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. Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole Boeckmann, Lara Treinis Gatz, Justina L. Geraci and Michael R. Maffei are in charge of the prosecution. Thomas Spota, 79, and his top aide, 55-year-old Christopher McPartland, were handed their sentences on Tuesday by a federal judge following their December 2019 convictions on conspiracy, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and civil rights violation charges related to a vast cover-up of the beating of a suspected thief by Suffolk County . To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com. 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. Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota was sentenced to 5 years behind bars. He lived in Mount Sinai, New York, with his wife. Some were warned that if they admitted wrongdoing, their union would not pay their legal fees, prosecutors said. 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. 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. 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. ALSO READ | Earth warming likely to pass limit set by international leaders. 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. The jury determined that Spota and McPartland obstructed justice by covering for former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke, who abused Loeb in 2012. 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. Mr. Spota and Mr. McPartland sat without expression as the verdict was read. Because of their obstructive efforts, the federal investigation was unsuccessful and was closed approximately eight months later. 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. In 2001, Spota won his first election as district attorney with the backing of police unions while campaigning on an anti-corruption platform. "Loeb had broken into Burkes official police vehicle and stolen his gun belt and ammunition, and a duffel bag containing cigars, sex toys, prescription Viagra and pornography.". Mr. Spota set out to protect and defend Chief Burke, as he had before over a 40-year friendship, prosecutors said. "Thomas Spota and Christopher McPartland are guilty of ruining the lives of so many other families. He told jurors Spota grilled him on who he suspected had "flipped," or started cooperating with federal officials. (Provided) A 46 . "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. Former Det. "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. Spota added that he felt deep anguish for the shame his conviction brought to his family. He won election after election for 15 years with bipartisan support. 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. 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. ", In 2016, Bellone publicly called on Spota to step down with claims that Spota was "operating a criminal enterprise that must be stopped. The pre-pandemic verdict supported the prosecution's contention that both defendants orchestrated a cover-up of the beating of the shackled burglary suspect that Burke carried out with three detectives inside a Hauppauge precinct. 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. 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. Spota. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Uli Seit for The New. Loeb's three-year prison sentence was vacated after Burke pleaded guilty. Some police officers were in the interrogation room when Burke walked in and punched Loeb, prosecutors said. 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. We've received your submission. 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 chief barged into the police interrogation room where the man, handcuffed to the floor, called him a pervert. He completed his prison sentence this year but refused to testify at trial against his old colleagues. 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. Triple Five, Calvertons developer, launches a review of rail options, Man Caught With Stolen Vehicle In Riverhead: Police, Search On For Suspects Wanted In Attempted Armed Robbery: PD, Take better care of your bones Join HSS for a new webinar on 5/3, JOB Needed as live-in companion/caregiver as of 5/1/23 (Suffolk County), Learn to restore physically & emotionally with Energy Healing, 'Crystals For A Cause' Benefits Greenport's Miniature Railroad Project, Minimum Wage Would Increase On Long Island Under $229B Budget Deal, Pet Adoption In The Riverhead Area: See New Local Dogs, Cats & More, Riverhead Job Openings: See Who's Hiring In The Area, Ex-Batmobile Replica Maker Has New Space To Continue Dream After Fire, LI Cat Missing For 2 Years Found In Time For Christmas: 'She Is Home! Spota called Bellone's assertions "baseless" and said the county executive had a "vendetta" against him for investigating and prosecuting people close to him. Spota and McPartlands trial became the first time that some of those involved in Loebs assault spoke about it publicly, with two of the three detectives who took part in the beating with Burke testifying about the police brutality and how the pressure to keep quiet later changed their lives and careers. My family will forever be marked by my disgrace, Spota saidmoments before being sentenced. Burke was eventually found guilty in the incident andsentenced to 46 months in prison. Spota has been active in the fight against the distribution of child pornography over the Internet. The verdict came after the jury sat for five weeks listening to evidence, including reports of secret meetings between Spota and McPartland, cell phone tower data, and phone records; Burke previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced, News 12 said. During a meeting that year, Mr. McPartland speculated about who the rat was. He described it as a coalition of five high-powered, corrupt insiders who were behind the cover-up and would take collective aim to discredit and punish their enemies. Greg Blass 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. Prosecutors had argued the men deserved 8 years behind bars for doing "the exact opposite" of their jobs in the face of a scandal that eventually engulfed the county's law enforcement power structure. A year later prosecutors from U.S. Attorneys Long Island criminal division reopened the investigation. 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. Thomas Spota was the prosecutor. Copyright 2023 WABC-TV. This story has been shared 377,217 times. "These men were the highest ranking prosecutors in Suffolk County and they flagrantly disregarded the law and the sanctity of their public office to protect an equally high-ranking, lawless police officer," she added. He earned degrees at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut, and St. John's University School of Law in Jamaica, Queens, New York. The anonymous communication had issued a warning about Burkes internal affairs history, and made reference to a prostitute stealing Burkes service weapon. Hickey, now retired and facing sentencing himself, named Spota, McPartland, Burke, former Suffolk chief of detectives William Madigan and himself as members of a self-appointed group nicknamed "The Inner Circle." . The governments case is being handled by the Offices Long Island Criminal Division. "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. "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. ", Bellone said Suffolk District Attorney Tim Sini has "restored integrity to the office. Azrack said no one is above the law. Mr. "Thomas Spota and Christopher McPartland are guilty of ruining the lives of so many . 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.. No other witness testified to receiving direct orders from Mr. Spota or Mr. McPartland to obstruct the investigation, defense lawyers argued. 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. 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.
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