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. Mr. Spota said that if one police officer cooperated, Hell never work here again and I will see to it, according to Mr. Hickeys testimony. The judge told Spota to surrender to prison officials on Dec. 10 and also sentenced him to pay a $100,000 fine. The legislation Senator Flanagan sponsors has passed the Senate in both of the past two years but has died in . Boeckmann, the prosecutor, said outside the courthouse that the long-term damage Spota and McPartland inflicted on the criminal justice system couldn't be overstated. Lock Film Extras: Interview with Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas J 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. McPartland was also sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday. The sentences stem from the defendants December 17, 2019 convictions following a six-week federal jury trial; they were convicted on all four counts of the indictment including 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 Chief of Department James Burkes "deprivation of a prisoners civil rights," the U.S. Attorney of the Eastern District of New York said in a release. Ex-Suffolk County DA, Aide Denied Bail Pending Appeal: Feds Ex-prosecutor sentenced to 5 years in suspect abuse scandal Spota, who spent 15 years at the top of Suffolk's law and order structure before his 2017 federal indictment, said in the Central Islip courtroom that his conviction marked "the lowest point" in his life one he fears will become his legacy. Alek Lewis is a lifelong Riverhead resident and a 2021 graduate of Stony Brook Universitys School of Communication and Journalism. The defense said prosecutors were relying on Mr. Hickeys recollection of conversations that happened years ago, with no concrete evidence to corroborate his memory. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. 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. The chief barged into the police interrogation room where the man, handcuffed to the floor, called him a pervert. A year later prosecutors from U.S. Attorneys Long Island criminal division reopened the investigation. Burke pleaded guilty to civil rights violations and conspiracy to obstruct justice in February of 2016 and was sentenced to 46 months in prison. But the investigation escalated again in 2015 with more subpoenas. Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota was sentenced to 5 years behind bars. McPartland was also part of the pressure campaign to get cops to cover for the chief. He said he feared he or his family would be falsely accused of a crime if he testified honestly about Loebs beating. Main Office McPartland, who also is serving a five-year sentence, is incarcerated at Beaumont Federal Correctional Complex in Texas, according to the newspaper. Spota has been active in the fight against the distribution of child pornography over the Internet. 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. He told jurors Spota grilled him on who he suspected had "flipped," or started cooperating with federal officials. Mr. Burkes relationship with Mr. Spota began in 1979, when Mr. Spota was a young prosecutor trying a murder case, and Mr. Burke, then a teenager, was his star witness. 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. (718) 254-6323. THOMAS J. SPOTA 271 Cadman Plaza East U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York, The Defendants Were Convicted of Obstructing a Federal Civil Rights Investigation, Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas J. Spota and Government Corruption Bureau Chief Christopher McPartland Each Sentenced to Five Years in Prison, Former New York City Correction Officer Sentenced to Prison for Accepting Bribes in Exchange for Smuggling Contraband into Rikers Island, Brooklyn Federal Correctional Officer Charged with Bribery, Social Media Influencer Douglass Mackey Convicted of Election Interference in 2016 Presidential Race. Former Suffolk DA James Spota Sentenced To 5 Years In James - CBS News Anyone can read what you share. Spota and McPartland were both convicted on all charges, John Marzulli, a spokesman for the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's Office, said. Mr. Loeb was held on $500,000 bail, an unusually high amount for a car break-in. Loeb's three-year prison sentence was vacated after Burke pleaded guilty. 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. Brooklyn NY 11201, Telephone: 718-254-7000 They ruined lives and destroyed careers. 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. A Long Island jury on Tuesday found former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota guilty of obstructing a federal probe into a police chief who bashed a handcuffed prisoner over stolen porn . Proving obstruction of justice required the government to present evidence that the defendants acted with a corrupt purpose, a high legal bar. [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. "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. 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 their responsibility to comply with a federal civil rights investigation. Thomas Spota - Wikipedia 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. Some were warned that if they admitted wrongdoing, their union would not pay their legal fees, prosecutors said. Support RiverheadLOCAL today. Former Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota sentenced to 5 years in Ex-Suffolk DA Thomas Spota, former aide sentenced to 5 years - Newsday 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 Kenneth Bombace, who also took part in the beating, testified under an immunity deal that he stashed his family in a hotel in 2015 before testifying separately before a grand jury about the conspiracy. "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. It was written by Murphy. Mr. Hickey decided to plead guilty to his role in the conspiracy and cooperated with prosecutors as their star witness, testifying on the stand for three days. Burke attacked Loeb in a police station interrogation room after Loeb was arrested for breaking into the ex-chief's unlocked, department-issued GMC Yukon and stealing a bag containing his gun belt, ammunition, a box of cigars and a bag containing sex toys 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. Spota hugged his wife and his weeping daughter before leaving the courtroom in silence. But Thomas J. Spota, the district attorney in New Yorks Suffolk County, had an Achilles heel. Mr. Spotas family members, seated in the first row of the courtroom, appeared emotional, with teary eyes and their arms around one another. 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. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. It was testimony from James Hickey, a retired Suffolk police lieutenant, that formed the heart of the governments case. Mr. Spota, a lawyer for the police union at the time, defended Mr. Burke and negotiated a plea deal that saved his career. 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. 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. Official websites use .gov 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. "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. "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. Eastern District of New York | Suffolk County District Attorney and 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. Thomas Spota was the prosecutor. In contrast, the U.S. attorneys office had sought 8-year sentences for both defendants. .We need to remain focused on continuing our progress and ensuring that the days of the past never happen again.. In 2001, Spota won his first election as district attorney with the backing of police unions while campaigning on an anti-corruption platform. To maintain the lie, Mr. Spota and Mr. McPartland relied heavily on Mr. Hickey, the police commander who supervised those three detectives. 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." "Ive also left them with a shattered legacy and the stain of being a convicted felon," the former district attorney said. Krantz cited what he said was McPartlands history of public service and good deeds, calling him a loving husband and father and someone who worked his way through college and law school before earning accolades throughout his career. All rights reserved. Copyright 2023 Newsday. With todays sentences, justice has been served and the defendants have learned the consequences of their crimes, just like anyone else who has broken the law. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. Because of their obstructive efforts, the federal investigation was unsuccessful and was closed approximately eight months later. Former Long Island Prosecutors Sentenced in Plot to Protect Police Burke also enlisted the help of his long-time mentor, then-District Attorney Spota, and McPartland, his personal friend and then-Chief of both Investigations and the Government Corruption Bureau, to ensure that the witnesses kept quiet. As certain key witnesses were then compelled to testify before the grand jury under a grant of immunity, the truth about Burke assaulting Loeb finally emerged. 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. 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. Shawn Lawrence (l.) plans to sue disgraced ex-Suffolk County DA Thomas Spota, who is awaiting trial in federal court. Suffolk Prosecutor Charged With Obstructing Police Assault 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. Man jailed on bogus murder rap to sue disgraced Long Island DA This story was reported by Nicole Fuller, Bridget Murphy and Michael O'Keeffe. [5], Spota was born in 1941 and grew up in New Hyde Park, New York, on Long Island. Loeb was paid $1.5 million after he filed a federal lawsuit against Suffolk County, a report by 1010wins said. In 2019, a jury convicted Spota, of Mount Sinai, and McPartland, 55, of Northport, of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and acting as accessories to the deprivation of prisoner Christopher Loeb's civil rights. Some police officers were in the interrogation room when Burke walked in and punched Loeb, prosecutors said. August 10, 2021 / 7:09 PM / CBS New York CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota was sentenced Tuesday for a cover-up involving the county's. Spota called Bellone's assertions "baseless" and said the county executive had a "vendetta" against him for investigating and prosecuting people close to him. After hearing four weeks of trial testimony, a federal jury on Long Island found Mr. Spota guilty of four counts, including obstruction of justice and witness tampering. 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