Former Suffolk County DA Tom Spota, Aide Set For Sentencing

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 was beaten after he stole a duffel bag from a former police chief filled with sex toys and pornography — are set for sentencing.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s 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.

Spota and McPartland were both convicted on all charges, John Marzulli, a spokesman for the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's Office, said. A jury found them guilty of witness tampering, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy after they pressured witnesses not to cooperate with an FBI investigation into the 2012 assault, abc7ny.com said.

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.

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.

"Thomas Spota and Christopher McPartland are guilty of ruining the lives of so many other families. They're guilty," Loeb wrote on Facebook in 2019.

Both men denied the charges, multiple reports said.

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.

"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. "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."

He added that at the time he called for the resignation, "Tom Spota's power was at its peak and their criminal enterprise was in full swing. This culture of corruption has had a real and profound impact. They ruined lives and destroyed careers."

Bellone said Suffolk District Attorney Tim Sini has "restored integrity to the office."

In 2016, Bellone publicly called on Spota to step down with claims that Spota was "operating a criminal enterprise that must be stopped."

Bellone said his actions were inspired by reports of political corruption in the district attorney's office.

Spota called Bellone's assertions "baseless" and said the county executive had a "vendetta" against him for investigating and prosecuting people close to him.

The pair face up to 20 years in prison but will likely receive lower sentences due to federal guidelines, according to Newsday. The sentencing guidelines are the subject of an oral argument set for June 30, federal officials told Patch.