Suffolk District Attorney Timothy Sini reflected on his predecessor's conviction Tuesday in a statement in which he said the agency he leads needs "to remain focused on continuing our progress and ensuring that the days of the past never happen again. Official websites use .gov "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. "It has been a difficult five years and I have lost a lot," the ex-prosecutor said in part. He'd been convicted of trying to cover up an assault by former police chief James Burke, Spota's top. All Rights Reserved. The defense said prosecutors were relying on Mr. Hickeys recollection of conversations that happened years ago, with no concrete evidence to corroborate his memory. 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 Eyewitness News has learned it appears Spota and McPartland will appeal their sentences. Ex-Suffolk County DA Thomas Spota guilty of obstructing federal probe A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. The thief took a duffel bag from the car that contained sex toys, a pornographic DVD and Viagra. Copyright 2023 WABC-TV. Appeals court: Ex-DA can't be sued over charges that were thrown out In contrast, the U.S. attorneys office had sought 8-year sentences for both defendants. He finished his prison sentence in April. McPartland was also part of the pressure campaign to get cops to cover for the chief. He won election after election for 15 years with bipartisan support. 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. Film Extras: Interview with Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas J 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. 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. Burke pleaded guilty to civil rights violations and conspiracy to obstruct justice in February of 2016 and was sentenced to 46 months in prison. Both men denied the charges, multiple reports said. 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. He repeatedly promoted Mr. Burke in the Police Department, consolidating their power. 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. Thomas J. Spota, the Suffolk County district attorney, and his top anti-corruption prosecutor were charged on . Both men had faced up to 20 years behind bars. Is the Riverhead IDA serving the publics interest? Former Long Island Prosecutors Sentenced in Plot to Protect Police Then in 2001, Mr. Spota, who switched parties from Republican to Democratic, was elected district attorney. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. "We are paying for that corruption today. (718) 254-6323. Despite that,. 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, Acting U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis said. Mr. Spota, a lawyer for the police union at the time, defended Mr. Burke and negotiated a plea deal that saved his career. /. [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]. Krantz had argued that McPartland already had lost his reputation, life savings and like Spota his law license. Mr. Leto told jurors that he feared if he were truthful, the police chief would falsely accuse his sons of a crime or plant drugs on them. [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. Man jailed on bogus murder rap to sue disgraced Long Island DA 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. Ex-prosecutor sentenced to 5 years in suspect abuse scandal Mr. Burke later became a police officer. 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. Apr 26, 2018 at 8:20 pm. Is Convicted on Long Island. Azrack explained Tuesday that she was intentionally punishing the defendants with more prison time than Burke received. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit last month denied the defendants requests to remain free on bail while they appeal their convictions. The survival of local journalism depends on your support. To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com. Northport, New York, John Marzulli But a few months later, in early 2013, Mr. Loebs lawyer publicly accused the police of assault, triggering a civil rights investigation. McPartland also addressed Azrack on Tuesday before hearing his sentence. Chief Assistant US Attorney Nicole Boeckmann had argued for prison for Spota, saying he had failed to take responsibility for his actions to this day. The jury deliberated for nearly a full day before returning the guilty verdict. Uli Seit for The New. Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas J. Spota and Christopher McPartland, the former Chief of Investigations and Chief of the Government Corruption Bureau of the Suffolk County District Attorneys Office (SCDAO), were each sentenced today by United States District Judge Joan M. Azrack, to five years in prison. There were sex toys and porn in the pouch, and Loeb taunted the chief while being grilled over the robbery, calling him a pervert.. 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. He and Mr. Spota each face up to 20 years in prison. 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. Mr. McPartland and Mr. Burke used to greet one another on the phone with a vulgar imprecation. I met with them before the indictments. 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 . Age: 55 This story has been shared 121,843 times. 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. 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. He was convicted of obstruction, witness tampering, and conspiracy charges in December 2019 [17] and disbarred in June 2020. 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. He also said Spota recently was given an "uncertain" medical prognosis but didn't provide further details. Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas J. Spota and Government 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. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. He told jurors Spota grilled him on who he suspected had "flipped," or started cooperating with federal officials. 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. The man in custody, Christopher Loeb, was a heroin user with a long criminal record. Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota and a former top aide, Christopher McPartland, surrendered at separate federal prisons Friday, prison officials told Newsday. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. She found that sentencing enhancements should apply because Spota and McPartland abused their positions of public trust, substantially interfered with the administration of justice, held leadership roles and committed crimes extensive in scope and planning. A year later prosecutors from U.S. Attorneys Long Island criminal division reopened the investigation. Spota hugged his wife and his weeping daughter before leaving the courtroom in silence. 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. Loeb's three-year prison sentence was vacated after Burke pleaded guilty. 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.
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