April sentencing set for former DA Thomas Spota and ex-aide Christopher McPartland
Former Suffolk County District Atttorney Thomas Spota, left, and former top aide, Christopher McPartland, leave federal court in Central Islip on Dec. 17. Credit: Barry Sloan
Former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota and his top aide are set to be sentenced in April following their convictions for orchestrating a cover-up of a police beating and impeding a federal investigation.
U.S. District Judge Joan Azrack, who presided over the six-week-long federal trial for Spota and Christopher McPartland, his former government corruption bureau chief, will sentence the men on the afternoon of April 30, according to court filings.
Last month, a jury in U.S. District Court in Central Islip found Spota and McPartland guilty of orchestrating a cover-up of the beating of handcuffed prisoner Christopher Loeb in a police precinct in 2012 by former Suffolk Police Chief James Burke, a Spota protégé and close friend to McPartland.
Loeb had stolen a duffel bag from Burke’s unmarked police vehicle which, according to federal prosecutors, contained sex toys, pornography, Viagra, his gun belt and ammunition.
Burke pleaded guilty to his own role in the cover-up of the assault and was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison. He did not testify at Spota’s trial.
Spota, 78, of Mt. Sinai, and McPartland, 54, of Northport, were convicted on all charges: conspiracy, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and acting as accessories to the deprivation of Loeb’s civil rights.
The defense attorneys maintained the innocence of their clients, claiming Burke never told the pair he had beaten Loeb, therefore they couldn’t have participated in a cover-up.
Spota and McPartland face up to 20 years in prison by statute, but likely will receive lower sentences based on federal sentencing guidelines.
Prosecutors said Spota – who served as district attorney more than 15 years before he retired days after being indicted in 2017 – was one-third of “The Administration,” a group that included McPartland and Burke. The men, who were the most powerful in Suffolk law enforcement, according to federal prosecutors, maintained their grasp on power by threatening their perceived enemies with demotions and career-ending false criminal charges.
Larry Krantz, an attorney for McPartland, declined to comment Tuesday afternoon. Spota’s attorney Alan Vinegrad did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.
