Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Spota was also ordered to pay a $100,000 fine. 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. "Because of their obstructive efforts, the federal investigation was unsuccessful and was closed approximately eight months later. Mr. Main Office A jury found them guilty of witness tampering, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy after they pressured witnesses not to cooperate with an FBI investigation into the 2012 assault, abc7ny.com said. He finished his prison sentence in April. "I hope not to die in prison alone," the 79-year-old Spota told U.S. District Judge Joan Azrack before hearing his penalty, calling his conviction "the lowest point" in his life and saying he feared and expected it would be his legacy. The legislation Senator Flanagan sponsors has passed the Senate in both of the past two years but has died in . 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.. The verdict was a hard-fought victory for the federal prosecutors and the F.B.I., whose investigation faced setbacks for years. The defense said prosecutors were relying on Mr. Hickeys recollection of conversations that happened years ago, with no concrete evidence to corroborate his memory. 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. ABC7 New York 24/7 Eyewitness News Stream, Earth warming likely to pass limit set by international leaders, Street racing hit-and run crash leaves woman dead, man hurt in Brooklyn, police say, Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts. 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 what they had observed. 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. But he insisted his memory wasnt compromised by his drinking and that he never consumed alcohol after his 2013 hospital discharge. ALSO READ | Street racing hit-and run crash leaves woman dead, man hurt in Brooklyn, police say. Apr 26, 2018 at 8:20 pm. Burke became a Suffolk cop and was promoted to sergeant; a 1995 department probe found that he had a sexual relationship with a prostitute who sold drugs, according to Newsday. 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. Spota, 80, is now an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut. Mr. Spota viewed Mr. Burke almost as a son, standing with him whenever he was touched by scandal. The unfortunate truth is that we will be paying for it for years to come. 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 . [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. My family will forever be marked by my disgrace, Spota saidmoments before being sentenced. In 2001, Spota won his first election as district attorney with the backing of police unions while campaigning on an anti-corruption platform. McPartland also asked the judge to consider how a severe punishment would impact his family and the suffering he said they already have endured. The governments case is being handled by the Offices Long Island Criminal Division. The administration panicked, prosecutors said. But Thomas J. Spota, the district attorney in New Yorks Suffolk County, had an Achilles heel. "Somebodys talking. The obstruction initially worked, thwarting federal agents for several months. Police officers who received subpoenas from the FBI were interrogated afterward by Burke's allies about whether they had talked, prosecutors said. They hugged their lawyers afterward. [11] Spota was called to testify before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on September 9, 2003, at a hearing concerning "Pornography, Technology, and Process: Problems and Solutions on Peer-to-Peer Networks." I hope not to die in prison alone. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. 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. Already a lame duck for foregoing a re-election bid, Spota announced his retirement just days after he was charged amid growing pressure from politicians and the public. Mr. Spotas family members, seated in the first row of the courtroom, appeared emotional, with teary eyes and their arms around one another. Scandal Began With Sex Toys. When Mr. Cuffs son was caught with a gun, the district attorneys office threatened to upgrade the charges from a misdemeanor to a felony. 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. Anyone can read what you share. At trial, lawyers for Mr. McPartland and Mr. Spota tried to shred Mr. Hickeys credibility, calling him a practiced liar and highlighting that he admitted to four extramarital affairs. 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. 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. That year in Nassau County, Democrats also were victorious in many positions. Spota told a judge at his sentencing in August that, I hope not to die in prison alone.. The resulting scandal eventually engulfed the countys law enforcement power structure. A federal grand jury investigation into the Loeb assault as a civil rights deprivation was opened by the U.S. Attorneys Brooklyn Office, with the assistance of the FBI, in the spring of 2013. 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. (718) 254-6323. Burke pleaded guilty to civil rights violations and conspiracy to obstruct justice in February of 2016 and was sentenced to 46 months in prison. Prosecutors produced calendar entries and call records that they said showed Mr. Hickey was telling the truth. Mr. Hickey said that he stayed awake at night, feeling paranoid. 271 Cadman Plaza East Oct. 25, 2017. 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. Later that morning, a man was arrested with the stolen goods. 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. 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. He won election after election for 15 years with bipartisan support. 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 police chief. The chief barged into the police interrogation room where the man, handcuffed to the floor, called him a pervert. 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. Ultimately, the 12 jurors chose to believe Mr. Hickey. 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. 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. 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 In a rage, Chief Burke kicked and punched him. The U.S. attorney's office also argued that the defendants hadn't accepted responsibility for their actions and deserved more time in prison than sentencing guidelines recommended because of "the need for deterrence" and the "egregiousness" of their actions. There were sex toys and porn in the pouch, and Loeb taunted the chief while being grilled over the robbery, calling him a pervert.. 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. Spota was convicted in December 2019 on federal charges of conspiracy to tamper with witnesses and obstruct an official proceeding, witness tampering, obstruction of justice and being an accessory to Burke, U.S. Department of Justice officials said. Eyewitness News has learned it appears Spota and McPartland will appeal their sentences. 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. 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,. Both men denied the charges, multiple reports said. Official websites use .gov 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. 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. Their behavior was outrageous, and their sentences today prove as much," said FBI Acting Assistant Director-in-Charge Maguire. Expand. 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. The testimony exposed an alarming culture of corruption and retribution in a county with about 2,500 police officers, one of the largest police departments in the United States. You better find out fast, if its not too late," Hickey testified the district attorney also told him that day. McPartland also addressed Azrack on Tuesday before hearing his sentence. Spota and McPartland were both convicted on all charges, John Marzulli, a spokesman for the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's Office, said. The sentencing guidelines are the subject of an oral argument set for June 30, federal officials told Patch. Their behavior was outrageous, and their sentences today prove as much. 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. "We are paying for that corruption today. But the prosecution painted Spota as someone who compromised his ethics to protect his loyal protg after a nearly four-decade relationship that started when Burke, at 14, was the star witness for Spota in 1979 as he prosecuted another teenagers suffocation murder. His attorney, Larry Krantz, lobbied for leniency for a client he called "an honorable, decent, good man" who had "a brutal fall from grace.". Chief investigative reporter Jonathan Dienst on crime, corruption and terrorism. Copyright 2023 WABC-TV. Retired Det. for over a decade, Spota had successfully helped Burke avoid legal trouble regularly during their decades-long friendship. HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- The families of four victims killed in hit-and-run crashes in Suffolk County called on Albany on Tuesday to enact tougher sentences for drivers who flee the scene. "My family will forever be marked by my disgrace.". 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. Some were warned that if they admitted wrongdoing, their union would not pay their legal fees, prosecutors said. [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. Boeckmann also called their punishments fitting. 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. "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. ', Long Island Siblings Saved By Heart Transplants Beat COVID. "It has been a difficult five years and I have lost a lot," the ex-prosecutor said in part. ", In 2016, Bellone publicly called on Spota to step down with claims that Spota was "operating a criminal enterprise that must be stopped. "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. . https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/17/nyregion/tom-spota-trial-verdict.html. They depicted Burke as Spotas "professional child of sorts" and a wise elder who told a golf buddy after Burkes conviction that he shouldnt sympathize with the wayward cop because he "did it to himself.". A year later prosecutors from U.S. Attorneys Long Island criminal division reopened the investigation. Thomas J. Spota, the Suffolk County district attorney, and his top anti-corruption prosecutor were charged on . Just a few dollars can help us continue to bring this important service to our community. Azrack said no one is above the law. [2][3][4] Spota was subsequently found guilty and sentenced to five years in federal prison and fined $100,000 . The jury determined that Spota and McPartland obstructed justice by covering for former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke, who abused Loeb in 2012. US Eastern District Judge Joan Azrack handed down the 60-month stint behind bars and $100,000 in fines for the 79-year-old Spota aftera jury found the ex-district attorney guiltyof charges ranging from conspiracy to witness-tampering in 2019. "For well over a decade, I've personally endured horrendous crimes committed by and under this man," Loeb said referring to Spota. The jury deliberated for nearly a full day before returning the guilty verdict. "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. 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. 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. Fax Line: 718-254-7508. 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. Loeb was paid $1.5 million after he filed a federal lawsuit against Suffolk County, a report by 1010wins said. According to federal prosecutors, Spota considered anyone cooperating with the investigation into Burke a "rat," demanded that a police officer find out who was cooperating, and threatened that informants "would never work in Suffolk County again.". Burke pleaded guilty to a civil rights violation and conspiracy to obstruct justicein February, 2016 and was sentenced to 46 months imprisonment; Spota and McPartland bothresigned from the District Attorneys Office in light of the charges against them and have sincebeen disbarred, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. The thief took a duffel bag from the car that contained sex toys, a pornographic DVD and Viagra. THOMAS J. SPOTA Age: 79 Prosecutors want a federal judge to deny bail for ex-Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota and his former aide while . 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. 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," the release from the U.S. Attorney's office said. He and Mr. Spota each face up to 20 years in prison. 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. "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. United States Attorneys Office The defense attorney also argued that McPartland should get less prison time than Burke because Burke was responsible for the underlying crime. Spota's career ended with his disbarment in 2020 and his sentencing to five years in federal prison in 2021. Spota: Yes, I met with them. Testimony showed Hickey was hospitalized in 2015 after hallucinations brought on by stress and sleep deprivation, after a separate 2013 hospitalization for pancreatitis after excessive alcohol intake. Having served as the Suffolk County DA for over a decade, Spota had successfully helped Burke avoid legal trouble regularly during their decades-long friendship. Christopher McPartland, right, leaving his trial last month in Central Islip, N.Y. Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota and a former top aide, Christopher McPartland, surrendered at separate federal prisons Friday, prison officials told Newsday. ALSO READ | Earth warming likely to pass limit set by international leaders. The remains of at least ten persons have been found on South Shore beaches, and are believed to be related. 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. 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. Copyright 2023 Newsday. He said the criminal justice system in Suffolk isn't just broken, but corrupt by design. He told jurors he testified falsely during a hearing in Loebs case and feared Suffolk police or prosecutors would fabricate charges against him or his family if he didnt go along with the cover-up. 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. Spota has been active in the fight against the distribution of child pornography over the Internet. 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. The essential facts of this crime are so outrageous, Azrack said. 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. "Their conduct has devastated many people individually, deprived Suffolk residents of what they deserve from public officials, and was a disservice to all the honest, hardworking men and women of law enforcement. Vinegrad also raised the possibility of the former district attorney, who was vaccinated against COVID-19 becoming infected in prison and then possibly dying. This story was reported by Nicole Fuller, Bridget Murphy and Michael O'Keeffe. Burke was eventually found guilty in the incident andsentenced to 46 months in prison. 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. He completed his prison sentence this year but refused to testify at trial against his old colleagues. Mr. McPartlands lawyer, Larry H. Krantz, said, There are many more legal steps in the case, and we will continue to fight for this.. 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'. Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota was sentenced to 5 years behind bars. 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. New York Daily News. Burke pleaded guilty to civil rights violations and conspiracy to obstruct justice in February of 2016 and was sentenced to 46 months in prison. Spota added that he felt deep anguish for the shame his conviction brought to his family. 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. The prosecution told jurors during the trial that Spota was the "CEO" of the conspiracy, while McPartland was the scheme's "chief operating officer" as they broke the law they were supposed to uphold. Mr. Spotas lawyer, Alan Vinegrad, declined to comment on the verdict. ", In 2016, Bellone publicly called on Spota to step down with claims that Spota was "operating a criminal enterprise that must be stopped.". Spota and Burke had a kinship that dated to the ex-chief's teenage years in the late 1970s, when he was a star witness in a murder case that Spota was prosecuting. But a few months later, in early 2013, Mr. Loebs lawyer publicly accused the police of assault, triggering a civil rights investigation. 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. McPartland was also part of the pressure campaign to get cops to cover for the chief. Burke also enlisted the help of Spota and McPartland, "to ensure that the witnesses kept quiet. 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 was beaten after he stole a duffel bag from a former police chief filled with sex toys and pornography were each sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday, federal officials said. Spota's attorney, Alan Vinegrad, told the judge his client is "a shadow" of his former self and a "fundamentally good" person who is devoted to his wife of 51 years, his three children and his grandchildren. 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. Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Jacqueline Maguire, Acting Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the sentences.
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