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. Senator Flanagan And District Attorney Spota Join Families To Call For 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 That decision would cost Mr. Spota his career and turn him into a convicted criminal. 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. Leto retired in 2015, later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice and now is awaiting sentencing. Burke pleaded guilty in 2016 to the beating and cover-up, serving most of a 46-month prison sentence before his release to a halfway house. Rather, he engaged in a years-long cover-up.. I met with them after the indictments and before it was announced publicly what the results of the indictment were. Suffolk Prosecutor Charged With Obstructing Police Assault Ultimately, the 12 jurors chose to believe Mr. Hickey. 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. 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. Spota hugged his wife and his weeping daughter before leaving the courtroom in silence. 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. Victims' Families Demand Stiffer Sentences For Hit-And-Run Killers In But the investigation escalated again in 2015 with more subpoenas. The thief took a duffel bag from the car that contained sex toys, a pornographic DVD and Viagra. The essential facts of this crime are so outrageous, Azrack said. 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. (718) 254-6323. Police officers who received subpoenas from the FBI were interrogated afterward by Burke's allies about whether they had talked, prosecutors said. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. 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. Copyright 2023 WABC-TV. Mr. Burke, 55, had already pleaded guilty in 2016 to the assault and the subsequent cover-up, a year after resigning from the force. He had been watching the trial from the overflow room. 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. "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. [1] This story was reported by Nicole Fuller, Bridget Murphy and Michael O'Keeffe. 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,. 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 . 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. He was convicted along with Christopher McPartland, 53, who paradoxically had been Suffolk Countys top anticorruption prosecutor. Spota. McPartland also addressed Azrack on Tuesday before hearing his sentence. 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. McPartland also asked the judge to consider how a severe punishment would impact his family and the suffering he said they already have endured. He completed his prison sentence this year but refused to testify at trial against his old colleagues. Their behavior was outrageous, and their sentences today prove as much. Former Det. 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'. 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. 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. Thomas Spota - Wikipedia 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. "It has been a difficult five years and I have lost a lot," the ex-prosecutor said in part. 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. 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. To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com. 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. "For well over a decade, I've personally endured horrendous crimes committed by and under this man," Loeb said referring to Spota. McPartland was also part of the pressure campaign to get cops to cover for the chief. During a meeting that year, Mr. McPartland speculated about who the rat was. 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. Azrack explained Tuesday that she was intentionally punishing the defendants with more prison time than Burke received. In contrast, the U.S. attorneys office had sought 8-year sentences for both defendants. ", In 2016, Bellone publicly called on Spota to step down with claims that Spota was "operating a criminal enterprise that must be stopped. Acting Eastern District U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis said in a statement after Tuesday's sentencing hearing that justice had been served after "reprehensible violations of the public trust" by the defendants. "[12] The cover-up of Chief Burkes assault, witnesses at trial said, was part of a broader pattern. 271 Cadman Plaza East Chief Burke thought nobody would believe his word over the police chiefs, according to witness testimony. In a rage, Chief Burke kicked and punched him. Spota and McPartland tried to cover for Suffolk Police Chief James Burke after the top cop attacked a cuffed prisoner. 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. 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. He won election after election for 15 years with bipartisan support. 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. Bad Cop, Worse Cop: James Burke and the Overwhelming Stench of Thomas Spota, the former Suffolk County. "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. [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. "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. Mr. Spota viewed Mr. Burke almost as a son, standing with him whenever he was touched by scandal. Later that morning, a man was arrested with the stolen goods. He was hospitalized in a stress-induced delirium, and was screaming, biting and spitting, according to medical records shown at trial. Scandal Began With Sex Toys. The trouble started one morning in December 2012, when Chief Burke discovered somebody had broken into his police car. They were accompanied by other members of the Hispanic community. "Nobody should have this much power and be above the law.". The judge told Spota to surrender to prison officials on Dec. 10 and also sentenced him to pay a $100,000 fine. ", Bellone said Suffolk District Attorney Tim Sini has "restored integrity to the office. Spota was convicted in December 2019 on federal charges of conspiracy . That year in Nassau County, Democrats also were victorious in many positions. Despite that,. 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. (Provided) A 46 . 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.. 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 pair face up to 20 years in prison but will likely receive lower sentences due to federal guidelines, according to Newsday. Powerful Former LI Prosecutor Guilty of Police Beating Cover-Up The jurors reached the guilty verdict after deliberating for about seven hours over two days. To maintain the lie, Mr. Spota and Mr. McPartland relied heavily on Mr. Hickey, the police commander who supervised those three detectives. I met with the daughter. 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.". 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. Mr. Spota set out to protect and defend Chief Burke, as he had before over a 40-year friendship, prosecutors said. "My family will forever be marked by my disgrace.". 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. 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. 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 . The thief took a duffel bag from the car that contained sex toys, a pornographic DVD and Viagra. ALSO READ | Earth warming likely to pass limit set by international leaders. He entered private law practice in Suffolk, representing clients including the Suffolk Detectives Association and other law enforcement unions.[7]. 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. Four days after his release from the hospital in October 2015, he received a grand jury subpoena, he said. The legislation Senator Flanagan sponsors has passed the Senate in both of the past two years but has died in .
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