In a pre-sentencing letter, prosecutors said high-ranking officials from other county agencies helped Burke silence potential whistleblowers after he pummeled a heroin addict who had taken his gun belt, ammunition, a box of cigars and a bag containing sex toys and pornography. 2016 The Associated Press. He will be assisted in finding a job and housing. on Trial, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/14/nyregion/thomas-spota-corruption-trial.html. They said, 'If you guys don't toe the line and keep lying, we are going to 'Oliva' you," said Oliva. Former Suffolk County, New York, Police Chief James Burke was sentenced Wednesday to 46 months in federal prison after covering up the revenge beating of a man who stole a duffel bag. Compared with those in other departments, officers in the Suffolk agency are well paid, making $125,000 in base pay. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. . James Burke, Ex-Suffolk County Police Chief, Pleads Guilty, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/27/nyregion/james-burke-ex-suffolk-county-police-chief-guilty-plea.html, saying he posed a danger to the community, leaving his handgun with the woman, Newsday reported. The opioid was taped under a shelf inside the personal locker of Burke, who was sentenced in November to 46 months in the slammer for the beatdown of a prisoner and a cover-up of the assault. That is about $50,000 more than their counterparts in New York City, and it does not include overtime pay, which can be substantial, or the extra money officers receive for each year on the job. After the interrogation, Mr. Burke pressured the detectives who witnessed the assault to conceal it. They thought they were above the law, said Justina L. Geraci, an assistant United States attorney in the Eastern District of New York. Prosecutors called Burke's time as chief a "reign of terror.''. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Burke resigned from the force in October after a 31-year career. U.S. District Court Judge Leonard Wexler said Burke's crimes went beyond the beating and affected the entire 2,000-member police department. The case was notorious on Long Island. Spokespeoplefor Suffolk police and the county declined to comment, saying they could not discuss pending litigation. Bellone responded in a statement: I am not surprised to learn of these additional corrupt activities as this is why I fired Jim Burke and called on Tom Spota to resign for running a criminal enterprise. You told me my word was no good against that of a decorated police chief, said Loeb, who is serving a sentence for a parole violation. In the 2012 incident that led to his downfall, Burke was exacting revenge on a man who broke into his SUV that year. Paying more despite good credit? ", Burke will be able to leave the facility only through a sign-out procedure for "approved activities.". Loeb pleaded guilty to a weapons charge and was sentenced to three years in prison. To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com. 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. He realized what he did here, and he wants to own up to it, Mr. Conway said. Robert Trotta, a retired Suffolk County Police detective and now a local legislator, has proposed changes meant to professionalize the department and take out some of the politics. "My client is going to do his time like a man, and he's going to come out and be a productive member of society," Burke's attorney, John Meringolo, told reporters, including CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff. Burke, 52, who was Suffolks highest-ranking uniformed cop for four years until he resigned in late 2015, was segregated from other prisoners after the drug was discovered recently, sources told the paper. Prosecutors painted a miserable picture of a man who thought he had the power to beat up Loeb in front of at least three officers, then allegedly suggest that they give Loeb, a heroin addict, a so-called "hot shot," which is a deadly mix of heroin. He also forfeited the Jeep. A federal prosecutor involved in the case declined to comment Tuesday. In May 2013 the FBI and the US Attorney's Office opened an investigation into alleged actions by Burke when employed as Chief of the Suffolk County Police Department: the alleged assault of a suspect in police custody, a subsequent cover-up, and coercion of witnesses. Unnamed co-conspirators had warned some that if they admitted wrongdoing, their union would not pay their legal fees, prosecutors said. Copyright 2023 by The Associated Press. And we are here today because no one is above the law.. Loeb was charged with second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and other charges and pleaded not guilty during an arraignment in April 2019. But, Wexler said, "He also did bad if you were not on his side. Those efforts continued even after the F.B.I. A few months after the 2012 assault, the man caught with the duffel bag, Christopher Loeb, told investigators that Mr. Burke had beaten him, prompting a federal civil rights investigation. Officers subpoenaed by FBI agents investigating the 2012 beating were interrogated afterward about whether they had talked, prosecutors said. Some were warned that if they admitted wrongdoing, their union would not pay their legal fees. Mr. Burke not only survived that incident but also thrived. "James Burke, Ex-Suffolk County Police Chief, Pleads Guilty", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Burke_(police_officer)&oldid=1116850381, This page was last edited on 18 October 2022, at 17:26. Leto testified that the spying was under the guise of providing him security. The lawsuit filed by Christopher Loeb on Oct. 21 in the Eastern District of New York in Central Islipalso claims Suffolk officers encouraged, directed and/or permitted a police dog named Brick to attack him, resulting in serious injury. The coconspirators were not identified in the letter, but prosecutors said their investigation is ongoing. He was brought to a precinct house and shackled to the floor. In 2018, Suffolk County agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle a federal lawsuit brought by Loeb after the assault by Burke and other officers. The governments key cooperating witness is James Hickey, a former top police official in Suffolk County. He will then have three years post-supervised release and pay a $250,000 fine. When Mr. Burke entered the interrogation room, Mr. Loeb was handcuffed and chained to an eyebolt fastened to the floor, according to prosecutors. Thats something out of the K.G.B., a prosecutor said at Mr. Burkes bail hearing in 2015. ABC7 New York 24/7 Eyewitness News Stream. November 3, 2016 / 6:33 PM I have been fighting this corruption in Suffolk County long before Spota was prosecuted and the media began reporting on it. SCPD members who witnessed the assault came under direct and extreme pressure from the defendants and others to conceal it, prosecutors said. A commanding officer was assigned to warn witnesses that they could face retribution if they cooperated. A Suffolk County police scandal involving a beating and coverup now spills into the local prosecutor's office. Mr. Hickey had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice, and Mr. Krantz said that he was testifying only to spare himself a harsh prison sentence. The incident began in Ridge, Suffolk prosecutors said in 2019, after Loeb nearly ran over a woman walking her dog while driving in a Jeep Grand Cherokee. When the police later arrested a heroin user with the bag, Mr. Burke walked into the station house to confront the man, who was handcuffed to the floor of an interrogation room. Mr. Spota and Mr. McPartland have pleaded not guilty to four criminal counts, including witness tampering and obstruction of justice. It's basically going to show how close Tom Spota and McPartland were to Jimmy Burke, said Oliva. The assault prompted a federal criminal investigation that lasted more than four years and eventually led to the resignation not only of the police chief but also of the longtime Suffolk County district attorney, Thomas J. Spota, who was accused of trying to cover it up. Burke pleaded guilty in February 2016 to obstruction of justice and violating the civil rights of prisoner Christopher Loeb, a self-admitted heroin addict who had broken into his department-issued SUV in December 2012. He said that one of those assignments was keeping tabs on newly elected Steve Bellone. The bag belonged to James Burke, the police chief in Suffolk County, and was stolen from his parked car in December 2012. ", 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. "In terms of obstructing justice, it is hard to imagine a more serious example of this conduct than the highest-ranking uniform member of the police department assaulting a suspect and then orchestrating a coverup of his actions for three years during which he suborned perjury and prevented witnesses from telling the truth,'' U.S. Attorney Ronald Capers said in the letter. Prosecutors called Burkes time as chief a reign of terror.. Hes very remorseful.. This story has been shared 234,419 times. The once popular and swaggering chief of the Suffolk County Police Department, James Burke, was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison on Wednesday for a series of misdeeds that. The police unions on Long Island are so wealthy they have formed a super PAC to flood local elections with campaign donations. It started with a duffel bag containing sex toys, cigars and a pornographic film. He was promoted to sergeant in 1991, when he was 26, and reportedly had Spota's ear. Detectives and sergeants have been known to earn more than $200,000 a year. 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With time served, he'll spend 35 months behind bars. and the U.S. attorneys office opened an investigation of the assault in May 2013, according to a statement released by prosecutors announcing Mr. Burkes indictment in December. The federal inquiry has since expanded beyond Mr. Burke to look into a broader pattern of possible corruption in both the police department and the office of the Suffolk County district attorney, Thomas J. Spota. Credit: Barry Sloan. Two years. The case is a rare instance in which a district attorney is the one on trial. Outside the courthouse, Robert Trotta, a legislator and former police detective, said he was happy with the sentence. I think we still have a long way to go," said Trotta, who spoke at the sentencing. For a few minutes, prosecutors said, Mr. Burke assaulted the suspect, screaming and threatening to kill him until a detective in the room finally said, Boss, thats enough.. As your Sheriff, I have made it my priority to protect public safety, speak up and against the grain to do what I know . Former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke apologized to his victim, the judge, his family and residents of his Long Island community before being sentenced to 46 months Wednesday by. His full sentences was scheduled to be completed in April 2019. That accusation is a baseless and damnable lie, Mr. Spotas lawyer, Alan M. Vinegrad, said in his opening statement. There were some bombshells dropped Thursday in the obstruction of justice trial of former Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota and his top aide Christopher McPartland, including an allegation that former chief James Burke ordered officers to spy on Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. Witnesses said the chief "went out of control'' after the handcuffed suspect called him a "pervert'' during an interrogation -- punching, screaming, cursing and threatening to kill him with a heroin overdose. November 2, 2016 / 5:48 PM Questions of Burkes fitness to lead surfaced as far back as 1995, when he twice was found to have failed to safeguard his weapon. "He's been through a lot in Suffolk County.". The FBI in Pennsylvania is investigating the source of the oxycodone, sources said. During the same meeting, Mr. Spota, Mr. McPartland and Mr. Burke discussed who was a rat and directed a police officer to remind other officers what happened to people who go against the administration.. He had subordinates conduct surveillance on his girlfriends, prosecutors said. Leto told jurors that Burke had a number of "unorthodox assignments" for him and other officers in the criminal intelligence unit, including tailing the stepson of Burke's girlfriend to see if he broke any laws. Their relationship began four decades ago in an unusual way: As a teenager, Mr. Burke testified as a witness in a homicide trial in which Mr. Spota was the prosecutor. By: News 12 Staff / A former high-ranking member of the Suffolk Police Department testifying in the trial of former Suffolk District Attorney Tom Spota and his chief investigator said Wednesday he was demoted by James Burke when Burke became police chief. By the end of 2013, the investigation had stalled and no criminal charges had been filed because Mr. Spota, Mr. McPartland and others had pressured witnesses to lie under oath and to withhold information from investigators, prosecutors said. Two Suffolk County criminal intelligence officers involved in the 2012 arrest of a Smithtown man convicted of taking a duffel bag out of former police chief James Burke's department-issued vehicle . He was released about 6 months early for good behavior, according to the New York Post. "I feel Mr. Burke acted as a dictator,'' the judge said as the former chief sat stoically with his hands folded in front of his chin. He has sued Burke and the Police Department. CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) --A former Long Islandpolice chief charged withbeating a handcuffed manfor stealing embarrassing items from his department vehicle and then covering it up was sentenced to 46 months in prison Wednesday. U.S. District Court Judge Leonard Wexler said Burke's crimes went beyond the beating and affected the entire 2,000-member police department. All Rights Reserved. Burke, 56, who pleaded guilty to civil rights and conspiracy charges, was sentenced to 46 months in prison in 2016. Larry H. Krantz, Mr. McPartlands lawyer, on Thursday called Mr. Hickey a delusional and paranoid alcoholic whose memories could not be trusted, saying he would show Mr. Hickeys hospital records during trial. One officer told a federal agent that if that were true, "I'm a dead man," the letter said. Then-Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke speaks with Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone after a news conference in Hauppauge on March 19, 2014. Credit: Ed Betz By Tania Lopez tania.lopez . One officer told a federal agent that if that were true, "I'm a dead man,'' the letter said. Feb. 26, 2016. Wexler noted more than 80 people wrote letters seeking leniency, calling Burke a good man who helped many people in a 31-year career. From breaking news to special features and documentaries, the NewsdayTV team is covering the issues that matter to you. In 2013, he had a contractor illegally put a GPS device on a high-ranking civilian police official he disliked, hoping to gather information that he could use for blackmail, according to the pre-sentencing letter. There is no requirement for his cooperation in other cases or to testify against anyone else. Loeb said at the time he required the walker due to dog bites sustained during his arrest. Burke pleaded not guilty in December after being accused of beating a man who broke into his police cruiser in 2012 and then trying to hide the alleged assault. During the corruption trial, which is expected to last four weeks, several current and former Suffolk County police officers will appear as witnesses. Central Islip federal Judge Leonard Wexler trashed Burke as a dictator during sentencing, when the ex-lawman apologized to Loeb. Burke also has been tied to the unsolved Gilgo Beach murders on Long Island by a lawyer to one of the victims and a prostitute who claimed the former chief took part in sex parties.. she said. We've received your submission. My client denies all allegations. FBI agents arrest the former Suffolk County Chief of Police James Burkeoutside his Smithtown home on Dec. 9, 2015. Loeb later pleaded guilty to a weapons charge and was sentenced to three years in prison; he was released last summer. Capers was seated at the prosecution table during the sentencing but did not immediately comment afterward. I feel Mr. Burke acted as a dictator, the judge said as the former chief sat stoically with his hands folded in front of his chin. Mr. Burkes lawyer said at the time that the surveillance was part of a legitimate investigation into whether the officer had been filing false time sheets. Chief of the Suffolk County Police Department James Burke addresses Suffolk County legislators in Hauppauge on Feb. 2, 2012. Credit: Ed Betz November 18, 2015 Didn't find what you. At least 11 current or former police officers and detectives who had previously remained silent about the beating testified before the grand jury that indicted Burke. Former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke apologized to his victim, the judge, his family and his Long Island community before being sentenced to 46 months Wednesday. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Internal Affairs reports also found Burke had engaged in sexual acts in police vehicles and had a sexual relationship with "a convicted felon, known to be actively engaged in criminal conduct including the possession and sale of illegal drugs, prostitution and larceny.". Loeb drove across lawns to evade police, and motorists told police that he drove atmore than 100 mphon Patchogue-Mount Sinai Road, sometimes on the wrong side of the road, until he stopped at a gas station in Islandia and ran into the woods. The Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD) is a local civilian agency established in 1960, and covers 5 out of the 10 towns in the county, them being: . Topics you care about, straight to your inbox. Burke became chief of the Suffolk County Police Department in 2012 after having served for nearly a decade as the chief investigator for Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota. NEW YORK, NY - Former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke who was sentenced for assaulting a man and trying to cover it up was released from the federal prison in Pennsylvania earlier this week, according multiple reports. One officer told a federal agent he was a dead man, if that were true, the letter said. Prosecutors called Burke's time as chief a "reign of terror.". But they were wrong. RIVERHEAD, Long Island (WABC) -- The former chief of the Suffolk County Police Department pleaded guilty to charges of deprivation of civil rights and obstruction of justice Friday morning. Stacey Sager reports on the sentencing from Central Islip. Former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke apologized to his victim, the judge, his family and residents of his Long Island community before being sentenced to 46 months Wednesday by a federal judge. He was released last summer.
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