This story has been shared 121,843 times. Prosecutors produced calendar entries and call records that they said showed Mr. Hickey was telling the truth. Previously, he served as news editor of Stony Brooks student newspaper, The Statesman, and was a member of the campuss chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. 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. That decision would cost Mr. Spota his career and turn him into a convicted criminal. 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." I hope not to die in prison alone. 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. This culture of corruption has had a real and profound impact. Spota told a judge at his sentencing in August that, I hope not to die in prison alone.. The governments case is being handled by the Offices Long Island Criminal Division. 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. Spota and McPartlands trial became the first time that some of those involved in Loebs assault spoke about it publicly, with two of the three detectives who took part in the beating with Burke testifying about the police brutality and how the pressure to keep quiet later changed their lives and careers. 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. The open homicide investigation is still underway. Chief investigative reporter Jonathan Dienst on crime, corruption and terrorism. 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. Prosecutors want a federal judge to deny bail for ex-Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota and his former aide while . 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. 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 . The former chief pleaded guilty to reduced charges in February 2016. Christopher McPartland, right, leaving his trial last month in Central Islip, N.Y. ", In 2016, Bellone publicly called on Spota to step down with claims that Spota was "operating a criminal enterprise that must be stopped.". Approximately one year later, prosecutors from U.S. Attorneys Long Island Criminal Division reopened the investigation. ", 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.". Mount Sinai, New York, CHRISTOPHER McPARTLAND 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. 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.". McPartland, 55, will begin his sentence Nov. 10. In the 1990s, an internal investigation found that he had violated several police protocols, including having sex in his patrol car while in uniform with a prostitute who used crack cocaine. Their behavior was outrageous, and their sentences today prove as much. 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. 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. 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'. "Ive also left them with a shattered legacy and the stain of being a convicted felon," the former district attorney said. Thomas Spota allegedly conspired with Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke and a top deputy in the DA's office to pressure witnesses to not cooperate with an FBI investigation into the 2012. 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. 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. Chief Burke thought nobody would believe his word over the police chiefs, according to witness testimony. The legislation Senator Flanagan sponsors has passed the Senate in both of the past two years but has died in . [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 judge also sentenced the former DAs top aide and ex-chief of his anti-corruption unit, Christopher McPartland, to five years in prison for the cover-up, as well. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Spotas conduct, like Mr. McPartlands, was not a momentary moral lapse. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. 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. Bellone, the Suffolk County Executive, said outside the federal courthouse Tuesday he knew he had inherited a government in crisis when he began serving in his role a decade ago. "Somebodys talking. 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. The unfortunate truth is that we will be paying for it for years to come. for over a decade, Spota had successfully helped Burke avoid legal trouble regularly during their decades-long friendship. [14] In October 2017, Spota and an aide were indicted on charges of obstructing the investigation of James Burke for police brutality. You rely on us to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Earlier today in federal court in Brooklyn, former New York City correction officer Katrina Patterson was sentenced by United States District Judge Carol B. Amon to a year and a As alleged, the defendant violated his duty as a correction officer and accepted tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to smuggle contraband into the Metropolitan Detention Center, stated United Mackey has been found guilty by a jury of his peers of attempting to deprive individuals from exercising their sacred right to vote for the candidate of their choice in Eastern District of New York The judge told Spota to surrender to prison officials on Dec. 10 and also sentenced him to pay a $100,000 fine. A year later prosecutors from U.S. Attorneys Long Island criminal division reopened the investigation. 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. "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," she said. The assault of the burglary suspect happened about a year into Mr. Burkes tenure as police chief. 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. This culture of corruption has had a real and profound impact. 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. The federal judge said prosecutors have enormous power over life, liberty and reputation, but the defendants substantially abused that power by helping to cover up Loeb's assault, forcing detectives to lie to a grand jury and prosecutors and thwarting a grand jury investigation. ", 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. Krantz had argued that McPartland already had lost his reputation, life savings and like Spota his law license. Spota and McPartland were both convicted on all charges, John Marzulli, a spokesman for the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's Office, said. McPartland, who also is serving a five-year sentence, is incarcerated at Beaumont Federal Correctional Complex in Texas, according to the newspaper. Support RiverheadLOCAL today. [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]. "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.". Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota and a former top aide, Christopher McPartland, surrendered at separate federal prisons Friday, prison officials told Newsday. "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. A federal jury on Tuesday convicted former Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota and one of his ex-chief aides, Christopher McPartland, of felony charges related to the attempted cover-up of a. 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."
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