burke on a shackled man . Burke became a Suffolk cop and was promoted to sergeant; a 1995 department probe found that he had a sexual relationship with a prostitute who sold drugs, according to Newsday. The two remained close during Burke's rise, which culminated in 2012 when he was elevated to the top position in a department with more than 2,500 . Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay a $100,000 fine today after attempting to obstruct a federal investigation into the brutality of a prisoner by former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke in 2012. The remains of at least ten persons have been found on South Shore beaches, and are believed to be related. You have not heard an apology, Boeckmann said. During closing arguments, Krantz presented jurors with a list of "10 reasons why James Hickey cannot be believed" that included "raw self-interest" and a "psychotic break from reality.". Additionally, Spota was ordered to pay a $100,000 fine. The assault of the burglary suspect happened about a year into Mr. Burkes tenure as police chief. U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York, The Defendants Were Convicted of Obstructing a Federal Civil Rights Investigation, Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas J. Spota and Government Corruption Bureau Chief Christopher McPartland Each Sentenced to Five Years in Prison, Former New York City Correction Officer Sentenced to Prison for Accepting Bribes in Exchange for Smuggling Contraband into Rikers Island, Brooklyn Federal Correctional Officer Charged with Bribery, Social Media Influencer Douglass Mackey Convicted of Election Interference in 2016 Presidential Race. ', Long Island Siblings Saved By Heart Transplants Beat COVID. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. Burke pleaded guilty to a civil rights violation and conspiracy to obstruct justice in February 2016 and was sentenced to 46 months imprisonment. The defense teams for Spota and McPartland had lobbied extensively for sentences of home confinement and community service for their clients. Spota and Burke had a kinship that dated to the ex-chief's teenage years in the late 1970s, when he was a star witness in a murder case that Spota was prosecuting. "To see any old man live the rest of his life in a prison cell, possibly dying in jail, that kinda sucks but you have to be accountable for what you did," Loeb added after court. But the good news is that this culture of corruption has been swept out of the district attorney's office and has been replaced with a culture of integrity," he added. While doing so, Azrack said Spota did "incalculable damage" to the criminal justice system after "not a momentary lapse" in judgment but a yearslong conspiracy that included threats against witnesses. Spota represented Burke years later as a private attorney when Burke faced internal police discipline after 1995 allegations which were substantiated that Burke engaged in sex acts with a known prostitute in police vehicles and failed to safeguard his service weapon. Lawyers for Spota and McPartland portrayed Hickey during the trial as a mentally unstable drunk and serial philanderer who lied repeatedly to his spouse and committed perjury when testifying years ago in a burglary case that a Suffolk judge threw out. Eastern District of New York | Suffolk County District Attorney and McPartland was also part of the pressure campaign to get cops to cover for the chief. He was smiling. Fax Line: 718-254-7508. At trial, lawyers for Mr. McPartland and Mr. Spota tried to shred Mr. Hickeys credibility, calling him a practiced liar and highlighting that he admitted to four extramarital affairs. Ex-prosecutor sentenced to 5 years in suspect abuse scandal - Yahoo News Mount Sinai, New York, CHRISTOPHER McPARTLAND Spota and. The defense attorney also argued that McPartland should get less prison time than Burke because Burke was responsible for the underlying crime. Former Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota and a former top aide, Christopher McPartland, joined the ranks of the nation's incarcerated felons Friday after surrendering at separate federal. Burke attacked Loeb in a police station interrogation room after Loeb was arrested for breaking into the ex-chief's unlocked, department-issued GMC Yukon and stealing a bag containing his gun belt, ammunition, a box of cigars and a bag containing sex toys and pornography. Spota and McPartland tried to cover for Suffolk Police Chief James Burke after the top cop attacked a cuffed prisoner. Prosecutors said the two of them, along with other officials, were able to punish people who challenged their authority. Police officers who were supposed to investigate gangs and school shootings would be diverted to help their chief with petty vendettas and mundane tasks, like spying on his girlfriends or driving him to the airport, former officers testified. ", Bellone said Suffolk District Attorney Tim Sini has "restored integrity to the office. After the assault, Burke ordered high-ranking lieutenants of the SCPD to ensure that the detectives and officers who had witnessed the assault would never reveal whatthey had observed, federal officials said. (Provided) A 46 . As certain key witnesses were then compelled to testify before the grand jury under a grant of immunity, the truth about Burke assaulting Loeb finally emerged. [1] Spota resigned November 10, 2017, after he was indicted on federal charges of obstruction of justice in the investigation of Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke. From December 2010, his office oversaw the investigation of numerous homicides in Suffolk County, believed to have been perpetrated by a single unidentified person, known as the Long Island serial killer, or LISK. Thomas Spota - Wikipedia The obstruction initially worked, thwarting federal agents for several months. Thomas J. Spota III (born 1941, New York) is a former American attorney and politician, who served as the District Attorney of Suffolk County, New York, serving from 2002 to late 2017, but was disbarred on June 10, 2020. Loeb, the abused prisoner, also spoke in court Tuesday, telling the judge that Spota "should spend the rest of his life behind bars." Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota and a former top aide, Christopher McPartland, surrendered at separate federal prisons Friday, prison officials told Newsday. Some police officers were in the interrogation room when Burke walked in and punched Loeb, prosecutors said. Thomas Spota and one his top aides in the Suffolk County district attorney's office, Christopher McPartland, were convicted in December 2019 on counts of conspiracy, obstruction of . I commend the tenacity and skill of this Office's prosecutors and the FBI special agents in toppling the defendants from their undeserved positions of prominence and in holding them to account for their reprehensible violations of the public trust.. The assault happened hours after the Smithtown man, then a heroin addict, stole a duffel bag from Burkes department vehicle with items inside it that included Burkes gun belt and ammunition, along with Viagra, sex toys and pornography. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Retired Det. Spota's career ended with his disbarment in 2020 and his sentencing to five years in federal prison in 2021. Spota and McPartland were both convicted on all charges, John Marzulli, a spokesman for the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's Office, said. Then in 2001, Mr. Spota, who switched parties from Republican to Democratic, was elected district attorney. All rights reserved, Met Gala 2023: Start Time, Theme, Guests & Everything Else to Know, Construction May Make Getting to JFK Airport a Nightmare for 3 Years: What to Know, 20 Students Injured in Long Island School Bus Crash With Pickup Truck, 25-Year-Old Makes $200/Hour Without a Bachelor's Degree: I Work Less Than 6 Hours a Day'. In particular, Mr. Burke hated one of the police officials, Pat Cuff, who had conducted the internal investigation against him in the 1990s, witnesses said. Spota and McPartland helped to ensure witnesses of Burkes crimes using threats against themselves and their families during a U.S. grand jury investigation into Burkes deprivation of Loebs civil rights. They have three grown children. Mr. Burkes relationship with Mr. Spota began in 1979, when Mr. Spota was a young prosecutor trying a murder case, and Mr. Burke, then a teenager, was his star witness. The sentencing guidelines are the subject of an oral argument set for June 30, federal officials told Patch. Having served as the Suffolk County DA for over a decade, Spota had successfully helped Burke avoid legal trouble regularly during their decades-long friendship. At an August 2015 meeting involving some of the people involved in the alleged cover-up, prosecutors said, McPartland warned that Loeb "did not get beaten badly and there were no marks and that nothing would happen as long as the people that were in the room with (Loeb) did not talk. When a sitting District Attorney and one of his top prosecutors are corrupt and use their power to intimidate witnesses and cover up a brutal assault by a high-ranking law enforcement official, they not only jeopardize the safety of citizens who are entitled to the protection of the law, they also undermine confidence in the integrity and fairness of our criminal justice system, stated Acting U.S. Attorney Kasulis. Now Ex-D.A. Thomas Spota - RiverheadLOCAL But Spota, who knew of Burkes police disciplinary history, responded to the allegation by saying Burkes off-duty firearm was taken in a pattern of burglaries in his neighborhood, prosecutors told jurors. ALSO READ | Earth warming likely to pass limit set by international leaders. Shawn Lawrence (l.) plans to sue disgraced ex-Suffolk County DA Thomas Spota, who is awaiting trial in federal court. Thomas Spota, 79, and his top aide, 55-year-old Christopher McPartland, were handed their sentences on Tuesday by a federal judge following their December 2019 convictions on conspiracy, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and civil rights violation charges related to a vast cover-up of the beating of a suspected thief by Suffolk County . He entered private law practice in Suffolk, representing clients including the Suffolk Detectives Association and other law enforcement unions.[7]. Mr. McPartland helped concoct a cover story that Chief Burke had just popped his head in to the interrogation room. Spota was convicted in December 2019 on federal charges of conspiracy to tamper with witnesses and obstruct an official proceeding, witness tampering, obstruction of justice and being an accessory to Burke, U.S. Department of Justice officials said. Disgraced former Suffolk County DA Thomas Spota landed five years in prison Tuesday for obstructing a federal investigation into a cover-up involving sex toys, assault and a top local police chief. Suffolk District Attorney Timothy Sini reflected on his predecessor's conviction Tuesday in a statement in which he said the agency he leads needs "to remain focused on continuing our progress and ensuring that the days of the past never happen again. You rely on us to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. "The allegations of covert spying, threats made against perceived enemies, relentless intimidation tactics, and outright fear were spelled out clearly by federal prosecutors and I commend them for their outstanding work. You better find out fast, if its not too late," Hickey testified the district attorney also told him that day. Burke had flown off the handle in 2012 while interrogating suspect Christopher Loeb who had stolen a bag from the chiefs SUV. They were accompanied by other members of the Hispanic community. Vinegrad described Spota in a court filing as a "shattered man" whose age, declining health and record of public service supported a no-prison sentence. Authorities suspect he was stealing from cars to buy heroin. The open homicide investigation is still underway. According to federal prosecutors, Spota, McPartland, Burke and other police officers met and spoke by phone to discuss how to conceal Burke's role in the assault on Loeb. Mr. Spotas family members, seated in the first row of the courtroom, appeared emotional, with teary eyes and their arms around one another. "I hope it sends a clear message that no one is above the law and criminal conduct that betrays the public trust will be punished," the judge said of his sentence. Spota called Bellone's assertions "baseless" and said the county executive had a "vendetta" against him for investigating and prosecuting people close to him. U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack meted out the penalties after a jury previously found Spota and Christopher McPartland, his former anti-corruption chief, tried to conceal that brutality and impede a federal probe to protect then-Police Chief James Burke. Machine, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas J. Spota sworn in, Suffolk County Board of Elections: 2009 Election Official Results, Testimony of Mr. Thomas Spota, Suffolk County District Attorney, September 9, 2003, "Prosecutor: Convicted killer may be tied to more NY slayings", "James Burke, Ex-Suffolk County Police Chief, Pleads Guilty", "Suffolk County DA Thomas Spota Indicted In 2012 Police Brutality Cover-up", "DA in New York is accused of obstructing probe into beating of suspect by former police chief", "Ex-Suffolk County DA Thomas Spota found guilty of protecting ex-chief who bashed porn thief", "Former Suffolk DA disbarred from practice of law due to conviction", Suffolk County District Attorney's office, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_Spota&oldid=1126141669, Politicians from Suffolk County, New York, St. John's University School of Law alumni, All articles with bare URLs for citations, Articles with bare URLs for citations from March 2022, Articles with PDF format bare URLs for citations, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 7 December 2022, at 19:31. The chief barged into the police interrogation room where the man, handcuffed to the floor, called him a pervert. To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com. Chief Burke thought nobody would believe his word over the police chiefs, according to witness testimony. Boeckmann also called their punishments fitting. When a sitting District Attorney and one of his top prosecutors are corrupt and use their power to intimidate witnesses and cover up a brutal assault by a high-ranking law enforcement official, they not only jeopardize the safety of citizens who are entitled to the protection of the law, they also undermine confidence in the integrity and fairness of our criminal justice system, Acting U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis said. Support RiverheadLOCAL today. [14], The federal inquiry subsequently expanded beyond Burke to investigate a broader pattern of corruption in both the police department and the office of the Suffolk County district attorney, Thomas J. But a few months later, in early 2013, Mr. Loebs lawyer publicly accused the police of assault, triggering a civil rights investigation. Senator Flanagan And District Attorney Spota Join Families To Call For Loeb was paid $1.5 million after he filed a federal lawsuit against Suffolk County, a report by 1010wins said. McPartland, who also is serving a five-year sentence, is incarcerated at Beaumont Federal Correctional Complex in Texas, according to the newspaper. [2][3][4] Spota was subsequently found guilty and sentenced to five years in federal prison and fined $100,000 . A lock ( He repeatedly promoted Mr. Burke in the Police Department, consolidating their power. Spotas conduct, like Mr. McPartlands, was not a momentary moral lapse. Mr. Burke, 55, had already pleaded guilty in 2016 to the assault and the subsequent cover-up, a year after resigning from the force. Spota, 79, of Mount Sinai and McPartland, 55, of Northport, were sentenced by United States District Judge Joan M. Azrack; Spota was also ordered to pay a $100,000 fine, officials said. Chief Assistant US Attorney Nicole Boeckmann had argued for prison for Spota, saying he had failed to take responsibility for his actions to this day. "These sentences send the right message to the public that they can have faith in their criminal justice system - that the system is not broken," she said. Former Suffolk County DA Tom Spota, Aide Set For Sentencing He finished his prison sentence in April. With todays sentences, justice has been served and the defendants have learned the consequences of their crimes, just like anyone else who has broken the law.". [1] [5], Spota was born in 1941 and grew up in New Hyde Park, New York, on Long Island. When Mr. Cuffs son was caught with a gun, the district attorneys office threatened to upgrade the charges from a misdemeanor to a felony. On Tuesday, Mr. Spota, 78, was convicted of participating in a yearslong conspiracy to cover up for Mr. Burke after he violently beat a man accused of stealing from him while he was the police chief. Mr. Anthony Leto testified at the trial that Burke punched, kneed and shook Loeb during the beating he also took part in, with Burke also threatening to give Loeb a "hot shot" or deadly drug dose. Burke was eventually found guilty in the incident andsentenced to 46 months in prison. "The verdict today confirms what I said on May 12, 2016 when I stood on the steps of the district attorney's office calling on him to resign that Tom Spota, along with Christopher McPartland, was running a criminal enterprise out of the district attorney's office," Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said in 2019. He completed his prison sentence this year but refused to testify at trial against his old colleagues. Current Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini said in a statement following the sentencings, "The actions of these defendants represent the worst of law enforcement.". "Burke, Spota and McPartland used the power and influence of their official positions, and the threat of retaliatory arrest and prosecution, to keep anyone from cooperating with that investigation," federal officials said in the release. She ordered McPartland to surrender on Nov. 10. My family will forever be marked by my disgrace, Spota saidmoments before being sentenced. Christopher McPartland, right, leaving his trial last month in Central Islip, N.Y. By Joseph Goldstein and Alan Feuer. The government also claimed McPartland was the "architect of the lies," helping Burke craft a story about Loeb being a "junkie thief" who fabricated his tale of an assault a script everyone who became part of the conspiracy had to follow. According to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of New York, the pair will be sentenced on August 10 at 10:30 a.m. at the courthouse in Central Islip. The essential facts of this crime are so outrageous, Azrack said. Spota and McPartland were successful in thwarting the investigation at first, until the case was reopened and witnesses were able to testify when granted immunity. The sentences stem from the defendants December 17, 2019 convictions following a six-week federal jury trial; they were convicted on all four counts of the indictment including conspiracy to tamper with witnesses and obstruct an official proceeding; witness tampering; obstruction of justice; and being accessories after-the-fact to former Suffolk County Police Department Chief of Department James Burkes "deprivation of a prisoners civil rights," the U.S. Attorney of the Eastern District of New York said in a release. Spota later hired Burke to work in his office as an investigator, promoted him to chief investigator, and vouched for him when he was appointed chief of the police department, one of the largest suburban forces in the country with 2,500 officers. ", Bellone said Suffolk District Attorney Tim Sini has "restored integrity to the office. Uli Seit for The New. Bellone said his actions were inspired by reports of political corruption in the district attorney's office. I met with the daughter. Testimony showed Hickey was hospitalized in 2015 after hallucinations brought on by stress and sleep deprivation, after a separate 2013 hospitalization for pancreatitis after excessive alcohol intake. He was convicted of obstruction, witness tampering, and conspiracy charges in December 2019 [17] and disbarred in June 2020. Local law enforcement eyewitnesses had been frightened into silence, as they feared retaliation against themselves and their families from within the Suffolk County Police Department and the District Attorneys Office.". Loeb was paid $1.5 million after he filed a federal lawsuit against Suffolk County, a report by 1010wins said. The survival of local journalism depends on your support. Main Office ", In 2016, Bellone publicly called on Spota to step down with claims that Spota was "operating a criminal enterprise that must be stopped.". Prosecutors Push For No Bail In Spota Corruption Case I met with them before the indictments. Updated. Burke also enlisted the help of Spota and McPartland, "to ensure that the witnesses kept quiet. Triple Five, Calvertons developer, launches a review of rail options, Man Caught With Stolen Vehicle In Riverhead: Police, Search On For Suspects Wanted In Attempted Armed Robbery: PD, Take better care of your bones Join HSS for a new webinar on 5/3, JOB Needed as live-in companion/caregiver as of 5/1/23 (Suffolk County), Learn to restore physically & emotionally with Energy Healing, 'Crystals For A Cause' Benefits Greenport's Miniature Railroad Project, Minimum Wage Would Increase On Long Island Under $229B Budget Deal, Pet Adoption In The Riverhead Area: See New Local Dogs, Cats & More, Riverhead Job Openings: See Who's Hiring In The Area, Ex-Batmobile Replica Maker Has New Space To Continue Dream After Fire, LI Cat Missing For 2 Years Found In Time For Christmas: 'She Is Home! Spota told a judge at his sentencing in August that, I hope not to die in prison alone.. But Azrack said that by participating in the cover-up, both defendants sent the message that prosecutorial power in Suffolk can be abused, civil rights violations will be tolerated and that some people in the county are above the law. Courtesy of Pixabay. The jury determined that Spota and McPartland obstructed justice by covering for former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke, who abused Loeb in 2012. The defense also claimed during the trial that there was no way Spota or McPartland tried to hide Burkes role in Loebs beating because Burke never confessed to them before admitting his guilt in federal court. (718) 254-6323. The resulting scandal eventually engulfed the countys law enforcement power structure. Their behavior was outrageous, and their sentences today prove as much. Spota and McPartland both resigned from the District Attorneys Office in light of the charges against them and have since been disbarred. Burke also enlisted the help of his long-time mentor, then-District Attorney Spota, and McPartland, his personal friend and then-Chief of both Investigations and the Government Corruption Bureau, to ensure that the witnesses kept quiet. . Former Chief of Investigations and Chief of the DA offices Government Corruption Bureau, Christopher McPartland, was sentenced to five years in prison alongside Spota for the same crimes. The defense took aim at Hickey, who retired shortly before pleading guilty in 2016 to conspiracy to obstruct justice, and who told jurors he is hoping for leniency at his future sentencing because of his role as a cooperating prosecution witness. This culture of corruption has had a real and profound impact. Email: alek@riverheadlocal.com. Boeckmann, the prosecutor, said outside the courthouse that the long-term damage Spota and McPartland inflicted on the criminal justice system couldn't be overstated. He had been watching the trial from the overflow room. Federal prosecutors hinted at Spota and McPartland's alleged involvement in the cover up prior to Burke's sentencing, writing in court papers that "high-ranking officials" from other Suffolk County agencies had helped the former chief silence potential whistleblowers. Prosecutors said Spota and McPartland did "the exact opposite" of their jobs so they could protect Burke in a nefarious plot aimed at maintaining a power structure controlled by those who believed they were above the law. Both men denied the charges, multiple reports said. Spota was convicted in December 2019 on federal charges of conspiracy . Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Jacqueline Maguire, Acting Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the sentences. The case was assigned to the public corruption unit, led by Mr. McPartland, not the major crimes unit, where it would normally have been prosecuted. CENTRAL ISLIP, Long Island (WABC) -- Former Suffolk County District Attorney Tom Spota was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday following his 2019 conviction for helping cover for a former protg who as police chief punched a handcuffed man suspected of stealing embarrassing items from his police department SUV, including sex toys and pornography. All Rights Reserved. Burke physically and verbally assaulted a shackled prisoner, Christopher Loeb, in an interrogation room in Hauppauge after Loeb broke into Burkes police vehicle and stole his gun belt and ammunition, and several personal items including cigars, sex toys and pornography. Ex-Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota and top aide convicted in Now it's brought down the D.A., too", "Former Long Island Prosecutors Sentenced in Plot to Protect Police Chief", THE 2001 ELECTIONS: NASSAU COUNTY; Suozzi Wins Easily in Rebuke of Nassau's G.O.P. Advertisement. "Instead of serving the people of Suffolk County, these defendants brazenly abused their exceptional positions of power and public trust to protect their friends and hurt their enemies. 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