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August 10, 2021 CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) A former Long Island prosecutor was sentenced to 5 years in prison on Tuesday for helping cover up the police beating of a prisoner suspected of stealing sex toys and other items from a police chief's vehicle. According to News 12, Spota and Christoper McPartland, 54, were convicted of four felonies; one stemmed from the cover up of the assault of suspect Christopher Loeb by former Police Commissioner James Burke. Both men denied the charges, multiple reports said. Krantz had argued that McPartland already had lost his reputation, life savings and like Spota his law license. Spota, who spent 15 years at the top of Suffolk's law and order structure before his 2017 federal indictment, said in the Central Islip courtroom that his conviction marked "the lowest point" in his life one he fears will become his legacy. Apr 26, 2018 at 8:20 pm. There were sex toys and porn in the pouch, and Loeb taunted the chief while being grilled over the robbery, calling him a pervert.. 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.". Fax Line: 718-254-7508. Word of a reopened probe panicked Spota, according to Hickeys testimony. A Long Island jury on Tuesday found former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota guilty of obstructing a federal probe into a police chief who bashed a handcuffed prisoner over stolen porn . [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. Anyone can read what you share. James Burke, center, the former Suffolk County police chief, pleaded guilty in 2016 to the assault of a man who had broken into his police car and the subsequent cover-up. Hickey, now retired and facing sentencing himself, named Spota, McPartland, Burke, former Suffolk chief of detectives William Madigan and himself as members of a self-appointed group nicknamed "The Inner Circle." The trouble started one morning in December 2012, when Chief Burke discovered somebody had broken into his police car. They ruined lives and destroyed careers. They pointed to a state judges determination in 1990 that Mr. Hickey had lied under oath as a police officer in a different burglary case. He also said Spota recently was given an "uncertain" medical prognosis but didn't provide further details. 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. 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.". Four days after his release from the hospital in October 2015, he received a grand jury subpoena, he said. "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," Acting U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis said. He had been watching the trial from the overflow room. After hearing four weeks of trial testimony, a federal jury on Long Island found Mr. Spota guilty of four counts, including obstruction of justice and witness tampering. The survival of local journalism depends on your support. ', Long Island Siblings Saved By Heart Transplants Beat COVID. They ruined lives and destroyed careers. Spota. Among the successful cases prosecuted by his office was the conviction in May 2017 of John Bittrolff, a Manorville carpenter charged with the homicides of prostitutes Rita Tangredi and Colleen McNamee, whose bodies were found on area South Shore beaches in 1993 and 1994, respectively. ABC7 New York 24/7 Eyewitness News Stream, Earth warming likely to pass limit set by international leaders, Street racing hit-and run crash leaves woman dead, man hurt in Brooklyn, police say, Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts. 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. It was written by Murphy. Lawyers for Spoto and McPartland, 55, had argued home confinement was a more appropriate sentence. 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. Spota was convicted of witness tampering, obstruction of justice and conspiracy, and he must report to prison by December 10. The defense teams for Spota and McPartland had lobbied extensively for sentences of home confinement and community service for their clients. "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. [18] Spota's sentencing was delayed multiple times but he was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison and a $100,000 fine on August 10, 2021.[5]. 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. With great power comes great responsibility and, as weve proven throughout the course of this investigation, Mr. Spota and Mr. McPartland abused their power to skirt their responsibility to comply with a federal civil rights investigation. New York Daily News. This story has been shared 121,843 times. The survival of local journalism depends on your support. 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. The essential facts of this crime are so outrageous, Azrack said. In 2001 Republican-turned-Democrat Spota ran for District Attorney, and defeated three-time incumbent James M. Catterson Jr in November 2001, taking 58% of the vote. Mr. Spota and Mr. McPartland sat without expression as the verdict was read. Thomas Spota and Christopher McPartland were convicted of obstruction of justice and other crimes for their role in a scheme to protect James Burke. 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. He said the criminal justice system in Suffolk isn't just broken, but corrupt by design. My family will forever be marked by my disgrace, Spota saidmoments before being sentenced. He was smiling. He always had a soft spot for a police officer named James Burke, who rose under his tutelage to become the countys chief of police. Loeb was paid $1.5 million after he filed a federal lawsuit against Suffolk County, a report by 1010wins said. for over a decade, Spota had successfully helped Burke avoid legal trouble regularly during their decades-long friendship. Krantz cited what he said was McPartlands history of public service and good deeds, calling him a loving husband and father and someone who worked his way through college and law school before earning accolades throughout his career. Spota recommended a new federal task force and said that legislation was needed to "attack the owners and the distributors of these programs, who are reaping enormous profits. Those who abuse their power and subject others to cruel and unnecessary punishment must be removed from serving in any official capacity and must pay the price for their conduct. A former Long Island prosecutor was sentenced to 5 years in prison on Tuesday for helping cover up the police beating of a prisoner suspected of stealing sex toys and other items from a police chief's vehicle. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Greg Blass He graduated from Chaminade High School, a private Catholic school in Mineola, New York. Spota and. Mr. Spotas lawyer, Alan Vinegrad, declined to comment on the verdict. A federal grand jury investigation into the Loeb assault as a civil rights deprivation was opened by the U.S. Attorneys Brooklyn Office, with the assistance of the FBI, in the spring of 2013. Together, Mr. Spota, Mr. McPartland and Chief Burke controlled what amounted to a law-enforcement fiefdom in the eastern half of Long Island, prosecutors said. When they are sentenced, Spota and McPartland will face up to 20 years in prison. The governments case is being handled by the Offices Long Island Criminal Division. But a few months later, in early 2013, Mr. Loebs lawyer publicly accused the police of assault, triggering a civil rights investigation. 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. 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"Loeb had broken into Burkes official police vehicle and stolen his gun belt and ammunition, and a duffel bag containing cigars, sex toys, prescription Viagra and pornography.". Loeb's three-year prison sentence was vacated after Burke pleaded guilty. I realized that my career was over, he testified, and that if I even try to go to the feds at this point, I would be dead in Suffolk County.. Burke pleaded guilty to civil rights violations and conspiracy to obstruct justice in February of 2016 and was sentenced to 46 months in prison. They depicted Burke as Spotas "professional child of sorts" and a wise elder who told a golf buddy after Burkes conviction that he shouldnt sympathize with the wayward cop because he "did it to himself.". Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota was sentenced to 5 years behind bars. This story has been shared 137,412 times. To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com. [2][3][4] Spota was subsequently found guilty and sentenced to five years in federal prison and fined $100,000 . In contrast, the U.S. attorneys office had sought 8-year sentences for both defendants. 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. Courtesy of Pixabay. He told jurors he acted as a middleman in a yearslong conspiracy to cover-up Loebs beating after being tasked with ensuring the silence of the three detectives. 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. To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.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. [8] He was reelected in 2005,[9] and again in 2009 without any major-party opposition. 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 . . Official websites use .gov The jury deliberated for nearly a full day before returning the guilty verdict. The remains of at least ten persons have been found on South Shore beaches, and are believed to be related. Shawn Lawrence (l.) plans to sue disgraced ex-Suffolk County DA Thomas Spota, who is awaiting trial in federal court. Spota, who served as DA for more than a decade before stepping down in 2017, worked to protect Burke by telling detectives who witnessed the assault to stay quiet as the feds probed the incident. ", He added that at the time he called for the resignation, "Tom Spota's power was at its peak and their criminal enterprise was in full swing. Mr. Spota, a lawyer for the police union at the time, defended Mr. Burke and negotiated a plea deal that saved his career. Christopher Loeb was kicked and punched while in police custody. Former Suffolk County District Attorney Tom Spota was sentenced to five years is prison Tuesday following his 2019 conviction for helping cover for ex-police Chief James Burke. HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- The families of four victims killed in hit-and-run crashes in Suffolk County called on Albany on Tuesday to enact tougher sentences for drivers who flee the scene. LONG ISLAND, NY Former Suffolk County District Attorney Tom Spota, 79, and his chief investigator, found guilty of obstruction by a jury in 2019 for covering up an incident during which a man was beaten after he stole a duffel bag from a former police chief filled with sex toys and pornography were each sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday, federal officials said. ALSO READ | Earth warming likely to pass limit set by international leaders. Is the Riverhead IDA serving the publics interest? Mr. Burke, 55, had already pleaded guilty in 2016 to the assault and the subsequent cover-up, a year after resigning from the force. McPartland was also part of the pressure campaign to get cops to cover for the chief. 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 justice . 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. Former Det. This story has been shared 377,217 times. They golfed together and drank together. U.S. District Court Judge Joan Azrack told Spota and McPartland that they violated the public's trust and described their actions as "unconscionable" and as "shocking criminal conduct." "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. Updated. Spota called Bellone's assertions "baseless" and said the county executive had a "vendetta" against him for investigating and prosecuting people close to him. The pair face up to 20 years in prison but will likely receive lower sentences due to federal guidelines, according to Newsday. They placed fear of retaliation inside the minds of those who may otherwise have been willing to cooperate, and they interfered with efforts of federal investigators who were trying to get to the bottom of a heinous crime. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, a jury found the ex-district attorney guilty, Off-duty NYPD cop dies after LI car crash: sources, LI bouncer covered security camera before brutal beating that led to bar patrons death, Long Island nurse arrested after slamming newborn into bassinet: Suffolk DA, Here are the wild animals that a NY lawmaker wants to ban from homes. ", Sini added that the defendants' actions represented "the worst of law enforcement," while saying their actions "devastated many people individually" and "deprived Suffolk residents of what they deserve from public officials.". Three other police detectives had been in the room participating in the beating, and it was imperative that they all stuck to the same story. [1] ALSO READ | Street racing hit-and run crash leaves woman dead, man hurt in Brooklyn, police say. McPartland also addressed Azrack on Tuesday before hearing his sentence. 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.". [6], After passing the bar, Spota worked as an assistant prosecutor under Suffolk County District Attorney Patrick Henry, during the 1970s and early 1980s. "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 and that corrupt police officers cannot and will not be protected by power-hungry prosecutors," she said. Mr. Spota viewed Mr. Burke almost as a son, standing with him whenever he was touched by scandal. But he insisted his memory wasnt compromised by his drinking and that he never consumed alcohol after his 2013 hospital discharge. Have a question about Government Services? Thomas Spota was the prosecutor. The U.S. attorney's office also argued that the defendants hadn't accepted responsibility for their actions and deserved more time in prison than sentencing guidelines recommended because of "the need for deterrence" and the "egregiousness" of their actions. 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. [10] 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. 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. Chief investigative reporter Jonathan Dienst on crime, corruption and terrorism. A corruption saga that began with a prisoners 2012 beating in a police precinct and reached Suffolk Countys highest law enforcement ranks concluded Tuesday with a federal judge sentencing both former District Attorney Thomas Spota and his ex-aide to 5 years in prison. 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. To maintain the lie, Mr. Spota and Mr. McPartland relied heavily on Mr. Hickey, the police commander who supervised those three detectives. This culture of corruption has had a real and profound impact. [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. The unfortunate truth is that we will be paying for it for years to come. Spota's attorney, Alan Vinegrad, told the judge his client is "a shadow" of his former self and a "fundamentally good" person who is devoted to his wife of 51 years, his three children and his grandchildren. 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.. He completed his prison sentence this year but refused to testify at trial against his old colleagues. LONG ISLAND, NY Former Suffolk County District Attorney Tom Spota, 79, and his chief investigator, found guilty of obstruction by a jury in 2019 for covering up an incident during which a man. Ex-Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas J. Spota sentenced to 60 months in prison and $100K fine for obstructing a federal civil rights investigation. Spota's career ended with his disbarment in 2020 and his sentencing to five years in federal prison in 2021. Mr. Burke later became a police officer. Burke had flown off the handle in 2012 while interrogating suspect Christopher Loeb who had stolen a bag from the chiefs SUV. 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. I met with them after the indictments and before it was announced publicly what the results of the indictment were. The assault of the burglary suspect happened about a year into Mr. Burkes tenure as police chief. Eyewitness News has learned it appears Spota and McPartland will appeal their sentences. In a rage, Chief Burke kicked and punched him. 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. Their behavior was outrageous, and their sentences today prove as much," said FBI Acting Assistant Director-in-Charge Maguire. 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. The jurors reached the guilty verdict after deliberating for about seven hours over two days. Privacy Policy |Terms of service |Subscription terms |Your ad choices |Cookie Settings |California Privacy Rights |About Us |Contact Newsday |Reprints & permissions |Advertise with Newsday |Help. 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. "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. Spota has been active in the fight against the distribution of child pornography over the Internet. Having served as the Suffolk County D.A. (718) 254-6323. Age: 79 August 10, 2021 / 7:09 PM / CBS New York CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota was sentenced Tuesday for a cover-up involving the county's. The legislation Senator Flanagan sponsors has passed the Senate in both of the past two years but has died in . Spota and McPartland were both convicted on all charges, John Marzulli, a spokesman for the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's Office, said. 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. 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. On Tuesday, after the verdict was read, Mr. Loeb, the man who was assaulted by the police chief, poked his head into the emptying courtroom. "Thomas Spota and Christopher McPartland are guilty of ruining the lives of so many other families. One of the detectives present for the interrogation had to jump in to stop Burke from beating on Loeb, who was shackled at the time. Already a lame duck for foregoing a re-election bid, Spota announced his retirement just days after he was charged amid growing pressure from politicians and the public. The verdict was a hard-fought victory for the federal prosecutors and the F.B.I., whose investigation faced setbacks for years. 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 . 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 judge told Spota to surrender to prison officials on Dec. 10 and also sentenced him to pay a $100,000 fine. His attorney, Larry Krantz, lobbied for leniency for a client he called "an honorable, decent, good man" who had "a brutal fall from grace.". A locked padlock 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 . 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. Mr. Spota said that if one police officer cooperated, Hell never work here again and I will see to it, according to Mr. Hickeys testimony. They also presented evidence that Spota, as part of his history of covering up for Burke, wrote a 2011 letter to County Executive-elect Steve Bellones transition team. "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. ", (The Associated Press contributed to this report), * Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts, Retaining wall collapses in the Bronx due to severe weather, Karl Lagerfeld legacy showcased in Met exhibit. The sentencing guidelines are the subject of an oral argument set for June 30, federal officials told Patch. No sales tax increase for clean water initiative: government must find another way, Holidays open the floodgates of family memories, March is an awareness month that hits home. 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. After the meeting, Chief Burke threatened that if the police detectives failed to stay in line, he would expose that Mr. Hickey was cheating on his wife, Mr. Hickey said. Their behavior was outrageous, and their sentences today prove as much. "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. Email: alek@riverheadlocal.com. The prosecution told jurors during the trial that Spota was the "CEO" of the conspiracy, while McPartland was the scheme's "chief operating officer" as they broke the law they were supposed to uphold. Both men had faced up to 20 years behind bars.

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