Christopher Loeb was kicked and punched while in police custody. 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. There were sex toys and porn in the pouch, and Loeb taunted the chief while being grilled over the robbery, calling him a pervert.. A lock ( 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. Azrack said no one is above the law. New York Daily News. Later that morning, a man was arrested with the stolen goods. Burke, Spota and McPartland used the power and influence of their official positions, and the threat of retaliatory arrest and prosecution, to keep anyone from cooperating with that investigation. Privacy Policy |Terms of service |Subscription terms |Your ad choices |Cookie Settings |California Privacy Rights |About Us |Contact Newsday |Reprints & permissions |Advertise with Newsday |Help. [1] Spota resigned November 10, 2017, after he was indicted on federal charges of obstruction of justice in the investigation of Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke. 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. Former Suffolk DA Thomas Spota, ex-top aide now in prison, federal Burke physically and verbally assaulted a shackled prisoner, Christopher Loeb, in an interrogation room in Hauppauge after Loeb broke into Burkes police vehicle and stole his gun belt and ammunition, and several personal items including cigars, sex toys and pornography. Mr. Spotas family members, seated in the first row of the courtroom, appeared emotional, with teary eyes and their arms around one another. Lawyers for Spoto and McPartland, 55, had argued home confinement was a more appropriate sentence. 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. 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. He repeatedly promoted Mr. Burke in the Police Department, consolidating their power. Spota and. 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 Former Det. 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.". Mr. Cuff cried at his desk, suspecting it was retaliation, a witness testified. Ex-Suffolk DA Thomas Spota, former aide sentenced to 5 years - Newsday "[12] Email: alek@riverheadlocal.com. 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. 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. CENTRAL ISLIP, Long Island (WABC) -- Former Suffolk County District Attorney Tom Spota was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday following his 2019 conviction for helping cover for a former protg who as police chief punched a handcuffed man suspected of stealing embarrassing items from his police department SUV, including sex toys and pornography. He said he feared he or his family would be falsely accused of a crime if he testified honestly about Loebs beating. 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. He was hospitalized in a stress-induced delirium, and was screaming, biting and spitting, according to medical records shown at trial. "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. The defense attorney also argued that McPartland should get less prison time than Burke because Burke was responsible for the underlying crime. Thomas Spota, the former Suffolk County. 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. Burke pleaded guilty to civil rights violations and conspiracy to obstruct justice in February of 2016 and was sentenced to 46 months in prison. Spotas conduct, like Mr. McPartlands, was not a momentary moral lapse. The obstruction initially worked, thwarting federal agents for several months. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Now Ex-D.A. The survival of local journalism depends on your support. ", "The actions of these defendants represent the worst of law enforcement," said Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini Tuesday. 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. 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. Ultimately, the 12 jurors chose to believe Mr. Hickey. "Thomas Spota and Christopher McPartland are guilty of ruining the lives of so many . [6], After passing the bar, Spota worked as an assistant prosecutor under Suffolk County District Attorney Patrick Henry, during the 1970s and early 1980s. 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. He graduated from Chaminade High School, a private Catholic school in Mineola, New York. Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota and a former top aide, Christopher McPartland, surrendered at separate federal prisons Friday, prison officials told Newsday. One of the detectives present for the interrogation had to jump in to stop Burke from beating on Loeb, who was shackled at the time. 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. A federal grand jury investigation into the Loeb assault as "a civil rightsdeprivation" was opened by the U.S. Attorneys Brooklyn Office, with the assistance of the FBI,in the spring of 2013, the release said. Those who abuse their power and subject others to cruel and unnecessary punishment must be removed from serving in any official capacity and must pay the price for their conduct. 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. Is the Riverhead IDA serving the publics interest? McPartland, 55, will begin his sentence Nov. 10. From breaking news to special features and documentaries, the NewsdayTV team is covering the issues that matter to you. The cover-up of Chief Burkes assault, witnesses at trial said, was part of a broader pattern. The three men called themselves the administration, one former police officer testified. The thief took a duffel bag from the car that contained sex toys, a pornographic DVD and Viagra. Loeb, the abused prisoner, also spoke in court Tuesday, telling the judge that Spota "should spend the rest of his life behind bars." A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Mr. Burke later became a police officer. 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.". Thomas J. Spota, the Suffolk County district attorney, and his top anti-corruption prosecutor were charged on . A scandal sent a Long Island police chief to prison. Now it's brought As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Prosecutors produced calendar entries and call records that they said showed Mr. Hickey was telling the truth. 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. August 10, 2021 CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) A former Long Island prosecutor was sentenced to 5 years in prison on Tuesday for helping cover up the police beating of a prisoner suspected of stealing sex toys and other items from a police chief's vehicle. 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. Chief Burke thought nobody would believe his word over the police chiefs, according to witness testimony. 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. He'd been convicted of trying to cover up an assault by former police chief James Burke, Spota's top. /. 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. Mr. Spota, a lawyer for the police union at the time, defended Mr. Burke and negotiated a plea deal that saved his career. Loeb spoke before Tuesdays sentencing, saying, Spota should spend the rest of his life behind bars for all the lives he has ruined.. Ex-Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas J. Spota sentenced to 60 months in prison and $100K fine for obstructing a federal civil rights investigation. ", In 2016, Bellone publicly called on Spota to step down with claims that Spota was "operating a criminal enterprise that must be stopped. Mr. Spota viewed Mr. Burke almost as a son, standing with him whenever he was touched by scandal. [1] 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. Rather, he engaged in a years-long cover-up.. Loeb was paid $1.5 million after he filed a federal lawsuit against Suffolk County, a report by 1010wins said. 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. Additionally, Spota was ordered to pay a $100,000 fine. Spota and McPartland both resigned from the District Attorneys Office in light of the charges against them and have since been disbarred. 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, 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. The sentencing guidelines are the subject of an oral argument set for June 30, federal officials told Patch. Eastern District of New York | Suffolk County District Attorney and Prosecutors want a federal judge to deny bail for ex-Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota and his former aide while . I commend the tenacity and skill of this Office's prosecutors and the FBI special agents in toppling the defendants from their undeserved positions of prominence and in holding them to account for their reprehensible violations of the public trust.. Powerful Former LI Prosecutor Guilty of Police Beating Cover-Up 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.. He told jurors Spota grilled him on who he suspected had "flipped," or started cooperating with federal officials. The jury deliberated for nearly a full day before returning the guilty verdict. 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 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. 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'. He entered private law practice in Suffolk, representing clients including the Suffolk Detectives Association and other law enforcement unions.[7]. Updated. 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. 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 . Ex-Suffolk County DA, Aide Denied Bail Pending Appeal: Feds It was testimony from James Hickey, a retired Suffolk police lieutenant, that formed the heart of the governments case. 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. ", In 2016, Bellone publicly called on Spota to step down with claims that Spota was "operating a criminal enterprise that must be stopped.". I hope not to die in prison alone. Eyewitness News has learned it appears Spota and McPartland will appeal their sentences. 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.". "The allegations of covert spying, threats made against perceived enemies, relentless intimidation tactics, and outright fear were spelled out clearly by federal prosecutors and I commend them for their outstanding work.
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