Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole Boeckmann, Lara Treinis Gatz, Justina L. Geraci and Michael R. Maffei are in charge of the prosecution. The sentences stem from the defendants December 17, 2019 convictions, following a six-week federal jury trial, on all four counts of the Indictment; specifically, of 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 (SCPD) Chief of Department James Burkes deprivation of a prisoners civil rights. . Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Jacqueline Maguire, acting assistant director-in-charge for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced the sentences. Shawn Lawrence (l.) plans to sue disgraced ex-Suffolk County DA Thomas Spota, who is awaiting trial in federal court. The verdict was a hard-fought victory for the federal prosecutors and the F.B.I., whose investigation faced setbacks for years. 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. The sentencing guidelines are the subject of an oral argument set for June 30, federal officials told Patch. [5], Spota was born in 1941 and grew up in New Hyde Park, New York, on Long Island. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Boeckmann said in court Tuesday that Spota still hadn't apologized for actions that had "an absolute chilling effect" on the county's criminal justice system and implored the judge to impose prison time. Retired Det. Proving obstruction of justice required the government to present evidence that the defendants acted with a corrupt purpose, a high legal bar. 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. Mr. Spota viewed Mr. Burke almost as a son, standing with him whenever he was touched by scandal. 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 the irresponsibility to comply with a federal civil rights investigation. The star prosecution witness said during the trial that he began drinking while under extreme pressure to keep his intelligence unit detectives quiet about the Loeb beating. 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. Senator John Flanagan (2 nd Senate District) and Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota joined the families of four men and women killed by hit-and-run drivers to renew the call to increase the maximum punishment for those convicted of that crime from 7 to 15 years imprisonment. Prosecutors said the two of them, along with other officials, were able to punish people who challenged their authority. 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. Expand. In 2001, Spota won his first election as district attorney with the backing of police unions while campaigning on an anti-corruption platform. 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There is absolutely no place for this type of behavior within our criminal justice system. Prosecutors produced calendar entries and call records that they said showed Mr. Hickey was telling the truth. Spotas conduct, like Mr. McPartlands, was not a momentary moral lapse. Fax Line: 718-254-7508. Spota: Yes, I met with them. Chief investigative reporter Jonathan Dienst on crime, corruption and terrorism. They golfed together and drank together. 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 completed his prison sentence this year but refused to testify at trial against his old colleagues. They have three grown children. 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 . Mr. Burke, 55, had already pleaded guilty in 2016 to the assault and the subsequent cover-up, a year after resigning from the force. 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. Uli Seit for The New York Times. Word of a reopened probe panicked Spota, according to Hickeys testimony. Spota has been active in the fight against the distribution of child pornography over the Internet. 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." Lock 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. They're guilty," Loeb wrote on Facebook in 2019. The jury determined Spota conspired with Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke and former anti-corruption bureau chief Christopher McPartland to pressure witnesses to not cooperate with an FBI investigation into the 2012 assault. McPartland also addressed Azrack on Tuesday before hearing his sentence. 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 . Burke was eventually found guilty in the incident andsentenced to 46 months in prison. Spota and. He had been watching the trial from the overflow room. The defense teams for Spota and McPartland had lobbied extensively for sentences of home confinement and community service for their clients. "For well over a decade, I've personally endured horrendous crimes committed by and under this man," Loeb said referring to Spota. 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In December 2012, then-Chief of the SCPD, James Burke the highest-ranking uniformed police official in Suffolk County physically and verbally assaulted a shackled prisoner, Christopher Loeb, who was under arrest and being held in an interrogation room at the 4th Precinct in Hauppauge, New York. The verdict came after the jury sat for five weeks listening to evidence, including reports of secret meetings between Spota and McPartland, cell phone tower data, and phone records; Burke previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced, News 12 said. To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com. Burke also enlisted the help of Spota and McPartland, "to ensure that the witnesses kept quiet. 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. The trouble started one morning in December 2012, when Chief Burke discovered somebody had broken into his police car. Spota and McPartland both resigned from the District Attorneys Office in light of the charges against them and have since been disbarred. 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. Spota and McPartland were both convicted on all charges, John Marzulli, a spokesman for the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's Office, said. "I hope not to die in prison alone," the 79-year-old Spota told U.S. District Judge Joan Azrack before hearing his penalty, calling his conviction "the lowest point" in his life and saying he feared and expected it would be his legacy. United States Attorneys Office 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 criminal charges hastened Spota's exit from office after 16 years as the top prosecutor in Suffolk County. Spota was convicted in December 2019 on federal charges of conspiracy . Bellone said his actions were inspired by reports of political corruption in the district attorney's office. 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. A lock ( This story has been shared 377,217 times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/17/nyregion/tom-spota-trial-verdict.html. In 2003, Spota indicted twelve Suffolk residents who used KaZaA, a file-sharing program to spread child pornography. Without recordings of conversations, the trial hinged largely on the testimony of one witness: James Hickey, a former police commander who worked in Mr. Spotas inner circle. Only then, and with today's sentences, the earned trust and confidence of the citizens of Suffolk County can be justly restored, stated FBI Acting Assistant Director-in-Charge Maguire. 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 are set for sentencing. McPartland was also sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday. 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. But a few months later, in early 2013, Mr. Loebs lawyer publicly accused the police of assault, triggering a civil rights investigation. Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota and a former top aide, Christopher McPartland, surrendered at separate federal prisons Friday, prison officials told Newsday. "Ive also left them with a shattered legacy and the stain of being a convicted felon," the former district attorney said. Spota hugged his wife and his weeping daughter before leaving the courtroom in silence. I hope not to die in prison alone. Prosecutors had argued the men deserved 8 years behind bars for doing "the exact opposite" of their jobs in the face of a scandal that eventually engulfed the county's law enforcement power structure. 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. 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. Mr. CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. He was one of the most powerful men on Long Island, serving as the top prosecutor in a suburban county with 1.5 million people. Spota was also ordered to pay a $100,000 fine. 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. To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com. 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. ", 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. Loeb, the abused prisoner, also spoke in court Tuesday, telling the judge that Spota "should spend the rest of his life behind bars." Some were warned that if they admitted wrongdoing, their union would not pay their legal fees, prosecutors said. He told jurors Spota grilled him on who he suspected had "flipped," or started cooperating with federal officials. As soon as Mr. Burke became police chief in early 2012, he demoted Mr. Cuff by four ranks and assigned him to guard a warehouse. 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. Burke had flown off the handle in 2012 while interrogating suspect Christopher Loeb who had stolen a bag from the chiefs SUV. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/ad2/Handdowns/2020/Decisions/D62922.pdf, "Suffolk County DA Thomas Spota resigning Friday after allegedly covering up police chief beating", "Spota, under indictment, finishes DA career under cloud of cover-up charges", "A scandal sent a Long Island police chief to prison. Mr. McPartland and Mr. Burke used to greet one another on the phone with a vulgar imprecation. A locked padlock Loeb spoke to the judge before Spota and McPartland were sentenced. 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. Loeb's three-year prison sentence was vacated after Burke pleaded guilty. 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. Then in 2001, Mr. Spota, who switched parties from Republican to Democratic, was elected district attorney. Having served as the Suffolk County D.A. 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. 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. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS I met with the daughter. The testimony exposed an alarming culture of corruption and retribution in a county with about 2,500 police officers, one of the largest police departments in the United States. (Provided) A 46 . 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. 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. The convictions of Mr. Spota and Mr. McPartland make it clear that the days of Long Islands good old boy networks combining politics, power and policing to benefit a select few, at the expense of the taxpaying public, are dead and gone, said Richard Donoghue, the United States attorney in the Eastern District of New York. Mr. Spotas lawyer, Alan Vinegrad, declined to comment on the verdict. The judge said in a ruling last week that the imprisonment range both defendants were facing under federal guidelines was between 57 and 71 months in prison. 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. Thomas Spota was the prosecutor. Spota. Lawyers for Spoto and McPartland, 55, had argued home confinement was a more appropriate sentence. But the prosecution painted Spota as someone who compromised his ethics to protect his loyal protg after a nearly four-decade relationship that started when Burke, at 14, was the star witness for Spota in 1979 as he prosecuted another teenagers suffocation murder. Chief Burke thought nobody would believe his word over the police chiefs, according to witness testimony. "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. Mr. McPartlands lawyer, Larry H. Krantz, said, There are many more legal steps in the case, and we will continue to fight for this.. 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. Hickey linked Spota and McPartland directly to the conspiracy with testimony that included his recalling of a June 2015 meeting in Spotas office that happened after federal officials relaunched a probe into Loebs beating after their initial investigation fell flat in 2013. "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. When Mr. Cuffs son was caught with a gun, the district attorneys office threatened to upgrade the charges from a misdemeanor to a felony. Their behavior was outrageous, and their sentences today prove as much. "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 remains of at least ten persons have been found on South Shore beaches, and are believed to be related. "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. [13], In May 2013 the FBI and the US Attorney's Office opened an investigation into alleged actions by James Burke, Chief of the Suffolk County Police Department: the alleged assault of a suspect in police custody, a subsequent cover-up, and coercion of witnesses. We are a small family-owned operation. Loeb was paid $1.5 million after he filed a federal lawsuit against Suffolk County, a report by 1010wins said. Northport, New York, John Marzulli 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. "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. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Thomas J. Spota, the former district attorney in Suffolk County, N.Y., was found guilty on Tuesday of four counts, including obstruction of justice and witness tampering. Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas J. Spota and Government Corruption Bureau Chief Christopher McPartland Each Sentenced to Five Years in Prison Tuesday, August 10, 2021 For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York The Defendants Were Convicted of Obstructing a Federal Civil Rights Investigation As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. ", Bellone said Suffolk District Attorney Tim Sini has "restored integrity to the office. [14] In October 2017, Spota and an aide were indicted on charges of obstructing the investigation of James Burke for police brutality. It was testimony from James Hickey, a retired Suffolk police lieutenant, that formed the heart of the governments case. "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. 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. A federal appeals court found Wednesday that nurses who abruptly resigned from a Smithtown facility in 2006 over working conditions, then faced child-endangerment charges that were thrown out,. But the investigation escalated again in 2015 with more subpoenas. The chief barged into the police interrogation room where the man, handcuffed to the floor, called him a pervert. 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. He was convicted of obstruction, witness tampering, and conspiracy charges in December 2019 [17] and disbarred in June 2020. They ruined lives and destroyed careers. Age: 55 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. In addition to pressuring people not to cooperate, they asked witnesses to provide investigators with false information and withhold relevant information from investigators, federal prosecutors 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. The resulting scandal eventually engulfed the countys law enforcement power structure.
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