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. In 2003, Spota indicted twelve Suffolk residents who used KaZaA, a file-sharing program to spread child pornography. McPartland also addressed Azrack on Tuesday before hearing his sentence. Mr. McPartlands lawyer, Larry H. Krantz, said, There are many more legal steps in the case, and we will continue to fight for this.. 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. 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. 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. 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. By Joseph Goldstein and Alan Feuer. United States Attorneys Office Azrack said no one is above the law. Mr. Spotas lawyer, Alan Vinegrad, declined to comment on the verdict. Vinegrad described Spota in a court filing as a "shattered man" whose age, declining health and record of public service supported a no-prison sentence. "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. Updated. She ordered McPartland to surrender on Nov. 10. Former Chief of Investigations and Chief of the DA offices Government Corruption Bureau, Christopher McPartland, was sentenced to five years in prison alongside Spota for the same crimes. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy. Burke also enlisted the help of Spota and McPartland, "to ensure that the witnesses kept quiet. [1] 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. 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. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. You rely on us to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. 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. McPartland also asked the judge to consider how a severe punishment would impact his family and the suffering he said they already have endured. Just a few dollars can help us continue to bring this important service to our community. It was written by Murphy. According to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of New York, the pair will be sentenced on August 10 at 10:30 a.m. at the courthouse in Central Islip. 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 Spota told a judge at his sentencing in August that, I hope not to die in prison alone.. A four-count indictment was returned this morning by a federal grand jury in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York charging Thomas J. Spota, the Suffolk County District Attorney, and Christopher McPartland, the Chief of Investigations and Chief of the Government Corruption Bureau of the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office (SCDAO), with (1) Conspiracy to . Alek Lewis is a lifelong Riverhead resident and a 2021 graduate of Stony Brook Universitys School of Communication and Journalism. 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 . The jury deliberated for nearly a full day before returning the guilty verdict. 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. The defense teams for Spota and McPartland had lobbied extensively for sentences of home confinement and community service for their clients. Copyright 2023 WABC-TV. 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. 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. They're guilty," Loeb wrote on Facebook in 2019. 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.". Despite that,. 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. "Because of their obstructive efforts, the federal investigation was unsuccessful and was closed approximately eight months later. He and Mr. Spota each face up to 20 years in prison. (Provided) A 46 . In it, Spota raved about Burkes "outstanding leadership" in response to an anonymous letter that had surfaced as selection was underway for a new police chief. 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. Jurors delivered their verdict after about seven hours of deliberations in the sixth week of the trial, with the panels forewoman saying later in an interview that that law should apply equally to everyone. Senator John Flanagan (2 nd Senate District) and Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota joined the families of four men and women killed by hit-and-run drivers to renew the call to increase the maximum punishment for those convicted of that crime from 7 to 15 years imprisonment. In December 2012, then-chief of the SCPD, James Burke "physically and verbally assaulted a shackled prisoner, Christopher Loeb, who was under arrest and being held in an interrogation room at the 4th Precinct in Hauppauge," a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office said. The essential facts of this crime are so outrageous, Azrack said. The governments case is being handled by the Offices Long Island Criminal Division. Ultimately, the 12 jurors chose to believe Mr. Hickey. 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. It was testimony from James Hickey, a retired Suffolk police lieutenant, that formed the heart of the governments case. "My family will forever be marked by my disgrace.". [14] In October 2017, Spota and an aide were indicted on charges of obstructing the investigation of James Burke for police brutality. Both men denied the charges, multiple reports said. On Tuesday, after the verdict was read, Mr. Loeb, the man who was assaulted by the police chief, poked his head into the emptying courtroom. In 2001, Spota won his first election as district attorney with the backing of police unions while campaigning on an anti-corruption platform. 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. 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, stated Acting U.S. Attorney Kasulis. Mr. Spota and Mr. McPartland sat without expression as the verdict was read. Eyewitness News has learned it appears Spota and McPartland will appeal their sentences. Spota was also ordered to pay a $100,000 fine. Loeb was paid $1.5 million after he filed a federal lawsuit against Suffolk County for "being beaten while shackled to the floor of an interrogation room by former Police Chief James Burke in 2012 after stealing a duffel bag packed with a gun belt, ammunition, sex toys and pornography from Burke's vehicle," a report by 1010wins said. Northport, New York, John Marzulli 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. 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. There were some bombshells dropped Thursday in the obstruction of justice trial of former Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota and his top aide Christopher McPartland, including an allegation that former chief James Burke ordered officers to spy on Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. 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. The former official in Suffolk County was found guilty of conspiracy after a trial that exposed a culture of corruption. He was hospitalized in a stress-induced delirium, and was screaming, biting and spitting, according to medical records shown at trial. Spota and McPartland were both convicted on all charges, John Marzulli, a spokesman for the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's Office, said. Spotas conduct, like Mr. McPartlands, was not a momentary moral lapse. 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.". 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. 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. They were accused of helping cover up the 2012 police beating of a prisoner suspected of stealing sex toys and other items from a police chiefs vehicle. Christopher Loeb was kicked and punched while in police custody. Prosecutors produced calendar entries and call records that they said showed Mr. Hickey was telling the truth. In contrast, the U.S. attorneys office had sought 8-year sentences for both defendants. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Police officers who were supposed to investigate gangs and school shootings would be diverted to help their chief with petty vendettas and mundane tasks, like spying on his girlfriends or driving him to the airport, former officers testified. The judge told Spota to surrender to prison officials on Dec. 10 and also sentenced him to pay a $100,000 fine. 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. 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. 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. Because of their obstructive efforts, the federal investigation was unsuccessful and was closed approximately eight months later. The chief barged into the police interrogation room where the man, handcuffed to the floor, called him a pervert. 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. 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. 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 assault of the burglary suspect happened about a year into Mr. Burkes tenure as police chief. The verdict was a hard-fought victory for the federal prosecutors and the F.B.I., whose investigation faced setbacks for years. Retired Det. During closing arguments, Krantz presented jurors with a list of "10 reasons why James Hickey cannot be believed" that included "raw self-interest" and a "psychotic break from reality.". 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. He always had a soft spot for a police officer named James Burke, who rose under his tutelage to become the countys chief of police. A locked padlock 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 . In a rage, Chief Burke kicked and punched him. You have not heard an apology, Boeckmann said. [8] He was reelected in 2005,[9] and again in 2009 without any major-party opposition. 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. 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. Proving obstruction of justice required the government to present evidence that the defendants acted with a corrupt purpose, a high legal bar. Not out of the woods: Lawyers want right to go after Tiger Woman has 'loud, full body orgasm' in the middle of LA concert, All the red carpet highlights and star-studded fashionfrom the Karl Lagerfeld-themed Met Gala, Bride killed, groom seriously hurt by drunk driver just minutes after leaving reception, After legal weed, NYC's once-wild 4/20 party just another boring street fair, How a retired detective snared his seventh 'Torso Killer' confession, Kim Kardashian, Pete Davidson reunite at Met Gala 9 months after breakup, Rihannas Met Gala bridal look makes fan question if she married A$AP Rocky, Inside Met Gala 2023: See celebs let loose at extravagant dinner, Khristina Williams previews the New York Liberty's 2023 WNBA season, Katy Perry will be temporarily replaced on 'American Idol' amid drama. The jury determined that Spota and McPartland obstructed justice by covering for former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke, who abused Loeb in 2012. 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. Together, Mr. Spota, Mr. McPartland and Chief Burke controlled what amounted to a law-enforcement fiefdom in the eastern half of Long Island, prosecutors said. 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. 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. When they are sentenced, Spota and McPartland will face up to 20 years in prison. "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. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. "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," federal officials said in the release. He was convicted of obstruction, witness tampering, and conspiracy charges in December 2019 [17] and disbarred in June 2020. To maintain the lie, Mr. Spota and Mr. McPartland relied heavily on Mr. Hickey, the police commander who supervised those three detectives. Thomas J. Spota, the Suffolk County district attorney, and his top anti-corruption prosecutor were charged on . Lawyers for Spoto and McPartland, 55, had argued home confinement was a more appropriate sentence. "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. 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." Burke had flown off the handle in 2012 while interrogating suspect Christopher Loeb who had stolen a bag from the chiefs SUV. He earned degrees at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut, and St. John's University School of Law in Jamaica, Queens, New York. /. A former Long Island prosecutor convicted of obstructing justice after a prisoner was beaten has begun serving a five-year federal prison sentence. There is absolutely no place for this type of behavior within our criminal justice system. 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. 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. The defense said prosecutors were relying on Mr. Hickeys recollection of conversations that happened years ago, with no concrete evidence to corroborate his memory.
Victorian Poems About Friendship,
Matchpay Customer Service,
Jan Bednar Shipmonk Net Worth,
Earth Inspired Products,
Fire Officer Development Program Ppt,
Articles T