Former DA Spota and deputy guilty in federal obstruction trial

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. - A jury on Long Island found former Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota and his former deputy guilty Tuesday on all counts in their federal obstruction trial.

Spota walked out of federal court in Central Islip without commenting.

He helped cover up then-Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke's beating of an incarcerated, shackled prisoner suspected of stealing personal items, including sex toys and pornography, from Burke's county vehicle back in 2012.

Government officials are calling this a "sad but necessary" day. 

"The days of Long Island's good-old-boy networks combining politics, power and policing to benefit a select few at the expense of the tax-paying public are dead and gone," U.S. Attorney Richard P. Donoghue said.

Christopher McPartland, who served as a chief aide to Spota, was also convicted. The government claimed the men orchestrated a multi-year conspiracy to protect Burke, which included pressuring witnesses to not testify.

The jury made a decision on the second day of deliberations after a six-week trial. 

"There are many more legal steps in the case and we will continue to fight for this," said Larry Krantz, McPartland's attorney.

When the crimes were committed, Spota, McPartland, and Burke were said to be the most powerful law enforcement officers in Suffolk County.

In 2016, Burke was sentenced to 46 months in prison after pleading guilty to covering up the beating.

Christopher Loeb, the man who broke into and stole a duffel bag with sex toys from Burke's police car, said he is ecstatic about the verdict. 

Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas J. Spota listens to testimony during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Sept. 9, 2003, in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)

 "To hear he's guilty on all charges, it's weight off my shoulders," Loeb said. "A dark cloud has been lifted. He deserves, everything he got, he deserves."

Legislator Robert Trotta, who has followed the trial, said the convictions are steps in the right direction. 

"This place is a cesspool," Trotta said. "Today we flushed a lot down the toilet but there's more to come."

In a statement, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said Spota and McPartland's focus on corruption and cover-ups went against everything that the department stands for.

"All of us in law enforcement take an oath to uphold the Constitution and serve, not our own self-interests, but rather our communities," Hart said. "Instead of being leaders and standing up for justice, they did their best to manipulate the system and everyone who stood in their way."

Spota and McPartland each face up to 20 years in prison. A sentencing date has not been set.

Spota, a Democrat, became the DA of Suffolk County, the bigger of Long Island's two suburban counties with about 1.5 million residents, in 2001. After being indicted in late 2017, he resigned.