Suffolk may appeal ruling in lawsuit against Thomas Spota, Christopher McPartland, James Burke
From left: Former Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota, ex-Suffolk Police Department Chief James Burke and former Spota aide Christopher McPartland. Credit: Newsday File/Barry Sloan/James Carbone
Suffolk County has signaled its intent to appeal a judge’s dismissal of its lawsuit filed against former District Attorney Thomas Spota, his top aide, Christopher McPartland, and former police chief James Burke seeking to recoup salary, bonuses and benefits they received while covering up the beating of a handcuffed prisoner.
The county filed the lawsuit in March 2020, accusing the three of violating New York State’s faithless service doctrine, which allows employers to recover compensation from employees who are disloyal or engage in misconduct.
State Supreme Court Justice David T. Reilly, in an 11-page decision issued Sept. 1, dismissed the county’s allegation that the three engaged in fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment. Attorneys representing the county filed a notice of appeal on Oct. 6.
“The corrupt conspiracy between Spota, Burke, and McPartland did untold damage to this county,” Suffolk Executive Steve Bellone said in a statement. “The true cost of their abuse of power extends far beyond their personal misconduct and we remain committed to recouping every possible dollar for taxpayers.”
“The court has ruled in our favor on the law which, in my opinion, has been correctly analyzed and applied under the facts in this case,” said Spota’s attorney, Peter Mayer.
County representatives did not say on what grounds they would appeal and have not specified how much they want Spota and McPartland to return. The lawsuit sought the return of $630,000 in unused vacation and sick time payout Burke received before resigning in October 2015.
Spota's base annual salary at the time of his indictment was $167,102; McPartland's was $181,756, according to a Newsday database. Burke collected $228,768 in 2014, the last full year he worked for the county.
The lawsuit followed a 2019 law sponsored by Legis. Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) authorizing the county to sue Burke to recoup his pay.
Spokeswoman Marykate Guilfoyle said the county has hired outside counsel on a contingency basis and no taxpayer funds have been spent on the case at this time.
A federal jury convicted Spota and McPartland in 2019 of orchestrating a cover-up of the beating of Christopher Loeb, 33, of Smithtown, at the Fourth Precinct in Hauppague by Burke.
Prosecutors said Burke assaulted Loeb in 2012 because he had stolen a duffel bag containing sex toys, pornography, Viagra, a gun belt and ammunition from Burke's unmarked police vehicle. Burke pleaded guilty in 2016 to charges he violated Loeb’s civil rights and covered up the crime. He was sentenced to 46 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release, and was released from federal custody in 2019.
Reilly, in his decision, said it “cannot be understated that the breach of trust by these defendants leveled the institutional foundations of law enforcement in Suffolk County.”
Still, he said the claims against Burke, 59, of Smithtown, should be dismissed because they were filed beyond the three-year statute of limitations.
Reilly said because Spota was an elected official and McPartland was his appointee, the two did not have a traditional employee/employer relationship with the county, which is needed to invoke the faithless servant doctrine.
Burke’s attorney, James O’Rourke, did not respond to a request for comment.
McPartland, 57, of Northport, is representing himself in the lawsuit. He is serving a 5-year sentence at the Beaumont Low Security Correctional Institution in Texas and could not be reached for comment.
Spota, 82, of Mount Sinai, is serving a 5-year sentence at the Danbury Correctional Institution in Connecticut.
Burke was arrested in August after police said he exposed himself in a Farmingville public park. He is due back in court Friday.
Suffolk County has signaled its intent to appeal a judge’s dismissal of its lawsuit filed against former District Attorney Thomas Spota, his top aide, Christopher McPartland, and former police chief James Burke seeking to recoup salary, bonuses and benefits they received while covering up the beating of a handcuffed prisoner.
The county filed the lawsuit in March 2020, accusing the three of violating New York State’s faithless service doctrine, which allows employers to recover compensation from employees who are disloyal or engage in misconduct.
State Supreme Court Justice David T. Reilly, in an 11-page decision issued Sept. 1, dismissed the county’s allegation that the three engaged in fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment. Attorneys representing the county filed a notice of appeal on Oct. 6.
“The corrupt conspiracy between Spota, Burke, and McPartland did untold damage to this county,” Suffolk Executive Steve Bellone said in a statement. “The true cost of their abuse of power extends far beyond their personal misconduct and we remain committed to recouping every possible dollar for taxpayers.”
“The court has ruled in our favor on the law which, in my opinion, has been correctly analyzed and applied under the facts in this case,” said Spota’s attorney, Peter Mayer.
County representatives did not say on what grounds they would appeal and have not specified how much they want Spota and McPartland to return. The lawsuit sought the return of $630,000 in unused vacation and sick time payout Burke received before resigning in October 2015.
Spota's base annual salary at the time of his indictment was $167,102; McPartland's was $181,756, according to a Newsday database. Burke collected $228,768 in 2014, the last full year he worked for the county.
The lawsuit followed a 2019 law sponsored by Legis. Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) authorizing the county to sue Burke to recoup his pay.
Spokeswoman Marykate Guilfoyle said the county has hired outside counsel on a contingency basis and no taxpayer funds have been spent on the case at this time.
A federal jury convicted Spota and McPartland in 2019 of orchestrating a cover-up of the beating of Christopher Loeb, 33, of Smithtown, at the Fourth Precinct in Hauppague by Burke.
Prosecutors said Burke assaulted Loeb in 2012 because he had stolen a duffel bag containing sex toys, pornography, Viagra, a gun belt and ammunition from Burke's unmarked police vehicle. Burke pleaded guilty in 2016 to charges he violated Loeb’s civil rights and covered up the crime. He was sentenced to 46 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release, and was released from federal custody in 2019.
Reilly, in his decision, said it “cannot be understated that the breach of trust by these defendants leveled the institutional foundations of law enforcement in Suffolk County.”
Still, he said the claims against Burke, 59, of Smithtown, should be dismissed because they were filed beyond the three-year statute of limitations.
Reilly said because Spota was an elected official and McPartland was his appointee, the two did not have a traditional employee/employer relationship with the county, which is needed to invoke the faithless servant doctrine.
Burke’s attorney, James O’Rourke, did not respond to a request for comment.
McPartland, 57, of Northport, is representing himself in the lawsuit. He is serving a 5-year sentence at the Beaumont Low Security Correctional Institution in Texas and could not be reached for comment.
Spota, 82, of Mount Sinai, is serving a 5-year sentence at the Danbury Correctional Institution in Connecticut.
Burke was arrested in August after police said he exposed himself in a Farmingville public park. He is due back in court Friday.
Vera Chinese covers Suffolk County government and politics. She joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.
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