Date: 12-27-2019

Case Style:

Case Number: 17-CR-587 (JMA)

Judge: Joan M. Azrack

Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Kings County)

Plaintiff's Attorney: Nicole Boeckmann, Lara Treinis Gatz, Justina L. Geraci and Michael R. Maffei

Defendant's Attorney:

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Description: Brooklyn, NY - United States of America charged Thomas J. Spota and Christopher McPartland with conspiracy to tamper with witnesses and obstruction of official proceedings.

Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas J. Spota and Christopher McPartland, the former Chief of Investigations and Chief of the Government Corruption Bureau of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office (SCDAO), were convicted today by a federal jury in Central Islip, New York, of all four counts of the indictment charging them with 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 Burke’s deprivation of a prisoner’s civil rights. The verdict followed a six-week trial before United States District Judge Joan M. Azrack. When sentenced, Spota and McPartland each face up to 20 years’ imprisonment.

Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the verdicts.

“When a sitting District Attorney and the Chief of the Government Corruption Bureau attempt to obstruct a federal grand jury investigation, it is nothing short of an attack on the justice system itself, and it will not be tolerated by the Justice Department. As prosecutors, the defendants were obligated to support the law they enforce, but the criminal actions taken by these men made a mockery of that obligation. Thankfully, the rule of law has prevailed, and the defendants now must face the consequences of their actions, just like any other defendant who has broken the law,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue.

“Spota and McPartland violated the law by obstructing a federal investigation into the assault on an individual’s civil rights,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney. “Today they are reminded that positions of power come with a great responsibility to respect both the law and public trust. Any abuse of this privilege will be prosecuted to the fullest extent.”

As proven at trial, Spota and McPartland, the top prosecutors in Suffolk County, abused their leadership positions and authority within the SCDAO to obstruct and attempt to obstruct the FBI and federal grand juries investigating the assault of a SCPD prisoner, Christopher Loeb, in order to protect then-Chief Burke. On December 14, 2012, Loeb was arrested on larceny charges, among other offenses, in connection with his burglarizing Burke’s department-issued vehicle and stealing Burke’s gun belt and ammunition, as well as a duffel bag containing cigars, sex toys, a pornographic video and a bottle of Viagra. Loeb was transported to the Fourth Precinct in Hauppauge, New York, where he was assaulted by Burke and other members of the SCPD, while handcuffed and shackled to the floor.

The evidence at trial consisted of SCPD and SCDAO documents and records, voluminous telephone records, cell site records and testimony from 30 witnesses, including multiple cooperating witnesses. One such witness was James Hickey, a retired SCPD Lieutenant who was part of the “Inner Circle” that included Spota, McPartland and Burke. Hickey and several other cooperating and immunized witnesses detailed the defendants’ use of intimidation and threats to pressure witnesses to withhold information, refuse to cooperate with law enforcement, and lie under oath in order to thwart the federal investigation of the Loeb assault. Hickey supervised the SCPD’s elite Criminal Intelligence Unit, which Burke referred to as his “Palace Guards.” Three detectives from this unit participated with Burke in the assault of Loeb. Hickey testified that Burke told him the Intel guys “did themselves proud,” they “beat the hell” out of Loeb, and it was “just like the good old days.”

Loeb’s case was handled by the SCDAO’s Government Corruption Bureau, supervised by McPartland, although the charges would not typically be handled by that bureau, in an attempt to control the flow of information and cover-up the assault. In February 2013, after Loeb’s attorney disclosed that her client had been assaulted at the Fourth Precinct, Hickey testified that McPartland advised him to “keep the guys quiet and tight … it’s imperative we keep Jimmy [Burke] out of jail, so we needed to keep the guys quiet and in line.” Hickey testified that Spota regularly pressured him to keep the Intel detectives quiet by repeatedly inquiring – “Are they holding up?” “Are they towing the line?” – conveying the message that they should refuse to cooperate with the federal investigation and, if necessary, lie to protect Burke.

In April 2013, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the FBI initiated a federal grand jury investigation into the assault of Loeb.

On June 25, 2013, FBI Special Agents served members of the SCPD with federal grand jury subpoenas. That same day, defendants Spota and McPartland learned of the existence of the federal investigation. McPartland instructed Hickey to debrief his Intel detectives and learn what was said by the FBI agents serving the subpoenas, and find out who might be cooperating with them. However, because of the threats and intimidation, none of the Intel detectives cooperated with the investigation, and it was closed eight months later, in December 2013. Through the efforts of the defendants and Burke, the initial grand jury investigation of Burke’s civil rights violation was successfully derailed.

In or about mid-2015, Spota and McPartland learned that the federal investigation had been reopened, and that its scope had expanded to include an investigation of the obstruction of justice and witness tampering offenses. The defendants reacted swiftly to obstruct it. Hickey testified that at a meeting with the defendants in Spota’s office on June 4, 2015, Spota asked him, “Who do you think has flipped?” In discussing which of the detectives might be a “rat,” cooperating with federal investigators, Spota said about one of the likely cooperators, “If he talks, he’s dead. He will never work in Suffolk County again.” In that same meeting, McPartland told Hickey to pass along a message to the Intel detectives, threatening them with prosecution if they cooperated with the investigation.

The defendants’ efforts to thwart the grand jury investigations ultimately failed. In early December 2015, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York indicted Burke. Burke pleaded guilty approximately two months later, admitting to his involvement in both the deprivation of Loeb’s civil rights and the conspiracy to obstruct justice. In November 2016, he was sentenced to 46 months’ in prison.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole Boeckmann, Lara Treinis Gatz, Justina L. Geraci and Michael R. Maffei are in charge of the prosecution, and were assisted by Assistant United States Attorney John Durham and Investigator William Hessle.

The Defendants:

THOMAS J. SPOTA
Age: 78
Mount Sinai, New York

CHRISTOPHER McPARTLAND
Age: 54
Northport, New York

Charges:

18:1512(k) and 3551 et seq. CONSPIRACY TO TAMPER WITH WITNESSES AND OBSTRUCT AN OFFICIAL PROCEEDING
(1)
18:1512(b)(1), 1512(b)(2)(A), 1512(b)(3), 1512(c)(2), 2 and 3551 et seq. WITNESS TAMPERING AND OBSTRUCTION OF AN OFFICIAL PROCEEDING
(2)
18:1503(a), 1503(b)(3), 2 and 3551 et seq. OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE
(3)
18:3 and 3551 et seq. ACCESSORY AFTER THE FACT TO THE DEPRIVATION OF JOHN DOE'S CIVIL RIGHTS
(4)

Outcome: 12/17/2019 199 Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Joan M. Azrack: CRIMINAL CAUSE FOR JURY TRIAL held on 12/17/2019. Defendant Christopher McPartland present on bail with CJA Counsel Larry Kranz, Lisa Cahill, Bradley Gershel. Defendant Thomas J. Spota present on bail with Counsel Alan Vinegrad, Erin Monju, Sarah LeMaster. AUSA: Nicole Boeckman, Lara Gatz, Justina Geraci, Michael Maffei. Courtroom Deputy: LMP. Jury Trial held on 12/17/2019 at 9:30 AM. Case called. Jury trial resumes. Deliberations continue. Counsel for all sides present. GUILTY VERDICT on counts 1, 2, 3, and 4. Jurors polled and excused with the thanks of the Court. OTHER: Parties to submit a briefing schedule for any post trial motions.(Court Reporter Paul Lombardi.) (Coleman, Laurie) (Entered: 12/17/2019)
12/26/2019 202 Letter jointly proposing post-trial motions schedule as to Christopher McPartland, Thomas J. Spota (Geraci, Justina) (Entered: 12/26/2019)

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