Suffolk District Attorney Timothy Sini reflected on his predecessor's conviction Tuesday in a statement in which he said the agency he leads needs "to remain focused on continuing our progress and ensuring that the days of the past never happen again. Chief investigative reporter Jonathan Dienst on crime, corruption and terrorism. Prosecutors produced calendar entries and call records that they said showed Mr. Hickey was telling the truth. 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. She ordered McPartland to surrender on Nov. 10. 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. 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,. "Nobody should have this much power and be above the law.". [2][3][4] Spota was subsequently found guilty and sentenced to five years in federal prison and fined $100,000 . Vinegrad also raised the possibility of the former district attorney, who was vaccinated against COVID-19 becoming infected in prison and then possibly dying. James Burke, center, the former Suffolk County police chief, pleaded guilty in 2016 to the assault of a man who had broken into his police car and the subsequent cover-up. [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." 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. The criminal charges hastened Spota's exit from office after 16 years as the top prosecutor in Suffolk County. (Provided) A 46 . Spota and McPartland tried to cover for Suffolk Police Chief James Burke after the top cop attacked a cuffed prisoner. He was convicted along with Christopher McPartland, 53, who paradoxically had been Suffolk Countys top anticorruption prosecutor. To maintain the lie, Mr. Spota and Mr. McPartland relied heavily on Mr. Hickey, the police commander who supervised those three detectives. 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. He'd been convicted of trying to cover up an assault by former police chief James Burke, Spota's top. "Thomas Spota and Christopher McPartland are guilty of ruining the lives of so many other families. 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. Former Long Island Prosecutor Begins Prison Sentence He told jurors Spota grilled him on who he suspected had "flipped," or started cooperating with federal officials. 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. Thomas Spota and Christopher McPartland were convicted of obstruction of justice and other crimes for their role in a scheme to protect James Burke. Bad Cop, Worse Cop: James Burke and the Overwhelming Stench of Email: alek@riverheadlocal.com. "We are paying for that corruption today. This story has been shared 137,412 times. Burke also enlisted the help of Spota and McPartland, "to ensure that the witnesses kept quiet. "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. Spotas conduct, like Mr. McPartlands, was not a momentary moral lapse. 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. Mr. McPartland helped concoct a cover story that Chief Burke had just popped his head in to the interrogation room. Mr. Burke later became a police officer. Because of their obstructive efforts, the federal investigation was unsuccessful and was closed approximately eight months later. During a meeting that year, Mr. McPartland speculated about who the rat was. 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. Ex-Suffolk County DA, Aide Denied Bail Pending Appeal: Feds An official website of the United States government. Lock ALSO READ | Street racing hit-and run crash leaves woman dead, man hurt in Brooklyn, police say. Mr. Spota, a lawyer for the police union at the time, defended Mr. Burke and negotiated a plea deal that saved his career. [6], After passing the bar, Spota worked as an assistant prosecutor under Suffolk County District Attorney Patrick Henry, during the 1970s and early 1980s. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy. Mr. McPartland and Mr. Burke used to greet one another on the phone with a vulgar imprecation. 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. 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.".
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